SunFish DataOn Philippines, Inc. (SDP): Delivering Comprehensive HR Solutions in the Philippines

Today, as companies continue to evolve and meet the demands of a fast-paced, digitally-driven business landscape, their HR teams also expect customizable HR solutions that meet the changing workflow paradigm, but at a reasonable price point. On that front, the modular approach or ‘pay per use’ model of some HR management solutions as an alternative to opting for a full suite, endto end HR software stands to benefit many companies, especially SMEs. Not only is it easy on the pocket, but it also helps a company jumpstart on its digital journey to streamlining HR and administrative functions. Despite these apparent benefits, some companies do not get to witness the ROI upfront, deeming the entire initiative inadequate. But why?

Sri Coles, CEO of SunFish DataOn Philippines, Inc. (SDP) has the perfect answer to this. She explains that obtaining HR software is not the solution to the HR management issues per se; it is the means to the solution. The companies integrating such software still require guidance on HR standards and best practices for easily familiarizing HR managers and employees with the system and understanding how to reap its utmost potential for dynamic HR management. Enabling just that is Sri’s company, SunFish DataOn Philippines, Inc. Founded in 1999 as DataOn Corporation, it envisioned to drive real business evolution with real solutions for organizations in the ASEAN region. To address the most intricate HR policies in the Philippines, SDP was established and entered the Philippine market in 2010. It offers the region’s medium to large companies a cutting-edge, hire-to-retire HRIS technology platform along with HR know-how to help their partners get holistic solutions and improve their employee management processes.

“We are not just developing HR solutions and leaving it on our clients to implement and manage that. Instead, we are leveraging our collective HR domain knowledge of almost 45 years and paving our clients’ pathway to HR management success,” underscores Sri. To put it simply, SDP would stand by its clients’ side at every step of their digitalization journey, be it in terms of implementing HR solutions or providing business support.

Underpinning the success of SDP’s competencies is an integrated and dedicated HRIS platform SunFish HR. The end-to-end features of SunFish HR help organizations strengthen their HR processes by automating and centralizing a significant amount of manual processes like leave requests, expense claim requests, employee record updates, and more. This can help organizations improve efficiency, accuracy, and privacy of handling important data. “Our HRIS platform also makes employee management easier. HR administrators, supervisors, and managers can easily see which employees are currently working, giving the line managers the best visibility possible in terms of how their teams are performing,” says Sri.

Going a step further and bringing employees even closer to their employers, SDP has also launched a mobile-based employee self-service (ESS) solution called GreatDay HR (formerly SunFish GO) in 2019 to serve the Philippines’ small to medium enterprise market with the same level of expertise and HR knowledge. It enables employees to record attendance, make and approve leave requests, view their schedules, chat with their colleagues, and more. Besides, it also prioritizes employee wellness by supporting the importance of employees’ mental health awareness through the Company Mood feature, where employees can express their emotions and give additional comments on them. These features allow employees to feel more connected and engaged with their work, ultimately increasing employee productivity and satisfaction. “Through SunFish HR and GreatDay HR, automation of HR processes is no longer a distant dream but an attainable reality,” highlights Sri.

Supporting the data-driven HR trends, both SunFish HR and GreatDay HR provide employee analytics and performance management features ranging from KPIs, coaching, performance appraisal, development planning, conclusion adjustment, performance scoring, box analysis, training, and succession plan, and much more. This helps businesses to uncover more meaningful insights that promote better workforce decisions, productivity, and outcomes. Similarly, the platform offers a polling and survey feature, facilitating businesses for more specific insights and feedback on business operations

Strengthening its Solution Stack with Superior Support

SDP believes that its tools are just there to help the companies in making their tasks easier and more efficient. And without efficient and properly communicated procedures, these tools will not be able to serve the intended purpose. “That is the reason why our team is not just comprised of IT professionals who will be implementing the software but also HR practitioners who can provide appropriate recommendations on the best HR standards and practices,” adds Sri. As a result of which SDP is able to offer the best of both worlds.

A testimony for SDP’s capabilities can be explained through a case study, wherein a client spent hours manually consolidating their time and attendance records due to lack of technical proficiency and resistance to change, which often caused overworked employees despite the implementation of the SunFish HR system in their company. “To address this, our team brought together technology functional analysts and subject matter experts to sit down with the client’s time and attendance (T&A) team to determine how they are currently using the system,” mentions Sri. After detailed discovery sessions with the client, SDP recommended system training and transition activities by generating reports from SunFish HR to support the changes in the process. Now, the client is able to focus more on strategic HR matters by taking advantage of the different features that they can utilize from the SunFish HR system without worrying much about the operational aspect of their company’s time and attendance and payroll components.

This is but one of the numerous success stories that SDP has crafted over the years. Alongside such outstanding services, SDP also helps its clients remain compliant with existing as well as recently implemented labor laws in the Philippines and other local ASEAN regions in order to provide a more concise and on-point solution to the specific regulations of different countries.

Moving forward, the company will keep pursuing more ground-breaking innovations and drive more growth in the HR automation landscape. Besides, the company is continually looking to enhance its digital ecosystem and help its clients in determining HR processes to better utilize their system’s functions and features. With this, SDP is determined to make life easier for every CHROs and HR personnel working in the ASEAN regions.