62 Percent of Senior Managers Say ''Enterprise-wide Buy-in'' is Greatest Challenge in Implementing Human Capital Management Programs.

Business Editors

TROY, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 3, 2001

Hard Dollar Savings Ranks as No.1 Benefit to HCM (47 percent), But

More Control Over Process and Faster Fulfillment Rate as 'Best

Benefits' (20 percent, respectively)

67 Percent Say On-site HCM Representation is Competitive Advantage

for Large Corporations

Reporting today on the findings of a survey conducted at DCI's Human Capital Management conference, Chimes, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Computer Horizons Corp. (NASDAQ: CHRZ) stated that a clear majority (62 percent) of respondents identified 'enterprise-wide acceptance by those responsible for hiring' as the greatest challenge for companies implementing human capital management (HCM) programs.

Garnering support and funding for large-scale projects from CEOs is typically the largest hurdle in getting a new initiative off the ground. That is why the 62 percent response indicating the mid-level 'buy-in' as the biggest challenge is somewhat surprising. The results of the survey indicate CEOs and CFOs appear positive to the cost savings and organizational benefits an HCM system provides a company. Only 23 percent of respondents indicated senior management buy-in as HCM's biggest concern.

"This survey indicates that people do not like to be directed to a computer screen and told to change the way they work," explained Barry Olson, Chimes' co-president. "The people depended upon to make an HCM system work cannot be left on an island once technology is installed. Pure software implementation is not an effective solution. To that end, we at Chimes deploy a team of staffing professionals to work with each client's pool of IT, HR, Procurement and finance managers. These "change agents" get the program up and running, and can stay as long as the company needs them."

Gaining acceptance from the vendor community was the primary obstacle for only four percent of respondents. Charles Halash, Chimes' vice-president of marketing, explains, "Benefits can be reciprocal for IT staffing vendors. Through a robust HCM system, they can have access to more requirements and more customers." Worries about technical integration registered at less than one percent.

Benefits of Human Capital Management

Another strong majority of respondents (67 percent) acknowledged that having an on-site HCM manager was a competitive advantage for large companies. "With an on-site HCM program administrator, companies can more easily coordinate requirement posting, approval, recruiting, and placement," offered Olson.

The survey also revealed that the primary benefit of implementing a HCM system was hard dollar savings (47 percent). But cost savings alone was not the run-away choice. Reflecting the need for organizational sanity amongst a highly fragmented process, managers cited gaining control over hiring, identifying better candidates and faster position fulfillment as evenly split, with 20 percent voting for each benefit.

"With hundreds of hiring managers working independently, managers lack current information on hiring needs or spending," said Halash, "Obtaining authorization to hire, screening candidates and interviewing are time and resource intensive activities. Under this scenario, it is evident why hard dollar savings is not the overwhelming motivation to implement a HCM program."

Assessing the Trends of Contract Work in a Slowing Economy

As a possible indicator of economic uncertainty, respondents observed that IT professionals were looking for permanent positions (69 percent) and were shying away from freelance work. Seventeen percent believed that the project-to-project contract work was still popular. The remaining of those surveyed were not sure.

Respondents tended to cite certification in a certain skill set as being more important or as important now than it was a year ago, 50 percent saying more important, 40-percent saying it was about the same. Ten percent answered that certification was less important today than it was a year ago.

"This finding might be an indicator as to how companies are looking to certain qualifications to speed the hiring process, or that hiring managers can be more selective of their candidates than they were in a tighter labor market," said Olson.

The Most Desirable Skill Sets

Network skills (27 percent) slightly edged web (23 percent) and database development (23 percent) skills as the most attractive to companies right now. The other respondents also named back-office integration, enterprise resource planning (ERP), application design, and data warehouse receiving write-in votes.

"As a general rule, we're seeing a trend towards skills that help corporations maintain systems and those that offer specific benefits with high return on investment (ROI) within a short time frame," Halash observed.

"A comprehensive HCM system can help senior management identify how their employees perform against projections of ROI," concluded Olson.

About the Survey

This confidential survey was completed by 32 senior managers attending DCI's Human Capital Management Conference at the Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, October 30- November 1, 2001. Respondents included CEOs, CFOs, vice presidents, and directors of recruiting from large corporations and IT staffing firms.

About Chimes Inc.

Chimes, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Computer Horizons Corp. (Nasdaq: CHRZ), provides workforce procurement and vendor management services to Global 1000 companies. Through scaleable, web-based software, Chimes administers the entire hiring cycle to identify, leverage and manage the enterprise-wide spend on human capital. Chimes' portfolio of services addresses contingent hiring (CVM), full-time hiring (CAM), time sheet and expense processing (CTE), and program management (Chimes PM).

Drawing on its network of more than 1400 staffing suppliers to recruit candidates at 23 major corporations across seven industries, Chimes leads the industry in delivering an efficient, cost saving approach to human capital management. For more information in Chimes, please visit www.chimesnet.com .

About Computer Horizons Corp.

Computer Horizons Corp. (Nasdaq: CHRZ) is a strategic human capital services and e-Business solutions company with more than thirty years of experience, specifically in information technology. As a global leader in systems integration and managed services, CHC enables companies to maximize technology investments. By leveraging its core business in IT services and its proprietary technology through Chimes, its wholly-owned subsidiary, CHC is enabling its Global 2000 customer base to align and integrate business planning with human resource management across an enterprise's business functions. For more information on Computer Horizons, please visit www.computerhorizons.com .

Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions contained in the foregoing are "forward-looking statements" (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. It is possible that the assumptions made by management--including, but not limited to, those relating to contract awards, service offerings, market opportunities, results, performance expectations, expectations of cost savings, or proceeds from sale of certain operations--may not materialize.

Actual results may differ materially from those projected or implied in any forward-looking statements. In addition to the above factors, other important factors include the risks associated with unforeseen technical difficulties, the ability to meet customer requirements, market acceptance of service offerings, changes in technology and standards, the ability to complete cost-reduction initiatives, the ability to execute the sale of certain operations or other initiatives, dependencies on key employees, customer satisfaction, availability of technical talent, dependencies on certain technologies, delays, market acceptance and competition, as well as other risks described from time to time in Computer Horizons' filings with the Securities Exchange Commission, press releases, and other communications.