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HR Transformation Turns 21
29 September 2009:
Just over 20 years ago a new generation of HR practitioners started to think about new and innovative ways of delivering HR services. That new work initially focused on improving benefits service delivery and quickly evolved into a new, broader initiative to transform all HR services. The first "HR Transformation" project I was involved in was in 1988.
Now that HR Transformation is turning 21, I thought it would be interesting to look at how far we've come and where the journey might take us in the future.
The Early Days
In the beginning, HR Transformation was a grass-roots movement driven by a loose confederation of HR leaders, academics, consultants and software-technology companies focused on shifting HR from a largely administrative organization to a more strategic organization.
As early adventurers, we were on a journey without an exact destination or travel itinerary. However, we sensed HR was ripe for change and that there was an extraordinary amount of value just waiting to be tapped as we charted our plan to move HR from "administrative" to "strategic."
At first, CEOs and CFOs were understandably hesitant to spend millions of dollars on HR Transformation projects. After all, most organizations had never really invested in large HR projects. Business leaders wanted proof and some kind of guarantee that an investment in HR would yield substantial returns.
One of the only ways for HR Transformation teams to get the critical information they needed for their business cases was to talk to colleagues working on other projects to understand what they had done, what worked and what didn't.
HR events and HR conferences became meeting places that gave people an opportunity to exchange information on the latest developments, methods, tools and case studies. People talked excitedly about their experiences and results, and began to invent the language, methods and tools needed to make progress in this new and emerging field. It was a time of information sharing and open dialogue.
From the beginning, there was a lot of confusion about what the term "HR Transformation" really meant. I remember many of us became frustrated when listening to presentations about projects that we did not consider to be true HR Transformation.
In order to communicate effectively and share information, we needed a clear definition. Here's what eventually emerged: "HR Transformation is the design, development and implementation of a new HR service-delivery model to deliver HR services in a more efficient, effective and compliant manner."
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Source: Human Resource Executive
