Insight paper. Performance Management: Turning good talent into great talent

Insight paper Performance Management: Turning good talent into great talent

Executive overview As businesses begin to emerge from the economic downturn that has been underway since the end of 2007, many are recognising and appreciating the benefits of effective. During the recession, organisations with robust performance management processes have been able to make much-needed cuts with precision, whilst nurturing superior performance from their remaining employees. However, HR shouldn t expect business leaders to be 100% satisfied with this. If anything, senior executives want to see an even greater business impact from practices. This vision of what could be was best articulated by HR thought leader Dr. John Sullivan earlier this year when he wrote, Superior talent management can have a higher impact on company success than any other single business function. 1 And this vision isn t wishful thinking, it s fact. 1 Sullivan, Dr. John. Talentonomics - Proving the Economic Value of Talent Management. Dr. John Sullivan & Associates. January 19, 2009. http://www.drjohnsullivan.com/content/view/237/27/ 2

HR leaders need to align individual goals with current and future business needs if they want to have a direct impact on the success of the business. And because touches on so many other talent management initiatives, the ripple effect of effective can be substantial. Matthew Parker CEO, Lumesse Recent Bersin & Associates research validates the idea that HR can help drive revenue, with data that shows how organisations with high-quality employee development plans have twice as much revenue per employee as companies that do little or no development planning. 2 Furthermore, Sullivan s ideas and Bersin s research dovetail with Lumesse s real-world experience where one client is 140% over budgeted revenue for 2008 and is projecting to be 200% over budgeted revenue for 2009. The key word in human resource functions today is alignment, says Matthew Parker CEO Lumesse. HR leaders need to align individual goals with current and future business needs if they want to have a direct impact on the success of the business. And because performance management touches on so many other talent management initiatives, the ripple effect of effective performance management can be substantial. To help HR leaders understand the business impact of, Lumesse developed this insight paper based on current research from leading industry analysts, as well as best practice recommendations from Lumesse consultants and thought leaders from Deloitte and Orca Eyes. This paper seeks to: Communicate why is an urgent priority for businesses in 2010 and beyond. Explain the business impact of and show how HR can move beyond being a cost centre to become a revenue driver. Offer seven steps to successful. Provide best-practice recommendations to help HR leaders move forward with today. 2 O Leonard, Karen. 2009 Talent Management Factbook: Best Practices and Benchmarks in Talent Management. Bersin & Associates. July 2009. Page 72. 3

Performance management: the top business priority for 2009-2010 According to an extensive study by talent management industry analysts Bersin & Associates, 40% of the companies surveyed listed as the top priority for 2009. This interest in performance management is clear: Not only is it the foundation for other talent management initiatives such as compensation, succession and learning, but performance management clearly drives bottom-line results. 3 This interest in ranks highly in assessments both by business region and by company size. The global economic downturn has increased pressure on human resources to prove its value to business leaders, and Peter Cappelli, a professor at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the school s Centre for Human Resources, believes that pressure will only increase as business conditions begin to recover. The power of talent management in general and specifically became clear during the downturn as businesses were able to make more precise and targeted cuts than ever before. 4 There s a movement away from a kind of quality model of human resources, about treating everybody the same way, Cappelli says. There is more pressure on differentiating people, especially based on performance and on market power. If you re in a job that s highly marketable, you get treated differently than if you re not. 5 Top two business priorities by region Source: 2009 Talent Management Factbook, Bersin & Associates Top two business priorities by company size Source: 2009 Talent Management Factbook, Bersin & Associates Level of priority 39% 37% 29% 27% 38% 42% Level of priority 30% 39% 38% 39% 40% 33% Performance management Leadership development Region EU, Middle East & Africa USA APAC Performance management Leadership development Company size Large Midsize Small 3 O Leonard. Page 9. 4 Gallagher, Paul. Rethinking HR. HR Executive Online. September 2, 2009. http://www.hrexecutive.com/hre/story.jsp?storyid=249839056 5 Ibid. 4

