TALENTMANAGER.IE, Business Development Centre, Letterkenny
INNOVATOR
Institute of Technology, Port Road, Co Donegal. Tel: 074 9116000.
www.talentmanager.ie
You’ve got
talent
Anonlinetoolkitforsmartteam
workers,TalentManager.ieaims
tobringaboutachangeinthe
waysmalltomedium-sized
companiesaremanaged
‘Our key avenue for growth
is the internet. Because
the product is web-based,
we don’t need to travel to
other locations’
Lee Tedstone, Anne Marie Doohan, Barry Harper
and Glen Campbell
W
HILE it has only been in existence for “Around90pcoftheknowledgethatemployeesneedto in English-speaking countries such as the UK, America,
two years, TalentManager.ie has a clear do their job doesn’t come from a training course, but Canada and Australia.
vision of how it can help companies from asking their manager, colleagues, peers and via “Oncewegetthatuser-base,wewilllookatlocalisationand
operate more efficiently. According to online forums,” he explains. customisationofthepackageforotherlanguages.Attheend
Barry Harper, managing director, TalentManager.ie is Continuously developed and upgraded since the com- oftheday,we’reasmallcompanygoingupagainstbigplay-
designed to help business people run their companies panyformedin2006,thethirdversionoftheonlinebusi- ers in this market space. We’re not afraid of taking on big-
more effectively; to get more out of those who work for ness toolkit is set to be launched this month. People can ger companies if we can carve out some differentiators.”
them; while also reducing costs. registerforafreeversionofthepackage,saysHarper.How- The company’s marketing ethos centres around net-
The software package offers three specific tools, focus- ever,thelonger-termobjectiveistoupsellsomeofthevalue- working,andits2009planwillhingeonbeingascosteffec-
ingonemployeeperformance,collaborationandlearning. added services attached to the software. tive as possible.
It enables employee-performance appraisals to be car- TheinnovationbehindTalentManager.iecanbeseenin “Our target is to get users on the system, so we need to
ried out on a more regular basis, as opposed to annually. a number of ways, says Harper. “The application is a free throw the net wide. We’re using the internet extensively
“At the end of every week, every single member of staff tool. Also, it is bringing about 10 to 15 different tools forthemarketingcampaign,butyouneedtobackthatup.
isaccountableforthesalarytheygot.Itfocusesonhowthe togetherinonepackage.Webelievepeoplewillusethisand We need to connect with people ourselves. We use tools
employee added value to the company,” says Harper. become smart team workers at a very low cost.” such as LinkedIn and online forums,” Harper explains.
It also allows a higher degree of offsite collaboration Innovation is a doddle, he says, as long as your company Currently employing seven people at its Donegal office,
between employees working for the same company who has its ear to the ground. “If you network and talk to peo- Harper is only too aware of the challenges facing the com-
can communicate via videoconferencing instead of trav- ple, then innovation comes easily. You get ideas through pany. “The sentiment at the moment is, unfortunately, not
elling across the country for a meeting. This cuts back on them. Then it’s just a matter of being selective.” as good as it was a couple of years ago, but our attitude is
mileage expenses, as well as lost time spent on the road. HarperadmitsthemarketforthisproductissmallinIre- optimistic.We’vepositionedtheproductsothere’safreever-
The third aspect to the product is training. “In today’s land,butfirmlybelievesthatdoingwellinthehomemar- sion of it on our website.”
climate,peoplecan’taffordtopayfortrainingcourses.It’s ket is essential before looking abroad. A very close eye is kept on finances, with regular cash-
the first budget that gets cut when there’s even a small “Ourkeyavenueforgrowthistheinternetandtryingto flow meetings being held to forecast payments due in the
downturn,” says Harper. get our message out that way. Because the product is comingmonths.Havingatleastthreemonths’visibilityis
“TalentManager.ie enables employees who have, for web-based, we don’t need to travel to other locations. essential, he recommends.
example, a technical issue they need help with, to type in OneofourcustomersisinSwitzerland—Icangethimset “We started doing this from the word go and we were
the question to the system, which in turn goes out to the up as quickly as someone down the road.” about60/70pcaccurate.However,nowweareat90/95pc
entire user community of the package. For now TalentManager.ie aims to develop a user base accuracy. Very little gets paid out unless it’s in the plan.”
34 SFA NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS AWARDS WWW.SFA.IE/AWARDS
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