Fairplex opts Talent Management Solun

SAN MATEO,USA:SuccessFactors,Inc., the global leader in on-demand performance and talent management solutions, has announced that Fairplex, home of the Los Angeles County Fair, has implemented SuccessFactors Professional Edition ULTRA, SuccessFactors’ latest product release designed specifically for small and mid-sized businesses to enrich goal alignment and management, realize tangible cost and efficiency savings, and streamline overall performance management processes.

Fairplex had the benefit of using SuccessFactors’ ROI calculator in its selection process, which calculates both the anticipated hard- and soft-cost savings of the solution. Fairplex found that from both an employee and overall business perspective it could achieve massive savings in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. The overall result was a projected total savings of almost $80,000 over five years, which equates to a 381 percent ROI, including engagement benefits.

Fairplex will be implementing the latest version of SuccessFactors’ SMB offering, Professional Edition ULTRA. Designed for organizations of up to 500 employees, this new upgrade leverages Web 2.0 technologies for advanced integration between modules and easy, results-focused capabilities, delivers a simplified user interface, and more intelligent search to create an engaging user experience for managers and employees alike. The release includes Self-Service Administration, which delivers powerful new functionality for configuring and managing the suite.

Governed by the Los Angeles County Fair Association, Fairplex is the home of a number of year-round educational, multi-cultural and entertainment events tailored for the enrichment and enjoyment of Southern California's adults, youth and families. The organization is in the business of attracting premier events and faces stiff competition from the many other Southern California venues in attracting talent. Fairplex has 250 employees year-round, though this number jumps to 2,000-2,500 to scale for the L.A. County Fair, which will take place on September 5 - 28, 2008.

With this influx, it is important to have standard processes in place to drive consistency and accountability to keep both full- and part-time employees engaged and aligned with goals. Over the past two-and-a-half years, the company has set out to revamp the performance management system to better align with best practices, moving on from a simple, paper-based legacy system that left goals tucked away every year and forgotten. Fairplex embarked on an initiative to seek out engaging tools that would lower its core employee turnover and increase the value of the workforce.

Fairplex looked at a number of options in the selection process and narrowed its choice down to SuccessFactors and a small vendor with a more limited product offering. Ultimately, they found that SuccessFactors’ offering was distinctly easier to adopt and manage. The Professional Edition interface was clearer, more intuitive and easier to navigate, and the Software-as-a-Service delivery model meant that it would have no impact on Fairplex’s IT department or other systems and processes that were already in place.

Fairplex was particularly drawn to SuccessFactors’ Goal Management offering as it supports their stated core values of community service, integrity and leadership – in particular, they appreciated that goals are housed in one place and are easily accessible and can be managed on a regular basis. This allows all employees and managers to keep goals as a top priority and ensure they are always moving towards their objectives. The software also facilitates consistency between managers’ ratings and makes the review process less painful and easier to conduct.

“SuccessFactors is very tapped in to the tangible business value its software provides - both in the product and in added features like the Customer Community and ROI calculator – so the results of our strategic HR initiatives are right there for us to see,” said Raymond Ortegaso, corporate development director of Fairplex. “As for the product itself, the interface is much more intuitive and easy to use than anything else we’ve seen out there. We’re excited to be early adopters of the new release and are anxious to see the great value it’s going to bring to our organization.”

“It’s fantastic when a company takes the time to fully understand how optimizing the performance of their people will drive a real return on investment and increase the company’s bottom line,” said Shelly Davenport, general manager of SMB for SuccessFactors. “Using our ROI tool, Fairplex was able to very easily see how aligning and motivating their employees along with streamlining historically resource-intensive processes will translate into real revenue and costs savings.”

SuccessFactors’ SMB offerings – Professional Edition for organizations up to 500 employees, and SuccessPractices for organizations with up to 2,500 employees – bring enterprise-class best practices to small and midsize businesses. The Web-based, Software-as-a-Service technology model enables SMBs in all industries to cost-effectively implement the technology without the need for extensive IT support. By providing real-time, company-wide visibility into such critical performance data, companies are able to make better, more informed decisions about how to promote, recruit, compensate, reward and manage their employee base.