[danreed07]

Doubtful. Hiring and firing decisions require domain specific knowledge and day-to-day knowledge of operations. A the third-party company would have to have someone on-site at all times to gauge the needs of the company.

Software could arguably replace status reports and time-tracking, but a compelling incentive system needs to be put in place to encourage this behavior. It's often my experience that people skimp on administrative duties when left to their own devices, including myself.

"Software" at its current manifestation cannot manage career tracks. Machine learning may change.

Senior management level do not have time to deal with employee problems. They generally are tasked with higher order duties, which generally fill their 40 or so hours.

All evidence suggest that the first layer of management is needed.