Frameworks to provide a robust synopsis for high level overviews. Iterative approaches to corporate strategy foster collaborative thinking.

The Context

A Singapore-based multinational organization was looking for ways to improve the quality of its HR service delivery. The business leadership understood the importance of investing time in strategic HR matters such as learning & development and performance management, rather than routine administration. However, the existing HR infrastructure was fragmented across multiple countries. Naturally, this also created variations in daily operations and each country ran its HR operations as they saw fit. Besides being inefficient and time consuming, this also led to the employee experience being non-uniform across countries.

A detailed assessment was conducted to identify the root cause, establish priorities and develop an HR Transformation roadmap. It was agreed that to get to the next generation HR operating model, the HR infrastructural issues needed to be addressed first. This meant designing and implementing a standard global system of harmonized processes and policies. Additionally, the system implementation will be done on the basis of leading practice design of end-to-end processes and due attention will be given to technology adoption.

The Lighthouse Difference

Lighthouse Consulting experts started with the design of Target Operating Model (TOM) where HR roles were clearly articulated and the role of vendors (e.g. learning, payroll, etc.) was also established. Thereafter, leading practice process maps that have been customized to Asia-Pacific nuances were used as a baseline to conduct design sessions.

The approach for future-state design was not to look at current practices and see what needed to change; but to look at the best practice process and ask, “why not adopt this?”

HR practitioners from all 8 countries including corporate headquarters were involved in these design sessions to truly appreciate local requirements and simultaneously generate buy-ins on future state design decisions. These design decisions were made upfront before delving into process maps to ensure appropriate guardrails and avoiding the pitfalls of repeating outdated work processes. Efficiency and control were deemed key factors, and rules were established on how to achieve the right balance of both.

This diligent step-by-step approach resulted in a future state blueprint that everyone agreed on and was handed over to the technology team for implementation. The process maps were then refined for end user consumption and uploaded as Standard Operating Practices (SOPs). The process maps also helped the technology configuration team to work better as they could understand the full context of the workflow there were configuring.

The Impact

The client organization has now migrated to a single unified system of record. The full scope includes:

• Core HR
• Performance Management
• Succession Planning
• Time and Attendance
• Expense Management
• Learning & Development
• Payroll
• Geotagging and Biometrics
• Chatbot

This included API-based integrations with 3^rd party providers where required. In doing so, the client is enabled to develop a full view of their talent profiles swiftly and effectively. Moreover, this set the foundations for advanced analytics, automation and allows their HR department to invest their time in more strategic, macrolevel matters. The developed mobile app allows employees to conduct their transactions anytime, anywhere – a possibility now accessible by the entire organization.

Overall, we believe our client is on their way to achieving HR excellence, made possible by taking their first critical and foundational steps in the right direction, trusting us with their organization and continued support.