HRO SaaS for the Small Business Employer

Linda Merritt, HRO Research Analyst, NelsonHall

SaaS systems for HR administration and payroll have opened up the small business market to the benefits of web-based HR systems with self-service and easier implementations. The rapid uptake by clients is testimony that a ‘sweet spot’ has been reached in cost, ease and value.

MoorepayHR

I followed up with Anne Fitzpatrick, Moorepay managing director, for an update on how MoorepayHR, a cloud-based SaaS payroll and HR administration platform with BPO services, is doing one year after its launch in the U.K. small business market.

Moorepay, a NorthgateArinso (NGA) subsidiary, is already “large” in the U.K. small business market with >10,000 clients. However, past success does not guarantee future success. The company saw the need for an integrated HR and payroll platform and wanted to achieve this in its own way by combining new technology with its existing BPO managed payroll and HR services, including on-hand subject-matter experts for guidance on employee issues, into a business process as a service (BPaaS) service.

At first there was some concern if the market was ready for a SaaS multitenant cloud service. Moorepay quickly found that buyers understand the cloud based on their own experiences as consumers and were actually eager for the new service. By the end of April, MoorepayHR had signed its 1,000^th customer, and this week the entire company is holding a company-wide celebration!

The client base is 80% new and 20% from existing clients.57% of clients add on payroll, and even more select one or more of the BPO options, led by compliance support for employment law and health and safety advisory.

Moorepay will be adding more offerings to the system, including a newly-released ‘lite’ version. Next for the company is the rolling-out of an advanced version that adds functionality for recruiting, performance management and learning. Targeted at businesses with up to 500 employees, MoorepayHR will be expanded to up to 1,000 employees in the near future.

RUN Powered by ADP

ADP first introduced its RUN system nationally in the U.S. in 2010 for the very small market (1-49 employees). More HR features and payroll functionality have been added to the SaaS cloud-based mobile platform on a regular basis. In addition to ease-of-use, RUN offers a 24×7 help desk with certified HR professionals and an online HR library. RUN added its 200,000^th customer in April 2013.

Two Vendors, One Success Story

Both Moorepay and ADP understands that clients of any size have similar needs. As Anish Rajparia, president of ADP’s small business services division, commented: “Small business owners demand flexible tools and resources tailored for them to help manage the risks associated with running their business.”

There are already a variety of options in the market for the small business owner and I am sure we will see many more. One size never fits all, and I am pleased to see that this class of buyer now has HRO choice.

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Targeting Payroll BPO, Part II

Linda Merritt, HRO Research Analyst, NelsonHall

There is so much in my colleague Gary Bragar’s NelsonHall Targeting Payroll BPO market analysis that I will cover a few more items this week. The payroll market is divided into three parts: payroll software services; service bureau payroll (also called managed payroll, where the vendor manages payroll production and the client manages data input and employee help desk services); and payroll business process outsourcing (where the end-to-end payroll process is outsourced, including tier 1 and tier 2 employee help desk support).

Payroll BPO market share is growing

Payroll BPO is what NelsonHall follows most of all, and it is a growing part of the overall payroll market. Even as SaaS payroll products become more ubiquitous, many clients will still want support for the whole process. We can see some of the reasons why in the changing pattern of client requirements. As I covered in the first Targeting Payroll blog, cost remains the number one priority. However, other needs have increased in importance over time:

• Standardization of centralization of processes and technology: Instead of defending customization, now buyers are demanding standardization to increase efficiency and reduce costs from maintaining disparate systems
• Compliance/risk management: Compliance with ever-more complex and changing regulations and work rules needs the time and attention of fulltime experts. For example, in Europe the complexity of regulations combined with employee populations spread over multiple countries adds to the challenges of compliance
• Better employee experience: Users want access that is easier and simpler, including 24×7 access to data, self-service, and mobile. Payroll self-service is widely available and has become table stakes. The vendors that deliver the most useful mobile applications, the fastest and with the greatest security, will create valuable market differentiation.
• Payroll subject matter expertise: Clients expect improved quality of payroll with augmented accuracy, which can lower overpayment and off-cycle payroll runs.

