Why Integrated Talent Management Matters Now
About a decade ago, the major trend in technology was the concept of “best of breed.” Software companies worked towards becoming the absolute leader in a particular niche. Companies would choose the best available solution for a specific function in HR—payroll or applicant tracking or performance management, for example. These systems may or may not have integrated behind the scenes. Sometimes middleware was necessary to ensure a seamless integration, but often, imperfections and incompatibilities led to the creation of extra steps and workarounds to achieve communication between disparate systems. Over time, these processes became standard operating procedure.
The pace of technology innovation has quickened much faster than many processes and procedures for performing even basic HR tasks in large organizations. What had to be done in five steps can, now, often be done in one step, but adherence to old habits survives. In an increasingly interconnected world where competition for talent is fierce, a new outlook on talent management is necessary. Leadership needs to know more about their workforce than just what positions are open. Employees want more from HR than paperwork.
According to a 2014 study from HCI and Oracle regarding the state of HCM technology, less than 40% of respondents stated that their technologies were easy to use. Analytics capabilities are lacking, and just 25% of respondents believed their executives have the ability to anticipate and prevent the workforce challenges that are on the horizon. It’s become more and more clear that best-of-breed strategies are lacking in interconnectedness and pave the way for redundant tasks like dual entry and create a strong reliance on manual paperwork.
Integrated talent management technology is the hallmark of evolving HR strategy. Yet, only 18% of organizations are truly leveraging integrated HR technology. Why?
One of the biggest hurdles to implementing an enterprise-wide analytics strategy is a resistance to change. This resistance may come from leadership or it may come from daily users of existing technologies. When evaluating potential technology solutions, many companies fall into the trap of attempting to fit new solutions to old processes. The old adage, “This is how we’ve always done it” becomes an impassable barrier to innovation. Technologies are vetted on specific features and functionalities, not necessarily how they contribute to a more efficient process on the whole. It’s nearly impossible to retrofit a fully integrated solution to encompass all of the individual functionalities of multiple disparate systems and expect unique processes to remain the same.
Despite these obstacles, integration is possible. It is necessary to view the implementation of an integrated system as a business venture, not just a technology change or a vendor switch. The goals of the business are paramount. Pamela Stroko, Talent Management Expert for Oracle Human Capital Management, will explore this topic and others in an upcoming webcast “Why Integrated Talent Management Matters Now,” taking place Thursday November 19 at 3pm ET. The webcast will explore a recent survey conducted by Oracle and HCI on the state of integrated technology in the workplace today.