CyberShift’s New White Paper Examines the Healthcare Industry’s Unique Workforce and Expense Management Requirements…by CyberShift

August 9, 2009

 

Details How Healthcare Providers Can Leverage Technology to Streamline Processes, Reduce Costs to Support Delivery of Cost-Efficient, Quality Healthcare

If you are looking for a new Talent Management System, or any HR system, talk to HRchitect first. We have unparalleled knowledge of the HR and Talent Management vendor community and can save you time and money in selection and implementation.

CyberShift, a global provider of workforce management and expense management software and services, today announced the availability of its most recent white paper, “Healthcare Providers: Workforce Optimization and Expense Management Initiatives for Healthcare Organizations.” The paper examines how healthcare organizations can reduce costs, increase efficiencies and maintain quality care with technology-based workforce management and expense management solutions.

Most people can agree that healthcare costs have spiraled out of control, impacting both individuals and healthcare providers. Many long-standing healthcare providers struggle to survive and, according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey, more than half of American households have cut back on healthcare due to finances. While reform is being debated by the media and politicians, and the current administration declares the status quo unacceptable, healthcare providers are left to find their own ways of controlling costs while providing quality care.

Labor and employee business costs make up a large part of a healthcare provider’s operating budget so controlling these costs is crucial. An automated workforce management solution enables organizations to manage diverse and mobile workforces, control overtime, streamline employee scheduling, integrate with payroll systems and comply with government regulations, employee policies and union rules.

“Healthcare organizations are challenged to make quality, affordable care available, while at the same time, maintain their own financial health. An automated workforce management system can help organizations cost-effectively meet changing demands without compromising services,” Art Krozser, vice president, Enterprise Services and Global Support at CyberShift. “There are significant advantages — fiscally and in terms of quality of care — in having the right people with the right skills in the right place at the right time.”

An automated workforce management solution provides visibility into whether scheduling certain employees will result in unnecessary overtime or require employees to work beyond what is considered safe or within contractual guidelines. Other benefits of an automated solution are efficient management of a diverse and distributed workforce, including salaried, hourly and contingent staff, a reduction in payroll preparation time and improved payroll accuracy by 1 to 6 percent of gross payroll. Additionally, employees can be given access to online schedules and other self-service functions, increasing employee satisfaction.

Equally important is another large cost for healthcare organizations: employee business expenses. These expenses include not only travel and entertainment but also costs such as mobile phones and offices supplies. Automating the processing of employee expense management — from pre-authorization and approval to post-payment reporting and analysis — is another way that healthcare companies can control escalating costs.

CyberShift’s award winning, 100 percent Web-based workforce management and expense management solutions are ideally suited for mid-size to large, complex enterprises. CyberShift offers unparalleled flexibility in its software delivery models, offering the identical solutions through the popular multi-tenant Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery model or in-house. These solutions significantly improve business efficiencies, thus enhancing performance and increasing profitability.

CyberShift’s complimentary “Healthcare Providers” white paper can be downloaded from http://www.cybershift.com/Healthcare.

 
Matt Lafata, HRchitect


Kenexa Announces Financial Results for Second Quarter 2009…from Kenexa

August 9, 2009

 

HRchitect featured Kenexa in our May 2008 release of The Suite Life of Integrated Talent Management and also includes them in our list of top Talent Acquisition Systems and top Talent Management Systems vendors that businesses should consider. Kenexa participated in the Talent Management Systems panel and the Talent Acquisition Systems panel on June 10, 2009 as part of theHRshow event. Ron Hanscome, VP of Product Strategy with Kenexa appeared on the HRchitect WebMingle on June 26, 2009. If you are looking for a new Talent Management System, or any HR system, talk to HRchitect first. We have unparalleled knowledge of the HR and Talent Management vendor community and can save you time and money in selection and implementation.

Kenexa (Nasdaq: KNXA), a global provider of business solutions for human resources, today announced operating results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2009. 

For the second quarter of 2009, Kenexa reported total revenues of $39.5 million, a sequential increase compared to $38.8 million for the first quarter of 2009 and compared to $56.4 million for the second quarter of 2008. Subscription revenue was $34.0 million for the second quarter of 2009, compared to $43.7 million for the second quarter of 2008, while professional services and other revenue was $5.5 million for the second quarter of 2009, compared to $12.8 million for the second quarter of 2008.   

