HRO Buyers to Benefit from EquaTerra's EQuation HRO - A New HRO Research, Data, and Benchmarking Offering; Phil Fersht from Yankee Group Joins Team

Business Wire, August 23, 2005

NEW YORK -- EquaTerra, a multi-national outsourcing and insourcing advisory firm, today announced EQuation HRO, a membership-based service specifically designed for buy-side HR executives. Responding to an information gap in the marketplace, EQuation HRO provides members with outsourcing-focused data, benchmarking and performance metrics. Additionally, members have access to custom advice, research, and "insider's intelligence" from both EquaTerra HR outsourcing experts and peer companies who have already evaluated - and in many cases implemented - HRO.

Said Robin Rasmussen, Managing Director of EQuation HRO, "As the HR outsourcing industry has matured, industry silos of knowledge, expertise and hands-on experience have emerged. Until now, little of this knowledge has been available outside of the direct client relationship. EquaTerra has developed EQuation HRO in conjunction with HR executives seeking this previously unavailable HRO-related data." Rasmussen is recognized as a pioneer in "human capital data" management, having held key executive positions at BrassRing, Spherion and the Saratoga Institute.

EquaTerra Benchmarking Advisors work closely with each EQuation HRO member to gather data, benchmark and evaluate their performance over time as a means to focus on continuous process improvement. The firm's inaugural benchmarking study was launched earlier this month. Those interested in participating in the study - or learning more about its intent and scope - may send an e-mail to: robin.rasmussen@equaterra.com.

Other benefits of membership in EQuation HRO include:

--Benchmarking Reports - Periodic comparisons of HRO performance against similar companies

--Benchmarking Advisory - EquaTerra advisor-led sessions

--Research Briefs - Research briefs focused on HRO buyer needs, market dynamics and trends, competitive intelligence, service provider profiles, case studies and key industry-specific issues

--Market Intelligence - Regular, e-mail-based topical pieces and articles about HRO best practices

--Custom Inquiry Support - Custom advice/research on your topic of interest

--Executive Exchange - Semi-annual, executive meetings designed to deliver benchmark results, recent research and survey results and share information

--Access to other EQuation HRO members - A members-only, online and offline network designed for peer-oriented information sharing

--EquaTerra Web Seminars - Web-based presentations on emerging topics and new research

--Supplemental membership in the Shared Services and Business Process Outsourcing Association (SBPOA) - The SBPOA is the leading, independent, global body for shared services and business process outsourcing (BPO). For details on member benefits, please go to: http://www.sharedxpertise.org/sh_benefits.php

The first EQuation HRO Executive Exchange was held in Chicago in June 2005. Said Mike Medeiros, Director of HR Service Delivery for Delta Air Lines, "Participation in the first Executive Exchange confirmed what I expected of EQuation HRO membership. Historically, HRO-related data - especially benchmarks - has been largely inaccessible, fragmented and hard to decipher. But the quality and uniqueness of the EQuation HRO benchmark and research data, coupled with the ability to network with peers facing similar challenges, will be of significant value to anyone chartered with increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of their organization's HR service delivery model." The next Executive Exchange will be held November 8-10, 2005 at the Sundance Resort in Provo Canyon, Utah.

The expert team guiding EQuation HRO includes Robin Rasmussen, Stan Lepeak - a world-renowned outsourcing industry researcher and industry analyst, previously with META Group - and Phil Fersht, the newest addition to EquaTerra's benchmarking group.

Phil Fersht, previously Vice President of Yankee Group's Global BPO and IT practice, is a highly respected and well-known opinion leader, analyst and advisor across the HR, F&A, Customer Management and Procurement disciplines. He has worked extensively across Europe, North America and Asia as an advisor in sourcing services to both supply and buy-side communities. He combines his pan-global working knowledge with an extensive background in BPO dynamics to help organizations make educated sourcing decisions. Before Yankee Group, Phil was a Director of IDC Asia/Pacific's Singapore-based advisory services, and was also a Director for IDC's global software consulting practice.

To become a member of EQuation HRO or participate in our benchmarking survey, please contact Robin Rasmussen at robin.rasmussen@equaterra.com.

About EquaTerra

EquaTerra, http://www.equaterra.com, is focused solely on providing global corporations and public sector organizations with outsourcing and insourcing advisory, research and governance services that enable them to achieve service delivery excellence for their SG&A processes. EquaTerra's advisors average more than 20 years of industry, service provider and process experience with functional leadership in Finance & Accounting, Human Resources, Information Technology and Procurement, and have been involved in over 600 global business transformation, outsourcing and outsourcing governance projects.