BPR 2.0: The Human-Centered Edition

How can human capital management departments pivot towards human-centred outcomes?

Each new generation of workers entering the workforce has brought certain values and approaches to the workplace. The Silent Generation brought their strong work ethic, Baby Boomers brought an emphasis on work conditions, and Gen Xers brought a focus on business process reengineering (BPR). Today, BPR is still relevant, albeit with a human-centred spin, thanks to the Millennials’ focus on work-life balance. 
 

The original inception of BPR focused on redesigning workflows and business processes to improve customer service, reduce operations costs, and develop a competitive advantage through innovation and adaptation to constantly shifting environments. BPR radically restructured organizations and resulted in various short-term financial savings, often through reductions in force. Although BPR sometimes got a bad reputation due to its impersonal approach to workers, some excellent innovations and adaptations came out of this work. 

In particular, leaders in human capital management departments can learn from BPR, given that human resources tend to adopt a reactive orientation that is incredibly slow to change. However, that may be about to change, as human capital management is at a critical tipping point of strategic and pivotal concern for organizational success in the current pandemic-era war for talent.

Today, people expect organizations to be radically human-centred and to meet their needs as holistic human beings. Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs model outlined the different needs employees have. Organizations that support their employees in fulfilling these various needs (e.g., for security, for belonging, for self-esteem, for fulfilling one’s potential) may find themselves competing more effectively than those simply focused on financial profit.

Figuring out how to do that, however, will require leaders to think outside the box regarding human-centred HR transformation. Just as Theodore Levitt from Harvard Business School noted that customers want "bundles of benefits," organizational leaders will need to use a variety of approaches (e.g., curiosity, influence, encouragement) to create human-centred systems and processes. 

How can human capital management departments pivot towards human-centred outcomes? Leaders should adopt the following model developed to put an outcomes-based approach into practice:
 

• Solving the problem – The organization needs to shift its focus from ‘what and why’ to ‘how.’
• Required resources – An entity trying to make significant changes must engage, retain, and attract diverse and versatile talent, which requires constant development through an inclusive organizational structure and culture. 
• Activities and tasks – The strategies, processes, methods, and data collection all work together to achieve growth via innovation.  
• Outcomes – How does the company plan to achieve its short-term and long-term targets? What are the implications? Are these being reported appropriately?

BPR is a challenging process; however, implementing human-centered, flexible HR programs based on corporate governance, the wants and needs of communities, and financial wellness, can benefit performance management, career development, and organizational success.

Laura Dannels, Ph.D, MBA, SHPR, is Chief Talent Officer and HR executive at Wellstar Health System and adjunct faculty in human capital management at Columbia University. She has 14 years' experience leading high performing teams to transform individuals, teams, cultures and organizations. Connect Laura Dannels