The Customer Value-Driven HR
Strategy
A Different Value Proposition for HR
Anyone who has developed a favorite version of “coffee” at Starbucks cannot help but appreciate
the unique attributes that have made that experience” uniquely different and memorable.
Sunday, based on Founder and Chairman Truett
Cathy’s Christian belief in Sunday as a day of
worship.
Chick-fil-A, the Atlanta based, quick-service
restaurant chain, is well-known for their freshsqueezed lemonade, hand-cut waffle fries, and their
flagship chicken sandwich—always served with the
famous “our pleasure” expression of gratitude from
their front-line associates.
What can HR leaders learn from these
organizations? Why do so many HR organizations
find themselves backed into a corner, particularly
within this economic climate, defending where they
spend their time, resources and most of their entire
budget? Why do HR leaders, confronted with
mounting pressure from business leaders,
immediately react by issuing edicts to cut the HR
budget or take on a strategy consumed with cutting
costs? The saying that you “can’t shrink yourself to
greatness” holds true for HR as well.
USAA, the Texas-based insurer and financial
services company, was (and still is) so highlyrecognized for their customer and claims service,
that jealousy pervaded non-members who had not
been allowed join unless a family member had
served in the military (that policy has recently
changed).
In each of these examples, the organization has
avoided defining their value proposition as the “lowcost leader” and has made it their mission to
differentiate themselves through customer service,
market innovation and delivering additional value to
their customers. These organizations have had a
remarkable run of success over the years, and one
assumes that even through tough times, each will
survive and perhaps thrive in the long run. They
have an extremely loyal customer following who in
many cases are regarded as “raving fans,” and a
corporate culture established on a strong foundation
of core values and business principles. For
example, Chick-fil-A will never be open on a
© Camden Delta Consulting, LLC
The smarter alternative is to take an opposing
stand, focusing on what you have to offer in terms of
delivering value. For HR, that translates into
developing solutions and services required to help
the business manage short-term change and come
out of the recession better positioned to thrive.
What’s needed, particularly in times of dramatic
change, is a differentiated value proposition for HR.
Without it, HR may find itself confronted with the
same crippling fate as so many businesses in this
economy—becoming a “low-differentiated”
commodity whose business is eventually placed
with the lowest bidder.
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the guest and associate experience is aligned with
their strategic vision.
So, how are leading HR organizations using these
tough times to not only respond prudently, but use
change as a catalyst in order to create strategic
value for their organizations?
By using the slowdown to focus on associate
learning and development, they are shoring up
areas where service levels need improvement.
Additionally, a major effort is underway to improve
manager capability to coach associates for
improved performance. The organization is
anticipating the uptick and positioning itself for
sustained success.
The Strategic 5
It is easier to illustrate the customer value-driven HR
strategy by the actions and solutions that these
organizations are taking in today’s market, than to
talk about the formulation of the strategy itself—an
iterative process we work through in collaboration
with our clients (see Figure 1). The main priorities
that these HR organizations focus on primarily fall
into 5 buckets that we call the “Strategic 5.”
Finally, they are revisiting their internal brand to
ensure that all associates and leaders are clear on
what it means to work for the organization and the
expectations that will be placed on them. They are
reviewing elements of the associate experience that
are not as well aligned to the “events of the day,”
and assessing prospective changes to policies,
processes and other factors that influence associate
engagement, ultimately translating to the guest
experience.
Aligning HR strategy in a fast changing environment
can be a formidable challenge. At Camden Delta,
we recognize how difficult it is for the HR leader to
manage all the moving parts and acknowledge that
at times it may feel like progress is at a standstill.
The 5 strategic priorities are typically focused on:
1. Aligning current planned business actions/
economic responses to core organizational
values;
2. Investing in manager capability to help prepare
them to lead change and coach for performance;
3. Focusing on the leadership bench and shoring
up capabilities required to manage through the
downturn while anticipating the uptick;
4. Ensuring an adequate pulse on employee
engagement and creating targeted action plans
focused on organizational “hotspots”; and
However, by deliberately focusing on the Strategic
5, while balancing the need to manage bottom-line
costs, the result can be a much more holistic,
balanced and customer-centered value proposition.
Clearly, this will yield a broader HR strategy that
addresses more than simply shrinking the HR
budget.
5. Communicating in an honest and forthright
fashion to inform all associates about the current
state climate, help them anticipate and commit to
change for those things that the organization
must respond to, and create the longer-term
mindset required to take full advantage for when
the uptick does happen.
Characteristics of Customer
Value-Driven HR
Similar to the aspiration to ensure a consistent
customer experience that Starbucks, Chick-fil-A and
USAA strive for, HR organizations that are in-tune
with their customers display certain core
competencies. They embed into their culture and
organizational mindset a way of working that is
framed in the context of delivering customer value.
In a recent conversation with a senior HR leader for
a global hospitality company, she explained that
their focus today is clearly aligned to the Strategic 5.
In a climate where luxury hotel rooms are not
exactly selling out, it is remarkable to hear how this
HR organization is investing the time and energy to
focus their managers and associates on the
company’s fundamental core values to ensure that
© Camden Delta Consulting, LLC
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to be slightly higher, but customers indicate that
they are willing to pay for the additional value added
through HR.
Based on our experience in working with many
global HR organizations, we believe these traits
underlie the customer value-driven HR organization.
