From Support Function to Strategic Partner: H&M’s HR Transformation

As H&M is one of the world’s largest global fashion retailers, its Americas HR leadership team recognized that it could no longer support the company's growth while operating primarily as an administrative function. Despite supporting a workforce of more than 106,000 employees across 75 markets, the HR organization lacked the strategic leadership and workforce planning capabilities needed to drive business performance.

The consequences were significant: H&M’s HR team was viewed largely as a support function rather than a strategic business partner, part-time employee turnover exceeded 150%, and workforce instability negatively affected both the customer experience and business revenues.

To build a stronger foundation, H&M engaged with SHRM to assess HR capabilities, identify competency gaps, and develop a road map for transforming the HR function.

Through its partnership with SHRM, H&M repositioned HR from an administrative support function toward a more strategic business partner by establishing a structured approach to capability development.

Every member of the 125-person HR team completed SHRM's competency assessment, which provided leadership with a comprehensive understanding of the organization's strengths and opportunities while creating a road map for future development. Multiple cohorts earned SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP certification, establishing a shared foundation of strategic HR expertise across the organization.

As its HR capabilities strengthened, H&M reduced front-line sales advisor turnover by 35%, improving workforce stability and supporting a stronger employee and customer experience. Just as importantly, HR leaders gained a common framework for developing talent, aligning HR initiatives with business priorities, and demonstrating HR's strategic value across the organization.

Rather than investing in isolated training initiatives, H&M created a long-term strategy for continuously developing HR capabilities while positioning the function as a driver of business performance.

HR professionals at high-maturity organizations were most likely to report low worker turnover, with over half (51%) reporting low or very low turnover in the past 12 months, according to SHRM’s The Business Case for HR Excellence (HR-X) report. In contrast, about 2 in 5 HR professionals (39%) at average-maturity organizations and 1 in 5 (21%) at low-maturity organizations report low or very low turnover.

Assessing HR Capability

Before redefining HR's role, H&M needed to understand the capabilities that already existed across the organization.

Using SHRM's competency assessment, every HR professional completed a comprehensive evaluation that provided leadership with an objective view of organizational strengths, development opportunities, and readiness for change. Rather than relying on assumptions, the assessment established a shared base line that informed future investments in learning, professional development, and workforce planning.

Building a Strategic Development Road Map

With a clear understanding of its capabilities, H&M partnered with SHRM to develop a multiyear road map for transforming the HR function.

The focus shifted beyond individual development to building organizational capability. Together, H&M and SHRM identified the competencies HR needed to operate as a strategic business partner, developed an enterprisewide upskilling strategy, aligned development initiatives with the company's broader transformation, and equipped HR leadership with a clear narrative to communicate that vision across the business.

By connecting capability development directly to organizational priorities, H&M ensured professional development became a strategic investment rather than a series of stand-alone learning initiatives.

Measuring Progress and Sustaining Growth

Transformation required more than training — it required a way to measure progress and reinforce continuous improvement.

H&M established clear milestones through the competency assessment, SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP certification, and ongoing evaluation of HR capabilities to ensure development translated into measurable organizational impact. This structured approach reinforced accountability while demonstrating how investments in HR capability could strengthen workforce performance and support broader business objectives.

H&M's partnership with SHRM transformed HR from an administrative support function into a strategic business capability. By first assessing competencies, then investing in targeted development, and finally measuring progress through certification and business outcomes, the organization established a scalable model for continuous HR transformation.

The result was not simply a more skilled HR team — it was an HR function better equipped to influence talent strategy, support business growth, and improve both employee and customer experiences.