A mature, stable, global corporate would expect to have sophisticated systems and processes and be clear on where it stands on each dimension. Whereas, those organisations that may be growing or stagnating, subject to significant structural change or starved of investment, will likely not be as well placed as they could be and can therefore look to shape a HR Transformation based on a pragmatic assessment of where they are and where they want or need to be.

Every organisation is unique and so each HR Function will have a different optimum setup. Some of the broader questions to consider are:

• What is the culture of the organisation e.g. Paternal? Federal? Centralised?
• Does the current HR model play well to the organisation's level of need to attract and retain talent?
• What does the HR Function cost and how is its value-add perceived by its customers?
• Is the organisation facing external threats or internal challenges that HR needs to step up to meet? 
• Are there technology or regulatory changes driving the need for HR Transformation? Perhaps part of a wider back-office Transformation, Shared Service Centre, etc?

Whatever the challenge or goal, the steps are clear:

• Know your current state or seek out help to assess this
• Formulate a clear statement of what the future state needs to be
• Identify the steps required and the resources you will need to move to the new, better way of working and shape these into a road map to embark upon your HR Transformation Programme