1. White PaperTrendspotting: 7 key trendsin HR OutsourcingGone are the days when organizations could overlook outsourcing and treat it asa cost saving measure. What started off as a cost reduction attempt is now beinglooked at as a strategic initiative to add value and provide the organization withagility and flexibility to encounter the fast changing business environment. TheBusiness Process Outsourcing industry is taking a more holistic approachtowards outsourcing, with outsourcers looking at partnering with the serviceprovider to transform their processes. New concepts, such as Platform BPO, as well as an aging Western workforce,may lead to a new outsourcing wave, especially for midmarket firms. While About the Author within the BPO industry, services like Contact Center, Finance and Accounting, Chakrapani T is Vice President ofData Processing, etc. are at a fairly mature stage there are a few new upcoming Solutions and Relationship Management.services which are finding favour with outsourcers. This is predominantly the He heads pre-sales for Human Resource Outsourcing.effect of a maturing client community which is understanding the need to lookbeyond cost saving and take a transformational approach towards outsourcing.Human Resource Outsourcing (HRO) is one such emerging practice inoutsourcing. HRO began in 1997 with a single deal, and peaked in 2006 with 51.In 2008, the number is expected to drop to 32.Number of HRO Transactions 1997 - 200851 46 47 39 32 28 14 11 5 31 1 19971998 199920002001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008Source: Everest Research InstituteThe global HRO market is expected to be $3.2 billion in 2009 (among about 18active, experienced suppliers), and Europe's share of the total has increased from20 to 30 percent (in number of deals) since 2005. In 2009, contracts worth morethan $1.6 billion are up for renewal. Many suppliers, including Mahindra SatyamBPO, are honing their offerings and preparing to address several major HROtrends. There are a few key developments that will shape the future of HRO.Seven key trends are discussed here.

2. White Paper Trend 1: Small will be the new big Deal sizes are shrinking. In the past several years, the average project size has declined from $374 million in 2000 to $60 million. There is a clear tendency to break monolithic contracts into smaller chunks, introducing competition while spreading risk. This approach has recently morphed into multi-sourcing, whereby one supplier owns a piece of service and provides a common governance framework. Clients mitigate risks associated with 'having all their eggs in one basket' and are not locked in by a single vendor. By undertaking outsourcing in phases, they can easily judge the ROI of each stage. This approach provides the flexibility to take a milestone based approach, or end the project if the benefits are not getting accrued. Average HRO transaction size (2000 - July 2008);US$ million, three-year trailing374162147121 103 8080 83602000200120022003200420052006 2007 2008Average over three years, including the mentioned year and past two years 2 HRO transactions with TCV greater than US$1 billion Sample size: 257 transactions as of July 2008 for which data is available Source: Everest Research Institute (2008) Trend 2: Midmarket will emerge as the front runner Until today, most transformational and large HRO deals involved large companies. Scale was required to make them economically viable for vendors. However, several factors have made HRO an exciting possibility for midmarket companies with an employee count of 3,000 to 15,000. For instance, large multi- process suppliers have become more selective about the deals they pursue. The current economic turmoil is forcing large companies to pursue immediate benefits, rather than undertake a patient approach. The emergence of new suppliers and models such as Platform BPO is another contributing factor. Since solutions and platforms can be shared easily and tuned to the requirements of midmarket organizations, the segment can also profit from various forms of BPO.Trend 3: Niche suppliers will be best positioned to forge partnerships to support end-to-end solutions Large and mid-size companies demand end-to-end outsourcing solutions that cover all aspects of HR, from payroll to claims reimbursements to temporary staffing. To deliver these solutions, suppliers will have to forge partnerships with 2 3. White Paper other providers. Several innovative organizations, notably in the platform and indigenous application space, have emerged recently. Thanks to SaaS, they can create services that can be delivered to users transparently and efficiently. These partnership options will help traditional suppliers focus on niche offerings while maintaining a competitive and innovative edge.Trend 4: SaaS-enabled BPO (Platform BPO) is becoming the new wave Quality is critical for HRO vendors. For years, quality was determined by technical performanceavailability, scalability and reliability. Today, these issues have largely been solved. IT's role is now wider, and includes incorporating effective HR best practices into applications. Best practices must be an integral part of application design and development because they enable cost-efficient and effective use of automated systems. They also deliver real business value.Platform BPO models offer numerous benefits to companies and suppliers. These include ? Zero upfront capital costs ? with global service delivery models Automation ? Pay-per-user commercial models enabled by global, template-driven and multi-tenant platforms ? Flexible service choices ? outsourcing possibilities that meet near-and long-term objectives Phase-wiseTrend 5: From infrastructure TCO to services TCO Companies first outsourced business processes to lower total cost of ownership (TCO) of their infrastructures. Business Process Outsourcing generally led to transferring people and infrastructure segments to outsourcing vendors, who offered services for fixed prices. Over time, the model has shifted toward services TCO. Specific services determine the price of outsourcing, not infrastructure and management. As such, HRO is more transparent and results in more flexible budgeting for the companies that use it.Trend 6: Global talent and glocal delivery models In recent years, nearshoring and offshoring have become major drivers for global sourcing. Vendors have created global delivery organizations that offer scale and as a result cost-effective services. Still, they must consider (and adhere to) country-specific legislation and regulations. Until HR becomes standardized, it will be necessary to support local rules.Workforce in the United States is aging. An entire generation is beginning to retire, leaving many companies without the ability to support mission-critical business processes. This will drive HRO from emerging countries where highly qualified and relatively inexpensive talent will deliver best practices to organizations across the globe.While local regulations may curtail offshore adoption of HRO, widening talent issues, coupled with the necessity to standardize processes for rapidly growing global companies, favor global service delivery in the future.3 4. White Paper Trend 7: A temporary return to cost-reduction? With the credit crunch impacting all aspects of the global economy, companies and governments have to rethink their strategies and business plans. As for outsourcing, cost reduction may re-emerge as a key driver. In the long run, however, innovation, business transformation and business optimization must also be considered. These are what will help companies enjoy transformational benefits when the market improves. At Mahindra Satyam BPOs Human Resource practice, we offer customized, cost-effective and comprehensive HR services that help you achieve greater efficiency. Our Human resource offerings include Recruitment, Compensation, Payroll Administration, Employee Data Maintenance, Immigration & Expatriation, Learning & Development, Performance Management, Organization Development and HR Analytics.To know more about how Mahindra Satyam BPO can partner with you to achieve your objectives, mail Connect@mahindrasatyambpo.com with the subject, HR Outsourcing. Copyright 2009 Satyam BPO Limited 4