FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (December 2, 2003) – Workscape, Inc. today released the findings of newly commissioned research exploring workforce adoption of leading online Human Resource (HR) solutions, as well as the impact of these adoption rates on overall return on investment (ROI). The September 2003 study, conducted by The Gantry Group, LLC of Concord, Mass., reached a total audience of more than 370 large enterprise HR professionals in the U.S.1 and endeavored to compare workforce adoption and delivered value from two key categories of automated HR solutions: benefits enrollment and compensation planning.
The research findings validated that managers and employees of Workscape’s enterprise customers adopted its Web-based compensation planning and benefits enrollment solutions at significantly higher rates than those of competitive ERP2 systems. Given the well-documented cost-efficiency of online HR delivery systems when compared with channels such as Interactive Voice Response (IVR), call centers, or manual paper-based systems, the research also validated a strong connection between higher rates of Web adoption and increased ROI.
Within the survey questionnaire, study respondents were specifically asked to quantify what percent of their workforces were expected to use – and after deployment of their benefits or compensation planning solution - actually used each of six (6) HR delivery methods: Web, spreadsheets/PC-based database tools, IVR, call center, line/HR representative, or paper.
When comparing workforce adoption of Web-based access methods for benefits enrollment, Workscape customers reported significantly higher rates of acceptance - 64.6% - versus just 49.8% of workforces deploying an ERP benefits solution. Furthermore, more than 18% of employees using ERP-based benefits solutions still reverted to more costly paper-based enrollment, while less than 3% of the workforce population within Workscape client organizations did so.
In the case of compensation planning, the results were even more dramatic. According to the study, Workscape customers reported adoption rates of 87.6% for its Web-based compensation planning solution – more than double their pre-deployment expectations for Web usage – versus comparable ERP customers who reported Web adoption rates of just 49%, slightly more than the expected usage rate of just 45%. Workscape’s compensation planning solution was also cited as reducing more errors, generating higher average cost savings and delivering more value than the ERP-delivered compensation planning systems.
- 378 total HR respondents, including VPs of HR, as well as Directors and Managers of Compensation and Benefits, from organizations with 5,000 employees or more.
- ERP vendors represented in the survey responses included PeopleSoft, Oracle, SAP and Lawson.
In discussing the results, Betsy Zikakis, Workscape’s senior vice president of marketing and product strategy, said, “HR executives are faced with a multitude of challenges, not the least of which is the mandate to improve service levels while reducing the administrative costs to provide those services. Given the increasing acceptance of web-based solutions to address processes such as annual benefits enrollment and compensation planning, HR has clearly realized the impact that technology can have in addressing those challenges.”
“Yet, what many organizations still don’t recognize,” Zikakis added, “is the critical role that workforce adoption plays in this equation. To put it simply, if the managers and employees don’t use the solution implemented, none of the promised cost and productivity benefits can be realized. Ease-of-use and high adoption rates have always been hallmarks of Workscape’s application philosophy, and while our own client experience gave us a great deal of confidence, this research validates that Workscape’s solutions do, in fact, garner far more favorable usage rates than comparable ERP or HRMS solutions.”
A complete summary of the research, prepared by The Gantry Group, is available to Workscape clients, partners, and members of the media upon request. Please contact Deidre Moore at (508) 861-3114 or deidre.moore@workscape.com for more information.
About Workscape
Designed for the workforce, Workscape's solutions transform the delivery and adoption of HR services across the enterprise to enable a higher performing organization. An innovator in HR self-service, Workscape provides a full range of online benefits and workforce management applications including employee self-service, manager self-service, compensation planning, and benefits administration, as well as an employee portal. Workscape's applications and services are configurable to support each client's unique business processes, easily integrated into multi-vendor environments to ensure protection of existing technology investments, and are available in multiple deployment options to enable rapid implementation and ROI. Workscape's award-winning solutions have been embraced by millions of employees worldwide at 180 major corporations. For more information, visit www.workscape.com or call (888) 605-9620.
Workscape is a registered trademark of Workscape, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
About Gantry Group
The Gantry Group is a strategic advisory and custom market intelligence firm. Gantry Group applies primary market research to help technology companies cost-effectively accelerate the successful market adoption of their products and services. Gantry Group has helped over 200 companies drive sales, introduce new product concepts, acquire new customers, increase brand equity and increase customer lifetime value through our market analysis, market validation and ROI-TCO benchmarking service suites. Gantry Group has equipped many product and service firms with credible TCO and ROI models that communicate value in the terms of the business metrics that customers and prospects use to access the performance of their own companies. The company can be reached at 978-371-7557 or www.gantrygroup.com.
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