In the past decade, applications of talent management practices have undergone a substantial progression. Although it’s interesting to consider these developments conceptually, it’s more informative and valuable to see how organizations—each in its own place on the talent management technology and processes journey—strive to improve.

The Future of Talent Management: Four Stages of Evolution by Taleo Research examines the stages of talent management maturity in a new model while covering future technology and processes.

The paper categorizes the supporting applications, enabling technologies, and business processes required for proper—and optimal—talent management proceeding through four stages of evolution:
• STAGE 1: Companies use automated core HR systems with a group of manual and disparate human capital management (HCM) systems and processes.
• STAGE 2: Organizations begin to automate some of their HCM processes.
• STAGE 3: HCM systems are being integrated and talent management suites are forming.
• STAGE 4: A truly unified platform of talent management and application delivery.

Use this practical tool to help measure where your applications and strategies fit into the Talent Management Maturity Model, and then you can identify opportunities and next steps for driving business performance.

When it comes to the talent management and recruiting systems market, you usually see solutions tailored for the small and medium business or the large global enterprise.

Companies caught in the middle choose from the top end of the bottom or the bottom end of the top. Defining this middle market is even difficult to articulate. Your needs don’t fit these molds. There you are: smack dab in the middle.

For small and medium sized enterprises, selecting a talent management suite or justifying a performance management system entails a significant investment of time and money. Do you compromise on features and hope to not outgrow the system? Or risk budget, timing, and success with a more robust solution?

Talent can have a much larger impact on medium sized organizations than on a large enterprise, however there are typically fewer resources—people, money, systems—to invest in the talent management challenge. This can sometimes put smaller enterprises at a disadvantage in the war for talent when competing with larger enterprises for the same talent.

Medium sized enterprises need every competitive edge they can get; yet, the talent management vendor community has done very little for the growing medium-sized enterprise company—until now.

At Taleo, our product and service groups have combined best practices, easy configuration, and packaged implementation. Our team looked at nearly a decade of customer success to build a methodology based on proven practices for medium sized companies.

The new packaged solution, dubbed Taleo Edge, gives the middle market company the benefits of a faster and lower-cost competitive edge in the war for talent with:

• Core enterprise recruiting functionality with configuration.
• Guided implementation methodology and deployment.
• Packaged best practice templates, content libraries, and guides.
• Remote system administration and integration.
• Bundled training, eLearning, and support.

Check it out if you are stuck in the middle but still want to take advantage of a leading solution.

Staffing.org's 2008 Recruiting Metrics and Performance Benchmark Report just came out based on results from 20 industry groups with data covering 1,000 companies. The report reveals some key trends.

Here is a quick summary of the pluses and minuses:

+ “Internal trends include metrics, business alignment, access to management, and technology.”

– “Fewer than half of all employers reconcile candidate qualifications with what they originally sought.”

The pluses show that the strategy of talent management has taken hold and is understood in HR and at the executive table. Investments in talent technology have paid off. But there is definitely more work to do.

Clearly, getting the best talent through creative sourcing and attracting talent from the career site through an automated process remains the primary tactical focus. But the career site must deliver a high quality experience and effectively market your employment brand. And—to deliver value to the business—the quality of hire loop must be closed through unified recruiting and performance management.

In late 2006, Gartner produced the first Magic Quadrant for E-Recruitment Software. That was a big milestone for the e-recruiting and talent management software market. Having an independent analyst firm evaluate the competitive landscape validated the space and differentiated the offerings in a standard format.

The 2008 Magic Quadrant for E-Recruitment Software, authored by HCM software industry analyst Jim Holincheck, is now published.

The report examines “vendors that have more than 100 e-recruitment software customers with more than 1,000 employees, more than $25 million in total revenue (license, maintenance and services) or both."

The evaluation criteria is based on the company's vision and ability to execute, which includes market understanding, overall viability, innovation, business model, market responsiveness, and customer service experience.

We are proud to see that Gartner positioned Taleo as the leader in the Leaders Quadrant!

Disclaimer
This Magic Quadrant graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research note and should be evaluated in the context of the entire report. The Gartner report is available upon request from Taleo.

