Human Resources: 94 Percent of HR Professionals Feel Their Workforces Are Not Adequately Prepared

Wayland, Mass. - January 30, 2008 - Softscape, a market leader in
web-based human capital management software products, today unveiled the
findings of its third annual "State of the Global Talent Nation" report
(http://www.softscape.com/whitepapers/SGTN.htm), which offers insight
into how organizations are managing their workforces.

An unprecedented 94 percent of human resources professionals do not feel
that their personnel are adequately prepared to meet their companies'
future goals. With a 30 percent rise in workforce preparedness concerns
since just 2006, it is no surprise that the top issues facing
organizations today are all related to employee retention, development,
and performance. These concerns also have the full attention of senior
management with the majority of respondents citing talent management
initiatives as top priorities for executives.

Softscape surveyed more than 250 human resources professionals from
around the world with the distribution of respondents spread almost
evenly across a variety of industries and among small, mid-size, and
large organizations. The HR professionals were asked numerous questions
about their workforce skill readiness, perceived process deficiencies,
business drivers for integrating human capital management processes, and
what key initiatives are being undertaken to ensure staff preparedness.

Key findings from the "State of the Global Talent Nation" report
include:
*       Workforce productivity is a new focus as organizations seek to
do more with less while trying to contain costs
*       Individual roles are becoming more multi-functional and are
requiring ongoing skill development and real-time learning and
collaboration
*       Whether they are expanding or downsizing, companies are seeking
to leverage centralized shared services to support global initiatives
*       As the more tactical HR functions are commoditized, strategic
human resources functions are becoming further integrated and outsourced
*       Productivity gains and cost reductions are being realized
through systematic focus on improving talent management processes
*       Changing workforce demographics are forcing organizations to
deploy new approaches to how they plan, hire, develop, and retain their
staffs

"Ongoing business transformation is prompting organizations to look for
ways to rapidly evolve their workforces to achieve new levels of
productivity and effectiveness, and the connection between effectiveness
and shareholder value has clearly reached the executive suite," said
Christopher Faust, executive vice president global strategy, Softscape.
"To successfully address senior management's concerns, human resources
leadership needs to embrace its strategic role as an executive partner
and define and execute a holistic human capital management strategy that
builds a superior corporate culture based on performance and
accountability."

The report includes important data about where organizations are
struggling, how they are improving, and the top priorities for senior
management, including:
*       92 percent of respondents say improving the quality of hire is a
top priority for executives
*       89 percent of respondents are implementing performance-driven
learning initiatives
*       81 percent of respondents link competencies to the hiring
process
*       69 percent of respondents measure training ROI
*       66 percent of respondents say improving workforce productivity
is a top priority for executives

The report also shows executives clearly understand that to effectively
compete and grow their businesses, they need to employ a high achieving
workforce that is not bogged down by cumbersome, time-intensive
paper-based processes. Organizations are truly concerned about the
current ability of their workforces to meet future plans and are
beginning to take steps to fix the problem. The deployment of integrated
human capital management technology is helping them improve retention,
development, and the measurement of their workforces' performance.

For more information, download the "State of the Global Talent Nation"
executive brief at http://www.softscape.com/whitepapers/SGTN.htm.

About Softscape (www.softscape.com)

Softscape is a leading provider of web-based human capital management
(HCM) software products to a broad range of corporations and public
sector agencies. Softscape's comprehensive, integrated products are
designed to enable companies in all industries and geographies to
monitor more effectively the performance of their employees and drive
business results by enhancing employee productivity and effectiveness,
facilitating long-term planning, and reducing operational costs.
Softscape's customers represent Fortune 500/Global 500, mid-market, and
government organizations, including Seagate, GKN, Edcon, AstraZeneca,
Barclays, LandAmerica, Medica, and the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security. Softscape is based in Massachusetts with offices in London,
New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Hartford, Washington, D.C.,
Bangkok, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, and Sydney.