Googling HR Homeshoring

Googling “HR Homeshoring” brings up nothing. Of course, that doesn’t mean there is nothing out there on this subject, just that Google isn’t picking it up.

Googling “Human Resources Homeshoring” brings up only this article from the Hindu Business Line. But it’s just a fluke. It’s not really about homeshoring HR functions.

The paucity of search results for “HR Homeshoring” is unfortunate. It means that very few people have realized the potential of homeshoring the HR function for maximizing shareholder value.

Many observers assume HR homeshoring is only about taking HR processes and people and locating them in the homes of HR staff. Such a view is not nearly radical enough to maximize shareholder value.

We must understand HR homeshoring as the means whereby the whole human capital structure of a firm is re-organized in such a way that so-called “employees” will take on the economic incentive structure similar to independent “craftsman.” Basically, every employee must be measured and compensated according to their direct contribution to shareholder value. This is indeed a revolutionary proposition and it will be opposed by most employers and their employees. Understably so, as the main beneficiaries are the people who actually own the firm, the shareholders (wow! Imagine that, owners getting what they earn from the assets they own!).

Currently the HR outsourcing phenomenon is vaguely understood as value-creating concept where non-essential HR processes are handled by outsourcing firms such Hewitt, ADP, and Accenture. Indeed, this way of HR outsourcing usually does add value. However, the goal of any shareholder is to maximize value, not simply create a little bit.

The model here is that of a hedge fund manager who manages her asset portfolio using advanced IT from the comfort of her own home. The fund manager has Total Information Visibility. This means almost all of the information she needs to make decisions is right in front of her. What’s not immediately available is easily available through well-designed corporate intranets, the internet, internal databases and perhaps most importantly from employees themselves via mobile phone connections. Furthermore, she can operate and react at any time of day. More importantly for her, she can schedule breaks and lead a more manageable life – a major concern of today’s most productive workers. Perhaps the biggest advantage is that she gains mastering of operating in a homeshoring environment and can therefore lead her company toward a revolution by showing the way toward homeshoring success.

These are just a few advantages of HR homeshoring. As the previous paragraph concluded the biggest advantage is that the HR executive can be the leader of the homeshoring re-engineering initiative. The obvious question emerges: Why does effectively executed homeshoring maximize shareholder value?

That lengthy matter is a subject for another post.