Service Led Design


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Service Led Design
Planning the New HR Function

Jane Saunders and
Ian Hunter


© Jane Saunders and Ian Hunter 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior
permission of the publisher.
Jane Saunders and Ian Hunter have asserted their moral rights under the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the authors of
this work.
Published by
Gower Publishing LimitedGower Publishing Company
Wey Court East
Suite 420
Union Road
101 Cherry Street
Farnham
Burlington, VT 05401-4405
Surrey GU9 7PT

USA
England
www.gowerpublishing.com
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Saunders, Jane.
Service led design : planning the new HR function. -- (The Gower HR
transformation series)
1. Personnel management--Practice.
I. Title II. Series III. Hunter, Ian, 1963658.3-dc22
ISBN: 978-0-566-08826-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-7546-8161-8 (ebk.II)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Saunders, Jane.
Service led design : planning the new HR function / by Jane Saunders and
Ian Hunter.
p. cm. -- (The Gower HR transformation series)
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-566-08826-1 (pbk) -- ISBN 978-0-7546-8161-8 (ebook)
1. Personnel management. 2. Strategic planning. I. Hunter, Ian, 1963- II.
Title.
HF5549.S1786 2009
658.3'01--dc22

200901150


Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables


vii
ix

1

Commercializing HR

1

2

Establishing your HR Service Vision

5

3

Specifying the Service: What Will HR Deliver?

15

4

The Building Blocks: The Service Delivery Model

23

5

Adapting the Model


47

6

New HR – New Line Management?

55

7

Sizing the Operation and Building the Business
Case

61

Managing the Service

69

8




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List of Figures


1.1

The balance and shape of focus in the new
HR model
2.1
Typical management feedback
2.2
What needs to change?
2.3
What will the service design principles
deliver?
2.4
Transport for London – HR service design
principles
2.5
High-level responsibilities and the focus of
the new HR function
3.1
Service Specification – an example
4.1
Accessing HR – managing your channels
4.2
Tiering of service within the SSC
4.3
Service tiering summary – scope and
delivery mechanisms
4.4
Typical HRSSC technology architecture
5.1
Service centre distribution – implications

for service delivery
5.2
Levels of integration
6.1
Typical line management accountability
6.2Example – change impact summary
6.3Example – summary impact assessment
6.4Example – what the service means
7.1Components of the business case
8.1Illustrative HR governance framework

vii

2
9
9
10
12
13
19
25
30
41
44
48
52
56
57
58
59

63
71


Service Led Design

8.2Example – Service Management Framework
8.3
Outline example of a balanced scorecard
for HR solutions

viii

76
78


List of Tables
3.1

What HR should consider in a business led
service design
4.1
Typical Tier self-service transactions
4.2
Typical Tier 1 transactions
4.3
Typical Tier 3 transactions
7.1Example ratios for ‘sizing’ a shared services
operation based on Orion Partners client

engagements 2002–2008

ix

16–17
32–33
34–35
39

65


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1

Commercializing
HR

For many years now, both private and public sector
organizations have been dealing with the challenges of how
best to improve corporate performance. HR has not escaped
this scrutiny; the need to establish the function as a business
partner has bought the performance of HR into the spotlight
and positioned it as a target for transformation in efficiency
and effectiveness.
Technology has been the key enabler in re-shaping HR. The
level of automation introduced has driven down the previously
labour intensive transactional and administrative elements

that can account for up to 70 per cent of the time, effort
and cost of the traditional HR function. This automation has
allowed businesses to focus on the real value-add elements,
improving the performance of both the HR function and the
business itself.
Those very same businesses that have been spending recent
years cost cutting, restructuring and streamlining, are putting
the pressure on the HR ‘overhead’ to prove that it is not just a
cost centre, but a function that provides added value through
alignment to business needs and aspirations.




1 Service Led Design

The traditional, transaction-based HR service must, however,
still be delivered. Understanding how to combine a renewed
strategic focus with effective delivery of transactional and
administrative services is the key to HR’s next generation.
Before
% Time, Effort,
Cost
5%

After
Transformation

Strategy


20%
Strategy
40%

25%

30%

40%

Figure 1.1

Improving
Performance

Improving
Performance

Transactions

Transactions

Admin
Administration

20%

20%

The balance and shape of focus in the new

HR model

The idea of transforming HR is not new and, over the last
ten years, many private and public sector organizations
have attempted to reshape their function in this way. There
have been success stories. There have also been a number of
instances where the transformation has failed to deliver. A
number of organizations are still struggling to make the initial
vision of a strategic HR function a reality. Why do programmes
that are similarly resourced, funded and managed end up with
radically different results? What makes the difference between
success and failure?




