Well, it´s about time!!

As first mentioned on this blog weeks ago, Taleo has finally made the announcement I´ve been expecting for 2 years. Since 1999 the management team has been dangling this carrot in front of every single new recruit in an effort to drum up excitement about working there. It worked for the most part until about 2003. Then it became more of a ´don´t tell me, show me´ to those of us who bought in to the whole idea (disclosure; I was one of the first 50 or so employees with them back in ´99 and left almost 2 years ago to join HR.com) way back when.

There was a time when Taleo had become the ´Teflon Vendor´ and were all but unstoppable and successful at every turn. The F500 bought in to the idea that they had the best possible TMS vendor option out there and were beleivers (as most of us were) that this would be the defacto choice when automating the staffing process. While they remain successful and probably will be the dominant vendor in the F500 for some time much of the shine has worn off this well built company. As I predicted 2 years ago their biggest issue will be retention. To date there are 20 former employees working for the competition. These 20 people know all too well where Taleo shines and were there weak underbelly is and have taken advantage of that knowledge to their own benefit.

Retention will remain as issue as most of the original cast who are still there were simply waiting out the announcement to go public and take advantage of the options they have accumulated over the years. Given the recent shift in culture (check out their recent announcements to see the number of new hires from Peoplesoft they have hired in the last year or so) and the ongoing efforts to increase their profile it would seem to me that they very thing that got them to where they are (strong camaraderie and culture built by the brave souls who helped get the ball rolling) is no longer part of their fabric. It happens all the time and is not unique to Taleo but one has to wonder what will be left of the soul of this company once the shift is complete.

While I´m sure the new employees have a tremendous amount of skill to offer I wonder if coming in from a company like Peoplesoft they perhaps have something other than pure passion driving their decisions. I know what it was once like there and in recent conversations with people still there it sounds like an all but sterile environment. In the end it may very well work in their favor but from a purely sentimental perspective long after the fact it would appear to me that Taleo is no longer the beehive of innovation, passion and vision it once was.

To all of those who remember what is was like and to those of you still there, I wish nothing but the best to all of you and hope you are doing well. We all worked at something new and innovative at the time and I remember fondly the good times we had and the passion we shared to make a difference in the way staffing was done. It was certainly one of the most enjoyable time I´ve had working for a living. As challenging and taxing it was to overcome all of our collective challenges we did so with unbridled enthusiasm and a confidence unrivalled by most standards. Time well spent! What was once an idea is now a reality and Taleo will probably succeed. But, at what price?

Here´s the official announcement from www.taleo.com ...

Taleo Corporation Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering

Taleo Corporation announced today the pricing of its initial public offering of 6,700,000 shares of its common stock at $14.00 per share (before underwriting discounts and commissions). Taleo offered 5,360,000 shares of common stock, while the remaining 1,340,000 shares were offered by selling stockholders. The selling stockholders have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,005,000 shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, if any. The offering is expected to close on October 4, 2005. The shares have been approved to trade on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol "TLEO." The shares are being sold through underwriters led by Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., CIBC World Markets Corp. and ThinkEquity Partners LLC. Copies of the final prospectus related to the offering can be obtained by contacting Citigroup at: Citigroup Global Markets Inc. at Brooklyn Army Terminal, 140 58th Street, 8th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11220 (Telephone 718-765-6732). The prospectus will also be available on the Securities and Exchange Commission website at http://www.sec.gov.