PricewaterhouseCoopers' Global Human Resources Solutions practice today announced a repositioning strategy that will combine its longstanding consulting services with a delivery model that moves at Internet speed to better meet the needs of clients in the new economy.

Reflecting the dramatic changes this new approach will bring to the provision of HR services, the PricewaterhouseCoopers human resources solutions practice is being renamed UNIFI Network. It will provide integrated consulting around world-class HR solutions, including the development of HR programs, plans and processes, and outsourcing of HR services enabled through online technology. As part of the new strategy, it will later this year launch an e-commerce portal catering to the 'worklife' needs of today's Web generation.

According to James J. Schiro, CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers, 'Repositioning GHRS as UNIFI Network gives us a tremendous opportunity to reinvent the way companies think about human resources in today's Internet-enabled world.'

Reed Keller, who will continue to serve as leader of the renamed practice, said, 'UNIFI Network is dedicated to making the workplace experience more engaging, interactive and personalized. Our intent is to harness the power of the Internet for both individuals and their employers. Our goal is to become a knowledge network for workplace communities.'

UNIFI Network is further strengthened by a series of strategic business relationships. It has formed an alliance with human resource software vendor PeopleSoft, which will serve as the HR management solution (HRMS) for its human resource outsourcing clients. By teaming with service providers such as PeopleSoft, it can offer an end-to-end application service provider (ASP) solution that will significantly reduce administrative tasks within HR, freeing the human resources function within organizations to serve in a strategic capacity.

Another new alliance, with Ask Jeeves, is enhancing UNIFI Network's online customer care offering by using Ask Jeeves' natural language search and live help capabilities. Additional relationships with e-commerce, e-content and infrastructure vendors are expected to be announced shortly.