News Spotlight

Boomerang employees have returned. Businesses that cut too many jobs are turning to ex-employees who can get up to speed quickly (Wall Street Journal).

HR is pressured to enforce RTO policies. CEOs have put HR in charge of creating and enforcing RTO policies that require workers to be in the office for a set number of days (Fast Company).

AI chatbot mentors aren’t always effective. Workers who need practice in the art of asking the right questions at the right time may not get what they need from compliant bots (Axios).

Stat of the Week

A new study finds that 86% of Americans say all workers, not just public workers, should have a pension.

This overwhelming public support for universal pension coverage signals a significant societal expectation that HR leaders should acknowledge and potentially champion within their organizations and the broader business community. While currently more prevalent in the public sector, this statistic suggests a growing desire for retirement security across all industries, implying that HR leaders may need to explore and advocate for expanding pension-like benefits or other robust retirement savings mechanisms for their private sector employees to remain competitive, attract talent, and align with evolving societal values around financial security in retirement. This could involve re-evaluating current retirement plans, considering hybrid models, or lobbying for broader policy changes that support universal retirement savings options.

Deep Dive Article

The Rise of HR Partnerships: From Advisors to Outsourcing Allies

A New Era of Strategic Support

In today’s fast-paced workplace, HR departments are expected to do more with less — balancing compliance, talent management, employee engagement, and benefits administration, often without growing their teams. As responsibilities expand and internal capacity remains tight, HR leaders are being called to think differently about how they deliver value. One underutilized solution is standing out: strategic partnerships.

Whether it’s working with benefits brokers, HR advisors, payroll providers, or professional employer organizations (PEOs), these partnerships are quickly becoming essential tools for HR teams navigating an increasingly complex landscape. These collaborators don’t just provide services; they bring specialized expertise, scalable tools, and an outside perspective that enables HR teams to make smarter, faster decisions. A recent survey from isolved found that 85% of HR leaders who work with an advisor or broker are satisfied with that relationship, with many citing business-aligned guidance as the top reason for staying engaged.

However, the same survey also reveals a striking disconnect when it comes to outsourcing. While 71% of HR leaders believe they would benefit from outsourcing key tasks, only 41% plan to do so this year. This hesitation, despite clear upside, signals a persistent stigma that equates outsourcing with failure, rather than a savvy way to scale and streamline.

Strategic Partnerships vs. Traditional Vendors

There’s a significant difference between hiring a vendor and building a true partnership. The best HR leaders are looking beyond transactional services to find partners who act as an extension of their teams. These strategic collaborators understand the business, offer customized recommendations, and evolve alongside the organization’s needs.

Whether in the form of advisors offering compliance guidance or PEOs simplifying payroll and benefits, the role of partners has shifted from reactive problem-solvers to proactive co-strategists. This evolution is especially valuable as HR becomes more central to business performance. Today, HR isn’t just about managing people—it’s about driving business outcomes like retention, productivity, and culture. Partners who understand that mission are no longer optional—they’re essential.

Why Outsourcing Still Carries a Stigma

Despite the growing complexity of HR and the proven benefits of outsourcing, many HR leaders hesitate to take that step. The perception that outsourcing reflects poorly on internal capability is still widespread, even though the demands of modern HR have long outpaced what most small or mid-sized teams can handle alone.

This stigma results in missed opportunities. Functions like recruitment, benefits administration, and compliance tracking are time-consuming but critical. Offloading these tasks to a trusted partner doesn’t diminish HR’s value—it enhances it. It gives HR the time and bandwidth to focus on strategic initiatives like DEI, employee experience, and leadership development.

And yet, only 1% of HR leaders report using full recruitment process outsourcing, despite widespread hiring challenges. This number suggests that the barrier isn’t effective—it’s perception. Changing that perception starts with reframing outsourcing as a strength: the smart allocation of resources, not a surrender of responsibility.

Metrics That Matter When Choosing a Partner

When evaluating a potential partner, HR leaders are placing increasing importance on two key factors: technology and integration. According to isolved, these are among the top reasons organizations switch partners, as the ability to integrate tools, platforms, and data is critical to maintaining efficiency and reducing friction.

HR leaders should look for partners whose technology is intuitive, customizable, and interoperable with existing systems. But tech alone isn’t enough. The real differentiator is the partner’s ability to tailor their approach to the business’s unique goals and challenges. That means offering proactive recommendations, helping with implementation, and continuously improving the partnership.

ROI can no longer be measured solely in cost savings. The best HR partnerships deliver time savings, risk mitigation, improved employee satisfaction, and stronger retention rates—all metrics that support long-term business health.

Benefits of Building a Broader Partner Ecosystem

One of the clearest lessons from the pandemic-era workplace is that HR can't go it alone. Even as teams stabilize post-COVID, many HR departments remain lean, and burnout remains a serious concern. By cultivating a broader ecosystem of trusted partners, HR leaders can offload operational burdens while maintaining high standards of service.

This ecosystem might include:

• Advisors for compliance and regulatory support
• Benefits brokers for smarter, more cost-effective employee packages
• PEOs for full-service HR, payroll, and risk management
• Technology providers for automation, analytics, and integrations

Together, these partnerships help HR teams operate with the power of a much larger department, while remaining focused on high-impact strategic work.

PEO Week: A Timely Opportunity for HR Leaders

With PEO Week kicking off on May 21, there’s no better time for HR leaders to reassess their approach to outsourcing. PEOs offer a compelling value proposition: access to better employee benefits, reduced compliance risk, and significantly simplified HR operations, all wrapped into one relationship.

By bundling multiple HR services into a single platform, PEOs eliminate the need for patchworked solutions and provide a centralized resource for employees and managers alike. They also bring scale to small teams, offering enterprise-grade solutions that would otherwise be inaccessible. isolved notes that these full-service partnerships are especially valuable for fast-growing companies that need to stay nimble while delivering a great employee experience.

Despite this, many companies still view PEOs as a last resort rather than a first step toward modernization. HR leaders who move early to explore these options will be better positioned to respond to workforce changes, talent competition, and growing regulatory complexity.

Reframing the Narrative Around Outsourcing

To unlock the full benefits of strategic outsourcing, HR leaders must also lead a culture shift internally. That means communicating to stakeholders that bringing in external help is not a reflection of weakness, but a forward-thinking decision aligned with business goals.

Successful reframing includes:

• Highlighting the efficiency gains and time savings that outsourcing unlocks
• Emphasizing that outsourcing frees internal teams for more strategic work
• Framing partners as specialists, not substitutes
• Using metrics and case studies to demonstrate success

HR leaders should view outsourcing as a key pillar of their strategy, not a last-minute fix. With the right messaging and measurement, organizations can foster buy-in and maximize value from their external partnerships.

Conclusion: From Tactical Help to Transformational Allies

HR’s role is expanding, and its challenges are multiplying. Strategic partnerships—whether with brokers, advisors, or full-service providers like PEOs—offer a proven path forward. They deliver the support, expertise, and scalability that internal teams need to meet modern demands.

The appetite for help is there. Now it’s time to act on it. By reframing outsourcing as a sign of strength and by selecting partners who align with their strategic goals, HR leaders can expand their impact, reduce complexity, and better serve the business. The future of HR isn’t solo — it’s shared, supported, and smarter.

Thanks for reading — be sure to join the conversation on LinkedIn and let me know your thoughts on this topic!

Quote of the Week

“Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.”
​Malala Yousafzai