Monday, March 29, 2010

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.

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