Countdown to the 2013 HR Technology Conference

Gary Bragar, HRO Research Director, NelsonHall

This year’s HR Technology Conference, less than 10 weeks away, will be back in Las Vegas October 7-9 (please note onsite rooms are going fast, I had to stay at alternate hotels the past two years!).

With 6,000 people from 28 countries attending last year, I continue to find it an invaluable investment of my time to:

• Attend presentations
• View technology exhibits
• Network with peers
• Meet individually with companies that I do business with and others I want to learn more about.

Presentations: Session topics include:

• Strategic View
• Talent Management
• Social in the Enterprise
• Workforce Analytics and Planning
• HCM and Workforce Management
• Recruiting
• Service Delivery
• Expert Discussions & HR Tech Talks.

Be sure to check out the agenda at: http://www.hrtechconference.com/agenda.html

Highlights of just a few of the many presentations include:

• High-Tech/High-Touch RPO: What the Doctor Ordered for Boehringer Ingelheim – presented by Corry Ioli, Executive Director, Talent Management & Acquisition, Boehringer Ingelheim and Sue Marks, CEO, Pinstripe
• Goldman Sachs Buys RPO Eyes (and Hands) for a Quarter Million Resumes! – presented by Tom Osmond, Global Head of Talent/HCM Solutions, Goldman, Sachs & Co and Regina Lee, Division President, ADP
• HR Tech Talks, presenters: I Come From the Water: Evolution of the Modern Manager, Kris Dunn, CHRO, Kineti; Clowns, Sharks, Anemone and HR – What Do They All Have in Common? Mary Sue Rogers, Global Managing Director, Talent 2
• How Mobile, Social and Gamification Tools are Improving Employee Health – presented by Barry Hall, Principal and Innovation Leader, Talent & HR Solutions, Buck Consultants and Scot Marcotte, Managing Director, Talent & HR Solutions, Buck Consultants.

Whether your company has outsourced or continues to do everything internally, there are bound to be several sessions where you can learn how to improve HR in your organization and be a better business partner. When I was on the buy-side prior to joining NelsonHall, I would attend such HR conferences to:

• Learn about the broader industry
• Think about how our HR outsourcing contract compared to others
• Get ideas on improvements we could make.

Technology Exhibits: Since technology is changing so rapidly, it is often difficult to keep up with new applications that are available. The conference is a great way to get exposed to a broad-range of recent innovations. You can stop by any booth and see a demo. There is no pressure and vendors are excited about their new products and services and are happy to show you more.

So here is your chance to make a difference at your organization; you might stumble onto a better, more user-friendly technology for example. Even if you are not the decision-maker, you can always tell your organization about it when you return and request a customized demo. Alternatively, if you are already outsourcing, you might see something that you don’t have and can bring it to your provider’s attention.

Network: The conference provides an opportunity to expand your network with others, including HR practitioners, buyers, providers and analysts, etc. In addition to the daytime events, there are evening socials too. HR deserves to have fun!

As a reader of my blog you are entitled to a discount. Just use the Promo Code HRO13 (all caps) when you register online at: http://www.HRTechConference.com/register.html to get $500 off the rack rate of $1,895. The discount does not expire until the conference ends on October 9, 2013.

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NGA’s Broadening Offerings

Liz Rennie, HRO Research Analyst, NelsonHall

Last week we attended the Advisor & Analyst Summit with NGA where CEO Adel Al-Saleh presented the highlights for FY2013 (up to 30 April 2013) and described the company as an “IP-led HR services company.” Focus was given to the company’s ability to support global payrolls, whatever the HRIS platform, as NGA supports multiple platforms such as Workday, SuccessFactors, PeopleSoft, Oracle and SAP. Further, NGA announced that BPO agreements are in place with all the above-mentioned technology companies.

NGA serves all size companies and is particularly focused on global enterprise clients. Multi-country BPO HR/payroll is where NGA sees growth. Over the last year NGA experienced flat revenues, the downturn in the consulting was cited as the main reason; however, EBITDA was up by 8.6% to $157m. Workforce administration and global payroll were cited as areas which were experiencing growth. A “sweet-spot” client would be a client who wants its IT to be managed and requires service components for HR administration and/or payroll.

New wins and renewals for FY 2013 were cited as Aer Lingus (Irish HRO client based on ResourceLink), Textron (PeopleSoft renewal), Pirelli (40 countries in scope), State of Texas, McGraw-Hill and Orica.

FY 2014 priorities

• Evolve the client-centric coverage. This means to increase the reporting and visibility of customer satisfaction to drive this higher
• Drive the maturity of global delivery capabilities
• Evolve the transformation consulting services
• Invest and launch key IP platforms, including:
  – Global payroll
  – Service center tools & utilities
  – euHReka – Preceda – ResourceLink – Moorepay
• Increase traction of key partnerships:
  – Workday
  – SuccessFactors-SAP
  – Oracle.

