What is IT support?
HR service delivery models explained
As companies grow, so do the complexities of supporting their people. What once worked for a 10-person startup suddenly stops for a 500-person organization spread across departments, time zones, or continents. Employees can’t find the help they need. HR teams get bogged down with repeat questions. And leadership wonders why service levels are slipping.
That’s where the right HR service delivery model comes into play. It's not just about structure. It's about designing a system that helps HR scale efficiently while improving the employee experience. In this guide, we’ll break down the most common delivery models, how they support HR services, and how to choose the best fit for your team.
Understanding HR service delivery models
An HR service delivery model is the framework your organization uses to structure and deliver HR services to employees. It combines the design of your HR team, the processes you follow, and the tools you use to support everything from onboarding to performance management.
The right service delivery model can help optimize HR support across your organization. It helps reduce operational friction, improves employee satisfaction, and frees up HR professionals to focus on higher-impact work. By aligning your model with company size, structure, and goals, you can build a people-first HR experience that grows with your business.
Core components of an HR service delivery model
Let’s look at the core components of an HR service delivery model to help you get a better understanding of how these models work. Here are some of the core components of any HR service delivery model:
- Services offered: HR teams provide a wide range of services, from basic services like payroll and benefits to more people-focused services like training and development.
- Delivery channels: How are you going to deliver HR services? Traditional HR service delivery models use in-person interactions, but there are also digital help desk solutions and self-service tools for employees.
- Roles: Who’s responsible for ensuring the delivery of HR services? What roles do other HR team members play in the process?
These core components influence the efficiency and scalability of your HR service delivery model because different delivery channels offer different pros and cons. A decentralized HR model makes it easier to scale your HR services with the growth of your company.
The employee experience is also impacted by service management for HR teams. When you’re efficiently delivering services like payroll and time off approval, employees are more likely to be satisfied with their work environment.
The common types of HR service delivery models
The best way to understand this process is to look at HR service delivery model examples. In this section, we’ll break down some of the common types of HR service delivery models and how they work.
Centralized HR model
A centralized HR model means your HR services are organized into a single, unified location or HR department. Since all services are delivered by a single HR team with this model, it’s easier to maintain consistency and apply the same policies to each HR service. Many larger businesses use a centralized HR model to ensure HR services are being consistently delivered at each branch.
While consistency is an advantage of the centralized HR service delivery model, using this service model can be challenging if certain parts of your company have different HR needs. Centralized HR models are also more difficult to scale with your business, especially if you’re not taking advantage of HR automation tools and other time-saving resources.
Decentralized HR model
A decentralized HR model is one where individual branches or departments have their own dedicated HR department. If different parts of your company have different HR needs, this model is often the go-to choice. This can be an issue when you have multiple branches in regions with different state and local laws. If you want to maintain compliance across every location, a decentralized HR model allows you to address the unique HR needs of each department or branch.
While a decentralized model gives you more flexibility and responsiveness, it also increases the risk of inconsistent policy application and comes at a higher cost. That being said, decentralized service delivery models are an excellent solution if you need to customize your HR services to meet the unique needs of different regions and departments.
Shared services model
A shared services model is a cross between a decentralized and centralized model, giving you the best of both worlds. With this model, HR services are consolidated in a central service center that provides HR services to various departments or locations. Unlike the centralized HR service delivery model, the shared services model serves multiple parts of the organization and offers improved flexibility.
Using a shared service model is an excellent way to increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of your HR department. In terms of cost, the downside is that it costs significantly more to set up a shared HR service delivery model. This service model can also be more complex than a simple centralized model. Strong coordination is essential to keep local HR teams and central service centers on the same page.
Outsourced HR model
An outsourced HR model is when you outsource some or all of your HR services to third-party providers. Just like you might outsource IT service management (ITSM) or graphic design, you can hire an external HR provider who can handle simple tasks like payroll and benefits, paid time off, and onboarding.
Outsourced HR models can be a great decision if you’re looking to reduce costs and scale your HR services with the growth of your business. HR service experts can get up to speed and provide more affordable services, and you can always expand your outsourced HR team as your business grows.
However, it’s important to note that there are risks that come with reduced control of your HR department. Maintaining compliance and improving the employee experience can be difficult with outsourced HR models.
Center of Excellence model
An HR Center of Excellence (CoE) is a team that focuses on providing specialized HR expertise, implementing tools and strategies to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of your HR service delivery. CoEs play a key role in fostering continuous improvement and maximizing the efficiency of your HR services.
The CoE model also does an excellent job of complementing other models by driving strategy and innovation and applying best practices to HR service delivery. Leveraging tools and resources like HR service delivery templates keeps you organized and helps you deliver more efficient HR services.
Tiered HR model
With a tiered HR service delivery model, support is broken down into individual tiers such as self-service, help desk, and specialist support. Each tier has its own set of responsibilities, allowing HR team members to specialize and focus on the more complex HR issues.
When an employee submits a request to HR, it begins as a self-service request. If the self-service system can’t resolve the problem, it’s elevated to the help desk. If the help desk can’t resolve the issue, it’s elevated to support specialists who can fix more complex problems.
A tiered HR model improves resolution speed and gives specialists a chance to prioritize more complex issues, especially when combined with HR help desk software.
Choosing the right HR service delivery model for your organization
Every organization has different HR needs, and it’s important to choose an HR service delivery model that meets your needs. Start by evaluating your organizational needs, company size, culture, and digital maturity. Digital maturity is essentially your ability to use technology to your advantage.
Choosing a delivery model isn’t just about the current state of your business. It’s also important to consider the long-term goals of your organization. If you’re projecting significant growth, choose an HR service delivery model that can scale with your business.
HR service delivery model examples in practice
Examining HR service delivery model examples can help you better understand how these models apply to real-world environments.
Smaller local businesses typically use centralized HR service delivery models with HR teams on-site to provide HR services. As these businesses grow and expand to new locations, they may use a shared service model to meet the unique HR needs of each area.
Larger businesses tend to use a more tiered HR service delivery model. Amazon is a good example. If you have an issue, you can use self-service options to resolve it. If you can’t fix the issue alone, you can contact Amazon directly or the buyer or seller to figure it out.
Scale smarter with HR service delivery in Jira Service Management
The HR service delivery model you choose significantly impacts the quality, cost, and timeliness of your HR services. Jira Service Management can streamline your HR service delivery models to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
Jira Service Management helps teams deliver exceptional HR service with powerful features like automation, request portals, and knowledge base management. See how easy it is to transform your HR service delivery with Jira Service Management today.
The complete guide to Enterprise Service Management (ESM)
What is Enterprise Service Management? Learn how to implement ESM for better service delivery in this guide.
Read the articleHR Service Delivery: Definition, Benefits & Best Practices
Discover what HR service delivery is, why it’s important, and how it can improve the employee experience and boost HR operations.
Read the article