Summary:
On February 2nd, 2005 BT (British Telecommunications plc) extended an existing human resources outsourcing deal with Accenture with a new 10-year contract valued at $576 million. The new contract expands the geographic reach of services that Accenture has been providing to BT under a previous five-year contract. BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications solutions serving customers in Europe, America and Asia Pacific. Its principal activities include IT and networking services, local, national and international telecommunications services, and higher-value broadband and internet products and services. On the other hand Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Accenture currently provides HR services to BT’s 87,000 employees and 180,000 pensioners in the United Kingdom. Under the new contract, Accenture will provide services to those BT employees and pensioners plus another 10,000 BT employees in 37 countries around the world who were not covered in the previous contract.
Analysis:
The new contract is one of the largest renewals of an HR BPO (business process outsourcing) contract in the world. It is designed to provide BT with higher levels of workforce management and performance services in 38 countries around the globe. According to the new contract Accenture will use new cost savings methods in addition to those already used under the current contract. Accenture will continue to deliver its services through Accenture HR Services. Accenture HR services provide people management services on an outsourced basis through its global delivery network. Services to be provided under the new contract include:
• Customer contact/call centre
• Recruitment
• Pension administration
• Payroll and benefits administration
• Performance management administration
• Health and safety
• HR advisory and information services.