Human Capital Management Summit Makes Huge Splash in Atlanta!

Global HR Experts and Line of Business Executives Convene to Share the Key Insights and Talent Management Strategies That Will Propel Their Organizations in 2009 and Beyond


BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - March 30, 2009) - Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), announced today that its first annual Human Capital Management (HCM) Executive Summit that took place March 24-25, 2009, brought together HR, Marketing and Operations professionals from around the globe to discuss the Best-in-Class strategies that will drive organizations to new performance heights in 2009 and beyond. Presented by Aberdeen Group, in partnership with ELearning, IHRIM Atlanta South East Chapter, and Global Retail Management (GRM) Magazine, Aberdeen's HCM Summit has become the global meeting place for professionals eager to discuss strategy and learn first hand about methods that can transform their Human Capital Management organizations and drive strategic value across the enterprise.

Led by Kevin Martin, vice president and principal analyst, Human Capital Management at Aberdeen Group, the conference revealed that HCM is not an HR responsibility, it's an organizational responsibility, but it is incumbent upon HR to enable the business to drive strategy execution. Global executives discussed strategies for engagement and shared insights on how to recruit, develop, and retain the right talent.

One presenter had this to say about the conference: "The HCM Summit was a tremendous opportunity to gain insights and perspectives on the latest HR trends from top people in the industry, providing each of us with actionable ideas that we can implement immediately. And it was a terrific chance to network with a great group of HR stars!" - Michael Kern, VP of HR, Environmental Systems Design

Thought Leadership at its Best:

A series of executive-level presentations designed around the summit theme of "Strategic Talent Management that Drives Business Execution in Any Economy" were delivered during the one and one-half day conference by a broad range of business leaders from HR and operations, including:

--  Microsoft, Mary Rose Becker, Chief of Staff of Learning and Readiness,
    SMSG Readiness
--  Novell, Kathy Betts, Vice President of Human Resources
--  GlaxoSmithKline, Lou Manzi, Vice President of Global Talent Solutions
--  Northeast Georgia Health System, Jack Fulbright, Vice President of
    Human Resources
--  AECOM, Bob Kelleher, Chief Human Capital Officer
--  Denver Nuggets, Dean Oliver, Director of Quantitative Analytics
--  GameStop, Barbara Zimmerman, Divisional VP of Talent and
    Organizational Development
--  Avnet, Steve Church, Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources
    Development Officer
--  UMB Financial, Pat Cassady, Senior Vice President of Talent
    Acquisition & Careers
--  Home Depot, Leslie Joyce, Former Vice President & Chief Learning
    Officer
--  UPS, Michael L. Eskew, Former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
--  Extra Space Storage, Bruce Boucher, Senior Vice President of Human
    Resources
--  Environmental Systems Design, Michael Kern, Vice President of Human
    Resources
    

"Thanks to Aberdeen and the presenters, we hit the target at this event! The conference was superb and the speakers were aligned and right on the money!" - Lou Manzi, VP Global Talent Solutions, GlaxoSmithKline

Another summit participant had this to add about the event: "This summit has set the standard and raised the bar for best-in-class conferences! Truly impressive, well organized, and outstanding in every way. The presenters were phenomenal and left us with a great deal of information and recommendations to take back to our organizations for enhanced operational development." - Greg Mason, COO, Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority

2009 Aberdeen Achievement Awards:

During the proceedings, Aberdeen presented five industry achievement awards for excellence in Human Capital Management. The winners were drawn from a research pool of thousands of enterprises over the past twelve months. The winners are:

(1) GameStop - Engagement Innovation Award -- Granted to the enterprise that has maximized innovative solutions to improve employee engagement and positively impact company performance. "GameStop is very grateful for this recognition of its ongoing efforts to engage our large team of talented associates. Our success begins on the sales floor of every GameStop store when our associates create great customer relationships. I am particularly grateful to our senior management team and our field executives for their leadership and support as the entire GameStop organization seeks to leverage the talent and enthusiasm of every associate." - Barbara Zimmermann, Divisional VP of Talent and Organizational Development

(2) Cox Communications - HR Transformation Award -- Granted to the enterprise that has demonstrated Human Capital Management excellence by overcoming tremendous obstacles through the transformation of HR technology and process to support business growth. "We have been on an exciting journey over the past eight years to bring together our employee life cycle processes and data in order to gain efficiencies. We're thrilled to be recognized for our efforts by Aberdeen with an industry achievement award, and we look forward to the opportunities ahead to continue to find improvements in how we deliver HR Services and critical info in order to meet our strategic business challenges." - Erin Govednik, SPHR, Executive Director, HR Technology

(3) Astra-Zeneca - Innovation in Recruiting Award -- Granted to the enterprise that has demonstrated leadership in the field of recruiting by implementing innovative recruiting practices to attract and hire the best fit talent to support the organization's business goals and respond to changing business conditions. "After nine years of close collaboration between our sales force and HR organizations, it is great to be recognized among our peers with an industry achievement award for Recruitment Innovation. We appreciate Aberdeen for this recognition and look forward to resetting the bar at AstraZeneca and achieving the next level of recruitment transformation." - Kimberly A. Wipf, Executive Director, Global Recruitment

(4) Starwood Hotels & Resorts - Succession Planning & Leadership Development -- Granted to the Enterprise that has shown creativity and ingenuity in developing their next generation of leaders to address evolving business requirements and priorities. "We very much appreciate receiving the Achievement Award from Aberdeen. It is great to be recognized among our peers with an industry achievement award of such importance." - Ingrid Eras, VP People Development & Staffing

(5) TELUS - Performance Management & Learning Award -- Granted to the enterprise that has demonstrated deep understanding of the elements of performance and harnessed the power of learning and performance management technology and processes to achieve business performance excellence. "We are investing in our internal capabilities as a strategic initiative. Starting in 2000, led by HR, the company would begin to optimize its learning strategy by developing systems linking individual performance objectives with corporate goals. We appreciate the award because it recognizes our continued efforts to invest in our team members. We are fortunate to have had the benefit of such a supportive leadership team through the challenges and rewards of our endeavors." - Benny Ramos, Sr. Career Development Consultant, TELUS HR-Performance Culture

Congratulations to all of the 2009 HCM Industry Achievement Award Winners!

Post HCM Summit Webinar:

Research findings and Valuable Information Shared at the 2009 HCM Summit

A summary of the HCM Summit proceedings, which will include the key findings from the onsite research conducted at the conference will be presented on Wednesday, April 15, 2009, 10am PDT/ 1pm EDT. To register for this free Webinar, please visit:

https://e-meetings.verizonbusiness.com/emeet/rsvp/index.jsp?Conference_ID
=3038818&passcode=9440229
Conference number: 3038818
Passcode: 9440229

To register for this event:
1. Go to the URL listed above and choose Web RSVP under Join Events.
2. Enter the conference number and passcode.
3. Provide your information for the event leader and then click submit.

Summit Sponsors

Aberdeen acknowledges and appreciates the support of the 2009 HCM Summit sponsoring companies: Platinum Sponsors: SilkRoad technology, inc., and Taleo; and Gold Sponsors: First Advantage, iCIMS, PreVisor, and Vangent.

HCM Summit Site - http://summits.aberdeen.com/index.php/HCM.html

HCM Research Practice - http://research.aberdeen.com/index.php/-human-capital-management

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions. http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890.

© 2009 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
451 D Street, Suite 710
Boston, Massachusetts 02210-1928
Telephone: (617) 854-5200
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com

Contact Information: Media Contact: Kevin Martin Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5314 Kevin.martin@aberdeen.com