Targeting talent strategically Not all talent is created equal. Development in the right areas can have a disproportionate impact. Hilbert explains how HR can have a direct impact on revenue through employee development. At energy companies, they have best practice energy directors. Each one of these people is responsible for reducing energy costs by about $20 million dollars a year, so one person has the potential to add or subtract millions in shareholder value. In certain key positions, it s critical that you have people developed internally who are ready to step into a role the minute a person retires or is recruited away. Recent research from the global business consulting firm Deloitte confirms this shift. 6 Companies it surveyed are increasingly redirecting limited human resource dollars toward developing high-potential employees, and almost four in 10 companies (37%) expect to place a greater emphasis on highpotential employee development. And 48% say they plan to invest in building new skills in their workforces. This talent differentiation is at the core of the shift toward for many businesses. Dan Hilbert is CEO of Orca Eyes, a firm that specialises in strategic human capital management, planning and HR decision support, and he explains that there is a statistical basis for this differentiation. In his work, he has seen a correlation between the ratio of high performers compared with low performers in an organisation, a ratio he calls performance turnover. The results are stunning. Wherever the output of a position is measurable, such as billable employees or sales employees, the difference between losing top performers versus low Top two areas of increased focus on training and development in the next 12 months Source: Deloitte Research, February 2009 High-potential employee development Leadership/Management development 37% 36% performers (at a rate of five low performers to one top performer) means you can run your business well, Hilbert says. However, if you drop below that, you see increased accidents and measurable downtime results in plants, increased customer service complaints and lower revenue. We have two clients who are industry leaders, and their turnover ratio is almost 11 to 1, which is almost all involuntary. Wherever we measure it, we can show that this ratio is a key driver in successful corporations. Hilbert isn t just a theorist; he approaches performance management from a practitioner s perspective. As former Vice President of Human Resources for Valero, he helped the energy firm optimise its talent management initiatives and increase its annual revenue from $2 billion to $95 billion. Top two actions anticipated due to economic climate Source: Deloitte Research, February 2009 Focus on product development & innovation Invest in building new skills in your workforce 48% 48% 6 Managing Talent in a Turbulent Economy: Playing Both Offense and Defense. Deloitte. February 2009. Page 9. 5

Beyond a cost centre: HR can drive revenue It s passé to view human resource functions simply as a cost centre. Over the past several years, global business leaders have come to accept these two ideas that human resource strategist Dr. John Sullivan has articulated: The value of top performers Source: 2009 Talent Management Factbook, Bersin & Associates Median revenue per employee when most employees have high-quality development plans: $169,100 Median revenue per employee when few or no employees have high-quality development plans: $82,800 Superior talent management can have a greater impact on company success than any other single business function. Any talent management leader can effectively demonstrate the huge business impact of the talent management function. To fulfill this potential, Sullivan explains, HR must change the way it uses and reports metrics. For example, knowing that the turnover rate was 22% last year is a useful metric, but understanding that the impact of that turnover was $28 million in lost revenue will get the attention of business leaders. HR executives must understand which business impact factors executives care the most about and correlate metrics accordingly. 7 When interpreted from this perspective, the ultimate value of is quite clear: Recent research from Bersin & Associates demonstrates that organisations with high-quality employee development plans have twice as much revenue per employee as companies that do little or no development planning. 8 By any number of measures, the business impact of talent management, including consistent enterprise-wide performance, is clearly a key driver of successful organisations. Bersin found significant business benefits among businesses with mature strategies compared with businesses without, including: Higher revenue: Median revenue per employee is 26% higher. Lower turnover: Turnover rates among high performers are 41% lower. Increased retention: High performers are 109% more likely to be retained. Improved recruiting: Businesses are 87% more capable of hiring the best people. Better responsiveness to economic changes: They are 92% better at responding to current economic conditions and 28% less likely to have downsized during 2008-2009. Improved planning for the future: They are 144% better at planning for future talent needs. Improved efficiency: They are 94% more likely to have the right people in the right jobs. 9 7 Sullivan. 8 O Leonard. Page 72. 9 O Leonard. Page 41. 6

