Today we are starting a new weekly feature called “Taleo Research Recommends,” where we will describe and link to some of the best content – articles, blog posts, research, and more – that we have come across in recent weeks. We will be focusing of course on Talent Management and its particular practice areas, but we might at times also include items of more general interest to HR professionals and technologists. So without any further ado, we give you the first set of “Taleo Research Recommends”…

The Need for Strategic HR
Kyle Lagunas, HR Market Analyst for Software Advice, recently wrote an excellent post titled “Strategic Human Resources Management 101: A Primer for Success.” Lagunas distinguishes between traditional HR and strategic HR, noting that the latter is being enabled more and more by innovations in software technology. He describes three core strategic HR functions as being talent management, learning management, and workforce management. At Taleo, we consider learning management to be a part of talent management – see the powerful blog posts that Dave Wilkins wrote in May showing the deep connections between learning and development with recruiting, performance management, and succession planning. Regardless, Lagunas rightly notes that strategic HR is not something separate, but rather is an extension of traditional HR, and “cannot be successfully implemented without the continued execution of these core functions.” He then proceeds to urge HR professionals to “evolve to strategic HR,” providing ample reasons of the positive and measurable impact doing so can have on the organization.

HR Technology’s Role in Strategic HR
Just as Lagunas stressed the need for “strategic HR,” so too we saw Jason Averbook from Knowledge Infusion this past week stress the need for HR – not the IT department – to own the HR technology strategy. In his blog posting “HR Technology Strategy – What Do You Got?,” Averbook recounts a recent conversation he had with a CHRO while travelling. After being told that for her organization, IT owns the HR technology strategy, Averbook said his response was “HR will never be successful in driving initiatives unless it owns the strategy and works collaboratively with IT to enable the strategy.”  He later continues: “It’s time, once and for all, for HR to step up to the plate and take ownership of all process, technology and outcome/analytics within the organization.  Until this happens, HR will continue to be locked outside of the house, peering into a window, hoping someone might invite them in for dinner.”  Averbook continues with some additional thoughts on this subject in his subsequent posting “HR – Get in the Head of your CIO” – another good read. Combining the messages of Lagunas and Averbook we could say that if HR wants a place at the table, they need to evolve to become strategic; and in order to become strategic, they need to own the HR technology strategy and all related processes, not abdicate that leadership to the IT department.

What is Trending in HR Strategy?
As HR professionals focus more on strategic HR activities, it is important to stay on top of the latest trends – and for this Josh Bersin of Bersin and Associates recently provided a brief blog posting that we found to be a helpful summary, “Employment Paradox – Unemployment, Skills Gaps, and Difficulty in Hiring.” Bersin first provides data supporting the current realities, namely that while hiring intentions might be rising, skills shortages and talent gaps are growing significantly, and that this is forcing a change in HR strategies. Several that he sees as trending include:

• Integrating talent acquisition and internal talent management, to improve talent mobility.
• Reinvestment in core employee development programs, including learning technology; but also shifting from formal training to a strategic focus on informal learning, to help share internal expertise more quickly.
• A total re-thinking of talent acquisition strategies that involves social networking and the need to aggressively recruit passive, skilled candidates.
• A focus on strategic programs for the management of contingent workers, because critical skills increasingly exist outside the organization.

Quick Hits
Here are some other recent items that came across the radar of Taleo Research, that we think are worth your time:

Survey on Recruitment Finds Return of War for Talent and Skills Gaps in UK
Further supporting the skills gap trend noted by Bersin above, a report in Chief Learning Officer magazine provides highlights from the annual Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Resourcing and Talent Planning survey, produced in partnership with Hays.

One in Two US Employees Looking to Leave or Checked Out on the Job
An article that provides some startling data from a recent Mercer survey that found that nearly one in three (32%) US workers is seriously considering leaving his or her organization at the present time, and another 21% are not looking to leave now but view their employers unfavorably and have rock-bottom scores on key measures of engagement.

Derek Jeter – Five Lessons for Leadership Success
In the wake of baseball star Derek Jeter reaching the 3,000 hit milestone, Randy Conley of the Ken Blanchard Companies looks at five things business leaders can learn from Jeter’s approach to leadership.

Social Media for Training
Marcia Conner, social learning expert and co-author of The New Social Learning, warns learning and development professionals – trainers especially – to avoid the kinds of “silly things” that she often hears said, and encourages readers facing such nonsense to read Jane Bozarth’s excellent book Social Media for Trainers.