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HR shared services - the missing links
27 January 2010:
The past 10 years have seen a major increase in the introduction of HR shared services across all industry sectors.
While shared services and the Ulrich business partnering model have become more widely understood across the HR community, there is a broad range of variations on this theme. Many HR functions are still unclear of how the model works, and line managers and businesses even more so.
Often, there is a lack of understanding of the context in which shared services should operate. Is it there to empower the line, and if so, how? Provide a more focused and value-added service? If so, what is it? Are the business and line managers ready for a major cultural shift from traditional HR to a more proactive and strategic HR function? If not, how do you manage the transition?
In addition, to the above, there are often even more fundamental issues not thought through or implemented. Some of these are listed below, although, there are many more issues and questions to be asked.
Some of the most frequently encountered questions:
- How does the shared service provision link into the HR and business strategy?
- How effective is your current HR service offering, HR skill levels and IT technology?
- Do you understand what processes need to be in place and is this the most efficient way of delivering the service?
- Have you project and change management skills within your department?
- What model of shared service will you develop? Outsourced, in-house, or a combination - and what does this mean in terms of service level agreements and key performance indicators you set?
- What technology will you use and how will it be implemented? For example, manager and/or employee self-service, fully-automated processes, HR analytics and so on.
- Have you a clearly defined communication plan to engage the business, present a clear case for business benefits, and clarify the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of both the HR team and customers?
Successfully introducing a world-class shared service function which has the flexibility to deliver what the business requires demands a holistic and structured approach.
A model for this introduction is below, showing that a number of activities need to be carried out concurrently, such as process mapping service delivery areas and assessing HR systems.
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Source: Personel Today