Effective is a crucial element in identifying the critical talent you need to retain so investment can be focused on those you want to keep during this turbulence. Anne-Marie Malley, Deloitte Talent Management Partner For both businesses and HR, the stakes are high. McKinsey & Company research from 2008 shows a direct correlation for global employers between financial performance, measured as profit per employee, and 10 talent management factors. Companies scoring in the top third of the survey earned 39% higher profit per employee than those in the bottom third. 10 Although many businesses have adopted a more conservative approach to capital expenses, another Bersin report found that a well-defined performance management process typically saves 25-30% in training costs and that businesses easily realise between 50-200% ROI from efficiency and compliance. In fact, automation savings are often big enough on their own to costjustify a system. 11 Investing in performance management is exactly that an investment. Although rising unemployment rates in most nations have created a surplus of candidates that has prompted some to declare an end to The War for Talent, the reality is quite the opposite. Competition for skilled talent in key positions will remain quite fierce. Deloitte research shows that even during the current recession, companies have continued to invest in top talent out of fear that competitors may try to lure valuable employees away. 43% of the executives surveyed have a high or very high concern over losing top talent. Among knowledge workers, this concern is even higher. 12 Yet, in spite of these concerns, only 35% of organisations today have standard, enterprise-wide coaching practices. 13 Organisations also increasingly need to think about the retention of talent as the economy recovers. Recent research by Deloitte 14 predicts a résumé tsunami, with significant rises in voluntary turnover after a downturn, says Anne- Marie Malley, Deloitte Talent Management Partner. Effective is a crucial element in identifying the critical talent you need to retain so investment can be focused on those you want to keep during this turbulence. Because optimal performance in critical areas still matters, organisations need strategies, tools and techniques to identify top talent and nurture better performance from highpotential employees. However, even if the business need and the business impact of is clear, understanding how to move forward with an effective strategy that drives bottom-line results may not be. Delivering bottom-line results One of Lumesse s clients, Kruger, a leading Canadian manufacturer, was able to achieve astounding business results in a highly competitive market because of talent management initiatives that enabled the company to be 140% over its budgeted revenue in 2008. Despite the current economic climate, we are in the best financial position that we have ever been in, says Alex Teijeira, Director, Human Resources and Legal Counsel. The company expects to be 200% over its budgeted revenue for 2009. 10 Guthridge, Matthew, and Komm, Asmus B. Why multinationals struggle to manage talent. McKinsey Quarterly. May 2008. http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/why_multinationals_struggle_to_manage_talent_2140 11 The Business Case for Performance Management Systems by Bersin & Associates 12 Managing Talent in a Turbulent Economy: Playing Both Offense and Defense. Deloitte. February 2009. Page 10. 13 O Leonard. Page 55. 14 Managing Talent in a Turbulent Economy: Clearing the Hurdles to Recovery. Deloitte. July 2009. 7

Seven steps to successful performance management Organisations that want to achieve the maximum benefit when creating a new approach to or overhauling an existing plan should include these seven recommendations in their plan. 1 Leveraging technology. A process can exist without technology, but technology is essential for a performance management process to completely transform an organisation. What is the difference between a system that uses technology and one that doesn t? What s the difference between state-of-the-art global supply chain software versus doing it manually with a spreadsheet? Hilbert asks. Some of the largest and most successful companies in the world couldn t exist without this technology. Technology is the total differentiator between being a competitive, successful 21st Century company in the global knowledge-based economy and failing. Susan Miller, who leads Lumesse s Best Practice Consulting Team, agreed. HR can t be a strategic business partner without technology to provide visibility into talent processes. Because HR is expected to play a greater role in aligning individual performance with the organisation s strategy, that level of involvement is impossible without human capital metrics to show you what is working and what is cost-effective. Technology enables businesses of all sizes, but especially global businesses, to successfully implement performance management. 2 Integrating performance management with all aspects of talent management. According to Miller, organisations need to develop an integrated, end-to-end talent management initiative. Because performance management is a core area, it touches on so many other aspects, including succession, recruitment, compensation, development and training, and learning. When effectively integrated and built on a solid foundation of competencies, is more likely to deliver the business impact that HR wants. HR has traditionally been siloed into a recruitment team, a learning team, a generalist team and so on, Miller says. What tends to Increased insight, increased benefit Since Lumesse implemented a web-based, multilingual solution at Neoderm a medical aesthetics company in Asia the company has realised many of the benefits of this powerful tool. Gifted individuals can be identified earlier on in their careers, and the system provides a platform for creating development plans and enables HR and line managers to fully plan role succession. Managers can compare information on candidates from different systems. And employees can now see exactly what they need to do to achieve the skills and capabilities required by any role, putting them in control of their own development. The wide range of reports allows management to easily monitor employee development and pinpoint areas for future training. 8

