HR Outsourcing Still a Significant Trend

Survey respondents listed the following major priorities for 2006, according to a press release:

• Talent and leadership development combined with talent acquisition and retention – 45%,
• Performance management – 21%,
• Streamlining processes – 18%, and
• Aligning people and business goals – 18%.

Additionally, 38% of respondents indicated that budget expectations over the next 12 months for HR technology and outsourced solutions would increase, by as much as 9% in some cases, the release said.

Reasons respondents outsourced HR functions included:

• Streamline operations – 40%,
• Access to world-class capabilities and industry expertise combined – 40%,
• Free-up internal staff – 32%,
• Reduce labor costs – 25%, and
• Accurate and predictable monthly costs – 21%.

The most commonly outsourced function was payroll processing (32%), followed by employee assistance programs (29%), payroll tax filing (25%), and background screening (24%).

Price was the key factor in vendor selection chosen by respondents. Other important factors included breadth and depth of product line, financial stability, and references/reputation.

Forty-three percent of respondents said adopting employee/manager self-service was not a priority, though respondents listed employee ownership of general data, online open enrollment, reduction of calls placed to HR and overall cost savings as benefits of self-service.

The Genesys HCM trends survey can be requested here .