Executive Summary

The concept of business agility is currently the subject of widespread discussion. It is tough to get away from the realities of today’s global business climate, such as shortening product life cycles, ongoing hunt for talent, and the changing competitive landscape. These business realities require companies to operate effectively while creating impact that leads to differentiated performance. However, as with anything else of great potential, this is easier said than done.

Everest Group has observed that agile organizations tend to exhibit a common set of traits. These include faster time-to-market, ability to ramp-up or ramp-down in response to business needs, ability to provide new and quicker insights, smoother integration of acquisitions & strategic investments, and access to scarce but desirable talent. To develop these traits, organizations should consider the role of various operational areas, and also how the performance of each has a cascading impact on the others.

An important, but not always appreciated, focus area on the agility journey is the Human Resources function. While not always the obvious place to start, the HR function is linked to many areas of operations, from product development, to market entry, to talent management, and eventually to business integration. The agility of the HR function is directly tied to the agility of the overall business performance.

HR’s agility comes from several specific sets of capabilities and characteristics. This study outlines in detail, the relevant impact of greater standardization and harmonization, scalable operational structure, and industry best practices and innovation, among others, on agility.

Understanding the linkage between HR and business agility is only the beginning. Determining how best to implement an agile HR function requires thoughtful consideration and investment. For an increasing number of organizations, the journey towards agile HR includes collaborating with a specialized HR outsourcing partner. In fact, the market for such HR outsourcing services has consistently grown over the past several years, as organizations first adopt and then expand their use of outsourced HR services. Many perceive HR outsourcing as a game-changing mechanism that supports their efforts towards more agile HR functionality.

This study provides HR leaders with a useful tool for taking forward their own discussions on:

• The current capacity for business agility in their company or organization
• Assessing how and to what degree their HR organization currently contributes to the goal of business agility
• Identifying areas for improved HR agility
• Exploring how an outsourced HR delivery model can support efforts towards a more agile HR organization
• Guidance on key considerations in the outsourcing of HR functionality