How to Conquer Your First Talent Management Purchase

Transcription

1 How to Conquer Your First Talent Management Purchase

2 Investing in talent management software leads to bottom line results, but only if you ve identified your company s needs and goals, and know what questions to ask vendors. Instead of taking a shop till you drop approach (where you risk looking forever, but end up with nothing except headaches and wasted resources), check out this how-to guide for successfully finding the right talent management tools to truly implement your company s vision!

3 What is Talent Management Software? Why Do You Need It? Talent management software enables companies to make smarter, more data-driven decisions at every phase of the employee lifecycle. It can help mid-size companies stay competitive with large enterprises in the hunt for top talent, especially if they ve never used or invested in a talent management tool before. From filling vacancies faster to more effective succession planning and delivering on-demand training to a global workforce, the software increases engagement, drives worker and organizational performance, and is the catalyst for bottom line growth. Because of their proven ability to boost companies competitive edge, the market for it has seen a 17% YOY increase and is currently a $5 billion industry. 1 Best-in-breed talent management software is cloudbased, meaning no bulky, expensive servers or other equipment is ever stored on-site, and upgrades are implemented automatically by the vendor. It is also unified, so there are no more disparate software tools, trying to remember a mountain of passwords, or figuring out which employee has access to which database. These features combine to eliminate the piles of endless spreadsheets and the hire and pray approach to workforce development that still hampers the growth of companies who use older tools. One finding from a group study perfectly captures the state of talent management: Just 10% of respondents had a system in place, but the ones who did saw a 60% higher return

4 Make the Talent Management Business Case to Key Business Units While most leaders agree in principle that talent management tools drive performance, before rolling out a new solution, HR will need to make the business case for investing in a new product, and also show how different business units can benefit from a more advanced tool. IT Stakeholders How Talent Management Software Drives IT Teams Efficiency The average talent management tool is over five years old, 3 and over 50% of users would happily trade their current system for a single-vendor tool. 4 Two things are clear: organizations are fighting the war for today s top talent using yesterday s weapons, and rolling out a cloudbased tool can help CIOs make a major business impact. Most ERP tools are a CIO s worst nightmare: disjointed software they ll have to install on every single end-user s computer, all housed in bulky servers that are stored onsite, and with upgrades that they not the vendor are responsible for implementing. This is separate from the costly office real estate this all takes up (which hampers 3 May 31, May 31, 2013.

5 company growth, since you ll have nowhere to put new hires), not to mention the increased utility bills and potential security risks in protecting employee data. The biggest challenge, though, is that managing workforce growth is just a subset of a subset of ERP tools, not the primary function. So how can moving to a cloud-based talent management tool be the catalyst for boosting IT efficiency? By moving to the cloud, though, which 59% of workers want, 5 CIOs will see an immediate impact. Cloud-based talent management software is rolled out and maintained by the vendor, who is also responsible for upgrades. IT teams won t have to waste time installing every new version, fixing every bug, etc. It also means that everything is stored in secure, vendor-managed servers. Security represents a major part of IT budgets, so off-loading that to a trusted and certified third party means they can direct resources to more critical projects. Also, instead of dedicating valuable, on-site space for ERP hardware, expansion-minded mid-sized companies can use that space to handle their growth. Shifting to the cloud frees up IT professionals to focus their human capital and budget resources on larger, more strategic initiatives. QUICK TIP Move to the cloud to free up IT resources for more significant projects. 5

6 Finance Stakeholders How Talent Management Software Helps Evolve Finance Teams Skills to Address Marketplace Needs Ninety-seven percent of CEOs say stronger talent is the best way to improve finance teams effectiveness, yet just 33% say their CFO is successful in recruiting high performers. 6 So how can a best-in-class talent management tool help finance teams attract more skilled candidates? The key is to understand how finance teams are evolving; next-gen teams need employees with great people skills who can go beyond analyzing numbers to delivering organizational value across different time zones, line operations, and succession planning functions. A cloud-based approach to talent management can achieve these goals through stronger recruiting and training initiatives. HR teams can leverage new technologies to measure candidates people skills during the application stage to determine whether they have their company s desired communications abilities. What can current finance employees do to increase their capabilities? Organizations that have invested in a learning culture can strategically assign relevant training courses to address skills gaps among their workforce. An additional bonus is that these new performance management tools minimize the need for expensive consultants and instructors, promote collaboration, and are mobile-friendly, which enable your team to learn at their convenience. QUICK TIP The role of finance professionals is evolving; recruiting and training tools help address the changing demands on them. 6 The CFO as HR Leader, 2016

