HR Out-tasking: Is It Right For Your Organization?

HR Out-tasking:Is It Right For Your Organization?

©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.

Table of Contents

What is out-tasking? .............................. 4

Profi le of an out-tasker ............................ 5

What can I out-task? ............................... 6

Why out-task? ......................................... 7

Is out-tasking right for me? ...................... 8

Advantages ............................................. 9

Disadvantages ...................................... 10

Questions to ask yourself ...................... 11

12 stages of an effective plan ................ 12

Measuring success ............................... 13

Planning your next steps ....................... 14

HR Out-tasking:

Is It Right For Your

Organization?


©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved. HR Out-tasking: Is It Right For Your Organization? // 3

Why should you read on?Come on! You haven’t even gotten to the fi rst page. There’s so much good information ahead. You don’t want to miss out.

In order to make effective decisions, you have to understand and evaluate all of your alternatives. It is easy to cross things off when you neither have the strength nor time to explore unfamiliar territories.

But that’s where there is a treasure trove of opportunities.

Opportunities that bring the unusual riches of extra time and dollars to focus on your strategic initiatives.

As human resources becomes more strategic than ever, you need the best resources and highest expertise to keep your organization up to date and compliant and your people happy.

Read on to learn what HR out-tasking is, why it is becoming a trend and if it is right for your organization. It won’t take you more than fi ve minutes—and what is fi ve minutes when you can gain knowledge that could transform your organization for years to come?

So, what is out-tasking?

Introduction


Out-tasking gives organizations the ability to get professional assistance with particular human resource functions, whether day-to-day tasks or long-term strategic projects, that they:

Need more expertise in

Don’t want to hire full-time staff for

Want to excel at!

It is not a set of activities that you have to buy; it is a set of activities you select based upon what you need.

Out-tasking is fl exible in that it can begin and end where it makes sense for your organization. It does not come in a bundle or a package, but is designed by you—the person who knows your organization best. You can decide to out-task one or two HR functions, or all your HR functions.

What is out-tasking?


None!

HR out-tasking is a cost-effective, fl exible solution for organizations large and small and in any industry or sector.

You ask, “how can that be?”

Out-tasking benefi ts organizations of all sizes because each organization has different needs, resources and goals. That means, regardless if you have as few as fi ve employees working for you or as many as thousands of employees, out-tasking can be a great solution for you.

A large or small organization can both enjoy cost savings from not hiring additional full-time employees—but can still enjoy having the expertise available from additional talent. Out-tasking also builds the necessary internal skills to accomplish important organizational goals.

What is the profi le of an organization that out-tasks?


What can I out-task?

Pick and choose!

You can out-task any of the processes below and as many with which you feel comfortable:

To decide which HR functions would be best to out-task, ask yourself:

What makes it diffi cult to get your job done?

Where do you need to increase your HR knowledge?

What tasks are too time consuming?


If you could benefi t from the following improvements, out-tasking could be a great option for your organization:

Gain cost savings

Make core business the primary focus

Free up internal resources

Increase specialized resources

Increase specifi c expertise

Eliminate compliance concerns

*Key to retention: Employees satisfi ed with the quality of the services they receive and whose needs and questions are met quickly and accurately are more likely to stay.

Why out-task?

Focus your time and energy on growing your organization and strengthening your core competencies without worrying about back-end operations.


How do I know if this is the right solution for my organization?

If you can answer yes ( ) to any of the questions below, your organization is a great candidate for HR out-tasking.

Do you have important organizational goals to achieve?

Are you trying to keep operational costs down?

Could you benefi t from increased economies of scale, effi ciency and expertise?

Would you like to increase accuracy and productivity?

Would you like to improve compliance?

Do you have day-to-day tasks or long strategic projects for which you need fl exible support?

Is my organization the right candidate for out-tasking?


Out-tasking can offer the following benefi ts to your organization:

More time for core activities

Tasks handled outside, accurately and with a high level of compliance

Higher quality with an outside vendor who:

• Has experience in various sectors and industries and brings these best practices inside

• Has practice in the specifi c task you need help with—the fact that they have done this over and over will bring a high level of productivity and effi ciency to your organization

• Understands your business thoroughly and who you can trust with your most valuable asset—your people

Potential economies of scale

Advantages

IDEA:IDEA:


You are at risk for the following if you do not choose the proper vendor:

Confusion about who is responsible

• Who is making decisions?

• Who is doing a particular task?

Fuzzy deliverables

Loss of control

A true vendor will work with you, as an extension of your team, to:

Lay out your goals and deliverables

Clarify individual responsibilities to eliminate confusion

Establish strong communication from the beginning

Create a strategy tailored to your organization’s goals

Implement the strategy

Evaluate the strategy constantly

Disadvantages


Now you are armed with the proper information to understand out-tasking and

decide whether or not it is appropriate for your organization. Ask yourself these

questions to take a closer look at your end goals and determine if out-tasking is the

proper tool to help you realize them.

Why do you believe out-tasking would be a benefi t?

What do you do well?

What would you like to do better?

What parts of HR make sense to out-task?

What does this mean to your organization?

Ask Yourself


The HR out-tasking process is easy and straightforward. The steps below outline what you can expect from this partnership.

12 Stages of an Effective Out-tasking Plan

1. Setting goals and reaching consensus

2. Performing cost/benefi t analysis

3. Researching and planning

4. Establishing a timeline

5. Identifying vendors

6. Preparing the RFP

7. Choosing a vendor

8. Negotiating a contract

9. Communicating

10. Managing the relationship

11. Building a roll-out schedule

12. Monitoring performance

So, how does this work?


Success is measured by what you would like to see happen in your organization.

In what ways would you like to improve?

Out-task your HR functions and see the following:

Improved service quality

Improved operational effi ciency

Reduced operational costs

Improved employee satisfaction

How do we measure success?


What should you do with this information?

Think about it! Ask yourself questions and make a list of HR strengths and opportunities that your organization possesses. Decide what would be a more cost-effective and better long-term option—hiring full-time staff for particular tasks or out-tasking to an expert.

Most importantly, make informed decisions.

What’s the next step?

Complete our free HR assessment (www.sikich.com/hr-assessment) to get a better idea of where your organization stands in different functional areas of HR. This will give you a good look at how you are doing now and determine in which areas your organization can improve. Once completed, fax it to us (630.849.2808) for a free one hour consultation!

See, it pays off to go the extra mile!

Conclusion

Contact Information

Joyce GrenisSenior Vice President

HR Consulting Services

Sikich LLP

P: 630.566.8454

F: 630.849.2808

[email protected]

About Sikich LLP

Sikich LLP, a leading accounting, advisory, investment banking, technology and managed services fi rm, has more than 400 employees throughout the country. Founded in 1982, Sikich now ranks as one of the country’s Top 50 Certifi ed Public Accounting fi rms and is among the top 1% of all enterprise resource planning solution partners in the world. From corporations and non-profi ts to state and local governments, Sikich clients can use a broad spectrum of services and products that help them reach long-term, strategic goals.

Visit www.sikich.com to discover how you can elevate performance in your organization.

Find us on Facebook facebook.com/sikichllpFollow us on Twitter @sikichllpVisit our blog www.sikich.com/blog


HR Out-tasking: Is It Right For Your Organization?

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