You Know HR Could Be More Effective. But What Needs To Change?
When evidence is fragmented and stakeholders see HR differently, it is easy to focus on symptoms rather than causes. In six weeks, the HR Effectiveness Review gives you an independent diagnosis of what is holding the function back and prioritized actions for improvement.
HR professionals
An Incomplete Picture Leads to Misplaced Priorities
Internal data, leadership perspectives, and day-to-day experience do not always point to the same conclusion. Without a clear diagnosis, leaders lack the shared evidence to decide what should change and where investment has the greatest impact.
When the evidence is fragmented:
- Assumptions become difficult to challenge: Decisions depend on internal beliefs without an objective view of the function
- Different perspectives slow alignment: HR and business stakeholders disagree about what needs attention
- Change becomes harder to defend: Leaders lack external validation for investment, structural or capability decisions
- Effort is spread too thin: Competing priorities divide time and resources across too many initiatives
Challenge Internal Assumptions
Test what HR believes about its performance against organizational evidence, stakeholder experience, and market context.
Identify Root Causes
See how gaps across the function are connected and identify what is driving the issues visible today.
Build Agreement on Changes
Give HR and business leaders a shared evidence base to discuss the function’s strengths, gaps, and priorities.
Prioritize Critical Improvements
Focus time and investment on the actions most likely to strengthen HR’s effectiveness and impact.
From Evidence to Action in Six Weeks
The HR Effectiveness Review replaces fragmented evidence with a structured, six-week diagnostic. Led by experienced HR practitioners and researchers, it combines organizational evidence, stakeholder perspectives, and external comparisons to identify root causes and establish clear priorities.
Interviews, Surveys, and Workshops
We gather perspectives from HR leaders and business stakeholders to understand how the function operates in practice and where expectations differ.
Functional Diagnostic
Using AIHR’s 5SL HR Effectiveness Model, we assess how six interconnected components work together to identify the root causes behind performance.
HR Benchmarking
We compare your findings with relevant peers and leading practices to provide context and challenge internal assumptions.
Practical Report and Roadmap
You receive a practical report that brings the evidence together, identifies the most important findings, and sets out prioritized actions for improvement.
Built for HR by People Who Know The Function
The HR Effectiveness Review is not a generic organizational assessment repackaged for HR. Shaped by client work, ongoing research, and our experts’ firsthand experience leading HR transformation, the 5SL Model reveals what drive effectiveness across the entire HR function.
Expert Guidance From Experienced HR Leaders
Dr Dieter Veldsman is AIHR’s Chief HR Scientist and former Group CHRO with 18+ years of global leadership experience. A strategic advisor, award-winning practitioner, and academic, he helps executive teams future-proof HR through evidence-based people strategies, organizational design, and thought leadership on the future of work.
Dr Marna van der Merwe leads Thought Leadership at AIHR, combining 15+ years of HR expertise with deep research in Talent and Career Management. A registered Organizational Psychologist and global speaker, she helps HR leaders align people strategy with business impact and build sustainable employee experience strategies.
Erik van Vulpen is the Founder and Dean of AIHR, the world’s leading platform for HR upskilling. A global expert in AI-driven HR, people analytics, and HR innovation, he empowers organizations to build future-ready HR capabilities that drive strategic, data-informed, and technology-enabled business outcomes.
Suhail Ramkilawan is a Senior Solutions Advisor at AIHR with 10+ years of experience in HR and consulting. A specialist in assessment strategy, talent management, and HR capability building, he advises organizations on aligning people strategy, skills, and technology to accelerate business and HR transformation.
Wihan de Wet is an Organizational Psychologist and HR professional with global consulting and corporate experience. As AIHR’s HR Expert Lead, he helps organizations turn proven HR practices into actionable solutions. A former KPMG Associate Director, he specializes in organizational development, leadership development, and HR transformation.
Annelise Pretorius is AIHR’s Psychometrics and Assessments Expert, specializing in designing skills assessments for HR functions. With 12+ years of psychometry, behavior, and people data experience, she provides evidence-based guidance for HR teams to assess capabilities, identify development priorities, and strengthen learning impact.
Karen Walsh is AIHR’s Advisory Specialist with an Organizational Psychology Master’s and HR, psychometrics, and client advisory experience. Specializing in assessment strategy, talent management, and leadership development, she helps organisations turn evidence-based insights into stronger capabilities and more strategic HR decisions.
Clear findings.
Prioritized actions.
You receive a comprehensive HR Effectiveness report that brings together the functional diagnostic, stakeholder perspective, and external comparisons. You’ll understand what is working, what is limiting HR’s impact, and which improvements to prioritize, with practical recommendations to act on.
Hear It From Our Customers
“AIHR’s guidance provided invaluable insights into our HR competency levels, enabling us to align more effectively with business needs. Their expertise in assessing our HR maturity levels and optimising our operating model efficiency transformed our approach, offering clear direction on where to focus and to develop our HR strategy, to drive tangible business results.”
Lauren Du Preez Chief People Officer
When should I consider an HR Effectiveness Review?
You can use the Review proactively to establish a baseline, uncover the root causes of performance gaps, or prioritize competing improvements. It’s especially valuable when stakeholders disagree on where to focus or when new leadership, restructuring, growth, AI, or digital transformation changes what the business needs from HR.
What decisions will the HR Effectiveness Review help us make?
The HR Effectiveness Review establishes an independent baseline of how effectively HR operates today and identifies gaps between its current capabilities and the organization’s future needs. This gives leaders the evidence to decide what to change, where to invest, and which priorities to address first.
How does AIHR ensure the findings are not based on one perspective?
We triangulate evidence from three sources: your own assessment of the function, business stakeholders’ experience of HR, and AIHR’s external research and client work. We support this with interviews, workshops, and relevant organizational materials. This distinguishes a widely supported finding from an individual opinion.
Who participates in the Review?
The HR Effectiveness Review typically involves HR leaders, selected members of the HR team, and relevant business stakeholders. Together, we agree who should participate based on your organization, the questions you need to answer, and the perspectives required for a complete assessment.
AIHR works alongside your organization throughout the process, ensuring different perspectives are heard while building a shared evidence base for action.
What will we be able to take to our CEO or board?
You receive an independent, evidence-based report that explains what is working, what is limiting HR’s impact, and what should be prioritized. It gives you external validation for leadership discussions and a credible basis for making the case for investment, structural change, or capability development.
Can the HR Effectiveness Review be tailored to our organization?
Yes. We agree on the scope together based on your organizational context, the questions you need to answer, and the part of the HR function being reviewed.
How is the HR Effectiveness Review different from the HR Strategic Value Assessment?
The HR Strategic Value Assessment is a self-guided starting point based on the responses provided. The HR Effectiveness Review is an expert-led engagement that combines organizational evidence, stakeholder perspectives, interviews, workshops and external comparisons to produce a more comprehensive diagnosis and prioritized recommendations specific to your HR function.
How much does the HR Effectiveness Review cost?
Pricing depends on the size and scope of the Review, including the number of participants and stakeholders involved. Speak with our team to discuss your organization and receive a tailored quote.
Do we need to commit to a larger transformation project?
No. The HR Effectiveness Review is a standalone six-week engagement. You can use the findings and prioritized actions to guide your own improvement work. If you need support with implementation, you can talk to us to scope this out separately after the Review.
Get an independent review of your HR function
Speak with an AIHR expert about what you need to understand, what the HR Effectiveness Review includes, and whether it is the right fit for your organization.
