C&T’s Human Capital System Enables Multinational Bank to Deploy Global Talent Flexibly

International financial institutions frequently reassign personnel, and the process of calculating compensation across different regions and ensuring compliance requires multiple layers of audit, consuming significant human and material resources. To meet the needs of international talent deployment and payroll calculation, the bank collaborated with C&T to implement a tailored Human Capital Management system, effectively resolving challenges such as multi-currency payroll calculation and compliance.

Facing Complex Human Capital Management Challenges

Recently, C&T completed a human capital management system project for a European-owned bank. The bank offers diversified financial services and currently employs over a thousand staff in Hong Kong, with its business covering corporate and institutional banking, asset management, wealth management, and other areas. Its Hong Kong operations are facing increasingly complex human capital management challenges.

 

Firstly, the transfer of staff in and out of the bank’s global branches such as London, Singapore, New York, etc. became commonplace. Secondly, given Hong Kong’s stringent labour and tax regulations, accurately and compliantly handling multi-currency payroll for expatriates, while providing exchange rate risk protection, became a major pain point for the HR and Finance departments. Furthermore, the bank faced issues with system obsolescence; its legacy system, used for over a decade, could no longer meet future development needs in terms of security, efficiency, and scalability.

Three Key Focuses of C&T’s HCM Solution

The bank initially partnered with C&T over a decade ago, implementing a bespoke Human Capital Management system that solved the multi-currency payroll challenge. The initial customised solution had three key focuses:

 

  1. Multi-Currency Payroll Engine: Supported using multiple currencies (such as Euro, USD and HKD) as the calculation basis, determined by the employee’s country of origin or work location.
  2. Intelligent Exchange Rate Protection Mechanism: A custom-developed exchange rate buffer zone, based on the client’s internal policy, ensured employees’ compensation value was protected from the impact of sharp market fluctuations during currency conversion.
  3. Compliance Assurance: Guaranteed all calculations complied with Hong Kong’s Employment Ordinance and Inland Revenue Ordinance.

 

This solution ran stably and reliably for over a decade, giving the customer strong confidence in the system customised by C&T. Therefore, when upgrading the system and adding new functions, the cooperation continued. King Cheng, Project Manager of the HRM Business at C&T, stated: “We have demonstrated that we can not only provide leading technological products but also, deep insights into client business and rich practical experience, become a trusted partner for enterprises in their digital transformation journey.”

New System Seamlessly Integrates with PeopleSoft HCM

To help the client address new era challenges, C&T successfully implemented a comprehensive system upgrade and integration project with the following four key points:

  1. Modern Core Platform Upgrade (.NET): Migrated the system to a more stable, secure, and efficient .NET technology architecture, laying the foundation for future functional expansion.
  2. Seamless Data and Customisation Migration: Ensured all historical payroll data, employee records, and all previous custom logic especially complex payroll calculation rules, were completely and accurately migrated to the new platform during the upgrade process.
  3. Enhanced Global System Integration: Added efficient data interfaces to ensure the local Hong Kong HR system could synchronise data in real-time with the group’s globally unified PeopleSoft system, achieving global consistency for employee master data, organizational structure, and assignment information.
  4. Security and Compliance Enhancement: The new system fully supports the latest Windows Server environment, meeting the banking industry’s stringent requirements for server security, data protection, and compliance auditing.

Reducing Compliance Risks and Human Error

Following the system upgrade by C&T, the payroll calculation process for the Hong Kong Branch HR department was significantly optimised. Calculation time was reduced, operational efficiency improved, and substantial human resources were saved, allowing staff to focus on more strategic work. The new system ensures payroll calculations fully comply with local regulations and reinforces internal compliance policies, greatly reducing compliance risks and human error. Its seamless integration with the global PeopleSoft system ensures a “single source of truth,” making human resource management more efficient. Bank employees can also access personal payroll information anytime, anywhere via a self-service platform, enhancing transparency and satisfaction.

Introducing AI Data Analysis and Innovative Features

The new system platform operates stably with minimal downtime, ensuring the continuity of this critical payroll business. The modern architecture also reserves space for future integration of innovative features like AI data analysis and further mobility. King Cheng, Project Manager of the HRM Business at C&T, stated that “Through this successful system upgrade, C&T Group has further solidified its cooperative relationship with our clients.”

The head of the bank’s Human Resources Department stated: “C&T has a profound understanding of our complex and specific cross-border payroll policies. During this system upgrade, the C&T team demonstrated exceptional professional capability and project management proficiency. They not only smoothly transitioned all historical data and custom functions, but the robust integration capability and stability of the new system provide solid support for our future business development. We particularly appreciate their custom-developed multi-currency payroll solution, which is highly unique in the market.”

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Sources page: https://www.ctil.com/english/content/ct%E2%80%99s-human-capital-system-enables-multinational-bank-deploy-global-talent-flexibly