Edinburgh Napier University

The challenge

Edinburgh Napier University employs around 2,350 staff across academic and professional services roles, with a mission to change lives through education, research, and industry partnerships. Managing that workforce, across varied contracts and terms, demands an HR and payroll system built for genuine complexity.

Having built a strong foundation with iTrent, the university had grown beyond what the platform was originally designed to do. As colleague expectations evolved and some processes moved off-system over time, particularly in recruitment and onboarding, the team saw an opportunity to bring everything into a single, modern experience. With the iTrent contract reaching a natural endpoint, the timing was right to take the next step.

The solution

Building on their existing relationship with MHR, Edinburgh Napier evolved to People First, becoming the first university to make the move from iTrent. Crucially, they approached it as a change programme rather than a technology project, adopting an ‘adopt, not adapt’ philosophy and embracing People First’s workflows as the new standard.

MHR’s change management expertise proved instrumental throughout, and the partnership has been genuinely collaborative. As the first university on this path, Edinburgh Napier has had a real opportunity to shape the product, with feedback actively listened to and incorporated.