Payroll Cost #1 with a new spin

While cost remains the number-one client requirement, there is a new aspect and it is the same one NelsonHall is seeing in other HRO areas; balancing cost with value. Value for price is especially understood by second- and third-generation buyers who indicate their willingness to change vendors to get it!

Payroll Analytics

It has been my view for some time that the focus on improved payroll processes and systems is driven by more than the need to pay employees timely and accurately. It is also driven by the need to manage the total cost of labor with real-time access to data and analytics for decision-making that leads to improved business performance. Payroll is increasingly being seen as a valuable management strategic tool, and clients will be looking to payroll BPO providers to help them access and develop workforce analytics expertise.

It great to see how dynamic the payroll outsourcing industry has become!

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Targeting Payroll BPO, Part I

Linda Merritt, HRO Research Analyst, NelsonHall

The NelsonHall Targeting Payroll BPO report has recently been released by my colleague, Gary Bragar. Payroll is such a well-accepted mainstay of HR outsourcing that it’s nice to see it still showing steady growth year after year.

Gary regularly produces the payroll market analysis, and profiles leading vendors in this space. Over time you can see how what seems like a basic service has grown, evolved and increased in strategic importance. What has not changed is that buyers are looking for savings by outsourcing payroll. The good news is that payroll BPO delivers: first-time payroll outsourcing can save from 15% to +40% depending on the degree of complexity and variables (like the number of locations, with everything from a single location to more than 100 countries).

The full report includes more on what buyers want from payroll outsourcing and what’s key in vendor selection; including where data needs vary between the mid-market and large market. Here are a few highlights of the report:

Why Outsource Payroll?

Cost saving remains the number-one reason to outsource payroll, and several nuances have been added including:

• Clients want a more variable cost structure and less fixed costs
• Savings now often include not having to refresh client technology (cost avoidance)
• Simplifying payroll after a series of M&As or restructurings reduces cost
• Reduction in payroll losses from ineligible and overpayments.

Centralization and standardization of process and technology has increased in importance, similar to what has been seen in other HRO areas. Where clients used to want customization, many are now seeing the benefits of standardization to improve efficiency, reduce cost, and to increase timely access to accurate payroll data across the enterprise.

With constantly-changing regulations and taxation across multiple jurisdictions, accuracy, compliance and risk management remain core payroll benefits.

Multi-Country Payroll

For MNCs, multi-country payroll remains a sought-after capability. MNCs want one vendor, one contract, and one payroll platform. Also wanted is visibility to aggregated costs and data reporting, in addition to the flexibility and scalability to add or change geographies.

Payroll BPO vendors have responded to the blended needs of clients for cost savings and global coverage by:

• Increasing nearshore and offshore service centers
• Partnering for coverage in some countries
• Offering multiple technology platforms from SaaS to ERPs.

Pricing Pressure

Given the focus on cost reduction, pricing pressure should be no surprise. This is a market with many mature and capable suppliers, which in itself adds competitive pricing pressure and the need for differentiation to focus on value as well as cost.

As an indicator of payroll service provider capabilities to compete, I earlier mentioned the steady year-over-year revenue growth. That growth has been achieved at the same time as the average price per-payslip has fallen significantly over the last three years!

There is so much more in the Targeting Payroll BPO market analysis, look for more highlights in a future blog.

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HRO Déjà Vu

Linda Merritt, HRO Research Analyst, NelsonHall

Each quarter, we publish the NelsonHall HR Outsourcing Confidence Index (HROCI) for our clients and the participating service providers. I like to share some of the highlights in my blog, but it can be hard to make fresh insights during times when the results are stable from quarter to quarter. When the confidence ratings are generally strong, as they are, then stability is pretty good news for HRO service providers.

