The HR department of an insurance company had found itself in a situation where processes were no longer running smoothly and the team dynamics were not optimal due to the loss of the HR manager and an organizational structure that had not kept pace with the company's changes. The HR interim manager was tasked with developing concepts that would correctly align the processes and set up the team optimally. The realignment should also take into account future developments at the company. To this end, she examined the current state of HR work and the expectations of internal customers and individual team members.
Two alternatives were presented as concept proposals in the project, which is still ongoing (November 2015). Both alternatives are to be implemented with the current team. The aim is to reach a decision by the end of the year as to which concept will be prepared for implementation.
One alternative focuses on correcting the existing errors, while the other also sets up the HR department for the future. The conservative variant ensures that the elements of the Ulrich Model (Service, Business Partner and Centers of Expertise) are set up in a customer-oriented and process-oriented way. The current focus here is suboptimal.
The forward-looking alternative is divided into transaction and transformation. Here, the activities of the business partners, which are more likely to be described as routine activities, are assigned to the service portfolio. Instead of Business Partners, a department of consultants is created to deal with transformational topics: Future of Industry, Future of Customers, Future of Employees, Future of Organization. Market development, HR Business Partners and Centers of Expertise jobs relating to personnel and organizational development are combined in this team. By combining the 'outside-in' with the 'inside' focus (i.e. market and customer development alongside the development of the company and its employees), maximum customer orientation and employee satisfaction is achieved.