Rudy Karsan, Chief Executive Officer of Kenexa, stated, “Headwinds created by the challenging economic environment and jobs market continued during the second quarter. While we expect current macro conditions to persist for the next several quarters, we were encouraged that our second quarter total revenue grew sequentially, deferred revenue continued to grow and interest levels in our broad suite of solutions remained high.” Karsan added, “We believe our unique breadth and expertise across software, employee science, HR business processes and consulting services will become increasingly important from a long-term perspective. A growing number of customers are engaging in strategic evaluations, and we believe they will deploy more comprehensive solutions and move ahead with strategic services engagements when the economic environment improves and IT budgets are more available.”

Non-GAAP income from operations, which excludes share-based compensation expense and amortization of intangibles associated with previous acquisitions, was $4.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2009, a sequential increase from $3.9 million in the first quarter of 2009 and compared to $10.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2008. Non-GAAP net income, which excludes one-time charges related to the retirement of a line of credit facility in addition to the above mentioned items, was $4.1 million based on a 12% non-GAAP tax rate. Non-GAAP net income was $0.18 per basic and diluted share for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, a sequential increase compared to $0.14 in the first quarter of 2009 and compared to $0.39 per basic and diluted share in the second quarter of 2008.  

Kenexa’s income from operations for the three months ended June 30, 2009, determined in accordance with GAAP, was $1.9 million, compared with income from operations of $7.9 million for the same period of 2008. GAAP net income was $1.3 million, or $0.06 per basic and diluted share, compared to net income of $6.0 million and $0.26 per basic and diluted share in the same period of 2008.

A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results has been provided in the financial statement tables included at the end of this press release. An explanation of these measures is also included below under the heading “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Kenexa had cash and cash equivalents and investments of $47.2 million at June 30, 2009, an increase from $46.7 million at the end of the prior quarter.  The Company generated positive cash from operations of $7.5 million during the second quarter, which was offset primarily by capital expenditures and earn out payments associated with previous acquisitions. Deferred revenue was $42.2 million at June 30, 2009, an increase of approximately $0.8 million compared to the end of the first quarter 2009 and an increase of 9% from the end of the year ago period. 

Karsan added, “Throughout the economic slowdown, Kenexa continued to focus on driving profitability and cash flow. We will continue to operate with this focus in mind, and we are also planning to selectively increase investments in R&D and sales and marketing as we currently expect the buying environment to begin improving at some point during 2010. These incremental investments will leverage those already made in the development and launch of our Kenexa 2x platform, continued enhancements to our best-in-class Kenexa Recruiter BrassRing solution, as well as our recent rebranding initiative. We believe that Kenexa has weathered the most difficult stage of the economic storm, and we remain confident in the company’s long-term market position and opportunity.”  

Business Outlook

Based on information as of today, August 4, 2009, the Company is issuing guidance for the third quarter 2009 as follows: 

Third Quarter 2009: The Company expects revenue to be $37 million to $40 million, and non-GAAP operating income to be $3.7 million to $4.6 million. Assuming a 23% effective tax rate for reporting purposes and 22.9 million shares outstanding, Kenexa expects its non-GAAP net income per diluted share to be $0.13 to $0.16. 

For more information on Kenexa, please visit www.kenexa.com

 
Matt Lafata, HRchitect


Bullhorn Joins Industry Body APSCo…from Bullhorn

August 9, 2009

 

HRchitect includes Bullhorn in our list of top Talent Acquisition Systems vendors that businesses should consider. If you are looking for a new Talent Management System, or any HR system, talk to HRchitect first. We have unparalleled knowledge of the HR and Talent Management vendor community and can save you time and money in selection and implementation.

Bullhorn, the global leader in On Demand, front office staffing and recruiting software, has been granted affiliate membership to APSCo, the Association of Professional Staffing Companies. The company, which launched in Europe in June sees the membership as an important part of its initiatives to establish itself as a leading player in the UK market.
 
Peter Linas, Sales Director, commented: We feel it is important to make a contribution to the staffing industry and becoming a member of APSCo will allow Bullhorn to do so. We are delighted that our launch into the UK has been endorsed by such a high profile professional body.”
 
The membership will allow Bullhorn to keep up to date with UK and EU parliamentary issues and to benefit from the influence APSCo has over policy and industry regulations.
 
