Électricité de France embeds Jaspersoft for HR reporting and analytics, used by over 2,000 monthly users

Challenge

EDF needed to transition from its former SAS Analytics Software solution for HR reporting and analytics

Électricité de France (EDF), a global leader in the energy sector, specializes in electricity generation and distribution. For nearly 80 years, EDF has adapted and evolved in a regulated, competitive market, leveraging the newest technology to deliver reliable solutions worldwide. 

As EDF continues to grow its footprint and employee base, the company faced mounting challenges with its previous SAS Analytics Software solution for HR reporting and analytics.

These challenges included:

• High costs: The SAS Analytics Software platform had significant licensing fees and faced technical obsolescence of certain components that were no longer supported by the solution provider. EDF needed a cost-effective alternative that could meet the company's reporting and analytical needs. 

• Big data integration: EDF aimed to utilize its existing Hadoop infrastructure for advanced business intelligence (BI) to keep up with the demands of big data technologies. However, EDF's existing system wouldn’t support this. 

• Shift to open source: Open-source platforms provide better flexibility, customization potential, and long-term sustainability, which could help reduce the company's dependence on proprietary software.

Financial and operational factors motivated EDF's decision to explore alternative HR reporting and analytics solutions. The company needed a system that could easily integrate with its big data infrastructure and adapt to its unique organizational requirements. 

"We wanted to do business intelligence and use all our company data," said David Akselrad, EDF's Head of HR Data Valorization. "At the same time, there was a policy to adopt more open-source solutions to customize and adapt tools to our use cases."

This combination of financial, technological, and strategic drivers set the stage for EDF's transition to a new HR reporting and analytics solution.

Solution

EDF turns to Jaspersoft to empower users, ensure security, and deliver scalable reporting

EDF needed a robust analytics solution to address the company's financial, technological, and strategic challenges and goals. A finance department member recommended Jaspersoft based on a prior positive experience. EDF identified Jaspersoft's platform as a strong candidate to replace its costly and limiting SAS  software solution. Jaspersoft could enhance EDF’s data access, empower its users, and integrate with the company's existing big data systems. 

Here’s how Jaspersoft not only met EDF’s immediate needs but also established a scalable foundation for HR analytics:

1. Ad hoc reporting capabilities

EDF's HR team needed to address unique reporting needs across various groups, including HR managers, people managers, and employees. To succeed, EDF had to reduce its overreliance on technical teams for frequent ad hoc reporting requests. Jaspersoft's self-service BI features include business-friendly terminology and drag-and-drop functionality, which lets users build custom reports independently. 

Quickly creating, adjusting, and deploying custom reports makes employees self-sufficient and boosts operational efficiency. Jaspersoft allows advanced HR users to quickly address critical reporting needs without straining technical resources.

"We empowered the user so they can use their self-service BI," Akselrad said. "They don't need to ask another person to do it. They can take all the data classified with business names and find it very easily."

2. Preformatted reports powered by Jaspersoft Studio

EDF needed preformatted reports to maintain consistency and accuracy across recurring reporting tasks, such as tracking employee training completion and workforce statistics. Jaspersoft Studio enables EDF to create a standard report format and allows managers to pull reports for their individual needs, including career profiles, gender equality metrics, and training updates. Employees and managers can now easily access these reports via the intranet, saving them time during routine reporting and tracking. 

"We can do preformatted reports for anything, but Jaspersoft allows us to develop them for recurring needs," Akselrad shared. "Managers can access and filter these reports directly."

3. Report sharing and scheduling

By reviewing reports regularly, HR teams can easily spot when employees are behind on training plans or diversity metrics decline. HR can also inform managers by providing real-time visibility into key metrics, such as department and team-level workforce statistics and training data points. 

EDF uses Jaspersoft to share reports with defined user groups and distribute them automatically. Jaspersoft’s scheduled reports reduce the time it takes to view a separate dashboard and ensure team leads always have the latest insights into their employee metrics. 

"We can share reports and plan them, so everything feels unified," Akselrad added. "It's good to have everything in one tool."

4. Calculated data fields

EDF's HR data analytics team needed a method to generate standardized metrics, such as employee work hours, which are unavailable in raw data. Calculations were required to make such metrics consistently available to the rest of the organization for accurate reporting.

Jaspersoft lets admins create calculated data fields, letting EDF define calculated metrics directly within the system. This eliminates the risk of discrepancies caused by manual calculations made by separate individuals or teams. 

"We calculate [certain data fields] with the rules, and users can access our calculated data fields without complexity," Akselrad explained. "Otherwise, they might calculate it themselves and use different algorithms, creating inconsistencies."

5. Custom homepage

EDF internally publicizes an analytics homepage that provides users crucial updates on data refresh statuses, reliability warnings, and other key system details. This transparency reduces miscommunication and data errors. All users benefit from immediate access to the latest system updates, ensuring the data is used accurately and effectively. 

Without a Jaspersoft-hosted analytics home page, EDF risks confusing end users. Instead of having one source of truth to keep everyone aligned, EDF would be limited to one-off emails or internal chat channels where updates often get missed. 

"When users connect to Jaspersoft, the homepage shows if the data is refreshed and usable or if there are warnings," Akselrad said. "This saves time and keeps everyone informed in one tool."

6. Security and access controls

Strict security measures are required to manage sensitive HR data, including payroll, training records, and employee demographics. These measures protect employees' privacy and keep EDF compliant with legal regulations. EDF needed a system to enforce access controls and prevent unauthorized viewing or misuse of its HR data. 

Jaspersoft provides a dependable, role-based access control system that shows users only the data they're authorized to access. Its hierarchical security model lets managers view their teams' data and gives high-level executives access to broader datasets. Integration with single sign-on (SSO) further simplifies user authentication and access configuration. Furthermore, Jaspersoft lets EDF restrict unauthorized data exports, reducing the risk of sensitive information leaving the organization. 

"It's important to [secure] personal data so that users can see only the data they are authorized to see," Akselrad shared. "For example, I can see only my team's data, but my chief sees data from all teams. This role-based access works well and is essential for HR data."

Results

EDF transforms HR reporting with Jaspersoft, enabling HR analysts, managers, and employees with secure, efficient, and reliable analytics

Jaspersoft has become a cornerstone of EDF's HR reporting and analytics strategy. The platform delivers operational and strategic value for HR teams, advanced analytics users, and employees with ad hoc reporting needs.

The most significant benefits of adopting Jaspersoft include:

• Wide reach across the organization: EDF now serves Jaspersoft-powered reports to more than 2,000 monthly users and 80,000 annual users. This lets the HR team, managers, and employees effortlessly access data, streamlining their decision-making and empowering employees to take ownership of their training data and careers.

• Enhanced reporting efficiency: Jaspersoft's ad hoc and preformatted reporting capabilities have reduced EDF's reliance on its IT team to generate reports. The HR team can create and manage reports independently, saving the organization time and reducing the need for additional technical resources.

• Seamless security and compliance: Jaspersoft's role-based access controls and external user integration significantly improved the company's data security. Sensitive HR data is safeguarded, guaranteeing compliance with regulations and protecting employees' privacy while providing access to the appropriate managers and executives.