Learn what out-tasking is and if it is right for your organization in this quick eBook.

1. HR Out-tasking:
Is It Right For Your Organization?
©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.

2. HR Out-tasking: Table of Contents
Is It Right For Your What is out-tasking? .............................. 4
Profile of an out-tasker ............................ 5
Organization? What can I out-task? ............................... 6
Why out-task? ......................................... 7
Is out-tasking right for me? ...................... 8
Advantages ............................................. 9
Disadvantages ...................................... 10
Questions to ask yourself ...................... 11
12 stages of an effective plan ................ 12
Measuring success ............................... 13
Planning your next steps ....................... 14
©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.

3. Introduction
Why should you read on?
Come on! You haven’t even gotten to the first page. There’s so much good
information ahead. You don’t want to miss out.
In order to make effective decisions, you have to understand and evaluate all
of your alternatives. It is easy to cross things off when you neither have the
strength nor time to explore unfamiliar territories.
But that’s where there is a treasure trove of opportunities.
Opportunities that bring the unusual riches of extra time and dollars to focus
on your strategic initiatives.
As human resources becomes more strategic than ever, you need the best
resources and highest expertise to keep your organization up to date and
compliant and your people happy.
Read on to learn what HR out-tasking is, why it is becoming a trend and if it
is right for your organization. It won’t take you more than five minutes—and
what is five minutes when you can gain knowledge that could transform your
organization for years to come?
So, what is out-tasking?
©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved. HR Out-tasking: Is It Right For Your Organization? // 3

4. What is out-tasking?
Out-tasking gives organizations the ability to get professional assistance
with particular human resource functions, whether day-to-day tasks or
long-term strategic projects, that they:
Need more expertise in
Don’t want to hire full-time staff for
Want to excel at!
It is not a set of activities that you have
to buy; it is a set of activities you select
based upon what you need.
Out-tasking is flexible in that it can begin and end where it makes sense
for your organization. It does not come in a bundle or a package, but is
designed by you—the person who knows your organization best. You can
decide to out-task one or two HR functions, or all your HR functions.
©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved. HR Out-tasking: Is It Right For Your Organization? // 4

5. What is the profile of an
organization that out-tasks?
None!
HR out-tasking is a cost-effective, flexible solution for organizations large
and small and in any industry or sector.
You ask, “how can that be?”
Out-tasking benefits organizations of all sizes because each organization
has different needs, resources and goals. That means, regardless if you
have as few as five employees working for you or as many as thousands
of employees, out-tasking can be a great solution for you.
A large or small organization can both enjoy cost savings from not hiring
additional full-time employees—but can still enjoy having the expertise
available from additional talent. Out-tasking also builds the necessary
internal skills to accomplish important organizational goals.
©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved. HR Out-tasking: Is It Right For Your Organization? // 5

6. What can I out-task?
Pick and choose!
To decide which HR functions would
be best to out-task, ask yourself:
You can out-task any of the processes below and as many with which
you feel comfortable: What makes it difficult to get your job
done?
Where do you need to increase your HR
knowledge?
What tasks are too time consuming?
©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved. HR Out-tasking: Is It Right For Your Organization? // 6

7. Why out-task?
If you could benefit from the following improvements, out-tasking could Focus your time and energy on growing
be a great option for your organization: your organization and strengthening your
core competencies without worrying about
back-end operations.
Gain cost savings
Make core business the primary focus
Free up internal resources
Increase specialized resources
Increase specific expertise
Eliminate compliance concerns
*Key to retention: Employees satisfied
with the quality of the services they
receive and whose needs and questions
are met quickly and accurately are more
likely to stay.
©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved. HR Out-tasking: Is It Right For Your Organization? // 7

8. Is my organization the right candidate
for out-tasking?
How do I know if this is the right solution
for my organization?

If you can answer yes ( ) to any of the questions below, your organization is
a great candidate for HR out-tasking.
 
