When you are in the midst of your everyday life, it’s easy to get caught up in the details and not see the big picture. But when you step away, you get a fresh view point.

Two weeks ago I joined 13,999 other HR professionals from 73 countries to attend the SHRM (Society of Human Resource Managers) annual conference. I had no idea how pervasive outsourcing is to this crucial business process. My epiphany: Outsourcing provides the underpinning of the HR process today worldwide.

For example, a session by Gary Kushner called “The Changing Nature of Work: Five Global Trends Affecting Strategic HR,” listed these five things:

1. Technology advances
2. Outsourcing
3. Changes in demographics
4. Changing worker values
5. Globalization

The only one of the five—No. 3—had nothing to do with outsourcing. Alas, outsourcing can’t help bridge the generational divide.

But look at the others. HRIS certainly plays a key role. Recruitment process outsourcers often use their applicant tracking systems and video capabilities as a differentiator. Now companies want HR portals for their employees — not just self-serve capabilities. The IT is something few companies want to invest in, so outsourcing is a must.

Consider No. 4, changing worker values. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported after the last census that the average U.S. worker stays just 3.5 years at any one job. (I must skew the average because I’ve been at the Outsourcing Center 12 years already!) Today many workers in all four generations want to become part time, freelance or contract workers instead of holding full-time positions because they value variety and personal time more than a guaranteed paycheck (how 1950s!). Work has also become more sophisticated and complicated, calling for experts to dive in for the short term.

These trends in worker values are leading to the growing importance of managed service providers (MSPs) in the RPO space. I will be writing about that in a future article on the Outsourcing Center.

SHRM was also a good forum to display partnership. Ford recently signed an agreement with Kenexa to place almost 1,200 jobs. Ford contributed a one-year lease or $12,000 toward a new car as a prize for one lucky conference attendee. The RPO provider talked about this relationship at the booth to great crowds.

It turns out only your imagination limits what you can outsource. I shook my head at the two service providers whose offering was bereavement boxes. When I die, you can have an outsourcer come to my workplace, clean out my desk, and send my belongings to my son and daughter-in-law.

Another unusual offering was pet relocation. Employee relocation has been around for awhile. But I guess if you can’t put your dog, cat or macaw in your car when you move across country or to another continent, you’ll have to outsource the transport of your beloved pet.

Something to think about: what specialized process would you like to outsource but you can’t find a supplier to do it? Or, what would you like your HRO or RPO provider to do …if cost were no object?

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