Interviewees: Bob Govers and Herman Huisman
Employees: WDO Delta 800+, Waterschap Vechtstromen 500+
Connected systems: Visma Raet YouForce, AllSolutions
Category: HRM / ERP
Interview translated from Dutch.
Introduction
The water boards Drents Overijsselse Delta and Vechtstromen play a key role in water management: they take care of water quality, water safety and wastewater treatment for about 1.5 million residents.
In 2023, fourteen water boards, including Drents Overijsselse Delta and Vechtstromen, chose Visma Raet YouForce as their new HR system. Drents Overijsselse Delta and Vechtstromen were the first and officially went live on 1 January 2024.
For financial data and operational processes, both water boards rely on AllSolutions.
The integration During the exploration phase it quickly became clear that an integration between AllSolutions and Visma Raet YouForce was needed to get the most out of both systems. The water boards asked us to build it.
About the two water boards
Waterschap Drents Overijsselse Delta and Waterschap Vechtstromen are two of the 21 water boards in the Netherlands. They make sure people can live safely with water, and that there is enough clean water for farmers and businesses, in cities and in nature.
How many colleagues do you have? Drents Overijsselse Delta currently has 800+ employees, including 80 in its information services department. Vechtstromen has 500+ employees, including 55 in information services.
What are your roles?
Herman Huisman "I work at Waterschap Drents Overijsselse Delta as application manager for AllSolutions and Visma Raet YouForce. I have a background in insurance and moved from test coordinator to application manager. I have done several ERP implementations and started at Drents Overijsselse Delta on 1 January 2023. Among other things, I was involved in the implementation and delivery of the integration with KoppelHet."
Bob Govers "I trained as an HR adviser but developed further across operations as a whole, including application management. I have guided implementations of AFAS and Visma YouForce, among others. For some years I was head of operations, and since 2023 I have worked as an independent adviser. In that role I have been application manager AllSolutions at Waterschap Vechtstromen since February 2023, and involved in the project with KoppelHet."
How did the need for an integration between Visma Raet and AllSolutions arise?
"From the start of the Visma implementation it was clear there had to be an integration with AllSolutions. We needed a partner who could build it at short notice, and in the end we chose you as integration partner."
"What I appreciated most in working with KoppelHet were the short lines and their input on new ideas."
Herman Huisman, application manager
Which process did KoppelHet automate?
KoppelHet automated the data exchange between Visma Raet YouForce and AllSolutions. The HR system is central to staff administration: it records not only where someone lives or what their name is, but also jobs, leave and absence. Without the integration with AllSolutions, updating that information in the financial system would take a lot of time and be error-prone, especially with so many people.
Employee data Every working day something changes for a large number of employees, such as a new address, another department or another job. Through KoppelHet, those updates, including each employee's full history, go to the financial system automatically.
Leave and absence Besides employee data, leave records, sickness and maternity leave are synchronised daily as well. The integration takes the different leave types into account, such as statutory leave and parental leave.
Complexity and mapping Different systems store data in different ways. Visma Raet YouForce uses a different notation for hours than AllSolutions, and work schedules are kept per week in AllSolutions but per day in Visma Raet. The mapping module in the KoppelHet platform offers a flexible way to map this kind of data.
How did the collaboration with KoppelHet go?
"We are very positive about the collaboration with KoppelHet. We especially value the short lines and thinking along about solutions." Bob: "Even though there was a lot of pressure within the short time frame, it was good to see that the shared goal was to get everything sorted."
Herman also comes back to the ambitious planning: "When I first saw the project plan, I was hesitant whether it would be feasible to develop the integration in such a short time. But thanks to a joint effort, the go-live of 1 January was met. I also liked the openness to new ideas. You also worked well with AllSolutions and Visma Raet, and the intensive collaboration with Yvonne from AllSolutions went particularly well."
How is the integration managed?
The integration has been live since 1 January. After the teething problems were solved in the first weeks, it has run stably. KoppelHet actively monitors the integration to solve problems early, and we receive automatic reports by email. We also keep an overview of open questions and improvements that we discuss regularly. Bob: "In management, too, the short lines of communication are very pleasant."