Workscape Inc. today unveiled a platform for Internet-based Human Capital Management with the launch of Employee.com.
More than an employee portal, the Employee.com solution links employees from their home through their choice of access options, including their own television set, phone, wireless device or PC, to a vast array of company-sponsored information, as well as HR self-service and work-force management applications.
“More and more employers are recognizing the importance of helping their employees manage the increasing demands of balancing family with work,” said Tim Clifford, Workscape president and co-CEO.
Employee.com extends the benefits of the company’s web-based HR applications for large corporations by implementing a comprehensive Internet solution for Human Capital Management in the same way that customer relationship management, e-procurement and supply-chain management solutions have automated other internal operations.
Employee.com gives employees a highly secure, personalized view of their own corporate intranet or HR home page. The user interface presents information channels — Money, Health or Leisure — making choices very intuitive.
Workscape has joined with America Online, Sun Microsystems and iPlanet, a Sun-Netscape Alliance, to create the underlying technology platform for Employee.com. The engine behind Employee.com is a rapid development environment for new applications and also supports the integration of legacy applications. Applications running on the platform access the employee portal and share a common rules engine and workflow technology. The platform also integrates completely with multiple enterprise resource planning (ERP) products, payroll and other back-office systems.
The portal supports a single log-on and authentication process that eliminates the need for users to remember multiple identification numbers or passwords.
“Employee.com will provide a central, secure place for their employees to update their human-resource benefits, make purchases on specially discounted goods and services, communicate on projects and even stay in touch with retired colleagues, friends and family around the world at any time,” Clifford said.
Workscape has embedded all of its HR Internet-based applications in Employee.com. HR self-service programs relieve repetitive hassles, administrative tasks, queries and transactions that typically consume 60 to 80 percent of HR time and resources. Applications for compensation planning, recruiting and employee development allow managers to handle the most complex and fundamental aspects of work-force management.
DaimlerChrysler Corp. (NYSE:DCX) and General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM) have agreed to use portions of Employee.com as the basis for their employee portals, accessible through AOL under a deal announced this week. Under the agreement with the automakers, AOL, with its hallmark ease-of-use and convenience, will be the preferred Internet provider made available for a reduced employee contribution to nearly 200,000 employees at GM and 100,000 employees at DaimlerChrysler Corporation.
“Our portal will enable, educate and empower,” said Jim Holden, president and CEO of DaimlerChrysler Corporation. “The concept of having a web-savvy workforce is at the heart of our business-to-employee strategy. We are now making it very easy for employees to use the Internet and to access employee-related information and services.”
As part of the agreement, GM, DaimlerChrysler Corporation, AOL and Sun Microsystems will have an equity interest in Workscape.
Sun’s enterprise servers running the Solaris Operating Environment will provide the network computing environment for Employee.com — delivering scalability, availability, manageability, security and connectivity. iPlanet will provide application server and portal capabilities that will be important component
s of the Employee.com Internet platform.
Employee.com’s open technology platform also integrates with third-party solutions that facilitate application access, information management and knowledge management, both within enterprises and between large companies and outside content providers.
For example, at Employee.com, workers can participate in chat rooms, access their corporate calendar system, query a knowledge base of HR policies and procedures or receive instant messages from their health plan or 401(k) fund administrator — or simply seek entertainment.
Workscape builds Internet solutions for human resources and employee benefits administration that strengthen relationships among employers, employees and HR suppliers. The company develops HR self-service, work-force management, ASP and workplace e-commerce solutions that drive productivity gains and improve overall employee satisfaction.
Through its iSolutions product offerings, the company also offers web solutions to support marketplace interactions between benefits providers and their employee, employer and broker constituents. Workscape solutions have been deployed at nearly 300 major corporations. These solutions are being used by a total of more than 8 million employees worldwide.
