Howard Spode to Spearhead Expansion of NelsonHallís Sourcing Advisory Services

NelsonHall, the global business process outsourcing (BPO) analyst firm, today announced the appointment of Howard Spode to drive the development of the companyís buy-side advisory services.

NelsonHall analysts add value to both the buy- and vendor-sides of the BPO market by providing advice, insight and information based on the companyís robust, primary research. As Managing Director, NelsonHall Advisory Services, Spode will enhance the current service portfolio by building an additional capability that provides high-value consulting services to BPO purchasers.

The focus of the new practice is on the front end of the sourcing life-cycle ñ developing sourcing strategy and shaping/evaluating business cases for specific sourcing propositions. It is in these phases where deep, independent expertise is most required and, consequently, NelsonHallís insight can be leveraged (for example, around emerging service delivery models, lessons learned and supplier capabilities.)

In line with the established NelsonHall ethos, the quality and independence of the advice provided is assured through use of a highly evidence-based approach. The ultimate mission is to develop sustainable capability within client organizations. To this end, NelsonHall is making a comprehensive set of ìbest practiceî sourcing guidelines available to clients, supplemented by access to its experienced outsourcing practitioners who able to make effective and efficient consulting inputs and focused on knowledge transfer.

One of the first initiatives for the new practice is to launch an Executive Briefings offering via workshop sessions facilitated by NelsonHall. These Executive Briefings workshops will make full use of NelsonHallís intellectual property; executive teams in client-side organizations will be able to explore key sourcing concepts and start to test their applicability.

Spode has been a key figure in the BPO industry for the last decade. In the 90s, he was involved at the outset in the BPO businesses of both Price Waterhouse (now IBM) and Ernst & Young (now Capgemini). In the early 00s, he established an HRO business serving the U.K. mid-market on behalf of RebusHR (now Northgate IS.) He has direct experience of every stage of the BPO cycle, from both client and vendor perspectives and, for the last few years, he has worked as a BPO advisor. He has a track record of helping major clients and is the U.K. National Outsourcing Associationís current ìProfessional of the Year.î An occupational psychologist by academic background, prior to moving into BPO, Spode was a highly successful change management and organization development specialist.