Chris Harry
Chief Learning Officer
TEKsystems
Episode 202
The blueprint for cultural vitality: Strategic roles, integrated performance, empowered managers.
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleMay 7, 2025 · 13:43
Thesis
“Successful organizational transformation and cultural vitality stem from a foundation of clear role definition, integrated performance management, data-driven people analytics, and intentional, overcommunicated change leadership with a strong focus on manager enablement.”
Show notes
When 90% of every role in a global organization has a defined talent profile — with the skills, behaviors, and career trajectory mapped — you've built something most HR teams only aspire to. Chris Harry has built it. Across a 35-year career that began in academia and passed through PeopleSoft and HCM companies before landing at Allegis Group (parent of TEKsystems), Chris has quietly become one of the most systematic thinkers in enterprise talent management.
The centerpiece of his work at Allegis was a large-scale transformation project focused on talent visibility and mobility. The insight was simple but powerful: if leaders can't see who's in their organization and what they're capable of, they can't plan. Chris built the infrastructure to change that — role profiles, talent assessments, and a "performance experience" that replaced fragmented reviews and IDPs with a single, calendared system. The result was measurable leadership advancement and more effective succession pipelines across a complex matrix organization.
Post-COVID, the work shifted. Reinvigorating culture after years of remote-first work required connecting abstract values to concrete, observable behaviors — what Chris calls moving from "aspiration to action." He also integrated Voice of Employee (VOE) data and began leveraging AI for corporate training and development, while maintaining one non-negotiable principle: overcommunicate, then communicate more, especially with first-line managers who carry the weight of every transformation.
- Building talent visibility at scale — how role profiling unlocks mobility and succession planning
- Designing a unified "performance experience" — integrating IDPs, check-ins, goal-setting, and talent reviews into one coherent system
- Connecting values to behaviors — moving from mission statements to the actions that actually shape culture
- Using VOE data and AI to continuously calibrate learning and development programs
- Why first-line managers are the make-or-break lever in any organizational transformation
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What you'll take away
- 1Establish clear role clarity by defining the 'who, what, when, and how' for all positions to simplify operations and enable comprehensive talent visibility.
- 2Integrate fragmented performance and development elements (goal-setting, IDPs, check-ins, talent assessments) into a systematic, calendared 'performance experience' for holistic talent management.
- 3Leverage diverse people analytics, including assessment data and Voice of Employee (VoE) insights, to inform talent mobility, succession planning, and strategic workforce shifts.
- 4During significant transformations, employ a strategy of 'overcommunication' to ensure all employees understand changes and are in the appropriate headspace to adapt.
- 5Prioritize heavy training and support for first-line managers and directors, as they are crucial for leading teams effectively through change and often bear the brunt of transformation.
What most organizations get wrong
In Chris's words
“We had really been doing a lot of work, a lot of evolution of the organization in this matrix world. Of what we do. And we got to a point where the leader's like, if you could really help us define the who, the what, the when, and the how for our roles, it would make our lives a ton easier.”
This quote highlights a critical pain point in complex, matrix organizations and the direct impact of undefined roles on leader effectiveness.
“At this point today, we have 90% of all of our roles in the company covered globally with a profile. And when you think about that, that creates this greenfield to begin to putting together the idea of performance, development, assessment, internal aspiration, and then the ability to then get talent visibility out of this becomes much, much easier.”
This illustrates the foundational importance of comprehensive role profiling as an enabler for a wide range of HR functions and talent strategies.
“The idea of creating IDPs and getting performance reviews done and all of that was a challenge. It's a challenge for everybody, I think. And I would tell you that at this point, we actually have 80% of the entire workforce into a performance review cycle and into this moving each year.”
This quote showcases a significant achievement in overcoming common challenges associated with the adoption and engagement of performance management processes.
“What I think is really needed now is this idea of aspiration to action. And action is actually true behaviors. What are the 5 or 6 things that we can all do as an organization, as, as an individual contributor, as a leader... How can you see it? How can you assess it? And how can you reinforce it? It has to be down to tires on the road behaviors.”
This emphasizes a practical, behavior-driven methodology for translating abstract organizational values into tangible, measurable cultural change.
“We overcommunicate to a level that probably would be ad nauseam, but that is critically important. And then secondly, make sure that they are prepared. Train them first, train them heavily, and get them feeling really comfortable.”
This offers direct, actionable advice on effective communication and thorough preparation as crucial elements for successful organizational transformations.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Leaders in matrix organizations struggle with a lack of role clarity, hindering decision-making and efficiency.
- •Disjointed and inconsistent performance management processes (e.g., numerous IDP forms) lead to a lack of a holistic view and employee engagement.
- •Organizations face challenges in driving employee engagement and continuous updates for Individual Development Plans (IDPs).
- •Post-COVID environment strains organizational culture, relationships, and core values, requiring reinvigoration efforts.
- •A gap exists in adequately preparing and training employees, especially first-line managers, for major organizational transformations.
- •Difficulty in connecting abstract mission, vision, and values to concrete, observable 'tires on the road' behaviors.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
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Career Journey: Dave and Chris
Chris Miller led a transformation project that involved talent visibility and mobility
Employment Transformation: Talent Visibility and Mobility
Allegiant has successfully implemented a performance experience within an organization
What is the Performance Experience
Chris, describe a challenge you faced in driving a cultural change within an organization
The Challenge of Driving a Cultural Change
Chris, what parting advice would you like to share with our community
Chris Vance on The Built by People Podcast
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
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