[Note: This post from noted HR technology advisor Steve Goldberg originally appeared in the July 29, 2012 edition of HRTechTruth. It is re-posted with his kind permission. In the piece, Steve nicely sums up the challenges of getting HR data right.]

re HR data, reporting and metrics … I’d like to share the following (perhaps entertaining) anecdotes that may be useful.

It goes like this … in the 90′s I was brought to Zurich as an expat to run global HRIS for the investment banking division of 1 of the ‘big 3′ Swiss banks at that time. I spent the first month gathering the perspectives of my key internal customers and was then summoned to Basel to meet with the #2 executive in the overall bank. The first half hour of that meeting focused on what the bank was paying in expat costs for me (and my family) to be there. The exec then lit up his cigar, took out a napkin, drew criss-crossing horizontal and vertical lines on it, and said the following: “If you can help us get and maintain a truly accurate headount by business unit / by region (filling in the boxes on the napkin with illustrative numbers), your 3-year stay here in Zurich will be well worth the cost.” We then each had a small cognac in his office for good luck and off I went.

In retrospect, that astute executive knew that the global rollout of an HR-ERP, innovative comp planning and workforce planning tools, and even global HR process re-engineering to leverage the new tools (i.e., the global HRIS function’s mandate) would all be compromised if exec-level consumers of headcount and ‘people cost’ reports didn’t believe the numbers, or the numbers didn’t match the numbers they maintained on their excel s/sheets. Fortunately for me, I had been down this road before. In the late 80′s I received my one and only call from the Chairman of Paine Webber as I ran HRIS there as well. He said the following … “I would like you and your team to suspend all headcount reporting until we can get all employees in the company to Yankee Stadium to raise their hands — so we can finally get an accurate headcount.” We were obviously forced to get it right.

The answer or solution was twofold: Data Standards and Effective Education — including mandatory education and training for all consumers of HR data / reports / metrics … so they (a) understood how ALL numbers were being arrived at; and (b) understood why Finance or Compensation or Benefits or Business Units might report numbers that were different — even though all might still be accurate based on the reporting methodology! The training also included real-time ‘learning tidbits or booster shots’ in how to properly interpret every report or specific data when delivered.

There are appropriate reasons and purposes for counting or not counting employees on salary continuance, or on paid or unpaid leave, or long-term or short-term contractors, or summer interns, or part-timers under or over 20 hours/week … and on the comp costs side, whether to count deferred comp, or sign-on’s, or employee referral bonuses, or other imputed income (e.g., club memberships) or whether to blend different salary rates if multiple assignments for hourlies, etc, etc.

There are 2 choices for getting this right as I see it: Let your line managers, sr execs, HR, Finance and other admin staff throughout the organization spend untold hours (and perhaps millions of dollars) forever reconciling and explaining why numbers are different depending on who reports them (the “1 source of the truth” notion is not enough … purposes will vary) — or aggressively attack this near-universal problem with HR-related data standards and very effective training for all consumers of the information.

Steve Goldberg
HR Technology Advisor
July 2012

“Handling departures is just as important as recruitment and onboarding, possibly even more so,” says Tom Glasscock, an independent Human Capital Management consultant and one of our featured speakers at Transition 2012 New York, Best Practices in Managing RIF, Restructuring and Organizational Alignment Events.

An expert in development and implementation of HR strategy, policy, programs and processes, Glasscock has significant experience working in global settings and culturally diverse environments, including long-term assignments in Europe and the Middle East. He is also the former manager of the force reduction program at Lucent Technologies, Inc.

Companies have many misconceptions about workforce separation events, such as reductions in force, he says.

“Most people think it is always a negative or undesirable outcome for departing employees. Often that isn’t the case. I know many people who were only too happy to leave, and the RIF served as a triggering event for them to launch a new career or to strike out on their own. In many cases, people find other work quickly and are able to set aside their severance as savings or investments.”

What’s the number one risk to avoid during a workforce separation event? “Failure to act quickly and decisively,” Glasscock says.

Are you an HR professional who manages RIFs, restructuring and organizational alignment events? Glean more insight from Glasscock by joining us at Transition 2012.

