In a company where managers and leaders are considered the HR department's customers and HR aims to add value while reducing costs for other departments, which HR structure is described?

• A. Shared-service center
• B. Traditional HR business partner model
• C. Center of excellence
• D. Decentralized HR function

Answer: (A)

This describes a shared-service center. A centralized HR operation handles the bulk of routine, high-volume HR tasks for the entire organization and serves managers and leaders as internal customers. By standardizing processes, using self-service tools, and consolidating transactions (payroll, onboarding, benefits, HRIS support, etc.), it achieves economies of scale and faster, more predictable service. This setup allows HR to add value while reducing costs for other departments because duplicate efforts are eliminated and processes are streamlined. The other structures place HR differently—embedded business partners focus on strategic advisory in each unit, centers of excellence concentrate on specialized expertise, and a decentralized function spreads HR across units—often at the expense of consistency and efficiency.