Outsourcing

As I was reading our assignment for this week on “outsourcing,” I couldn’t help but reflect on my benefits experience with my first employer in the early 90’s. I had a wonderful benefits introduction when I first joined the company, including a half-day orientation, and the assistance of an advisor to walk me through the various benefit plans. I could pick up the phone or go directly to the benefits office to get answers to any questions I had (which I usually did). Most of the personnel knew me by name, and in some cases were team members and even neighbors. About six months after I started, the company announced that it was going to outsource its benefits delivery system. The decision was based primarily on cost. It was estimated that labor and overhead costs would be reduced significantly. Additional benefits cited included 24-hour assistance, a wider range of benefits options, and access to benefits specialists.

Approximately 180 jobs within the company would be impacted by this decision. Employee Benefits personnel were asked to stay on and assist with the transfer of all pertinent employee and company information to the vendor. It took a little over a year before everything was finalized. Surprisingly, many of the employees within benefits department had resigned themselves to this decision and for the most part had positive attitudes about the decision. They were given career assistance and generous early out packages. It was those of us who remained who seemed most concerned. Could our jobs be outsourced? What impact would this decision have on our work? How would our benefits truly be impacted? It was not until a few years later that we started to see the real benefits. We ended up with more comprehensive health/medical care options, retirement investment plans, and pension and savings choices to name a few. And no it didn’t effect our jobs!

Change is inevitable and oftentimes uncomfortable (as we’ve seen recently with heath care reform). By nature, we resist change. Surprisingly, our benefit options did improve. No we didn’t’ still have the same close contact or hand-holding we had before. Most of our transactions were now done via phone or online. However, we ended up with a greater array of benefits for ourselves and families. It also allowed the Benefits department more time and resources to focus on developing more attractive benefit plans and ensuring that they our benefit plans aligned with the business strategy of the company.

Contingency Planning

I found out early on in my career about the importance of project management. Fresh out graduate school, I was assigned the lead on a major HR project with the company. This project took place once a year and consumed about 60% of my time. My team was comprised of employees from the corporate office, and from the company’s seven subsidiaries around the SE. This was a high-visibility project that was commissioned and sponsored by senior management.

I wore two hats on the project: one as an applied researcher and the other as a project manager. I was very successful as a researcher, but struggled managing the size and complexity of the work. The quality of our products and services was never questioned. However, a major element of the company’s culture was getting things done on time. I learned early on that timing was everything! During the first couple of years, our team struggled to stay on schedule. We were never fully prepared for untimely delays, resource shortages, or technical slowdowns or in some cases meltdowns. Yes, we got better at avoiding predictable occurrences, but we were never fully prepared for the unexpected. We’d usually end having to work long, long hours to make up for lost time – even then we oftentimes missed critical project milestones.

I realized that I needed to do something quickly. After some encouragement from management, I enrolled in a couple of project management classes. These classes equipped me with the skills I needed to become a more competent and confident project manager. The skills quickly paid off and I was quickly promoted to serve on other important projects within the company. I’m no longer with the company, but still use many of the skills I learned from my classroom and on-the-job training. Most of all, I’ve learned to spend a little more time upfront preparing for “Mr. Murphy,” because just when you think things are going smoothly the bottom can (or will) drop out. As we've all experienced and read in the CareGroup case study, having a carefully thought out back-up or contingency plan can bail you out of a lot of problems. Bottom-line – be prepared!

Spring Break

I don’t know about you, but it’s been pleasant having Spring Break -- having an extra week off between classes, and two weeks instead of one to do our homework. I didn’t do anything to exciting because my kids were in school. Their Spring Break actually begins in another couple of weeks. Great timing! Nonetheless, I’ve used the extra time to catch up on some things that I’ve been putting off for quite some time now. I took advantage of the beautiful weather Monday to get back to work on our deck. I started this project late last Fall and have had mixed success completing it because of my busy work schedule, inclement weather, and an abundance of school assignments. I ended up not making a lot of progress, but thoroughly enjoyed the fresh air and the warmer temperatures. Was also able to finish up some remodeling in our kitchen, as well check off some smaller things my “honey do list.”

I was also asked by a client of mine to write a letter of recommendation for an online Master’s program he is applying for in Business Intelligence at Saint Joseph’s University. Found this timely given our recent assignment on Business Intelligence. He feels this program will help him in his relatively new role at Southern Company in Business Intelligence. He hopes this program will enhance his ability to understand and manage data, apply data to business/HR issues and problems, interpret data using business analytics, and provide meaningful information and recommendations to business leaders. I felt a little more knowledgeable about the topic given the research we had just done on Business Intelligence.

In short, having the extra time has given me a chance to recharge my batteries and given me more time to spend on some of my interests and hobbies. It's great having breaks like this in our schedule. Summer break can't come soon enough. I don't know about you but I need to get back into the swing of things and finish up my last research assignment and case study for Monday. Yeah!!! I’m hoping I’m not too rusty after the time off. See you soon!