At TopBloc, we believe that deploying a new Workday solution should be a catalyst for re-evaluating how your business operates – especially with respect to your HR operations. In this guide, we’ll explain the benefits of an HR evaluation and how teaming up with the right Workday Services Partner can help move your company in the right direction.
Reevaluating HR Processes & Systems
The process for evaluating a company’s HR processes can be outlined in three primary steps:
- Assess and understand where you are in your journey
- Develop a strategy and determine where you want to be
- Implement a roadmap of how to get there
When outlined, this process seems almost deceivingly simple. Continue reading for more details on how exactly your company can get started.
Benefits of an HR Assessment
The first step in the process of re-evaluating your processes and systems is to conduct an assessment to understand where your company is today. This assessment will allow you to understand your current state of operations.
An HR assessment (or evaluation) is a powerful tool that helps companies visually chart their current HR landscape. This step is crucial in helping stakeholders of your company see every component of the HR department.
These are typically the types of questions we ask in an HR assessment:
- What type of software are you using to conduct major HR business processes? This includes programs for Human Capital Management (HCM), Onboarding, Recruiting, Compensation, Performance management, Verification of employment, Time tracking, and I-9 verification.
- How are those systems communicating with one another? Do all programs communicate with one another? If so, how? And do they communicate well or poorly? Have you experienced any challenges? Does your current configuration of items work for you?
- How is each of the systems maintained? Is someone within your HR department overseeing the information or is the system a joint resource that many departments leverage that is managed centrally by your IT department?
At TopBloc, we help firms list out their major HR business processes, including the systems and applications used. The next step is to discuss how those processes and programs are (or are not) communicating with each other. We also take into account the cost of those programs, including any licensing fees.
This exercise creates a comprehensive heatmap that details the current state of your HR environment — one that shows exactly which areas are working well, and which areas need improvement.
We also recommend evaluating your HR department every year during your planning cycle, which is typically an annual process but may differ depending on the company. Remember — looking strategically at your business processes should be an ongoing activity, not an event.
What Are HR Maturity Models?
Following your HR assessment, you will be able to determine where your organization falls within an HR maturity model. An HR maturity model is an assessment tool that helps businesses and organizations analyze their current functionality. There are several different versions of HR maturity models, one that we particularly like enables a company to evaluate the “level” of maturity they fit by describing how their business processes typically work. Within this model, a company can fit 5 possible levels from “reactive” to “highly strategic” operations.
It’s important for firms to determine where they align on the HR maturity model — and where they intend to go. In this way, leveraging the HR maturity model helps companies to enter into the second step of the re-evaluation process: to clearly identify what you want your company to become. Your ideal end-state should summarize how your HR department would operate in a perfect world. It’s important to call out that a “highly strategic” HR department isn’t necessarily the end goal. Depending on your organization’s goals, complexity, and workforce, sometimes a “foundational” or “strategic” HR department is more than sufficient.
Developing a Roadmap
Once you understand where your company is today and where you intend to go, the final step of the re-evaluation process is to develop a roadmap that takes you from point A to point B. A detailed roadmap that will guide you towards reaching the end state you envisioned and will include a specific series of projects and work efforts, including cost and timing, that will help you to execute your strategy and achieve your end goals.
Top Advantages of HR Automation
Moving up the HR maturity model towards your roadmap’s end state often involves introducing automated processes to replace manual processes. Automation will help you to create the best digital experience for your users; automating menial, time-consuming tasks frees up your workforce, increases productivity, and reduces potentially costly inconsistencies and human errors.
For these reasons, automation is generally thought to be beneficial. However, automation is not always the solution. Automating a poorly-designed process will not magically make the process better or solve inherent issues – it may just compound problems. For instance,
Automation works well with well-designed best practices — and this is where the benefit of a heatmap developed during the initial HR assessment comes in. If you list all your major HR business processes in a red, yellow, green heatmap and then prioritize those items, you should have a clear indication of which items could benefit most from automation. And how the underlying business processes may need to change in order to allow your organization to recognize the benefits of automation.
Reasons to Consult with a Professional Partner
A consulting firm like TopBloc has the extensive knowledge, experience, bandwidth, project management, capabilities, and resources to move you in the right direction. We know what to look for, and we know the questions we need to ask. Plus, the wrong strategic decision could set you back in terms of time and money, so it’s best to consult a professional partner from the beginning.
Considering an HR Evaluation? Trust TopBloc to Help!
We know there are a lot of choices out there, but TopBloc is the best choice for a variety of reasons. We are a flexible, agile boutique firm with all of the capabilities of larger partners. We offer specialized, unique solutions with tools no one else has, such as SmartLoader, our one-of-a-kind acceleration technology.
TopBloc’s Advisory Support, which is complimentary for all TopBloc customers, includes all of the processes and methodologies we outlined earlier in evaluating your HR department. We will provide you with the templates and guidance to undertake your assessment, and then work with you to turn your findings into insights and solutions. Or you can opt for TopBloc’s Advisory Services, which is the exact same thing except that we will interview you and produce the content for your review.
Contact us today with any questions or for more information.
