Accenture’s seven-year, $1 billion HRO contract with Unilever sets new standards for scope and scale. In an HRO Today exclusive, we meet the HR transformation leader behind the initiative and his secrets to HRO success in 100 countries simultaneously.

Keeping buyers happy in the long run requires a significant amount of work. Understand there are ups and downs on this ride so be prepared for the bumps in the road.

The 2006 HRO World Europe Conference, scheduled for November 6–8 at the Conrad Hotel in Brussels, is in its third year, and pundits are calling this year’s event the adult version of an adolescent movement. This year’s big question is, what are the adults going to do that the kids couldn’t handle last year?

Verizon Business builds efficiencies while building brand through an outsourcing solution.

Don’t believe that Europe is incapable of producing the mega deals. This year, Unilever’s HRO deal, the largest ever on an annualized basis, established the EU as a hotbed of outsourcing activities. Now if only the works councils and labor unions see it that way.

Offering payroll in brussels, HR administration in Paris, and benefits consulting in London, these leading global providers give HRO buyers many vendor choices in the market. A full complement of providers also means the market continues to grow and that consolidation—usually a hallmark of a mature industry—has stagnated. But will all these organizations remain standing in the near future?

While HRO Europe Magazine is mostly concerned with the activities of HRO buyers and HR leaders, we also take note when providers make moves that make a difference. This issue, a couple things caught our eye. First is Randstad’s big buyout in the Netherlands, and the second is ACS and its new focus behind European SVP Brian Stones, whose HRO career advice is well worth heeding.

Local and regional deals outnumber national programs. The U.K. continues to lead in number of deals executed in past year.

Software is key to cost savings for clients and providers. Other changes are also needed for HRO to be financially viable.

Of all professions, HR is among the most sensitive about language. That is why this magazine is not called “Outsourcing” but instead relies on an immensely cleverer trick: a catchy three-letter acronym. But where did this trendy new word “transformation” come from? And why do HR people prefer it?