HR servitisation - another buzzword? Yes, a little. But it's primarily about seeking inspiration for a specific HR area that often suffers - HR administration - in a different environment. Some people also talk about HR Services, a Shared Service Centre, HR Service Centre or HR Operations. It is about the actual engine room of HR, i.e. Administration, Payroll and Time Management. In the following, we will take a closer look at how the idea of servitisation can be used to turn managers and employees into HR admin fans.
Dissatisfied customers and dissatisfied HR
Many HR customers - managers and employees - would not give their HR admin department a 5-star rating. A study by Haufe shows that the transactional, more admin-heavy HR activities in particular are not rated exceptionally (see chart below).
Added to this is the fact that frustration is very high in many HR admin departments. There is an incredible amount of work to be done, and it is often very repetitive, hard-working tasks. Staff turnover in these areas is often above average, which leads to a major loss of expertise. As an HR Professionals, you are also always caught in a dilemma between standardisation and efficiency on the one hand and customer orientation and individual treatment of people on the other. Neither HR customers are satisfied with this, nor is HR itself.
Ensuring the basis
So what can be done? The basis is to ensure the foundation of HR administration. This includes the following four areas: strategy, processes, organisation and digitization.
- Strategy: Most people want to achieve the goals of "favourable", "fast" and "good" in their service area. Unfortunately, however, the three are mutually exclusive. If you want to be cheap and fast, you have to introduce standards. For managers, however, standards are not always good and the service aspect suffers from their point of view. It is therefore important to clearly define the strategy for the HR admin area in advance in line with the corporate strategy and in consultation with all stakeholders.
- Processes: HR processes are the centrepiece. It is important to have an overview of which processes exist, how often they are carried out and how complex they are. These processes can then be simplified in coordination with the digitalisation options. More on this in our Specialist articles on intelligent HR processes . Other keywords in this area are SLAs, quality measurement, standardisation, regulations/instructions, etc.
- Organisation: HR employees are the second core element. The challenge with HR admin issues is that they rarely only affect the HR admin organisation, but also HR business partners or competence centres. A clear definition of roles and the routing of enquiries are extremely important here. Another aspect of the organisation is the skills and wishes of the HR admin team. Do you go in the direction of specialists or generalists?
- Digitisation: Last, but no less important, is Technology. The following questions need to be clarified here: Is there Employee and Manager Self Service (ESS/MSS)? How do you reach all employees, even those without computer access? Where do employees go first when they have a question? Is an HR platform available? What media disruptions are there in the processes?
Have all these questions been answered? Then the hygiene factors for a healthy HR administration are fulfilled. But we want a 5-star rating.
Production companies as inspiration
Other areas outside of HR should also serve as inspiration. The idea of servitisation originally comes from the manufacturing industry. There, not only material goods are offered, but also material goods in combination with services. The classic example is Rolls Royce: they no longer just sell engines to aircraft manufacturers, but offer them on lease. Rolls Royce remains the owner and also carries out maintenance and repairs. Customers pay per hour of operation of the equipment.
In abstract terms, this means a paradigm shift in the purchase of material goods: a customer does not want a coffee machine, but a nice cup of coffee that she can enjoy with the newspaper in the morning or sit down with a cosy book. She wants a feeling, an experience.
With HR Servitisation, the aim is for HR to create such a positive service experience for its stakeholders when dealing with HR administration (see graphic below).
So how does HR Admin get a 5-star rating?
If you apply the idea of servitisation to HR, employees don't just want an employment contract, they want an employment relationship in which they feel comfortable. So it's not just about the product, which was ensured in advance with the parameters of strategy, processes, organisation and Digitization, but also about the solution that is offered to employees.
Let's stay with the example of the employment contract: traditionally, the process is designed from the HR perspective (what does HR need?) and is seen as a pure transaction (send contract) that creates value that is tangible (documents and instructions). However, if you take the servitisation approach, it is about solving a need from the employee's perspective. Instead of the pure transaction, it is about building relationships, and value is created through what is intangible - namely emotions.
In the traditional world, you would send the new employee the employment contract together with the terms and conditions of employment, the master data sheet and other relevant information. Would that grab you emotionally? The company Gevekom: They enclose sweets and a handwritten card with their employment contract , for example, shows that there is another way. It could also be another little thing, such as a photo of the HR team under the cover letter of the contract.
But the idea of servitisation can be implemented not only in the "joining" process. Why not write the following as the first sentence on the sick note form: "We are very sorry that you are unwell and we sincerely wish you a speedy recovery!"?
We are servitisation fans
These examples show that the idea behind HR servitisation is nothing groundbreakingly new. Rather, it is about consistently placing employees at the centre of HR admin processes. This does not mean that processes have to become more complex as a result - often little things, such as a friendly formulation or a personal touch, are enough to give employees the feeling that they are receiving a service with heart and not simply a process being carried out. What it takes is the time to think about servitisation. However, caught up in the daily hamster wheel with the pressure of deadlines such as a pay run or legal deadlines breathing down your neck, it is difficult to take this time. That's why the clear recommendation is to ensure the basic parameters first. This will make HR Admin happy and free up time. If you then have not only functioning but also inspiring processes, your employees will also be happy - and award 5 stars.
HR Servitisation
HR Servitisation