Grim tales: pawing through the forest of HR outsourcing options

HR Magazine,  Oct, 2004  by Julie Britt

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Outsourcing HR management systems (HRMSs) is a relatively new but growing business trend, and, while its benefits can be significant, selecting a vendor may be tougher than you expect. In fact, experts say it can be more challenging than selecting an HRMS to run in-house.

For example, you need to make sure a vendor can help you reach your business goals, and you need to ask tough questions to make sure the provider can back up its claims.

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Once you've selected a vendor and entered a partnership, you're not out of the woods. For more information, see "If the Shoe Fits ..." by Bill Roberts, the lead story in this month's HR Technology Special Report, which begins on page 68.

If you're an HR information systems (HRIS) professional, don't miss the second article in the report, "What's 'Just Right' for You?" on page 78. As outsourcing helps reinvent the profession, HRIS specialists face multiple career choices, including staying with the same organization after HRIS is outsourced, moving to the vendor that will provide the HRIS services or finding an organization that has no immediate plans to outsource HRIS.

Also in the report, freelance writer Drew Robb looks at the building blocks of employee performance management automation in "Building a Better Workforce" on page 86.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Society for Human Resource Management
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group