The characteristics are essential to propose and
develop the Strategic 5 HR strategy as described
above.
When we look at the capabilities within HR, we see
a strong focus by HR leaders to build business
consulting capabilities within the function. In these
cases, the core competency model defines the
attributes for success, HR development is centered
on business acumen and core consulting skills, and
new hires are assessed for their aptitude to consult
with business clients. All in all, HR invests in staff
capabilities to create alignment with the customer
value proposition and to ensure that HR staff is
prepared to consult and add value in resolving the
day-to-day and long-term issues within the
business.
These “driven” HR organizations are truly centered
on a customer-focused value discipline. Leaders
and teams continually challenge themselves and
ask questions such as “What’s best for the customer
based on this situation?,” “What will help our
customers achieve their goals?” and “How can we
contribute more?”
They design solutions in partnership with their
clients. They view the process as a joint
commitment and an active relationship where both
parties work side by side to create something
genuinely valuable to the organization. The resulting
solution is less about HR “doing something” for the
organization and more about HR partnering and
helping to design a strategic business solution. HR
is quite comfortable sharing the reins and allowing
the business to ultimately own the solution.
Lastly, these organizations, and particularly the HR
leaders, are able to quickly adjust and adapt to a
changing strategic landscape. Their agility and
foresight allow them to anticipate change and
provide well thought-out solutions for their business
leaders. The word “reactionary” is not in their
vocabulary. Business leaders do not have to invite
them to the table; HR leaders are already there with
a plan in hand.
Customer value-driven HR organizations make a
greater investment in delivering the solution and
accompanying services in the most customercentric manner. This means contracting with the
business up front about budgeting, and if HR has
built up goodwill in the process, this can be a rather
quick exercise. Business leaders become
accustomed to the support they receive from HR
and increasingly recognize the added value. In
contrast, we have heard business leaders in non
customer value-driven HR organizations, where
collaboration on strategic solutions is lacking,
express their dismay at HR for simply “throwing
something over the wall.” Therefore, HR costs per
employee in customer-driven HR organizations tend
© Camden Delta Consulting, LLC
Characteristics of Customer Value-Driven HR
In addition to having a clearly defined customer
centered value discipline, leading HR organizations
also tend to:
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•
•
•
•
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Design solutions in partnership with internal
clients;
Invest more to deliver HR services;
Manage and track a few strategic measures
that really matter;
Focus on building consulting capabilities within
HR practitioners; and
Quickly adapt to a changing landscape.
March 2009
Figure 1. Customer Value-Driven HR Strategy Development
To what extent is the current HR strategy over
emphasizing cost cutting vs. creating customer
value-added solutions?
Summary
One thing the current economic downtown is
teaching all of us is to take the time to refocus on
priorities. For your HR organization this may be the
perfect opportunity to rethink your customer value
proposition and realign your underlying HR strategy
with a focus on the customer experience and an
emphasis on the Strategic 5.
How do customers view us today—as a commodity
or a differentiated service provider?
Are customers willing to pay more for HR services
because we are able to clearly articulate and deliver
something of value?
Becoming a better balanced and more client
centered HR organization will lead to stronger
results over the long term and a more rewarding
experience for HR practitioners in the organization.
Business leaders will challenge you in much the
same way a customer challenges their favorite
coffee establishment to improve the experience
each time they visit. Your role is to ensure
consistency in experience, express a value
proposition aligned to your customers’ current
expectations, anticipate changing needs, and then,
execute.
Are we developing solutions in collaboration with
our partners or in a vacuum?
How are we investing in HR capabilities? Is the
investment focused on building core consulting
skills?
How effective are we at anticipating change and
developing timely solutions?
Historically, we know that recessions are only
temporary setbacks. Those HR organizations able
to convey a customer-centric value proposition and
create their own base of raving fans will most
certainly be better positioned for future growth. They
To start on a path to build a customer value-driven
HR organization, ask yourself the following:
© Camden Delta Consulting, LLC
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Carpe Diem!
will be viewed as strategic partners in the change
process and find their roles much more fulfilling than
an HR organization slowly dying the painful
existence of death by a million cuts.
Related Reading
The Discipline of Market Leaders, Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema, 1997
Doing Business the Chick-fil-A Way, S. Truett Cathy, 2002
Good to Great, Jim Collins, 2001
Clients for Life, Andrew Sobel, 2002
For More Information
Camden Delta Consulting, LLC works with clients to create an HR strategy for breakthrough results, define
people and talent solutions to enable organization change, improve talent management processes, and coach
and develop key leaders to drive organizational change objectives. To learn more about our capabilities and
experiences or to schedule a Camden Delta Sharing Session, please visit www.camdendelta.com or contact us
now: Glen Kallas (glen.kallas@camdendelta.com), Mary Alice Trotter (maryalice.trotter@camdendelta.com).
About Camden Delta Consulting, LLC
At Camden Delta Consulting we help our clients analyze, define, execute and measure the right people programs
to achieve strategic organizational change objectives. We do this in collaboration with our clients and within the
context of the world around us. Our solutions focus on:
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strategic change management,
HR strategy & HR organization effectiveness,
talent strategy and integrated talent management process improvement; and
leadership/individual coaching for change.
Our proprietary model of working is centered on the philosophy that organizations must constantly strive to
balance the need for results with the needs of their people. For more information, please visit:
www.camdendelta.com.
© Camden Delta Consulting, LLC
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