The Logic in Logica’s Focus on MPHRO

Linda Merritt, HRO Research Analyst, NelsonHall

Logica has long been an HRO service provider in the U.K. and Europe. With much of its HRO revenues from payroll, it has been a bit quiet on the multi-process HRO (MPHRO) front. So I wasn’t sure that I saw the logic in Logica’s increased investment in MPHRO capabilities, especially when there are other major MPHRO players already in the economy-constrained market.

The HRO group at Logica recognized the developing opportunity for MPHRO as some buyers, especially second generation HRO users and multi-country businesses, began to want more than just transactional low-cost contracts. This created space for an HRO partner to help clients transform HR to increase business and workforce agility in responding to rapidly changing market conditions.

Logica is emphasizing its transformational HRO capabilities by:

• Assisting organizations to align their HR objectives and services with those of the wider organization and manage HR against business goals such as increased employee engagement
• Change management and ensuring that change management is both carried out up-front and carried through to a detailed sub-process level using service simulations to promote operational change as necessary
• Composing a common HR process taxonomy to be used as a common language across both outsourced processes and the retained HR processes
• Program management and its real-time PMO tools.

In terms of process design, the company is looking to use a set of standard Logica HR processes for Logica-delivered processes; for client-retained HR processes, it will provide workflow tools. Logica is also looking to encourage innovation beyond minor process improvements by establishing jointly managed innovation funds and innovation groups with its clients.

In technology terms, Logica currently supplements Oracle’s PeopleSoft HCM 9.1 and Oracle’s E-Business Suite with specialist HR applications where necessary. It may also consider SAP-based HRMS implementations downstream.

To date, the investments are starting to pay off. BPO, including HRO, was the fastest growing segment for Logica in FY 2011, up 23.8%. In the last 12 months, Logica has also been awarded several major MPHRO contracts including:

• BAE Systems:  a six year contract supporting 33,000 participants in the U.K. with a new single-tenant, hosted Oracle HR platform; payroll services; absence and attendance; employee care; and administration services in support of talent management functions including recruiting and learning
• Ahold, a Dutch headquartered supermarket retailer: a nine year contract supporting ~100,000 participants in the Netherlands, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic with a new Oracle PeopleSoft 9.1 platform; HR administration services; HR service desk; and payroll services, which will be subcontracted to ADP.

Other MPHRO contracts were awarded by a British telecom and a Swedish financial services firm, both for five years.

Logica is well underway working its five year roadmap for services development, which includes strategic new services, increasing its partnership ecosystem, and practical elements like adding more mobile apps. Logica is also a relationship-focused partner, and that trust factor, along with results realization from the new wins, will help it continue to grow in MPHRO. Logical indeed!

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“The American” is Not an American HRO Story

This weekend I saw the George Clooney movie, “The American.” I was not too sure what it was about, but then, it starred George Clooney. Title aside, I knew within the first few minutes it was not an American movie, or an American story. It takes more than speaking in English to tell an American story, and to provide culturally compatible HRO employee care call center support.

It is not that the movie was poorly made or the story poorly told, it just was not American. Nor was it an action movie. It was moody and slow, seemed to start in the middle and then little happened, little was said, and even less was explained. And the end, well, the less said the better. 

The experience reminded me of another movie, “The Devil’s Own,” with Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford (1997.) Brad Pitt is in the U.S. and brings his Irish “troubles” with him. He tells Ford, “Don’t look for a happy ending. It’s not an American story. It’s an Irish one.” Once again, same language, but with different cultural expectations.

For a movie that is quintessentially American, see the original “The Karate Kid,” (1984) starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. For many years it has been a shared cultural referent; “wax on, wax off.” Movies, television and music are great sources of cultural touch points for any modern culture, and especially so for Americans. By the way, The Karate Kid also reflects the American cultural imprint for quality, which is a bit different from the Japanese or Australian imprints. (Seriously, there were studies.)

All of this is not to say that HRO employee care cannot be provided from outside of any one country to another. HRO care can, and is, being provided from a growing list of locations around the globe. Still, most voice-based employee support remains onshore, followed by nearshore delivery. Cultural understanding is one of many elements that impacts successful call center support. It is less important for basic transactional questions and answers. But as the service moves more into consultative areas that require interpretation, tone and manner become just about as important as important as technically correct answers.

I look forward to seeing how live chat will impact multi-shored employee care support. With chat, the use of pre-scripted stock phrases will not be judged on tone and manner, and chat is expected to be more focused on direct and brief exchanges.

HRO buyers and providers, help build the cultural bridge for farshore employee care center staff.  One simple example; share information on major current events, holidays and client-specific business news. And remember, during times of great stress and uncertainty voice calls will increase, even when other modes would be more efficient. No matter the country, company or culture, we all need and want helpful and understanding human contact.

Linda Merritt, Research Director, HRO, NelsonHall