BBC reveals problems in £100m outsourcing of HR

BBC Broadcasting House

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BBC people director Stephen Kelly has admitted problems with the corporation's £100m deal to outsource its human resources operation.

The 10-year contract with Capita was signed in February 2006 and aims to save the BBC up to £50m by outsourcing recruitment, pay administration excluding pensions, some aspects of staff development, occupational health and a number of other HR-related services.

However, there are ongoing complaints from BBC staff and unions about poor service - including delayed payments and other payment errors.

Kelly, who inherited the contract from his predecessor Stephen Dando, admitted to HR trade magazine Personnel Today that the service is not running smoothly but said he is determined to make it work.

"Any outsourcing contract has its challenges. But both the BBC and Capita are absolutely committed to addressing these and we have a big programme in place to change and simplify our processes, taking out duplication and overlap."

Kelly added that he is "reasonably confident" the BBC would begin to see real benefits in the next 12 months and that Dando made the right decision to outsource its HR services.

"I've said publicly that while the deal has had its teething problems, I don't believe we should bring it back in-house. We can make it work and are committed to making it work."

However, Helen Ryan, a supervisory official in the BBC division of broadcasting union Bectu, said the outsourcing decision was an error.

"Both staff and the union preferred it when HR was done in-house as you could build relationships with the HR team," said Ryan.