Bangalore, Jan 14 (IANS): US-based leading business software provider Infor Tuesday announced acquiring PeopleAnswers, a leader in predictive talent analytics, for an unspecified amount to drive advanced human capital management in the cloud platform.

"PeopleAnswers' cloud-based talent science platform adds analytical rigor to human capital management by analysing 39 behavioural traits in job candidates and produces a fit rating," Infor chief executive Charles Phillips said in a statement here.

As one of the largest enterprise applications and services provider, Infor has set up its Indian subsidiary in this tech hub over a decade ago to help its customers improve operations, drive growth and adapt to changes in business demands.

The Texas-based PeopleAnswers invested in big data over a decade and found that 39 other attributes were more predictive of a new employee's performance.

"The attributes include ambition, discipline, energy, acceptance of authority, attention to detail, flexibility, conscientiousness, and empathy," Phillips said citing reasons for acquiring the analytics firm.

PeopleAnswers conducts online interviews of about 20 million applicants annually across industries, job roles, and geographies to measure the 39 performance attributes and create DNA profiles.

According to a study, 46 percent of new hires are bad hires and 89 percent of them fail because of attitudinal reasons. Skills are not predictive of positive outcome for a new hire.

PeopleAnswers will also make Infor's HCM (human capital management) software product deliver a real-world use case for big data that impacts results.

"Evaluating talent is a challenging task for a manager due to uncertainty and lack of data. PeopleAnswers will help us expand our HR (human resources) offering and add scientists to push the envelope on big data and HCM innovation," Phillips said.

According to global advisory firm International Data Corporation (IDC) research, the global HCM market is projected to grow eight percent annually, touching $13.5 billion in 2017 as companies seek to replace legacy HR systems with the latest technology.

PeopleAnswers pioneered the concept of HCM big data and behavioural science, which delivers a patented, cloud-based product available in 16 languages and has become the gold standard for hiring best practices.

With about 70,000 customers across 200 countries the world over, Infor offers industry-specific applications and products, engineered for speed and provides flexible deployment options to enable customers run their businesses in the cloud, on-premises or both.