Global Management of Human Capital

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1 Global Management of Human Capital The development of software solutions for managing human capital has become a strategic tool for any company. For the last two decades, Meta4 has supplied proprietary technology in this field to companies around the world. Managing human capital is one of the major challenges that companies face in the 21st century, particularly for global organizations that operate in a variety of countries and markets. Every company needs a technology system that is reliable and secure to provide information about its employees. Companies not only require solutions that can consolidate information about their workforces, but also that enable them to analyze and study the data in order to better understand their employees, to manage their talent more effectively, and to be more efficient. For more than two decades, Meta4 has supplied these solutions through its expertise in software solutions and outsourcing services for managing and developing human and intellectual capital. Many things have changed in the world of human resource management since 1991, when Meta4 first came into the market, acknowledges Carlos Pardo, the company s general manager. Says Pardo, As companies become more international and less local, the applications have evolved to provide a global management capacity for all employees, while simultaneously maintaining local processes and data. The need to recruit, to select and administer employees, and to manage payrolls, among other processes, has not changed much over the last two decades. Organizations are demanding solutions that are more flexible, however, with significant functional enhancements, according to Pardo. In recent years there has been a growing trend towards outsourcing tasks that can

2 provide a cost-saving to companies. In the case of human resources, the outsourcing of payroll and personnel administration processes has increased, explains Pardo. In general, however, companies continue to directly manage the more strategic activities, such as developing talent or designing pay and training plans.

3 Global Management of Human Capital Providing Solutions More than 18 million employees around the world are managed using HR and payroll software solutions developed by Meta4. The most popular is Meta4 PeopleNet, which offers management solutions for personnel administration and payroll; recruitment, selection and prospective employees; analysis and planning; occupational risk prevention and managing talent, and other functionalities. In addition, the company offers the Meta4 T.innova solution, specifically designed for small- and medium-sized businesses to manage personnel administration and payroll, training, selection, evaluations, and career plans. Meta4 has also designed a new tool called PeopleNet ADB. This is a new generation of software, explains Pardo, with an active control panel that provides HR data to managers and directors, allowing them to make decisions about employees quickly based on the company s strategic objectives. ADB provides functionality that to date has been impossible to offer in a traditional HR management environment. Following the success of the company s HR and payroll outsourcing services, it has added a Software as a Service (SaaS) option, through which clients can access the Meta4 platform and use the applications for a monthly fee. This activity is primarily aimed at companies with an international presence that need to globally manage their employees, while adhering to the requirements of each country, says Pardo. According to company forecasts, the number of employees managed through the new SaaS format will exceed 100,000 in Spain and 200,000 in international markets within three years.

4 Flexible Solutions Meta4 has more than 1,300 clients in about 100 countries. According to the technology research company Gartner, the company controls 45% of the market in Spain and serves national companies with an international presence. These include Grupo Zed, a Spanish multinational with 2000 employees in 60 countries, and the insurance group Mapfre, present in 37 countries. Though a significant percentage of Meta4 s clients are large companies, the solutions it offers are accessible to companies of any size, says Pardo: Our range of specialized solutions for HR and payroll management are suitable for the needs of any type of company, regardless of the number of employees, the sector, or the complexity.

5 Global Management of Human Capital Commitment to Internationalization Although Meta4 was founded in Madrid, it has always had an international strategy. Just six years after the company s creation, it already had set up offices in Mexico, Chile and Argentina. In 2003, Meta4 expanded into Portugal and France, and in 2009 it opened offices in Colombia, Brazil, the U.K. and the U.S. Today, approximately 60 percent of the company s revenues come from outside Spain - 40 percent from Europe and 20 percent from the U.S. The challenges in the international economy have not prevented Meta4 s growth in 2009, during which time the company increased its sales by 13 percent over The increase was partly attributable to the launch of human resources solutions, implementation services, support and specialized training for 86 new clients around the world. The development of the company s outsourcing service was also key; the services grew by 35 percent in terms of the number of employees managed in Meta4 forecasts a sales growth of 10 percent in 2010, and an increase of 4% in its workforce. According to Pardo, Meta4 will focus its growth on developing the outsourcing strategy, strengthening its presence in public administrations and healthcare, and further expansion in Europe and the U.S.

6 Factors for success Meta4 s evolution and success, both in Spain and abroad, has been possible due to three factors. According to Pardo, the first is the company s international efforts: From the beginning we have been committed to growing outside of Spain and to offering our solutions to companies that want to improve the management of their employees, regardless of their location, size or requirements. Meta4 also owes its success to its own human team and HR policy. The key factor that has allowed Meta4 to position itself among the top European software companies, says Pardo, is its commitment to innovation. Maximizing our investment in R&D has been a constant factor since the company was established. This has allowed us to position ourselves as a leader in innovation and specialization in the HR solutions market, Pardo explains. This is demonstrated by the 100 professionals exclusively dedicated to innovation in HR software solutions, and a company allocation of an average of 20 percent of sales to research. Article published in July 2010 Carmelo Hermoso de Mendoza Blanco