NGA already has more than 8 clients utilizing the Workday platform.

NGA presented its Global Delivery Model, which demonstrates the maturity and scale of NGA’s global delivery, including approximately 1.2k employees in Manila, 1k in Kochi, 100 in Dalian, China, 150 in Katowice, Poland, 500 in Granada, Spain and 200 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. These centers have been undergoing a center standardization based on Six Sigma to improve alignment.

NGA’s depth of knowledge is evident in the 8 IP components presented, including its NGA Service Catalogue, Global Statutory Center, ePIM Implementation Methodology, SunEXo (to track payroll status), ScopeHR (to configure scope), Online Reference Guide (for processes and instructions), Global Standard Training and Global Process Framework.

Being an IP-led HR services company, NGA has to clearly articulate the value of the IP to the client and then ensure that the IP roadmap is closely following its client’s needs. Furthermore, increasing technology capability with a broader partner ecosystem could bring further challenges, such as:

• Finding the right technical solution for a client without confusing them; especially where they are simply asking for a service
• When the IP becomes less technology centric, NGA could lose some of the depth of knowledge that is already built into the IP.

NGA continues to be a company that is flexible to the needs of its clients. In this current climate companies need agility in HR solutions, services, prices and (now more than ever) technology. NGA offers a global delivery network that is experienced and always hungry for more business.

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HRO and Innovation – Getting Practical

Linda Merritt, HRO Research Analyst, NelsonHall

Innovation in multi-process HRO (MPHRO) has been a topic of discussion, and some contention, since the early mega-deals that created the modern MPHRO market more than ten years ago.

Even in the early days there was a desire for innovation, but there was also a lack of common definitions and mutual understanding, along with difficulty in articulating innovation in contract language.

There was an even greater barrier – systems spaghetti. Early MPHRO clients had highly-customized ERP infrastructure, aging legacy systems, and third-party applications, much of which may have been non-centralized and non-integrated. Each major customer was in their own bubble of services and systems. It quickly became apparent that it would be hard to add new and different innovations within the constraints of the contracts and the technologies.

Platforms for Innovation

Major MPHRO service providers now have global multi-client service delivery and data centers with sophisticated workflow processes. Early clients have been moved bit-by-bit into the common support infrastructure, even if they remain on their own, licensed ERP systems.

Many HRO clients are ready for increased standardization and multi-client platforms to reduce cost and to improve performance. Innovative cloud-based SaaS and services platforms are opening up new services to the mid-market and parts of the large client market:

• Clients on a shared service platform benefit from ongoing incremental improvements
• Clients benefit from access to new products and services without paying a significant portion of the R&D needed for a one-off innovation.

Some tension between continuous improvement and innovation is natural, as the line between an “included enhancement” and what is “new and different to be added as an extra charge” looks very different depending on whether you are a buyer or a supplier.

Collaborative Innovation

Client user groups support both HRO improvement and innovation. Vendors were originally reluctant to let clients communicate with each other (partially because the clients might “gang-up” on the vendor – and sometimes they did!).

Companies like IBM and Xerox were leaders in developing client advisory boards. These interactive groups provide feedback on the services, give input into common needs, and even offer guidance on parts of the vendor’s development roadmap. They are not just “the voice of the customer”; they are also a built-in base of beta testers. Willingness to put some skin into the game is also a great way to test market viability and further strengthen relationships.

Infrastructure of Innovation

Buyers can develop their processes for HRO innovation in the following ways:

• Assess vendors for innovation capabilities as part of the selection process
• Develop the language and mutual expectations for measurable innovation upfront and include in the terms of contract. Include who pays, and when, determine if there will be vendor incentives, and clarify the client’s role
• Use the governance process to jointly monitor, manage, and measure improvements and innovations over the course of the relationship.

The good news is that we are beginning to build the HRO infrastructure for future innovation; common language, standardized multi-client platforms, and client user groups.

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HRO Confidence Remains Steady for 2012

Every quarter, my colleague Amy Gurchensky surveys HRO vendors for the NelsonHall HR Outsourcing Confidence Index (HROCI), which is then available for our clients and the participating service providers. In normal times, the HROCI does not change drastically from quarter to quarter; it more shows changes in trends over time. In uncertain times, however, it is a timely way to see changes in market perceptions even before disruptions occur in contract values, volumes, and revenues.

It is of some comfort that the HROCI is in a steady state of small changes from quarter to quarter. That is not a sign of upcoming exuberant growth, but it is a predictor that we will continue to see solid continuous HRO growth throughout 2012.

