BOSTON, MA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- April 5, 2007 -- Companies with Incentive Compensation Management
(ICM) applications deployed are able to exceed overall Best-in-Class
performance in rolling out changes or new programs -- and they are 50% more
likely to design, model, test and implement in less than 1 month, according
to a new report from Aberdeen, a Harte-Hanks Company (
NYSE:
HHS). The
latest Human Capital Management (HCM) benchmark report from Aberdeen,
titled "Incentive Compensation Management: Aligning Employee Performance
with Business Goals," also found that the need to align employee behavior
and performance to business goals is the key driver prompting 88% of
companies to use incentive compensation programs.
"Variable compensation can be one of the most effective levers for aligning
employee behavior to corporate business goals," said Cindy Jutras, vice
president and service director, HCM, ERP & Manufacturing, Aberdeen. "While
variable compensation is the norm in managing the sales force to drive
sales and revenue goals, an increasing number of companies are using
incentive compensation to motivate more employees, reward exceptional
performance, encourage customer satisfaction, and retain talent in order to
meet and exceed corporate goals."
Three principle barriers stand in the way of implementing incentive
compensation programs, according to Aberdeen's latest study. The inability
to precisely align employee incentives with specific, targeted business
outcomes and the inability to accurately measure performance levels and
link them to compensation were reported as leading challenges by 45% of
respondents. Both are also key elements in aligning employee behavior with
corporate goals. However the top challenge was the considerable time and
effort to design and change incentive plans (47%).
Best-in-Class companies are three times more likely to have implemented an
Incentive Compensation Management (ICM) application, according to
Aberdeen's findings. These companies achieve better business benefits in
terms of growth of revenue and profitability and reduction in overall staff
turnover. Based on the findings from this study, Aberdeen makes the
following recommendations:
-- Implement a balanced scorecard goal-setting and measurement system for
executing the company's strategy.
-- Implement a structured performance management process to give workers
feedback on their performance against goals and standards.
-- Implement a robust ICM application and use it to plan and track
incentive programs.
-- With an ICM application implemented, allow workers to go online
immediately after work performance to learn whether they qualify for a
bonus, and to determine the financial impact of their compensation.
This study is made available to the public by the following underwriters:
Centive and Xactly. For a complimentary copy of the report, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=3940
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.
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
http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more
about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to
http://www.harte-hanks.com.
Contact Information: Media Contact:
Cindy Jutras
Aberdeen Harte-Hanks
(617) 854-5247
cindy.jutras@aberdeen.com