Study: Majority Of HR Outsourcers Would Do It Again

ByJohn S. McClenahen An 80% majority of large North American and European companies that currently outsource at least one major human resources function would do it again, according to a study released last month by the Conference Board, a New York-based business research group, and sponsored by Accenture, a management consulting firm. The HR programs most often fully outsourced are 401(k) plans, pensions and benefits, administration of stock options, and health benefits. Health benefits also lead the list of HR services most frequently partially outsourced, followed by training and development, and payroll. Some 71% of the companies outsourcing HR said they would extend or renegotiate contracts with current providers and 29% said they'd put outsourced services out for new bid. None, however, said they planned to bring the services back in-house. The study is based on a September 2003 survey of 122 companies with annual revenues above US$1 billion. Some 76% of the executives responding were from North America; 24% were from Europe.