Aberdeen Reveals Best-in-Class Use of Talent Management Metrics

Market Wire, May, 2008

In two separate research pieces, Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), identifies the metrics used by Best-in-Class organizations to assess the success of their talent management programs and provides clarity on definitions that pertain to critical human capital management elements.

In "Human Capital Management Defined," Aberdeen divides Human Capital Management (HCM) into two distinct areas: Talent Management and Workforce Management. The research piece also lists the main programs under each area and illustrates (via Aberdeen's "HCM Pyramid") a visual map of HCM and three critical elements that straddle both talent management and workforce management. "Aberdeen's HCM team has benchmarked the HCM strategies, practices and results of thousands of organizations globally during the past 12 months," said Kevin Martin, research director, human capital management at Aberdeen. "Amidst our research, we've found inconsistencies in the market between the HCM definitions put forth by vendors to position products and services, and the business applications that HCM practitioners look to address. As a result, we decided to take a step back and offer the market a comprehensive set of definitions in the attempt to align expectations and reduce confusion."

In "Best-in-Class Use of Metrics in Talent Management," Aberdeen analyzed the results from six benchmark studies that researched the talent management programs pursued by small, mid, and large organizations globally including:

--  Talent acquisition
--  Onboarding
--  Employee performance management
--  Competency management
--  Learning and development
--  Succession planning
    

"The organizations that achieve Aberdeen's Best-in-Class designation distinguish themselves in many ways -- and the metrics they use to assess the performance of their talent management investments play a pivotal role," said Jayson Saba, research associate, human capital management at Aberdeen. "This particular piece of research can serve as a roadmap that enables all organizations to more effectively manage the ROI on their talent management initiatives."

Both documents are available via Aberdeen's research library for complimentary review for a limited time:

"Human Capital Management Defined"

http://www.aberdeen.com/summary/report/perspective/5014-AI-hcm-defined.asp

"Best-in-Class Use of Metrics in Talent Management"

http://www.aberdeen.com/summary/report/perspective/5005-AI-metrics-management.asp

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 .

© 2008 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
260 Franklin Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02110-3112
Telephone: (617) 723-7890
Fax: (617) 723-7897
 www.aberdeen.com 

Media Contact: Kevin Martin Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5314 Kevin.martin@aberdeen.com