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
SUPERGROUP
Upscaling 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:
1Mallon,David,Shellenback,Karen,Bersin,Josh,Kowske,Brenda.“High-ImpactHR:Building
OrganizationalPerformancefromtheGroupUp.”BersinbyDeloitteIndustryStudy.July2014

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 not
aiming for
quantifiable
business impact,
you’re missing
the boat.
High-performing HR drives close to 40
percent of overall business performance.1
1Mallon,David,Shellenback,Karen,Bersin,Josh,Kowske,
Brenda.“High-ImpactHR:BuildingOrganizational
PerformancefromtheGroupUp.”BersinbyDeloitte
IndustryStudy.July2014

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 team
Of 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-ImpactHR: Building
Organizational Performancefrom 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
”
“

Step 5: Measure your impact
We’ve all heard it before… what you measure gets done, but that’s only
half the story. To have real impact, HR must move beyond reporting
activity and gather insights to enhance the employee experience and
drive better decisions. Here’s how to start:
 Discover what systems, processes, and data already exist.
 Gather existing reports/metrics and determine what needs to be
continued or terminated.
 Ask relevant questions like “what are the leading indicators of
engagement for our people?” and “what insights do leaders need to
make better decisions?”
 Partner internally with someone who is business savvy and
comfortable interpreting and analyzing data. Hint: look in areas
like IT and Finance for someone to help tell a story with data.
 Start small with a breakout project that addresses a challenge that
could be solved or better understood by analytics. Keep it simple,
develop credibility, and build on your success.
Turning Dataphobes into Dataphiles. Impact 2015. The Business of Talent. Bersin by DelloittePoll 2015.
Analytics is the
foundation of high
impact HR, yet only
5% of organizations
say HRBPs have
strong analytic
capabilities.
”
“
Tip: Stop sending your reports for a while. See if anyone
notices.

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.
A. High-performing HR organizations lead to top business results.
B. Unfortunately, many organization think of HR as people admins, and not more.
C. 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
Aligning your HR team to meet admin and strategic needs optimally
Measuring your impact – starting small and building your analytical capability
EXTRA CREDIT: Increasing the strategic level of your CHRO

like what you’ve read?
share it!
See that little
arrow icon in the
corner?

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.
info@peoplefirm.com (206) 462-6462

The ROI of HR: Building the HR Supergroup

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (19)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (13)

Similar to The ROI of HR: Building the HR Supergroup

Similar to The ROI of HR: Building the HR Supergroup (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

The ROI of HR: Building the HR Supergroup