Transforming HR Functions Through Shared Service: Insights from Indian Public Sector Power Major

The case is about a prominent Indian public sector power company involved in the entire power generation value chain, encompassing fossil, hydro, nuclear and renewable energy sources. The organization is geographically divided into eight zones/regions: Central Region, DBF Region, Western Region-I, Western Region-II, Eastern Region-I, Eastern Region-II, Northern Region and Southern Region.In a conversation between Mr Anuj Kapoor, the Director of HR at this major power company, and Ms Abhika Choudhary, a researcher and academician, the discussion revolved around implementing human resources shared services (HRSS) within the organization. Initially undertaken to address manpower optimization challenges within HR functions, the complete transformation of HR functions through shared services gave Mr Kapoor valuable insights. Reflecting on this journey during the meeting with Ms Choudhary, he explored the entire spectrum from idea generation to implementation, including navigating resistance to change and post-implementation feedback.While Ms Choudhary diligently recorded the discussion to gain practical insights into the technological intervention in organizational HR functions, the flow of the conversation encountered a hurdle when delving into one specific post-implementation feedback from employees. This feedback pertained to the dichotomy of face or faceless HR in the era of HRSS within the company.