Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Latest NewsHR strategyOffshoring

HR jobs under threat from outsourcing deals

by Greg Pitcher 14 Nov 2006
by Greg Pitcher 14 Nov 2006

UK HR professionals face the prospect of being replaced by call centre staff in India and executives from other business functions as the sector undergoes seismic changes in the coming years.


A senior figure behind the move to India of scores of UK HR jobs at Lloyds TSB told Personnel Today that many more will follow.


And a Europe-wide survey has revealed that current HR professionals don’t have the right skills to step into the new roles that will remain in the UK.


Staff in India begin working on transactional HR work for Lloyds TSB in New Delhi this week, as part of a five-year outsourcing deal with Xansa. The outsourcing provider runs business services from India for many big UK companies, and is set to take BBC finance and accounting services to the sub-continent.


David Leabeater, Xansa’s business development director, said: “We are working on other HR deals at the moment. We have proved there is a massive opportunity to deliver benefits by offshoring. It is better value for the client and we can pay for much better, more motivated people in India.”


According to Lloyds TSB’s HR director Bernard O’Driscoll, the benefit of offshoring is leaving internal HR staff in the UK to focus on “business partnering”.


But many consultants do not believe current HR professionals are up to this emerging role. More than half of the 195 executives that responded to an HR Outsourcing Association survey cited a lack of skills among existing HR staff as the main barrier to transforming the role.


Christian Adlung, director at consultancy Convergys, said: “Traditional HR departments are transactional and not used to thinking strategically. The task is to find the right people you can train in this area – or hire from outside.”


‘Line managers need us’


“This is a rather extreme view. The CIPD sees no evidence that the number working in HR is dwindling. If you look at the capability of an average line manager, HR will be in business for many years to come.”


Duncan Brown
Assistant director-general, CIPD


“If you take the operational stuff out, there’s the opportunity to create better quality jobs. What holds HR back from being strategic is the fact that managers still look for operational hand-holding.”


Debbie Whitaker
Group head, people product management, Standard Chartered


Barometer question


Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Do you fear your job will be offshored in the next five years? Vote online.





 

Greg Pitcher

previous post
HR needs to get its head around the profit motive
next post
Metropolitan Police makes diversity progress despite ‘Islamophobia’ fears

You may also like

Number of Neet women rises but figures fall...

23 May 2025

Bank holidays: six things employers need to know

23 May 2025

Unions ponder strike action after public sector pay...

23 May 2025

Personnel Today Awards 2025: Three weeks left to...

23 May 2025

Sighing in frustration at colleague was discriminatory, judge...

23 May 2025

Flexible working for teachers initiative extended

23 May 2025

Fire and rehire: the relocation question

22 May 2025

Public sector workers gain pay rises of up...

22 May 2025

Six ways to kickstart conversations about team stress...

22 May 2025

UK net migration slashed by half in one...

22 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+