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Hr Model

Better Essays

HR Centre of Excellence

HR Models – lessons from best practice
Initial desk research October 2009
Nick Holley

© Henley Business School 2009

www.henley.reading.ac.uk

Contents

Introduction The classic HR model
Over the last decade a classic model, based on the work of Dave Ulrich et al, has emerged that has three elements (recently he has added to the model but these three remain the core). We don’t need to go into detail but we will simply highlight these three key elements: business partners, shared services and centres of expertise: Business Partners Establish relationships with customers line/ business units Contribute to business unit plans Shared Services Deliver HR services Manage routine processes effectively and …show more content…

Drivers for change: •Dissatisfaction in many organisations with HR’s contribution to the restructurings and mergers in the early 2000’s. •Increasing disillusion with HR’s contribution beyond following the latest management fad. This disillusion has led to calls to reduce the cost of HR and to see harder measures of outcomes, whilst increasing HR’s flexibility and business focus. •The move in many businesses to outsource non core activities including HR whilst providing a stronger business contribution by enhancing HR’s contribution to strategic business initiatives. •The change in organisational models themselves that are trying to balance the need for centrally driven efficiencies with locally driven responsiveness. This highlights the challenge of providing strong functional expertise with the need to align with different business needs. •A shift in the role of HR from being employee focused to an organisational and management focus. •The adoption of ERP systems accelerated by legacy fears in the run-up to Y2K and the use of these systems to improve and systematise administrative and HR processes so they become more efficient and consistent whilst linking seamlessly to the front office. As one commentator said: “The human resources function within companies today needs to look at itself much more as a business, because that is how executives are looking at it and

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