White Paper

How to Build an
Effective HR Service
Management Strategy
Improve employee experience and productivity
by transforming HR service delivery

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Table of Contents
03 Executive Summary

04 The critical role of HR in digital transformation

05 The challenge with traditional HR models

07 The fundamentals of HR service management

08 How to build an HR service management model:

10 core capabilities

10 Choosing the right HR service management solution

12 Introducing BMC Helix for HR Service Management

13 How can BMC Helix benefit HR?

14 What makes BMC Helix for HR Service Management

unique?

15 Conclusion

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Executive Summary
Human Resources manages the most An HR service management solution with
important asset of any business: its people. cutting-edge AI/ML capabilities can achieve
Post-pandemic, organizations not only face exactly that, enabling HR to improve
tremendous pressure to accelerate digital productivity, increase retention, boost
transformation but also to attract and retain efficiency, and create a truly transformative
the talent to do so. HR must move beyond employee experience.
traditional processes to not only keep pace
with today’s technology but use it for
innovation and differentiation.

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The critical role of HR
in digital transformation
Digital transformation has been at the top of most crucial challenges. HR must use technology to
enterprises’ priority list, but HR has rarely been the ensure an exceptional employee experience that
center of attention. The pandemic changed that: increases retention, mitigates attrition, attracts top
amid the “Great Resignation” and seismic changes talent, and improves employee satisfaction and
to working models and employee expectations, HR engagement.
is now charged with solving some of the business’s

A recent digital maturity study conducted by West Monroe Partners

identified four characteristics of digital maturity that correlate most with
financial performance:

Engaged employees Digital interactions An ability to leverage A strong vision and

that are convenient data for insights dedicated leadership
and effortless

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The challenge with
traditional HR models
To meet these objectives, Human Resources must process and the protection of individual employees
undergo its own digital transformation. HR’s red- and the organization more than ever. And yet, the
tape reputation may be clichéd, but it’s not wholly workflows that support this necessity can quickly
inaccurate. There’s a reason for HR’s tremendous become cumbersome, impeding agility and
administrative burden: especially in today’s global, innovation.
work-from-anywhere environment, HR
professionals must juggle the requirements, In addition, business leaders are shifting from a
demands, and regulations tied to employees in the laser focus on efficiency to the impact and
office, at home, and around the world. These importance of employee experience. In a world of
challenges make it difficult to standardize and digital transformation, promoting a culture of
streamline processes, but also demonstrate the experimentation and open curiosity is non-
need to digitize to survive in the current fast-paced negotiable. The democratization of knowledge has
business climate. created an informed and agile worker, one who
expects leaders to be people-led and people-
For HR teams, it can feel like a classic Catch-22. The focused. This is particularly true as organizations
complexity of modern business necessitates due navigate the post-pandemic climate, with changing

Source: https://talentculture.com/how-technology-helps-hr-spend-less-time-on-paper-and-more-time-on-people/

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expectations for where, when, and how work gets respondents recognized when they’re becoming
done – and employees’ willingness to leave if those disengaged, and look to leadership to deliver on
expectations aren’t met. engagement initiatives.

This climate creates challenging new realities for • Floundering engagement: When it comes to the
HR, including: impact of technology, Gartner for HR found that
48% of CHROs stated that their current solutions
• Loss of top talent: In its recent publication, Top 5 hinder, rather than improve, employee
Priorities for HR Leaders in 2022, Gartner for HR experience.
found that 91% of HR leaders are significantly
(48%) or somewhat (43%) concerned about • The modernization imperative: In 2021, the
employee turnover over the next several months. Gartner HR Budget and Staffing Survey found
Additionally, they should expect year-over-year that while 1/3 of HR leaders plan for budget cuts,
rates at 50-70% more than usual. 90% still plan to maintain or increase their
investment in technology.
• A disengaged employee base: Forbes estimates
that “Disengaged employees cost businesses
somewhere between $450 and $550 billion a
year.” However, there may be hope, as 95% of

