Siemens reinforces activities in process outsourcing

Siemens Business Services reinforces its activities in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and HR Services market. The Siemens subsidiary offers solutions and services which will enable European customers to improve their HR processes, reduce costs and concentrate on their core business.

In order to gain access to experts in HR services as well as business and process change management, Siemens Business Services will be working in close collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers Human Resource Services and Alexander Mann Solutions.

The BPO market has an estimated overall market volume of 122 billion euros (2003) and is expected to grow annually by ten percent from 2003 to 2007. The HR Outsourcing market is the largest BPO segment. HR is a natural vehicle for improving organisational effectiveness. For HR to transform itself and ultimately the wider organisation, an innovative approach to the delivery and measurement of the function must be adopted.

Paul A. Stodden, Group President, Siemens Business Services explains, "Organisations often face the challenge of controlling fragmented HR processes across business units and countries with non-standardised technology. Our solutions and services help these companies to strategically reposition HR by redesigning the function. We also provide the option to outsource individual HR processes such as payroll or recruitment, or even the complete HR function, enabling customers to focus on their core business strengths."

The collective knowledge of the complexity of HR challenges across Europe coupled with a "best in class" blend of HR transformation services, processes and technology brings a new perspective to HR transformation:

Siemens Business Services is among the top ten IT-service providers worldwide with profound knowledge in processes and technology and has a proven track record in European BPOs

PricewaterhouseCoopers Human Resource Services has an impressive global network and brings strategic HR expertise underpinned by commercial rigour and evidence-based consulting. PricewaterhouseCoopers' involvement with Siemens Business Services will comply with the relevant regulatory rules

Alexander Mann Solutions has extensive experience in developing innovative Recruitment Process Outsourcing solutions and delivering competitive advantage to clients.

Rosaleen Blair, Managing Director of Alexander Mann Solutions comments, "I believe that this is a pioneering development that will enable HR transformation to be accelerated, and it is one that Alexander Mann Solutions is delighted to be participating in. The pooling of our collective capability provides us with the ideal opportunity to bring our Recruitment Process Outsourcing expertise and knowledge to a wider audience."

Kevin Delany, partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers: "Many organisations recognise the value that can be gained from HR transformation, but have been hesitant because the methodology has been very formulaic. This approach and the combined expertise it creates, allows us the flexibility to create models which will work for any organisation. I believe this is genuinely a breakthrough in the HR transformation world."

As Paul A. Stodden, Siemens Business Services emphasises, "Siemens Business Services has a number of years experience in running BPO projects. Reinforcing our BPO activities and focusing on HR is a major step within our growth initiative. By broadening our portfolio in this segment, we will further enhance our position as a leading full service provider. The joint approach, and the best in class combination of Consulting, Process & Technology that it provides, will ensure that our customers obtain sustainable financial benefits not only from HR functional transformation but more significantly, as a consequence of the impact derived at an individual employee level as the process changes begin to impact on wider organisational effectiveness."

The initial focus for the solutions and services will be in the UK and Germany with expansion across mainland Europe expected to quickly follow.

The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) market has an overall market volume of 122 billion euros (2003) and is expected to grow annually by ten percent from 2003 to 2007. The HR Outsourcing market is the largest BPO segment. BPO is already established in the USA and the UK and emerging within the rest of Europe ? with a strong growth expected in Germany.

Human Resources has undergone significant change over the last few years, in part due to the pressure on HR Directors to reduce costs and in part due to the emergence of new delivery models for HR such as shared services and business process outsourcing. Companies can optimise their processes and technology through Shared Services and provide services through in-house facilities. Or they can decide for BPO, which means: delegation of one or more IT-intensive business processes to an external provider who improves and rationalizes the process, reduces costs and delivers the process based on defined and measurable performance metrics.

Siemens Business Services is an internationally leading IT service provider. This Siemens subsidiary offers services all along the IT service chain from a single source - from consulting to systems integration, right through to the management of IT infrastructures. Thanks to comprehensive know-how and sector-specific expertise, the company provides measurable added value for its customers. With regard to outsourcing and IT maintenance, Siemens Business Services is among the top ten providers worldwide. Sales in fiscal year 2003 (ending 30 September 2003) came to around EUR 5.2 billion, 76 percent of which was achieved outside the Siemens organisation. The company currently has approx. 34,300 employees worldwide.