Talent Software Market Expands Despite Economy
While growth rates are less than what was projected a year ago, the talent management market as a whole is growing by about 15 percent and should reach $2.5 billion this year.
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Leading vendors Taleo and
SuccessFactors sought to broaden their horizons, while other software providers
introduced new features as companies continued to purchase the
products.
While growth rates are less than what was projected a year
ago, the talent management market as a whole is growing by about 15 percent and
should reach $2.5 billion this year, says Josh Bersin, head of research firm
Bersin & Associates.
Far from shriveling amid the recession, the talent
management software field is expanding as business-services giants IBM,
Accenture, Mercer and Hewitt build strategies to deliver a combination of talent
management software, consulting and outsourcing, Bersin says.
Talent
management software refers to applications that help organizations with key HR
tasks such as recruiting, employee performance management and compensation.
Sales of the tools have been growing quickly in recent years as organizations
seek to better marshal their people and automate paper-based
processes.
SuccessFactors and Taleo have emerged as top players in the
field, and both in recent months have tried to widen their purview.
In
September, SuccessFactors redefined its mission from performance and talent
management to business execution. It also introduced a recruiting tool designed
to allow better collaboration between recruiters and line managers.
“We are
on a mission to solve the biggest problem in business today: the ability to
execute,” SuccessFactors CEO Lars Dalgaard said in a statement September
10.
Equity analyst Terry Tillman of investment firm Raymond James
applauded SuccessFactors’ business execution strategy. “We believe the company
is smart in continuing to move the needle from a vision perspective,” Tillman
wrote in a research note September 11.
Taleo also sought to grab the
spotlight in September. It unveiled a new version of its talent management
software that includes a new user interface and allows access from mobile
devices such as iPhones.
“Taleo 10” also includes an employee development module
designed to give managers a view of employees’ development plans mapped to
goals, competencies and performance reviews.
Taleo also said in
September that it was acquiring compensation software firm Worldwide
Compensation.
Other talent management vendors have been busy. Plateau
Systems in September introduced its Talent Gateway, a set of Web-based
communication and collaboration tools. Employees can create dedicated Web sites
and have access to tools such as blogs, message boards and document
libraries.
Earlier this month, Lawson Software announced updates to its
talent management software, including an improved succession planning tool. It
allows organizations to create talent pools to prepare for turnover in executive
jobs and other key positions. Unlike a previous Lawson planning tool,
individuals can be flagged as possible successors for more than one
position.
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