Services

Operational Assessment

HR operational assessment is a systematic process for obtaining accurate information about the performance of an organization and the factors that affect performance – the age-old monikers of people, processes and technology.  It is conducted in order to document areas of competence, areas for improvement, possible risks and to help support investment and restructuring decisions. As an HR leader, if you are asking or being asked the question, “How are we doing?”, a thorough operational assessment can provide the answer.

Done properly, it will tell you how you are doing, what you are doing well and why you are not meeting your intended goals. Just as good practice dictates that you review the performance of your employees on a regular basis, operational assessments should be part of a regular internal feedback process.  Although many organizations have developed an internal operational assessment capability, resource availability and other constraints may warrant the use of external help. IA can bring objectivity, technical know-how and a tested methodology to help organizations complete this effort and provide the information needed to support critical strategic, financial, program and staffing decisions.

HR Roadmap Development

Often following the completion of an operational assessment, roadmap development clearly defines the "to be" state and memorializes possible scenarios for the future HR service delivery environment. This is accomplished by integrating the different functional domains inclusive of organization, governance, services, processes, people and technology. IA also defines desired requirements to accelerate attainment of both near and long-term objectives.

IA will typically develop and present up to four detailed service delivery scenarios across the defined functional domains to include: governance, service and process framework, technology and data models, pros and cons of each scenario and fit-gap between the “as is” and “to be” state per scenario. In order to fully support and inform the roadmap, proposed scenarios will typically include both an extension of current foundational solutions as well as the selection and deployment of net-new offerings.

Business Case Development

Many organizations have a clear and concise understanding of their desired future state yet may struggle with the creation, socialization and approval of a strong and defensible business case. IA addresses the common catalysts for a human capital business case - 1) a known opportunity or need driven by either a mandatory requirement, a problem that needs correcting and/or a business opportunity for improvement; or, 2) known solutions with unclear applications.

Our business case development services avoid the common mistakes that plague unread (and rarely approved) manifestos and instead focus on six essential elements for making a business case to the C-suite or board. With well documented alternatives and a clear, concise and strong voice for change, we're confident you can attain approval on even the most complex and daunting HR initiatives.

Full Service Provider Selection

IA is passionate about service provider selection. We have a unique focus on helping our clients deploy market-leading offerings with an emphasis on rapid knowledge transfer and self-sustainability. Our selection advisors represent some of the leading voices in the HR industry and pride themselves on their recognition of not only what is possible, but also what is probable. We maintain a strong network of relationships to ensure that our knowledge base is current, our collaboration with the industry strong, and our processes efficient.

IA deploys a multi-phased approach to all selection activities, including:

Phase 1: Internal Readiness and RFP Creation - This critical step includes the assembly of all internal stakeholders, agreement on organizational needs and requirements and the detailed preparation of a request for proposal (RFP) and all associated materials. IA also encourages service provider briefings during this phase to ensure that clients and providers can assess cultural, functional and operational fit prior to the RFP release.

Phase 2: RFP Release and Bidder Relationship Management - IA offers full RFP lifecycle management as a means of ensuring that all communication and submission processes are clear, concise, burden-free, timely, fully defensible and beyond reproach. Our collaboration with internal stakeholder groups such as finance, information technology and procurement provide assurance that their unique needs are appropriately met by the service provider community. Clients and providers alike will attest to the valuable guidance and triage our advisors offer during the formal submission process.

Phase 3: Response Evaluation and Selection - IA works with each of its clients to define uniquely applicable quantitative and qualitative criteria for RFP scoring and evaluation. You can rest assured that IA's advisors consume every page of submitted material and clearly weigh and document the pros and cons of proposed solutions and approaches. Moreover, IA will manage (if so desired) all reference calls and perform full and detailed financial analysis on all respondents. The end goal is the selection of highly qualified and appropriately matched providers for finalist presentation.

Phase 4: Site Visits, Award and Contract Negotiation - Although some consider this the most tiring portion of the selection process, IA provides full site visit and finalist presentation management to focus the conversation toward those items most valuable in attaining a clear and concise victor. Once a preferred provider has been identified, IA assists our clients with instantiating all the agreed-upon functional and financial terms into a final negotiated agreement between the parties.

Throughout this process, IA views its role as one of facilitating commerce and connectivity between our clientele and the service providers who support them. Our emphasis on candor, transparency and fit not only increases the likelihood of success, but it also ensures that an enduring and supportive relationship is established from day one.

Service Provider Selection Support

For those organizations with mature and highly robust internal processes, IA offers targeted selection support services. Ranging from single or multi-phased engagements to external validation services, IA advisors are called upon to supplement existing procurement, shared services and/or HR leaders with our extensive market knowledge and selection expertise.

With self-sustainability as a core tenet, IA also offers customized workshops to educate organizations on the current state of the HR service provider community and selection best practices. Ranging from half-day to multi-day sessions, IA workshops allow our clients to gain extensive market knowledge in a highly focused and efficient format.

Relationship Review and Market Assessment

For organizations who are in the midst of an existing service provider relationship, IA offers an in-flight relationship review and market assessment. Often sought by those who intend to extend the term of an existing relationship without bringing a RFP to market, IA will review the current functional, operational, technical and financial arrangement between the parties to ensure market parity and identify opportunities for mutually beneficial improvement.

Mistakenly positioned by some as a "price checking" service, IA has found that purely financial benchmarking without contextually relevant change management and governance can result in an unsustainable outcome for both parties. Our best practice approach marries our clients' desired or required outcomes to service provider elasticity with an emphasis on attaining a highly tenable solution for all involved.

Relationship Management and Governance

IA supports the design, development and deployment of a strong and well-defined relationship management and governance structure between you and your most trusted HR service provider partners. In doing so, one must plan for the absolute certainty of change.

The degree of anticipated change often correlates to both the length and depth of the contractual award. Both parties will likely experience turnover among key personnel, evolutions in their respective strategic directions, financial and operational pressures and unanticipated usability and connectivity demands. Our decades of experience ensure that we can thoughtfully anticipate and plan for those issues that often inhibit progress and foster divisiveness, thereby shifting focus toward mutually beneficial outcomes.

Project Oversight

It is often helpful to have an external perspective and independent support throughout all phases of a new solution implementation. As your project oversight partner, IA will identify opportunities for the successful execution and acceleration of project deliverables and rapidly offer solutions to any challenges that may arise. IA finds that client requirements for this service vary widely based upon service provider knowledge of your organization and the proposed implementation plan and timelines.

From the point at which you may be running parallel systems through go-live and system stabilization, IA also assists organizations in monitoring critical components, including the incumbent team (whether internal of external), the new provider implementation and operations teams, the migration of relevant transactional and archived data, and the impact to your organization's new hire, active and retiree populations.

Remediation Services

Once the seed of discontent has been planted - regardless of blame - it tends to take hold and rapidly grow in size, scope and complexity. Although many organizations attempt to thoughtfully remediate via escalation or arbitration, the insertion of an independent and unbiased third-party is often a catalyst for positive change.

IA offers remediation services with the explicit goal of attaining mutually agreeable resolution within a highly confidential and protected environment. Our deep HR domain knowledge and broad industry experience allow for both the forensic examination of the root cause and the rapid deployment of solutions that bring all parties into alignment.

In those unfortunate instances where the relationship cannot be resuscitated, IA will ensure that a transition support plan is in place so that clients may thoughtfully migrate to either an interim or permanent solution that clearly aligns with organizational goals and objectives.