Situation:

In response to the pressing need to enhance capacity, align skills, support employee growth and alleviate the increased workload caused by the implementation of Workday in HR teams, the leadership of the VP Academic Portfolio embarked on a transformative journey. Their objective was to forge a shared vision for HR and communication service offerings and delivery, reimagining how these services could be optimally provided across the portfolio to align with its priorities and objectives.

Our Actions:

• Led an extensive engagement and consultation process with a diverse range of stakeholders, including VPA leadership, working groups, unit heads, subject matter experts, and campus partners. This process spanned from the initial discovery phase to the design phase and culminated in the final recommendation and validation phase
• Synthesized data and insights gathered from over 20 discovery interviews, offering a comprehensive understanding of the current and future state, challenges, and opportunities for optimizing HR and communication services, encompassing both the user and provider perspectives
• Conducted research and interviews with internal and external peer comparators to identify best practices, lessons learned, and opportunities for improvement
• Facilitated working group meetings and consultation workshops, enabling a visioning exercise and the co-creation of a service delivery model
• Developed and articulated vision statements, guiding principles, desired outcomes and option evaluation rubrics
• Designed and analyzed service delivery model options including exploration of shared services and centre of excellence models, articulation of key model components, evaluation of model options, creation of service catalogs, establishment of organizational frameworks, and formulation of implementation roadmaps
• Incorporated change management practices to gain buy-in

Results:

• Delivered a cohesive and compelling array of HR and Communication service delivery options, complete with thorough analysis and strategic considerations, which were presented to the VPA Leadership for discussion and decision
• Successfully secured endorsement from VPA Leadership for the chosen service delivery model, receiving the green light to proceed with implementation
• Achieved buy-in and overall enthusiasm from Portfolio HR and Communication service providers, users, and unit heads in support of an improved way of working, collaborating, and engaging as a cohesive community
• The reimagined service delivery models have empowered the Portfolio to optimize its HR and Communication services and resources, fostering increased engagement, efficiency, and effectiveness in line with the Portfolio’s strategic priorities and objectives