Peter Linas continues: “The future of the recruitment sector is on the web, and as the leading Global provider of recruitment SaaS solutions, we felt it was important for Bullhorn to be part of APSCo. As more recruiters look to integrate with the likes of LinkedIn, Google, Zoominfo and the next inevitable social networking innovation, we would like to be there to assist, as well as promote best practice and develop industry standards.”
 
Ann Swain, Chief Executive of APSCo comments: “We are delighted to welcome Bullhorn as an affiliate member of APSCo. We have received very positive references and are confident that they will add value to our organisation. Bullhorn are already making their presence known in the industry and we hope to be able to assist them in raising standards, and providing high quality information and services. “

For more information on Bullhorn, please visit www.bullhorn.com

 
Matt Lafata, HRchitect


Talent Technology’s Software to Process 80 Million Resumes in 2009…from Talent Technology

August 8, 2009

 

By 2010, Resume Mirror product will have processed a volume of resumes equivalent to 57% of the US labor force

If you are looking for a new Talent Management System, or any HR system, talk to HRchitect first. We have unparalleled knowledge of the HR and Talent Management vendor community and can save you time and money in selection and implementation.

Talent Technology predicts its industry leading resume processing software, Resume Mirror, will process 80 million resumes in 2009. This number is equivalent to 26% of the US population and equal to one resume for every second employed person. These numbers reveal that the Resume Mirror Extraction product has experienced 100% growth in volume over the last 12 months.

Talent Technology is the leader in providing technology that extracts data from resumes then converts and normalizes the information. The Resume Mirror product eliminates data entry for candidates and recruiters by recognizing the data fields and sorting the information into a single, unified format. Candidates spend less time entering their data in online applications and recruiters can quickly enter resumes received from web, email and paper submissions.

The forecasted amount of processed resumes comes, in part, from the growing number of job boards and recruiting software companies that have selected Resume Mirror to power their resume processing from inside their solutions. Clients include the UK and Canada’s largest job boards, Reed and Workopolis, and software firm ADP Virtual Edge.

Through partnerships with major ERP vendors; Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft and Lawson, Resume Mirror is able to provide customers with a resume extraction module that integrates with the client’s recruiting software. It is these ERP partnerships that have also enabled Resume Mirror to gather hundreds of corporate HR clients including 23 Fortune 500 companies.

Resume Mirror is a key solution for large corporations as they need to process substantial volumes of data. Businesses such as CB Richard Ellis, McKesson, Sun Microsystems and Metropolitan Life have chosen Resume Mirror for its secure, reliable extraction engine that is able to handle sensitive information.

“We’ve experienced on average 90% accuracy of the extracted data,” said Bernard Du Toit, Metropolitan Life’s Senior Manager of Group HR System Solutions and Support. “It is an excellent tool that adds tremendous value to the recruiting process.” Resume Mirror Extraction Enterprise also reduces the time Metropolitan Life’s recruiters spend manually entering resume information into the database and allows them to focus on finding quality candidates. Du Toit also appreciated the post purchase customer support, “The implementation went very well. We received excellent support from the entire Resume Mirror team.”

Resume Mirror Job Posting, Resume Mirror Extraction Enterprise and Resume Mirror Search Enterprise are available directly from Talent Technology Corporation. To schedule a live demo of Talent Technology’s resume extraction, candidate resume search and match technology and our latest job posting product, visit: http://www.talenttech.com/info/demo_request/schedule_demo.asp.

 
Matt Lafata, HRchitect


City of St. Paul Signs Multi-Suite ERP Software Contract with Lawson Software

August 7, 2009

 

HRchitect includes Lawson in our list of top HRIS vendors that businesses should consider. If you are looking for a new Talent Management System, or any HR system, talk to HRchitect first. We have unparalleled knowledge of the HR and Talent Management vendor community and can save you time and money in selection and implementation.

The city of St. Paul, Minnesota, has signed a multi-suite contract with Lawson Software (Nasdaq: LWSN) that includes the Lawson Enterprise Financial Management, Supply Chain Management, Business Intelligence and Enterprise Asset Management suites. It also includes Lawson Human Resource Management and Workforce Management suites along with Lawson Smart Office. These applications will help the city improve service levels and reduce costs by helping to simplify and automate many business processes and giving employees greater flexibility with self-service options for many typical HR functions. The contract was signed during Lawson’s first quarter of fiscal 2010, which ends Aug. 31, 2009.

