People Transformation: Turning Strategy Into Delivery

DataReign is bringing together experts from across its Lead Associate network to share hands-on experience, practical insight and different perspectives from the field. In the first article in this series, Mo Karim, one of DataReign’s Lead Associates, looks at the world of People Transformation and it’s link to digitisation and HRIS delivery and why turning strategy into outcomes takes more than another deck.

People transformation can start in different places.

Sometimes we catch clients right at the beginning of the conversation, when they're trying to figure out what they need to do to digitise themselves and think about their future. Other times, they've already had the conversation with a technology provider such as Workday, or they know they need an HRIS, and they want to run a process to get one in. That's more about catching the procurement process, where the strategy has been decided, but they don't know how to execute it.

Then there's the other side, where they've already got an HRIS and an HR team up and running, but it’s not quite all working well together and they need remediation and optimisation support. So there are different angles we can come in from.

The approach is typically looking across the organisation, people, process, technology and data. Ultimately, the role is either to support the strategy and vision of the company, with a focus around people, or to take that strategy and vision and turn it into a programme of much-needed improvements, deliverables and executables, then operationalise it on behalf of the C-suite.

That's the important bit. People transformation isn't only about deciding what the future should look like. It's about making sure the business can actually deliver it.

This Shouldn’t Be Just a One-Vendor Conversation

We don't want to be fixated only on one vendor in the marketplace.

If we only look at one vendor or one technology solution in isolation, we risk cutting off a lot of the client base and not joining up the overall end-to-end tech stack in a way that makes sense to run the organisation efficiently, such as joiners, movers and leavers, or payroll processes, or even how we generate data and insights to drive meaningful decisions. A company might be looking at SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle or BambooHR, but still want to do an HR transformation. They might think we're only Workday-focused and not able to support them independently.

The better way to frame it is that we've got expertise across People Transformation. That can include Workday and SuccessFactors as well as other people-related technologies or extending into ERP where needed, but it can also include recruitment transformation, general digitisation and workforce planning for example.

The point is that this is a broader People Transformation conversation. It's about being able to support a business independently, help them understand what they need, and then help them execute it properly.

What I Typically Do

If I break it down simply, the C-suite might come to me and say, “I need to transform my HR function as part of the business transformation. I don't know where to start.”

I'd come in and say, “let's assess where you're weak, where you're strong, and where the opportunities are”. Based on what I've done in other companies, and based on my market knowledge, the outcomes are typically things like supporting organisation design, redefining the target operating model, redefining the service delivery model, and optimising the business based on technology and the end user experience – fixing something broken, making something better or doing something completely new and transformative.

That can also include business process optimisation and selecting, advising on, procuring and implementing the right technology solutions, as well as joining up and aligning internal business functions to support the change across HR, Finance, IT and Operations for example. It also means using market relationships and market knowledge to give the best outcome for the client as a client-side consultant.

It can also mean commissioning and managing the right partners for delivery. That might include job architecture, technology, general consultancy from one of the big four, or niche partners who come in to plug specific gaps so the organisation gets the right value from these relationships and the work to be delivered. A big part of the role is managing those deliverables and managing multiple partners to support the transformation vision.

That's typically what I do. I'm a C-suite partner and a C-suite advisor, and I build teams to execute on those deliverables.

Problem Solvers And Executors

This is the consultancy arm of the business. We're problem solvers and executors.

We can catch a client at any point in their journey, whether they're at the beginning, in the middle, or whether something's failed. It doesn't just have to be right at the beginning.

That matters because some clients need help shaping the strategy. Others already have the vision but need someone to turn it into a programme. Others need someone to come in and fix what has stalled.

The focus is on being able to work at pace, support the vision and strategy build for the C-suite, or take that vision and strategy and turn it into deliverables. It's about being a trusted partner and trusted advisor, as well as a trusted executor.

Practical Experience, Not Theory

The tone of this has to be based on practical hands-on experience, not theory.

