The Need for One HR Team
The evolving role of HR in globalised organisations
HR has evolved far beyond its traditional administrative role in recent years. Organisations now look to HR to drive strategic initiatives, support business transformation, and foster a culture of innovation. However, many HR teams face the challenge of operating in silos, limiting their ability to deliver value effectively.
Aligning HR with business priorities is critical to overcoming these challenges. When HR functions cohesively as One HR Team, the entire organisation benefits from streamlined processes, enhanced employee engagement, and strategic alignment with business goals.
Challenges of siloed HR functions
Siloed HR functions create inefficiencies and inconsistencies across the organisation. These silos often arise not just within HR teams but also between HR and other business units. A fragmented approach can lead to conflicting priorities, duplicated efforts, and missed opportunities. Addressing this requires a commitment to collaboration and flexibility, recognising that business challenges rarely fit neatly into traditional HR specialisms.
Building a Winning HR Strategy: How to Align People, Culture, and Business Success
Resource challenges and the need for agility
Resource constraints remain a significant obstacle for HR teams in delivering maximum value. Effective HR teams must adopt an agile approach, prioritising cross-functional collaboration and aligning resources with organisational priorities. This shift allows HR to transition from a reactive, task-oriented function to a proactive, strategic partner.
Key benefits of a unified HR approach
A cohesive HR team delivers significant advantages to the organisation:
Alignment with strategic goals
A unified team ensures HR objectives are tightly integrated with overarching business priorities. By aligning employee engagement, workforce planning, and talent strategies, HR becomes a critical enabler of business success.
Building strategic alignment between HR and the business
Reducing inefficiencies
Streamlined processes across HR functions minimise duplication of efforts, allowing teams to focus on high-value activities. Reviewing and improving processes fosters operational excellence across the HR landscape.
Consistency in employee experience
A unified approach delivers fairness and consistency in HR practices. This not only enhances the employee experience but also ensures compliance with legal and ethical standards.
Enhanced responsiveness
Flexibility within a cohesive team allows HR to quickly adapt to shifting business needs. This ensures that HR functions remain relevant and impactful even in fast-changing environments.
Strengthening HR’s brand
Presenting a unified front builds HR’s reputation as a strategic partner within the organisation. A cohesive team showcases HR’s ability to deliver consistent value and align with business objectives.
Building One HR Team is of strategic importance right now.
Understanding the Dave Ulrich Model for HR
The core principles of the Ulrich HR Model
The Dave Ulrich HR Model, often referred to as the “Three-Legged Stool Model,” is a foundational framework for modern HR functions. This model emphasises three critical components, each contributing uniquely to HR’s overall effectiveness:
HR Business Partners (HRBPs): These professionals act as the strategic bridge between HR and the business. By understanding organisational goals, they align HR strategy with business priorities, enhance workforce performance, and ensure that HR initiatives directly support operational objectives. HRBPs also play a vital role in advising leadership on workforce trends and optimising talent utilisation.
Centres of Excellence (CoEs): CoEs are hubs of specialised expertise within the HR function. They focus on designing and implementing innovative HR programmes in key areas such as leadership development, diversity and inclusion, and employee engagement. By staying at the forefront of HR best practices, CoEs drive organisational innovation and ensure that HR solutions meet both current and future needs.
HR Shared Services: This component handles the operational backbone of HR by streamlining administrative tasks such as payroll, benefits administration, and employee records management. Through efficient service delivery, Shared Services free up HRBPs and CoEs to focus on strategic initiatives, ensuring the entire HR team operates efficiently and effectively.
Enhancing collaboration within the Model
While the Ulrich Model provides a robust structure, its effectiveness depends heavily on collaboration. Without deliberate efforts to foster alignment, the model can inadvertently create silos, undermining its potential. To ensure success:
Encourage cross-functional integration: Regular communication and shared goals across HRBPs, CoEs, and Shared Services are essential. Cross-functional initiatives, such as joint efforts on retention strategies or diversity programmes, foster teamwork and alignment.
Establish shared metrics: Unified performance indicators, such as employee engagement scores or cost-efficiency metrics, provide a common framework for evaluating success across the three pillars.
