More than 55 percent of companies struggle when it comes to assessing employee performance, says a survey by learning and talent management software provider SumTotal®Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:SUMT). The findings of a global survey, distributed by SumTotal to more than 1,000 HR and training professionals around the globe, found that nearly half (47 percent) keep tabs onworkforce performancewith paper, computer spreadsheets or word-processing programs.
"Many senior-level managers simply aren't aware that relying on a paper-based system is an impediment to managing and fairly compensating their employees," said Dan Boccabella, senior director and general manager for SumTotal. "HR pros have the opportunity to play a much more strategic role, as talent scouts inside their organizations. But most of them are forced to rely on binoculars to see the talent inside their companies, instead of radar."
Well over one-third (38 percent) of respondents to SumTotal's study cited internal time and resources as the biggest challenge to overcome when considering technology for assessing employee performance - closely followed by budget challenges, at 20 percent.
More than 30 percent of North American and European companies surveyed said they have, or plan to buy, software for managing talent because they are automating an existing process for gauging workforce performance.
That finding differs in Asia and Latin America. Forty-five percent of Asian employers who responded to the survey say that a desire "to improve their ability to assess and deploy talent" guided their decision to buy talent management software.
In Latin America, 39 percent of those answering the survey said they bought, or will soon buy, talent management software "to retain critical talent." For employers in Asia and Latin America, only five percent and eight percent, respectively, said that automating existing performance management processes was the reason for buying talent management software.
According to Boccabella, "Asian and Latin American employers appear to be tying their purchases to a more strategic reason than simply automating performance appraisals."
"There's nothing wrong with HR and training professionals making automation a part of their rationale for buying talent management technology," said Heidi Spirgi, president and co-founder of Knowledge Infusion, a Minneapolis-based consultancy focused on technologies for managing corporate talent. "That might prove a good way to formalize goals for employees and streamline a performance appraisal process that only becomes more and more complicated for larger employers. However, the most effective business cases combine the value of automation with the more strategic goal of driving business value, for instance, developing a pipeline of talent to execute a business plan, or mobilizing talent to support new products or new markets."
Almost half, or 47 percent, of respondents from companies of all sizes preferred talent management software installed behind their technology firewall - but this approach is the most taxing to a company's IT resources.
In contrast, the software-as-a-service, or on-demand, model is relatively new, and its adoption rate has been limited by myths about security and performance despite demonstrated benefits.
"A common misconception is that the on-demand model is less secure," Boccabella added. "In reality, a company's data may be stored on a server dedicated only to its organization. And if not, then their vendor should be able to demonstrate that the data is impenetrable."
Other results from the SumTotal survey showed that most organizations are still very early in the evolution of employee performance management from a paper-based, manual process to a sophisticated, online exercise that delivers strategic results such as linking employee goals to an employer's business strategy, or tying pay to performance.
About SumTotal Systems, Inc.
SumTotal Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUMT) is a global provider of talent and learning management solutions.
SumTotal deploys mission-critical solutions designed to align goals, develop skills, assess performance, plan for succession and set compensation. SumTotal's solutions aim to accelerate performance and profits for more than 1,500 companies and governments of all sizes, including six of the world's 10 biggest pharmaceutical makers, six of the 10 largest automotive companies in the world, four of the five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, three of the world's top five airlines, two of the five largest banks in the world and two of the world's top five specialty retailers. Mountain View, Calif.-based SumTotal has offices across Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. For more information about SumTotal's products and services, visitwww.sumtotalsystems.com.
SumTotal and the SumTotal logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of SumTotal Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Safe Harbor Statement/ Forward-Looking Statements
Information in this press release contains forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the anticipated benefits of SumTotal's solutions, such as its on-demand offering, and future growth and usage in the markets SumTotal competes in. These statements represent SumTotal Systems' expectations or beliefs concerning future performance or events. These statements are not historical facts or guarantees of future performance or events and are based on current expectations, estimates, beliefs, assumptions, goals and objectives, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by these statements. Readers of this press release are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to: (i) the ability to successfully manage and increase growth outside of the United States, significant current and expected additional competition, and the need to continue to expand product distribution and services offerings; (ii) the acceptance of SumTotal's software suite and future product offerings; (iii) unknown errors or bugs in SumTotal's software suite; (iv) the inability to fix in a timely fashion unanticipated bugs, errors or defects that materially impact the functionality or usability of SumTotal's software; (v) the ability to successfully implement SumTotal Systems' solutions; (vi) the ability to successfully address technological developments and standards; (vii) the level of corporate spending and changes in general economic conditions that affect demand for computer software and services in general which may disproportionately affect the market for SumTotal's products; and (viii) other events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in SumTotal's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K filed on March 16, 2007, its quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed on May 9, 2007, its Form S-3/As filed on September 28, 2006, and October 2, 2006, and its Form 8-Ks. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are made as of the date of this press release, and SumTotal does not assume any obligation to update such statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release.
CONTACT: SumTotal Systems, Inc.
Media contact:
Bill Perry, +1 614-975-7538
bperry@sumtotalsystems.com
or
SumTotal Systems, Inc.
Investors contact:
Gwyn Lauber, +1 650-934-9594
glauber@sumtotalsystems.com |
