Putting out fires or improving your HR system? It depends on your functional management
Your functional management of the HR system has turned into constant firefighting: answering questions, fixing error reports, and mostly just reacting. You never get around to what you actually want: continuously improving your HR system for your employees. So how do you turn that around? Digital HR Consultant Sander Homans shares what a solid setup for functional management can do for you.
Functional management determines how well your HR system performs
Your new HR system feels like a fresh start… until the first questions start pouring in. Users run into issues they can’t solve themselves, processes that looked great on paper don’t work as smoothly in real life, and your vendor keeps releasing new features you “really should do something with someday.” Meanwhile, HR ends up acting like a helpdesk more and more often.
In an earlier blog, we shared five key points to focus on after go-live. That foundation still matters, but the real work starts afterward: how do you make sure functional management doesn’t just fix problems, but actually makes your system better over time? Because if you’re stuck putting out fires, you can’t build anything and you’ll never get to real optimization.
Where it goes wrong: management that’s just “squeezed in”
In many organizations, functional management just happens organically. An HR colleague who’s handy with systems picks up the questions “until things calm down.” But things never calm down. Reports come in via email, Teams, hallway chats, even during lunch. No one really knows where to send their question anymore, or what the latest status is.
The same questions keep coming back, with no time to figure out why. And when that one manager is off? Everything grinds to a halt, because all the knowledge lives in one person.
The results are predictable: an overflowing inbox, frustrated users, and an HR system that runs less smoothly than it could. Often it’s not the system’s fault; it’s how you’re managing it.
Functional management is about more than just fixing problems
Good functional management revolves around three questions: Does your HR system work as intended? Where can it be smarter or more user-friendly? And what will your organization need tomorrow? Most HR teams never get past the first one, because handling incidents eats up all the time.
Effective management isn’t about single incidents, it’s about spotting the patterns. You want to understand why the same question keeps popping up and how to prevent it from being asked in the first place. That’s when your HR system shifts from a static tool to a platform that grows with your organization.
Setting up your management structure smartly
For effective functional management, you don’t necessarily need a big team. You need a clear structure:
1. One central point for all reports
No more scattered messages or overflowing mailboxes. Instead, use a system that gives you overview and lets everyone track the status of a report. Larger organizations often go with a proper service management tool; smaller ones can handle this perfectly well inside the HR system itself.
2. A functional manager with dedicated time
Not someone doing this “in between other tasks,” but a dedicated person who analyzes reports, tests changes, and understands how your HR processes connect. This creates space to look beyond incidents, space that’s often missing right now.
3. Superusers as the bridge to daily practice
You probably know them as key users. They handle simple questions, spot what’s not working well in day-to-day operations first, and help think about improvements. That frees up your functional manager to focus on optimization.
4. IT for the technical foundations
This covers authentication, integrations, and access rights. The key is keeping everything in the same process flow so employees don’t get lost between departments or stuck on questions no one knows who should handle.
When internal knowledge isn’t enough
Don’t worry: you don’t have to do everything in-house. For major changes or complex optimizations, external support can make a real difference. Think vendor updates that suddenly shift entire processes, or rolling out new features that need a lot of alignment.
A consultant can review things, advise, guide projects, and most importantly: transfer knowledge to your superusers and functional managers. The best setup combines internal ownership with external expertise when you need it. The result is a management structure that’s solid and ready to move forward.
The impact of strong functional management
Once incidents no longer dominate your time, you can start making real progress on developing your HR system. You spot patterns in questions, fix issues at the source, and make use of new features faster. Users know where to go for help, processes run more smoothly, and HR finally has time for actual HR work instead of support.
Strong functional management doesn’t just make your system more stable. It makes it future-proof. And you’ll feel that difference every day.
Do you need some extra support (temporarily)? We are happy to help you find a solution that fits your resources and budget.
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