by Traci K and BrightMove Applicant Tracking and Recruiting Software

Aberdeen Group, a business research and analysis company, recently released a series of reports highlighting the primary focus of organizations for the upcoming year: Retention. As part of retention strategies, Human Capital Management and Employee Engagement have been assigned new levels of importance, fostering what Aberdeen foresees as a “Talent First” culture model: Take care of your employees, eliminate “HR silos” and begin to structure organizational planning and hiring objectives around proper analyses of talent throughout the company.

Aberdeen found that “Best-in-Class organizations are deploying integrated talent management technology…technology that encompasses recruitment, onboarding, performance, succession, compensation, learning and development” to create this “talent first” culture. However, 53% of organizations surveyed admit they cannot commit necessary time to strategic initiatives because of an overload of “tactical administrative tasks”.

HR has a long history of being viewed as a support department, rather than a collective business counterpart to organizational managers that can provide a measurable ROI. 35% of businesses feel that their leaders do not properly support human capital management goals and the same number of organizations say senior management has not taken part at all in HCM initiatives.

Full integration is crucial to creating the talent first culture organizations should be targeting. “Without integration, HR operates in one department, rather than spanning the entire organization. This myopic view of talent compromises the time, resources and quality of talent. Organizations need to reevaluate current HR silos and adopt a long-term, integrated approach to talent management. Integration and data consolidation will help lift some of the administrative burden from HR’s shoulders, and gain support from senior leaders”.

As with any major initiative, the support of decision-making managers and leaders within the organization is imperative. Once upper management has recognized that talent will help drive future company performance, strategies within the integration model should focus on skills gaps and engagement. Fill the holes and increase retention to create streamlined operations.

In order to gain support, be sure to do your research. There are plenty of talent management options depending upon your top priorities (i.e. performance management, succession planning, talent acquisition), as well as studies and reports to justify the actual ROI from integrating these tools and HR as a whole, to better align with the business. Make a compelling case as to why HR should be a strategic partner and not an afterthought in goal planning.

High-performing companies are often compared to well-oiled machines. As of late, leaders have focused simply on the overall cost of running them, patching run down parts. Now the shift is happening,  instead of looking at the big picture only, we now understand we need to start oiling the cogs or the whole damn operation breaks down. Proper analyses and assessments as well as the implementation of engagement strategies will help keep your machine running at top speed. Get a can of oil and watch the changes that result.

Traci K. is an HR professional and freelance writer based in the Midwest, specializing in recruitment and immigration.  When she’s not improving unemployment, she keeps busy with her husband and four children.

BrightMove is a leading provider of recruiting software for staffing firms, executive recruitment, corporate hr and recruitment outsourcing firms.