Unilever, Managers, HR, Outsourcing
Managers at Unilever opposed record-breaking HR outsourcing deal
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Most line managers at Unilever did not want the company to outsource its HR, according to Reg Bull, the group’s senior vice-president for global HR transformation.
He told the HRO World Europe conference in Brussels (organized by SharedXpertise) that there was wide consultation before the group signed its record-breaking £1 billion deal with Accenture HR Services in June. “We talked to a lot of people.” He said. “We did personal interviews with all board members and executives and went to our clients, asking them what they wanted.”
“But most of our line managers didn’t want to do this. If you have a ratio of 1:67 and a tame HR person just outside the room, why would you want to?”
Bull and other speakers made it clear that HR outsourcing was a difficult journey, involving tough, commercial decisions did not always come easily to HR professionals. "Our mantra was 'it's going to be tough so we're going to have to be tough in response'," he said, "This was a total transformation, not just of HR but of how all managers manage their people."
This year’s conference had the sub-title “Future-Proof HR Transformation” and speakers included those who had decided against outsourcing.
Andrew Kris, chairman of the board of SharedXpertise, the managing company of the HR Outsourcing Association (HROA) Europe, which ran the conference, said: “Outsourcing is not a panacea. There are many other ways to transform HR.”
by Jane Pickard
See the full article at PM Online
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