The findings of this research project are based on interviews with 44 Human Resources (HR) leaders across 39 national and international companies within 15 industries ranging from manufacturing to consulting services. The interviews ranged from 45 minutes to one hour, and sought to understand models, best practices, and trends. The interview included questions about employee experience, technology, and the integration between HR Shared Services (HRSS) and the overall HR Organization. To provide background information and data, the HR leaders answered a short survey, giving details about the structure of their HRSS, locations, areas of HR that had work performed in the shared services organization, systems, and technology capabilities.
Many companies are now in an HR framework that is referred to as the “three-legged stool” model that has Human Resources Business Partners (HRBPs), alongside Centers of Excellence (COEs) and HRSS. With the evolution of the HR operating model, HRSS or HR Operations has continued to drive value in process excellence and add value to the business by taking on much of the transactional work and allowing COEs and HRBPs to focus on transactional work as the model is designed.As we interviewed companies about their HRSS journey, we identified three areas of evolution: the overall model or structure of the HRSS Center or offerings, the focus and main drivers of the HRSS center, and new advancements in technology that have driven process excellence.
