HRSD Consulting: Where Are We Failing?

[kirsten_for]

I've been thinking about this a lot.

Having worked as an HR practitioner, an HRSD implementation consultant, and ultimately a Product Owner, I've seen transformation from every seat at the table.

Here's what I've learned:

Too many HRSD implementations are driven by order takers instead of transformation leaders.

If the client's request is, "Build this process," many consultants simply build it.

But that's not consulting.

Consulting means asking:

• Why does this process exist?
• Should it exist at all?
• What experience are we trying to create?
• How should HR operate in the future—not just how it operates today?

This isn't about criticizing consultants or technology—it's about challenging ourselves to become better partners, better leaders, and better architects of the future of HR.

Let's start a conversation that moves our industry forward.

Technology is only one piece of HR transformation. The real work is challenging assumptions, redesigning operating models, simplifying services, and helping leaders make better decisions.

The best HRSD consultants don't just implement ServiceNow.

They challenge thinking, influence strategy, and leave the HR organization operating better than they found it.

HR doesn't need more order takers.

It needs transformation leaders.

[Abhishek Pal]

Hi @kirsten_for ,

I completely agree with this.

One of the biggest mistakes in HRSD implementations is treating the existing HR process as the requirement instead of treating it as something that should first be challenged.

A good consultant should not only ask:

"How do we build this in ServiceNow?"

They should first ask:

Why does this process exist?
Which steps actually add value?
Which approvals can be removed?
Can this be standardized?
Can the employee experience be simplified?
Can automation replace manual handoffs?
What should the future-state operating model look like?

From an HRSD architecture perspective, I normally look at the requirement in this order:

Business outcome
Employee experience
Process simplification
Standardization
OOB HRSD capability
Automation
Customization only where genuinely required

Otherwise, we risk taking a complicated legacy HR process and simply recreating the same complexity on a newer platform.

The strongest HRSD consultants are not just ServiceNow configurators. They understand HR operations, challenge unnecessary complexity, protect the platform from over-customization, and help the customer design a better future state.

Technology enables the transformation, but the real value comes from changing the process and operating model behind it.

Great topic and an important discussion for the HRSD community.

If this perspective was helpful, please mark it as Helpful.

Kind Regards,
Abhishek Pal

[kirsten_for]

 @Abhishek Pal... Exactly!

Business outcomes should be the starting point.

We need to uncover the WHY before we ever get into workshops, requirements, or design sessions. That’s where the consultant’s value really comes in — guiding the client to challenge the current state and think differently about what’s possible.

Otherwise, we’re simply continuing the order-taking process: “Tell us what you do today, and we’ll configure it in ServiceNow.”

True HRSD consulting is about helping the client determine what should happen in the future state — not just replicating what happens today on a new platform.

The technology should enable the business outcome, not define it.