The objective of the new outsourcer, Exult, is a truly colossal undertaking. Founded in November 1998, the company aims to become the entire human resources (HR) department for all the Global 500 companies. Typically, each of those companies currently has 200-500 people working in their HR departments.
Most companies that have outsourced in the past like what they’re getting and are coming back for more. The most telling statistic to support this is the fact that 90 percent of the current outsourcing projects that are being planned are from companies that are currently outsourcing.
Business Process Outsourcing: Australians understand the need to be a part of the global economy but because of its isolation it often has troubles reaching those goals. As an island in the middle of the Asia Pacific, Australia sits in not only an economically volatile region, but it is also a long way from its trading partners, says Roger Fisher, general manager, corporate, Australian Department of Finance and Administration. Outsourcing has
Southern Company, an energy utility holding company, knows the importance of the HR department to an employee. Because of the physical and operational diversity of the $35 billion plus company, the electric company thought it might be a good idea to centralize the focus of it benefits administration by outsourcing, in order to improve efficiency for its 32,000 employees.
The study results provide valuable information and insights on global trends and developments in this important field, in terms of company experience, executive attitudes, satisfaction levels, strategic benefits, and usage by country and industry.
Though a company may perform a single function it doesn’t necessarily entitle the company to the best-in-class moniker, says Jim McAloon, outsourcing consultant at Hewitt, a human resources (HR) firm.
Most companies find it difficult to part with any function (outsource) that directly touches their clients or employees because the staff and customers are often considered a company’s most important assets, says Attorney David Guedry, a partner at Hughes and Luce, L.L.P.
The Royal Bank of Scotland has shown a willingness to be innovative throughout its storied history that began on May 31, 1727. And in the last year of the 20th century, the bank, along with its human resources (HR) department continues to clear a path for others in the European banking industry to follow.
Outsourcing is changing HR, and HR is changing outsourcing. From its early roots of handling payroll processing, the outsourcing of Human Resources (HR) functions grew strong and produced outsourcing offshoots in benefits administration. Business processes such as health care, pension and 401k plans soon flourished, and HR became a stalwart market segment within the outsourcing industry.
To be able to focus on these strategic issues, HR executives are turning to outsourcing partners that can effectively manage their companies’ day-to-day human resources functions, says Alan Little, the London-based partner who leads Human Resources Outsourcing in Europe for PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Industry studies reveal that most customers who become dissatisfied select another provider, rather than return the functions in-house. Stephen Fordham, Senior Director of Employee Care at Convergys Corporation.
As the industry continues to move from cost-based to value-based outsourcing, technology trends that leverage network over premise infrastructure will offer new opportunities in business processes and functions.
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