HR Transformation and Operating Model Redesign Training Course

Programme Summary

HR transformation and operating model redesign is a two-week training course for HR directors, heads of HR operations and transformation leads at advanced level, culminating in a phased HR transformation roadmap for their own function. Many HR departments remain organised around administration, with fragmented processes, policies that slow decisions and technology that digitises paperwork rather than improving service. The approach diagnoses the current function, redesigns the operating model and end-to-end processes, then plans the culture and change work that makes the new model stick. Mars Training Centre UK delivers this programme in HR transformation and operating model redesign.

The Business Case

An HR function that spends most of its effort on transactions cannot advise leaders on workforce, capability and culture. Transformation redirects that effort, but poorly sequenced programmes disrupt payroll, frustrate managers and lose credibility. HR leaders who redesign the model deliberately, measure service and lead the people side of change move the function from administrator to adviser without breaking day-to-day delivery.

• HR Cost per Employee and Service Cycle Time: Fall as transactional work is standardised, consolidated and automated.
• Manager and Employee Satisfaction With HR Services: Rises as clear service channels and accountable owners replace informal requests.
• Time Spent on Advisory Work: Increases as business partners and centres of excellence are freed from administration.

Principles and Evidence Base

• Ulrich Three-Pillar Model: Business partners, centres of excellence and shared services provide the reference design tested and adapted in Sessions 2 and 3.
• End-to-End Process Management: Hire-to-retire mapping frames the process diagnosis and redesign in Sessions 4 and 5.
• ADKAR and Kotter's 8-Step Model: These change models structure the people-side change planning in Sessions 8 and 9.
• ISO 30414: Its requirements and recommendations for human capital reporting anchor the HR metrics framework in Session 9.

Intended Participants

• HR directors accountable for the structure, cost and credibility of the HR function.
• Heads of HR operations who run payroll, records, onboarding and employee services.
• Transformation leads asked to deliver HR shared services or new HR technology.
• Senior HR business partners who will work within a redesigned operating model.
• Policy and governance owners responsible for HR rules, approvals and controls.

The programme serves government entities, banking, energy, healthcare and multi-site service organisations.

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will be able to diagnose the maturity, cost and service performance of the current HR function.
2. Participants will be able to design an HR operating model that adapts the three-pillar model to their organisation.
3. Participants will be able to construct end-to-end hire-to-retire process maps and redesign them for standardisation and self-service.
4. Participants will be able to evaluate HR technology and service delivery options against business requirements.
5. Participants will be able to plan culture and people-side change using ADKAR and Kotter's model.
6. Participants will be able to justify a phased HR transformation roadmap with metrics, governance and risks.

Programme Structure

Day 1: HR Transformation Drivers and Function Diagnosis

Why must the HR function change, and where does it stand today?

• Transformation Drivers: Cost, Service, Capability and Strategy
• HR Function Maturity Models
• Activity Analysis of Transactional, Advisory and Strategic Work
• Stakeholder Expectations of HR
• Current-State HR Function Assessment

Day 2: HR Operating Model Options

Which operating model fits the organisation's size, spread and strategy?

• Ulrich Three-Pillar Model and Its Adaptations
• Centralised, Federated and Decentralised HR Structures
• Operating Model Design Principles and Trade-Offs
• Roles, Spans and Interfaces Across HR Teams
• Target Operating Model Options Comparison

Day 3: Shared Services, Centres of Excellence and Business Partners

How do the parts of the HR operating model work together?

• HR Shared Services Scope, Tiers and Case Management
• Centres of Excellence Mandates and Products
• Business Partner Role Design and Capability
• Service Level Agreements Between Pillars
• Insourcing, Outsourcing and Hybrid Delivery Choices

Day 4: End-to-End HR Process Mapping

Where do current HR processes create delay, rework and risk?

• Hire-to-Retire Process Architecture
• Swimlane Mapping of Recruitment, Onboarding and Exits
• Process Waste, Handoffs and Approval Layers
• Process Ownership and Accountability
• Process Performance Baselines

Day 5: HR Process Redesign and Standardisation

How are HR processes simplified, standardised and controlled?

• Future-State Process Design Principles
• Employee and Manager Self-Service Design
• Approval Matrices and Delegation in HR Decisions
• Controls for Payroll, Data and Compliance
• Standard Operating Procedures and Knowledge Bases

Day 6: HR Technology and Service Delivery

Which technology and channels will deliver the redesigned services?

• HRIS, Core HR and Talent Platform Landscape
• Requirements Definition and Vendor Evaluation
• Service Channels: Portal, Case Management and Contact Centre
• HR Data Quality and Master Data Governance
• Automation and Digital Assistants in HR Services

Day 7: HR Policy, Governance and Culture

How do HR policies and governance shape the culture the organisation wants?

• HR Policy Architecture and Simplification
• HR Governance Forums and Decision Rights
• HR as Steward of Organisational Culture
• Aligning HR Practices With Desired Behaviours
• Culture Diagnostics for the HR Function Itself

Day 8: Leading People-Side Change in HR Transformation

How are HR staff, managers and employees brought through the change?

• ADKAR Model for Individual Change
• Kotter's 8-Step Model for Organisational Change
• Change Impact Assessment by Stakeholder Group
• Resistance Management and Sponsor Roles
• Capability Building for New HR Roles

Day 9: HR Metrics and Transformation Governance

How is progress and value from HR transformation shown?

• ISO 30414 Human Capital Reporting Areas
• HR Service, Cost and Efficiency Metrics
• Benefits Realisation Tracking
• Transformation Programme Governance and Risk Log
• Communication Plans for Leaders and Employees

Day 10: Applying HR Transformation to a Phased Roadmap

Is the roadmap credible, sequenced and ready for executive approval?

• Day 1 Diagnosis Linked to Day 2 Target Operating Model
• Day 5 Redesigned Processes Sequenced With Day 6 Technology
• Day 8 Change Plan Aligned With Transition Waves
• Executive Presentation and Peer Challenge
• Phased HR Transformation Roadmap Completion

Methodology

The programme combines case analysis, structured design exercises and peer review. Participants assess their own HR functions, compare operating model options in small groups and map real processes from their organisations. Cases are drawn from public sector bodies, banks and energy companies that have restructured HR. Each session adds a component to the capstone, which is challenged by peers on the final day.

• Suggested activity: Comparing centralised and federated HR models for a multi-site healthcare provider.
• Suggested activity: Mapping and redesigning the onboarding process for a government agency.
• Suggested activity: Building an ADKAR-based change plan for launching HR shared services in a bank.

Capstone Output

Each participant completes a phased HR transformation roadmap for their organisation. It contains the current-state diagnosis, the target operating model, redesigned priority processes, technology and service choices, the culture and change plan, metrics, governance arrangements and transition waves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is HR transformation training suitable for HR leaders who have not run a transformation before?

Yes. It is set at advanced level for HR directors and operations heads, and assumes experience of managing HR teams; transformation methods are built step by step across the ten sessions.

Which models does HR transformation and operating model redesign rest on?

It rests on the Ulrich three-pillar model, end-to-end hire-to-retire process management, the ADKAR and Kotter change models and the human capital reporting guidance of ISO 30414.

How is the HR transformation roadmap used at work?

You can use it to secure executive approval, brief HR teams on the new model and govern the transformation through its transition waves.

How does HR transformation differ from general change management courses?

It applies change methods to redesigning the HR function itself, including its operating model, processes, technology and policies, rather than to organisational change in general.

• Course Mode full-time
• Provider Mars Training Centre UK