HR Technology for Talent Management: How to Ensure Effective Implementation?

Another example to demonstrate this: An LMS vendor promises to increase employee competence through hours of online learning and effectiveness is measured through surveys conducted before and after training combined with number of training hours. If you ask a sales leader if this is good for his/her team, the response you are likely to get is ‘Will the system make my sales people more productive in sales?’ or ‘How much time do my sales people have to invest because time utilized for learning is an opportunity cost?’ These measurements do not convince business leaders that investing in HR technology can increase productivity.

Point 2: ‘Value, not brand’

Some organizations believe that using reputable vendors in the HR technology space means better reliability and easier buy in. While this is sometimes true, I would like to caution that sometimes brand may not always bring relevant business value.

One of the organizations I previously worked with had this situation where the leadership team decided to implement a reputable HR system handling end to end HR processes. The transition was painful as the solution was so cumbersome and rigid that multiple stakeholders had to be involved in endless meetings. Sometimes everything would come to standstill because the solution could not fit in with the needs and customization would incur heavier costs. Worse still, there were some needs that the system could not fulfil like how I wanted to track talent development activities through a customized live feed but the HR solution could only provide standardized administration. In the end, my needs were out of the project scope.

One key take away from this experience is that one size does not fit all especially in talent management. Understanding what the organization and employees really need before searching for the right solution can save time, resources, and finances. Reputable vendors do have their merit as established industry players but if your organization is still on the learning journey, it may be better to start with a simpler solution and build as you move along.

Point 3: ‘Whole, not hole’

The last key point relates to how some organizations use HR technology to plug ‘holes’ in their processes without considering how this might impact other HR processes or the end user experience. For example, if a talent manager were to implement a HR solution to get line managers to evaluate their direct reports’ competencies for development, he/she has to consider various talent upstream and downstream activities like competency definitions, development plans, evaluation and analysis reports as part of the overall implementation and how it relates to other HR processes like merit, rewards, and performance. If line managers were to DIY to source and input information into multiple platforms which do not ‘talk’ to one another, it is a recipe for failure. It is important for any leader who intends to implement HR technology for talent management to consider the HR process overview and how it affects the ecology and should the change be implemented.

Based in Denmark, Grundfos offers advanced pump solutions and develops electronics for controls of pumps and other systems through network of partners, distributors and sub-dealers.