Michael Sternklar currently stands at the intersection of the consulting profession and HR outsourcing.
As chief operating officer of outsourcing at Unifi, a division of PricewaterhouseCoopers specializing in HR and benefits outsourcing, Sternklar is helping position his firm as the market leader in what analysts project will become a $100 billion industry.
"We're basically taking over the entire HR function for clients," says Sternklar, who is confident companies will see how this will help their bottom line. "What is core to their business is their people strategies — figuring out how to retain, attract, and incent people. What I call the day-to-day delivery — getting their checks cut, making sure the administrative leave takes place, getting them hired or off the payroll — is not really core to their business. Many companies spend eight or nine figures to do this, and it's not what makes them who they are."
Sternklar and Unifi both have their roots in Kwasha Lipton, a benefits consulting firm. Although one-tenth the size of many of its competitors, Kwasha had grown into a competitive powerhouse by the time it was acquired by Coopers & Lybrand in 1997 — a move which Sternklar, then the partner in charge of outsourcing, helped to lead.
Unifi does both the upfront consulting — sometimes up to 15 months' worth — and the delivery, but Sternklar admits that many companies don't embrace the concept right away. Knowing that the marketplace wasn't ready to accept the idea, Unifi began developing the strategy and partnered with PeopleSoft to build the technology before offering the service in 1999.
"One of the strengths of consulting is trying to help clients separate the emotional, and sometimes political, reactions to an idea and then help them understand in a fact-based way why this is the right move for their company at this time," says Sternklar.
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