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The fundamentals of
HR service management
To combat these challenges, HR requires an At its core, HR service management standardizes
operational layer that frees up HR professionals and operationalizes HR processes using automation,
from administrative duties and allows them to focus self-service, and omni-channel experiences. It
on higher-value tasks, such as engaging employees. enables collaboration across the business, breaking
This goes far beyond point-product HR technology. down the HR silo and empowering teams to focus
To meet employee needs across the lifecycle, HR on the end-to-end employee journey. HR service
needs to integrate HR operations into the management reduces friction between employees
enterprise infrastructure. By increasing efficiency and HR, improves employees’ perception of HR
and productivity within HR, HR can in turn deliver (and the organization as a whole), and enables
exponential benefits across the organization. both employees and HR professionals to be more
efficient, productive, and satisfied.
How can Human Resources transform internally to
provide these benefits and more? An HR Service As a result of these outcomes, traditional HR
Management (HRSM) solution. functions can expand. When equipped with a
powerful service management model, HR can go
HR service management is a tiered shared services beyond standard tasks like benefits, payroll, and
delivery model that applies principles from IT and on- and off-boarding to focus on employee
customer service to the Human Resources function. engagement for the modern workforce. Employee
It extends beyond case management to bring the engagement is one of the biggest contributors to
vast majority of HR tasks under one umbrella, digital transformation and successful organizations
including routine tasks and transactions, providing as a whole – and in today’s competitive climate, it
services to employees and managers, reporting, has never been more important.
vendor management, and on-demand support for
line managers for every-day matters.

Benefits of engaged employees

Highly engaged employees and their teams deliver • 14% higher productivity (production records
dramatic, measurable benefits to the business, and evaluations)
including: • 18% lower turnover for high-turnover
organizations (those with more than 40%
• 10% higher customer loyalty/engagement
annualized turnover)
• 23% higher profitability
• 43% lower turnover for low-turnover
• 18% higher productivity (sales) organizations (those with 40% or lower
annualized turnover)

Source: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/393497/world-trillion-workplace-problem.aspx
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How to build an HR service
management model:
10 core capabilities
An impactful HR service management model should 4. AL/ML capabilities. Applying artificial
offer ten core capabilities to deliver on its promise. intelligence and machine learning technologies
These include: to enterprise-level business needs helps teams
like HR rethink how the workforce accesses and
1. Workflow automation. Automation is one of uses information. These capabilities improve
the cornerstones of HR service delivery. It not only the way that services are delivered and
allows HR to turn common requests and scaled across the enterprise, but also how those
transactions into repeatable processes that free services are consumed by end users.
up HR team members to work on higher value
projects. 5. Integration and RPA/automation. Integration
with data from other key systems combined
2. Powerful self-service. Even basic self-service, with automation that uses that data provides
like a searchable employee knowledge base, optimization of common processes for faster
improves HR operations. With advanced service and optimized HR operations.
technology, modern HR service delivery can do Integrating with an HCM system for key people
more with self-service than ever before, from data allows HR to automate common requests
utilizing chatbots to integrated knowledge around employment verification letters, tuition
management. reimbursement processing, etc., as well as
enabling the automation of task bundles based
3. Case management. Like their counterparts in on employee persona attributes, assignment to
IT, HR professionals are constantly taking the appropriate shared services teams, and
requests from employees. HR service delivery other key tasks.
should provide a streamlined way to manage
these requests across their lifecycle. 6. Social collaboration. This can come in a
variety of flavors, but most importantly it
should eliminate or connect silos across
technology tools and departments to enable
trustworthy communication between HR and
employees.

