The Systemic HR™ Initiative by The Josh Bersin Company represents a groundbreaking shift in the HR landscape. This multi-year program, backed by over 25 years of research, redefines HR's role in modern business. Moving beyond traditional models, it emphasizes skill-centric approaches, dynamic team structures, and internal mobility, reflective of today's talent scarcity. The initiative outlines a four-level HR maturity model, evolving from basic transactional compliance to a systemic, problem-oriented approach. Central to this transformation is the development of full-stack HR professionals who are adaptable, creative, and deeply knowledgeable across multiple disciplines. This change is not just about improving HR but about making it a pivotal driver in business strategies, adaptable to continuous market and organizational changes.



OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Josh Bersin Company, the world's most trusted human capital advisory firm, today announces the release of its long-awaited Systemic HR research.

Over the last few years, organizations have faced complex "Post-Industrial age" challenges: designing hybrid work, building a skills meritocracy, modernizing the approach to hiring, and redesigning jobs, roles, and pay policies in a world of AI.

In the social context, HR practitioners must also help their organizations deal with diversity and inclusion debates, improve productivity, and retain and engage a highly stressed workforce.

Amidst these pressures, more than two-thirds of HR teams are primarily administrative functions. The Systemic HR Initiative, including a new study, The Definitive Guide to Human Resources: Systemic HR, from The Josh Bersin Company, is designed to help CHROs address these issues.

The new Systemic HR research, developed in partnership with LinkedIn, shows how HR teams can instead operate in a coordinated, problem-solving way, moving beyond the "HR as a service center" model of the 1980s. The research identified that 68% of HR organizations are far behind in their skills, operating models, and technologies and only 11% implement Systemic HR practices today.

"Level 4" organizations that fully implement Systemic HR are 12 times more likely to accomplish high workforce productivity, 7 times more likely to adapt to change, 6 times more likely to innovate effectively, and 9 times more likely to engage and retain the workforce effectively than their peers. They are also twice as likely to exceed financial targets and to delight their customers.

The study also highlights the fact that only 7% of companies have professional development for HR, only 17% have a process to prioritize resources to problems, and just 4% have a defined strategy for AI in HR.

While many HR transformation projects focus on technology, the research found that technology is an important but not sufficient tool for success. The most successful companies go far beyond implementing new systems and are dynamic, skills-based, consultative HR teams, organized in a way that brings the expertise together to drive transformation and growth in their companies.

"As AI continues to usher in a new era of work, the role of the HR function is becoming more important than ever. A major shift is happening across the Human Resource industry, and this study is an invaluable resource to help talent leaders transform to a new, systemic model," said Teuila Hanson, Chief People Officer of LinkedIn.

Companies that fully implement Systemic HR include LEGO, Mastercard, NewYork-Presbyterian, LinkedIn, IBM, Telstra, ING, REA Group, Advocate Health, SAP, and Unilever. Among these trailblazers is TomTom: "At TomTom, we've been working towards a systemic, problem-oriented HR operating model over the last few years, and the benefit has been immense. This research is the essential next step in the evolution of HR and will be the reference point for HR leaders for many years to come," said Arne-Christian Van Der Tang, the organization's CHRO.

The Systemic HR Framework is made up of eighteen practice areas, organized into five key themes:

1. HR Strategy and measurement (how HR teams measure success)


2. The Systemic HR Operating Model (how HR is organized and operates, with new roles for HR leadership, HR Business Partners, Centers of Excellence, product managers, agile consultants, and HR Service Delivery)


3. The Four R Framework™, a model for addressing talent gaps and team productivity


4. How to build Full-Stack HR capabilities among every member of the HR team


5. A modern, employee-first HR technology architecture, leveraging AI, talent intelligence, and systemic people analytics.

The Systemic HR Initiative is based on the largest-ever compiled HR data set. The two-year study included an analysis of 107 HR strategies and practices from over 1,000 companies across all industries and geographies, and covers 26 million employees, and 50+ in-depth interviews with CHROs of the world's most successful companies.

The research also includes a comprehensive analysis of 7.5 million HR professional profiles in partnership with LinkedIn and millions of HR job postings, which identified 250 unique HR jobs, and 400 unique HR skills from a LinkedIn's data set of 1 billion users.

Kathi Enderes, global industry analyst and SVP of Research at The Josh Bersin Company, said:

"We call this 'Systemic HR' because all the siloed areas of HR must now work together. Doing so means moving from a dated operating model to what we call an 'operating system,' where HR professionals are cross-trained, work in agile teams, and use world-class technology to serve, train, enable, and support employees while solving the biggest business problems.

"We believe adoption of the Systemic HR Initiative moves HR from a service delivery function to a proactive, solution-based consulting and advisory role."

Josh Bersin, global industry analyst and CEO of The Josh Bersin Company, said:

"As companies transform to new business models and work feverishly to take advantage of AI, HR teams have been left behind, hampered by outdated operating models and staff that are often improperly skilled or misaligned.

"To help, our new Systemic HR Initiative will show every HR team, regardless of their current skill state, how to evolve into a highly-skilled, consultative, value-add organization that will help their company evolve, transform, and grow."

Systemic HR research deliverables include a comprehensive research study, an organizational maturity model, Systemic HR Framework, specific action steps to move to Systemic HR, and a series of in-depth case studies describing the journey towards Systemic HR. More details are available in the full report.

The Systemic HR Initiative will include a wide variety of deliverables in the coming year, including more education in The Josh Bersin Academy, in-depth case studies, a series of research-based webinars, and an organizational assessment that shows any HR organization where they are in the journey and how to advance.

The Josh Bersin Company will also be launching a Systemic HR Awards program, starting at the company's annual executive conference, Irresistible 2024, to celebrate companies that embrace and implement the principles and practices of Systemic HR.

About The Josh Bersin Company
The most trusted human capital advisors in the world. More than a million HR and business leaders rely on us to help them overcome their greatest people challenges.

Thanks to our understanding of workplace issues, informed by the largest, and most up-to-date data sets on workers and employees, we give leaders the confidence to make decisions in line with latest thinking and evidence about work and the workplace. We're great listeners, too. There's no one like us, who understands this area so comprehensively and without bias.

We help CHROs and CEOs be better at delivering their business goals. We do that by helping you to manage people better. We are enablers at our core. We provide strategic advice and counsel supported by in-depth research, thought leadership, and unrivaled professional development, community and networking opportunities. Our offerings include the industry's leading AI-powered HR expert assistant, Galileo™, fueled by 25 years of in-depth Bersin research, case studies, benchmarks, and market information.

We empower our clients to run their businesses better. And we empower the market by identifying results-driven practices that make work better for every person on the planet.

For more information, visit www.joshbersin.com or email info@bersinpartners.com.

SOURCE The Josh Bersin Company