The Role of HR in The Age of Talent whitepaper prompted some blog buzz, including The HR Capitalist posting—and thread of comments—When People Say HR Stinks, It's Simple...Don't Stink... It revisits the controversy around the role of HR as a business partner.

We think that talent management is best implemented as a partnership between the business and HR. We already know it’s a top business priority. Interestingly, the study results from a small sample of respondents from Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) show a sharp difference from North America (NA). Their encouraging perspective?

• HR reports directly to the CEO in 71% of companies in ANZ versus 58% in NA.

• 78% of respondents from ANZ claim that HR is either respected or highly respected and occasionally or frequently consulted on corporate strategy versus 64% in NA.

• 32% from ANZ assess their organizations as being well prepared or very well-prepared to address coming talent management challenges versus 18% in North America.

In the age of talent, we agree that HR is a profession in transition, especially when it comes to realizing the transformational power of unified talent management on organizations. We understand the pain but we also see the gains, and agree with the comments of report author Alan Schweyer, Executive Director of the Human Capital Institute:

“…the most successful organizations make talent management a priority for every leader, manager and supervisor…”

“…the gap in awareness between talent management and HR, is narrowing, as is the time spent in each activity…”

Take the time to make talent management happen in your organization, to realize HR elevation, deliver the payoff to the business, and perhaps even add to your own compensation.