The Factors Involved in the Choice of Service Delivery Approaches

Delivery Channels — Who Does What?

As we have already noted, it is evident that HR management in organisations is not just the domain of the HR function; there are many players in the delivery of HR in organisations:

• employees (through self-service),
• line managers (through self-service and their people management responsibilities),
• outsourcers (back office, recruitment, training, etc.),
• external consultants,
• different internal players in the HR function (shared service centre, specialists and generalists).

Collectively, we refer to these participants as 'HR delivery channels'. When designing the service delivery model, it is important to take decisions concerning where responsibilities for service delivery will change.

We can be certain that genuine, sustainable HR transformation will shift accountabilities for HR management. What each organisation will need to work out is how far these accountabilities shift and to whom. This is the purpose of this phase of work in the transformation process.

We do not start this thinking about future accountabilities with a blank sheet of paper. Some of the transfer in accountability will be directly related to Web-based HR and will be known. So, from a technology perspective, there will be core HR processes/activities that must be configured in the HR Information System (HRIS) backbone. These (such as responsibility for personal data) will be Web-enabled and move to employee self-service. There will, in all probability, be e-tools on top of the HRIS backbone that will embed other HR processes. There will be the opportunity for greater self-service concerning policy/procedural advice, and so on. 

In addition to these shifts in service provision that are linked explicitly to Web-based HR, we also need to take into account other organisational drivers that will shape the way HR has delivered. A useful starting point is to explore how to work through the 'who does what' question and, in particular, to ensure that the HR function ends up being focused on those areas that will contribute most value in the organisation.

Understanding that HR is delivered through a number of channels is the first step. The second step is to scope, at a relatively high level, the services embraced by HR management — not just what the HR function does — for your organisation.

Scope of HR Services

The scope of HR services document is the second key input into this process. This is derived from the organisational levers model. As a starting point, the HR services can be illustrated under five headings:

• people development and performance management,
• employee relations and communication,
• resource management,
• retention and reward,
• HR information.

In developing your scope of HR services document, the important things to consider are the following:

• Focus on the full scope of HR management, not just what the HR function does, and remember that HR management includes training and development.
• Do not aim for an exhaustive list of every activity undertaken in the realm of HR — keep labels at a high level.
• Aim for no more than 10 labels, and ideally around 5–10, for each heading.

As a precursor to organisational design, we have found it helpful to combine the work on HR delivery channels and scope of HR services to ascertain where responsibilities change for HR service delivery. Our suggested forum to complete this work is through an accountabilities workshop