Strapped Companies Looking to Get More From HR Technology, Watson Wyatt Survey Finds
21 April 2009 - 3:26AM
PR Newswire (US)
Companies Continue to Explore Web 2.0, Social Networking
WASHINGTON, April 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- With cost control
paramount and most HR budgets shrinking, employers are looking to
make changes that will get the most from their HR technology,
according to a forthcoming survey by Watson Wyatt, a leading global
consulting firm. Watson Wyatt's 2009 HR Technology Trends Survey
found that 61 percent of employers are taking steps to optimize
their current service delivery models (which includes their mix of
HR technologies, call centers and vendors). A third (33 percent)
are reviewing and updating all vendor contracts, and only 27
percent are staying the course. Watson Wyatt's survey was conducted
in February and March 2009 and includes responses from 181 large
employers. "A thorough review of the way HR services are being
delivered can reveal hidden costs and quick ways to leverage
existing investments," said Jon Osborne, senior technology
consultant at Watson Wyatt. "Many companies have already invested
heavily in HR technology but have not yet taken action to integrate
applications and ensure their processes are working seamlessly
together." Transition costs are blocking change When asked to rank
the top three factors that would prevent changes being made to HR
sourcing strategies, 43 percent of respondents cited transition
costs as the most important, followed by the lack of a business
case (31 percent) and avoiding disruption in current service (11
percent). "Current economic pressures make the decision to invest
in or change HR technologies or service providers especially
difficult. Is it better to put off changes and avoid short-term
transition costs, or to invest now and attain long-term cost
savings and enhance the employee experience?" said Tony DeNucci,
senior leader in Watson Wyatt's technology and administration
solutions practice. "It's more than just a question of the cost of
change; it's also a question of the cost of not changing. The
companies that realize this are taking action, as demonstrated by
current market activity." Companies are deploying Web 2.0
initiatives The survey also found that companies are using a
variety of Web 2.0 technologies such as social networking (23
percent), podcasts (19 percent), blogs (21 percent) or wikis (15
percent) to communicate internally with their employees. For these
companies, the level of satisfaction is high -- approximately three
in five (59 percent) are satisfied with their use of podcasts, half
(49 percent) are satisfied with their social networking
technologies, and two out of five (40 percent) are satisfied with
their use of blogs and wikis. Web 2.0 technologies are making the
grade Technology Percentage Satisfaction levels deploying Satisfied
Neutral Dissatisfied Online video 56% 65% 20% 2% Role-based portal
41% 57% 22% 4% Social networking 23% 49% 11% 0% Blogs 21% 40% 17%
6% Podcasts 19% 59% 14% 7% Wikis 15% 40% 16% 4% RSS feeds 12% 58%
26% 11% Note: These numbers exclude those who responded with "Too
soon to tell" and "N/A", so they do not add up to 100. "Web 2.0 is
still a relatively unknown quantity for many companies," said
Michael Rudnick, senior technology consultant at Watson Wyatt.
"However, the move towards Web 2.0 is an inevitable shift. While
the current downturn may be discouraging the implementation of
these new technologies, as companies begin to understand the
capacity of social networking to act as a powerful communication
tool, we can expect these numbers to pick up." The full HR
Technology Trends Survey Report will be available in May 2009. A
flash report of the findings is available at
http://www.watsonwyatt.com/techtrendsbrief. About Watson Wyatt
Watson Wyatt (NYSE:WWNASDAQ:WW) is the trusted business partner to
the world's leading organizations on people and financial issues.
The firm's global services include: managing the cost and
effectiveness of employee benefit programs; developing attraction,
retention and reward strategies; advising pension plan sponsors and
other institutions on optimal investment strategies; providing
strategic and financial advice to insurance and financial services
companies; and delivering related technology, outsourcing and data
services. Watson Wyatt has 7,700 associates in 33 countries and is
located on the Web at http://www.watsonwyatt.com/. DATASOURCE:
Watson Wyatt CONTACT: Ed Emerman, +1-609-275-5162, , for Watson
Wyatt; or Steve Arnoff of Watson Wyatt, +1-703-258-7634, Web Site:
http://www.watsonwyatt.com/
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