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    Review On Ulrichs 3 Legged Stool

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    Rwiti Kar
    The document discusses and evaluates Dave Ulrich's "three-legged stool" model of human resource service delivery. This model proposes separating HR functions into three roles: business partners, shared services, and centers of expertise. The model aims to make HR a more strategic contributor to business performance. While the model has advantages like an organized structure and recognizing HR's strategic role, it also faces challenges such as overlapping functions and the long time and costs required to implement changes. The document concludes that while the entire model may not be suitable for all organizations, aspects of it like the business partner role could still provide benefits when adapted to individual organizational needs.

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    Review On Ulrichs 3 Legged Stool

    Uploaded by

    Rwiti Kar
    6K views2 pages
    The document discusses and evaluates Dave Ulrich's "three-legged stool" model of human resource service delivery. This model proposes separating HR functions into three roles: business partners, shared services, and centers of expertise. The model aims to make HR a more strategic contributor to business performance. While the model has advantages like an organized structure and recognizing HR's strategic role, it also faces challenges such as overlapping functions and the long time and costs required to implement changes. The document concludes that while the entire model may not be suitable for all organizations, aspects of it like the business partner role could still provide benefits when adapted to individual organizational needs.

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    Critical analysis on Ulrich's 'Three-legged stool' model

    Original Title

    Review on Ulrichs 3 Legged Stool

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    The document discusses and evaluates Dave Ulrich's "three-legged stool" model of human resource service delivery. This model proposes separating HR functions into three roles: business partners, shared services, and centers of expertise. The model aims to make HR a more strategic contributor to business performance. While the model has advantages like an organized structure and recognizing HR's strategic role, it also faces challenges such as overlapping functions and the long time and costs required to implement changes. The document concludes that while the entire model may not be suitable for all organizations, aspects of it like the business partner role could still provide benefits when adapted to individual organizational needs.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    6K views2 pages

    Review On Ulrichs 3 Legged Stool

    Uploaded by

    Rwiti Kar
    The document discusses and evaluates Dave Ulrich's "three-legged stool" model of human resource service delivery. This model proposes separating HR functions into three roles: business partners, shared services, and centers of expertise. The model aims to make HR a more strategic contributor to business performance. While the model has advantages like an organized structure and recognizing HR's strategic role, it also faces challenges such as overlapping functions and the long time and costs required to implement changes. The document concludes that while the entire model may not be suitable for all organizations, aspects of it like the business partner role could still provide benefits when adapted to individual organizational needs.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    Topic: Over recent years it has been Ulrichs model of human resource service delivery commonly

    referred to as the three legged stool model or three box model which has become regarded as best
    practice (Swift 2012:5).

    Critically evaluate the extent to which this model is appropriate for all organisations.

    The Dave Ulrichs model of Human resource service delivery, also known as the three legged stool
    model or the three box model (hereinafter referred as the Ulrichs model), is regarded as the best
    practise (Swift 2012:5). To understand the extent to which this model is appropriate for all
    organisations, we must first understand the Ulrichs model, followed by its achievements and
    challenges in comparison to the traditional model that is still being used by many organisations.

    The traditional model included a single team of HR generalist, specialists and administration and is
    focussed on employee relationships in the organisation. Whereas, the Ulrichs model is based on how
    to support the organisation by maximizing human capital. It is a concept derived from Ulrichs original
    Four factor model (Ulrich,1997) which consisted of HR as a Strategic Partner, a Change Agent, an
    Administration expert and an Employee Advocate. The Three-legged stool model narrowed down on
    the different functions and created the three roles/departments (i.e. the Business Partners, the
    Shared services and the Centre of Expertise) that every organisation might need in order for HRs to
    become a more strategic contributor and to maximise its contribution to business performance (Swift
    2012:5). The Business Partners role includes creating, recognising and implementing strategies,
    working with Line managers / Business heads and becoming a Change agent. The Shared services deal
    with the routine HR functions like administration, payroll, attendance, etc., while the Centres of
    Expertise are a team of HR experts with specialist knowledge to deliver competitive business
    advantage through HR innovations in areas such as reward, learning, engagement & talent
    management (CIPD, 2011a).

    The main advantage of this model has been the organised structure of the HR functions and
    recognising the role of a HR as a specialist or strategist for people consequences of changes to
    strategy or policy (CIPD, 2011a, Ulrich, Younger & Brockbank, 2008) to improve business
    performance and the cost-effective nature of shared services. The traditional model left little room
    for the HR professionals to

    The Ulrichs model has its own set of challenges: -

    a) The HR functions/departments specified by the Ulrichs model is separate and specific in theory,
    but in practice they overlap, causing businesses to consider a separate HR service strategy as futile or
    an unnecessary expense.

    b) Inability of HR Business partners, in convincing senior managers that they have the necessary
    business acumen to contribute, to the strategic debate (Deloitte Report, 2009:8).

    c) The Ulrichs model takes a long period of time to show its cost-effectiveness and overall impact.
    Initial cost of purchasing HR technology or setting up different departments and/or out-sourcing of
    routine HR tasks like Shared service, seems high and therefore makes it more difficult to convince a
    company to consider the effectiveness of this model based on a long-term perspective
    (Marchington,2012)
    d) The outsourcing of the shared services has a few drawbacks of its own. Any company looking
    forward to outsourcing routine HR jobs, need to put forward a contract with specifically agreed
    performance indicators for the out-sourced company and with this, comes the danger of HR activities
    becoming too strict with certain standards while neglecting others. In simple terms, the strict
    performance indicators required for negotiating or getting into a contract with the out-sourced service
    provider can take away the human factor from the Human Resources activity.

    The aforementioned challenges of the Ulrichs model are bona fide, but so are its advantages. As per
    the Orion Ulrich Survey (2014) over 90% of the organisations surveyed said that their HR function was
    more efficient and commercially focused than it was 10 years ago. Some organisations have stated
    that their organisations have accommodated a massive growth in the business without growing the
    overheads and one such surveyed organisation stated that their salary planning cycle has reduced
    from 3 months to 3 weeks.

    As far as the extent to which the Ulrichs model is appropriate for all organisations is concerned, I
    believe that even if the whole Ulrichs model is not applied to all organisations, they should apply
    some part of it, adapted in a way that fits that organisation. The Business Partner /Strategy partners
    can make a huge impact on the organisation in the future. Donald W. Jarrell had stated in his book,
    that many organizations have at least half their financial resources committed to the acquisition,
    development, maintenance, and use of human resources and therefore, strategic planning in HR can
    ensure that these encumbered finances yield a return (Jarrell, 1993). So, if we go by that, all
    organisation can start with the Business Partner leg of the Ulrichs model and take it from there.

    (766 words)

    Reference: -

    CIPD (2011a) HR Business Partnering: Factsheet. London, Chartered Institute of Personnel and
    Development.
    Jarrell., W., D., 1993. Human Resource Planning. Prentice Hall.
    Marchington, M., 2017. Human Resource Management at Work. Chartered Institute of
    Personnel and Development.
    Swift, G., 2012. Studying Human Resource Management, Chapter 1, Human resource service
    delivery. 2nd ed. United Kingdom: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
    Ulrich., D., 1997. Human Resource Champions. Harvard Business School Press.
    Ulrich, D., 2009. HR Transformation: Building Human Resources From the Outside In. Mcgraw-
    hill

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