Aberdeen Group Announces Human Capital Management Award Finalists for Upcoming Summit

Award Winner to Be Announced at Aberdeen's Fourth Annual Human Capital Management Summit at the Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, March 14 - 15


BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - Feb 2, 2012) - Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), today announced the finalists for its fourth annual Industry Achievement Award for Human Capital Management Excellence. The award acknowledges an organization that has applied technology solutions to improve the human capital management practice in one of seven HR disciplines -- engagement and performance, sourcing, recruiting, integrated talent management, assessments, learning and development, and onboarding.

The award recipient will be announced at Aberdeen's 2012 Human Capital Management Summit taking place March 14 - 15 at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston. The 2012 Summit theme is "Data Driven Talent Decisions."

Finalists were selected based on proprietary Aberdeen research conducted during the past year. The finalists by category are:

Engagement & Performance
Finalist: Merck, a global healthcare organization whose stated mission is to "help the world be well."
Award criteria: Enterprise that has maximized innovative technology solutions to improve employee engagement and positively impact company performance.

Sourcing
Finalist: Hyatt, a leading global hospitality company with 478 properties in 45 countries.
Award criteria: Enterprise that has demonstrated leadership in the field of candidate sourcing by implementing innovative uses of social media and other outreach to attract and hire the best fit talent to support the organization's business goals.

Recruiting
Finalist: US Cellular, the nation's sixth-largest wireless service provider, delivers a comprehensive range of wireless services and products, and a high-quality network to approximately 5.9 million customers nationwide.
Award criteria: 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.

Integrated Talent Management
Finalist: Mountain State Health Alliance, a locally-owned and managed healthcare system based in Johnson City, TN, operating 13 hospitals in Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina.
Award criteria: Enterprise that has demonstrated Human Capital Management excellence by automating and integrating HCM data and processes to make better talent decisions and support business growth.

Assessments
Finalist: hhgregg, one of the nation's leading and fastest growing retailers of home appliances and consumer electronics with over 200 locations.
Award criteria: Enterprise that has demonstrated excellence in implementing and managing a pre-hire assessment strategy to drive improved hiring decisions and manager satisfaction.

Learning & Development
Finalist: John Deere, the leading manufacturer of agricultural machinery in the world
Award criteria: Enterprise that has shown creativity and ingenuity in developing their next generation of leaders to address evolving business requirements and priorities.

Onboarding
Finalist: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a private university in the US specializing in aviation and aerospace engineering.
Award criteria: Enterprise that has taken on the tactical and strategic elements of the onboarding process to drive individual employee and overall organizational success.

Hosted by Aberdeen Group's Mollie Lombardi, Research Director, Human Capital Management and Madeline Laurano, Research Director, Talent Acquisition Solutions, the Summit will address the need for HCM practitioners to use real data and analytics to hire, retain, engage and develop the talent needed to move the enterprise forward.

Summit Sponsors include: Assess Systems, Ceridian, Development Dimensions International (DDI), SHL, SkillSoft, Taleo, Volt Workforce Solutions, and WilsonHCG.

For additional information about the event, please visit the Summit agenda page.

Complimentary VIP passes available for qualified Human Resource Executives and Talent Leaders. To apply for a pass, please visit the Summit registration page.

Visit Aberdeen.com for additional access to complimentary Human Capital Management research.

For more information about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Amy McLellan, Summits Sales Manager, at 617-854-5268 or amy.mclellan@aberdeen.com.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is 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.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen or call (617) 854-5200, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748.

(C) 2012 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