St. Paul is the capital of Minnesota and the state’s second-largest city with more than 270,000 residents, 2,700 employees and a $500 million annual budget. St. Paul and neighboring Minneapolis make up the Twin Cities, the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. St. Paul is also the county seat of Ramsey County. The Lawson applications will replace the city’s decades-old accounting, budgeting, payroll, procurement and human resources systems.

The Lawson solution is a key component of St. Paul’s major new initiative — dubbed COMET (City Operations Modernization and Enterprise Transformation Program) — to modernize its technology infrastructure and thereby improve its business operations and constituent services. Currently, the city uses 35 different computing programs on a 1985 platform.

In his 2009 budget address, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman explained the need for COMET, citing several examples of administrative inefficiencies, including:

The city processes more than 100,000 invoices each year. In one department, invoices are handled by seven to 10 different people before they get paid. The new Lawson Procurement application will help streamline that process, eliminating redundancies and paper waste along the way.

Currently, 95 percent of city employees still turn in a paper payroll form that needs to be data-entered by payroll clerks. This results in at least 100 phone calls weekly to clarify time sheets in the police department alone. The Lawson Payroll application will help automate formerly manual processes, which can ultimately help eliminate inaccuracies and save staff hours.

“We need a consolidated system with one database shared across all city departments. It will help save staff time, provide the information necessary for effective management, and help improve the quality of service to St. Paul residents,” said Andrea Casselton, CIO for the city of St. Paul. “The Lawson solution will help facilitate our commitment to financial accountability. It will also help reduce the amount of paper we use, which will support the city’s efforts towards sustainability.”

Specifically, the Lawson applications will implement standard core processes and one integrated database shared across city departments wherever feasible and allowable under law to eliminate redundant data handling and increase the accuracy of information. The solution will replace multiple existing systems and offline, department-specific processes with an integrated, modular system. The solution will give a cohesive view of the city and all of its parts as opposed to small silos of activity across the areas of budgeting, finance, grant management, asset management, procurement, treasury, HR and payroll.

The Lawson solution will also foster self-service. It will provide city departments, employees, vendors and other stakeholders with convenient options to access the system and pertinent data 24/7 through user-friendly self-service interfaces that do not require administrative intervention.

“Tight budgets and constituent demands for greater accountability pose significant challenges for local governments,” said Brian Murphy, general manager, Public Sector for Lawson. “Lawson helps government organizations simplify administration, mitigate risk and meet their imperatives for greater efficiency and accountability.”

“We chose Lawson over other vendors because they not only have a proven government-specific functionality, but they worked with us throughout the process and listened to our core needs,” said Paul Strong, COMET project director for the city of St. Paul. “The fact that Lawson is our hometown company means we’ll be able to work with people right down the block from us throughout the implementation.”

For more information on Lawson, please visit www.lawson.com

 
Matt Lafata, HRchitect


Ultimate Software Delivers UltiPro through Software-as-a-Service for Adobe…from Ultimate Software

August 4, 2009

 

HRchitect includes Ultimate Software in our list of top HRIS vendors that businesses should consider. If you are looking for a new Talent Management System, or any HR system, talk to HRchitect first. We have unparalleled knowledge of the HR and Talent Management vendor community and can save you time and money in selection and implementation.

Ultimate Software (Nasdaq: ULTI), a leading provider of end-to-end strategic human resources, payroll, and talent management solutions, announced today that Adobe Systems Incorporated, one of the world’s largest and most diversified software companies, has deployed Ultimate Software’s UltiPro delivered through Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). Adobe selected UltiPro for its functionality and convenient SaaS delivery model.

Known for providing award-winning software and technologies that have redefined business, entertainment, and personal communications, Adobe went live on UltiPro in April 2009.

“UltiPro improves the accuracy of our data, expedites the payroll process, and integrates well with our other systems,” said Lurbia Quinonez, senior payroll manager for Adobe. “We can access information and develop reports easily and efficiently.”

According to Quinonez, Adobe chose Ultimate Software not only for UltiPro’s functional capabilities, but also for the company’s culture and customer relationships.

“Our strong partnership with our customers is one of the most significant parts of who we are,” said Greg Swick, chief sales officer for Ultimate Software. “We are pleased to be building a long-term relationship with Adobe and providing the flexible solution and the level of customer satisfaction the company was seeking.”