Overall Confidence Remains Stable

The most recent HROCI shows a vendor confidence level of 157 for Q1 2013, where 100 represents unchanged confidence and higher scores indicate increased confidence. That is in line with the 156 from Q4 2012 and a bit up from the 153 one year ago. Confidence dipped mid-2012 with Q2 at 138 and Q3 at 140, which was not too surprising given the political and economic uncertainty we saw last year:

• While the overall confidence score at 157 remains stable, those suppliers reporting slightly more or much more confidence increased 13% quarter over quarter
• Increased confidence is reflective of solid pipelines of potential new sales and expectations for growth.

Growth Expectations Vary

Service lines: HR business process outsourcing service lines do not grow at the same rate. Some services like RPO and payroll remain steady performers, followed closely by benefits administration. The pipeline for benefits administration is looking especially strong. Expectations for multi-process HRO and learning remain about the same, which indicates continued slow growth.

Geography: Location matters in HRO and the patterns of growth also vary by region. The economic recovery is uneven in pace, readiness for HRO is uneven, and multi-country deals are a smaller part of the mix than in the recent past.

Overall, vendor confidence by geography has weakened with many regions showing some decline in confidence. North America, Asia Pacific, and Latin America show the strongest numbers, but there can be significant variation country by country. As we have seen for some time, growth expectations for Europe and the Middle East remain dampened.

Industry: High-tech and retail look to be the optimistic growth industries with most sectors remaining within prior modest expectations for growth. Expectations remain low for federal government and defense.

Mostly Steady and Stable Ahead

It is good to see the balancing of demand for cost savings and process standardization continuing. Client pricing expectations may still be unrealistic as there are always those who want a quick 50% off along with some freebies thrown in at the same time.

One area to watch is the growing client interest in and adoption of platform-based services. Some buyers are specifying SaaS and cloud-based services in proposals. We need to help educate buyers on leaving some room for discovering the best solution fit for each client situation.

To end on a positive note, 79% of HRO suppliers believe that a net up-turn in decision-making is taking place. Let’s get out there and get those deals signed!

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The Evidence is Mounting: HR Outsourcing is a Key Part of World Class HR Organizations

Linda Merritt, HRO Research Analyst, NelsonHall

For years the Hackett Group’s HR benchmarking analysis has shown the increasing use of HR outsourcing. Now its research of Global 1,000 companies over the past two years shows that effective use of outsourcing plays a key role in achieving world class HR organizations. According to advisory practice leader Harry Osle, “our research shows not only that it is possible, but also explains precisely how world-class HR organizations manage to do more with less and play a key role in helping their companies succeed.”Hackett HR benchmarking provides staffing and cost comparisons by HR process and then identifies best practices. Those companies in the top quartile in both efficiency and effectiveness metrics are considered world class.

World class HR costs less

The research finds that world class HR organizations:

• Spend 27% less on HR services per employee than typical companies
• Reduce HR labor costs by 29%
• Operate with 24% fewer HR staff per 1,000 employees
• Spend 50% less on outsourcing
• Dedicate 25% greater spend to technology.

World class HR focuses on operational excellence, talent management, and strong relationships

World class organizations use HR outsourcing more effectively; they outsource at similar levels to typical companies, but they retain fewer in-house staff associated with these processes, gaining greater cost benefits while avoiding work duplication and shadow staff.

HRO service providers have been encouraging clients for years to simplify and standardize processes and policies to gain the most from outsourcing, which matches what world class HR is doing:

• Using more self-service for payroll, training, total rewards administration, and staffing services
• Focusing on automation, standardization, and complexity reduction
• Reducing the number of job grades, health and welfare plans, and compensation plans.

Integrated talent management is another component of success. The HR leaders closely align talent management strategies with business objectives and increase strategic workforce planning capabilities including high-level consulting and analytics and modeling. They also develop internal talent, recruit externally faster, and measure rigorously.

HR executives at world-class organizations have a seat at the table, and are universally involved in business planning compared to less than half of typical companies. Leading HR staffs are much more engaged in managing and facilitating organizational change.

