An Outsourcing Plan That Builds on Internal HR Strengths

HR outsourcing may seem frightening for those who believe it means cutting HR jobs and authority. But one company's journey into business process outsourcing (BPO) has taken its own tack-outsourcing to reposition HR skills to support a companywide quest to achieve outstanding customer service. In the initiative that Best Buy has undertaken with Accenture HR, its BPO partner, outsourcing can be seen not as "shipping HR away" but as incorporating it more completely as a …

…transition capabilities includes: * The move from a "staffing" department to "talent discovery and acquisition." * The deployment of a case-management tool for HR technology. * The launch of a new recruitment software package. * The creation of a new contact center for service delivery that begins operations this year. Among the goals planned for this year are portal and benefits integration, establishment of policies, reporting, and salary administration and compensation. On tap for 2006: payroll and technology learning initiatives.