First define the HR challenge, then decide who and how

A foundation providing secondary education was developing a new organisational structure and faced an important question: which responsibilities should be managed centrally, and which should be assigned to individual schools?

To make informed decisions, the organisation first needed a clear picture of the services its central support departments provided through the Knowledge and Service Centre (KES), and what services would be needed in the future. Without this clarity, it was difficult to agree on responsibilities and establish what schools, KES and the board could expect from one another.

Rather than starting by allocating responsibilities, we first mapped out the services provided. Drawing on existing information and discussions with heads of support departments and employees, we identified both the current services and those KES would need to provide in the future. We then organised these services into a clear structure and worked with the heads of support departments to develop a service catalogue. Throughout the process, KES employees reviewed the catalogue, provided feedback and added further detail.

This covered the full range of central support services, from finance and educational support to IT, estates and HR. Within HR, for example, we clarified the services provided in areas such as employees joining and leaving the organisation, professional development and career mobility, employee wellbeing, terms and conditions of employment, HR support and organisational advisory services.

By defining the services first, we created a clearer basis for addressing the next question: who should be responsible for what?

The result is an approved service catalogue that brings together the foundation’s central support services in a clear and accessible format.

The catalogue gives KES, the board and individual schools clarity about the support provided and what they can expect from one another.