Commercializing HR

1

Although the rationale for change may be clear – lower cost
and improved service and performance – it is in the initial
focus of many HR transformation programmes that long-term
problems can begin. Too often, organizations focus attention
and effort on those areas that have been seen to deliver change
in re-engineering other corporate support functions such as
finance and procurement for example:


Detailed process design;




Systems functionality;



Headcount reduction.

While these areas are important, transformation initiatives
that have them as their sole focus can fail to consider how
the whole HR delivery model will work and, more crucially, fit
into the business.
In our work with HR functions, we have established a clear
set of criteria and approach that we believe differentiates
between a successful implementation and what can be a costly
backward step that only serves to alienate the business:


Define the service the business needs;



Ensure your design is integrated;



Make intelligent use of technology;




Manage the change at all levels within the business;



Establish the disciplines to run HR as a business.



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2

Establishing
your HR Service
Vision

What does the business need?
To realize the cost and service benefits, both HR and the
business it serves must understand exactly what each of them
expects from the function and be clear how the new model will
change and improve current operations. This means starting
at the top and agreeing with key business stakeholders the
features of the HR service that will really make a difference to
how their business is supported. These features then form a
core set of design principles around which the whole solution
can be designed and developed.
The first step in achieving an effective design for your HR
service is to build a strong understanding of how customers

from all around the organization view the current service;
establish what it is they value, the gaps they perceive in that
service and what they would like to see as outcomes from a
new way of working. However, it is at this stage that many
organizations fall into the basic trap of allowing the detail of
HR process and technology to dictate the outcomes. While
technology is a key enabler, it must not be construed as the



2 Service Led Design

panacea that will in itself deliver a perfect service. In isolation
technology alone will not deliver the improved efficiency
and effectiveness that will allow HR to deliver on its strategic
agenda. It is simply a tool.
The HR function touches the organization in many different
ways. The processes for which it is responsible run at the
heart of the relationship between the organization, its current
managers and employees, as well as potential or previous
employees. It is understanding how these interactions can
be most effective, rather than just the process that underpins
them, that is most important. Identifying where the gaps are
and how best to fill them will provide the basis for a successful
implementation and increase the take-up of new ways of
working in the business. It is crucial that the organization
is given the opportunity to articulate a high level vision of
exactly what is needed and valued in order to build a picture
of the business outcomes required from a new HR service.
There are three key benefits from engaging the business in

this way:
1. This initial phase of the design process is at the heart of
identifying where the focus of HR should lie. It will help
to shape the design in terms of who does what, and where
both activity and accountability should lie.
2. By ensuring everyone is involved and is able to see evidence
that business input is incorporated into the design of the
end solution, buy-in from the organization and the longterm success of the programme is more likely. If this buyin is not gained and the organization feels that large-scale
change is being done to them rather than in partnership with
them, there is a very real risk of corporate disobedience




Establishing your HR Service Vision

2

which will undermine the success of the entire programme
before it has even been implemented.
3. The process ensures that the business articulates what
it needs; it shapes the transformation’s starting point. It
naturally builds in an improvement feedback loop with
the business into the HR programme. This will make
working from initial to final design, through transition
and implementation far less problematic than might
otherwise be the case. In cases where the organization is
involved every step of the way, the final outcome should
be exactly what is needed and more readily adopted.
How the business is engaged in this phase of the design

process to best effect depends on the type of organization
and its individual culture. Ideally, the engagement should
have a structured approach and typically involve a series of
senior management interviews, with subsequent workshops
and focus groups for detailed design and ongoing validation.
These interactions are aimed at finding the answer to a small
number of simple but important questions:


What are the challenges facing the organization?



What is HR’s role in meeting these?



Where should HR focus – in the short, medium and long
term?



What should HR ‘stop, start and continue’ to deliver?

