• Lehman Brothers – 26,000 global employees; files for bankruptcy.
• AIG – 116,000 global employees; seeking lifeline from the Federal Reserve.
• Merrill Lynch – 60,000 global employees; acquired by Bank of America.
• HP – 320,000 global employees; announced 24,600 job cuts from EDS acquisition.

Those who lose their jobs may be provided job placement services, counseling and the like, but in the heat of the moment, does that all really matter?  And what of the employees who remain, the hundreds of thousands who are paralyzed into waiting for the other shoe to drop?  No one is the victor in these situations, for everyone loses due to fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

Regardless of what industry you occupy, we all get to a point where you simply take employment for granted.  You plan your life based on current earnings (and perhaps an annual bonus) combined with some measure of continued increase in your base salary.  You don’t necessarily envision yourself in your current firm forever, but you also don’t plan for the unexpected termination of your position.  You expect to make job and life decisions on your terms.  

The kick to the stomach of sudden unemployment can take your breath away.  Whimsy is replaced with the ugly reality that the end is here.  You wrack your brain to network, franticly reaching out to everyone and anyone who may be able to use your skills.  Then you pause, embarrassed perhaps to admit that you were unprepared and hadn’t really thought through what to do in this situation.

My advice is this – plan as if your last day were tomorrow.  This is not to suggest that you sit with your hand over the panic button, but instead that you’ve thought through a wide variety of scenarios and outcomes and ensured that you are prepared for the worst.  For those of us who run small businesses, this is a part of our everyday existence.  But I didn’t always think this way…. it took the shock of a horrific reality to shake me from the foundation of stability that I used to take for granted.  

My other piece of advice is to ask for help.  I find that this is more difficult the more senior you are, for ego gets in the way of your necessity to press on and seek assistance.  Do not go dark and insist on traveling this road alone.  It will take longer than you expect and you will miss opportunities through your insistence on isolation.  Talk with people you trust and learn from people you don’t.  A sense of vulnerability doesn’t really matter when you a faced with a stack of bills you suddenly can’t pay.

Finally, learn from the experience.  It’s always easy to get upset and blame others for your situation.  Of course others are to blame, and of course you should be upset, but you are responsible for your own career and no one else can carry that burden but you.  In these times of turmoil and uncertainty, your mettle will be exposed and tested.  You don’t have to win every battle, but you do have to press on.  Let’s keep the conversation going.

 

“Under the agreement, IBM will provide compensation, benefits, recruiting, learning, payroll administration, call center support and related IT systems services to Bristol-Myers Squibb. Additionally, IBM will implement a SAP solution and integrate Bristol-Myers Squibb’s global workforce data into one portal that can be accessed by employees, managers and HR professionals around the globe. The services will support Bristol-Myers Squibb’s operations in the United States, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Belgium, as well as, limited support to 40 of its additional country locations in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas.”

Phil Fersht of AMR Research has heralded this agreement in his popular blog Horses for Sources, citing this contract as further validation of the yeomen’s work being performed by leading global outsourcing providers:

“As the global providers become increasingly proficient at deploying offshore resources to support these processes, they will generate more cost-savings and compelling business cases for their customers.”

This contract will have interesting implications in the growing solutions and outsourcing battle between IBM and Hewlett-Packard, with HP’s new beau EDS having been awarded a seven-year, $715 million IT infrastructure outsourcing contract with Bristol-Myers Squibb just this past December.

Let’s keep the conversation going.

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How do you feel about Human Resources Professional Organizations?  Take Inflexion’s short poll of views now to express your opinion. 

Input Variable A) HP

HP has been an uncharacteristic dabbler in and around HRO for many years.  They had been rumored to be entering the market via asset acquisitions ranging from ACS, Convergys, and Hewitt for some time now, but I must say that few (myself included) would have imagined EDS as the target.  Within HR service delivery, HP does have a few arrows in it’s quiver:

1. Announces Nestle as it’s only public HRO Engagement (2006) – Scope includes European payroll with options for benefits administration, including call center administration and some back office operations.  Serves as an extension to the existing finance and accounting outsourcing agreement with Nestle.
2. HP and SAP Alliance – 50% of SAP applications globally run on HP platforms, and HP is one of SAP’s largest clients.  HP also offers SAP consulting and integration services including operations, implementation, upgrades, support and end-to-end outsourcing.
3. HP and Oracle Alliance – More than 100,000 joint customers across every line of business globally, including JDEdwards, PeopleSoft and Oracle HR applications. 
4. HP’s HR Department – Supports 156,000 employees in 170 countries.  In a recent presentation for the Conference Board, HR EVP Marcela Perez de Alonso speaks her efforts to rationalize global HR into functional Centers of Expertise such as total rewards and learning.

Input Variable B) EDS

EDS’ creation of the ExcellerateHRO joint venture in 2005 allowed the firm to move directly into the race for tier one HRO transactions.  However, many have questioned the structure and strategy of the JV and whether it is sustainable in light of formidable competition and increased price pressures.  Here’s how EDS adds up:

1. Current ExcellerateHRO Portfolio – According to published data, 400 clients across nearly all geographies (except APAC) servicing more than 33 million active and retired employees.  Notable clients include CIBC, Total (UK), Bank of America and 7-Eleven Stores.  No new client wins announced since April of 2007.
2. Towers Perrin Joint Venture – Powers the full HR transformation and consulting side of the Excellerate relationship.  Provides global reach in 24 countries and outsourced IT to EDS as part of the initial venture structure.
3. EDS and SAP Alliance – 220 implementations with more than 850,000 users in nine languages and 54 countries.  Over 2,000 certified professionals on staff.  Their internal implementation of SAP is one of the largest in the world. 
4. EDS and Oracle Alliance – Emphasis on applications management, outsourcing, modernization and development services under the brand of the Agility Alliance.  Applications are primarily focused on CRM and HR BPO with 500 professionals on Oracle and 270 on PeopleSoft.

Does A + B = HRO Domination?

In my opinion, it does not.  There is no question that the combined entity will be formidable as a global provider of BPO and ITO solutions, and no one can argue with the depth and breadth of their technological acumen and ability to configure, manage and deploy SAP and Oracle solutions in any location in the world.  However, the one hole that remains is that neither entity brings forth deep and meaningful HR domain and consulting expertise.  Thus, I feel that continued codependency on Towers Perrin will be required to present a credible HR transformation story to the market.  This puts HP/EDS/Towers Perrin next to the likes of Convergys/Deloitte in the HRO landscape.  Competitors such as Accenture, IBM and even ACS (with it’s Buck and Mellon assets) will maintain some advantage with wholly owned and internalized HR consulting capabilities.

This could be resolved with one additional tactical acquisition.  With BearingPoint trading at $1.61/share and lowering its 2008 outlook, I’d see them as one possible candidate for such a takeover.  Suffice it to say that the next 12 months in the market should be quite interesting.

Let’s keep the conversation going.