Designing a global HR operating model and selecting its technology.

Client context

The business context.

A global chemicals company wanted to improve HR service quality and efficiency. Responsibilities were split across corporate, regional and business teams, while heavily customized applications made processes difficult to standardize and employee self-service harder to deliver.

Changing the technology alone would leave fragmented accountability in place. The transformation needed a common operating model, end-to-end process ownership and a cloud-platform choice that supported the intended employee experience. Regional and legal responsibilities also had to remain clear.

The work

How the engagement was delivered.

• Define the organization and process ownership

  Designed global HR teams with functional responsibilities across talent management and HR operations. Used recruiting to specify ownership from initial demand through hiring and onboarding, while retaining regional and legal accountabilities.

• Evaluate the platform against business requirements

  Mapped applications, pain points and integration dependencies. Compared Workday and SAP SuccessFactors through vendor workshops, market analysis and reference calls, then developed a target architecture and recommendation for Workday.

• Connect the business case to the delivery plan

  Prepared an investment case covering expected savings, implementation costs and ongoing expenses. Defined phased module deployment, design governance, program responsibilities and change-management activities alongside the organizational transition.

What changed

A coordinated proposal for the next phase of HR transformation.

The board received a defined HR target organization, a supported recommendation for Workday, an investment case and a phased transformation roadmap. The plan connected technology deployment to process redesign and organizational change. These were planning and decision deliverables; the projected savings and rollout milestones were targets for subsequent execution.