Change is always challenging. And given the increasing business value of the HR function, transformation within the HR department can be especially arduous. Experts say a program management approach can help HR leaders lean into collaboration and strategic planning to navigate the complexities of a transformation.
Program management can make the task of transformation less daunting, says Kimberly Carroll, managing principal at Inflexion Advisors and moderator of Program Management: The Dynamic True North for Transformation at the recent HR Tech conference in Las Vegas.
That’s because program management provides a framework to lead and coordinate a group of related projects organized around specific objectives. For HR leaders, taking a program management approach can help them coordinate complex initiatives, match talent with strategic goals and build a culture that reinforces long-term success, according to Carroll.
However, a lot of companies shy away from change that could be facilitated through a program management approach.
“At most companies, they end up de-prioritizing change because there is not a business case or it costs too much to do,” Carroll warned. “So, you’ve got to lead with change, especially if you’re going through an HR transformation that will impact your entire population.”
For example, Hyatt Hotels and Ticketmaster Entertainment are undergoing an HR transformation, and their HR leaders shared their experiences on Carroll’s panel.
How Hyatt and Ticketmaster use program management for transformation
Experts say that HR leaders embarking on a transformation plan for their department and organization should take a long-view approach, and program management can assist in this effort.
“Transformation is not a singular thing,” said Katie Carter, senior vice president of global HR evolution at Hyatt Hotels. “It’s a continuous improvement process.”
Program management in action at Hyatt Hotels
The hotel giant is in the early stages of its transformation, having recently created its HR program management framework.
“It was a whole new way of working together, collaborating and reducing the silos, and understanding how all the work that we were about to do will impact each other and the importance of timelines,” said Carter.
Carter and her team first looked at the types of work streams or projects they would have to build to move forward with the transformation. She noted that a governance structure was created to clearly understand the decisions that needed to be made and who should make them—which ended up coming from those closest to the projects to accelerate the process, Carter said.
Ticketmaster Entertainment’s 5-year strategy with program management
During the pandemic, Ticketmaster decided to rework its operations globally, said Charlie Diaz, vice president of HR shared services for Ticketmaster.
“So, today, what we have is a set of unique department strategies that are all aimed at evolving the needs of our clients and fans and all in the spirit of our growth ambitions. Within that, our very own HR transformation is embedded for us,” said Diaz.
Ticketmaster’s HR department is about a year into its transformation journey, in which it is working toward four broad people goals under a five-year strategy plan:
- Evolve the role of HR
- Augment HR systems, tools and processes
- Engineer content so it maximizes employee engagement and growth opportunities
- Lead with data to make informed people decisions
Ticketmaster uses program management to set priorities, roll them into the objectives and manage results related to these objectives, said Diaz.
For example, as part of its efforts to augment HR systems and tools, Ticketmaster made enhancing its HRIS one of its priorities. Within that project, it utilized a program management approach to integrate DocuSign with its offer letters and contracts, he noted.
“By using program management, it’s allowed us to really understand our sense and purpose with other teams and broader in the scheme of things,” said Diaz. “When we think about transformation from an enterprise-wide standpoint, it really highlights the vital role of HR plans in enriching our company’s future.”
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