Today’s harsh economic environment prompts the chicken and egg business question. Is it Cash or People: Are people really your most important asset?

Though presented as a point counterpoint debate, most of the advice in this interesting publication promotes the importance of the workforce. Although some views are focused on the vertical industries of retail, insurance, and life sciences, there is familiar—and broad-based—prescriptive advice that lines up with Taleo’s views and offerings, such as:

Goals Alignment
Make sure talent is laser focused on what really matters.

Strategic Recruiting
Forward-thinking organizations are opportunistically acquiring top talent.

And Career Management
Emphasize career development.

Of course, successful organizations need cash but without their people, there’d be no business to be done.

As the economy takes a step back, compliance issues move forward. Top of mind are defensible hiring and firing practices with the associated reporting and analytics to mitigate litigation risks. A number of articles have been covering different aspects.

Layoffs spark rise in wrongful termination lawsuits reports that with the wave of downsizing and giving notice, we are seeing the associated complaints. The article outlines expert opinion and a series of actions to minimize business impact.

Workplace litigation risk heats up as economy cools recommends maintaining benefits to boost retention, using nondiscriminatory criteria and decision documentation for reductions in force, and written waiver and release agreements in exchange for separation benefits.

Add ‘Review Background Screening’ To Your List of Resolutions notes that EEOC field offices have been aggressively pursuing cases where one or more forms of discrimination permeate a company’s hiring practices. Focusing on the direct relationship between each position’s background screening criteria and the job description can help avoid issues.

And Noticing the differences provides insight into how those making global job cuts need to focus locally and tailor programs to specific geographies.

The bottom line here is that a unified talent management system provides a structure of consistent and defensible processes. Nonetheless, how you execute comes down to the individual skills of your HR specialists and line managers.

These are givens: workforce expenditures comprise the majority of expenses for many, even most, companies. And the Board of Directors is the most senior-level executive group addressing corporate operations and strategy.

Consider this troubling news: A survey conducted by Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. and the Center for Effective Organizations (CEO) at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business found:

Human Resources Executives Lack Representation on Boards
Although human resources are an increasingly important corporate asset, 78 percent of the respondents said that they have no HR experts on the board. Only 16 percent said their boards have a committee on human capital, while 75 percent said their boards have never considered having one.

In the context of current economic conditions, The Wall Street Journal article, Boards Are MIA for Workforce Decisions, further explains:

When asked whether the board receives information regarding human capital, the results at best are mixed. They get succession planning data for top management positions, but not about critical technical positions, or metrics on turnover, recruiting success and employee attitudes. Without these data, it is hard to imagine that directors can make informed decisions about how their organizations should deal with an economic downturn.

Most boards have no members with a background in HR management. Thus, when it comes to answering key questions about the impact of a layoff, how to deal with survivors and whether the company is laying off the right people, most boards lack individuals who have expertise in talent management and workforce motivation.

Perhaps today’s talent-intensive organizations should revisit who’s on board?

When you realize people make a competitive difference, talent becomes the strategy. Read why and how from thought leaders from a wide variety of positions and industries: CIO of Toyota Motor Sales, EVP of retail banking at PNC Financial Services, HR director of Barclays, and chief personnel officer of ThyssenKrupp.

These Taleo users have used talent innovation and strategy execution to make a difference. And all of the leading executives and academics featured in Capturing the People Advantage: Thought Leaders on Human Capital recognize the value of human capital as a critical enabler of business results.

Among many insights around strategy, business, and talent management is this affirmative one in USC business professor Edward Lawler III’s chapter, Walking the Talk with Talent:

In any organization that believes human capital is its most important asset, it follows logically that the HR department should be its most important staff group. This means that HR should contain some of the top talent in the company, along with the best information technology resources, and HR should be a valued expert resource when it comes to strategy development, change management, organization design, and talent management.

Booz & Company is now offering this book in PDF format as a free download. It’s a good read.

The Taleo Research study, HR Challenges in 2009 has found—for the third consecutive year—that employee retention is the biggest concern for UK HR managers.

Although budgets may tighten as the UK economy slows—more HR managers expect their budget to decrease (25%) rather than increase (22%); about half (54%) expect no change—the focus will be on identifying and retaining top talent. Internal mobility and employee engagement are viewed as essential components to retain a competitive edge and ensure company survival.

To respond to that challenge, almost half (48%) of those surveyed want “a system to improve performance management, succession and career planning” in 2009.

The need for better tools and the emphasis on retention practices by HR managers is further validated by a CareerBuilder.co.uk employee survey. It found 40 percent do not feel loyal to their current employer and 23 percent said they are likely to leave their current position to change jobs in a year or less. A number of the reasons cited for the lack of loyalty map directly to the need for improved talent management programs.

Performance management can address the criticisms:
Don’t feel my employer values me (61%)
My efforts are not recognized or appreciated (46%)

Internal mobility, succession and career planning initiatives can counter the complaints:
Not enough career advancement opportunities (42%)
Work is not challenging enough (24%)

With a focus on retention at the top of the list in this 2009 recessionary economy, HR managers in the UK and worldwide can realize positive outcomes from talent management solutions that directly impact the performance of their workforces.

Which came first? A: companies looking globally for talent? Or B: talent looking globally for work? It seems that the talent age that we’re in is now clearly a global—and mobile—talent age. Substantial numbers of workers would move significant distances for work.

The counterpart: a dramatic increase in the percentage of companies by headquarters location reporting that they have or will establish a global pool of talent within the company, according to The Boston Consulting Group/World Federation of Personnel Management Associations report "Creating People Advantage: How to Address HR Challenges Worldwide Through 2015”.

In North America, for example, it’s up from 19% in 2007 to 41% in 2010-2015; in Europe, 28% in 2007 to 49% in 2010-2015; and in Emerging Asia: 40% in 2007 to 69% in 2010-2015.

Obviously global talent pools provide access to a large candidate pool. However, they don’t need to be exclusively for new hires. Organizations that have platforms supporting and providing visibility into global talent pools can include their current workforce alongside external candidates.

Ultimate mobility can mean having the best talent in the right location, regardless of geography. So maybe it’s time to think global and act global and get on the road to global talent implementation.