Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/210252
Upside NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF WORK Accenture Procures Procurian, Inc. Two leaders of procurement business process outsourcing joined forces this week when management consulting company Accenture agreed to acquire Procurian for $375 million. The annex will be beneficial since it consolidates the companies' resources in the procurement sector. Aligning Mobility Accenture has agreed to pay $375 million in cash for Procurian, subject to slight changes for working capital, cash, debt, and other items upon finalisation. and wider business objectives, according to Your Talent in Motion: Procurement business solutions provider Procurian has a strong global footprint with clients in 47 countries and in 21 languages. Accenture has approximately 275,000 employees serving clients in more than 120 countries. Procurian's assets—including nearly 780 employees—will add to the already existing operations of Accenture by the end of 2013. Underperforming Management Systems Despite an understanding that talent is a source of competitive advantage, establishing effective performance management programmemes remains a challenge for most organisations. According to Mercer's 2013 Global Performance Management Survey, just 3 per cent of organisations worldwide report their overall performance management system provides exceptional value. The survey includes responses from performance management leaders at more than 1,050 organisations from 53 countries. In addition to some commonalities in performance management programmes, such as setting employee goals, conducting formal year-end review discussions, and using performance ratings, Mercer's statistical analysis identified key drivers of successful performance management. They include manager skills, executive commitment, calibration, and technology. Topping the list is the skills of managers, specifically how well they set employee goals, provide feedback, evaluate performance, and link performance to critical talent management decisions such as compensation, development, and careers. According to Mercer's survey, roughly one in three organisations around the world say improving managers' ability to have candid dialogue with employees has the greatest impact on overall company performance. Alongside the contribution of managers, organisations with higher levels of executive commitment are more likely to have effective performance management programmes. One-on-one performance discussions, formal performance planning, and team accountability are some of the more common practices executives are implementing to direct their teams and achieve desired business results. More than half of mobility executives (56 per cent) working in multinational companies reveal that their mobility teams are involved only in deploying services, playing no role in talent management Global Mobility Effectiveness Survey 2013 from EY. This is despite an overwhelming majority (83 per cent) stating that mobility has a positive impact on career progression, helping to create future leaders and drive competitive advantage for their organisations. Nearly half (42 per cent) of the respondents say they do not even have a global talent management agenda. The majority of mobility professionals are either on the outside, struggling to understand their future role, or are too busy with operational day-to-day tasks to elevate their role. Half of the respondents say their mobility team is understaffed. This operational burden is illustrated by the fact that 68 per cent are preparing internal paperwork and sign-offs, whilst 69 per cent say they are not involved in the assignee selection process. Seventy-eight per cent of respondents report that their mobility function doesn't measure return on investment (ROI). Most organisations also come up short in tracking what happens after an assignment ends—such as employee retention, performance rating, and career progression—with 16 per cent of assignees leaving the company within the first two years after repatriation. A further 41 per cent simply are returning to their pre-assignment position. The survey also reveals that many organisations do not have the adequate procedures in place to track tax, payroll and immigration issues for those on formal or informal assignment. This is despite almost half (49 per cent) reporting deploying more employees into highgrowth emerging markets, where laws are constantly in flux: 40 per cent report that they do not have a formal risk control framework to monitor payroll tax and social security compliance. 31 per cent report that they have had to engage outside consultants or firms to address violations. Few mobility teams monitor 'business travelers', or those not on formal assignment, with 73 per cent saying that they are not part of the global mobility team's responsibility. AUTUMN 2013 | www.hroglobal.com [7]