7. Org Design
Centralize, CoE, or federate
The operating-model choice
Use when
Deciding how any capability (L&D, analytics, comms) should be organized
Centralized
One team does it all: consistency and efficiency; distance from the business
Centre of excellence
Small expert core sets standards and tools; business does the doing
Federated
Capability embedded in units with a light coordinating spine; closeness over consistency
“The honest trade-off is consistency versus closeness. Pick per capability.”
How to use it
The honest trade-off is consistency versus closeness; pick per capability, not by ideology. A practical pattern for people functions: CoE for design and standards, federated faculty and champions for delivery, centralized only for systems and vendor leverage. Revisit when scale changes (a merger changes the answer). See also: The Ulrich Model.
Card details
- Model type
- Grid
- Origin status
- Established
- Content last reviewed
- 28 July 2026
Origin
EstablishedThe centre-of-expertise and federated-delivery vocabulary comes from Dave Ulrich, Human Resource Champions, 1997; the per-capability decision framing added here.