The ROI of HR: Building the HR Supergroup

well, it may take a little coaching on transformational change leadership.

THE ROI OF HR: BUILDING THE HR SUPERGROUPUpscaling the organization for the

VUCA* world.

*VUCA: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous

© 2017 PeopleFirm LLC All Rights Reserved

So, you want to be an HR supergroup?

(thanks to the smart people at Bersin for the graph)

Good thinking.Strong HR performance delivers strong

organizational performance. Check it out:

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Because when

aligned well with

the business, HR

can put the people

processes in place

that best support

where the

organization

needs to go. Teams and individuals aligned to a

compelling people strategy

A culture where your people thrive

Agile structures with clear roles across the organization

An engaged workforce driven by positive employee experiences

An environment where it’s easy to get work done

Why, you ask?


Seriously, if you’re in HR and you’re notaiming for quantifiable business impact, you’re missing the boat.

High-performing HR drives close to 40 percent of overall business performance.1

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Sadly, in many organizations HR is seen as an administrative function, more focused on policy than impact.


Let’s start talking about how we can increase the ROI of HR.

As Dave Ulrich says,

“HR is not about HR… it’s about the business”


Building the HR Supergroup.Step 1: Start with the business.Take the HR strategy test: if you covered up the logo on your HR plan,

would it be obvious that it’s your plan? Remember, a killer HR strategy

should be clearly connected to your business strategy and the

unique employee experience you want to offer. It’s easy to get

distracted by the latest trends and/or the little fires that pop up each

day. But the only way to make an impact is by tackling the specific

talent and organizational opportunities facing your company.

Take the time to ensure your HR team works with your business leaders

to understand the business strategy. Together they should create a

shared view of the talent and organizational imperatives that are

critical to bringing that strategy to life.

Exercise: Inventory all the work your HR team is doing

today, and as a group assess its connection to the

strategy with green, yellow, and red sticky dots.


Step 2: Get clear on the difference between activity and impact.Do you end each day thinking, “where did the time go?” Or, “how can I get all the work finished

tomorrow, next week, and next month?” Now ask yourself: how much of your HR team’s hours are

filled with activities that have questionable impact? Is it work HR should be doing? Are you busy

supporting old processes that haven’t been challenged? Is it the right work for your organization?

Ya’ll know what we mean: frequent disruptions for employee questions, 12 page performance

management reviews, recruiting processes so long you lose good talent, and processes focused on

controls rather than giving your employees and managers the tools they need thrive on their own. Etc.

Rid yourself of unnecessary busywork (what Peter

Cappelli calls “administrivia”), and you’ll have

more time to find the places for real

strategic impact.


Step 3: Pick your focus.Once you’ve identified how to free up HR, you’re ready to

zero in on where to invest your new-found time and

resources. Using industry data, best practices, and your

own knowledge of your organization, identify those

areas where you have the biggest gaps between your

current state and where you need to go. Build your

case for investment, understanding what initiatives will

deliver the greatest impact when aligned to the

organizational and talent imperatives.

This might mean turning your focus to identifying new capabilities for growth,

addressing cultural attributes that are getting in your way, readying emerging

talent to be future leaders, restructuring teams for better agility, or building

great tools for your people to build their careers.

Tip: the right investments will create the employee

experience you desire and differentiate your team

when competing for talent.


Step 4: Align your teamOf course, none of this will be possible unless you get your HR model right.

And this means making sure you are covering the lights-on stuff (those

administrative tasks), while leaving space and time for strategic impact.

Our advice?

4 Mallon, David, Shellenback, Karen, Bersin, Josh, Kowske, Brenda. “High-Impact HR: Building Organizational Performance from the Group Up.” Bersin by Deloitte Industry Study. July 2014, pg. 28

Define the level of service you will offer. What is handled

by HR, and what is handled by managers? Where that line

is drawn will be different for every org, but you darn well

need to make it clear!

Align your HR resources to the business, while

building agility into the structure

Create a clear separation between administrative

and strategic functions (tip: reimagine how you’ll

handle Employee Relations!)

Fully represent your employee segments (e.g: if

you have a lot of manufacturing employees,

make sure you have someone focused on them)

Leverage technology to create self-service tools and

content for employees and managers

9 out of 10 companies that report the most

positive business outcomes (high organization

performance) also rate above average

or high in HR performance.4

”

“


Bonus round: lead your business with the powerful triad of CHRO, CFO and CEO.We’ve said this time and again: your people are the last competitive frontier. The talent race becomes

more competitive each year. Job-hopping seems like a national sport. Baby boomers are set to exit in

droves, taking their tribal knowledge with them. Millennials might just need a little help in the leadership

department. Culture matters. Employee brand matters. Getting and keeping the best matters.

Frankly, a high-performing organization rests on the back of a happy and engaged workforce. Why

would you leave something so very important to the very success of your company out of your top-

level strategic discussions?

We have no idea.

We’re just leaving this here for you to think about. PeopleFirm out.


Got it? Let’s review.

Your people will thank you.

1) High-performing HR organizations lead to top business results.

2) Unfortunately, many organization think of HR as people admins, and not more.

3) You can increase the ROI of HR by:

Aligning HR work to the business objectives

Reducing busy activity in favor of impact

Focusing on the areas that need the most work/will gain the most by investment

Putting together a function HR for both admin and strategic roles

EXTRA CREDIT: Increasing the strategic level of your CHRO


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your people = your success.

© 2017 PeopleFirm LLC All Rights Reserved | www.peoplefirm.com

need help putting these ideas into action?

let’s talk

PeopleFirm is a consulting firm dedicated to achieving that ultimate win-win:

inspired people driving inspiring performance. We focus on effective tools,

measurable, outcomes, real results, and getting your people out of their seats

and engaged in your company’s growth.

[email protected] (206) 462-6462

The ROI of HR: Building the HR Supergroup

Recruiting & HR

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