Promote a One HR mindset: All HR team members must view themselves as integral parts of a unified strategy. This involves cultivating a culture of collaboration where every function contributes to the organisation’s overarching goals.
Adapting the Ulrich Model for modern challenges
In today’s dynamic business environment, organisations face unique challenges that require the Ulrich Model to evolve. Enable-HR offers tailored solutions to optimise this framework, ensuring it remains effective in addressing contemporary demands:
Incorporating agile HR practices: Introducing agility into HR operations allows teams to respond quickly to changing business needs. This includes flexible resource allocation and iterative programme development, ensuring that HR remains relevant and impactful.
Leveraging technology and data: Implementing advanced Human Capital Management (HCM) systems and robust people analytics tools empowers HR to make data-driven decisions. These technologies enhance collaboration, streamline processes, and provide insights that inform strategic planning.
Addressing global and cultural diversity: For multinational organisations, adapting the Ulrich Model to account for diverse cultural and regulatory contexts is crucial. Enable HR helps tailor HR strategies that respect local nuances while maintaining a unified organisational vision.
Overcoming resource constraints: By prioritising initiatives based on business impact and leveraging shared resources effectively, HR teams can maximise value even with limited budgets.
The Ulrich Model, when adapted and implemented thoughtfully, continues to be a powerful framework for modern HR operations. Enable HR’s expertise in aligning this model with contemporary challenges ensures that HR teams are positioned to deliver strategic value at every level.
Challenges in Building One HR Team
Managing global operations
Global organisations face complex challenges, including diverse cultural contexts, varying legal compliance requirements, and differing business objectives. HR teams must adopt adaptive strategies to manage these complexities effectively.
Digital transformation and human capital management
The integration of Human Capital Management (HCM) systems is essential for streamlining operations and providing actionable insights. However, maintaining human touchpoints alongside technological advancements remains a critical balancing act.
Aligning stakeholder expectations
A disconnect often exists between HR and business leaders regarding expectations. Educating stakeholders about HR’s strategic potential ensures alignment and fosters stronger partnerships.
Resource allocation and efficiency
Determining the ideal HR-to-employee ratio is crucial for optimal resource use. By leveraging metrics, benchmarks, and strategic planning, HR teams can allocate resources more effectively to address organisational priorities.
Top 5 priorities for HR leaders in 2025
Steps to create One HR Team
The importance of Building One HR Team
Defining a unified vision and purpose
HR teams must align their vision with organisational goals, creating a shared purpose that drives collaboration and accountability. For example, linking employee engagement initiatives to customer satisfaction can directly demonstrate HR’s impact on business outcomes.
How to build a business-led strategy
Identifying clear HR priorities
Engaging with business leaders is critical to understanding how HR can best support organisational objectives. Tools such as Enable HR’s Strategic Roadmap provide valuable insights into priority areas, enabling HR teams to focus resources where they are needed most.
Fostering collaboration across functions
Regular cross-functional collaboration is essential for building One HR Team. This includes establishing shared metrics to measure success, conducting joint initiatives on retention or diversity strategies, and holding frequent alignment meetings to ensure all functions are working toward common goals.
Leveraging technology effectively
Implementing and optimising HCM systems enhances efficiency and supports data-driven decision-making. People analytics can provide actionable insights, enabling HR teams to anticipate challenges and drive continuous improvement.
Developing HR leadership
Investing in HR leadership development ensures that team leaders possess the emotional intelligence and strategic acumen required to guide transformation. Strong HR leadership fosters collaboration, aligns priorities, and drives maturity within the HR function.
Measuring and celebrating success
Establishing clear KPIs, such as employee engagement scores and HR cost efficiency, helps track progress and demonstrate value to stakeholders. Regularly recognising milestones and achievements strengthens team cohesion and reinforces the importance of shared goals.
A Comprehensive Guide to HR Business Partnering
Enable HR’s Training and Webinars for HR Professionals
Enable HR’s training and webinar programmes are designed to equip HR professionals with the skills, knowledge, and tools they need to excel in their roles. These programmes focus on enhancing HR capabilities while fostering a collaborative and unified approach across teams. Here is an in-depth look at the key offerings:
Leadership development programmes
Leadership in HR requires a unique blend of emotional intelligence, strategic vision, and effective communication. Enable-HR’s Leadership Development Programmes are tailored to:
- Build emotional intelligence to foster stronger relationships within HR teams and across the organisation.
