From Outsourcing for Efficiency to Informed Collaboration for Impact
If trends continue, a legacy of the 21st century will be significantly greater HR
outsourcing (e.g., Shelgren, 2001). Paradoxically, the more HR is outsourced, the more
important are the HR measures we describe here. Outsourcing contracts are governed by
measures. If the contract stipulates cost-per-hire or number-of-employee-calls-handled, that is
what will be delivered. Today, HR outsourcing contracts typically emphasize efficiency
measures because they are the most measurable. This is similar to the proverbial person who
lost their keys in the dark alley but looked for them by the lamppost, explaining “that’s where the
light is.” Measurement availability does not equal measurement usefulness. As we noted at the
beginning of this chapter “not everything that can be counted counts.” Future HR measures will