Sunday, April 11, 2010

4 Burning Questions about the HCM Solutions Market

I have my own ideas on these important questions, but welcome hearing from others:


(1) Why do Tier 1 or “large brand” HR-ERP solutions continue to dominate market share worldwide when (according to considerable, recent research) their total cost of ownership is 3-4x that of Tier 2 solutions, when less than 2/3 of their core functionality is ever utilized, and when expected business benefits are achieved less often than with their “Tier 2” counterparts?

(2) Why do the most expensive enterprise solutions in the market seem to require the most customization --- when it should perhaps be the opposite?

(3) Given that robust Talent Management Solutions are supposed to enable business strategy, why (again, according to recent research) are so few end-customers satisfied with the underlying HR process that supports that (Talent Management) strategy -- as is the case with the satisfaction of Performance Management processes?

and ...

(4) With a Talent Management Suite market estimated at $3 billion, mostly participated in by enthusiastic customers who have already spent substantial sums implementing an HR-ERP, why do customer satisfaction ratings only hover between low and medium for players in this market segment? Moreover, why are these solutions apparently having such a negligible impact on such a cornerstone of talent management like Employee Engagement?