happen is things fall through the cracks because the technology doesn t exist to bridge the gaps. Performance management technology specifically one integrated with a suite of talent management modules is the best way to integrate these processes. 3 Implementing cascading goals. Too often, HR is excluded from the strategic planning process. That s a serious mistake, says Walter Dreuw, Regional HR Manager, Lumesse, based in Germany. HR leaders need to be involved in meetings and talking with business and department leaders. These discussions will help HR know about new projects and budget increases and decreases and help them to align performance initiatives with organisational goals. Unfortunately, this alignment does not always occur. Too frequently, we see organisational goals that are meaningless at the team or individual level, with the outcome that the behaviours and performance that people display do not contribute to strategic outcomes, says Malley, Deloitte. Increasingly, we are working with organisations to translate and cascade goals through multiple levels in the organisation, to define those business-critical behaviours that when encouraged and recognised through effective deliver organisational effectiveness. In large, publicly traded companies, simply reading annual and quarterly reports can provide insight into business needs. That s an effective start, but it s still no substitute for a meaningful dialogue and partnership with business leaders. You need to know where to align your initiatives, recruiting and development resources in order to deliver highly optimised talent on demand where the business is investing its money and expecting ROI, says Hilbert. Technology makes it far more likely that these objectives will be tailored for every job in an organisation. 4 Adopting a balanced approach. Many organisations take the balanced scorecard approach, based on the concept developed by Robert Kaplan and David Norton, so initiatives include financial, customer service, business processes and learning metrics. This methodology allows an organisation to properly calibrate its performance management initiatives and support alignment with business objectives. With a manual approach, this balance is next to impossible. With technology, it s far easier. An overall goal for the company might be to reduce operating expenses by a certain percentage, but employees need to understand what that goal means to them, Miller says. You can increase efficiency and cut costs, but if it has an adverse effect on the customer, it could undermine the ultimate goal. 9

5 Bringing transparency into the process. To create a feedback culture in a business, the criteria for evaluation must be clear to both managers and employees. Employees need input from their managers to be successful, and managers need input and feedback from their employees. A dialogue is required and transparency facilitates those conversations. 15 Technology that both managers and employees can use every day will make this task far easier, more productive and rewarding. The benefit of global consistency Employees need to know how their work matters and to see how they contribute to company results. This needs to be visible from the top down and from the bottom up, says Dreuw. Businesses need to make it clear to employees what needs to be achieved in the short, medium and long term, but they also need the flexibility to incorporate these employee suggestions and proposals. While employees need to understand the company s mission and vision, they also need to understand what s in it for them and how they can contribute. source: McKinsey & Company In 2008, McKinsey & Company surveyed multi-national firms and found that respondents with global consistency in talent management processes were 2.6 times more likely to rank among the survey s top third in terms of financial performance. Top third Bottom third 27% 71% 2.6x 6 Making performance management a continuous process. Many companies have started to realise that effective needs to go beyond a once-ayear event. However, without technology, it s much harder for managers and employees to meet and discuss development plans quarterly or monthly, much less make changes or incorporate employee feedback throughout the year. For a company to implement a successful process, managers must make performance management part of their daily routine, says Dreuw. Managers need tools to help them and training to know how to use them. Employees may dislike the annual review, but that doesn t mean they don t want to have a periodic overview of their performance, says Miller. It s really more of a management issue and a time issue. Businesses need to demystify it and make it simpler for managers to manage performance. 15 O Leonard. Page 49. 10

When you have support from senior management, many obstacles suddenly vanish. Not only can budget and resource discussions be easier, but you also have someone to muster support from other key managers, minimise risks and develop alternatives that are aligned with business objectives. Matthew Parker CEO Lumesse 7 Establishing consistency across business units and borders. A consistent framework of general and functionspecific competencies should define the knowledge, skills and behaviours that allow a person to be successful in an organisation. This framework allows a business to consistently measure performance, whether employees are in Hamburg, Shanghai or San Francisco. In a 2008 survey of talent management in global companies, McKinsey & Company found that organisations with consistent global processes were more likely to be among the top financial performers in the survey. McKinsey s survey report also explained that global consistency is important because it allows line managers to feel confident that employees transferring into their units from other parts of the organisation meet the same standards that their own people do. 16 Technology makes it easier to roll out the processes consistently in different languages and cultures. In my work with global organisations, I have seen how important it is for even virtual teams of employees in different countries to understand that they are assessed by the same standards, says Dreuw. In this way you can account for cultural differences but still have consistent standards across all areas of an international enterprise. 16 Guthridge and Komm. 11

