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Oracle Research Finds Organizations Lack Insight Into Employee Talent

READING, UNITED KINGDOM — (Marketwire) — 11/21/12 — Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL)

Research released today from Oracle indicates there is an opportunity for organizations in Western Europe to use talent management solutions to help improve employee engagement, profitability and operations

The study reveals that 95% of organizations in Western Europe recognize that talent intelligence can improve their performance and financial success. However, only a quarter (24%) of organizations surveyed are “very satisfied” with the insight they have into talent within their workforce, unveiling a substantial gap between business aspirations and business capabilities

The report, “Understanding the Impact of Talent Intelligence: A Western European Study,” highlights what businesses consider to be the main anticipated financial benefits of increased investment in Talent Intelligence, which are profitability (54%) and saving on the cost of training (53%)

The Oracle study further found that data-proficient organizations (DPOs) better recognize the value of talent intelligence systems compared to data-deficient organizations (DDOs). 91% of DPOs agree that HR departments use workforce metrics to demonstrate their contribution to the overall business goals, compared to 70% of DDOs.

Half of DPOs cite HR as a pro-active leader in contributing to corporate strategy, while less than one in five (19%) DDOs agree with this, demonstrating how using effective data can have a direct and positive impact on business strategy and goals

Conducted by Loudhouse Research, the report surveyed over 300 key decision-makers in midsize and large organizations in the UK, France and Germany

For full findings and research data, please go to

43% of organizations consider cost as the main barrier to Talent Intelligence. However, the potential benefits of profitability and savings expressed by respondents potentially outweigh the concern of cost. Lack of executive support (32%) and lack of analytical skills (29%) are cited as further obstacles to adoption by respondents

Western European organizations prioritize the “quality of hire” as the most important factor to improving employee value and performance (57%). Succession planning and talent mobility are viewed as a less immediate concern, with only a quarter (28%) of organizations prioritizing placing top performers on succession plans as a route to enhancing performance

Many organizations surveyed may not fully appreciate the value of their data, with the level of access to reliable data greater than the importance assigned to it. For instance, while “quality of hire” is prioritized in developing business performance, the level of access to reliable related data (58%) is not high compared to similar metrics. Similarly, 43% of organizations agree that productivity improves performance, yet only 47% have access to this data

Completing the required training is considered the most important learning and development value (43%) to improving employee performance, with 59% of respondents having access to this data set. This focus is likely to be driven by regulatory or internal governance needs

Despite today-s working environment, where employees readily move companies and roles, succession planning and talent mobility is considered the least important value to enhancing performance in Western Europe. Only a third of respondents have filled vacated leadership positions with employees already working for the organization, while 39% have critical roles with no identified successors

While the appetite for improved talent intelligence data is the same within both groups, their abilities and priorities differ:

DDOs are some way behind DPOs with access to reliable data. For example, 43% of DDOs state that employee engagement levels are very important to improving performance, yet only 42% have access to this data. In contrast, just over half (54%) of DPOs cite employee engagement as a critical factor, with two thirds having access to this data

DPOs focus more on the strategic benefit of Talent Intelligence, with 60% seeing profitability as the biggest financial incentive for investing in improved Talent Intelligence. Saving on training costs is seen as the greatest benefit to DDOs (52%)

Talent intelligence strategies of organizations can be strongly affected by regional factors, such as employment flexibility and data protection requirements. Stringent employment laws in France are reflected in the country-s focus on employing the right candidate first time (68%), while greater employment flexibility in the UK explains why the region is less reliant on highly structured employment data. Strong paradigms of seniority and team work in German businesses manifest itself in the findings that no German respondents considered workforce data, such as employee engagement levels, as very important

“While many organizations in Western Europe recognize the benefit of implementing effective talent intelligence solutions, it is apparent from this report that many fall short of having sufficient access to data that will improve business processes,” said Richard Haycock, Senior Director, HCM, at Oracle. “There appears to be an opportunity for organizations in Western Europe to use talent management solutions to gain insight into their talent, enhance employee value and experience, identify areas of strength and weakness, and help improve and optimize operations.”

The research was conducted in May 2012 by Loudhouse Research, an independent market research consultancy based in the UK. The report is based on responses from more than 300 online interviews with business decision-makers, in the UK (102), Germany (102), and France (102).

Data Proficient Organizations (DPOs):
DPOs are defined as those respondent organizations that agree they are proficient at analyzing workforce data AND their business leaders are satisfied with the workforce data provided to them.

Data Deficient Organizations (DDOs):
DDOs are defined as those respondent organizations that don-t agree that their organization is proficient at analyzing workforce data or their business leaders are not satisfied with the workforce data provided to them.

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Samuel Hall
Oracle
+44 (0)11 8924 6332

Ross Lambert
CMG
+44 (0)20 7067 0289