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7. Omni-channel access. The modern workforce 10. Future-proof features & functionality. The
relies heavily on mobile technologies and HR speed of technological change demands that
must meet employees where they are. It’s any new system should meet business needs
crucial to create an omni-channel experience today and tomorrow. This will vary for different
that connects to all of employees’ most-used organizations, but an HR service delivery model
endpoints. should account for emerging technologies like
AI and predictive analytics.
8. Security and data privacy. HR handles some
of the most sensitive information in the
enterprise and any system with access to that Spotlight on: Intelligent self service
data must be thoroughly vetted for security. AI and ML are fast becoming critical elements of a
successful HR service management strategy. These
capabilities power guided and automated workflows
9. Compliance and auditability. Similarly, risk that enable everything from better search results to
management must be high priority for HR knowledge management adoption to intelligent
systems. It must be simple and reliable to store case categorization. Chatbots use natural language
and retrieve data centrally and securely to meet processing to provide intelligent, conversational,
regulatory responsibilities and the needs of and omni-channel experiences that streamline the
your organization. way services are requested, delivered, and
consumed. AI and ML also increase user efficiency
by eliminating manual work and making smart
recommendations to end-user issues.

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Choosing the right HR service
management solution
A successful HR service management initiative When teams like HR, Facilities, Finance,
requires the right service management solution. Procurement and others each select their own
The market offers a wide variety of options, from applications for what are essentially similar needs,
sophisticated service management solutions geared software sprawl kicks in quickly. Departments find it
toward IT to simplified business-centric platforms difficult to collaborate across disparate tools that
to custom tools built in-house. require extensive customizations or do not
integrate at all. Information is duplicated,
Functionality, of course, is critical. The solution technology gets outdated quickly, and the front-
should be able to execute on all of the criteria listed and back-end user experiences vary widely. Business
above and be easy to use while doing so. If its end teams still have dependencies on IT to make
users – HR team members – are not comfortable changes, but buried under so many tools, IT
and capable of using the tool, adoption and struggles to deliver efficiently. Supporting and
outcomes will suffer. Simply put, HR service delivery maintaining a host of solutions is expensive. And
will fail if people don’t want to or don’t know how perhaps most importantly, the proliferation of
to use the technology behind it. applications makes it difficult to protect users’ data
and privacy.
While your HRSM solution must be HR-friendly, it
should also be selected with the broader business These complications translate to measurable
context in mind. The proliferation of software tools, negative consequences for the business, including:
especially cloud-based products, has made it fast
and simple for departments like HR to choose and • Poor resource optimization, as business analysts
implement their own offering without and development teams must work in multiple
“interference” from IT. This can be a good thing, different tools
empowering business teams to find a solution that
suits their specific needs. But it can also present • Lower workforce productivity and reduced
significant challenges. collaboration as teams lack a holistic view across
workflows

• Increased security risk with different security

models and accessibility requirements across
different apps

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• Cross-functional processes and activities are leaders recognize that a holistic, strategic employee
slow, disconnected, and complex to track experience goes beyond satisfaction or engagement
to encompass an employee’s end-to-end experience
• Slow, negative, and costly employee experiences with a company, from its overarching culture to
with internal service providers like HR each individual interaction.

• Poor technology adoption due to substandard Successful HR service management not only
UX improves the employee experience of HR team
members, but also every other employee with
• Reduced ability to quickly manage, control, and whom HR interacts. It empowers employees to
audit service requests communicate, collaborate, share information, and
pursue ideas. It connects HR to other departments
These implications make it clear that choosing the that impact employee experience, like Facilities and
right HR service management tool is not just about IT, for seamless assistance and problem-solving. It
features: it must be part of a larger business makes every employee’s life easier by creating an
strategy to support each team both individually and environment where people have the tools and
as part of the larger enterprise. support they need to be successful.

Organizations that focus on employee experience

Employees are the new customers
have 4x the average profit and 2x the average
A positive customer experience is the cornerstone
revenue of standard businesses.
of any successful business – but the employee
experience is almost as important. Today’s business

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Introducing BMC Helix for
HR Service Management
To achieve and support digital transformation BMC Helix for HR Service Management meets the
within the business, an HR service management needs of businesses looking to reduce and control
tool must provide the features and usability that HR costs as well as standardize and streamline business
needs with the breadth and depth that the processes. By utilizing automated intelligence, it
enterprise requires. That’s why BMC Helix for HR improves not only the way services are delivered
Service Management delivers modern service and scaled across the enterprise, but also how they
management designed specifically for lines of are consumed by end users. With BMC Helix for HR
business like HR. Service Management, your organization can
optimize and transform service delivery within HR
BMC Helix for HR Service Management empowers and beyond.
HR leaders to manage, automate, and scale service
delivery intelligently to drive peak efficiency. It helps
organizations achieve HR service excellence
through intelligent service management, enabling
compelling innovations at the velocity needed to
meet business goals and deliver transcendent
customer experiences.