For more information on Ultimate Software, please visit www.ultimatesoftware.com

 
Matt Lafata, HRchitect


StepStone Publishes Q2/2009 Results…from StepStone

August 4, 2009

 

StepStone continues to deliver positive results in a very challenging market – 12% EBITDA margin and €2.5m cash from operations in Q2 2009

HRchitect featured StepStone in our May 2008 release of The Suite Life of Integrated Talent Management and also includes them in our list of top Talent Management Systems vendors that businesses should consider. If you are looking for a new Talent Management System, or any HR system, talk to HRchitect first. We have unparalleled knowledge of the HR and Talent Management vendor community and can save you time and money in selection and implementation.

Highlights

  • Revenue of €24.7m
  • Adjusted EBITDA of €2.9m; 12% margin
  • €2.5m cash generated from operations
  • Recurring revenues from talent management products up by 25% year on year
  • Online delivering 27% EBITDA margin whilst market still declines for jobs
  • Continued focus on cost management; Quarterly operating cost base down €4.7m (18%) since Q4 08
  • 55 new talent management customers contracted; customer churn remains stable at under 1%

Results for the quarter

StepStone has delivered another profitable quarter despite unprecedented challenging economic conditions in all markets. Total revenue in Q2 2009 was €24.7m. The company delivered Q2 2009 adjusted EBITDA of €2.9m and generated cash from operations of €2.5m.

Demand for Online recruitment products, which advertise current job vacancies, has fallen sharply in the last two quarters as the vast majority of employers continue to either freeze or reduce headcount. The volume of business contracted has decreased by close to 50% in six months.

The rate of decline in demand in the second quarter of 2009 was considerably less than that in the first quarter, indicating that the bottom may be near. However, there are no reliable indicators supporting a sustainable upturn in demand for online recruitment products in the second half of 2009. The company is assuming that the challenging market conditions for Online products will continue through to the end of 2009 and is managing Online costs and profitability accordingly.

Demand for talent management products continued, albeit at a slower pace, as customers sought to manage their cost bases more effectively and efficiently. The revenue base continues to move towards highly predictable recurring revenue in the form of monthly fees and away from more volatile one-time license fees and professional services. StepStone’s ‘Software as a Service’ (SaaS) model is attractive to new customers, providing a low entry cost to an enterprise-level solution, as well as predictable costs geared to the delivered service.

A total of 55 new customers subscribed for StepStone’s talent management products in Q2 2009 and a record 101 existing customers extended their usage. Cancellations during the quarter remained minimal at under 1% by value.

Customers are increasingly choosing inherently more predictable subscriptions in preference to licences, with revenue from licences now only 7% of quarterly revenue compared to close to 10% a year ago. The recurring revenue base from Solutions customers increased 25% between Q2 2008 and Q2 2009. Recurring revenue represented 58% of Q2 2009 Solutions revenue, up from 48% a year ago.

Retention and market share growth during this unprecedented economic slowdown remains a strong focus for the company. StepStone continues to build its commercial capabilities with a number of key new hires joining the company in the last quarter.

Notable was the encouraging customer response to the marketing initiatives launched in the quarter. These have included a series of global customer seminars in 18 locations and the launch of a new web based ‘talent strategy assessment’ tool.

Results for professional services, primarily targeted at implementation of talent management products, remain under pressure. Lower volumes of new customers compared to a year ago together with declining day rates has resulted in revenue from professional services decreasing 17% from that in Q2 2008.

The company has continued to focus on its cost base. Operating costs for Q2 2009, which included all related redundancy costs, were €21.8m. Close to €5m has been removed from the company’s operating cost base over the last eight months and further reductions are planned over the remainder of 2009.

During the quarter StepStone settled, in cash, the remaining deferred consideration of €2.4m due in respect of the acquisitions of LVE and Sourcea. As a result the company has no further cash based obligations for past acquisitions. The only remaining deferred consideration is €3m in respect of ExecuTRACK which will be settled by the issue of 1.8 million new shares at the end of 2009.

The Company also took the opportunity to repurchase €1.2m of its Loan Notes 2010 reducing the balance in the market to just €3.2m.

The company ended Q2 2009 with €30.7m of cash and only €12.6m of interest bearing debt. In addition the company has access to over €20.0m of undrawn banking facilities, subject to covenants.

For more information on StepStone, please visit www.stepstone.com

 
Matt Lafata, HRchitect


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