Case Study: Human Resources
at a Small Company
At a small medical equipment dealer, sales associates are constantly leaving for positions with life sciences startups, creating more recruiting work than the HR Department can handle. The company decides to outsource all HR duties and have the HR Director focus on recruiting.
The HR Director starts the process of selecting and contracting with a third party services provider to take over payroll and benefits administration. Although it's not part of her official job description, the HR Director also negotiates the company's supply contracts and leases, so she needs to find a provider who supports these functions as well.
Understanding what the various providers actually do proves to be difficult. Some services are called professional employer organizations (PEOs), some human resources outsourcing (HROs), others are called employee leasing, co-employment, risk management, or professional staffing. Some claim to assume all liabilities, others carve out items like insurance coverage.
James River's expertise in services contracts reaches a level of expertise that transcends practice areas and vertical markets. The Director employs James River to conduct a competitive source selection among qualified vendors, then negotiate a package of professional services from one provider or a team of providers. Outsourcing vendors are evaluated using defined criteria and a weighted proposal scoring system. James River becomes the company’s outsourcing governance manager, managing interaction among the vendor team members, and measuring vendor performance against metrics. James River also takes over management of the company's procurement contracts.