Companies Combine to Deliver Customers World-Class Solution for Unified Talent Management and Transition Management

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.—March 20, 2012—Saba (NASDAQ:SABA), the premier provider of people-centric enterprise solutions, today announced the acquisition of HumanConcepts, a leading organizational modeling and visualization provider. The transaction closed March 19, 2012.

The acquisition signifies Saba’s continued focus on the human capital management (HCM) market and complements its unified talent management offering. Saba plans to integrate HumanConcepts’ unique Cloud technologies into its unified talent management suite to extend the value of Saba’s existing core products.

“Saba and HumanConcepts share a vision for unifying people processes to transform the way we work,” said Bobby Yazdani, founder and CEO, Saba. “The next generation of talent management is about people, not information, and delivering a fundamentally better way to plan, engage, develop and inspire people for competitive advantage.”

“Adoption of HumanConcepts Organizational Planning Suite continues to accelerate and gain traction in large enterprises,” said Luis Riviera, president, HumanConcepts. “Joining forces with Saba offers an exciting opportunity to revolutionize the HCM market by delivering a powerful interface to visualize, plan and model people and People Networks in a changing world of work.”

“The combination of Saba and HumanConcepts is a positive step forward for customers who want to improve their workforce planning effectiveness to support business performance,” said Mollie Lombardi, research director, human capital management, Aberdeen. “According to our research, visibility into talent, integration of people data, external validation of talent pools and workforce scenario planning are critical to ensuring that organizations have the talent plans to back up their business plans.”

Saba and HumanConcepts Value:

• Business Agility: The joint Saba/HumanConcepts Solution will enable companies to gain the strategic insights they need to adapt quickly to changing marketing conditions.
• One of the largest and best customer communities for strategic organizational and talent management: Besides its proven organizational planning expertise, HumanConcepts will add over 500 valued customers to Saba’s 1600-strong customer base.
• Strategic solutions delivered in the Cloud: Both Saba and HumanConcepts are pioneers in developing scalable platforms that can lower IT costs, support rapid innovation, and continually increase value to enterprises of all sizes.
•  Single end-to-end solution for Strategic Organizational Planning, Talent Management, Learning and Collaboration: The Saba/HumanConcepts Solution will provide the ability to assess organizational health based on comprehensive metrics, collaboratively model, evaluate and plan for change with intuitive visual analytics, and execute on approved plans with talent pooling, succession planning and learning capabilities.
• Ability to manage global complexity for our customers: Both companies solve the challenge of deploying sensitive organizational information and communications on a global scale with process and security frameworks that meet the unique needs of sophisticated and geographically distributed enterprises.

With this acquisition, Saba will embed HumanConcepts’ next-generation features into its existing talent management products and also add elements to its new Social Enterprise Platform—Saba People Cloud—announced today (see “Saba Announces Revolutionary New Social Enterprise Platform”). Customers will be able to leverage a powerful interface to visualize, plan and model people and People Networks in a changing world of work.

Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including, without limitation, statements regarding the expected benefits to Saba of its acquisition of HumanConcepts and the expected benefits to customers of the Saba/HumanConcepts Solution. Saba’s actual results could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties Saba faces in connection with the acquisition and otherwise that could cause results to differ materially include risks associated with: Saba’s ability to retain customers and to experience high customer renewal rates; integration risks, including risks related to integration of the HumanConcepts’ products, technologies and personnel; assumption of liabilities; dependence on growth of the markets for Saba’s products, dependence on acceptance of Saba’s products by customers and channel partners, fluctuation in customer spending, length of Saba’s sales cycle, competition, rapid technological change, dependence on new product introductions and enhancements, and potential software defects. Readers should also refer to the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, and similar disclosures in subsequent reports filed with the SEC. The forward-looking statements and risks stated in this press release are based on information available to Saba today. Saba assumes no obligation to update them.

About Saba

Saba (NASDAQ: SABA) enables organizations to build a transformative workplace that leverages the advent of social networking in business and the ubiquity of mobile to empower an organization’s most mission-critical assets—its people. The company provides a set of people-centric enterprise solutions to various businesses and industries worldwide. Saba delivers cloud-based learning management, talent management, and social enterprise solutions to transform the way people work.

