‘Cleaning up the Backyard’ with Global Retailer

“It’s easy to get stuck into work without taking the time to learn and see what’s out there – Telos has played that role for us and has kept an eye on what’s happening beyond the walls of our organization, saving us heaps of time.” - APAC Regional Head of HR

Client Context

• Global retailer;

• Telos engaged by the the APAC Regional Head of HR;

• 50+ person HR function located across China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and India.

Presenting issue 

Telos was initially engaged to support our client in developing and executing a People Strategy following their recent transition into the APAC Regional Head of HR role. As part of this people strategy review, 12 strategic projects were defined as requiring critical focus to improve the functioning of the HR Department, five of which Telos was appointed to lead and manage. One of Telos’ projects involved reviewing, streamlining, and optimising existing HR processes to reduce the amount of time the HR Team was spending on basic administrative tasks.

Our Approach:

As the HR team was geographically dispersed across various countries in the Asia Pacific region, Telos effectively leveraged virtual platforms including Miro and Zoom to successfully facilitate and enable the collaborative group work sessions and co-designed solutions outlined below: 

Process Prioritisation & Planning

1. The HR Leadership Team were asked to brainstorm the top 8 – 10 processes in their respective areas that required improvement and rate these processes against a series of dimensions designed to tap into Process Importance and Process Improvement Potential. Telos mapped these ratings onto a grid to make an initial quantitative assessment of which process are of the greatest importance and could realistically and tangibly improved.

2. A virtual session was then conducted using Miro to review the output of this initial assessment and overlay qualitative data using insights and anecdotes gathered in group discussion with the HR Leadership Team. As a result of this session, 9 key processes were agreed upon for future focus. 

3. HR Leaders assigned Process Owners from their teams who would be responsible for leading the improvement activities required to take processes from current state to desired state, as facilitated by Telos. 

Process Mapping & Improvement Planning

1. Process Owners were responsible for identifying and recruiting key HR team stakeholders to join their Process Improvement teams. 

2. All Process Owners and Process Team Members were debriefed by Telos on the aims of the project. Any relevant existing process information and documentation was gathered and reviewed as a preliminary assessment of the current state.

3. Telos then met with the Process Teams over several Miro sessions to process map the current state, including key pain points. Future desired state was also mapped, with both short- and long-term improvement recommendations. 

Presenting & Implementing Process Improvements

1. Telos developed a presentation template and schedule for Process Owners to present their improvement recommendations to the APAC Regional Head of HR in a way that was clear, concise, and effectively communicated the benefits of proposed activities. 

2. Telos then facilitated accountability of the execution of improvement activities within proposed timeframes via the creation of an Improvement Tracking spreadsheet which was shared monthly with the APAC Regional Head of HR for oversight and reporting purposes. 

Outcome

By taking a methodical and structured approach to prioritise which processes had the greatest importance and improvement potential, Telos could ensure that the value and utility of time and resourcing spent on this project were maximised. In addition, the below benefits were realised:

• Improved clarification throughout the HR team regarding process purpose, accountabilities, and documentation;

• Application of an ‘outside-in’ view helped to challenge assumptions and broaden thinking levels in devising solutions to process challenges;

• Increased ownership and commitment to process change due to accountability and empowerment of Process Owners and team members; and

• Enhanced capability of HR team members in problem identification, process-mapping, and collaborative solution co-design. 

This project allowed for a reduction in manual processing and duplication of effort by both the business and HR, saving time and resourcing costs. This ultimately enabled the HR team to spend more time on delivering strategic, value-adding initiatives and business-partnering to support the business in meeting their strategic goals and objectives.