Reframing HR for Agility and Scale: A Transformation Journey

When a leading U.S. based technology company restructured following its separation from a larger parent organization, it found itself with an HR function built for an enterprise two or three times its size. The structure was too layered, the processes were inconsistent, and the technology stack was underutilized.

The company had the right tools on paper, using Workday for Core HR and ServiceNow for HR Service Delivery, but both were configured for an old operating model. The result was predictable: uneven workloads, compliance risks, limited visibility into performance, and an employee experience that felt disjointed and confusing.

Leaders realized that to move forward, they needed more than incremental change. They needed to rethink HR’s purpose, structure, and delivery model.

This is where ThriveHR! began, a company-wide initiative designed to rebuild HR from the ground up.

The vision was to create an organization that could deliver efficient, data-driven, and high-quality support for a business now operating with a sharper focus and leaner scale. To achieve this, the company partnered with Chazey Partners, a firm known for integrating operating model transformation with service delivery excellence.

Understanding the Challenge

The challenge was not simply about cost or efficiency. It was about relevance. The HR operating model had become disconnected from the needs of the business. Processes were fragmented across multiple regions, decision rights were unclear, and HR staff were either overburdened or underutilized.

Employees were equally frustrated. There were multiple portals and processes for simple requests, and despite the presence of modern systems, HR services lacked consistency and clarity.

The leadership team understood that HR could not enable business agility without fixing its own foundation. The transformation needed to address three critical dimensions: structure, process, and technology, with people at the center.

Designing an HR Operating Model That Fits

The first step was to rebuild HR into a structure that fit the company’s current scale, workforce distribution, and strategic priorities.

A captive shared services center was established in Mexico, consolidating transactional HR work and reducing reliance on external BPO providers. This move provided greater control over quality, compliance, and employee data, while creating internal capacity for continuous improvement.

More than 80 percent of transactional activities were centralized within a new HR Operations function, enabling standardization and improved workload balancing. Global Process Owners (GPOs) were appointed to ensure end-to-end accountability for processes such as employee data management, onboarding, and total rewards administration.

At the same time, the company created two Centers of Expertise (CoEs), one for Total Rewards and another for Talent, focused on strategy, program design, and governance. The HR Business Partner network was reshaped to focus on advisory and consulting roles, providing insight and support to leaders rather than administrative services.

To enable consistent execution, a Service Management Framework was introduced. This included performance metrics, SLAs, and escalation paths, giving HR leaders visibility into service delivery and performance for the first time.

Realigning ServiceNow with the New Operating Model

While the operating model work created a solid structure, the technology needed to catch up.

Although the company already had ServiceNow HR Service Delivery (HRSD), its configuration reflected the legacy organization. Service catalogs were redundant, workflows were outdated, and employees did not know which option to select for basic queries. HR agents were managing cases manually and lacked meaningful dashboards or performance insights.  The tiered support model was ineffective – over 70% of queries were escalated to HR business partners.

The company decided not to replace the platform but to realign it with the new HR operating model.

The transformation focused on the following priorities:

• Streamlining HR Case and Knowledge Management so processes matched the new HR design.
• Simplifying and consolidating service catalogs for easier employee navigation.
• Upskilling tier 1 and 2 support with training on newly optimized and documented process
• Automating case routing and approval workflows to reduce manual handling.
• Introducing performance dashboards to improve visibility and service management.
• Designing a cohesive HR Agent Workspace to bring all employee interactions into a single, manageable view.
  

  Structured Implementation Approach

  Chazey Partners led a Design, Build, Test, and Deploy methodology, ensuring the solution was grounded in best practice and aligned to the company’s transformation timeline.

  • Design Phase: Through a series of detailed workshops, Chazey Partners demonstrated ServiceNow’s HRSD capabilities and best practices for in-scope processes. Specific business requirements were captured and documented as User Stories, which then formed the foundation for build and testing activities.
  • Build Phase: The application was configured and unit-tested in line with a defined Test Management Plan. Change impacts were identified early, and end-user training requirements were established.
  • Test Phase: Comprehensive User Acceptance Testing (UAT)was conducted using test scripts and plans developed by Chazey Partners. This phase also included end-user training, organizational readiness assessment, and production cutover planning with formal go/no-go evaluation checkpoints.
  • Deploy Phase: Following UAT, Chazey Partners supported the production cutoverand provided post-go-live support during a hypercare period to ensure stability and user adoption.

  The project was successfully completed within a four-month delivery window and aligned with the go-live of the new HR operating model.

  Delivering Impact Across HR and the Business

  The transformation generated tangible outcomes across multiple dimensions.
  

  1. Simplified Service Delivery: Employees now access all HR services through a single, intuitive portal. This eliminated the confusion of multiple entry points and improved resolution times.
  2. Enhanced Employee Experience: Clear service definitions and automated workflows mean faster, more consistent support. Employees spend less time navigating HR systems and more time focusing on their work.
  3. Improved HR Efficiency: The HR Operations team now manages requests through an integrated Agent Workspace. Dashboards provide visibility into workloads, open cases, and SLAs, allowing for proactive resource management.
  4. Stronger Accountability and Governance: The introduction of global process owners (GPOs) and standardized metrics has given HR leaders ownership and control over process performance. Issues are identified and resolved quickly, and performance can be tracked against defined KPIs.
  5. Scalable Service Model: With the shared services center and ServiceNow alignment in place, HR can now scale without adding complexity. The function is positioned to support future business growth efficiently.

  Lessons and Reflections

  The most important takeaway from this transformation is that technology is only as effective as the operating model it supports. The company already had robust tools, but without process clarity and governance, they were not delivering value.

  What made this initiative successful was the integration of operating model redesign with system optimization. By combining process, structure, and technology, HR became a function that enables business agility rather than slowing it down.

  The transformation also required a mindset shift within HR. Teams had to think beyond transactions and adopt a service-oriented approach. With clearer roles, better tools, and defined metrics, HR has evolved into a more data-driven, accountable, and responsive function.