That's one of the main differentiators. A lot of consultancy work can become very deck and theory led. It can be, here's the deck, here's the strategy, and now we're going to talk you through it. But the work has to be based on true experience.

Everything I do is based on the fact that I've done this for companies time and time again. I've played at different levels in an organisation myself from junior to Executive, so I use that experience to make it relatable. It's experience gathered in being in those same shoes through working at multiple layers across the organisation not just one function and understanding people, the people organisation, and how to align business and people strategy to execute and deliver the best outcomes and best value for the client.

The C-suite partnership piece is important. You could be a CEO, CHRO, COO or CFO looking at the company and thinking, this business needs change. You might not know where to start, or you might have a view but no one to help deliver it. That's where you need a partner who can come in, be a thinking partner and adviser, help solve the problem and plug the gap and actually deliver it for you in your best interest.

That's client-side consultancy. It's there to deliver outcomes for you, not for anyone else.

Technology Can Drive Change Or Enable It

There are two different ways technology can sit in a transformation.

Technology can be the enabler of change, or it can be the driver of change. They're two subtle but important differences.

When technology is the driver of change, it might be because the business has procured a system and now needs to sort itself out so it can operate in the most efficient way and make use of what it's bought. The technology forces the business to change the way it works.

When technology is the enabler of change, the business is driving the transformation first, and technology becomes one of the avenues to help deliver it. The leadership team might have a vision to modernise the business, scale globally or move from a fragmented operating model to a more joined-up one. In that case, technology supports the strategy.

Those are two very different situations.

In both cases, the important thing is understanding how the technology connects to the wider organisation and people, process and data picture. If everything is focused only on the system, the business can lose sight of what the transformation is actually meant to achieve.

A More Authentic Way To Talk About Change

The way we talk about transformation needs to feel down to earth, authentic, relevant and current.

I don't want this to sound like a regurgitation of the big consultancy firms. To be honest, I win business from those firms because clients want someone who's delivered this work and has practical experience as well as deep relationships across the ecosystems and knows where to go and how to leverage those relationships.

There's also a generational point here. The people now driving change and transformation aren't always the old-school consultancy partners who've done it in one particular way for decades. There's a newer voice coming through, and it needs to feel more current and more relevant to how organisations are working now.

For transformation leaders, these are the conversations we need to be having. What does change actually look like now? Who's going to deliver it? How do we make it feel practical, relevant and close to the business rather than cold or theoretical?

That's where trust starts to build. Not when a client is hearing the same consultancy language again, but when they feel they're speaking to someone who understands the reality of the work speaking in plain, relatable and authentic ways.

Where The Lead Associate Model Fits

This is where the Lead Associate model makes sense.

The value is having someone who brings real people transformation expertise into the conversation. Someone who can support and partner the C-suite, help shape the strategy where needed, and then build the team and manage the deliverables to execute it.

It's not about selling a single platform or pushing one fixed method. It's about understanding where the client is in their journey, whether they're at the beginning, in the middle, or trying to fix something that hasn't worked, and then bringing the right practical experience around them.

That's the proposition. We help businesses solve problems and execute. We can support the vision, turn it into deliverables, and work with clients in a way that's grounded in delivery experience rather than theory.

Planning A People Transformation Programme?

For organisations working through these questions now, the first step isn't just to decide which platform to buy. It's to understand where they are in the journey, what needs to change and who can help turn that into delivery.

That's where DataReign's Lead Associate network can help. We work with organisations to bring practical, hands-on transformation experience directly into client teams, whether they're shaping the strategy, selecting an HRIS, fixing delivery that's already stalled or building the capability to keep moving after the programme is live.

The aim isn’t to add more theory. It's to help clients move pragmatically at pace, solve the right problems, avoid mistakes and leave the organisation with more capability than when we arrived.

If you're planning a people transformation programme, need to improve your business processes and capabilities, selecting HR technology or an HRIS platform or trying to get a stalled programme moving again, speak to the DataReign team.