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How can BMC Helix benefit HR?
BMC Helix for HR Service Management uses 3. Modern HR service management. HR
intelligent service delivery to transform HR in three requires a foundation that will intelligently grow,
key ways. scale, and adapt to the evolving needs of the
workplace. BMC Helix provides the core
1. Collaboration across the business. Successful features for modern HR service management
HR Service Management is all about the and intelligent ways of delivering innovative
employee experience, data, and workflows. The services while delivering exceptional employee
employee is the important part of the equation, experiences.
and providing an end-to-end fulfillment
experience is critical. Most organizations have » Integrated HR Case Management
several existing tools in their ecosystem they
need to retain, and our solution is designed to » Content Solutions
collaborate with, not replace, those tools.
Customers utilize our solution on the front end » Document Management
to provide answers, give them access to other
lines of business, and have the ability to do » Knowledge Management
complex workflows like onboarding. This
» HR Insights
complimentary strategy of using the best tool
for the right function is why they choose BMC
» Shared Service Support
Helix for HR Service Management.
» Automation
2. An elevated employee experience. For a
business, a better employee experience leads to » Administration
higher retention and productivity – and more
engaged employees. BMC Helix for HR Service
Management elevates the Employee Experience
by empowering and engaging through:

» HR Engagement Center

» Knowledge Management

» Intelligent self-service

» Employee Journey Experiences

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What makes BMC Helix for HR
Service Management unique?
• Intelligent self-service: Empower employees views of the process for both the employee and
with all the information they need, when they the manager, not only ensuring actions are done
need it, to be highly self-sufficient and properly but also delivering consumer-grade
productive. experiences. Provides easily configured
processes to standardize employee engagement
• HR Engagement Center: Configure all HR through their HR request journeys. Out-of-the-
services to the employee’s needs. box HR bundled use cases are provided for some
of the most common requests.
• Shared services support: Increase employee
satisfaction and productivity, while reducing With these capabilities, organizations can achieve
operational and administrative activities on dramatic business outcomes. The Forrester Total
strategic resources. Economic Impact report found that BMC Helix for
HR Service Management delivers benefits including:
• Automation: Provides out-of-the-box
automation, including AI/ML robotic process • 30% reduction in admin costs for deploying HR
automation (RPA), so use cases can be extended service delivery tools.
to other areas reducing resolution times. In many
cases, it provides no-touch case solutions to free • 50% end-user productivity increase (time saved
up personnel to focus on strategic initiatives. investigating/interacting)
Automated creation of task bundles based on
employee persona and other criteria such as • Deflection of over 1/3 of service tickets through
category to ensure the appropriate service is self-service
delivered to the employee.
• Scaled automated resolution to 25% addressing
• Employee journey experiences: Takes common HR, finance, facilities and other requests without
and complex HR processes and enables Service agent involvement
Delivery managers to deploy for rapid time-to-
value quickly and easily. Provides 360-degree

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Conclusion
As the owners of employee experience, Human
Resources stands at the forefront of digital
transformation. HR must embrace the opportunity
to deliver against the business’s most critical
objectives: attracting the best and the brightest,
reducing attrition and turnover, and fostering an
engaged workforce. These are big goals that require
bold moves. With the right service management
strategy backed by the most powerful technology,
HR can not only keep up with the speed of business
– it can lead it.

For more information

To learn more about BMC Helix for HR Service Management, visit www.bmc.com/it-solutions/
hr-service-management.html

About BMC
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