Do you have important organizational goals to achieve?
Are you trying to keep operational costs down?
Could you benefit from increased economies of scale, efficiency
and expertise?
Would you like to increase accuracy and productivity?
Would you like to improve compliance?
Do you have day-to-day tasks or long strategic projects for
which you need flexible support?
©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved. HR Out-tasking: Is It Right For Your Organization? // 8

9. Advantages
Out-tasking can offer the following
benefits to your organization:
More time for core activities
Tasks handled outside, accurately and with a high level of compliance IDEA:
Higher quality with an outside vendor who:
• Has experience in various sectors and industries
and brings these best practices inside
• Has practice in the specific task you need help
with—the fact that they have done this over and over will
bring a high level of productivity and efficiency to your
organization
• Understands your business thoroughly and who you can trust
with your most valuable asset—your people
Potential economies of scale
©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved. HR Out-tasking: Is It Right For Your Organization? // 9

10. Disadvantages
You are at risk for the following if you do not
choose the proper vendor:
Confusion about who is responsible
• Who is making decisions?
• Who is doing a particular task?
Fuzzy deliverables
Loss of control
A true vendor will work with you, as an
extension of your team, to:
Lay out your goals and deliverables
Clarify individual responsibilities to eliminate confusion
Establish strong communication from the beginning
Create a strategy tailored to your organization’s goals
Implement the strategy
Evaluate the strategy constantly
©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved. HR Out-tasking: Is It Right For Your Organization? // 10

11. Ask Yourself
Now you are armed with the proper information to understand out-tasking and
decide whether or not it is appropriate for your organization. Ask yourself these
questions to take a closer look at your end goals and determine if out-tasking is the
proper tool to help you realize them.
Why do you believe out-tasking would be a benefit?
What do you do well?
What would you like to do better?
What parts of HR make sense to out-task?
What does this mean to your organization?
©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved. HR Out-tasking: Is It Right For Your Organization? // 11

12. So, how does this work?
The HR out-tasking process is easy and straightforward. The steps below outline
what you can expect from this partnership.
12 Stages of an Effective Out-tasking Plan
1. Setting goals and reaching consensus
2. Performing cost/benefit analysis
3. Researching and planning
4. Establishing a timeline
5. Identifying vendors
6. Preparing the RFP
7. Choosing a vendor
8. Negotiating a contract
9. Communicating
10. Managing the relationship
11. Building a roll-out schedule
12. Monitoring performance
©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved. HR Out-tasking: Is It Right For Your Organization? // 12

13. How do we measure success?
Success is measured by what you would like to see happen in your
organization.
In what ways would you like to
improve?
Out-task your HR functions and see the following:
Improved service quality
Improved operational efficiency
Reduced operational costs
Improved employee satisfaction
©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved. HR Out-tasking: Is It Right For Your Organization? // 13

14. Conclusion
What should you do with this
information?
Think about it! Ask yourself questions and make a list of HR strengths and
opportunities that your organization possesses. Decide what would be a more
cost-effective and better long-term option—hiring full-time staff for particular
tasks or out-tasking to an expert.
Most importantly, make informed decisions.
What’s the next step?
Complete our free HR assessment (www.sikich.com/hr-assessment) to get a
better idea of where your organization stands in different functional areas of
HR. This will give you a good look at how you are doing now and determine
in which areas your organization can improve. Once completed, fax it to us
(630.849.2808) for a free one hour consultation!
See, it pays off to go the extra mile!
©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved. HR Out-tasking: Is It Right For Your Organization? // 14

15. Contact Information
Joyce Grenis
Senior Vice President
HR Consulting Services
Sikich LLP
P: 630.566.8454
F: 630.849.2808
jgrenis@sikich.com
About Sikich LLP
Sikich LLP, a leading accounting, advisory, investment banking, technology and
managed services firm, has more than 400 employees throughout the country.
Founded in 1982, Sikich now ranks as one of the country’s Top 50 Certified
Public Accounting firms and is among the top 1% of all enterprise resource
planning solution partners in the world. From corporations and non-profits
to state and local governments, Sikich clients can use a broad spectrum of
services and products that help them reach long-term, strategic goals.
Visit www.sikich.com to discover how you can elevate performance in your
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©2013 Sikich LLP. All Rights Reserved.