HRO World Europe, Human Resources, HR Transformation, Conference

HRO World Europe 2006 Provides Expert Insights into “Future-Proofing” HR Transformation

NEWS RELEASE
7th November, 2006

HRO World Europe 2006 Provides Expert Insights into “Future-Proofing” HR Transformation

The HRO World Europe 2006 conference opened its doors today to more than 300 HR professionals and senior executives from 20 countries. Each has traveled to the Brussels conference, which constitutes the largest meeting of HR professionals outside the U.S., to explore the best methods of future-proofing their HR outsourcing and transformation strategies.

The conference will include two days of topical presentations from some of Europe’s most influential HR leaders and practitioners. Executives from Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Centrica, Deutsche Bank, Intel, IKEA, Bayer AG, Royal Bank of Scotland, Marriott Hotels and others will share their expertise, experiences, challenges and best practice case studies that delegates can extrapolate into their own transformation initiatives.

World-leading expert in the field of cultural diversity, Prof. Geert Hofstede, Emeritus Professor at Maastricht University, will also warn of the challenges corporations face as they manage the ‘invisible assets’ of corporate culture whilst also striving to achieve their transformation and outsourcing ambitions.

Commenting on the conference’s appeal, Luca Segantini, Executive Director of HROA Europe and Director of SharedXpertise, says, “The whole concept of HR transformation, be it through in-house, outsourcing or shared services routes, is still relatively new in Europe as compared to other change management techniques. Many of our delegates are still at the stage of watching and waiting to see how the market develops and how their peers succeed – or suffer – before they take the plunge. However, they are all hungry for new sources of competitive advantage and this is putting enormous pressure on them to continually educate themselves on the benefits and risks of 21st century transformation techniques.

“It’s abundantly clear that, when correctly planned, managed and scoped-out, the transformation of HR processes not only provides a clear competitive advantage but can also be a potential source of added shareholder value. It is this promise that so many companies are chasing, which is why HRO World Europe is such a valuable source of information and, we hope, inspiration for them.”

Today’s program includes a presentation by Reg Bull, SVP Global HR Transformation Unilever, who will reveal the key lessons learned in one of the world’s largest ever HR transformation deals. Later, a moderated Executive Forum will address how best to evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of different transformation options.

Last night, the first Annual HROA Europe Awards ceremony recognized the European HRO industry’s most widely-acknowledged contributors and innovators.

- ENDS
 
Media contacts during HRO World Europe:
- Sarah Watts, PR Consultant. +44 7968 417518, sarah.watts7@btopenworld.com
- Jesper Lillelund, SharedXpertise, +32 478 223711, jesper.lillelund@sharedxpertise.org

Editor’s notes:
- HROA Europe, the European arm of the HR Outsourcing Association (HROA), is the only professional membership association committed to promoting the advancement of human resources transformation in complex organisations. All its activities are managed on behalf of its members by SharedXpertise bvba, a Brussels, Belgium-based firm focusing on association management and related services in the business transformation domain.