Data, referrals, and endorsements are important when selecting an HR service or technology partner. Yet, in the past many HR executives would make critical decisions about vital partnerships without the benefit of this kind of information. That is why more than 15 years ago, HRO Today introduced the Baker's Dozen Customer Satisfaction Rankings. To be sure, at that time we did a lot of education about the product and how best to use it. Recently, we have become aware that it has been several years since we explained how best to use the product and we thought this was a good time to revisit the best application of this data in your RFP process for the world as it exists today.
Let’s go back in time to the genesis of the Baker's Dozen. Many of our competitors did and some still do exist. Those reports with fancy names were around. The reports were long—really long. Some were over 80 pages and most users flipped to the graphs where they would use a magic quadrant graph to show the various providers capability. There were also a lot of bad deals being done and the HR provider community was getting a "bad rap" about their quality. The problem with those reports is that they were and still are self-reported by the providers. The 80-page tomes were the product of the work of analysts who sell time to those same providers in the report. The review process (if any) of this self-reported (sometimes suspect) information was to talk to maybe two or three clients of the provider. These products have by and large not changed or improved in 15 years. Still self-reported and still analyst opinions —not data-driven.
So, 15 years ago, we launched the Baker"s Dozen out of a simple concept. We believed not only that providers would do better deals if better matched to the opportunities on which they were bidding. We also believed that the HR leadership community would take the surveys we created as a service to each other and as a way to ensure they had information when they needed it. We studied what were the most important parameters in the RFP process: size of deal, breadth of services, and quality of service. Size of a deal depended upon size of the enterprise; scope of work was about how much of a process the HR practitioners wanted to put in the hands of an outside entity. And, of course, quality of service. We also realized that no HR leader above the manager level was ever going to read an 80-page report to get an opinion summary. In fact, most people we spoke were using those lengthy reports as confirmatory diligence after they had picked a provider as a way to build a business case, rather than as an evaluative tool.
By comparison, the Baker's Dozen is 52 numbers on a grid. The three dimensions are each indexed and ranked for size, scope, and quality, and then an overall index is weighted based on our research of how important each dimension is to the overall importance of the HR leaders surveyed in their vendor selection. To use it, think of each dimension as a Venn diagram that rotates. If you need a lot of scope in the breadth of service, but you are a mid-sized enterprise and you want great service (who doesn't?), then see which providers fall in the middle of those circles. It is simplicity itself. It helps HR leaders focus on a shorter list for RFP or, if your practice requires a longer list, it guides you as to whose RFP response you should focus on during your evaluation. In addition, we make myself or Larry Basinait, our SVP of market research, available to advise prospective buyers on the providers who best match up based on industry or other related parameters we have in the data. We also sell longer reports with more detail for those prospective buyers who want a greater visibility to every question and a comparison of every provider.
We update the algorithm every few years based on the importance of the questions to the survey takers and we update the service and scope parameters based on feedback from committees of providers and practitioners who are members of the HRO Today Association who advise our research teams.
The main key point is every aspect of the Baker's Dozen ranking is based on feedback from customer surveys because HR leaders are the survey takers. There is no opinion from HRO Today—we only manage the data process, we do not sell analyst time and our opinion is not the basis of the Baker's Dozen. Your opinion and that of your colleagues is what makes the Baker's Dozen independent, objective, and valuable. Thank you to the thousands of HR leaders who contribute each year to the Baker's Dozen survey process and please feel free to contact HRO Today for more information or advice on how to use a tool that has been an invaluable tool for thousands of you for more than 15 years.
Elliot S. Clark
CEO