World class HR brings data

According to Hackett, an increased focus on measurement and analytics is another way that world-class HR organizations partner with the business more effectively. Only 20% of typical HR groups report metrics for HR-managed projects, while the leaders do this over three times more often and close to 80% report organizational metrics for change initiatives.

Leading full service HRO vendors have been building out their own talent management offerings and have added options for HR analytics, providing support for two more aspects of world class HR.

Certainly we expect HRO to support operational effectiveness and cost reduction.  Now, we know it can do more in the transformation of HR into world class business partners!

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Ceridian Has a Whole New Feeling

Linda Merritt, HRO Research Analyst, NelsonHall

Ceridian just held its annual sales kick-off meeting and according to Jayson Saba, vice president of marketing strategy and analyst relations, there was “a whole new feeling of excitement.”

Ceridian Made a Big Bet

Ceridian is a mature service provider having been in payroll and HR services since 1932. So, what is causing such excitement in 2013? The answer is Dayforce HCM.

Ceridian began partnering with Dayforce in 2010, which soon led to investing in the company, and then to purchasing the company in early 2012 and forming a new business unit, Dayforce, led by David Ossip, Dayforce’s CEO.

This was a major strategic bet on SaaS as the new direction for a large portion of an already successful company with an estimated $1.5bn in revenues. How big a bet? Well, in late 2012, Ceridian made the decision to realign its sales and marketing efforts behind Dayforce HCM in North America, the company’s largest customer and revenue base!

The company will continue to support clients on its current systems and will not force migration. In fact, it will continue to invest in adding more features and functionality in key areas. Its other service lines will also continue including international payroll, benefits administration, EAP, and stored value solutions (electronic cards with preset or refillable financial value).

Dayforce HCM is a Party of One

Dayforce is a cloud-based platform built as a single application with one record, one rules engine, and zero interfaces. Real SaaS can eliminate the need to enter data in multiple systems, manage complex interfaces, and confusion about who to call when multiple vendors are involved, and it provides easier implementations.

Dayforce HCM includes:

• Payroll and tax: view, edit, fix, and preview payroll in real-time
• Workforce management: plan, schedule, and forecast labor requirements, and time tracking and compliance
• Benefits: manage enrollment, calculate eligibility, and support an unlimited number of benefit plan types
• Human resources: forms and workflows for managers and employees to manage work and life events
• Mobile: access, manage, and change schedules and other aspects of employee records including shift trading, availability, and time-off requests.

The system can scale for small, mid, and large market clients with a sweet spot in the 1,000 to 10,000 range. Ceridian already has several deployments of 15- to 30,000+ employees. Major retail clients include Aéropostale, Pier 1, and Crate & Barrel.

With a Clear Roadmap for the Future

The new system already has hundreds of clients and is available in the U.S. and Canada, and NelsonHall predicts that it will soon be expanded to the U.K. as well. We estimate Dayforce will become  the HR system of record for all of Ceridian’s HCM customers including managed and international payroll services and eventually become a global HRIS offering.

Ceridian is also working on new additions for talent management (performance management, compensation, and recruiting) and other social media features.

Nothing Succeeds Like Success

Imagine the excitement when your new system far exceeds expectations, wins awards, and delights customers. No wonder a good time was had at Ceridian’s annual sales conference!

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HRO Will Drive Ahead in 2013

Linda Merritt, HRO Research Analyst, NelsonHall

With more organizations making the decision to use HR business process outsourcing services, even in the face of a still uncertain economic environment, the overall confidence of HR outsourcing suppliers in the market over the next 12-months is at its highest level in six quarters according to the latest NelsonHall HRO Confidence Index (HROCI).The HRO vendor confidence level is up 6% year-over-year reaching 155.5, where 100 represents unchanged confidence and higher scores indicate increased confidence.

Drivers Outweigh Inhibitors

The impact of the wider economy is strengthening the drivers for HR outsourcing which appear to be outweighing its impact on the associated inhibitors such as unrealistic pricing expectations and frozen decision-making. Currently, 89% of HR outsourcing suppliers believe that a net up-turn in HRO decision-making is taking place, with just 7% of suppliers perceiving that a net down-turn in HRO decision-making is taking place.

