In the swiftly changing business landscape, an organization's agility and alignment of its HR structure with its strategic vision can be the difference between leading the market and playing catch-up. As HR leaders, the mandate is clear: reassess, restructure, and revitalize your HR department to serve not just the current but also the future needs of the business.
This article offers a pragmatic approach to analyzing your existing HR framework, optimizing roles, integrating technology, and plotting a strategic course towards an effective, modern HR organizational structure.
Assessing Your Current HR Structure
The assessment of your current HR structure must be methodical and objective. Begin by considering whether your HR organization is reactive or proactive. Are you managing day-to-day operations or also influencing the strategic direction of the company?
A. Conduct an Audit: Evaluate the alignment of HR activities with business objectives. Identify redundancies and areas lacking efficiency. Sometimes it helps to bring in an external partner to conduct this work, maintaining an objective view will yield the best results.
B. Perform a Skill and Role Analysis: Scrutinize the skills within your HR team and how they are deployed. Ensure that roles are defined to contribute to strategic initiatives. Personally, I am a fan of outcomes-based job descriptions versus traditional JDs as they allow for agility in roles and enhances employee motivation.
C. Measure Impact and Delivery: Implement metrics to quantify HR's contribution to the business. Use employee and leadership feedback to gauge HR's perceived value. This might be the most important element in the assessment, be sure to gather honest input and ask good questions throughout this process.
Leveraging Technology for Enhanced HR Functionality
Modern HR is not possible without the strategic use of technology. It's critical to identify tools that can streamline operations and offer strategic insights.
Invest in HR Systems (and implement a dashboard): Adopt a robust Human Resource Information System (HRIS) that integrates with other business functions. Use data analytics for predictive insights into workforce trends and behaviors. Tip: There are some fantastic analytics tools out there, you may want to check out Domo due to its business platform integration capabilities.
Embrace Automation and AI: Automate routine processes to focus on strategic tasks. Utilize chatbots to answer employee benefits questions, check out Automation Anywhere for this functionality and consider leveraging ChatGPT to reduce time spent on administrative tasks. Tip: Feeling wary about leaning into AI? Pick an opportunity area, i.e. onboarding, and go for it!
Enhance Communication and Collaboration: Implement collaborative platforms to support a consistent, effective ways of working. Tip: If your organization is not already leveraging tools such as Slack, Teams, Confluence and Asana, I highly recommend exploring your options.
Building a Modern HR Organizational Structure
With a comprehensive understanding of your current state and the technological tools at your disposal, it's time to construct your future HR organizational structure.
A. Emphasize Agility and Scalability: Design flexible HR models to quickly respond to business shifts. Consider scalable solutions to manage fluctuating talent needs.
For example, one identified problem may be that your existing talent acquisition structure is rigid and siloed, with recruiters specializing in fixed roles, resulting in a bottleneck when a surge in a particular talent area arises. Possible solutions may include implementing agile pods, dynamic sourcing, scalable partnerships, creating a talent pool strategy, and leveraging AI driven technology.
B. Redefine HR Roles: Position HR as a strategic partner with a seat at the executive table. Develop HR Business Partners to align HR initiatives with business unit strategies.
For example, your organization may be facing high employee turnover rates, and inconsistent performance across business units. Consider closely aligning HR business partners with specific business units to integrate HR solutions more effectively and to increase their business acumen. This will result in a more tailored approach and the HR team will be better positioned to provide valuable insights into the human capital aspects of business decisions.
C. Create Centers of Excellence (CoEs): Establish CoEs for deep expertise in critical HR functions. HR professionals tend to wear multiple "hats", particularly in organizations that have been experiencing organic growth. This approach can be beneficial but you need to determine whether your team has met (or exceeded!) the effectiveness "threshold".
CoEs are designed to concentrate on strategic areas of HR, providing expert guidance and best practices to the entire organization. This can include Talent Acquisition, Learning and Development, Employee Engagement, Compensation, and HR Technology.
Remember, it's impossible to be an expert in everything and, in fact, this can negatively impact the level of value your HR team brings to an organization. You can also establish strategic partnerships with external specialists if your organization is not "ready" for the CoE model.
Planning Your Transition
The evolution to a contemporary HR structure must be thoughtfully planned and executed with meticulous attention to detail.
Develop a Transition Roadmap: Outline phased and prioritized action steps, establish clear milestones and success metrics. Have a team member drive the project management elements to hold everyone accountable and to ensure key milestones are achieved on time.
Manage Change Effectively: Communicate the vision and benefits of the new HR structure to all stakeholders. Provide training and support to navigate new systems and processes, it is critical to have a change plan in place to ensure a successful transition.
Review and Adjust: Regularly revisit the plan to ensure it remains aligned with the business strategy and external changes. Business is ever-evolving and you may identify an opportunity to tweak your approach, don't be afraid to make changes and adjust as needed!
By thoroughly evaluating current practices, leveraging technology, and reconstructing organizational models, HR can not only adapt to the needs of today's business but also anticipate the demands of tomorrow. The time to act is now — to pave the way for a resilient, responsive, and revitalized HR function.
Contact us today to learn more about our Human Capital Solutions and our Coaching Approach.