New Ventana Research Benchmark Finds Opportunity for Talent Management to Improve

PLEASANTON, Calif.- March 4, 2010 - Ventana Research today announced the findings of its benchmark research on Managing Performance to Motivate Talent. This research, the latest from the leading business technology research firm, is based on survey conducted between April through December of 2009 to hundreds of organizations around the world to assess the maturity and direction of organizations’ management of their people resources. The results offer significant new insights into how companies view the effectiveness of the processes they use to manage their talent.

This new research examined the necessary competencies for performance management including people, process, information and technology and found significant demand within organizations for managing performance with better talent management. Nearly two-thirds of organizations talent management as very important, and all identified it is as at least somewhat important. At the same time, fewer than half the said they are confident or very confident that their organization manages its performance appraisal processes effectively, and almost all said it is important or very important to improve the quality of communications to the workforce about performance management.

The research identified some promising signs of progress. The Ventana Research Maturity Index™ placed more than 60% of participating organizations at Strategic or Innovative four levels of performance maturity. It also identified important barriers to successfully managing talent performance, including: insufficient participation by various types of employees including executives and managers in the talent management cycle; ineffective communication of strategy by management; weak coordination among departments in working toward a common goal of performance improvement; and continued reliance on spreadsheets to track and manage performance.

 “Any organization is only as good as its people and their ability to perform, and so ensuring that that talent is managed as effectively as possible is a key component of performance management,” said Mark Smith, CEO & EVP Research. “This benchmark research shows that not focusing on performance management for talent management is a serious weakness. Unfortunately, our Maturity Index analysis indicates that businesses still have a long way to go for managing talent effectively.”

Ventana Research will detail the findings of this benchmark research in a live interactive webinar on March 17, at 10:00 am Pacific time that will discuss the research findings and offer recommendations for improvement. Issues to be discussed will include:

• Organizational imbalance. For example, in terms of the four functional categories of talent management, (People, Process, Information, Technology) only 9 percent of organizations are at the highest Innovative level of maturity in the People category and only 18 percent in Technology. Maturity analysis shows that: the very large companies outpace smaller organizations; and Finance, Insurance and Real Estate are significantly more mature than other industries.
• Talent Management confidence. Less than half the participants in this benchmark research said they are confident or very confident that their organization manages its performance appraisal processes effectively. Half of the participants reported that they suffer from inadequately integrated processes, limited alignment between pay and performance, and inconsistent execution.
• System support. More than a third of organizations identified inadequate systems as the factor most impacting the organization’s ability to manage performance. One of the most desired features of a performance management solution is a single unified platform, but the software most used is still spreadsheets, documents and email, indicating a widespread lack of deployment of integrated systems for talent management.

Register for the Webinar

The research was sponsored by Talent Management solutions provider Taleo. Those interested in learning more about the benchmark research can find additional information at http://www.ventanaresearch.com/pm4tm/. As a part of your registration you will receive insights and education from Ventana Research on using technology effectively in business.

About Ventana Research

Ventana Research is the leading benchmark research and advisory services firm. We provide expert guidance to help organizations manage and optimize performance - to become not only more efficient but more effective. Our unparalleled insights and best practices guidance are based on our rigorous research-based benchmarking of people, processes, information and technology across business and IT functions worldwide. The combination we offer of benchmark research, rigorous market coverage and in-depth knowledge of hundreds of technology providers means we can deliver business and technology education and expertise to our clients where and when needed. Ventana Research provides the most comprehensive analyst coverage in the industry; more than 2.5 million business and IT professionals through our community of 85,000 professionals and network of media and association partners around the world benefit from Ventana Research's insights. Ventana Research focuses on business and technology trends and best practices that maximize organizations' potential to perform while reducing the time, cost and risk and still achieve optimal outcomes. To learn how Ventana Research advances the maturity of organizations use of information and technology through benchmark research, education and advisory services, visitwww.ventanaresearch.com.

Media: Copies of benchmark research report and interviews are available upon request.

Media Contact: Marisela Reynoso  

(925) 242-2579 marketing@ventanaresearch.com