LONDON (Commodity Online): In times of recession, corporates can save considerably by employing talent management solutions. This has been proved by Clipper Group, a global shipping organisation headquartered in Denmark with operations throughout Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific that has saved €500,000 annually by implementing a company-wide talent management system from StepStone Solutions.

Clipper Group has measured substantial operational and financial benefits from the solution, in areas such as reduced recruitment and salary costs, improved staff retention rates, greater efficiency and better business alignment in its HR practices. Overall annual savings have been estimated at around €500,000, with the whole project paying for itself in under a year.

Established in 1972 Clipper Group has experienced strong growth in recent years. Following a decade of rapid expansion in the workforce, the group undertook a review of its HR function and approach to talent management. The resulting strategy aimed to streamline processes, improve efficiency, reduce operating costs and implement sound practices to attract and retain talent. Clipper Group ran a comprehensive vendor evaluation exercise, covering both talent acquisition and talent management needs, finally selecting StepStone Solutions for a global deployment:

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“StepStone Solutions enabled us to implement a full talent management strategy from a zero base,” says Jannie Hestehave, Vice-President, Head of Human Resources at Clipper Group. “The software helped facilitate the enormous cultural change associated with introducing the programme. By creating improved working practices, the solution also helped us to improve customer service and consequently retain a number of important customers during the recession.”

The thoroughness of Clipper Group’s approach can be seen in its ability to measure the success of the project – among other things it has recorded a 17% reduction in the man-days needed to hire staff; a 26% reduction in the hiring cycle time; a 12% improvement in measured employee satisfaction; and a 79% reduction in time to complete its staff performance review cycle.

Jannie Hestehave also emphasises that there were important operational benefits for the HR team:

“Prior to StepStone Solutions, HR decisions were reactive. They are now more strategic, which has meant better investment decisions regarding recruitment and talent management. This has in turn contributed to our continued growth despite the recession of recent times.”

Matthew Parker, Group Managing Director, StepStone Solutions adds: “As the world economy climbs out of recession we are seeing growing attention by smart companies on the need for stronger global talent management strategies. Clipper Group’s impressive project shows that a rigorous approach delivers measurable financial benefits and operational improvements at both a personal and a corporate level.”

StepStone Solutions provides a complete set of Total Talent Management solutions. StepStone Solutions’ on-demand (SaaS) software and services enable organisations to implement efficient processes, including; attraction and hiring, post-hire talent management, performance management, compensation management, skills and competency management, career and succession planning, training and development management.

StepStone Solutions is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Germany-based publishing and media company Axel Springer AG. At the end of December 2009 more than 1,400 organisations, including many of the world’s leading businesses, use StepStone Solutions’ software and services. It operates in 17 countries and employs around 450 people. Its global customers include Aviva, BASF, Deloitte, Deutsche Telekom, Lufthansa, Kruger Products, PUMA, and Virgin Atlantic. (Courtesy: Businesswire)

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