Saba’s premier customer base includes major global organizations and industry leaders in financial services, life sciences and healthcare, high tech, automotive and manufacturing, retail, energy and utilities, packaged goods, and public sector organizations. Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, Saba has offices on five continents. For more information, please visit www.saba.com or call +1-877-SABA-101 or +1-650-779-2791. SABA, the Saba logo, and the marks relating to Saba products and services referenced herein are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Saba Software, Inc. or its affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About HumanConcepts

HumanConcepts enables enterprises to better manage organizational change of all types, including growth, rightsizing and reorganization. Using solutions from HumanConcepts, customers can achieve organizational agility, more easily understand how they are organized, plan for the future, and transition the workforce to its optimal state. Used by many of the world’s largest organizations, HumanConcepts solutions provide immediate return on investment by enabling companies to reorganize faster, manage financial targets, stay in compliance, and transition the workforce to its optimal state. The company’s products are certified by leading ERP and talent vendors such as Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft and Lawson. HumanConcepts is based in Sausalito, California, with offices in the United Kingdom and Germany. For more information, visit www.humanconcepts.com.

Press Contact:

Aly Kline
Saba
PR Associate
(650)581-2593
akline@saba.com

Implementing innovative performance and learning management software is only one piece of the puzzle for mid-sized organizations. Those most successful with their talent management strategies take a thoughtful approach to both the underlying business processes and supporting technology platforms, for example, integrating organizational planning alongside TM.

Join us and Cornerstone OnDemand for a complimentary mid-market Talent Management Leadership Forum breakfast roadshow (schedule below) spotlighting sound change management and business processes to advance your talent management strategy and become a more agile organization.

Served up will be actionable best practices and thought leadership from industry experts and peers. Takeaways will include:

• A better understanding of both the processes and technology at the core of any talent strategy.
• Practical approaches to orchestrating a successful implementation, including change management and governance.
• Key areas organizational planning can benefit your business, e.g., improved employee engagement and profitability.

Register now, space is limited.

• March 8, 2012 | New York, NY
• March 15, 2012 | Chicago, IL
• March 29, 2012 | Atlanta, GA
• April 12, 2012 | San Francisco, CA

Offers Secure, Cost-Efficient Access for Enterprises Adopting HumanConcepts Organizational Planning Suite SaaS Platform

SAUSALITO, CA—Feb. 17, 2012—HumanConcepts, developer of HumanConcepts Organizational Planning Suite, has opened a new data centre to meet the growing demand by UK and EMEA-based customers for high-quality Software as a Service (SaaS) organizational planning solutions.

Housed in London, HumanConcepts’ new facility will allow European customers to access sensitive enterprise information quickly, cost efficiently and securely while avoiding the internet latency and data privacy challenges often posed by cloud computing solutions.

In 2011, HumanConcepts introduced HumanConcepts Organizational Planning Suite, the next generation of its award-winning OrgPlus Enterprise platform, taking full advantage of the growing trend of moving corporate services to a web-based infrastructure, i.e., the cloud. Built to the highest industry standards for performance reliability, security and 24/7 availability, the Data Center strengthens HumanConcepts’ overall portfolio and marks the next step in its European development.

HumanConcepts CEO Martin Sacks said, “Our new data center underscores our growth and commitment to offering HumanConcepts’ European users advanced organizational planning solutions, able to satisfy complex business requirements.”

By adopting a SaaS implementation, new and current HumanConcepts customers realize considerable benefits. Quick to deploy, HumanConcepts’ web-based solution is easy to use and accessible from multiple channels, including web, enterprise portals and mobile devices. It is compatible with a wide range of browsers, including Internet Explorer, Safari, Chrome and Firefox in both Windows and Mac OS environments.

