Although it’s been a top priority of HR executives for four consecutive years, more respondents than ever (nearly half) cited talent/performance systems as their main objective for 2010 — and almost a third backed that up with plans for increased investment in technology — according to Towers Watson’s HR Service Delivery Survey of nearly 500 large and midsize companies around the world.
More than two-thirds of respondents are reengineering key HR processes and seeking to increase alignment of HR strategy with business strategy. Most initiatives nearing completion are meeting and exceeding expectations. With all this activity, we may be witnessing a tipping point — where HR technologies become the integrated engine for advancing the broader needs of the business, supporting far more than basic transactions, and advancing the HR and business agenda of the future.
Key survey findings for 2010 include:
Talent/performance systems are top of mind for 42% of our survey respondents, up from just over a third (35%) in 2009. This upswing reflects the recovering economic climate, coupled with a concern for workforce readiness and an acknowledgement that technology can help deliver upon that.
HR executives continue to focus on streamlining processes and systems — less for reasons of cost efficiency, as in 2009, than to effectively deliver HR services and provide both managers and employees with the capabilities required to support the existing workforce as the economy recovers.
Effective talent management systems provide the most efficient means of accomplishing that and, in fact, have become one of the best ways companies can maintain the hard-won cost efficiencies of 2009 while improving workforce effectiveness for 2010.
Cost became a top issue in our HR Service Delivery Survey for the first time in 2009; however, in 2010, respondents indicate that, while cost efficiencies and reductions were a vital focus during the recession, organizations are now updating and implementing their systems as part of a long-term effort to streamline their processes and, more broadly, HR service delivery approaches in general.
Our perspective is that technology is no longer a discretionary investment, but rather a “needed to play” in terms of delivering the HR, benefit, reward and talent management programs that attract, retain and engage the workforce. As such, technology has become a key enabler of growth, productivity and business results — and spending levels are beginning to reflect this.
While our past surveys often told a disappointing story of siloed “solutions” creating HR-wide problems, satisfaction levels with more recent initiatives have surged. In fact, 65% to 90% of activities undertaken in the past 18 months, and more than three-quarters complete, were rated by HR executives as having met or exceeded their expectations.
These positive results are significant steps forward compared to previous years, reflecting not only improved technologies from vendors but also thorough planning — including more precise definition of specific needs and the inclusion of change management strategies — on the part of the organizations themselves.
Organizations that determine their HR needs and clearly articulate their business strategy before making implementation decisions are also better at evaluating the differences among existing, internally developed and best-of-breed delivery systems, and vendor claims about them. And they are well equipped to make informed choices to help HR functions connect with one another and support business performance.
Respondents report that talent management systems have made tactical transactions more efficient by analyzing data faster and more accurately, but also more effective by enabling managers and employees to achieve retention and talent development goals. New, upgraded and improved systems using more rigorous human capital metrics are helping managers identify and develop talent.
Close to half of our survey respondents are implementing a shared services model or refocusing the role of HR business partners to improve service delivery generally, provide greater talent visibility to managers and career opportunities to employees, and create greater line of sight by HR in meeting business needs.
This year’s results also reveal higher levels of satisfaction with the effectiveness (not just the cost efficiency) of system initiatives across 11 different HR processes. Recent upgrades and system implementations are helping HR executives meet their talent management objectives.
Organizations moving toward integrated HR systems are also addressing employees’ needs just as a new employment deal evolves in the wake of the recession, according to other recent Towers Watson research. For managers, better talent visibility spotlights where to invest in skill training. At the same time, these technologies are helping to personalize each employee’s work experience, encourage self-reliance and underscore the message that leaders care about their people.
The value of effective, fully integrated HR systems lies in the fact that they provide the means to deepen HR’s involvement in strategic business-driven issues, another objective high on the priority list for 2010. Getting there requires a more holistic than siloed view of service delivery systems and technologies already in place, and this year’s survey shows progress in this transformation.
Finally, and most importantly, HR technologies are giving organizations more agility as they position themselves for better business performance and a competitive edge in a rapidly changing global economy.
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