Subscribe
E-Paper
 |
By Jun Ji-hye
An increasing number of global human resource (HR) management services providers such as Cornerstone OnDemand are making inroads into Korea as workplaces have been undergoing drastic changes in line with the government's labor-friendly policies such as the mandatory 52-hour workweek, industry officials said Monday.
They said companies here are facing a growing necessity for more effective employee management at a time when the government has pushed a series of policies, including raising the minimum wage, converting non-regular workers to regular workers and reducing the maximum workweek from 68 hours to 52 hours.
From the point of view of companies, those policies could weaken competitiveness and productivity.
"The demand for more effective talent management services has increased here as companies need to continue to increase their productivity despite decreased working hours," an industry official in the HR industry said. "Foreign companies have apparently been aware of the demand, and this has led them to come to Korea."
Workday, a California-based company that offers enterprise-level software systems for financial management, human resources and planning, has been carrying out aggressive marketing and sales activities since it established a Korean branch in August last year.
In June, the company held the first Workday Elevate Seoul in a bid to promote its finance, HR and planning applications. The event was attended by about 350 officials in charge of HR management and IT divisions at domestic companies.
At the time, Rob Wells, president of Workday in Asia, said the company will actively support companies' successful digital transformation and help them become competitive organizations.
Cornerstone OnDemand, a California-based learning and talent management software provider, announced Friday that it has officially launched its business in Korea, saying it secured Samsung Electronics as its first customer.
During a media conference, founder and CEO Adam Miller said organizations will increasingly seek ways to educate their employees as "most people in Korea and all over the world do not have the skills for the jobs being created in the Fourth Industrial Revolution."
The company said it helps employees "learn and grow and, in turn, helps businesses reach their potential," noting that 3,500 companies in 192 countries are currently using the firm's human capital management service offered in 43 languages.
Kwon Dae-bong, an emeritus professor at Korea University, said, "It has become more important for companies to improve their working environment and find innovative ways of educating their employees to maintain, or increase, their productivity amid the government's various labor policies."
