HR outsourcing

The practice of outsourcing involves the purchasing from an external provider of one or more business services, which could include HR and/or other functions such as IT. The specific processes that are included within any HR outsourcing arrangement will vary from organisation to organisation – some may outsource virtually all of their HR processes while others select specific components such as payroll or recruitment.

The top three reasons cited for undertaking outsourcing in our 2009 survey HR outsourcing and the HR function are access to skills and knowledge, quality and cost reduction. This survey also found that almost one third of respondents outsource some of the HR function and that the most commonly outsourced HR activities are legal services, payroll and pensions. 

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• What is HR outsourcing?
• Alternatives to HR outsourcing
• Benefits and challenges of HR outsourcing
• Selecting a provider and managing the transition
• CIPD viewpoint
• Further reading