How to build and maintain an effective HR service delivery strategy

Implementing digital transformation can impact all levels of an organization and can drastically affect the effectiveness of existing systems. It is vital to build an effective strategy for HR service delivery to avoid unnecessary disruption and ensure support from internal stakeholders.

Implementing a strategy that works for your business

One of the major mistakes businesses make when implementing new strategies, systems or processes is to not take into consideration the existing elements of their business. Whether it be existing systems, team processes or company structure, it is vital to make sure all of these elements are aligned before attempting to implement a new strategy, or wide-scale digital transformation.

Existing technologies and systems

It can be very tempting to integrate a new system that claims to revolutionize the way your company functions, but all too often the rush to implement a new platform comes at the detriment of your core systems and databases. Integrations that seem to offer the perfect solution often fall short in reality, leading to orphaned systems and disparate processes.

The key is to consider the implementation in three separate stages.

Phase One: Planning

Whilst it might sound obvious the planning stage is often neglected leading to shaky foundations for any future implementations. The planning stage is a great opportunity to take stock of existing systems and find the gaps in functionality. This is also an opportunity to look at the structure of your HR organization and assess whether it’s setup as a service-focused organization that best serves the needs of your employees.

Often this can only be achieved by involving the managers and employees who use the existing systems on a daily basis. The insights they can bring will highlight hurdles and roadblocks that might otherwise not have come to light until further into the process leading to implementation issues. It can be helpful to create flow diagrams to show how teams and systems interact, how data flows through the organization and where the potential integration stumbling blocks are. This in turn will aid the process of evolving internal processes and team structures to best fit your new service delivery strategy.

Phase Two: Preparing

Once a considered approach to implementing a new strategy has been taken, it’s time to enter the preparation phase. This has two fundamental aspects to it; preparing your teams and preparing your systems.

New service delivery strategies might be powered by new systems, new integrations or new processes, none of which will be effective unless your employees are on side. By involving them throughout the process with hands-on training and strong internal communications you can ensure that your teams are clear on what is expected of them, where they can find support and make sure they feel included in the decision-making process.

Corporate culture

Adopting new HR service delivery strategies often requires significant re-organization in order to re-structure the HR department into a service-focussed organization. Your organization may use a shared service centre which will require a fundamental rethink when it comes to the broader organizational structure. This change in mindset aligns well with the introduction of consumer-grade technologies including help desks, virtual assistants and self-service HR portals, all integrated into unified workflows that sit across your back-end core HRIS and talent systems.

Getting buy-in from C-Level stakeholders

The most successful strategies always involve top C-Level backing so it’s key to get buy-in from these stakeholders from the very beginning of the planning process. Ensure that the benefits, and costs of the new strategy are clearly outlined. Cultural change and systemic transformation come from the top of the organization and filter down through the organizational structure, therefore it’s critical to get the CEO, CIO, CTO and CHRO onboard as well as any other pivotal executives within the company.

Phase 3: Implementing

When it comes to implementing a new strategy, the process will be much smoother following careful and considered planning and preparation steps. At Applaud we pride ourselves on building great relationships with customers and partners to help ensure success.

Empower your employees

During the implementation phase it’s important to put your employees in the driving seat and allow them to discover the new tools and features. By putting the tools into the hands of those that will ultimately be using them, you will ensure that they begin to own the tools and processes instead of revolting against a new and unknown platform.

Applaud is unashamedly on the employee’s side and builds solutions truly designed around their needs including A.I. driven help desks, employee and manager self-service portals and mobile access to your core HR services. To ensure good uptake from day one, make sure your managers have access to the systems and training materials throughout the process.

Aligning People, Process & Technology

HR service delivery strategies need to focus on aligning new technologies with both existing and new processes, but more importantly with your employees. New systems and platforms are only effective when the adoption rate amongst your teams is high. It’s also key that this adoption is seen across the broader company and not just in isolated pockets. A company divided by a siloed mentality will often hit roadblocks when it comes to implementing new strategies.

Applaud’s HR solution can be used in conjunction with existing systems and customized to fit seamlessly with the team and workplace culture. Find out more about how Applaud could do the same for your business.