Human resource outsourcing (HRO) is a way for enterprises to outsource one or several functions of the human resource management team to other enterprises or organizations that are in accordance with their own needs, therefore minimizing human resource costs and maximizing efficiency.

Traditional HRO services include file management, new employee recruitment, dismissal of current employees, establishment of the social security insurance program, etc. However due to the rising competition in this field, the demand of HRO services have grown more complex including services such as: compensation and payroll management, regulation consultation, staff training, and personnel dispatching.

Despite what the critics say on how the professional HRO service institutions in China are not on par with the international demand, due to a lack of professional education the progression of the professional HRO service institutions are still gaining significant amounts of attention from international enterprises all over the world. For example the few companies that have risen during the past few years and that have offered full scale HRO professional services, have internationally renown over night. The demand for such professional HRO services is bound to attract even more investors and entrepreneurs into the already large market.

What primarily concerns economists is whether or not this growing enterprise of HRO services will eventually take over all the functions that are carried out by current administrative departments within human resources. Both scholars and business executives have generally agreed that such a take over would be highly unlikely. Human resource management is far too important for a large enterprise to outsource completely. Other core aspects of an enterprise include: the business culture, internal policies, employer relations, performance evaluation, etc. These core business values simply cannot be outsourced without an enormous risk being involved to the company. Thus, despite the growing attraction of complex HRO professional services, the limit to this expansion is also foreseeable.

Nonetheless, the growing HRO services are still considered an invaluable asset to major corporations. HRO services can help administrative departments with human resources by resolving petty details and greatly reducing expenses in order to optimize other services that are not able to be outsourced.