Putting the people part in play
A thorough transformation shifts one company’s HR function from redundancy to strategic partnership—with
room to grow.
ORGANIZATIONALLY FRAGMENTED.
OPERATIONALLY SILOED.
READY TO STEP UP.
The Situation
Often enough, people buy a home knowing the place could use an update to bring it up to modern standards. The update could be limited (a new coat of paint) or transformational (replacing the foundation). Either way, there’s value to be unlocked by investing in an upgrade.
Which is something like what the leaders at a private equity firm were thinking as they considered the state of a recent purchase—a global life sciences company. The company’s fundamentals were solid, but there was work to do to bring it up to modern standards, particularly in one crucial area: human resources (HR).
The company wasn’t unique in this regard. As technology reshapes how business is done, plenty of industries grapple with the need to integrate, harmonize, and optimize their HR investments while streamlining service delivery. In this case, the HR function was organizationally fragmented—each business line had its own independent HR department—and technologically siloed—these departments were running two different, and redundant, human resources information systems (HRIS).
Consolidating these systems—the people, the processes, the technology—would bring the company’s HR up to date by increasing efficiency and reducing costs. The goal: an HR transformation that would align the HR function with the company’s growth and operational goals. Its target metrics: delivering an outstanding HR experience to employees and leaders, while logging $5 million in annual savings.
The transformation hadn’t been underway for long before the company brought on a new chief human resources officer (CHRO). At a board meeting soon after, the CHRO was asked for their assessment of the nascent project. The answer was succinct: “We don’t have the expertise we need. I’ve identified gaping holes, and I’d like your support to bring on a tier one firm that’s known as number one in the market for this kind of work. I’d like to bring Deloitte on to help support me with this transformation.”
“Absolutely,” was the response. “We’ll leave it to you.” The CHRO called on Deloitte’s Human Capital Consulting team for assistance.
THE SOLVE
SIMPLIFIED. STANDARDIZED.
STREAMLINED. AND ABOUT
TO GET REAL EFFECTIVE,
REAL FAST.
The Impact
The transformation continues, with more work to be done on job architecture, and other things to elevate the talent experience and further modernize the company’s HR functions for long-term success and strategic alignment.
Already, though, the streamlined job architecture has facilitated easier workflows and better infrastructure for future operations.
Gone are the silos and redundancies; the new HR operating model has integrated business units under a single, cohesive HR function, bringing consistency across the organization, improving employee and applicant experiences, and enhancing efficiency overall.
The transformation to date has also positioned the HR function in a less transactional, more strategic role, able to advise on and support continued growth in the business, and invest in new HR capabilities without increasing headcount.
But for some sense of closure, for now, target metric: achieved. The CHRO reported a $5 million cost savings to the board, along with an improved HR full-time equivalent (FTE) ratio—meaning the company’s HR function, supported by a new shared services center, consolidated HRIS, and ongoing job architecture work, was delivering services more efficiently with fewer HR business partners.
“You’ve come late to the party,” the CEO told the CHRO, “but you’ve already delivered.”
“HR,” he continued, “is the only one [of the transformations underway at the company] that not only met but exceeded targets, cut costs, improved productivity, and saw a step change in terms of the skills and capability it’s now able to deliver to the business.”
“We’ve taken HR to a whole new level,” the CHRO reflects today. “People now see us as a much more strategic function. And I thank Deloitte for helping us get there.”