Our Approach

Every engagement is shaped by the needs of the organization, our approach is consistent. We take time to understand what is occurring and why, develop a path forward, put the plan into action, and equip your team to sustain the work.

Phase I - Listen

We start with your organization, not a predetermined solution. We begin with conversations with leaders and key stakeholders to understand the challenges, what has already been tried, organizational priorities, culture, and define what success looks like.

Phase II - Assess

We look beyond the issues to identify root causes. We gain an in depth understanding of competing priorities, risks, opportunities, and organizational dynamics before assessing a path forward.

Phase III - Design

We partner to translate what we have learned into a strategic plan. We develop practical recommendations that account for your people, culture, resources, mission, and institutional priorities. We take into account the evolving workforce and technological landscape.

Phase IV - Implement

Move from recommendation to action. We work with you to put solutions into practice, helping navigate decisions, engage stakeholders, communicate change, and move the work forward with clarity and momentum.

Our Approach In Action

Phase V - Equip

We help build the capability to sustain the work. We equip your leaders and teams with the clarity, tools, and knowledge to carry the work forward. By building internal capability and ownership, we help ensure the work continues to deliver value long after the engagement ends.

Sample Roadmap of an HR Restructure - An institution's needs have evolved, but the HR structure may not have kept pace. Leadership changes, vacancies, new technology, shifting workforce needs, and growing expectations of HR create an opportunity to consider how the function is organized. The goal is to ensure HR has the right capabilities, roles, and capacity to deliver on the institution's priorities. Here’s an example of an approach:

  • Understand what the institution needs from HR.

    Engage the HR team, senior leaders, and key stakeholders to understand institutional priorities, service expectations, current strengths, pain points, and opportunities for HR to provide elevated value.

    Steps may include:

    • Intake and discovery sessions

    • HR team listening sessions

    • Stakeholder interviews

    • Campus partner survey

    • Review of strategic priorities

  • How is the work done today.

    Assess the HR operating model, structure, roles, workload, reporting relationships, vacancies, processes, and service delivery to identify gaps, duplication, capacity challenges, and opportunities for greater effectiveness.

    Steps may include:

    • Organizational and role review

    • Workload and capacity assessment

    • Job description analysis

    • Process and workflow mapping

    • Service delivery assessment

    • Current-state findings report

  • Create a future-state HR model aligned with institutional needs.

    Develop organizational options that clarify accountability, align resources with priorities, strengthen critical capabilities, and position HR to operate as both an effective service function and strategic institutional partner.

    Steps may include:

    • Future-state organizational models

    • Role and responsibility clarification

    • Position redesign

    • Work redistribution

    • Reporting relationship recommendations

    • Implementation roadmap

  • Bring the new model to life with a focus on change management.

    Move from design to implementation with attention to the operational changes and the people impacted. We help leaders sequence decisions, communicate with clarity, anticipate stakeholder impact, and support the HR team through the transition so the new model is understood, adopted, and positioned for success.

    Steps may include:

    • Implementation sequencing

    • Change impact assessment

    • Revised roles and job descriptions

    • Staffing and vacancy decisions

    • Transition planning

    • Change and communication strategy

    • Leadership talking points

    • Team and stakeholder communications

    • Facilitated team conversations

  • Build the capability to sustain a new model.

    We ensure the new structure is supported by the clarity, tools, practices, and leadership capability needed to succeed beyond implementation. We work with HR leaders and teams to establish how the new model will operate day to day, transfer knowledge and ownership, and create mechanisms to assess what is working and adjust as institutional needs evolve.

    Steps may include:

    • Roles, responsibilities & decision matrix

    • Updated workflows & SOPs

    • Service expectations & escalation pathways

    • Manager and team training

    • Knowledge transfer & transition resources

    • Success measures & key performance indicators

    • 30/60/90-day stabilization plan

    • Post-implementation check-ins & adjustments