Leading Analyst Firm Lists Globoforce and Recognition Category in Two Reports on Social Technologies and Performance Management

Globoforce highlighted in new Gartner Hype Cycle and IT Market Clock as sample vendor for HR leaders

SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass., and DUBLIN, Ireland – October 11, 2011 – Globoforce®, the world’s leading provider of SaaS-based employee recognition solutions, today announced it has been recognized again by Gartner in two recent Gartner reports. The two reports, the Hype Cycle for Business Use of Social Technologies and IT Market Clock for Human Capital Management Software, add to the momentum of social employee recognition in the HR technology arena.

“Recognition is social. Whether you look at it from a psychological or business standpoint, the result is the same: a profound and measurable impact on driving behaviors,” said Eric Mosley, CEO of Globoforce. “By including social employee recognition in these reports and predicting worldwide growth, Gartner has drawn the same conclusion we’ve been hearing from some of the world’s most admired companies. Employee recognition drives company culture, engages employees, and quantifiably impacts a company’s bottom line through the use of social technologies.”

The first report, Hype Cycle for Business Use of Social Technologies, produced by Gartner analyst Jeffrey Mann, examines specific business functions and how various industries can apply social technologies. The report positions social employee recognition in the hype cycle’s early stage, with mainstream adoption and growth on the horizon. According to the report, “The bigger business impact of social software in the HR context will be on the organization's culture. Social software can alter the organizational fabric and culture, creating a more open and collaborative work environment.” Social employee recognition, with Globoforce highlighted, was added to this Gartner Hype Cycle to indicate the rising impact social applications and platforms have on the workplace.

The second report, IT Market Clock for Human Capital Management Software, produced by Gartner analyst James Holincheck, helps companies plan their HCM application and sourcing strategy and “take advantage of technological evolution.” The report, which includes Globoforce, discusses the impact of recognition on the future of managing employee performance. As the report notes, “We expect to see a rise in prominence of more ad hoc (less as part of an annual process) reward and recognition programs…The move to more-frequent, ad hoc rewards and recognition programs, with less dependence on the more-formal annual performance appraisal and focal review, will drive the next level of benefits from EPM solutions.”

About Hype Cycle

The Hype Cycle is copyrighted 2011 by Gartner, Inc., and its affiliates and is reused with permission.
Hype Cycles are graphical representations of the relative maturity of technologies, IT methodologies
and management disciplines. They are intended solely as a research tool, and not as 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.

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