Predicting the future is more art than science, but it can be instructive to speculate on scenarios and extrapolate on trends. In the PricewaterhouseCoopers study Managing tomorrow’s people*: The future of work to 2020 three key themes emerged:

1. Business models will change dramatically.
2. People management will present one of the greatest business challenges.
3. The role of HR will undergo fundamental change.

The report paints HR in the corporate landscape as passively standing at a crossroads with its service baggage where it will choose to become the heart of the organization, drive social responsibility, or get outsourced for acting too transactional while retaining the people sourcing function.

In line with these themes, unified talent management offers HR a combined process, strategic, and bottom line approach to become the heart of business performance. It’s part of our vision of The Future of Talent Management: The Four Stages of Evolution.