Deloitte: Big opportunities exist to reduce HR costs

Across industries, the median total human resources costs per employee is $2,189, with low-cost performers spending 28 percent less, or $1,578 per employee, according to the Deloitte Global Benchmarketing Center, which analyzed one year of data from more than 60 corporations.

Deloitte's "2009 Human Resources Book of Metrics" looked at 13 HR processes in four categories: transaction processing (employee data administration and payroll/time/attendance), talent management (administration of career development, global mobility, employee relations, learning and staffing) , reward administration (including health/welfare benefits, compensation, defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans) and HR strategy and program design.

Among the findings: Low-cost performers (those in the study's first quartile in spending in these areas) allocated 5.3 times more of their total HR costs to technology compared to the median investment. These firms allocated 16 percent less of their total costs to labor and 8 percent less to outsourcing vendors. They spend 28 percent less than the median on talent management administration.

"The answer isn't always to be best in class; rather the goal should be to find the position that makes the most sense for the organization's overall business strategy," the study's executive summary noted. "Organizations should determine what percentage is achievable and what tactics could potentially reduce the opportunity gap."

Download the complete executive summary on our members-only Research page.