Best practices for moving forward with performance management today For organisations in the process of adopting or making improvements to performance management plans and systems, consider these best practice recommendations: Secure executive sponsorship and alignment. Performance management may require a change in company culture, and executive sponsorship at the highest levels sends a message to the entire organisation that this initiative is a business priority. Parker comments: When you have support from senior management, many obstacles suddenly vanish. Not only can budget and resource discussions be easier, but you also have someone to muster support from other key managers, minimise risks and develop alternatives that are aligned with business objectives. For global organisations, a champion within each region is also desirable. Parker continues, Having local support can be key to developing an approach that is both culturally sensitive and relevant. Develop the business rationale for performance management. Many businesses are looking ahead to a better economy to understand which talent needs to be developed today to fill future talent gaps from turnover or retirement. If you show these gaps to a senior executive and ask them if they can run a department or division with gaps at this level, HR will be in a position to instantly define which positions are essential and will be more likely to be included in the process, says Hilbert. Establish meaningful metrics. Metrics allow your business to measure its progress. Many of the early metrics may be compliance-related, such as 90% of employees must have development plans by year-end. However, these metrics should become far more sophisticated over time. 17 Above all, HR leaders should explain the business impact of in terms of direct revenue/value and revenue impact. 18 Helping managers and employees drive Since adopting Lumesse as its talent management solution, one worldwide manufacturer has been able to transfer ownership of competency management and career development planning from HR to individual employees and their line managers. This initiative gives line managers easy access to information, which is critical for employee development planning and simplifies the definition and maintenance of skills and competencies for each job role. In addition, the company is now taking a more comprehensive approach to appraisals by involving more stakeholders in assessing individuals performance. For a regional head office in Hong Kong, the Lumesse solution also provides access to data from across the country in real time, and makes it easy to generate customised reports that are used to project, monitor and analyse employee data more effectively. 17 O Leonard. Page 14. 18 Sullivan. 12

Support managers and employees with training and tools. Performance management technology keeps both managers and employees focused. An employee can look into the system, review their results and see where they need to improve. For managers, it s a powerful tool that saves time and helps encourage and reinforce employee development. The real benefit of an automated tool is that it supports both sides of the process and doesn t just produce a sheet of paper that no one is looking at, says Dreuw. Be aware of cultural differences. Performance management can t be a one-size-fits-all solution for all regions around the globe. It must be calibrated based on cultural differences and supported by local HR people. We have found that in the Asia-Pacific region, needs a different approach because some cultures don t want to be seen as not achieving and managers don t like to mark people differently in their scoring system, Miller says. A scoring system in one of these countries might mean something different there than it would in the U.S. or Europe. Understand the power of SaaS. Although organisations may believe that they need a server-based solution hosted internally, Softwareas-a-Service (SaaS) based solutions offer a scalable, customisable and secure solution for organisations that can be deployed online to any office in the world with far less expense and effort than an ERP solution. SaaS solutions are rapidly becoming mainstream and deserve your attention, according to IT industry analyst and consultant Jeffrey Kaplan, who has more than 25 years experience working with leading enterprise corporations and IT/network solution providers. 19 Because SaaS solutions are web-based, product deployment can be completed much faster than with traditional ERP solutions. Also, updates are implemented far easier and on a more frequent basis with SaaS technology than through a hosted ERP solution. Consider a suite of products. On average, companies use four different talent management products, most of which are not integrated meaning that they have different data models and different user interfaces for their audiences. This lack of integration severely hampers cross-process communications and the ability to share critical talent data. It also diminishes potential. As a result more organisations today are turning toward a comprehensive suite of solutions. Although only 8% of companies use a suite of modules today, 34% are planning to standardise their systems with a single suite. 20 Find an experienced partner. Approximately two-thirds of companies are using a system; however, 39% are developed internally, and only 29% are developed by a talent management vendor. Although developing a system internally may seem cost effective at the time, an experienced vendor with a best-in-class system not only offers faster implementation with far fewer glitches, it also offers a team of technology and HR consulting support behind it to help you get the results you need. 21 19 aplan, Jeffrey. Five Myths About SaaS. March 23, 2009. Computerworld. http://www.cio.com/article/486091/five_myths_about_saas 20 O Leonard. Page 130. 21 Ibid. Page 128. 13

