What comes first – the talent or the tech?

However, almost every client we have talked to recently has the same challenge: their technology and data insights are hampering their ability to address this priority. One critical cause of this issue is that many HR teams are sitting on – albeit solid platforms, like SAP, Oracle or Workday; this tech is not built to deliver insights that will support HR teams and chief executives to stem the tide of critical talent exiting the business.

Unfortunately, many HR teams were unfortunately sold a dream of “one platform to rule them all” when they signed up, but they have quickly realised that these platforms won’t revolutionise how they engage and manage talent across the business.

Sigh.

I wrote a short article on LinkedIn recently that this lack of tech was akin to HR teams dancing with a straight jacket on. HR and talent teams are busting to get out on the dancefloor and solve the talent dilemma for their organisation, but less-than-great tech delivering substandard data and insights means HR teams are dancing with a straight jacket on. You can’t move to the beat, let alone bust out your best moves for your people, when you can’t move your arms, can you?

The talent platforms many organisations rely on today were built to relieve short-term issues, so it’s no wonder they don’t deliver data and insights that can underpin long-term organisational strategy. Many businesses are now faced with the choice of stepping up and investing in well-designed tech solutions that will deliver the intel businesses need to retain their talent or continuing to dance with no music – you can try, but it won’t feel right, and you’ll disregard the disjointed and flimsy insights these platforms do give you to make decisions based on feel or worse, the passionate but diverse opinions of a steering committee!

The good news: C-level mindset and willingness is finally catching up

TQ’s Talent Maturity Model shows there has been a dramatic shift at the C-level in understanding the importance of talent initiatives. According to our analysis, companies have a talent maturity rating of 83 per cent when it comes to HR representation at executive level. So HR has a seat at the table (we all know the pandemic accelerated this), so now they need to capitalise on this to drive the people and talent agenda forward. But how?

Recommendations on how:

• Strike while the iron is hot – it is a priority, so spend a lot of time (and at pace) getting the backing for your key initiatives.
• Make it sustainable – prioritise initiatives and focus on the areas that will deliver the greatest value fastest with a lens on future-proofing your strategy
• Leverage external data and insights to build the business case.
• Explain the “cost of doing nothing” – this needs to be supported with data.
• External opinion/assistance will assist in validating your assumptions and priorities – consultants can help you leverage best practices and outside-in points of view; after all, you only know what you know.

The bad news: nothing good will come without the tech and data

It’s great that businesses are prioritising people and talent initiatives; however, there is still a business case to put forward for investment. Until now, HR/talent teams have struggled to produce compelling cases due to a lack of effective measurement from people and talent programs. It’s a catch-22; if you had the tech, you could produce the data to support your business case. But you need the investment in the tech to get the data.

Our analysis undercovered a low maturity level of 38 per cent when it came to having effective people and talent analytics to provide the insights to support the business case. Without this, they cannot gain the investment they need in tech to deliver on their strategy. See? It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, and this cycle needs to be broken. 

I’ve worked with a number of businesses where the data is so fragmented (and in some cases doesn’t even exist) that it can be challenging to provide the underlying evidence to support the investment or even prioritise where it’s most needed. 

Here is what you can do if this is your business and you know you need the tech:

• Define what insights are the most important and impactful within the business.
• Cleanse the data you have.
• Establish clear technology principles and governance around data quality and entry.
• Build a sustainable integration approach that focuses on data flow into the right areas to create the insights that are important.
• Invest in a BI or people analytics product (Tableau, MS Dynamics, Sisense, Visier) to aggregate data to produce the data visualisation you need.

The time is right, and you have their attention, but your business case will only be as good as your data. And your data is only as good as your technology and the ability by which to get what you need. So if this is your current headache that your business case will undoubtedly need to include investment in technology and data to get you to where you need to get to and, importantly, make it a sustainable solution. That’s where having a clear talent tech strategy that is aligned with your talent strategy that is connected to your business strategy is key. Be deliberate, be intentional and focus on future thinking. After all, this is as much a business transformation opportunity as it is a people and talent initiative!

By Alastair Schirmer, general manager of technology and innovation at TQ Solutions