Case Study: Harlequin achieves 40% improvement in HR efficiency and streamlined performance management with SAP SuccessFactors

Harlequin Creating Efficiency by Letting SuccessFactors Do the Math with a Performance Management Bundle

Harlequin, a Buffalo-based publisher of romance novels and women’s fiction, faced an inefficient, spreadsheet-driven performance evaluation process for both hourly and salaried staff and needed a cloud solution that could handle subcategory weighting, distinct workflows, and unbiased calibration. Harlequin selected SAP SuccessFactors to deliver a tailored performance management bundle (performance and goal management, employee profile, and calibration) that matched its policies and reduced manual effort.

SAP SuccessFactors implemented a customized cloud solution that automated Harlequin’s manual processes, supported two distinct employee workflows, and enabled repurposed form sections for calibration. The deployment simplified HR work, improved alignment of individual goals with company values, reduced performance-related subjectivity, and delivered measurable efficiency gains—25% faster for supervisors and 40% faster for HR—while preserving Harlequin’s performance culture.

Harlequin

Marylou Domino

Director of Human Resources