Clarify HR's Contribution

It is important that there is a dialogue with business colleagues about the contribution needed from HR and that contribution should be anchored in the critical issues faced by the organisation.

We use a number of techniques to gain clarity on HR's contribution and here we explain two techniques that have proved to be particularly helpful:

1. 'Strawman' discussion document,
2. 'Accountability Workshop'.

Strawman Discussion Document

For those of you unfamiliar with the term 'strawman' — this is a proposal put up for discussion that is robust enough to stand up to critique (i.e., it has substance), but not so robust that the proposals cannot be taken apart and re-worked. It is therefore different from a draft document where the expectation is that the proposals are well formed.

This document typically sets out the responsibilities and accountabilities for employees, managers, HR generalists, HR specialists, HR shared services (transactional and advisory), outsourcers, etc. as a basis for discussion. An example of how this approach has been used is presented in the case study below.

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Case Study — Global Telecoms Business

A four-page discussion document was written setting out the capability shift required in HR professionals and options to address this capability gap. This 'strawman' paper was then discussed one to one with the global HR leadership team and other key stakeholders elsewhere in the business. Feedback enabled a firm proposal to be developed which was then signed off through the HR transformation governance structure without any substantive change. This approach was quick and effective in building a coalition of support for the final proposal and in clarifying the contribution needed from HR professionals.

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Accountability Workshop

As a precursor to organisational design, we have found it helpful to combine the work on HR delivery channels and the scope of HR services that are delivered through these channels to ascertain where accountability for HR service delivery will lie. Our suggested forum to complete this work is through an Accountability Workshop.

This type of workshop brings together HR and stakeholders from other parts of the business to work through changes in people management accountabilities. Typically statements of the scope of people-related activities are used to stimulate discussion (irrespective of whether these activities are performed by line managers, different members of the HR team or outsourced service delivery channels).

The Accountability Workshop then focuses on identifying, for each activity area, accountabilities for managers, HR and outsourcers, and whether the impact of HR transformation makes these accountabilities stronger, neutral or weaker.

In preparing for the workshop, focus on completing two strawman templates, one template showing the 'as is' and another presenting the known accountabilities in the 'to be' delivery model. Through desk research and interviews, it should be possible to develop a very robust picture of the 'as is' and a good starting point for the 'to be'. What this preparation work is likely to highlight are inconsistencies in accountabilities across the organisation. These templates can be tested in advance with participants and any outstanding issues can be presented for discussion/resolution at the workshop.

The reason for completing both the 'as is and a 'to be' template is to be able to manage implementation more effectively. Knowing how HR transformation will impact different organisational roles will enable communication to be tailored and subsequent interventions to be structured to secure stakeholder buy-in.

We have found that an accountabilities workshop works well when participants are drawn from the HR function and the line and comprise typically around 15–20 people. Participants do not necessarily need to be the most senior people, but should have a grasp between them of the full range of HR services. In the workshop, the aim is to validate the 'as is' template and to finalise a 'to be' template. The balance of time should be spent on considering the 'to be' template.

At the workshop, a process we have found that works well is to:

• Create a large version of the template strawman (sheets of brown paper work well).
• Organise participants into five small groups.
• Introduce the task, setting out the aims of HR transformation, givens, assumptions etc.
• Allocate a heading per group.
• Ask each small group to complete their template, identifying where they believe accountability will lie.
• Rotate groups to comment on the work of their colleagues (a sticky dot can be placed alongside a statement requiring clarification or which needs to be challenged; anything missing can be written on a Post-it™ note).
• Work through each of the templates and reach agreement where issues have been flagged (with dots and Post-it™ notes).

Typically, an Accountability Workshop takes a couple of days to work through all the issues. This is, however, an extremely good investment of time as the output will have been created jointly between HR and other business colleagues and the output also provides a clear statement of role expectations. If there is any ambiguity about what strategic contribution the business needs from HR, this type of workshop helps to bring clarity to this area. The outputs from this workshop will then need to be discussed with key stakeholders.

We have found that the workshop outputs are helpful in framing a number of interventions that need to be undertaken as part of the HR transformation process. For example:

• high-level activity analysis (supporting analysis of future resource needs);
• HR process mapping;
• accountability mapping and role definitions;
• capability identification and development requirements for different roles;
• stakeholder communications;
• structure design.