Three and a half years ago, I ran HR with a patchwork of Excel and software
scattered tools. Today, I could no longer imagine going back.
Here is what Odoo has really changed in my daily work, with
honesty, including about its limitations.
Morianne Salmon — HR Manager, Nalios · June 2026
01 Before: Excel, several tools, and the hunt for information
Before Odoo, day-to-day HR looked like this: one Excel file for the
leave, another for contracts, one software for recruitment, and another
for payroll. Each tool lived in its own bubble. And the question that kept coming back
over and over: where is that information again?
It wasn't so much the work itself that was heavy. It was the mental energy
spent switching between tools, copying data from one place to
another, and never being fully sure that the right version was in the
right place.
The hardest part wasn't the HR work itself. It was finding the right information, in the right place, at the right time.
02 What changed: Everything in one place, and everything connected
The first concrete change with Odoo is centralisation. But not
just "everything in one tool": everything is interconnected. You enter a
piece of information in one application, and it automatically appears in
another. No more copying, synchronising, or juggling
manually.
Recruitment
All applications linked to
the published job offer, grouped in the
same place. No more emails
scattered.
Fleet
Tracking of vehicles, invoices,
reported issues,
direct communication with the
accounting, directly from the record.
Employee file
Contracts, amendments, history
from the first day, accessible in
one place, for each
employee.
Integrated communication
Ask for an opinion, report an
issue, notify a colleague,
from the relevant record, without
leaving Odoo.
Interconnection is something that seems minor at first and quickly becomes
indispensable. A problem with a vehicle and an invoice? You get
you inform accounting directly from the fleet record, without switching
tools, without copy-pasting.
03 The multi-site dimension: 14 sites, 5 countries, in one click
My role at Nalios has one peculiarity: I manage HR for 14 sites spread
across several countries. Each entity has its own database, and switching
from one to another takes one click.
BE : Belgium
FR : France
US : USA
CH : Switzerland
FR : French Antilles-Guiana
With Odoo, I switch from one company to another in one click. Same interface,
same logic, data kept separate but accessible from a single place. A
considerable gain in clarity, especially since each entity has its own
teams, its own legal framework, and its own HR needs.
04 The real benefit: Searching less. Being more present
If I had to sum it up in one sentence: I stopped searching in order to
start doing. Saving time, yes, but above all gaining peace of mind.
Knowing that the right information is in the right place, that I won't miss
a deadline, that I can find a contract in 30 seconds: that's
one less mental burden.
I put this recovered time toward what really matters:
Being available for people. That's the H in
HR, and Odoo helps me protect it.
I can't picture any world in which I go back
and stop using Odoo every day. ».
05 HONESTY ABOUT LIMITS: Odoo isn't perfect, and that's OK.
An all-in-one tool has a trade-off: it will never be as specialised
as a dedicated tool. A specialised ATS will probably have more features
for recruitment than Odoo. That's real.
But the question isn't "is it the best tool for each
feature?". It's "is the gain of having everything in one solution
worth the trade-off?" For me, the answer is clearly yes. Rather than
switching tools, I prefer to look for ways to improve how I use the
existing solution.
06 My advice: Click, test, understand, don't just use
The difference between "using Odoo" and "understanding Odoo" is huge. One
can settle for the bare minimum, and it will work. But it's only
by exploring, clicking and trying things out that one discovers what
the tool can really do for you.
Tip #1
Click everywhere. Test. The best way to get to know the
solution is to really take an interest in it, not just
use it the way you'd use a form.
07 The turning point: A smoother start than expected
When you introduce a new solution, you often expect a period
of turbulence. With Odoo, it didn't really go that way.
The tool is designed to be picked up quickly. That is a real
difference from other HR solutions I had known, which were often
heavier, more technical, less intuitive.
I trained myself by combining Nalios tutorial videos on YouTube and
the help of colleagues. The mix worked well: videos to move forward
at my own pace, colleagues for everyday questions. And quickly,
I felt I could be autonomous. Not relying constantly
on external support to move forward, that's something important.
« What struck me is how quickly you
become comfortable. You learn Odoo by doing, and it's
great. »
08 Odoo every day for the whole team: a collective reflex
Today, Odoo isn't just my tool. The whole team uses it in their
daily work. Leave requests go directly through the platform,
all I have left to do is approve them. This shift towards self-service is
a discreet but real time saving: fewer emails, fewer requests
informal ones, and automatic traceability.
09 The multi-country dimension in practice: Recruiting for 5 countries from a single place
My role at Nalios covers the full HR cycle for all
branches: recruitment, leave, employee file tracking. And that, for 5
countries, with very different realities depending on the offices.
Job offers are published directly from Odoo and flow
automatically onto our website. Each application lands
automatically in the database of the relevant country. When you
manage about ten recruitments in parallel, spread across Belgium,
France, the USA, Quebec and Switzerland, having all the data
centralised and accessible in one click: that's everyday comfort.
What I particularly appreciate is being able to work with the
managers of each office from the same solution. Following up with the
candidates, exchanges with local managers, the progress of
files: everything happens in one place. My level of involvement varies
depending on each branch's needs, but the tool itself stays the same.
« With one click, I'm in the Martinique database. With one click, I'm in the USA one. Same
interface, same logic, zero data lost. »
In summary
01
Less time
wasted
searching for
the information
02
More clarity
on what really
matters
03
Mental load
lightened
to focus
on people