--- title: "HR Benchmark: Right Size, Different Shape | Case Study" description: How a financial services firm compared its HR function with 11 peers, role by role, and found the question was not how many HR people, but where. image: https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/hubfs/social-sharing/cases/case-hr-headcount-and-structure-benchmark-at-a-financial-services-firm.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/hr-headcount-and-structure-benchmark-at-a-financial-services-firm#main-content) [![PeopleCentrix](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/hubfs/assets/images/peoplecentrix-logo.svg "PeopleCentrix")](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/) [LET'S CONNECT →](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/work-with-us) - [People Strategy](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/people-strategy) - [People Centricity](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/people-centricity) - [How We Work](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/how-we-work) - [Insights](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-thinking) Show submenu for Insights - [Our Work](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work) - [Our Thinking](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-thinking) - [About Us](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/about-us) - [Work With Us](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/work-with-us) - [People Strategy](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/people-strategy) - [People Centricity](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/people-centricity) - [How We Work](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/how-we-work) - [Insights](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-thinking) Show submenu for Insights - [Our Work](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work) - [Our Thinking](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-thinking) - [About Us](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/about-us) - [Work With Us](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/work-with-us) Targeted Advisory case study # HR Was the Right Size. *The Shape Was the Question.* **11**peer institutions, all headquartered in the same country **39**HR role types, in 12 practices and 4 domains **666**HR professionals classified across the panel **2**measures: people served, and share of the HR team Snapshot Client A financial services firm (anonymised) Sector, size, geography Private Sector; 2,500–5,000 staff; headquartered in Europe, with offices worldwide Engagement Targeted Advisory · HR Operating Model Our role Led the benchmark end to end — HR role taxonomy, peer selection, classification of public profiles, validation against the firm’s own HR headcount, size and mix analysis at 3 levels, and the implications for the HR structure; decisions by the client’s HR leadership Mode of engagement Led Timeframe 2026 Project duration Under 1 month · 4 steps: one taxonomy for all, choose the peers, read size then shape, separate size from mix; decisions by the client The situation ## The question behind *the question.* Every HR leader is asked the same question sooner or later: is HR too big? The usual answer is one ratio, HR people per 100 employees, set against a survey average. It settles the size and says nothing about the shape. This firm’s Head of HR wanted the other half: how its HR team was built, practice by practice, against institutions it actually competes with for clients and talent. As it was asked “How does our HR headcount compare with our peers?” As we reframed it Compare the shape, not just the size: where each HR professional sits, from strategy to operations, against peers measured with the same lens. How we worked ## How the work *unfolded.* 01 ### One taxonomy for all We started with the ruler, not the data. A benchmark is only as good as its definitions, so we built one HR taxonomy before counting anyone: 4 domains, from leadership and strategy to operations and services, 12 practices and 39 role types. Every profile, at the client and at each peer, was classified against the same list. Job titles differ from firm to firm; the taxonomy does not. 02 ### Choose the peers Then the panel. 11 institutions headquartered in the same country, from about 700 to more than 7,500 employees, covering some 34,000 employees and 666 HR professionals between them. Peers were chosen for the market they share with the client, not for the convenience of their data. All were read from the same public source, so every firm carries the same bias, and the client’s own count was checked against its internal HR headcount before any comparison. 03 ### Read size, then shape Then 2 measures at every level. Employees served per HR professional answers the size question. Each practice’s share of the firm’s own HR team answers the shape question, and corrects for company size. Both were set out as ranges, through the quartiles, for the whole function, each domain and each practice. Small HR teams swing hard in percentages, so extreme values were flagged, not quoted. 04 ### Separate size from mix The answer came in 2 parts. On size, the firm sat close to the peer median: no case for adding or cutting heads. On shape, it stood apart: most of its HR team sat in expertise and business partnering, operations was thinner than at peers, and 3 practices that peers staff had no dedicated role. Each gap was then read against the firm’s business and HR priorities, so every shift had a reason, and we pointed to where to rebalance first: operations, and the missing strategy and governance capacity. Same envelope, different mix. The instrument ### Size and shape, 2 different questions **Size.** Employees served per HR professional, against the peer range. It tells you whether HR is too big or too small, and nothing more. **Shape.