Industry Standards & Practices
Industry Standards and PracticesTM for HR Transformation
As the only independent organization representing all participants in the industry, the HROA acts to improve the practice of HR Transformation by overseeing and accelerating the development and adoption of effective industry standards and practices. As part of this process, the HROA gathers broad-based input from across the industry and works to develop lasting industry consensus and to arrive at conclusions that balance the various commercial interests of all participants.
The HROA’s Research and Standards Committee of the Board of Trustees has established the following minimum criteria for effective standards.
- Representative. Include the input of a broad representation of the industry.
- Practical. Mindful of the results and usefulness for practitioners responsible for implementation.
- Economical. The total cost of implementing the standard should be covered or exceeded by the total benefit.
- Transparent. Clearly understandable and with results that all concerned parties can measure and evaluate.
- Verifiable. Subject to independent verification of the cost, outcome, and benefit.
- Timeless. Not specific to current practice; will remain relevant for a minimum and specified period of time.
The HROA works with its members, the experts in their respective fields, to develop industry standards and practices by identifying and classifying practices according to one of three major categories:
- HROA Recommended PracticesTM – useful methods used by a broad plurality of organizations.
- HROA Best PracticesTM – common methods and practices backed by definitive data gathered through evidentiary research demonstrating their effectiveness
- HROA StandardsTM – those best practices that, if excluded from operations, may actually cause harm to the industry or its participants.
How the Program Works
The program is composed of the following phases.
Gathering. Periodically and an on an ongoing basis, the HROA will canvas its membership for industry practices and/or suggestions for developing new standards and practices.
At any time, anyone (whether or not they are an HROA member) may submit a proposed practice or standard. Click here to learn more.
Initial Ruling. Once in receipt of standards and/or practices, the Committee will make an initial ruling on the practical use and application of the practices, determine within which category they best fits and determine the next best step for their development.
Public & Member Comment. Once an initial ruling has been made, the standards or practices will be published in HROA media (including but not limited to the HROA Web site, its newsletter, and special email notifications to members and other interested parties) and made available for public and member comment.
The HROA will gather public and member comment via two methods:
- Online Forum. The HROA has established a public form to accept and publish comments. (HROA Online Comment Forum)
- Email Submission. Anyone may submit comments in writing to the HROA staff. (comments@hroa.org)
In either case, people submitting comments may request to do so with or without attribution, i.e., they may request to either have their names and organizations noted or not.
Reconciliation & Setting. After the public and member comment period closes, the HROA will reconcile the feedback received and present a final report to the Committee detailing the final standard(s) and practice(s) to be set. At no time will the HROA staff delete, modify, or append any comments. They will be forwarded as received in an organized format to aid Committee review.
Final Ruling. The Committee will review the report and issue a final ruling on any practices and make a recommendation to the Board of Trustees regarding any proposed standards.
Publication. The HROA will publish in its media the adopted standards and practices in accordance with its Editorial Practices and Guidelines. The HROA will provide access as deemed appropriate by the Committee to its members and to the general public.
Adoption & Use. Once approved, members may begin indicating use of the HROA-approved standards and practices.
Maintenance. The HROA will maintain the standards and practices according to the direction of the Committee and in concert with the membership.
Click here to see work in progress.
Click here to see published practices and standards.
HROA published standards or practices are intended to provide a minimum best practice basis for addressing problems in HR outsourcing, and these standards and practices are not prescriptive or intended to be adopted and used in all situations. Customization may be necessary or appropriate in any given circumstance. HROA welcomes feedback and input about its Recommended Practices™.
OpenDoorHRO has joined the HROA’s official Industry Standards & Practices setting process. Click the icon below to access OpenDoor's extensive library of HRO industry information.
Members of the HROA Research & Standards Committee
Candy Lewandowski, Kelly Services, Chair, Research Committee
Linda Merritt, Chair, Standards Committee
Mike Andrus, Catholic Health Initiatives
Sam Berger, IBM
Pam Berklich, Kelly Services
Jason Berkowitz, Hyrian
Mark Blatchford, Unilever
Elizabeth Boudrie, SharedXpertise
Werner Braun, PA Consulting
Yvette Cameron, SAP
Celeste Campos, TPI
Debora Card, TPI
Donald Cimorelli, Fidelity
Michelle Claassen, Excellerate HRO
Richard Crespin, HROA
Terri Dahlem, Convergys
Brian Day, IBM
Guy Joel deLhoneux, Unilever
Brad Everett, ACS
Greg Gill, Fidelity
Jill Goldstein, Accenture
Philippe Guinaud, HR Access
Merissa Hedengren, Prudential
Michael Hogan, ADP
Synco Jonkeren, Equaterra
Fernandez Julie, TPI
Jill Kidwell, IBM
Jim Koenig, Equaterra
Mark Levy, IBM
William Lovero, IBM
Ken Manke, Whirlpool
Jan Miller, Catalina Restaurant Group
Dave Nelson, Cadbury Schwepps
Tim Palmer, PA Consulting
Kevin Prue, Prudential
Chris Rittenmeyer, Excellerate HRO
Mary Sue Rogers, IBM
Akiba Stern, Morgan, Lewis, Bocklius LLP
Robyn Sweet, Hewitt
Jennifer Swindle, Mercer
Roeland van Dessel, Oracle