At times, it can be difficult to resist the temptation of diving
straight into people’s views on the merits and faults of existing
HR processes. However, in starting the debate with a focus on




2 Service Led Design

the business outcomes HR needs to deliver, it is possible to get
to what is most important for the organization and where the
priorities should lie.
In our experience, getting the balance between genuine
engagement with the business and the risk of design by
committee is important. Identifying the appropriate number
and level of people with whom to engage will be determined
by the type of organization. The key is that the dialogue is
meaningful and seen to be with individuals or groups who are
representative of the needs of the organization.
Irrespective of the type of organization, large or small, public
or private, there are often many similarities in what different
businesses require from their HR functions. At this stage of a
programme, it can feel as if this process is an exercise is defining
statements of the obvious and that the HR function could
simply list the priorities they perceive as important and get
ninety-five percent of the way there by themselves. Invariably,
the business will want to see improved accessibility, accuracy
and a service that supports managers. At the same time they
are likely to want a service that drives performance through the
line and holds them accountable for managing their people.
However, the key is that these requirements are articulated in
the language of the organization so that it resonates well and
has impact. It is as much a step in the change management
journey as it is an exercise in requirements definition – but
miss it at your peril!
Figure 2.1 illustrates the contributions from HR that an
organization typically values.





Establishing your HR Service Vision

‘ It works well when
HR is involved in
challenging and
shaping our future
plans.’

‘ Access to trusted
advisor- HR as
an integral part
of the
management
team’

Figure 2.1

‘ Access to
someone who
understand the
specific local
challenges of my
operation is key’

‘ HR has a key
role in providing

objective, best
practice
guidance’

‘ Data is
valuable – but
…generating it is
a challenge’

‘ Access to
support when I
need it – and
knowing that it
will be
consistent.’

2

‘HR as educator
and coach –
helping line
managers to
manage’

‘ The accuracy of
the basics is
pivotal – we need to
keep fine tuning.’

Typical management feedback


And this is how HR service delivery may need to change as a
result. (Figure 2.2)

‘Our policies
generate a risk
averse approach –
a cop out, which
allows managers to
shy away from
tough decisions’

‘We should focus
on productivity –
with smarter
systems that
release capacity to
focus on the
customer’

Figure 2.2

‘We need more
flexibility – one
size doesn’t fit all
and we need to be
better at
developing
solutions that meet
business need’


‘Our approach to
process
management is too
inward facing – we
focus on the
process itself
rather than the
outcome’

‘We’ve got real HR
expertise – we
just need to free
people up to use it’

‘We’ve got to strip
out the
unnecessary by
re-engineering the
processes –we can’t
just layer on
activity as middle
managers won’t
cope.’

‘We need more
insight into what
our competitors
do with their
people’


What needs to change?



‘We need to stop
using HR as a
crutch – and
allowing lines of
accountability to
get blurred’

‘We
overcomplicate
and over manage
– work has a
tendency to expand
to fill the available
space’


2 Service Led Design

Starting with the business’ service requirements, rather than
the underlying process, ensures that the model delivers a
solution that will be used, rather than one that just services the
needs of HR. Well articulated in clear language that everyone
understands, these principles will form the touchstone to
which the HR function can return to keep them honest. When
the complexities of running the change programme begin to

blur the original business objectives, checking back against
these original design principles is a very useful discipline. If
these principles are clear from the outset, organizations will
avoid one of the most common causes of failure; disconnection
between the business and HR.
Figure 2.3 shows how the original senior stakeholder input
to the design principles translates to key messages and the
desired business outcomes that support them.
Design Principle

High level message

Business Outcomes

• Streamline processes
• Make smarter use of systems
• Get the infrastructure right

• Line capacity freed to manage the
business
• More cost effective HR service
• Improved employee experience

• Understand the business
• Know the competition
• Tailor the service to meet needs

• Move from ‘one size fits all’ to
service that meets differing needs
• Proactive planning to meet future

growth

Focus
Focuson
onthe
theoutcome
outcome

• Define business requirements
• Know what will work

• Fast track delivery of HR solutions
• Flexibility built in to meet changing
requirements

Strike the right balance
Strike the right balance

• No ‘goldplating’
• Manage risk – belts or braces

• Fit for purpose solutions
• One best way

• Set clear expectations
• Provide consistent support
• Operate at the right level

• HR as enabler not enforcer
• Clear end to end ownership


Simplify
Simplify&&
release
releasecapacity
capacity

Get closer to the business
Get closer to the business

Reinforce accountability
Reinforce accountability

Challenge with
with c
onfidence
Challenge
Challenge w
Challenge
with
ithconfidence
confidence
c
onfidenc