** Each domain’s and practice’s share of the HR team, against the same range. It tells you where the people are. **Gaps.** Practices peers staff and the firm does not, read role type by role type. A function can be the right size and the wrong shape. Only the second question tells you what to change. What moved ## What changed, *and what didn't.* **3**HR practices staffed at peers with no dedicated role at the firm Evidence Decision taken Adopted in practice Measured impact What moved The Head of HR took the benchmark to the executive committee with a factual answer to the size question and a map of where the mix differed: staffing at the peer median, a structure weighted towards expertise and partnering, and **3** practices with no dedicated role. The discussion moved from how many HR people to where they should sit, and where to start. What didn't move No rebalancing had been decided when we handed over; the benchmark fed a structure discussion still open. It counts people, not cost, workload or quality of service, and public profiles under-represent administrative roles, which the internal validation corrected for the client but not for its peers. What we'd say to a peer Asked whether HR is too big, most functions answer with one ratio. Ask the second question too: where do your HR people sit, practice by practice, against peers measured with the same ruler? A function can be the right size and the wrong shape, and only the shape tells you what to change. [Let's talk](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/work-with-us) [Read more cases](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work) **Method note:** Own approach in 4 steps; 39-role HR taxonomy; 11-peer panel; 2 measures at 3 levels; internal validation of the client’s count. ## Keep reading [![In a Matrix, Draw the HR Org Chart Last](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/hs-fs/hubfs/social-sharing/cases/case-matrix-based-hr-structure-design-at-a-multilateral-organisation.jpg?width=300&name=case-matrix-based-hr-structure-design-at-a-multilateral-organisation.jpg)](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/matrix-based-hr-structure-design-at-a-multilateral-organisation) ###### [Our Work,](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work)[Case Study](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work) ##### [In a Matrix, Draw the HR Org Chart Last](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/matrix-based-hr-structure-design-at-a-multilateral-organisation) [Tanguy Dulac](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/about-us) [Read More](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/matrix-based-hr-structure-design-at-a-multilateral-organisation) [![Choose Candidate Assessment by Role, Not by Country](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/hs-fs/hubfs/social-sharing/cases/case-candidate-assessment-methods-at-a-life-sciences-company.jpg?width=300&name=case-candidate-assessment-methods-at-a-life-sciences-company.jpg)](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/candidate-assessment-methods-at-a-life-sciences-company) ###### [Our Work,](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work)[Case Study](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work) ##### [Choose Candidate Assessment by Role, Not by Country](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/candidate-assessment-methods-at-a-life-sciences-company) [Tanguy Dulac](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/about-us) [Read More](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/candidate-assessment-methods-at-a-life-sciences-company) [![Decide What HR Counts Before the System Is Configured](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/hs-fs/hubfs/social-sharing/cases/case-hr-dashboard-vision-and-definition-at-a-public-institution.jpg?width=300&name=case-hr-dashboard-vision-and-definition-at-a-public-institution.jpg)](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/hr-dashboard-vision-and-definition-at-a-public-institution) ###### [Our Work,](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work)[Case Study](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/our-work) ##### [Decide What HR Counts Before the System Is Configured](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/hr-dashboard-vision-and-definition-at-a-public-institution) [Tanguy Dulac](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/about-us) [Read More](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/blog/hr-dashboard-vision-and-definition-at-a-public-institution) WeAreHuman@Work One piece of evidence on sustainable work, every Sunday. 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PeopleCentriX name and logo are registered trademarks of PeopleCentriX SARL. - [Privacy statement](https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/en/privacy-page) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/#organization", "@type" : [ "ProfessionalService", "Organization" ], "address" : { "@type" : "PostalAddress", "addressCountry" : "CH", "addressLocality" : "Founex", "addressRegion" : "Vaud", "postalCode" : "1297", "streetAddress" : "Chemin du Lac 19A" }, "alternateName" : [ "PeopleCentriX Consulting", "PeopleCentriX SARL" ], "areaServed" : [ "Worldwide", "International organisations", "Private sector", "Public sector" ], "audience" : [ { "@type" : "Audience", "audienceType" : "Chief People Officers and Chief Human Resources Officers" }, { "@type" : "Audience", "audienceType" : "Chief Talent Officers and Heads of Talent Management" } ], "contactPoint" : { "@type" : "ContactPoint", "availableLanguage" : [ "English", "French" ], "contactType" : "sales", "email" : "tanguy.dulac@peoplecentrix.eu", "url" : "https://www.peoplecentrix.eu/work-with-us" }, "description" : "PeopleCentriX is an evidence-based people-strategy advisory founded in Switzerland in March 2022 by Tanguy Dulac, PhD. 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