The most recent HROCI shows a vendor confidence level of 153, where 100 represents unchanged confidence and higher scores indicate increased confidence. While 153 is down a bit from 164 in 1Q 2011, it is in line with 3Q and 4Q 2011 at 151 and 147 respectively. Vendor confidence is often based on how current business is going, along with the pipeline. In HRO, growth from existing clients is just as important as new business. Ever since deals got smaller in scale and scope, there has been increased focus on retaining and growing existing accounts, and we see positive vendor confidence here as well.

Looking at some of the HR lines of service, payroll is once again in the leading position for growth, followed by RPO, multi-process HRO (MPHRO), benefit administration, and learning. MPHRO is expected to perform well in 2012, primarily driven by the need of organizations to standardize HR services across regions and geographies. Vendors such as ADP and NorthgateArinso that previously offered primarily payroll and employee administration services have been very active in acquiring or partnering to extend capabilities to a wider range of platform-based MPHRO functions. In addition, Logica is becoming increasingly successful in this space in Europe.

There is a slight tempering of growth expectations that can be seen in the data, although pipelines still seem solid. I think this is the same kind of hedge-your-bets thinking that is in the larger economy and what we are seeing from HRO buyers. Everyone still has a healthy sense of caution in case things suddenly go sideways.

Luckily, more and more HRO buyers and clients are willing to move ahead and get on with doing business, even if a bit cautiously. Other buyers still suffer from frozen decision-making and unwillingness to make long-term investments. Buyers with clear direction for what they want to achieve through HRO are the most likely to be deal ready – as along as prices are right and there is not too much upfront investment. The earlier service providers can assess readiness, the faster they will be able to fill pipelines with well-qualified prospects.

Linda Merritt, HRO Research Analyst, NelsonHall

Interested in reading the latest HRO news from NelsonHall? Subscribe to our newsletter by emailing amy.gurchensky@nelson-hall.com with “HRO Insight” as the subject.

HRO Focuses on the Future

HRO buyers want service providers that meet today’s needs. Sophisticated buyers also want partners who can help manage changes over time as new service needs and technologies emerge. In a rapidly changing industry, it is not enough to know what customers are buying and what their competitors are currently doing today, each vendor must also invest in the future.

Here are three different ways service providers are focusing on the future:

• Ÿ   Kelly Services recently opened an Office of Innovation and appointed a Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer to define the next generation of workforce solutions for its global customer base. To meet the rapid rate of workplace changes, Kelly intends to accelerate the process of creating and launching new services. Kelly Services was one of the founders of the temporary services market and has evolved into providing a full suite of services including outsourcing and consulting. Given the company’s history of innovation, it makes sense for Kelly Services to see added strategic focus and investment in order to continue as a market-leading innovator of HRO services.
• Ÿ   Infosys opened a new ‘Alternative Delivery Model’ HR-shared service center in a Tier 4 town in India. The company considers this as an important strategic move to differentiate its services and benefit clients by providing additional flexibility and competitiveness. Infosys is partnering with local suppliers, like Desicrew, to set up centers in Tier 3 and Tier 4 communities, creating a more sustainable model to access talent and provide long-term career opportunities in other areas of India. My NelsonHall HRO colleague, Gary Bragar, commented that by opening up a center in a Tier 4 city, Infosys can offer clients a reduced offshore price point, with the added promise of greater staff loyalty and lower attrition rates.
• Ÿ   Lumesse, a provider of integrated talent management applications and services, completed its acquisition of SaaS-based learning provider Edvantage Group last October to add a full suite of learning services including learning management, content development and management, online content delivery, and custom course development. The combined business will have over 1,900 customers in 70 countries worldwide and around 2 million active users of its technology.

Just like buyers and vendors, in following news of the HRO community, we tend to focus more on the current activities and news of the day. Stopping periodically to review HRO business news over a several month period reveals trends and provides clues on service provider strategies for growth and the future.

Lumesse made a big acquisition to quickly add a major new service line. Infosys is adding cost-competitive capabilities for clients and the company should benefit from the reduced operating costs due to lower turnover in the outlying centers. Kelly Services is continuing its heritage of innovation to internally develop and speed to market new capabilities.

There is no single approach to preparing for the future, there are many ways to buy, build, or partner your way forward in HRO.

Linda Merritt, Research Analyst, HRO, NelsonHall

Interested in reading the latest HRO news from NelsonHall? Subscribe to our newsletter by emailing amy.gurchensky@nelson-hall.com with “HRO Insight” as the subject.

HRO and the Total Cost of Ownership

A top question for buyers new to outsourcing is how much will we save?  A legitimate question and one that can be hard to answer. Many studies have been done over the years tracking the subject, often asking respondents to estimate the percent of savings. In other words, asking for their opinion. Not exactly what senior business leaders are looking for!