- Enhance decision-making capabilities by equipping leaders with strategic planning tools.
- Develop the skills necessary to lead HR transformation, ensuring alignment with organisational goals.
Strategic influencing skills for HR leaders
How to Build One HR Team webinar
As organisations become more flexible, responsive and customer-driven, so must HR. We have to fight against the tendency for HR to become a separate silo and also unite all our HR talent into one strong team that’s focused on delivering value.
While many have presented different operating models, it’s clear that the Ulrich 3-legged model of Expertise, Business Partnering and Shared Services still makes sense. It hasn’t always been successfully implemented, and sometimes goes off course.
In this one-hour webinar, we:
- Explore the traps that HR functions can fall into and how to overcome them
- Open up your thinking and explore together how you can choose how to operate and respond to today’s demands
- Provide inspiration and ideas on how to bring your HR team/s together and challenge how they can operate as One HR Team.
How to thrive as a CPO in today’s world of work
As a CPO, you want to add value strategically. In order to achieve this there are many capabilities to master – intellectual, behavioural and emotional. This webinar series will cut through to the reality of achieving success as a top leader in HR.
These interactive sessions will equip and inspire CPOs to navigate a world of increasing change and complexity. We will hear from accomplished CPOs and invite input and questions from our audience to ensure that each webinar is practical, relevant and rooted in today’s challenging context.
Register your interest to stay up to date with this series of Webinars
HR Business Partnering programmes
As strategic advisors, HR Business Partners play a pivotal role in bridging HR and organisational leadership. Enable HR’s programmes are designed to:
- Equip HRBPs with advanced skills in stakeholder engagement and strategic alignment.
- Provide tools to measure and demonstrate the impact of HR initiatives on business outcomes.
- Enhance collaboration between HR and other departments, ensuring a cohesive approach to organisational priorities.
Build your strength as a HR Business Partner
How to increase your HRBPs’ impact in HR Business Partnering
These training programmes and webinars are:
- Delivered by expert facilitators: Sessions are led by seasoned HR professionals with extensive experience in leadership development, HR strategy, and operational excellence.
- Tailored to organisational needs: Each programme is customised to address the specific challenges and goals of the participating organisation.
- Designed for measurable outcomes: Participants gain practical tools and strategies to apply immediately, with clear metrics to track progress and success.
Enable-HR’s commitment to professional development ensures that HR teams are equipped to navigate complex challenges, drive meaningful change, and deliver exceptional value to their organisations.
Aligning One HR Team with business priorities
- Understanding business needs: Proactive engagement with executives ensures HR initiatives align with organisational objectives. This includes identifying critical business challenges and tailoring HR strategies to address them.
- Adopting agile HR practices: Flexibility and adaptability are key to staying relevant in today’s fast-paced business environment. Agile HR practices enable teams to respond quickly to shifting priorities, ensuring alignment with both short-term and long-term goals.
- Delivering customised solutions: HR programmes must be tailored to regional and departmental needs to maximise their impact. This approach ensures that all initiatives are relevant, inclusive, and aligned with organisational values.
The Role of Enable-HR in Building One HR Team
Enable-HR provides comprehensive support for HR transformation, offering services such as:
- Strategic planning workshops: Help HR teams align their objectives with business priorities.
- Customised HR transformation programmes: Design and implement tailored solutions to optimise HR operating models.
- Technology integration support: Assist in leveraging HCM systems and people analytics to enhance decision-making and efficiency.
- Executive coaching for HR Leaders
Energise your HR Team for 2025
Kickstart the year with focus and alignment by partnering with Enable-HR. Our expertise in HR transformation equips teams to drive business success while fostering collaboration and unity. Contact Enable-HR today to discover how we can help your organisation build a high-performing, unified HR team.
Get in touch with Enable-HR International
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Contact us
Phone: 0208 720 7097
Email: info@enable-hr.com
If you are interested in learning more about our co-founder, Deborah Wilkes, or about Empowering HR, we invite you to purchase Deborah’s book, which is endorsed by Dave Ulrich.
