Three Key Takeaways on HR Transformation

Are you ready to revamp your organization? Over 90 percent of C-suite executives surveyed in our Mercer 2017 Global Talent Trends Study say they are. Yet only half of them are considering including their HR team, which is surprising since HR can bring in useful data for better business decisions, smoother operations, and more productive employees.

Mercer’s Global HR Transformation Study analyzes what high performing HR organizations do differently. We heard from 300 Chief Human Resources Officers (CHRO) and other senior HR leaders across 43 countries and 26 industries. Here’s what I learned from conducting the survey:

1. Centralization matters
   The most successful HR functions have a more centralized HR structure and those who have HR Business Partners (HRBP), Centers of Expertise (COE) and HR Shared Services (HRSS) have the highest levels of performance.
2. Aligning strategies is crucial
   The CHRO and CEO or COO in high performing HR functions meet at least twice a month to make sure the HR function aligns with the business strategy. We found that shifting transactions to HRSS and holding senior HRBPs accountable for delivering value to the lines of business leads to higher performance.

3. Investing in technology is worth it, but we’ve only scratched the surface 

Human capital management (HCM) tools provide a better experience between employees and managers. Our study found that digital-savvy organizations have 3.7 times more real-time data retrieval, which supports data-driven business decisions. However 60% of HR leaders do not believe their function has the right mix of technology … although most are planning to remedy that problem. While self-service has been around for decades, just 70% of high performing HR functions have employee self-service, 36% have manager self-service, and 27% are currently implementing mobile talent apps.  

The top HR functions in our survey all had these three components in common. So when you’re redesigning your organization, make sure to consider the special sauce of centralization, alignment and technology.