BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - January 13, 2009) - The current economic downturn is the dominant
force influencing business executives' plans for the coming year, and Human
Capital executives are no exception. This is validated by research
conducted during December 2008 in which Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks
Company (
NYSE:
HHS), found that while economic pressures are top of mind
among 80% of human capital management (HCM) executives, human resources
(HR) is under particular pressure to ensure its activities enable the
organization to execute strategy and deliver on performance goals. To
obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=5388.
In the new benchmark report "The 2009 HR Executive's Agenda," Aberdeen
revealed that 60% of more than 400 HCM executives believe the importance of
HCM at their company will increase somewhat or significantly in 2009 as a
result of the weakened state of the economy. However, the big challenge for
HR executives is to ensure that the business can adapt to short-term needs
while it does not lose focus on longer-term strategic objectives that will
drive growth once the economy rebounds.
The top strategic action pertaining to HCM that Best-in-Class organizations
will pursue in 2009 (by a factor of 2:1 compared to all other
organizations) is "increasing employee engagement." "Engagement is going to
be focused in both the pre-hire and post-hire and the ultimate objective
will be to help organizations attract, develop, and retain top talent,"
said Kevin Martin, vice president and principal research analyst, human
capital management. "Engaging employees and sustaining high morale during
difficult times are incredibly important. When it comes to existing
employees, Best-in-Class organizations understand that development,
transparency, and collaboration have a huge impact on this endeavor."
The good news for HR is that 75% of all executives believe that HR has
become more strategic at their organization during the last two years.
However, while nearly two-thirds of Best-in-Class organizations state that
HR at their organization is very proactive and closely tied to the lines of
business and business strategy, only one-third of Laggard organizations
view HR the same. Mollie Lombardi, research analyst, human capital
management added, "HR's ability to get into the business units to
understand the financial drivers of the business and how they correlate to
the organization's objectives is essential. We also found that HR's
ability to collaborate strategically with corporate IT is critical to
successful technology deployment and utilization."
Lastly, the study shows that during these difficult economic times,
organizations must be able to identify the talent that matters most to
their specific organization. "Economic pressures and layoffs expand the
number of people available in the talent market, so the ability to identify
and cultivate the right talent from that larger pool will be critical once
the economy rebounds and organizations need to quickly scale-up," said
Jayson Saba, senior research associate, human capital management. "In
addition, especially during a down economy, organizations cannot afford to
lose their best people. Knowing who these people are will allow the
organization to create programs that keep these treasured resources
engaged, productive, and happy."
A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the
following underwriters: DDI, Oracle, Taleo, and Vangent. To obtain a
complimentary copy of the report, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=5388.
For access to additional complimentary research from Aberdeen's HCM
Research practice, please visit
http://research.aberdeen.com/index.php/-human-capital-management.
About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market
intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more
than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely
positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating
demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment
analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets,
corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions.
As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in
context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's
analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of
Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement -
Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role
Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit
Aberdeen
http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more
about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to
http://www.harte-hanks.com.
© 2009 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
451 D Street, Suite 710
Boston, Massachusetts 02210-1928
Telephone: (617)854-5200
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com
Contact Information: Media Contact:
Jayson Saba
Aberdeen Harte-Hanks
(617) 854-5224
Jayson.saba@aberdeen.com