HRO Market On a Steady Incline

The Human Resources Outsourcing market has gone to $2 Billion in what seems like a split-second. The US $2 Billion industry has seen an annual growth spurt of 28 percent, showing a growth of nearly four times that of the general HR services market itself. During 2005 the HRO market saw nearly 40 deals signed which caused that year to become the turning point for the market in general.
The concept of Human Resources has been a major factor in outsourcing decisions with regards to staffing transfers and downsizing. HR functions, typically led by benefits administration, payroll administration and HR information and technology, are primarily the target for outsourcing and are beginning to see a major increase in offshore movements. While these movements are becoming the norm within HR functions, they are currently used in a little less than half the major outsourcing transactions that we see in force presently. This will of course increase as more and more companies begin to realize the substantial savings of this option. However with the skepticism that many buyers have of offshore skills, the HR industry is still a bit behind many other areas that are currently being outsourced. Major suppliers are currently focused on elevating offshore HR skills so it may not take long for the HR industry itself to make its mark with others such as IT and customer service that are currently being adopted as offshore options.
There is currently more complex work being outsourced to India by those thought of as giants among international corporations. Intel is expected to invest more than $1 Billion and JP Morgan Chase is planning to add another 4000 or more employees. India has increasingly seen a steady rise in outsourcing work. In the past year they have seen a major increase by Wall Street firms and larger globally based banks.
At the beginning of 2008, Ceridian saw a major growth in Human Resources Outsourcing, including eight new employers in the United States alone to add to the eight existing HRO clients that the company maintains who extended their contracts with Ceridian HRO. The company’s portfolio now consists of 29 US clients who are currently engaged in offshore outsourcing.
You will remember that a few months ago EquaTerra and IDC presented a flash report that predicted the growth and changes that would take place in 2007. Mark Hodges, EquaTerra founder and Lisa Rowan, IDC Program Manager, both presented interesting details into current and future HRO trends, forecasts for the market and lessons that were learned in the past few years that will help to ensure the future expansion of the industry.
As a standalone HR outsourcing has continued to increase at an annual growth rate of 8.3 percent. Comprehensive BPO when combined with multiple HR functions is also growing rapidly at an increase of 14 percent. Although HR outsourcing pricing was recently seeing a steady decline, it is now on the rise again and provider profitability is increasing at a steady rate overall.
What this means for the HR manager is that the multiple process Human Resources Outsourcing market has been constantly maturing over the past three years. With prices continuing to fall, outsourcing is becoming a much more attractive option than if was just a short time ago. Also, while standards have not yet been set, they have evolved steadily and are allowing suppliers to leverage scale across their customer bases. Offshore HRO services has become a reality and is now commonplace in many new deals, where just a few years ago this was simply a foreseeable option, although not really a strong reality. With stronger capabilities for suppliers and a constantly increasing competition in the market, pricing has gone down considerably from 30 to 50 percent in some segments. Those who have an existing outsourcing contract have a very attractive negotiation opportunity and new buyers are seeing much better pricing structures than before.
The bottom line is that Human Resources Outsourcing is a growing industry that is not simply for the large players any longer. More mid-sized buyers are beginning to come around to the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of offshore outsourcing. The number of providers is steadily growing, giving more options to all market sizes. Many of the larger powerhouses are offering or have already consolidated offering comprehensive services that include a large number of functions instead of simply one major service. Competition is a good thing. It can help to drive down costs while also offering choices for businesses that will enable all segments of the market to select providers that will best meet their individual company needs.

HRO and the HR Professional

There is a terrific interview over at HRO Today entitled HRO and the HR Professional. Its very professionally done, informative and definitely worth the read.
HRO and the HR Professional

Another Acquisition for IBM

BI and Performance Management Software industry has experienced a major consolidation wave in acquisitions space. The first to happen was the acquisition of Hyperion by Oracle, followed by the acquisition of Pilot Software by SAP. The third acquisition to happen now is the acquisition of Cognos by IBM. IBM and Cognos have been partnering for nearly 15 years with extensive technical integrations and eight pre-integrated joint solutions already supporting many joint customers such as the NY City police department, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Tennessee, Canadian Tire, MetLife and Bayer UK. This acquisition will be the 23rd acquisition for IBM with other major acquisitions up till now being with Princeton Softech, FileNet, Ascential Software, DataMirror, SRD, Trigo, DWL and Alphablox.
Please review this for a complete Press Release from IBM on the Cognos acquisition :
IBM to Acquire Cognos .

Indian BPO Security Issues

It was in 2005 that a Bangalore based BPO employee, Prathibha, was murdered. This incident created havoc around the country in an otherwise booming Indian BPO industry. The security of employees then became the primary focus of BPO companies and all companies operating at night came up with several security measures to counter the issues of security, especially to female employees. It is a normal practice for BPOs that operate at night to provide pick and drop facilities to their employees and prior to this Bangalore incident, not many companies had the practice of providing security personnel for each drop. In the aftermath of the Bangalore incident the companies came forward with measures such as “no first pick up should be a female employee” and “no last drop should be a female employee”. If it is necessary for a female employee to be last dropped then it was made mandatory to provide a security person for each such drop. In addition the companies vouched to do a stringent background check of each one of their transport suppliers and their drivers as well, preventing those drivers with a criminal background to be used for their services.
How many BPOs still continue to follow such stringent measures? The answer appears not to be not many, as the very recent incident in Pune, India suggests. A 22 year old female employee, Jyoti Chaudary, of IT Major Wipro call center was allegedly raped and murdered by the driver of a taxi which was hired by the company and an accomplice, according to the initial reports coming out in the media. Though complete details are not yet available, it does raise eyebrows as to why the female employee was first picked up. It also raises our concerns as to whether the employees are taking enough additional care as to ensure their own safety and security.
This incident again brought to light the rising security issues in the BPO industry and will have an impact on the industry as a whole. After the Bangalore incident, it has become a tough exercise for recruiters to convince female candidates to take BPO jobs on night shifts and most parents are now reluctant to allow their children to work on night shifts. Unlike other countries, in India, parents play a vital role in the career decisions of their children, at least during the initial stages of their careers. BPOs expect very good communication skills as the mandatory skill set and most female candidates possess good communication track records. If this incident adds to the existing fears of night shift jobs in the BPO industry, particularly among female employees, the Indian BPO industry will definitely face productivity issues in the near future. It has become a waiting and watching game to see how BPOs will face the rising issues of security and employee safety.

Cognet HRO Global Delivery Center

Cognet HRO recently announced the launch of its global delivery center located in Chennai, India reports HRO Manager. Please review this for more information on this Press Release :
Cognet Global Delivery Center

Nelson Hall RPO Forecasts

It’s good news for RPO players. Nelson Hall, a leading independent BPO analyst firm, in its latest research found that RPO is the fastest growing service emerging in support of organizations and talent management requirements. It forecasts the RPO industry to see an annual growth rate of 37% and become a $7 Billion market by 2010. The research also finds the growth to be broad-based, not just restricted to the United States, but emerging markets such as India also to have their piece of the pie.
Key findings revealed in the Nelson Hall report include:
Vendors need to be able to perform an integral role in the development, implementation and execution of their clients, Talent Management and Workforce Planning Strategy.
Standalone RPO represents a much greater share of the market than does RPO provided as part of a multi-process HRO offering - it is also experiencing the highest growth rates.
Clients are increasingly looking for a variable cost structure to pay for services based on usage.
Vendors need to be able to scale their workforce to meet demand for peaks and valleys.
Most current activity is in serving large companies. However, as the market is beginning to mature, increased demand is being send from small and mid-sized companies.
Service providers should provide a service that includes an onsite presence - globally today, only 31% of service providers work onsite but this proportion is expected to increase in conjunction with talent acquisition demand.
Most RPO services are provided from onshore multi-client delivery centers, but offshore delivery is seeing high growth, particularly for non-client facing work.
Service providers are partnering for access to technology and for support services such as assessments and background checks. They are also partnering with other recruiting providers, particularly where they do not have a geographic presence.
Acquisitions are common as service providers look to increase their geographical expansion and to improve recruiting capabilities.
please see this for the complete News Release :
Global Outsourcing Market $7 Billion by 2010

Resources From HRWorld

HRWorld.com recently published 100 Resources for Interviewers and Candidates. The publication can be viewed on the HRWorld.com site.

Article From HCI Executive Director

Sumeet Varghese who is currently the Executive Director of Human Capital Institute (HCI) in India wrote a fantastic article for HRO Manager. The article draws a realistic picture on globablized India and the importance of cultural values. Human Capital Institute is a high profile global HR institute and is well known for its advanced HR training workshops and research.
You can view the entire article by clicking here : HR Outsourcing

Mid-Size Market Demand

Though it is unlikely that we will see large size contracts in the short term, mid-sized market demand is definitely showing signs of continued growth and is expected to grow significantly in the future years.
Please view the complete article on the prospects of HRO growth :
Mid-market Growth Takes Off

Recent AARP Survey

PR Newswire reports that in an AARP survey released today, more than 83% of 401(k) participants were found to not know that they had to pay in fees and expenses associated with their plans. 401(k) plans typically include three types of fees: Investment fees, Administrative fees and Individual fees. When considering any 401 (k) plan, AARP offers the following tips:
Do your homework - Ask the administrator of your plan about any fees that may be associated with specific choices. Compare the fees of various funds in a category and look for those with lower expense ratios.
Talk to your Human Resources Representative - If you find that your plan contains high cost funds, as HR to review the fund offerings and consider switching to those with lower costs.
Make saving a priority - Focus on saving, not on spending your retirement savings. Individual fees from loans, wire transfers and hardship withdrawals can significantly deplete your retirement savings.
Consider No-Load Mutual Funds - Most plans offer several mutual funds to choose from. Select No-Load Funds since they do not charge a sales commission.
Consider Index Funds - Index funds are composed of stocks that mirror a particular stock index, such as the S&P 500. These funds tend to outperform the average fund and generally have lower fees due to less trading and less need for portfolio management.

2007 Health Care Trends

Hewitt Associates recently released the Emerging Health Care Trends for this year’s survey results. The summary is now available in the HRO Manager Research section.

Hiring in India HRO

When I met the Senior VP of Human Resources in one of the top notch MNC a couple of months ago on a promotion drive for HRO Manager, one of his comments took me by surprise. When I told him about how key decision makers on HRO look at informative websites for making their business decisions whether it be for vendor selection or product selection, he stated that he believes many business leaders have neither the time nor the interest to look at website for information that could influence their business decisions.
This may be true to some extent when it comes to taking complex business decisions such as whether or not to outsource their HR and so forth, but how far does this hold true for HR Managers holding key responsibilities who can not allocate time to updating themselves on the latest happing in HR around the world?
When I met another senior HR manager in a call center based in Chennai, India, I asked him if he looks at any HR informative channels such as websites or blogs in specific and his answer was a resounding NO. The reason given was that the bulk of his time is spent hiring talent. This made me think for a while. If this a trend visible in India alone or does is stretch around the world? When I look at my Google Analytics Statistics for HRO Manager, 75% of hits come from the United States, 20% come from Europe and only 5% come from India. This might be a realistic figure given that my site contains more articles pertaining to the United States. However, a mere 5% figure coming from India really concerns me. From my experience and what I have personally observed during my interactions with various senior HR managers in India, it is clear that Indian HR is mostly concerned with hiring and not in a position to go that extra mile in terms of a whole transformation into a strategic HR center competing with global HR standards.
Viewing HR as a strategic business center is still fiction in India and is not currently being viewed as a reality. The everyday job in a typical Indian HR department begins with viewing job requisitions from line managers, job postings, interacting with consultants, conducting entry and exit interviews, documenting for new joiners and exits and so forth. We have yet to see HR leaders playing a vital role in key executive meetings and most of the key HR decisions are still being taken by CEO or COO and the HR heads have simply to implement these decisions. There is a huge cry from among the community to bring a new role to the HR controller or chief Human Resources Officer in Global HR. however; India HR is still far from accepting this. It may be past time for Indian HR to transform into strategic HR centers.

Performance Management Needs

In order to gather information about performance management practices and outcomes, WorldatWork and Sibson Consulting invited WorldatWork members to participate in a confidential online survey. Results from the 2007 State of Performance Management Study by WorldatWork and Sibson Consulting indicate that improvement in performance management is needed in many organizations and that performance management is stronger in higher performing companies.
Key findings of the study include:
Performance Management techniques for both the effective and less effective organizations are not very different. The greatest difference is the level of active leadership support and championing of the process.
At least half the respondents use information from Performance Management to determine merit increases, promotions and annual incentive distributions.
Only 30 percent of the respondents reported that their employees trust the Performance Management system.
The 2007 WorldatWork and Sibson State of Performance Management Study surveyed more than 550 individuals, primarily senior-level HR professionals. The demographic profile of the respondents is similar to that of the WorldatWork membership. The organizations represented in the study range in size from fewer than 100 employees to more than 100,000 employees. The following industries were represented: Finance and Insurance, Healthcare, Higher Education, Manufacturing, Professional Services, Public Sector and Utilities.
WorldatWork is an international association of Human Resource professionals and business leaders focused on attracting, motivating and retaining employees. WorldatWork supports its 30,000 members and customers in 75 countries with Leadership Education, Publications, Research and Certifications.

Global HRO Market Expectations

Global Research Analysts estimate the World HRO market to hit US $78.8 Billion by 2010, a CAGR of 10.71% over 2000-2010 period.

Market to Exceed US $78.8 Billion

EquaTerra Q2 Survey

EquaTerra, in a web cast released yesterday, presented the BPO Pulse survey results for Q2 2007. The topics evaluated in the survey include Demand and Buying Patterns, Deal Scope, Pricing, TCV and Profitability, Sales Cycles and Service Provider Capacity.
The primary process focuses include Call Center, Customer Care, CRM, F&A, Human Resources, IT and Procurement.
The respondents to the survey include EquaTerra advisors and leading global BPO/ITO service providers. Here are the highlights of the results:
Market demand continues to slip through growth although growth still remains positive.
Deal size and scope continue to decline.
Service provider capacity remains tight especially for transition and delivery.
Supply capacity issues, transition challenges and buyer cautiousness point to a slow.
Service providers are bullish on market demand. However, the expected growth is down on a year-by-year basis.
A complete presentation of the web cast is available as a PDF on our website HRO Manager under our research section.

Caliber Point Growth Expectations

Caliber Point, a subsidiary of the multi-core Hexaware Technologies, is expected to emerge as a strong HRO player in the coming years. Reports are coming out that the company is focusing on major HRO wins this year. Caliber Point is a strong outsourcing player in the healthcare segment primarily; however it is well positioned to handle major HRO contracts.
Caliber Point enjoys the technology expertise from its parent company Hexaware, which offers advanced technology solutions to HR and other areas helping the HRO buyers to enjoy a cost advantage. Its offshore model further helps the buyers on the cost side.
Research leader EquaTerra is optimistic on the company as well as expecting it to move up the value chain in the coming years.
The company signed with HRAmerica this January which was subsequently acquired by Gevity. Sources report that the company is focusing primarily on European markets during this year in comparison to North America.
The company is headed by Mr. Ashok Bildikar, President of Caliber Point, who won the HRO Superstar Award for 2007.

RPO Services Contractor

Information Resources, INC., a supplier of enterprise market information solutions and services has selected Aon Consulting to be its RPO service provider. This report comes from Onrec.
According to Nick Peligno, Business Development Manager for Aon Consulting, IRI was using recruitment agencies and traditional media advertising until now, which are basically high-cost routes to its recruitment needs. At the same time, company senior HR managers responsible for hiring decisions were stretched with limited resources. The result of this high cost per hire and time to fill are long. In order to address these challenges, Aon will be providing an onsite tam for IRI and deployed a customized web-based technology system that automates the recruitment process and enables candidates to apply online or to submit detail for future opportunities.

PlatformOne HRO Services

PlatformOne announced today that another key client, Thorp Reed & Armstrong (TRA), has gone live with PlatformOne’s comprehensive HR outsourcing solutions for technology, services and support. this report comes to us from PRWeb. The Pittsburgh Law Firm estimates that HRO services will save the Firm $100,000 annually and Two FTEs.

New ACS Contract

ACS signed a Benefits outsourcing contract with Ameren Corporation, one of the largest investor-owned electric and gas utilities in the US. The duration of contract is 5 years and covers 24,000 employees.
For more details on this news, Please click the below link
ACS Awarded Contract

Teamlease Quarterly Report

TeamLease Services Private Limited, India’s largest staffing solutions organization, has recently released its fourth quarterly employment outlook report for the period between July and September 2007. The report comes from India PRWire.
According to the TeamLease Employment Outlook report, the financial services sector has reflected maximum growth both in terms of hiring prospects and business outlook. The same can be said for infrastructure. The Employment Outlook growth for the quarter suggests a 2% increase over last quarter while business outlook remains constant at 90 index points. New Delhi, which has witnessed a downturn over the last three quarters, suggested a positive trend in hiring as well as business at 5% this quarter. Urban hiring remains consistent a 3% for both quarters.
Key Highlights of the report include:
The Financial Services sector shows the highest growth this quarter (34 index points) as compared to the previous three quarters.
Retail, Media and FMCG continue to remain at a 12 point constant as compared to previous quarters.
Mumbai shows a 2% decline in net employment as well as business outlook at 91 and 95 index points respectively for the current quarter.
The BFSI sector hits an all time high at 96 index points which is a 5% increase as compared to the previous quarter.

Increase in Outsourcing

Demand for outsourcing in the Asia-Pacific grew strongly in the first half of 2007, compared to the same period last year. This information is in relevance to the latest Quarterly Index from sourcing advisors TPI. The total value of new (as opposed to renewed or restructured) outsourcing contracts in the US $25 Million plus bracket, where the most significant outsourcing activity occurs, is US $5.4 Billion, an increase of 100% over the first half of 2006. This strong Asia-Pacific performance is in sharp contrast to a modest overall global increase in new business of only 6% in the first half of 2007.
Highlights of the Index include:
The Asia-Pacific market shows 3 straight half-years of new business growth.
The Asia-Pacific BPO market bucks the global trend.
Inclusion of offshore delivery in outsourcing deals hit record highs.
Telecoms sector leads in outsourcing contract value.

Philips BPO Unit

Unconfirmed reports are playing rounds in the market that Electronics Major, Philips is all set to sell its BPO operations to Infosys, India’s largest software leader. The deal is pegged at US $200 Million. Philips currently employs roughly 1500 people in its BPO units operating in Chennai, Bangkok and Warsaw. The acquisition should be a positive event for both companies. Critics have their say that Philips BPO unit experiences higher attrition and other issues which add to higher operating costs that impact the company’s balance sheet. Philips BPO unit in Chennai currently supports F&A processes for its parent company and deploys SAP, according to informed sources. Infosys BPO unit enjoys a strong hold on F&A process outsourcing, so the acquisition should prove positive for the latter if the reports emerge true. This is just another example of major consolidation drives experienced by the Indian BPO sector after reports that CitiGroup plans to sell its BPO.
Disclaimer - HRO Manager does not verify or hold responsibility for the authenticity or validity of the views expressed herein by the Contributor and the views purely belong to the Contributor.

Indian HR Outsourcing Prices

HR Outsourcing companies with operating centers in India need to reevaluate their pricing structure for current and future contracts, in view of the appreciating Indian Rupee versus the American Dollar. The current exchange rate for $1 anywhere is fluctuating between 40 to 41 Indian Rupees which is almost a 10% drop in the American Dollar against the Rupee when compared to the past 6 months of data. This is already showing a little impact on the earnings of Indian outsourcing companies in general, who entered into contracts at the higher rates. The impact is not merely limited to HRO companies, but to almost every company dependant on US contracts. The current average pricing cost per employee annually is $677 for an HRO contract per EquaTerra Research. Indian HRO companies need to look at this pricing structure and compare their current and future pricings before negotiating with buyers.
On the other hand, Indian HRO companies are also experiencing talent shortage and higher wage costs which are again contributing factors for a reevaluation of their pricing structures.

ARINSO International

Rev-Trac changed management solutions for its SAP-based business information infrastructure. ARINSO employs over 2,500 staff in 27 countries on five continents and provides HR solutions to one in five of the world’s largest companies. Through the HR management systems that it currently has installed, ARINSO serves over 6 million employees. In addition, its HR Outsourcing solutions now serve 600,000 employees worldwide. ARINSO is part of UK-based Northgate Information Solutions.
Globally, Rev-Trac provides enhanced change control capabilities to many major organizations with SAO-based IT systems. At ARINSO, Rev-Trac brings the ability to manage customers by rapidly changing HR needs efficiently, effectively, in an auditable manner and at the lowest cost. It will help ARINSO to ensure its outsourced services remain cost competitive, even in highly regulated environments. ARINSO selected Rev-Trac because it can enforce change control processes, provide automated workflow and automated transport migrations and has built-in sequencing error prevention. Together these capabilities were considered a compelling argument for partnering with RSC in change management technology, according to a report from PRNewswire.
The decision of ARINSO to partner with Revelation Software to enhance its existing HRMS platform SAP suggests ARINSO is likely to continue with SAO solutions and its migration to Northgate’s HR solutions is still uncertain. Many know that when Northgate announced its acquisition of ARINSO, analysts wanted to wait and see whether ARINSO would continue with its present technology SAO or migrate slowly to Northgate HR solutions. However, the current partnership with Revelation Software offers us the fact that ARINSO might still want to continue with SAO, at least in the near long term. This is an interesting development that was discussed during the recent web cast hosted jointly by EquaTerra and IDC on Changes in HR Outsourcing. During the presentation a participant raised the question on how the Northgate acquisition of ARINSO can be viewed and one of the panelists answered that this is an interesting development and rather a very bold move on the part of Northgate. She also shared that it will be interesting to see how ARINSO will make the decision on its technology, whether it will choose to go with SAO or Northgate proprietary software.

Two Major HRO Players Form Alliance

SuccessFactors, Inc., the leader in on-demand performance and talent management solutions, announced today that TriNet Group, a nationwide provider of human resource (HR) outsourcing services, will offer SuccessFactors performance and talent management solutions to TriNet’s customer base of small and medium-sized businesses, in order to enable them to optimize employee performance and productivity and to achieve overall business goals. For the complete news story please visit: HR Outsourcing.

EquaTerra Outsourcing Reports

In the recent EquaTerra and IDC joint Flash report web cast on HR Outsourcing changes for 2007, interesting facts and forecasts were presented to the participants. EquaTerra is best known to the industry players for their advisory and research expertise in HRO and hence it does not need a special mention. This is also the case with IDC.
During the web cast, EquaTerra founder, Mark Hodges, and IDC Program Manager, Lisa Rowan, jointly presented the presentation that dealt extensively with HRO trends, market forecasts, contract analysis, market demand and supply and lessons learned.
HRO highlights 2007 from EquaTerra:
HRO pricing is increasing as well as HRO provider profitability.
Global HRO deals are on a decline with only 2 to 4 projected for 2007.
Large sophisticated buyers seek more global solution offerings yet best in class solutions and regional approaches will dominate.
Demand is outstripping supply and providers are capacity constrained.
All HRO providers are suffering from service delivery issues.
HRO renegotiation and re-competing have begun.
New providers are still entering the market.
HRO is still an underutilized performance improvement option in global 2000 organizations and even more so in the mid-market.
Lower cost and offshore delivery are still underutilized and less mature in HRO.

Einstein HR Services

Atlanta, GA - Einstein HR, a full service HR Outsourcing firm, proudly announces its grand opening of operations today in Atlanta and a partnership with PEO brokerage firm NetPEO. Layne Davlin, CEO of NetPEO, is proud to be working with this new PEO after finding a lack of quality PEO services in the Atlanta area.
“Einstein HR was born out of a need in the Atlanta marketplace for a full service HRO company. Through market research and years of experience in the PEO industry, the owners of Einstein were disappointed to discover that PEOs in the Atlanta area were not providing the kind of service that clients deserve” said Davlin. “Because of this, Einstein Human Resources was launched with one goal in mind: to help client companies cost-effectively outsource the management of payroll, workers compensation, human resources and employee benefits, while providing the best customer service possible. We are thrilled to be able to offer quality PEO services to the Atlanta community by adding Einstein HR to our network of providers”.
Einstein HR is a full service Human Resource Outsourcing company, providing the following services:
Payroll Administration
Employee Benefits Administration
Group and Individual Health Insurance Administration
Workers Compensation Administration
Human Resources Administration
And Additional HRO Services

Mercer HR Services

Mercer HR services announced today that it will leverage technology of Wealth Management Systems Inc (WMSI) to help retirement plan participants easily open individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) with a choice of variety Industry leading providers.
The advantage of this new solution from Mercer is that the participants can continue saving for retirement without interruption even when they change companies or retire.
As part of the understanding, WMSI will provide Mercer with their Roll over software that facilitates the opening of IRAs and smooth transition of assets.
If former participants choose to roll over their savings, utilizing WMSI technology, Mercer HR Services can quickly make it happen by giving them access to a variety of IRA providers and the ability to initiate a rollover transaction in as little as a single phone call. Instead of mailing a distribution check to participants, assets are directly deposited into their new IRA. As a result, they are more apt to stay the retirement saving course and less likely to jeopardize their future financial security by taking an early, taxable cash distribution or simply doing nothing at all.

CoAdvantage SAS70 Audit

CoAdvantage, a leading HR Outsourcing provider, successfully completed their SAS70 Audit, reports HR Outsourcing magazine HRO Manager.
The SAS 70 Audit was completed by an independent third party, verifying CoAdvantage’s physical security, computer operations, information security, data communication, their commitment to integrity and ethical standards in HR policies and procedures and organizational oversight. Following this thorough examination, the auditing firm was able to issue an unqualified opinion regarding each of the areas described above.

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CareerBuilder Vacation Survey

CareerBuilder.com’s annual vacation survey, conducted by Harris Interactive of more than 6,800 workers found that increasingly hectic schedules are forcing workers to cut their vacation time or spend time in the office during their vacations. The highlights of the survey results are listed below:
20% of workers say that they plan to stay in touch with the office during their vacation this year, although this is an improvement from the 27% reported in 2006.
20% of workers say they would not even prefer a vacation this year while 1 in 4 workers will take off 5 days or less.
Nearly 1 in 10 workers will limit themselves to weekend getaways.
The majority of workers feel that if they had their way, 69% of them would prefer 3 weeks or more of vacation each year.
When comparing industries, IT workers are the most likely to work while on vacation with more than 36% checking in with the office during this period. This is followed by sales workers at 32% and banking/finance workers at 29%.
While only 9% say that their employers expect them to check voicemail and/or email during vacation, many feel the pressure to do so anyway.
14% of workers actually feel guilty that they are not at work while on vacation.

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