“More and more of our users are looking to lower total cost of ownership,” said Sacks. “Our web-based services are ideal for them, requiring no upfront investment or capital expenditure. As many IT departments see staff numbers diminish, moving to a SaaS environment allows users to do more with less. Not only will our new data center provide higher performance, but it will guarantee that EMEA customers gain ultimate protection for their sensitive or mission-critical data in today’s cloud-based environment.”

About HumanConcepts

HumanConcepts enables enterprises to better manage organizational change of all types, including growth, rightsizing and reorganization. Using solutions from HumanConcepts, customers can achieve organizational agility, more easily understand how they are organized, plan for the future, and transition the workforce to its optimal state.

Used by many of the world’s largest organizations, HumanConcepts solutions provide immediate return on investment by enabling companies to reorganize faster, manage financial targets, stay in compliance, and reduce both cost and risk. The company’s products are certified by leading ERP and talent vendors such as Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft and Lawson. HumanConcepts is based in Sausalito, California, with offices in the United Kingdom and Germany. For more information, visit http://www.humanconcepts.com.

Press Contact
HumanConcepts
Katy Colletto
415-275-9178
katy.colletto@humanconcepts.com

Prepares Organizations for Business Continuity; Helps Plan and Model Practical Succession Plans from Org Chart Framework

SAUSALITO, CA—Feb. 14, 2012—HumanConcepts, developer of HumanConcepts Organizational Planning Suite, has announced the immediate availability of HumanConcepts Succession, updated as a 100% cloud-based application integrated directly with HumanConcepts Organizational Planning Suite.

HumanConcepts Succession’s candidate analysis and succession modeling helps Human Resource managers and executives build and deploy succession plans in minutes, not days, within the familiar context of the company org chart for any organizational role, not just C-Level positions.

Fully integrated with HumanConcepts Suite’s Visualize and Plan & Model modules, HumanConcepts Succession simplifies and streamlines succession planning. Unlike time-consuming solutions that require stakeholders to access multiple programs (e.g., finance, talent, ERP), conduct ad hoc planning sessions and base decisions on incomplete data, HumanConcepts Succession allows organizations to gain quick, visual talent insight to find the best candidates, plan and model succession scenarios before making final assignments, and make collaborative decisions based on both qualitative management knowledge and quantitative evaluations.

HumanConcepts Succession Features:

• Enhanced drag and drop planning lets users create and edit succession plans directly within organizational charts
• Integrated 9-Box performance and potential grids provide quick candidate comparisons as well as manual or automatic calibration
• User-defined or data-driven candidate pools facilitate rapid analysis of both qualitative and quantitative recommendations
• Improved access controls limit visibility and editing of succession plans to authorized users
• Publish (PDF, PowerPoint) and Export (Excel) controls help deliver boardroom-quality presentations for executive staff and managers
• Approval workflows facilitate sharing and decision making around succession candidates
• Portal integration, security and administration enhancements mean easy deployment to managers throughout the enterprise

“With the rapid pace of change in organizations, developing a robust succession planning discipline is critical to mitigating the risk of losing key employees or skill sets,” said Luis Rivera, president of HumanConcepts. “With HumanConcepts Succession, resource-strapped HR teams now have a practical, intuitive way to create and manage succession plans without the overhead and complexity associated with single-purpose succession planning offerings.”

Succession is available immediately as part of the HumanConcepts Organizational Planning Suite. For more information, please go to http://www.humanconcepts.com or contact HumanConcepts sales at 1-415-332-3030.

About HumanConcepts

HumanConcepts enables enterprises to better manage organizational change of all types, including growth, rightsizing and reorganization. Using solutions from HumanConcepts, customers can achieve organizational agility, more easily understand how they are organized, plan for the future, and transition the workforce to its optimal state.

Used by many of the world’s largest organizations, HumanConcepts solutions provide immediate return on investment by enabling companies to reorganize faster, manage financial targets, stay in compliance, and reduce both cost and risk. The company’s products are certified by leading ERP and talent vendors such as Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft and Lawson. HumanConcepts is based in Sausalito, California, with offices in the United Kingdom and Germany. For more information, visit http://www.humanconcepts.com.

Press Contact
HumanConcepts
Katy Colletto
(415) 275-9178
katy.colletto@humanconcepts.com