A working library of HR frameworks
The frameworks that shape good HR decisions.
25 models an HR consultant reaches for — the theory, the interactive diagram, and how each one is actually run in the field. A working reference, not a textbook.
01 9-Box Grid (Performance × Potential) The 9-box plots people on two axes — current performance and future potential — producing nine segments that drive differentiated talent decisions. Talent differentiation / succession 02 Ulrich HR Model (Four Roles) Dave Ulrich’s model organizes HR’s work into four roles along two axes: strategic vs. operational focus, and process vs. people orientation. HR operating model / role clarity 03 McKinsey 7S Seven interdependent elements — strategy, structure, systems, shared values, style, staff, skills — that must align for an organization to perform. Org alignment / transformation diagnosis 04 HR Maturity Model A staged model of how HR functions evolve: from ad hoc personnel administration to an optimizing, data-driven strategic function. HR function assessment / transformation roadmap 05 Kirkpatrick Four Levels The standard model for evaluating training: Reaction, Learning, Behavior, Results. Training evaluation / L&D ROI 06 Job Profiling (Job Analysis) Job profiling systematically documents what a role actually requires — its purpose, accountabilities, activities, capabilities and conditions — producing the single source of truth that hiring, levelling, pay and development all depend on. Role definition / job architecture input 07 Function Mapping (OD) Function mapping documents what work is actually done where — decomposing the organization into functions and activities, with FTE and cost attached — before anyone draws a new org chart. Org design evidence / duplication hunt 08 Job Family Mapping Job family mapping organizes every role in the company into families and sub-families of similar work, each with a level structure — turning years of title inflation into one coherent architecture. Job architecture / title rationalization 09 Family → Profile → Curricula Chain The integrated chain that turns job architecture into capability building: each job family carries a competency set, each role profile states the required proficiency per level, and curricula are built against the gaps — so learning paths derive from the architecture instead of a course catalogue. Capability academy / architecture-led L&D 10 Job Evaluation (Point-Factor Method) A systematic method for sizing jobs (not people): rate each job against weighted factors, sum the points, band the points into grades. Pay equity / grade architecture 11 Competency Framework Design The anatomy of a competency framework: core values-based competencies, functional/technical competencies, and leadership competencies, each defined at observable proficiency levels. Capability definition / talent standards 12 Strategic Workforce Planning The supply-demand gap model: project the workforce you will have, define the workforce the strategy needs, quantify the gap, and close it with build/buy/borrow/bot decisions. Future workforce supply/demand gaps 13 Total Rewards Model The full value exchange between employer and employee — pay is only one layer. Retention / EVP / rewards strategy 14 Ulrich HR Competency Model What great HR professionals are actually good at, per the multi-decade RBL/Michigan research rounds (paraphrased). HR professional capability 15 Employee Lifecycle & Moments That Matter The employee journey from attraction to alumni, viewed through the moments that disproportionately shape engagement and retention. Employee experience / engagement 16 Kotter's 8-Step Change Model John Kotter’s sequence for leading large-scale change: build urgency, form a guiding coalition, create and communicate a vision, empower action, generate short-term wins, consolidate, and anchor the change in culture. Change management / transformation 17 ADDIE (Instructional Design) ADDIE is the backbone method for building training that works: Analyze the performance gap, Design the learning solution, Develop the materials, Implement the programme, Evaluate against the original gap. Training design / L&D build 18 Gallup Q12 Engagement Model Gallup’s twelve questions measure the conditions of engagement — from "I know what is expected of me" to "I have opportunities to learn and grow" — ordered as a hierarchy from basic needs to growth. Engagement measurement / manager action 19 Recruiting Funnel The recruiting funnel treats hiring as a conversion pipeline — applicants to screens to interviews to offers to hires — with a measurable rate at every stage. Hiring pipeline diagnosis 20 OKRs (Objectives & Key Results) OKRs pair a qualitative Objective — where we are going and why it matters — with three-to-five measurable Key Results that prove arrival. Goal setting / focus & alignment 21 RACI Matrix RACI maps every decision or deliverable to four roles: who is Responsible for doing it, who is Accountable for the outcome (exactly one), who is Consulted before, and who is Informed after. Decision rights / role clarity 22 Forced Ranking (Vitality Curve) Forced ranking sorts every employee into a fixed distribution — classically 20% top, 70% middle, 10% bottom — and manages each band differently, with the bottom band managed out. Forced differentiation (contested) Contested 23 Golden Handshake A golden handshake is a generous exit package offered to make a departure voluntary, fast and litigation-free — typically enhanced severance in exchange for a signed release. Negotiated exits (contested) Contested 24 Golden Handcuffs Golden handcuffs retain critical people by making leaving expensive: unvested equity, deferred bonuses, retention grants with cliffs, clawbacks. Critical-role retention (contested) Contested 25 Bradford Factor The Bradford Factor scores absence as S² × D — spells of absence squared, times total days — so frequent short absences score far higher than one long one. Absence management (contested) Contested