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Why Hoya outsources payroll to SD Worx
Why Hoya outsources payroll to SD Worx
Payroll used to be the core of Hoya Lens Belgium's HR activities. “And rightly so,” says HR Manager Katrien Van Horenbeek. “I'm only as credible as my last paycheck. That's why we've outsourced our payroll to a trusted partner. In doing so, we can shift the focus to 'soft HR' to better guide our employees.”
About Hoya Lens Belgium
Hoya, founded in Tokyo in 1941, is one of the world's leading eyewear manufacturers, with interests in healthcare and information technology. Hoya supplies contact lenses, medical endoscopes, intraocular lenses, optical lenses, photomasks for semiconductor manufacturing, LCD panels, hard drives and much more. With more than 160 offices and subsidiaries worldwide, Hoya employs a total of 35,700 people. In 1999, Hoya acquired Belgium's Buchmann Optical Holding. Hoya Lens Belgium supplies lenses to independent opticians' shops in the Benelux daily.
Emphasising the H in HR
Hoya Lens Belgium has significantly evolved since 2020. They stopped production in Belgium and decided to continue with distribution activities in the Benelux. Their employee count fell from 64 to 43 and most personnel moved from the warehouse in Kapellen to a new office in Antwerp's city centre.
Katrien: “A change on that scale requires a lot of HR guidance. Yet Hoya used to focus predominantly on HR's technical side: payroll administration. A few months before I started, Hoya had already outsourced payroll to SD Worx to focus more on a people-oriented HR policy. And that's exactly where my strengths lie: employee engagement and performance, policies for mobile phone and company car use … In my career as an HR consultant, I had already successfully collaborated with SD Worx for payroll on site. When I heard that they were on board, I jumped for joy.”
Different outsourcing options
“Hoya Lens Belgium chose the business process outsourcing (BPO) option”, says Sophie Pesant, payroll consultant at SD Worx. “That means handing responsibility for one or more of the most outsourceable payroll tasks over to us. It was a strategic decision implying a long-term, off-site cooperation with payroll experts. But there are other options, from using our SaaS-platform to on-site staffing.”
Exceeding expectations
Katrien and Sophie are one team, Katrien says. “We work together really well; I can always count on her vast expertise, it's almost as if she's sitting next to me.”
“Sophie takes care of all payroll tasks: payroll processing, calculation of holiday pay, end-of-year and other bonuses … But there's more. For specifics like warrants and expat remuneration, I can turn to her well-informed colleagues. Using their services and tools, we are always confident that everything is correct.”
Tackling challenges together
“The first challenge: implementing a new ADV system. Hoya had a very limited number of ADV days, a system of compensatory leave days in Belgium. Widening the scope involved a lot of formalities, such as drafting a new collective labour agreement, adjusting employment regulations, and more. Fortunately, I could count on SD Worx's legal services, too. Sophie is helping me implement everything in Protime, our time registration system. It's wonderful that we can tackle these challenges together.
“In 2025, there's more to come, including a salary scale for Hoya Lens Belgium, with job descriptions, function families, etc. I have strong experience, but I always welcome the support of big players. Fortunately, at SD Worx, I find all the support I need. They have the right expertise for everything.”
