Rather than burying my head in the sand and denying reality, as Marshall Potts states (Personnel Today, 21 November), I should like to put my head above the parapet and elaborate on the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) position on the state of HR.
Instead of taking extreme ‘sides’ for or against this complex issue, we are trying to do two things: establish and monitor the facts on what is actually happening and provide practical guidance and support to CIPD members and the wider HR community in addressing this situation.
Outsourcing – and still much less commonly offshoring – are two methods of attempting to achieve efficiency in HR’s administrative and transactional activities, but they are not the only ones.
The CIPD’s data suggests that the jury is still very much out in terms of whether or not their use will snowball in the future. Our last survey of HR information systems actually found that more employers were planning to bring back aspects of outsourced HR activity in-house than were planning further outsourcing.
In the New Year, we are publishing a report on HR and technology, showing how organisations are using technology in many different ways to improve the efficiency and impact of their HR function.
Documenting and providing this type of real-life experience and guidance is, I hope, a more effective strategy than being either an ostrich or a prophet of doom.
Duncan Brown
Assistant director-general, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
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