Figure 2.3

• Use expertise to drive insight
• Quantify the value add


•M
• ake best use of professional
expertise
• Leverage specialist skills to deliver
business value

What will the service design principles
deliver?
10


Establishing your HR Service Vision

2

CASE STUDY

Seeing design principles used in action
– Transport for London
In 2003, the HR leadership of Transport for London (TfL) embarked on
a far reaching programme to transform their HR function. The HR needs
of the business had previously been met by multiple HR departments,
each supporting the individual companies and business units which
had originally made up the complex structure of the transportation
provider. Although TfL had been officially created in 2000, the notion
of an integrated organization was still somewhat theoretical and it was
not until 2003 that the real work of post-merger integration began in
earnest.
Senior executive engagement and buy-in was the first of a number of key
principles that TfL got right from the outset and which were key to the

success of the transformation programme.. The driving forces behind the
programme were already clear:
•
•
•

Service improvement;
Integrated delivery;
Post merger synergy and efficiency.

The high level blueprint of a shared services delivery model had already
been agreed in principle, with a vision for a leading-edge shared service
centre to manage HR operations and the introduction of HR Business
Partner teams within each of the organization’s major business units.
However taking this from a theoretical model for service delivery to a
new way of doing business required a catalyst to bring the process to
life. This was achieved through a relatively simple and straightforward
engagement exercise. It involved the Programme Director discussing
the service requirements of each of the businesses with their respective

11


2 Service Led Design

directors to gain a clear view on both the business and HR priorities that
would shape the design of the new HR service. The outputs of these
discussions were distilled down and the following statements agreed as
the principles that would underpin the transformation programme.
Aim


Design Principle

1

Improve business performance through managers &
employees

Service driven design

2

Provide affordable and sustainable HR services that
respond safely to business need

Cost effective – yet
safe & feels good to use

3

Deliver clarity on service and insight on people dynamics
to enable business to decide & report

4

Be a great place to work

Figure 2.4

Business focus and

business control
Great to work in

Transport for London – HR service design
principles

Their practical application was critical and is best illustrated by taking
a concrete example. The first principle was based on the need to mark
a real shift in both the cultural attitude towards and the ownership of
performance management. Historically TfL did not have a strong culture
of performance management. As in many public sector organizations,
there was a sense that ‘time served’ was what counted rather than outputs
delivered. The management of employee performance was also seen as
something that HR was responsible for ‘sorting out’ and management
were easily able to abdicate responsibility for taking the right actions.
Making a clear statement that business performance was to be improved
through managers and employees was critical to defining the role that
HR would take. It was about empowering these groups to undertake
their responsibilities through the provision of a consistent and responsive
service, rather than executing these activities on their behalf.

12


Establishing your HR Service Vision

2

The HR Operating Model
With a clear vision of what HR needs to deliver in place, you

can begin to assess what kind of operating model will need
to be put in place. At the most simple level, you should be
looking at delivering transactional and administrative services
in the most efficient and least labour intensive way. You should
also examine the most effective way of providing strategic
level advice and support for business improvements. A typical
model, shown in Figure 2.5, will see these activities and
accountabilities split between a Shared Service Organization
(SSO), specialist Centres of Expertise (CoE) and HR Business
Partners (HRBP) with the HR Leadership setting the overall
agenda.

Business
Support

Focus:
Connecting
support function
to the Business

Policy and
Planning

Transactional
Excellence

Focus:
Expert design
services, business
and local fit while

taking advantage of
global best practices

Focus:
Cost-effective service delivery of
transactional work

Figure 2.5

High-level responsibilities and the focus of
the new HR function. Orion Partners 2006

13


2 Service Led Design

This outline model has proved successful in many organizations
but the relative size, shape and focus of the component parts
can differ significantly. HR’s challenge is working out how
the model in Figure 2.5 should be developed to fit within
an individual corporate context. Getting this fit right is
fundamental to the transformation’s success and in detail it is
never the same for any two businesses, even if they are in the
same sector or have similar workforce profiles.
With a clear set of design principles, it is HR’s job to build the
model around what the business values and needs. We will
examine the individual building blocks of the model in more
detail in Chapter 4, but the next step in the process is about
taking the high level vision of the required service vision and

initial views on the target operating model and bringing this
to life.

14