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Liz is HR Technology and Services Research Director at NelsonHall, with global responsibility for key HR research projects including Cloud-Based HR Transformation, Cloud-Based Benefits Services, HCM Technology, EoR, Global Payroll and The Future of HR, as part of NelsonHall's wider HR Technology & Services practice.
meet & followNikki is a Principal Research Analyst at NelsonHall and a member of the HR Technology & Services practice. Nikki covers HR services research in the areas of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Managed Service Programs (MSP), Total Talent, and Learning.
meet & followJeanine is a Principal Research Analyst at NelsonHall and a member of the HR Technology & Services practice. She has global responsibility for key HR areas including employer of record (EOR) and learning platforms.
meet & followDeeAnna is a Principal Research Analyst at NelsonHall and a member of the HR Technology & Services practice. She has global responsibility for key HR areas including HCM technology, workforce management, and health & welfare administration.
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Please visit NelsonHall's HRO Insight blog for further updates from our analysts daily
posted on Jan 12, 2021 by Elizabeth Rennie
Part 1 by Pete Tiliakos & Liz Rennie
This is Part 1 of a 2-part blog presenting an analysis of key trends from NelsonHall's HR Technology & Services team. Part 1 looks at the key outsourcing trends around core HR functions, including cloud HR transformation, payroll, and benefits administration services.
Cloud HR Transformation Services
The drive to digital has kept many cloud HR transformation projects on track, despite some large enterprise signings being delayed. The 2020+ HR challenges look different from those in 2019, with organizational challenges related to workforce safety, workforce productivity, security, cost containment alongside deepening cost pressures, and a need to ensure all processes are digital. Pivotal to success is the agility of HR organizations to drive restructures supporting significant market upheavals across so many industries. Adapting to rapidly changing and compliance needs will also be a challenge.
Cloud HR transformation services are adjusting to a FluidWorkLife era, defined by greater people engagement to support fluid, individual work and homelife needs in a consumer-like way – while addressing higher-speed digital deployment through improved use of automation and technology to better manage the pace of business change and industry consolidation.
Outlook:
Key themes and drivers expected from the Cloud HR Transformation Services market in 2021+ include:
Payroll Services
This past year has been a stark wake-up call for many organizations and their payroll operations. The effects of the pandemic strained and exposed operating models up and down market, leaving many firms across sectors realizing investments to futureproof payroll operations for greater resiliency can no longer wait.
At the same time, 2020 has been payroll's 'time to shine', with practitioners stepping up to answer the call and keeping workers around the globe paid on time and accurately during arguably one of the most challenging times in recent history, despite the shortfalls in capability.
On the managed services front, the shift to work from home enabled payroll providers to put their digital technologies to the test, proving out the very solutions they had been proliferating in recent years and urging buyers to focus on: cloud platform adoption, mobile-first design, on-demand payroll capability, predictive analytics, and dynamic integrations that bring it all together seamlessly. Additionally, firms operating in managed payroll services arrangements had much-needed help in quickly accessing reliable data, interpreting and responding to compliance directives and government support programs, and they fundamentally fared better in navigating the unforeseen challenges, reinforcing the value in managed payroll services.
Outlook:
While payroll service provider revenues were negatively impacted by the global economic downturn and subsequent job losses, and buying decisions were put on hold, the appetite for digital payroll solutions and managed services is quite healthy and is escalating as we move into 2021.
With payroll a critical, core element in the employee experience, global footprints creeping, and compliance risks rapidly intensifying, buyers are keenly focused on payroll as a key area of investment moving ahead, and thus service provider pipelines are healthy, signaling a gradual return to the growth levels experienced before the pandemic.
Five key themes and drivers expected from the managed payroll services market in 2021+ include:
Benefits Administration Services
Benefits administration providers have continued to focus on expanding benefits offerings to tailor to specific needs, while also minimizing administration by improving processes and technology. Significant changes in the way of working have also impacted the industry. Over 2020, benefits fairs were managed online, a first for many. As a result of the pandemic, technology is the driving force to innovation, with greater focus on homegrown platforms or through managed acquisition and tighter partnerships to support ongoing changing needs and client needs for greater visibility of data.
Buyers of benefits programs continue to expect greater flexibility to support change, greater automation, customizations of communications, and improved process efficiencies.
As government relief packages introduced by most major governments greatly impacted health provision and benefits rules, operations had to adapt quickly to apply these changes. As a result, 2020 was a year of increased operational costs for many benefits administrators.
Outlook:
Key themes and drivers expected from the Benefits Administration Services market in 2021+ include:
In Part 2, Nikki Edwards will look at trends and the outlook for talent management services, including recruitment and learning services.