Vurv Announces Results of 2008 Talent Management Wish List Survey

- Onboarding, Retention, and Employment Branding Identified as Key Areas of Focus for Organizations Both Large and Small –

Vurv Technology, a global provider of technology and services for building great workforces, today announced the results of its 2008 talent management wish list survey. The survey highlights what organizations of all sizes believe to be the most critical talent management and HR initiatives for 2008.

Organizations were asked to rank the top three issues they would like to address in 2008 from a list of 10 topics that covered onboarding, ROI, retention, succession planning, employment branding, leadership development, competency management and metrics. Over a third (36%) of respondents identified “mastering the onboarding process” as a key area of focus while 35% selected “executing a successful retention strategy.” Thirty percent of survey respondents selected “enhancing e-brand with career site” as an area they wish to focus on.

Retaining top talent is critical issue uncovered by the Talent Management Wish List Survey. While attracting key personnel remains a concern, organizations increasingly are coming to understand the impact that keeping employees longer has on both direct and indirect costs savings, as well as work quality, productivity and employee morale. With a tighter labor market and less loyalty in the workforce it is essential for companies to have a strategy in place to engage and retain their top performers.

The results correlate with the wider industry trend of HR departments worldwide shifting their focus to more strategic initiatives. Issues such as onboarding and retention are no longer viewed as secondary to completing paperwork. As more research indicates that new hires decide how long they will stay with a company within the first 30 to 90 days of employment, organizations are reevaluating their onboarding process to better engage employees from day one. Many organizations are taking the necessary steps to create a successful onboarding process that helps new employees succeed and feel more connected to the workforce, realizing that it will ultimately result in decreased turnover, shortened time to contribution, greater engagement and job satisfaction.

“ROI is an important issue for us, as it is continuously looked at by leadership but is sometimes hard to measure. Attracting the right talent can be a moot point if new hires aren’t assimilated properly. We are continuously looking for ways to improve the overall candidate experience,” said survey respondent Mark L. Clark with Lowe’s Companies, Inc.

Recent research in The Economist shows that human capital risk is now seen as the top business issue by executives. Vurv provides solutions for recruitment, onboarding, performance management, compensation management and workforce optimization and has helped more than 2,000 companies increase profitability, reduce risk, and retain top talent. Vurv customers include some of the most successful and renowned brands in the world, such as Business Week’s Best Place to Start a Career, FORTUNE’s Best Place to Work and #1 Most Admired Companies in 8 distinct industries.

“This survey has given us great insight into the key talent issues that businesses are facing. Being armed with this knowledge will further allow us to better help our customers achieve their goals,” said Amy McGeorge, COO of Vurv. “There is an even greater need to find and nurture top talent given current economic conditions and future indicators. Our products can help organizations of all sizes address these issues and make a real change in how their HR function operates and is viewed by the business.”

To download an executive summary of the results, please visit: http://www.vurv.com/eng/whatwevelearned/research/talentmanagement/ tm.cfm (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser’s address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)

About Vurv Technology

It’s all about the people! Vurv’s on demand talent management software helps address the number one business challenge – finding, hiring and retaining top talent. With comprehensive product offerings including recruitment, onboarding, performance, succession, compensation and workforce transition management, Vurv’s software is fast, flexible and easy to use. More than 1,700 companies and over 2.5 million users around the world rely on Vurv to reduce operating costs, increase productivity and ignite their most powerful resource for innovation and growth. Feel the creative energy, talent and passion at www.vurv.com.

Contacts

Vurv Technology
Jaime Spuhler, 904-493-8851
jspuhler {at} vurv(.)com