From Silos to Strategy: The Rise of Systemic HR
The days of siloed HR functions are officially behind us. Today’s HR teams need an integrated approach — one that tackles business challenges head-on, delivers actionable insights, and drives meaningful outcomes.
This evolution has propelled HR from the back office straight into the boardroom. To keep pace, the traditional service delivery model has given way to what industry analyst Josh Bersin calls Systemic HR — a dynamic and holistic operating system designed to meet the demands of modern organizations.
“We can’t treat HR as if we’re the repair department for the industrial machine anymore,” Josh says. “We have to be the business function that enables every single employee to be a superworker and add more and more value to their job.”
At Talent Connect 2024, Josh took the stage to unpack this transformative shift and share how Systemic HR is revolutionizing talent acquisition, learning and development, and organizational growth. His message was clear: Systemic HR is not just a new operating model; it’s the future of the profession.
HR has moved way beyond just payroll and compliance
Human resources used to be known primarily for hiring and firing. But these days, HR teams juggle a wide array of critical functions — they attract top talent, develop skills at scale, cultivate strong organizational culture, foster diversity and inclusion, enhance productivity and well-being, create great employee experiences, promote effective leadership, measure performance, and continually redesign work, jobs, and organizational structures.
And the demands keep growing, Josh notes. With the rapid rise of generative AI, skills-based approaches to hiring, pay equity and transparency initiatives, and ever-evolving models of work design, HR is constantly expanding its purview.
Far from the administrative and personnel roles of the past, HR today is a dynamic profession at the intersection of strategy, consulting, operations, technology, and data. “We really want to build a tree,” Josh says, “where all of the branches work together.”
The need for Systemic HR
The roles and responsibilities that currently fall to HR have exploded in recent years. “HR is complicated,” Josh says. “One of the things that people who are not in HR don’t realize is that this is a very complex, deep domain profession. You can’t just go into HR and suddenly be great at it in one month.”
As HR departments have taken on more responsibilities, their functions have become increasingly specialized, Josh explains. Experts in salary and benefits might know little about training, while learning and development professionals may be unfamiliar with the challenges facing recruiters. This lack of integration can lead to siloed departments that operate independently rather than collaboratively.
Josh likens this to the IT departments of the 1980s: highly specialized but disconnected. “All of these silos of skills we have in HR have to be reconnected,” he explains. “And what we’re trying to do in Systemic HR is stitch it all together.”
What is Systemic HR?
Josh coined the term Systemic HR to describe a new paradigm of strategic people management. Unlike the traditional siloed approach, Systemic HR treats the organization as an interconnected ecosystem, with HR at the center, aligning people strategies to drive business objectives.
This framework emphasizes integration and collaboration, viewing talent acquisition, learning and development, organizational design, and employee experience as deeply interdependent. By understanding how each element impacts the whole, HR can craft strategies that are both proactive and transformative.
The shift to Systemic HR is more than a procedural adjustment — it’s a fundamental change in mindset. It requires HR professionals to think like strategists and systems architects, leveraging data, technology, and a holistic perspective to address complex challenges and foster sustainable growth.
The steps that lead to Systemic HR
Transitioning from traditional HR practices to Systemic HR is a multistep journey that requires shifts in mindset, structure, and operations. Josh outlines a four-level maturity model to help organizations navigate this evolution:
Level 1: Transactional Compliance
At this foundational stage, HR functions as an administrative arm, focused on compliance, payroll, benefits administration, and employee records. The goal is operational accuracy and risk management, with limited strategic alignment.
Level 2: Efficient Service Delivery
Here, HR begins to optimize processes through technology and standardization, enabling more efficient service delivery. Shared service models, self-service tools, and automation are common. While efficiency improves, alignment with broader business goals remains minimal.
Level 3: Solution-Centric
This stage marks a shift from operational focus to strategic partnership. HR teams develop tailored solutions for workforce needs, such as leadership programs, DEI initiatives, or upskilling strategies. Product managers and people analytics capabilities become integral, fostering cross-department collaboration and deeper alignment with organizational priorities.
Level 4: Problem-Oriented (Systemic HR)
At the highest level, HR becomes a strategic problem-solver, fully integrated with business strategy. Teams anticipate challenges, identify opportunities, and drive business outcomes through data-driven insights and collaboration. Systemic HR is where HR’s impact is most profound, contributing directly to growth, resilience, and competitive advantage. “When you’re problem oriented,” Josh says, “you redefine yourself all the time as the problem changes. That’s what Level 4 looks like.”
Final thoughts: Progressing through the levels
Achieving Systemic HR isn’t an overnight transformation. Each stage builds on the capabilities of the one before, requiring ongoing investment in mindset, tools, and leadership. Josh emphasizes the importance of patience, continuous learning, and leveraging technology — like generative AI — to accelerate progress.
For people leaders, Systemic HR offers a powerful framework to tackle today’s challenges and shape the future of work. As Josh’s Talent Connect session makes clear, adopting Systemic HR isn’t just an evolution — it’s the key to building resilient, future-ready organizations.