The top principal drivers for HR outsourcing include:

• Increased cost reduction
• Greater process consistency across business units and geographies
• Organizations looking for an increased transformational emphasis.

New private sector HRO deals typically remain limited in initial size, and significant growth opportunities continue to come from existing clients in the form of added scale or scope. In line with the “increased focus on cost reduction driven by the worsening economic climate,” organizations are finally showing an increased interest in evaluating outsourcing opportunities previously rejected.

Transformation Beyond Cost Arbitrage

The HROCI supports our 2013 trends with “a clear ‘transformation’ agenda” and a focus on value. Clients are looking to vendors to help them:

• Deliver a more empowered employee experience and access to learning using technology to administer, deliver, and share learning
• Manage business outcomes by driving higher employee engagement including a better end-user experience and continual “future-thinking”
• Achieve solid productivity and accelerate time to competency.

2013 Outlook

HRO vendor expectations for 2013 look best for payroll, then MPHRO which looks solid, followed by RPO, benefits administration, and then learning services. Multi-country deals for payroll and RPO will again be common with the average number of included countries around 20.  Of little surprise is that expectations for the government sector have slightly worsened, particularly for defense and state & local government.

Have You Listened

Another NelsonHall product of interest is the BPO Index which is supported by a quarterly conference call open to all who register.

According to the January Index, total BPO contract value was down significantly for 2012, especially in North America and Europe. The global economy and the U.S. fiscal cliff added to business growth uncertainty, which drove down industry-specific BPO the most.

At the same time, back-office BPO, which includes HRO, was up 25%, and HRO was up significantly year-over-year.

If you can lower total cost, improve performance, and increase business value, you can get an HRO deal!

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HRO Today Forum Europe 2012 Demonstrates the Value of HRO

Gary Bragar, HRO Research Director, NelsonHall

I attended HRO Today Forum Europe in Dublin, Ireland from November 13^th to 15^th to present my “State of the Learning BPO Marketplace” analysis and to introduce subsequent speakers of the learning track.This conference was different than those I’ve attended in the past as several of the sessions were interactive small group discussions. The small groups allowed us to learn from each other, and created energy and enthusiasm!

Interactive sessions I attended included:

• The opening recruitment session where we identified top challenges and solutions
• A leadership development program workshop to identify top challenges and solutions.

There were ~260 registered attendees (the same as in Amsterdam two years ago), of which 87% were in attendance throughout the three days including ~50 HR practitioners. Here are some of the highlights from the forum:

Opening remarks: Elliott Clark, CEO of SharedXpertise, opened the conference by sharing some enlightening data from a recent survey, primarily Europe centric:

• Twice the percentage of providers think HRO is thriving compared to buyers
• 77% of vendors think M&A is good for HRO compared to 55% of buyers.

Opening keynote: David Andrews, CEO of AOI and founder of Xchanging, presented “Reshaping the HR Business and Lessons Learned from Across Europe.” David began by talking about the history of HR BPO and how BP was the first company to sign a major HRO contract with Exult in 1998 to obtain 40% cost savings to remain competitive. David’s concluding remarks were that the outsourcing space in the U.K. needs to be bigger since ~$18bn is spent by the U.K. government on back-office processes and only ~$700m is outsourced.

Panel discussion: “State of the Market Debate” was hosted by David Andrews and participants included Accenture, IBM, Logica, NorthgateArinso, and Xchanging. Margaret Spink, Managing Director of HR Services at Xchanging, stated SaaS will be the most important phenomenon in the industry and the mid-market will be the biggest growth area. I agreed with Margaret’s mid-market comment, but spent the next day wondering about SaaS until the Xchanging hosted breakfast when Margaret stated that HRO is not just about technology – I couldn’t agree more! Technology is an enabler and I believe more focus should be on implementation, process, utilization, effectiveness, and achievement of desired outcomes.

General session: The conference concluded with a payroll presentation led by Julie Fernandez of ISG followed by a panel that included SD Worx, Ceridian, and CloudPay. The focus of Julie’s presentation and panel were on multi-country payroll beginning with the benefits that include:

• Reduced number of payroll providers for better procurement pricing and contract terms
• Consolidated interfaces to HR
• Improved visibility and reporting of employee headcount and cost
• Reduced compliance and financial risk
• Harmonized payroll processes and improved governance.

Challenges of multi-country payroll include securing buy-in of all the countries and funding. Part of the challenge is the implication that all countries must fit one model using one provider. All three panelists use partners in countries where they are not able to provide service themselves.

Q&As from the multi-country payroll session included:

• Q: How do you get internal finance to have confidence in the provider to prevent an extra layer of checking on vendor performance?
• A: CloudPay stated that multi-country payroll reports into the client CFO and that one way to satisfy finance is for the vendor to do more self-audits and disclosure.

An interesting discussion also took place on “cloud” with the panel in agreement that the true meaning is you can do anything from anywhere for anything, but that the industry is not there yet due to the concern of knowing where data resides. The industry will, however, grow into acceptance.

In sum, it was a worthwhile conference for anyone interested in learning, networking, and meeting potential clients. I look forward to HRO Today Forum Europe 2013 in London, November 12^th to 14^th, expected to be the biggest event yet.

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HR Tech Another Success: Part 2

Gary Bragar, HRO Research Director, NelsonHall

In my blog earlier this week, I wrote about highlights from the new Outsourcing Track at HR Tech as well as the RPO meetings I attended. In related news, my fourth global RPO market analysis report was published on Monday.

In addition to walking through the exhibit hall and attending technology demonstrations, my additional meetings at HR Tech included:

• Patersons: Its 2012 revenue growth is 70% YTD, driven by multi-country payroll. Safeguard World International has also reported similar success due to high growth for multi-country payroll services according to a business update two weeks ago.
• IBM: The company is experiencing increased demand for its RPO and learning services and many of its key learning clients have renewed in 2012. New learning contracts include one in South Africa and pipeline activity includes a large global bank. The Kenexa acquisition will bring in new RPO and talent management opportunities that IBM will enhance with its social and analytics capabilities.
• Hogan Assessments and SHL Assessments: Both companies provide personality assessments to predict work performance. SHL has also issued a talent management report with key findings showing that Eastern Europe ranks 1^st in supplying IT and essential business skills; the U.S. ranks 23^rd.
• Secova: The benefits administration provider offers online enrollment, a 24/7 call center, eligibility verification, billing management, and leave management services that are delivered from their ISO/IEC 27001:2005 certified platforms. Services are provided from California, New Jersey, and Chennai.
• Equifax Workforce Solutions: This was formerly operating as TALX, which rebranded as a result of its increased emphasis on the provision of workforce analytics and business intelligence to help clients improve their company’s performance.
• HireVue: Offers a Digital Interview Platform that saves time, travel, and costs by allowing clients to create online interview guides with scientifically proven questions. Candidates then record answers via a webcam, which recruiting and hiring managers then view on demand, including from smart phones, to build digital talent pools.
• JobVite: Provides a modular SaaS-based recruiting platform for applicant tracking, recruiter CRM, and sourcing talent.

Highlights from ADP include having ~30,000 clients for its cloud-based HCM platforms including:

• ADP Workforce Now: Launched in October 2009, it supports clients with 50 – 1,000 employees. The majority of its 20k+ clients purchase the broader HCM suite.
• ADP Vantage HCM:Piloted in October 2011 with general availability launched in June 2012, this platform, which targets employers with >1,000 employees, already has >30 clients. ADP has been adding ~5 – 6 new clients a month with a high percentage buying talent management, benefits (H&W), and time & attendance in addition to payroll. New wins include:
  • A national restaurant chain with ~24,000 employees
  • An employee healthcare staffing company with 15,000 employees
  • A retail chain with 4,500 employees.
• ADP GlobalView: It now includes ADP Talent Management globally and has won several major clients including an electronics manufacturer with 85,000 employees in 29 countries including the Americas, EMEA, and APAC, which recently added the compensation module.
• ADP Talent Management: It provides recruiting, performance, learning, compensation, and succession in 14 languages and 80 currencies for ~4,000 clients.
• ADP Mobile Solutions: Deployed globally and offered in 12 languages, the app has ~30,000 clients and ~450,000 users.

See you all next year at HR Tech in Las Vegas October 7 – 9, 2013.

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HR Tech Another Success: Part I

Gary Bragar, HRO Research Director, NelsonHall

HR Tech was again a very worthwhile investment of my time. Here are some highlights of the new Outsourcing Track presentations I attended:

• Cisco Uses RPO to Help Hire Up to 15,000 a Year:Using a hybrid co-ownership model, the Randstad Sourceright recruitment team works alongside the Cisco recruitment team to provide services including sourcing, recruiting, and onboarding. Services provided are primarily in the Americas, but may expand into EMEA and possibly Asia where Randstad Sourceright has a presence. Using the hybrid model, Cisco has been able to cut its $120m talent acquisition spend in half.
  • Mark Hamberlin, VP HR Global Staffing, Cisco
  • Rebecca Callahan, President RPO, Randstad Sourceright
• Ericsson Outsources Global Payroll in Manila:Ericsson issued a RFI to 25 vendors, then created a short-list of 5, and ultimately selected Talent2. Managed payroll services provided by Talent2 for Ericsson in Southeast Asia and Oceania include 4,500 employees in 12 countries, which prior to outsourcing had 12 different payroll processes. Manila is the shared service center. Major benefits obtained by Ericsson thus far include: reduced risk management, minimized complexity of dealing with local tax laws, and ease of expanding into new countries.
  • Mark Howes, HR Director Asia Pacific, Ericsson
  • Mary Sue Rogers, Global Managing Director, HR Managed Services, Talent2
• Whirlpool Leverages RPO to Transform Talent Acquisition:Pre-RPO recruitment was decentralized and lacked consistency and methodology in its sourcing approach. Business partners were also spending a lot of time doing transactional work including screening and reviewing resumes. Kenexa’s RPO services include: sourcing, screening, administration, candidate management, creation of employment value proposition, and management of the candidate experience primarily in North America with some testing in Europe. KPI’s include: time to fill, quality of the candidate slate, diversity slate, and end-user satisfaction.
  • Lynanne Kunkel, VP of HR, Whirlpool North America
  • Rudy Karsan, CEO, Kenexa

Here are highlights from my RPO meetings:

• Pinstripe and Ochre House: Pinstripe has won 12 new RPO contracts YTD and its partner Ochre House continues to win new contracts in EMEA including North Africa and the Middle East as a result of its acquisitions of TAAHEED and Carmichael Fisher in early 2012.
• ManpowerGroup Solutions: New contract wins YTD include 40+ RPO deals globally in 20 countries. It has also expanded existing clients into new geographies including a U.S.-headquartered firm that expanded into China and Southeast Asia and a Spanish-headquartered firm that expanded throughout Europe and Latin America.
• Randstad Sourceright: Currently with ~100 RPO clients, it won 18 new contracts YTD. Four of its new wins are global deals as a result of the merger of Randstad and SFN Group, which was completed in September 2011. Its fastest growth has been in the mid-market.
• The RightThing, an ADP Company: Total RPO client count is at 80+. YTD wins include several enterprise and mid-market clients with ~50% as new clients and ~50% as existing ADP clients that added RPO services.
• WilsonHCG: Primarily serving large and mid-size clients, WilsonHCG also has small clients with <500 employees. The company has a 94% satisfaction rating with candidates and hiring managers across clients.

Stay tuned for my next blog where I will discuss additional meetings I had with Patersons, IBM, Hogan Assessments, SHL Assessments, Secova, ADP, Equifax Workforce Solutions, HireVue, and JobVite.

In the meantime, NelsonHall just published its fourth global RPO market analysis.

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