Cost reduction no longer cited as key driver for HR transformation

The Shared Services and Business Process Outsourcing Association (SBPOA), the world?s only independent commentator on the shared services and BPO industries, today announced availability of the report resulting from its second annual HR Transformation: A Global Vision? survey.

Results of the survey - which was conducted in association with ADP Employer Services, a leading worldwide provider of integrated outsourced payroll and human resource services - will be unveiled at the HRO World Europe conference (Brussels, November 14-16, 2005), and will be available to all interested parties. Click here to download your free copy. The key objectives of the survey were to probe, examine and analyze: 1) the reasons companies are transforming their HR processes and methods of service delivery; 2) which processes organizations are transforming; 3) hurdles to transformation; and 4) service provider selection criteria, an area not examined in the SBPOA?s 2004 HR transformation survey. More than 150 organizations across the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific participated in the 2005 study. Respondents were primarily large, multi-national organizations, 57 percent of which have revenue of more than Euro 6/$7 billion.

Said Andre Rampat, SBPOA Research Director and author of the report, "We were pleased to see that 68 percent of 2005 survey respondents cited 'Make HR Strategic' as the number one driver of HR transformation. This indicates that organizations are realizing their HR groups can add significant value to the growth and competitive advantage of the company by enabling them to provide strategic perspectives, improved and more efficient services and act as a consultant to business units, rather than focus on transactional tasks and administrative functions.

Said Franck Neron Bancel, ADP Division Vice President of Global Strategic Accounts, "These survey findings are a true testament to the evolution of the HR outsourcing industry and underscore ADP's approach to serving multi-national organizations. Employers that adopt integrated outsourcing services from a single global provider with domain expertise, can create a streamlined HR network that delivers cost efficiencies across the enterprise. Sample key findings from the report include:

*The top five drivers for HR transformation are: Make HR Strategic (68 percent); Service Improvement (66 percent); Respond to Changes in Business (60 percent); Benefit from New Technology (49 percent); and Better Manage the Cost of Internal Processes (47 percent)

*The top outsourced HR processes are in order of popularity payroll, pensions administration, health and welfare benefits, expatriate and relocation administration, and stock options administration

*2005 is a year in which buyers are utilizing the "right" evaluation factors for service provider selection, e.g., proven ability to meet service standards, multi-country capabilities, functional coverage and expertise, specialization in relevant functions and technical expertise, as opposed to resources, facilities, location and workforce.To download your copy free copy.

For more information on the SBPOA/ADP HR Transformation survey, please contact: SBPOA Jolie Newman, +1 407 677 0042; jolie@sharedxpertise.org; or Andre Rampat, +32 2 777 9675; andre@sharedxpertise.org at ADP Patrick Gaspardo, +33 1 55 63 51 83, Patrick.gaspardo@europe.adp.com