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This paper aims to study the opportunities that have been created through technological advancement in the talent acquisition industry and how this links to strategic HR management (SHRM) and business strategy. It focuses on how an organisation can embrace the world’s leading technology and compose a unique technology stack to overcome its challenges in talent acquisition.

This paper opted for a blend of qualitative and quantitative data gathered through interviews, online questionnaires and the literature review of relevant secondary data. The justification of the primary research methodology was to gather valid and reliable data to inform decisions and address the research question.

The analysis of the data shows a significant improvement in all the key metrics related to the talent acquisition process after the implementation of “Talent Rising” model. The role of a recruiter and the talent acquisition team has radically changed and has now become an internal strategic partner with aligned interest, an advisor to the organisation. There is an increase in the use of new media/technology to attract candidates and with the increase in millennial candidates entering the workforce, social media will be increasingly important in talent branding and attraction; the digital by default generation is already here.

The “Talent Rising” model has been specifically created and designed to be used by others: organisations, academics and policy makers. It is a “plug and play” tech stack model which can be used like an a la carte menu dependent on the actual requirements (and investment appetite) for each organisation.

This paper includes implications for the creation of a people analytics and talent technology framework to reduce cost per hire, reduce time to hire and increase quality of hire.

This paper fulfils an identified need to study how people analytics and technology can drive talent acquisition strategy.

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how the HR function can make a significant contribution to the achievement of global strategy and sustainable competitive advantage through identifying, building and deploying differentiating strategic capabilities (DiSCs). The DiSC model has been developed by William Scott‐Jackson over the past 15 years as a practical and strategically valuable development of the “resource‐based view of the firm”.

The paper first considers the strategic implications of global trading and then describes the strategic importance of DiSCs and their criteria – particularly in sales. This is based on applied research and strategic HR consultancy with over 30 global organizations over the past 15 years. Using a case study of a global outsourcing company, it describes the process by which DiSCs can be developed and deployed by the HR function to achieve sustainable competitive advantage in global trading.

The link between global strategic intent and the role of HR is clearly defined using the DiSC model and the examples given show the strategic value that can be achieved using the model to enable global trading.

The DiSC model can be deployed in any organization (profit or non‐profit) by HR to ensure that its global strategic intent can be achieved and to help ensure sustainable competitive advantage. In addition to the well‐understood HR competencies and processes which need to be deployed for global success, this model further allows the HR function to impact strategy development and implementation. This paper shows how DiSCs can be identified, built and deployed.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe how the decision to outsource human resources was made by 12 large and five small organisations.

Desk research and key informant interviews with senior HR staff who lead the decision to outsource human resources in a purposive sample of organisations identified through an initial search of the professional literature and nomination by an expert panel.

The research identifies a number of drivers that lead organisations to consider outsourcing their HR. In large organisations cost considerations are dominant, but other factors arise out of the organisational history and context, and very often, senior managers from outside the HR function are very influential. For most organisations, paradoxically, the decision to outsource appears not to be made on the basis of a thorough analysis of costs, with consequences for the quality of HR service offered to line managers, and also for the career paths and skill sets required from HR staff.

This study focuses upon the perceptions and experiences of senior HR managers, but excludes the perceptions and experiences of all staff employed in the HR function. Also, while the use of a qualitative research design makes it possible to uncover the individual perceptions and motivations of the key informants in the sample, there are obvious limitations in respect of statistical generalisation.

The findings relate mainly to the future shape of the HR function in organisations where HR activity is outsourced, with consequent implications for the skill sets and career paths for HR professionals.

The views of HR directors and senior managers have provided a valuable insight into the strategic decision to outsource HR activity and will be of interest to those involved in the same field.

Written partially in response to a previous paper published in this Journal suggesting that leadership and leaders are categorised as ‘transformational’ or ‘transactional’, the author suggests that these definitions are too narrow to be reflective of reality. It is instead argued that true and effective leaders operate in a multidimensional framework that combines styles, skills, attributes and abilities that fall within what we commonly refer to as management and leadership. It is suggested that there is a need to move on and to accept that there is not an all‐encompassing model, definition or style of leadership.

The debate on human resource (HR) outsourcing is polarised. HR outsourcing is seen as an opportunity for the HR function by some and as a threat by others. The first view suggests that HR outsourcing is an instrument creating time for HR to become a strategic partner. The second view considers HR outsourcing as a cost‐cutting instrument gradually reducing HR staff. The purpose of this study is to examine whether HR outsourcing is a manifestation of a strategic HR focus, a cost‐cutting HR focus or both.

The sample is obtained from an economy‐wide, cross‐sectional survey. The data cover 1,264 organisations with ten employees or more.

Results indicate that organisations with a strong focus on HR cost‐cutting do not outsource more than organisations with a weaker focus on HR cost‐cutting. The analyses show a positive relationship between a strong focus on strategic human resource management (HRM) and the level of HR outsourcing.

First, this study examines the breadth of HR outsourcing. Further research might consider the depth of HR outsourcing. Second, as results are based on cross‐sectional data we cannot draw causal inferences. Finally, future research might focus on the impact of HR outsourcing on the organisation of the HR function and internal HR customer satisfaction.

HR outsourcing empowers the HR department. It frees up HR professionals to focus on strategic HRM.

HR outsourcing has been heavily debated. Yet, empirical research into the impact on the HR function is extremely limited. This study helps to fill this gap.

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the conduct of recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), based on a real-life case study of one company in Malaysia. The paper analyses the company’s process of recruitment outsourcing from beginning to end, in three sections: RPO decision, RPO implementation and RPO outcome.

The case study was carried out through semi-structured interviews with relevant respondents, including the country HR manager, the HR staff and operation managers in the organisation, plus with the RPO provider.

The key findings, from a theoretical and academic viewpoint, are that RPO decisions and implementation cannot be fully or properly explained by one theory, but are better explained by integrating transaction cost economics, the resource-based view and the Agency Theory. The study also highlights the importance of involving end users in the RPO process.

While this single case study gives a clear, in-depth insight into the issues in this particular instance, future research extending to a wider range of organisations would serve to expand the findings and provide more generalisable results.

Practitioners and service providers should be able to draw valuable lessons from the experience of Tech-solution, particularly from the different perceptions and levels of satisfaction about the service provider’s performance between internal HR and the internal end users (operation managers).

This paper provides a specific and detailed analysis of RPO implementation in practice. It also addresses the call for more RPO outsourcing-specific research in the extant literature.