7 Executive Stakeholders How Talent Management Software Improves the Bottom Line Executives need an all hands on deck mentality to achieve the company s goals. That is to say, they need a roster full of creative, high-performing visionaries in every role. But weak recruiting and headcount instability all stand in the way. So how can investing in HR tools help execute the organization s vision? Some vacancies can cost up to $12,000 per day, 7 and with the interview process alone lasting as long as 23 days, 8 expansion-focused execs can t afford to weather the bottom line blood-letting of an extended vacancy. However, cloud-based talent management software enables HR teams to ditch their legacy tools - usually multiple, disparate systems - and usher in an 87% stronger ability to hire the best people. 9 Turnover is also a major headache for executives; they can t expand operations or begin new initiatives if sales teams or production lines are a revolving door of talent. Investing in performance management software goes a long way in fixing this: organizations with advanced talent management tools see 41% lower turnover and 17% lower voluntary turnover overall. 10 QUICK TIP Talent management software can reduce turnover and long hiring times Bersin, Talent management Systems 2013: Market Analysis, Trends and Provider Profiles, p

8 What to Look for in a Talent Management Software Provider Ok, so you have meetings scheduled with three different vendors, but without knowing what makes a good vendor, or what questions you should ask them, you risk investing in products you don t need or ending up with tools that don t solve your team s challenges. So how should talent management shoppers make the most of their experiences to protect their budgets and avoid vendor blur? There is no official step one, but your vendor should be armed with more than cheap talk and empty promises. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. They should offer product walk-throughs and/or demos, screen shots, and be able to answer your questions (or give you a plan to follow up if you really stump them). You should ask about implementation and rollout processes, especially your team s role in them (which should be minimal). Also, discuss the availability of customer support (you may need 24/7 access, even if you re not global) and their schedule for future upgrades, which the vendor should handle, not you. Is what they re offering cloud-based, or stored on-site via clunky, awkward equipment in rooms that you d prefer be office space to handle a growing roster of talent? Separately, you ll need a tool that is scalable to handle your growth. Also, many ERP solutions use outdated technology, and their performance management tools are a side

9 benefit; ensure what you invest in features HR tools as a core, primary function. Also, ask your vendor if what they re selling leads to actionable next steps, or just a pile of data that stakeholders need to slog through. Another strategy for working with vendors is to begin with the end in mind. Think about your goals, which will help you define what a successful talent management solution would look like: reductions in timeto-hire? Stronger employee performance? Fewer resources spent on training? Better talent pools for succession? Whatever your goals are, you ll need a solid list of KPIs to measure their effectiveness. In working with a vendor, have these KPIs in mind. There is no point in purchasing a talent management product if it can t also tell you whether or not it s valuable! QUICK TIP Tell vendors what your desired outcomes are; this helps determine if their products can help you achieve them.

10 When starting the search for a talent management tool, you need to first understand how one can transform your approach to talent management at both a strategic and budgetary level. To get executive support, HR teams should use the above info to show how and why investing in new technologies can open bottlenecks and solve organizational challenges in a variety of departments. Also, you should be prepared when talking to vendors. Know what features you need, and what support you ll get from them.

11 Companies who roll out newer talent management tools are swapping outdated, software for a single, streamlined approach to recruiting, training, and workforce growth. Hiring times are reduced, training your team becomes more strategic and budgetfriendly. Next-gen talent tools are also scalable, so they grow as your needs do. Before you invest, you ll first have to know what questions to ask vendors. Stick to what you need, and make sure the system you choose can deliver the goals you want. Visit CSOD.com to learn more about unified talent management, and check out the additional resources below for more information on making the business case for your first purchase of talent management software! Cornerstone OnDemand is a global talent management software provider that is pioneering solutions to help organizations realize the potential of the modern workforce. csod.com 2016 Cornerstone OnDemand moreinfo@csod.com CSOD Stay connected: