A Cut Above
WORLD-CLASS HR ORGANIZATIONS OUTPERFORM
AT LOWER COSTS – HOW ARE THEY DOING IT?
What kind of department requires
32 per cent fewer full-time employees,
delivers services at a 23
per cent lower cost and outperforms
their peer group by up to $10 million in
cost savings for a typical large company?
The world-class HR organization.
That’s according to research from The Hackett
Group Inc., a strategic business advisory and operations
improvement consulting firm.
“World-class HR organizations show an
unrelenting commitment to operational excellence,”
said Harry Osle, The Hackett Group’s
global HR transformation and advisory practice
leader.
Osle says a well-designed service delivery
model (SDM) focusing on operational excellence
is one key to how world-class HR
organizations are more agile and operate with
a better understanding of business needs. They
also turn to HR metrics and analytics to provide
better data on the company’s human
capital and more effectively quantify the value
HR brings to the enterprise.
He points out that, by contrast, half of all
typical HR organizations do not even measure
the result of change initiatives or produce any
type of functional scorecard.
“They understand the importance of process
optimization and the strategic use of
shared services,” he said. “They focus intensely
on talent management and have a clearer
understanding of what skills need to be developed
or acquired for their business to succeed.
And they use analytics to derive superior business
insights from HR data and information,
which helps earn them a ‘seat at the table’ with
senior leadership.”
One HR organization that turned the
heads of The Hackett Group researchers is
Canadian juggernaut Rogers Communications.
Anne Berend, senior vice-president, Human
Resources, Consumer, Customer Experience,
Brand and Corporate, says that one of the keys
to its success lies in the way it’s organized.
“Every senior team has an HR executive
embedded in it,” she said. “There’s a strong business
acumen, which we’ve worked hard to build
in the HR business partner community. And
our HR strategy is simple and focused on driving
improved business performance. I’ve been
at Rogers for three years and it’s got to be the
most exciting place to work in HR.”
According to the research, what really sets
apart the world-class organizations from their
peers is a focus on three core areas.
By Heather Hudson
feature
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ MARCH/APRIL 2015 ❚ 23