ADP sponsors PwC’s Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Study and the 2011 results are in. The research covers the costs of payroll, workforce administration (HRIS), time and attendance, and health and welfare services and compares the cost of in-house managed services to clients that outsource to ADP. The 279 participants compiled a more complete picture of the following costs: systems (e.g., install, upgrade, and maintenance), direct and indirect labor, and direct non-labor (e.g., vendor fees, facilities, and other overheads), the cost of outsourcing was included for those using ADP.   

TCO for organizations managing the four services in-house, with no outsourcing, were $1,403 for larger employers (1k+ employees) and $1,953 for those with 100 to 1,000 employees.

Guess what? Outsourcing saves money. Average savings of outsourcing over in-house is 18%. Employers with more than 1,000 employees save more due to good old-fashioned economies of scale, up to 27%.

Outsourcing clients sometimes feel they do not reduce costs as much as pitched by the vendor or planned in the business case. The ADP-sponsored study also identifies success factors that help maximize TCO savings.

The findings put real data behind what we intuitively know:

• Adding self-service is basic to reducing cost for HR and time for employee users.
• Comprehensive process transformation is needed to realize full savings. It takes more than new technology; process redesign, governance, and standardization are also needed.

Another finding confirms what I have long suspected: using one vendor and one service platform (outsourced or even in-house) saves more than using multiple vendors and platforms. There is added cost to using multiple, even “best-of-breed” point solutions for payroll, workforce administration, and time and attendance.

• Average cost of outsourcing the three services to one vendor on a common platform was $910 per employee per year, compared to $1,020 (+18%) for managing in-house on a common platform and $1,202 (+32%) for managing in-house using multiple vendors and platforms.

To understand total costs look at the “seams,” places where interdependent processes and systems must be integrated, interfaced, up-dated, and even manually coordinated when using multiple platforms and vendors. The cost can be as high as $200 per employee per year.

HRO works and significantly reduces TCO, but it takes time and effort of both the vendor and the client to achieve maximum benefits. I’ll cover more on that topic next time.

Also, I have some good NelsonHall news. The 2011 Targeting MPHRO study has just been released by our HRO colleague Amy Gurchensky, see more information at www.nelson-hall.com.

Linda Merritt, Research Analyst, HRO, NelsonHall

HRO, Shared Services Centers and the HR COO

Oh the things you can find when you wander the Web. One link leads to another and you can find shiny new ideas that catch your eye. Wandering may be a sign of a short attention span, I prefer to considerate it part of having an open mind searching for relevance. My latest Web find is Deloitte’s Human Capital Trends 2011 study.

HR is challenged to meet a myriad of needs and provide ever more value within constrained resources. Cost remains a top priority and business leaders also want HR to be less tactical and more strategic. The HR tactical work must get done to keep the organization running and HR regulatory compliance issues grow ever more complex, necessitating even more tactical tracking and reporting requirements.

In response, HR shared service centers (HRSSC) have emerged in larger organizations, especially multinationals, driven by the need for cost reduction and the efficiency and compliance benefits of better integrated systems and consistent processes.  Outsourcing some of the shared service processes and/or technology support is also a typical part of HRSSCs.

The HRO community touts the benefits of cost optimization, improved processes, improved compliance and reporting, meeting SLAs, and high user satisfaction. By role and nature, vendors focus on the performance of the areas of their own accountability. Therefore, if only a portion of the HRSSC’s processes are outsourced and multiple vendors are involved, it is a challenge to ensure that overall HR delivery services are effective, efficient, and cost-controlled.

One “revolutionary” trend for HR from the Deloitte study is the need for a HR Chief Operating Officer (COO) to focus on the design, development, implementation, and delivery of HR services. This leader needs to be a great organizational, process, and systems designer and manager. I would also add the HR COO needs to be able to determine from a capability and cost perspective where outsourcing is the most viable option and how to integrate HRO into the overall operation.

It is important to not get lost in the tactical aspects of shared services. The HR COO should be a strategic leader, well-versed in both HR and the business. Adding in the art of building and selling business cases, including capabilities in communications, networking, and even marketing would add value.

Tracking cost and process efficiency are necessary parts of managing an HRSSC. So is collaborating with HR generalists and business leaders to create results and provide data-based information for workforce decision making. Promoting HR and the value of the HRSSC is also important – deliver, create awareness, and buy-in for the next cycle of improvement!

Buyers – the HRSSC leader can be a key partner in both operations and strategic HR transformation, invest and select wisely.

HRO vendors – the state of HRSSC leadership, capabilities, vision, and current operation is a component of the HRO Maturity Continuum.

Linda Merritt, Research Director, HRO, NelsonHall