Conclusion Performance management is an urgent priority today. Organisations have used during the recession to make highly targeted job cuts and mitigate the worst effects of the downturn. Now they want performance management to not only offer a competitive advantage but to drive increased business performance. However, many businesses are aware that there is room for improvement in their performance management initiatives. Developing a process that identifies and nurtures talent can drive positive business impact, but many organisations are still missing the mark. Performance management is frequently not focused on areas of the workforce that drive the most value, says Deloitte s Malley. Typically, is only used to identify the top percentage for reward, but a system that differentiates the full performance range can provide significant value. For example, Malley points out that raising the performance of the average performer by 1% can mean a 1% rise in 60-80% of the workforce, as opposed to a 1% rise in just the top 10%. He adds, If frameworks do not enable the identification and management of poorer performers, then this bottom percentage can drive down the overall organisational effectiveness. To maximise the impact of, bestin-class technology can make all the difference. Independent analysis from Gartner, Inc., the world s leading information technology research and advisory company, positions Lumesse in the Leadership Quadrant of its 2009 Magic Quadrant for Employee Performance Management Software. In Gartner s Leadership Quadrant, Leaders had strong product functionality and superior customer experience with the vendor and its products. In addition, leading vendors had strong or emerging multinational solutions (with corresponding service and support). Among Lumesse s strengths: The company has a strong European (with growing Asian and North American) presence, with sales and support in major markets. ETWeb has best-in-class performance and succession management functionality, especially related to European functional requirements. Customers indicated that product quality and service/support were better than average. Lumesse has a solid financial position. It is profitable, growing at a solid rate, has good liquidity and is generating positive cash flow from operations. 22 22 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Employee Performance Management Software 14

A strong, stable, experienced partner can help calibrate an effective performance strategy and tailor the technology to support it. The secret to success is weaving the process and the technology seamlessly, Lumesse s Parker says. A properly developed process can indeed transform HR into a revenue generator. However, it s the technology that makes an integral part of the daily life of a business and allows the process to come alive. Executives need the power to connect individual performance with business objectives and to develop goals that will cascade down to every level. Managers need tools to facilitate the dialogue they are trying to create with their people. And employees need transparency so they can see how their work has a meaningful impact. Technology magnifies the power of performance and can turn a ripple into a tidal wave. The secret to success is weaving the process and the technology seamlessly. A properly developed process can indeed transform HR into a revenue generator. However, it s the technology that makes an integral part of the daily life of a business and allows the process to come alive. Matthew Parker CEO Lumesse 15

About Deloitte Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. With a globally connected network of member firms in 140 countries, Deloitte brings world-class capabilities and deep local expertise to help clients succeed wherever they operate. Deloitte s 150,000 professionals are committed to becoming the standard of excellence. Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a Swiss Verein, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and its member firms. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. About Orca Eyes Orca Eyes was founded in May 2007 by Dan Hilbert with the vision of empowering Human Capital value inside organisations as strategic advantages in creating industry-leading Talent Dynasties. Since its creation, Orca Eyes has been honoured with unparalleled industry awards for their advancements in Human Capital innovation, workforce planning, talent management, talent acquisition, technology and metrics. This leadership team has successfully pioneered the maturation of performance optimisation and management technology in other mission-critical applications over the past 20 years. This experience, vision and unrivaled standards of excellence enable Orca Eyes to deliver transformational Human Capital business solutions. For more information, please see www.orcaeyes.com. About Lumesse Lumesse is the only global company making talent management solutions work locally. We help customers around the world to implement successful local talent management initiatives that identify, nurture and develop the right people, in the right place, at the right time. Our multi-cultural background and presence means we understand how to deliver talent solutions that work the way our customers work, as individuals and as teams, because no two people, organisations or cultures are the same. We regard differences as strengths, not as obstacles. 1,700 customers work with us in over 70 countries because they recognise that commitment, innovation and value only come from people. We help customers to unlock and inspire that human potential in their businesses. Our integrated talent management solutions are comprehensive, intuitive, secure and fully internationalised into over 50 languages. We have Lumesse offices and partners in more than 40 countries, covering EMEA, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. To find your nearest office and talk to someone who speaks your language, visit: /get-in-touch Lumesse AS All rights reserved. Unless explicitly permitted by Lumesse AS or by applicable copyright law, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise.