Q: What were the most important HCM market trends in 2009?
A: The workforce management and planning solutions were top-of-mind. Companies wanted to make better decisions about rightsizing their workforce. The use of talent management and analytics will help them get through this [economy] and … accelerate out of the downturn.
Q: What surprised you the most in 2009?
A: The growth of the talent management [vendors]. With high unemployment, you’d expect companies to cut seats/reduce investments in their HCM packages. They’re still predicting 18% to 30% growth in 2009. That’s a little bit of a surprise.