H C M A N D O R G A N I Z AT I O N A L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

A Roadmap
to Strategic
Human Capital
Management
Introduction
N E A R LY 9 3 % O F O R G A N I Z AT I O N S

are transforming their business models and

strategies.1 Why? Because diverse forces like

market competition and customer demand

are forcing them to do things a new way.

The problem is that 70% of change initiatives

93%
of organizations
are transforming
fail due to cultural resistance2 that undermines business models
or strategies.
large-scale, lasting change—resulting in

wasted time, money, and resources, along

with diminished morale. This roadmap shares

2 3
the steps that human resources (HR) leaders
OUT
can take to engage their workforce as active OF
change projects fail.
participants in transformation initiatives.

1
KPMG Transformation Survey, Business Transformation and the Corporate Agenda, 2014
2
Kotter, Leading Change 1996/The McKinsey Quarterly, The Irrational Side of Change Management, 2009
 1 Acknowledge Your Approach to Transformation.
Effective change begins with understanding how the
organization approaches transformation. More than 50% KEY QUESTIONS
of companies change by continuously aligning business
models with their overall strategy.3 Others embrace change • How do HR transformation
that is more localized or focused on specific business goals align with the
organization’s strategic
processes and functional areas. Given that talent is a key
goals?
contributor to the success of any change, it’s essential that
• How will the organization’s
HR take a leadership role in devising actionable change
approach to change affect
plans and following through on their execution. employees?

• What steps does HR need

to take to successfully
T E C H N O L O G Y C O N S I D E R AT I O N S
manage the change?

Collaborative technologies can help build consensus

among stakeholders in the change planning process.

Communicate and Engage—Making
the Business Case for Change.
KEY QUESTIONS
• Who are the key stakeholders
in the transformation?
• Does HR have all the input it
needs to be management’s
partner for success?
• What is the action plan for
engaging with employees
and having a meaningful
dialogue about changes
within the organization?
2
Experienced HR leaders know that transformation initiatives
often fail due to change fatigue. Too many initiatives without
prioritization results in mixed signals that leave employees
in a wait-and-see mode. To mitigate this risk, HR should
engage in a consistent, 360-degree dialogue with everyone
impacted by the change. True engagement means
communicating openly with employees across all levels
of the organization so they know why the business expects
them to change and how transformation will affect their roles,
career plans, and compensation. Ideally, employees should
have a voice in the transformation process, so they become
invested in the change and know exactly what they need to
do to make it successful.

T E C H N O L O G Y C O N S I D E R AT I O N S

Mobile-friendly interactive portals and social collaboration

tools can enable real-time employee engagement.

3
KPMG Transformation Survey, Business Transformation and the Corporate Agenda, 2014
Prioritize Programs and Establish a Clear
3
Beginning, Middle, and End.
HR can help ensure successful change by playing a central
KEY QUESTIONS role in synchronizing employees’ change-related workloads.
For example, HR can help employees identify the
• Are there other change necessary training for new jobs that stem from a change
initiatives vying for people’s initiative. Careful planning and coordination, including a
attention? How can you align
clear delineation of a beginning, middle, and end for the
with those efforts to foster
coherence across change change, are also essential. Without these markers, employees
programs? can become uncertain and anxious about the future. The
• What is the timeline for the HR organization itself needs to be at the forefront of change,
change initiative? keeping all team members well-informed and feeling
• Have the beginning, end, empowered to do their part in accelerating organizational
and transition period transformation.
been clearly defined
and communicated to
employees and other T E C H N O L O G Y C O N S I D E R AT I O N S
stakeholders?

Project management software can be a powerful tool to

keep individuals and teams in sync.

4 Leverage Technology to Gain Greater

HCM Flexibility.
A successful transformation frequently involves moving
people into new roles, often with rapid shifts in career KEY QUESTIONS
paths, training requirements, and compensation. HR
systems need to become more agile in response. HR may • How can technology
want to include contractors and other short-term gig help HR lead the change
initiative?
economy workers into the mix. These individuals, who are
often critical to successful change, are sometimes left out • What technologies are
currently available to move
of the process.
change forward?

• What solution capability

T E C H N O L O G Y C O N S I D E R AT I O N S gaps need to be addressed
to better align transformation
goals with overall business
HR can leverage new human capital management (HCM) objectives?
cloud solutions that enable a streamlined, flexible change
process for systems supporting recruiting, performance
management, compensation and benefits, and other key
aspects of human resources.
 5 Tap into the Power of Culture.
Nearly 84% of all respondents in a KPMG transformation
survey said culture is critically important for successful KEY QUESTIONS
change, but far fewer believe their companies do a good
job of managing it.4 Culture can be thought of as the • Is the transformation viewed
unwritten rules for how people interact and get things positively by employees,
stakeholders, and customers?
done in the organization. It strongly influences how a
change will be implemented, regardless of what’s outlined • How can you address
concerns and align incentives
in the change plan. As a result, organizations that have
to motivate stakeholders,
mastered change have built cultures that are able especially employees, to
to evolve constantly. HR is well positioned to articulate support the change?
the aspects of the organization’s culture that can make • How can you leverage
employees feel proud of the changes that need to occur— culture to give employees
critical insights for a successful transformation. a sense of pride and
investment in meaningful,
sustainable change?

T E C H N O L O G Y C O N S I D E R AT I O N S

Data analytics, including social mining, can be used to

uncover areas of opportunity for facilitating change and
potential issues that need to be addressed. They can yield
critical insights into an organization’s cultural state of mind.

6
Unleash the Power of Informal Influencers.
Sometimes, it’s the hallway conversations in a company
KEY QUESTIONS that can make a significant difference in the outcome of a
change program. Highly connected individuals are often at
• How will you leverage the heart of the change process, regardless of their official
informal influencers to positions. HR is ideally suited to identify these spheres of
promote a change mindset?
influence and work with them as cultural change agents.
• What incentives will you Such informal networks are often your most effective
give them to participate?
resources in counteracting resistance to change.
• What messages and
channels will they use
to communicate with T E C H N O L O G Y C O N S I D E R AT I O N S
their peers?

Stakeholder maps that draw upon data from social

networks and trending analysis can help identify the key
influencers most likely to champion change.

4
KPMG Transformation Survey, Business Transformation and the Corporate Agenda, 2014
Manage Across the Organization 7
to Foster Coherence and Engagement.
HR is uniquely qualified to facilitate large-scale
KEY QUESTIONS transformation by sending consistent signals through
multiple communication channels to employees at
• How will you engage senior every level of the organization. It is also critical to keep
executives and middle senior executives, including the CEO, informed of pressing
managers to start acting
workforce issues, while at the same time helping employees
in ways that support the
change? navigate the new reality. Both processes are essential to
making change sustainable and scalable. Everyone, from
• What strategies can you
use to ensure messaging middle management to the highest levels in the organization,
coherence across all should be aware of the confluence of HR considerations
communication channels? and cultural forces that can mean the difference between
• How will you get your transformational success, or failure.
frontline employees to
embrace the change
so they can convey it T E C H N O L O G Y C O N S I D E R AT I O N S
positively to customers?
An end-to-end HCM cloud solution enables HR leaders to
send unified communications and access one source of
data to monitor the health of change programs, and make
immediate improvements when necessary.

Watch an informative webinar,

Take the next Adap?ng  to  Today’s    
Changing  HR  Landscape  
Adapting to Today’s Changing
HR Landscape.
step in effectively
AnneEe  Wellinghoff  
Vice  President  
HCM  Transforma?on  
July,  21  2015  

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managing change.
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