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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Bridging Talent Management and Workforce Management with HRO

Linda Merritt, HRO Research Analyst, NelsonHall

One of the hottest topics in HR and HRO has been talent management (TM), including everything from recruiting and RPO to performance management and employee engagement. Major ERP vendors have snapped up TM software leaders to strengthen HR product lines, e.g., SAP and SuccessFactors; Oracle and Taleo. Very good moves and very on trend, but let’s not forget about the less flashy powerhouse: workforce management (WM).

TM and WM are both critical components of human capital management (HCM) and depending on definitions and models, there can be a lot of overlap. For my purpose here, TM is about the individual and the capabilities for a specific job position and WM is about groups of workers and managing multiple positions.

TM involves attracting, retaining, and developing people with the required capabilities according to requested volumes and performance management. WM involves workforce planning and forecasting the capabilities and volumes needed and day-to-day scheduling and time and attendance. It takes both processes to have the right number of people, with the right skills, in the right places, at the right time.

Let’s consider two more elements, HR analytics and ROI, that will also benefit from seamless HR systems and processes, which our dear HRO community can enable and deliver. Timely and accurate workforce data is a foundation block upon which HR is built. At least part of the drive for multi-country payroll has been to get better employee data, and there is an important feeder into payroll: time reporting. Today’s leading time and attendance systems offer great flexibility in capturing the detailed data needed for payroll plus analyses of productivity, labor costing, pricing, project billing, workforce planning, etc.

Everybody wants to tie HR and HRO to ROI. Lowering the cost of HR operations alone is not enough. We must show real impact in measurable business results. Simplifying a bit, TM supports improved business results through customer satisfaction and revenues generated; WM supports improved business results through optimizing SG&A via operations and reducing losses.

Many HRO offerings come in basic and advanced levels. HRO providers– ensure you offer both levels of time and attendance, scheduling, and attendance management services. Buyers – take the time to determine whether advanced workforce management services will not only provide better data, but will pay for itself through reductions in overtime and the impact of absences. Also, for many positions and industries, ensuring all customer-facing seats are filled at the right capacity, capability, and time has a direct link to productivity and revenues. Finally, don’t forget about compliance with wage, hour, and labor regulations where accurate records and proactive scheduling are a great defense against fines and losses.

HR and HRO in partnership can be the bridge to strengthen TM and WM across the entire human capital value chain.

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BPO Platforms – a Springboard or a Swan Dive?

Last week I attended Infosys BPO’s analyst day and BPO conference in Baltimore, Maryland, overlooking the beautiful Inner Harbor. Platform BPO was one of the big topics, and one of Infosys BPO’s big bets for new avenues of growth. 

Platform BPO is the service delivery model whereby end-to-end processes are offered as managed services on a standardized business platform based on an ERP solution that is hosted, managed and maintained by the BPO provider. Platform as a Service (PaaS) providers bundle operations, integrating management of an end-to-end process with their technology suite and staff. Designed to be configured instead of customized, platform BPO will accelerate mid-market BPO adoption with its lower cost of entry, scalable services, variable pricing and ease and speed of transitions.

Platform BPO service providers will continue to build out their global service delivery footprint with service centers and partnerships, taking advantage of locations with low cost labor and access to skilled talent. These true multi-tenant service platforms will renew the promise of economies of scale the earlier generations of customized client-specialized services did not deliver. It’s an enticing value proposition designed for today’s capital constrained and challenge and change fatigued buyers. If the adoption rate is good, it will be a more economical infrastructure for vendors which can provide a springboard for profitability.

The timing is right. Clients are asking about and for solutions they would have rejected pre-downturn. The advent of new technologies like Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and the openness of ERP providers like SAP and Oracle to work with service providers are enablers supporting the degree of needed integration.

There will be challenges, especially for the provider community. In return for moving to a configurable platform, the buyer gets to pass some risk and increased expectations over to the service provider. The provider becomes responsible for managing and integrating specified processes, applications and technology, including the investment in development and upgrades, and the selection, management and fit of any third-party applications and delivery partners. Also, accepting accountability for the increased complexity of integrated IT and operations requires a greater level of skilled staff capabilities and coordination across the expanded value chain. 

Hmm…not hearing any HRO platform BPO cannonball splashes yet? It’s a big leap for HR to make and platform BPO is not expected to fit everyone. Yet it is a viable option for many in the mid-market and even some in the large market. PaaS for HR will be especially appealing to those with openness to new solutions, positive experiences with hosted services and point solution SaaS providers, and those pushed by economic realities.

Single service platforms are not new; think payroll or benefits administration as managed services platforms. What is new is the possibility of multi-client and multi-process HRO on a platform that delivers globally for buyers and providers.

There are already some buyer toes in the water. Infosys reports it has several clients up and running on its new Hire-to-Retire HRO business platform which includes talent acquisition, development, retention and management services. At the conference I spoke with an attendee from a borderline mid-market to large-sized company who was thinking about replacing several current separate HRO provider services and wanted to learn more about the new Infosys HRO offering.

Overall, PaaS sounds great and the water is warm, so jump on in! Not ready? Then watch the pool of platform-based services and providers expand, learn about the challenges and successes, and get ready to test the waters.

Linda Merritt, Research Director, HRO, NelsonHall