• Survey shows age is a major factor in workplace happiness - mid-career workers least happy
• Gender differences in pay rises, training, work satisfaction still common in some countries
• Training, performance reviews, recognition and workplace trust remain major employee issues

May 10 2011 - Lumesse - the new name from today for StepStone Solutions - has revealed the first findings of 'Inspiring Talent' - a detailed, independent survey* of employee attitudes to their jobs and employers. Sourced from almost 4000 employees in larger companies in 14 countries worldwide, including the US, UK, Germany and China, the survey reveals the different attitudes to work and employers among older and younger workers, men and women, and different regions. The survey found, for example, that the oldest and youngest workers were the happiest, with employees starting work and nearing retirement consistently reporting higher levels of workplace satisfaction than their stressed-out, mid-career colleagues. Differences in pay rises, training opportunities and job satisfaction between men and women were still common, suggesting that not all employers have made good progress in equalising the workplace experience between the sexes in recent years. Other key findings include:

• US employees are most likely to describe their companies as very successful; Swedish the least.
• French employees are the most loyal, while Scandinavians are the happiest. UK employees rank second last for job satisfaction.
• Chinese staff are almost three times as likely to report large pay rises as the global average.
• Less than a quarter of employees always feel trusted to make important decisions.
• More men (10%) than women (8%) report a large pay increase (over 20%) since 2008
• Almost 40% of older workers (56 - 60) believe they will be recognised and rewarded if they work harder or take extra responsibility; only 19% of Gen Y (18 - 25) agree.

StepStone Solutions, one of the world's leading talent management companies, also today announces the rebranding of the company as 'Lumesse.' (www.lumesse.com) With rapid growth in its 'Software-as-Service' solutions over recent periods, and an active user base well in excess of a million people in 70 countries, the new brand is the first step in making Lumesse an increasingly high-profile, global player in the fast-growth talent management sector.

Lumesse is positioned in the 'Leaders' quadrant in Gartner, Inc's 2011 "Magic Quadrant for Employee Performance Management Software. Leaders have strong product functionality and, often, provide superior customer experience. In addition, these vendors have strong direct sales and/or channel sales capabilities. Leading vendors also have strong or emerging multinational solutions (with corresponding service and support).

"As Lumesse we are building a new kind of company, a high technology talent management business that doesn't talk about technology, but about people and their potential," said Lumesse CEO, Matthew Parker. "Our rebrand is a watershed in our company development, but it's much more than a change of name. We're building a global talent management business that acts like a local company - a company that can help both employers and employees have better jobs and better results.  And our 'Inspiring Talent' survey shows that many companies have a long way to go in getting the best from their people and in giving them careers that really inspire them."

The Lumesse 'Inspiring Talent' survey shows that issues remain in the way many employers use the talents of their staff. Training, performance reviews and workplace trust remain an issue with only half of employees reporting that they have an effective appraisal process and only one third saying that good training is regularly available. Less than one in five employees said they would always be rewarded for taking extra responsibility or working harder.

Regionally, the survey found wide variations in attitudes across the 14 surveyed countries. US staff were most upbeat about their companies' success. The happiest employees were in the Nordic countries, with over 80% saying they enjoyed going to work; the least happy in Hong Kong, with only half claiming to be happy. However, the UK also did not fare well, being second last in the happiness stakes. When it comes to loyalty 57% of French employees planned to stay with their employers 'forever' - at the other end of the loyalty scale the UK and Netherlands (24%) were beaten only by Singapore, in last place for long-term loyalty at just 17%.

The full report, Inspiring Talent 2011, will be available from Lumesse later in June 2011.

Formed in 2003, StepStone Solutions separated from its parent company in a management buyout backed by HgCapital in April 2010. With over 1,700 customers, including major brands such as Bank of China International, Deutsche Telekom, Heineken, Merck, PSA Peugeot Citroën and Virgin Atlantic, and employees in 17 countries, Lumesse is a high-growth global success story in the talent management market. Lumesse provides 'Software-as-a-Service' solutions in both talent acquisition and talent management, with well over a million active users of its technology, served from global data centres.

"Many companies seem to be doing a great job in providing inspiring, supportive workplaces for their people," adds Matthew Parker, Lumesse CEO. "But the report card for many others has to be 'could do better,' especially in areas like training, career development, performance appraisals and job recognition. As Lumesse we've set out a clear statement of our company values, based on what our people said they wanted the company to be, with a strong emphasis on our ability to provide a working environment and culture that inspires people - in Lumesse and in our customers - to do better and have more fun."

"The talent management software market continues to grow in size and importance, yet it appears crowded, noisy and undifferentiated to buyers," said Josh Bersin, President and CEO of Bersin & Associates, a leading analyst firm in human resources and talent management.  "Lumesse's focus on creating a global brand which focuses on the 'people benefits' of talent management gives the company a clear and differentiated vision which goes far beyond the features and capabilities of software itself."

"Our rebrand to Lumesse is the end of a long project and the start of a new chapter in our history," said Michelle Martin, Global Head of Marketing. "The brand reflects the kind of company our people said they want to work for - vibrant, human, fun but focused, global in scale but local in execution and, above all, a business that generates fantastic outcomes for its customers and inspiring careers for their people."

About Lumesse

Lumesse is the only global company making talent management solutions work locally. We help customers around the world to implement successful local talent management initiatives that identify, nurture and develop the right people, in the right place, at the right time. Our multi-cultural background and presence means we understand how to deliver talent solutions that work the way our customers work, as individuals and as teams, because no two people, organisations or cultures are the same. We regard differences as strengths, not as obstacles.

1,700 customers work with us in over 70 countries because they recognise that commitment, innovation and value only come from people. We help customers to unlock and inspire that human potential in their businesses. Our integrated talent management solutions are comprehensive, intuitive, secure and fully internationalised into over 50 languages.

www.lumesse.com

*Inspiring Talent - the Lumesse global survey

In April 2011 Lumesse sponsored an anonymous survey of almost 4000 employees in larger businesses (500-50,000+ employees) worldwide. The survey was carried out independently by a third-party survey company specialising in consumer and employee research. Fourteen countries, primarily where Lumesse has operations, were covered, including Australia, Belgium, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, the UK and the US. The survey, which will be published in detail in June, asked people to express their views on subjects such as how happy they were at work, whether they felt their skills were properly utilised, the career paths open to them, and the training and career development opportunities they had.

About the Magic Quadrant

The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2011 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.