HR Service Delivery definition

HR provides many functions to the organisation, such as payroll processing, employee benefits and career advice. These services must be delivered to large workforces and the ways these are delivered are based on what's known as the HR service delivery model.

There are two main types of model. The traditional model of ‘generalist’ HR staff revolves around a central team that will provide key services and handle the needs of line managers, employees and senior staff, although there may be internal divides based employee grades. This is the most common type of service delivery model.

The second model, and one that is increasingly gaining traction, is Ulrich’s three-legged stool model of HR service delivery, which involves three crucial strands – HR business partners, HR centres of expertise and shared HR services. Commonly-cited benefits include a greater ability for HR to be strategic.

Other key types of HR service delivery model include self-service, where employees use portals to access and input the information they need, and thus don’t have to approach HR representatives directly. A common way to facilitate self-service delivery is to include in-depth Q&As hosted on company intranets so that employees can find answers to their questions. Outsourced HR services may also involve a different model in that the internal HR function can re-focus on delivering strategic value rather than administrative value.