1. Why do so many HR transformation programmes go live on time but still miss their business case?

Because go-live measures project delivery, not business outcomes. The business case is proven after launch, when managers use the service without workarounds and HR has better data at the point of decision.

2. What is the difference between HR outsourcing and HR as a Service (HRaaS)?

Traditional outsourcing starts with a task list. HRaaS starts with the service employees and managers need, then builds the operating model around it. The difference shows in adoption rates and in where accountability sits.

3. How should a CHRO measure whether an HR transformation is working after go-live?

Manager self-service adoption, response time and data quality show whether the service works. Time to hire and speed of workforce decisions show whether the business is getting value.

4. What should CHROs expect from an HR transformation partner beyond system implementation?

Challenge, not comfort. A partner should make the organisation think harder about process design, accountability and what success looks like. Delivery against a plan is not the same as delivery of results.

5. How will AI change HR operating models over the next three years?

AI will remove routine work, but poor data will still produce poor decisions. The first gains will look ordinary: better case routing, faster policy access. The larger shift will be in real-time workforce decision-making.

HR transformation is not an HR project | Shiju Soman

Where most transformation programmes lose value

HR transformation is not an HR project. It is a business transformation enabled by HR.

1. Technology gets too much credit

A new platform may modernise HR delivery. It will not fix poor process design or settle who owns the result. Organisations choose a system, move old processes into it, and declare success when it launches on time. The project plan is complete. The business case often is not.

2. Go-live is a poor measure of success

Managers keep their own spreadsheets. Local teams work around the new process. HR assembles data by hand to answer a basic workforce question. The real measures -- manager self-service adoption, response time, data quality, time to hire -- only become visible after launch. If the programme declares victory at go-live, nobody looks at them.

3. HR cannot settle the trade-offs alone

Finance, IT, legal and business leaders own parts of every HR process. They have to own the design decisions too. A transformation structured as an HR project leaves those stakeholders as approvers rather than accountable parties. When the new model requires them to change how they work, they have not been part of building it.

4. HRaaS starts with the service, not the scope

Traditional outsourcing starts with a list of tasks to hand over. HRaaS starts with the service employees and managers need, then designs the operating model around it. The distinction matters because the first approach optimises the wrong thing. Reducing the cost of a process nobody uses is not a result.

5. Three decisions before the platform is chosen

1. Define the outcome first

Name the business problem in plain terms and decide how progress will be measured. If the objective is only to implement a platform, the programme is not ready to start.

2. Redesign before digitising

Remove work that no longer serves a purpose. Standardise where it improves the service. Preserve local variation only where regulation or a real business need demands it.

3. Plan for the service after go-live

Keep the measures visible and fix what is not working. A launch proves the project team delivered. Value becomes visible later, when managers use the service without workarounds.

A partner who validates every existing process is not a partner. They are a vendor.

-- Shiju Soman, VP HR Services & Transformation, Zalaris

Download report

FAQ

Shiju Soman

VP Transformation & Business Development

With over 20 years of experience in establishing and scaling managed services, I specialize in transforming talent management, payroll, and HR operations for diverse organizations. My approach blends deep domain expertise with a future-forward mindset — applying employee-first principles powered by agentic and Generative AI solutions to design modern, scalable, and efficient HR operating models.

HR transformation is not an HR project: From platform delivery to business outcomes