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| Market Research
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Pressure point: Cliff Mills, NCC Research (January 2008)
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The pressure is on the HR department to spend less time on administrative activities and more on ‘transformational’
work. To address this problem, a number of structural changes in the way that HR services are delivered have been
implemented in the form of shared service centres, outsourcing and electronic delivery in order to standardise policies
and procedures.
This change is clearly reflected in the amount of re-organisation that has occurred within HR. In the past year alone,
according to our latest survey, 35% of HR departments have undergone a
significant restructure, with a further 17% re-organising during the last 12-24 months.
Respondents cite a range of reasons for the evolving structure of their HR department. The key drivers
are the need to improve the services offered to the organisation (54%); enabling HR to become a more strategic
contributor (50%); and repositioning the HR function to fit the wider organisational model (46%).
Somewhat lower down the scale, but nonetheless significant, are the need to reduce costs (26%), provide more
responsive customer service (25%) and increase business focus (24%).
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Learning to love technology: Mike Theaker, Mercer (January 2008)
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Across Europe there has been a significant amount of activity across a wide range of HR
technology initiatives in recent years. The quality and effectiveness of these investments
has been mixed, but one clear trend is that HR technology is no longer perceived as the
primary barrier to HR performance.
Back in 2003, Mercer research among European HR executives found that 56% of them
cited HR technology as the primary barrier to HR performance. It was the number two
inhibitor behind the skills and capabilities of HR professionals. But by 2006, this number
had fallen significantly, with just 17% citing HR technology as the primary barrier to
successful performance and placing technology as the number seven barrier.
What is more, 43% of the organisations in our 2006 study had undertaken an audit of their
existing HR information systems (HRIS) technology, with 32% planning to do so within the
next 12 months – a significant degree of HR systems replacement/addition activity.
Looking at the specific HR technology initiatives that organisations across Europe have been undertaking over the past
three years, we find a wide range.
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