HROA to Set Standards & Practices for HR Transformation and Outsourcing

The HROA today announced its Research & Standards Committee issued an Initial Ruling on a set of industry practices for HR Transformation and Outsourcing. These first-ever peer-reviewed practices will help adopting companies gain more transparency, make better outsourcing decisions, and drive down costs.

ìConsumers donít buy cars without accepted weights and measures, so why should HR executives buy HR services and outsourcing without them?î said Richard Crespin, Global Executive Director for the HROA. ìAn accepted method for determining what constitutes a gallon, a minute, and a mile are necessary for you to know 45 miles to the gallon and going zero to 60 in four seconds mean ëgoodness.í

Linda Merritt of AT&T and the interim Chair of the Committee said, ìEfficient markets need transparency and comparability. Without accepted units of measure, common practices for evaluating effectiveness, and a common lexicon, no market will function properly. The time has come for HR practitioners to have these same types of tools at their disposal for assessing HR outsourcing relationships. And the HROA and its members have stepped forward to help bring this about.î She went on to note, ììFor the first time in the early development of an industry, the HROA has brought together representatives from all constituencies: providers, practitioners, advisors, consultants, attorneys, the list goes on. To build broad consensus, competitors and customers have come together to make substantive contributions to a shared body of knowledge.î



The first set of practices address setting resource pricing units and establishing service level agreements. These practices are available for public comment through August 20, 2007 at [insert link]. The HROA encourages all people interested in HR transformation and outsourcing to participate in the Public Comment period.

ìThe HROA is the ideal representative body to take on this task of working with all stakeholders in the industry to provide an ever expanding repository of industry knowledge. Sharing these industry practices will facilitate entry for newcomers in the industry and will greatly help HR Transformation,î said Synco Jonkeren from SAP and a member of the Committee.

As part of this process, the HROA wants to encourage all interested parties to play a role. The time has come for HR practitioners to have the same level of transparency and comparability in making complex decisions like HR outsourcing as they do in making basic decisions like buying a car. For more information on how to become involved contact adam.bleifeld@hroa.org or visit: