HR Transformation Sets Record European Pace
(Brussels, November 22, 2005) “When you have 6 billion Euros worth of buying activity on the conference agenda, everyone is bound to be excited to come back next year,” said Glenn Davidson, Chairman of the HRO Association and President of Equaterra Public Sector, a leading HRO buyer advisor. Organizers of the HRO World Europe Conference, which concluded November 16 in Brussels, estimate that 6 billion Euros in contract discussions were initiated at this year’s event.
“That probably represents a 40% percent increase from last year’s deal flow at the conference,” according to Harry Feinberg, Chairman of the company that co-produces the conference.
“The HR transformation trend reached the ‘tipping point’ at the 2005 conference at the Conrad Hotel. Among the over 300 participants, we saw more buyers and more advisors than ever before, and content reflected the current status of the HR transformation sector: a huge iceberg ready to emerge as soon as countries like Germany or France become more confident in the advantages offered by HR shared services, outsourcing and advanced technology.” said Andrew Kris, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Brussels-based Shared Services and Business Process Outsourcing Association (SBPOA), who co-produced the conference.
This year’s conference saw a number of notable firsts. The HRO Association European Chapter held it inaugural board meeting, with Philippe Gluntz, Chairman Emeritus of ADP heading the meeting as its new Chairman. Keynote speaker Tony McCarthy, Group HR Director of the 200,000-employee Royal Mail, for the first time openly discussed the British postal service’s options for realizing additional business process transformation efficiencies. And Unilever’s Guy-Joel de Lhoneux, VP HR Shared Services Development, presented his firm’s first-ever multi-towered business process outsourcing project, which will be one of the world’s largest to be announced in 2006.
First announced at the conference was the world’s largest merger of sourcing advisors, Equaterra and TPI. The combination will create a sourcing advisory superpower, more than double the size of its nearest competitor.
Bert Drenth, HR Director for ISS Netherlands, the cover personality for the current issue of HRO Europe Magazine, told of his firm’s unique route to involve his firm’s Workers Council in his HRO project.
HRO World Europe also featured the coining of new phrases. Mary-Sue Rogers, Human Capital Management Global Leader of IBM, when asked to describe today’s 40 billion EUR HRO market, she called it “glocal,” a combination of global and local provider service centers. Jos Sluys, CEO of ARINSO, came up with the “HRO hub-and-spoke” concept, which describes the relationship between a central service center connection with local service points.
The conference also featured a record number of world-class sponsors. Lead sponsors included Accenture HR Services, Adecco, ADP, ARINSO, ExcellerateHRO, Hewitt, IBM and SAP. Sponsors included ACS, Borderless, Convergys, Equaterra, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, LogicaCMG. Networking sponsors included Hewitt, PA Consulting and the HRO Association. Exhibitors included access, International Herald Tribune, Mr. Ted and Recruitmax.
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Publishers of HRO Today, HRO Europe and FAO Today Magazines and co-owners of the HRO World Conferences, New Jersey-based Outsourcing Today LLC is the largest media company covering the global $259 billion business process outsourcing market.
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