Global HR Document Control and Validation Across 14 Countries

A leading consumer goods company in the personal care and hygiene industry was in the midst of a complex global divestiture: the spin-off of its international business into a new joint venture, “Newco”.

This required transferring thousands of employees, assets, and operations across EMEA, APAC, and LATAM into a newly formed entity while maintaining compliance, continuity, and regulatory readiness.

As part of this process, the company needed to ensure that employee records at dozens of international mills were complete, accurate, and legally sound before transfer.

Many of these records dated back decades, spanned multiple jurisdictions, and existed in a mix of electronic systems and physical paper archives stored on-site at mills.

The work needed to be completed quickly, under regulatory scrutiny, and with little room for error, because missing or incomplete documentation could delay the spin-off or introduce compliance risk.

The project covered 29 locations across 14 countries, with sites spread across Europe, APAC, and LATAM, and limited central visibility into what records existed or where they were stored.

Many employee files were paper-based and archived in boxes inside mills. Local teams often did not know where files were located or whether they were complete, meaning validation required an on-site presence rather than remote review.

Resources needed familiarity with HR documentation and compliance standards, while also being comfortable working in industrial environments, handling physical archives, moving boxes, navigating storage areas, and working independently on-site.

The project was originally scoped for five weeks, with countries and locations added late, sometimes without warning. Geopolitical instability, including active conflict in certain regions, required rapid replanning and safety decisions.

Contractors were being contacted across borders by U.S.-based teams. In several regions, additional reassurance was needed so the outreach didn’t appear suspicious, while language differences required translated communications and tailored talk tracks.

A centrally governed, globally executed HR validation effort operating as an extension of the transformation and separation office.

The company engaged Guidant Global to deliver the project as a centrally governed, globally executed HR validation effort. Guidant Global’s approach combined on-the-ground execution with centralized control.

Global validation completed

HR document validation was completed across 29 locations in 14 countries, supporting compliance and transfer readiness across EMEA, APAC and LATAM.

Ahead of timeline and under budget

The project remained ahead of the original five-week timeline and was delivered at approximately half the expected cost, finishing one month early and 31% under budget.

Risk controlled

No major compliance failures or transfer delays were reported, and late-added countries and unplanned obstacles were absorbed without derailing the timeline.