Naperville, Ill., November 24, 2008 —Three years ago, the Cable Telecommunications Human Resources Association (CTHRA) recognized human capital metrics as an emerging strategic practice that would gain a foothold among cable and satellite companies seeking to measure the effectiveness of critical workforce and human resources initiatives. CTHRA's foresight resulted in the 2006 launch of an annual employer survey of 30 key metrics related to organization and operations, compensation and benefits, employee retention and separations, HR staff and structure, and staffing and hiring. Today, CTHRA is pleased to release key highlights, including benchmarks and trends, from its 2008 survey results.

Saratoga, a PricewaterhouseCoopers human resource service offering (PwC Saratoga), has conducted CTHRA's annual Human Capital Metrics Survey. The research firm provided trend analysis as well as comparative analysis using the PwC Saratoga General Industry median which represents PwC Saratoga's national database consisting of over 300 organizations across 11 industry sectors.

"Overall, the findings from CTHRA's 2008 Human Capital Metrics Survey suggest that participating companies are effective at maintaining employee productivity amidst current economic conditions when compared against the PwC Saratoga General Industry. By leveraging the information gathered in CTHRA's survey, companies are in a strong position to capitalize on their strengths, focus on action planning in areas that demonstrate opportunities for improvement, and increase the contribution on the company's bottom line," said Shebani Patel, a manager at Saratoga.

Seventeen industry employers completed the survey: Bresnan Communications, Bright House Networks, Charter Communications, Comcast Cable Communications, Cox Communications, Rogers Communications Inc., Time Warner Cable, A&E Television Network, C-SPAN, Discovery Communications, ESPN, Lifetime Networks, Premier Retail Networks, Scripps Networks, Starz Entertainment Group, The Weather Channel, and Turner Broadcasting System Inc.

KEY FINDINGS
While comprehensive results from CTHRA's 2008 Human Capital Metrics Survey are exclusively released to survey participants, CTHRA is pleased to share four key findings with the industry.

1. Cable has a higher Human Capital ROI than other industries
Human Capital ROI (HC ROI) assesses the bottom line or pre-tax profit return per dollar invested in labor costs which includes cash compensation and benefits. CTHRA's survey respondents yielded a median HC ROI of $3.09, up slightly from $3.06 last year, compared to the PwC Saratoga General Industry median result of $1.53 which was down from $1.57. The results suggest that CTHRA's respondents continue to move in the right direction in managing labor costs to financial outcomes, and therefore, continuing to realize a higher pre-tax profit return than other industries.

The results are also favorable when reviewing the situation from a different perspective: labor cost as a percentage of revenue. Cable respondents spend $175 to generate $1,000 of revenue, while the PwC Saratoga General Industry average requires $280 in labor costs to yield the same revenue outcome.

"The data suggests that CTHRA participants are managing their labor investments in relation to financial outcomes, requiring less labor dollars to generate the same top-line return in comparison to other organizations represented in the PwC Saratoga General Industry. Organizations must continue to closely monitor this measure especially given the state of the economy. It is important to ensure that reward and workforce planning practices are in line with projected revenue growth, and that labor costs are controlled relative to the amount of revenue generated," stated Patel.

2. Cable employers have reduced HR costs, but still invest more in employees
CTHRA's survey results indicate that although industry employers reduced HR costs by six percent over last year, participating companies continue to invest more on delivering HR programs and services to their employees when compared to organizations represented in the PwC Saratoga General Industry. CTHRA's median HR expenditure of $2,312 per employee is significantly higher than the $1,610 spent among participants in the PwC Saratoga General Industry.

3. External hirings on the rise  
At the median, CTHRA participants leveraged internal candidates to fill 27.9 percent of open positions, a slight decrease from last year's result of 31.9 percent and lower than the PwC Saratoga General Industry result of 35.2 percent. The increase in external hires may reflect the fact that very specific skills sets are needed for some new positions, such as web-based content delivery, which are not readily available from the current pool of employees.

4. Cable has slightly higher employee turnover
Despite difficult financial times, employee turnover did not increase significantly among CTHRA's survey participants or the General Industry. CTHRA's survey results revealed employee turnover was 16.6 percent in 2007 and 18.7 percent in 2008, while the PwC Saratoga General Industry total turnover increased from 13.9 percent to 15.1 percent. An increase in involuntary separations may be expected, given the slowing economy; however, it is interesting to note that involuntary turnover remained relatively flat across both CTHRA median and the PwC Saratoga General Industry median. It is important to keep in mind that not all voluntary separations are necessarily unwanted.

Many organizations are incorporating outcome-focused measures (e.g., 90 day turnover rate, first year of service turnover rate, hiring manager satisfaction, and new hire experience) in their analysis of the effectiveness of hiring practices. This practice provides employers with a more comprehensive picture of how inputs such as hiring costs impact the quality of hire.

Call for 2009 Survey Participants
Companies interested in participating in CTHRA's 2009 Human Capital Metrics Survey
should contact Saratoga's Shebani Patel at (408) 817-7445. For more information about CTHRA's research initiatives, please visit www.cthra.com.

Media Contact: Melissa A. Hicks, Mosaic Marketing, 484.888.6766

About CTHRA
The Cable and Telecommunications Human Resources Association (CTHRA) is the premier human capital resource for the industry and a growing nonprofit organization with 1,600 members spanning 100 companies. CTHRA provides industry-specific benchmarks, information and resources, as well as networking and educational opportunities. Its groundbreaking initiatives include employee benefits, compensation and human capital metrics surveys and its annual symposium. For more information, visit www.cthra.com.