We all know that cost cutting is a reflexive way to balance a reduction in revenue. But leading companies that put talent first are looking at creative solutions before immediately resorting to layoffs. Consider these:

While HR Might Face Cuts, Talent Remains a Top Priority reports on an Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) study that found while 88% of corporations plan cost-cutting programs, they will look at other categories first before slashing headcount. More than a third would look at HR.

Companies Shy Away From ‘Slash and Burn’ covers a Towers Perrin report with similarly positive numbers. They say 60% of companies are looking towards growth with 40% expecting layoffs. And the issues around reducing headcount are further explored in Recession: Handle With Care.

For some companies, layoffs can appear to be an attractive short-term financial fix. But they may actually do more harm than good in the short and long terms.

In downsizing, firms often lose more than they bargained for cites a study in the Academy of Management Journal and notes that downsizing can set in motion a dynamic that can affect even the employees you want to retain. The numbers back this up: downsizing 0.5% increases the overall turnover rate momentum to 13%.

The Harvard Business Review’s article Halting the Exodus After a Layoff bears this out by succinctly equating layoffs with voluntary turnover. They also recommend increasing awareness around communication programs and benefits to stem the tide. Layoffs are clearly stressful to company culture. Some even consider hiring interior decorators to transform the empty space!

Even though the human capital budget line is the largest category of spend for most companies, there’s no need to lose your head when you tighten your belt in a down economy. Remember, the intellectual property of your talent is your greatest performance differentiator and powers innovation regardless of the economic season.

We all know that HR wants to get closer to the business to add more value. We also know the main goal of talent management is aligning people to business goals and powering improved business performance. The article Recruiting Inside the Loop highlighting Taleo customer, Advanced Technology Services, describes a great example of achievement in this endeavor.

Advanced Technology Services immerses their recruiters in specific areas of the business, employs innovative sourcing strategies, and measures results to create an environment where continuous improvement drives success. Sourcing and recruiting direction starts with an inside knowledge of the business before heading outside to find the talent.

This quote from Jeffrey Owens, president of ATS, sums up their alignment philosophy:

"HR is our competitive advantage. Retention, recruiting and training are all critical to the company, and HR is deeply involved in new business prospects.”

Another example of proactive engagement of the business with a teamwork approach is Taleo customer, Johnson Controls. They improved the hiring manager experience with best-of-breed technology and better process alignment of headcount approval with recruiting to improve visibility. Russell Gallas, global programs manager for the company’s Talent Acquisition Systems, says:

"Our current process provides our recruiters with a view into the business so they see and understand what’s coming."

Recruiters are not measured by their ability to simply fill the slots quickly and efficiently. Using metrics to measure recruiting performance quantifies results; none is more important than quality of hire. And adding value to the business starts with proactive engagement in an environment of continuous improvement.

Diversity.com has followed up with more detailed lists of companies which rank at the top in specific categories of diversity hiring. Check out their lists for Top Ten Companies for People with Disabilities, Top Ten Companies for LGBT Employees, and Top Ten Companies for Asian Americans.

In previous posts Hiring Diversity: Knowing Where You Stand and Recruit and Retain People with Disabilities, we commented on getting beyond simple compliance to creating cultures of diversity. We are also seeing many of the same names listed as on The 2008 Top 50 Companies for Diversity List.

Why do these leading organizations succeed across the diversity spectrum where others fall short? We think it’s because many of these companies have formalized hiring strategies around a consistent process that supports specific diversity and disability hiring goals. The five Top Global Diversity Companies article notes how even large global enterprises can meet this challenge with training, programs, groups, and executive accountability.

We know a large majority of the top tens and the global five powers diversity, fosters innovation, and measures performance with Taleo Compliance because they are Taleo customers.

But there is still much work to be done by companies, starting with executive leadership. The Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) Taking the Pulse: Diversity and Inclusion study revealed that:
• 53% do not sponsor diversity training.
• 65% are missing a global diversity strategy.
• 66% lack specific diversity councils.
• 77% have no affinity support groups.

Toni Riccardi, Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer of The Conference Board sums up the research in Creating a Competency Model for Diversity and Inclusion Practitioners with this statement:

"The focus is on how these executives can help their companies capture new markets, build effective global teams, and manage their companies' brand reputations. Companies are increasingly seeking the expertise of their diversity executives as they enter new markets, build profitable relationships, and develop credibility across different cultures."