Strategic HR: How talent technology is revolutionising the game

In order to add skills and knowledge to the workforce, organisations today opt to buy talent, borrow talent or build talent, or a combination of these.

When buying talent - hiring permanent workers - automated technology frees up HR teams by mastering repetitive and time-consuming recruitment tasks. Applicant tracking systems and chatbots can fulfil CV screening and interview scheduling, ranking hundreds of CVs by matching keywords to the job description. HR can then focus on the candidate shortlist, a job that requires a more human touch. As a result, potential employees encounter a positive, digital-first experience. Using AI to filter CVs also mitigates unconscious bias associated with decision-making and modern assessment methods can even interpret candidate mindset and body language, identifying their long-term suitability.

Adding applicants to a candidate relationship management (CRM) system creates a talent pipeline of strong candidates aligned to potential roles and objectives. By analysing metrics such as diversity and demographics, recruitment marketing can be targeted appropriately. Secure software solutions also aid compliance by collating legal documents, background checks and HMRC admin.

Technology also empowers HR to build talent by tapping into existing employee data. British and German employers, in particular, put great emphasis on moulding their employees into the best versions of themselves. Analysing skills, performance and salary, ‘passive’ candidates can be flagged and approached, ensuring employees reach their full potential whilst helping the business meet its goals.

Powerful talent management software reduces churn and continually develops your people throughout the employee lifecycle, embedding learning and training into company culture. With a helicopter view of business-wide competencies, you can proactively create relevant training and personalised talent development programmes and spot future leaders. You can also highlight skills gaps and address weaknesses with smart assessment tools. 

As part of reinventing HR, competitive organisations are transitioning to performance / competency management software that focuses on continual employee development and aspirations as opposed to formal appraisals. Monitoring employee performance in parallel with managing promising talent provides meaningful feedback and mentoring/coaching, nurturing growth, trust and results. People and businesses thrive, as an engaged workforce is a productive workforce.

For smart workforce management, modern solutions offer predictive analytics tools as well as real-time capability. Using historical data, HR can predict with a degree of confidence whether a particular employee is likely to stay, leave or seek promotion. The next best thing to a crystal ball, workforce planning tools analyse market changes and recruitment patterns to assess likely staffing requirements in the near future. Coupled with the technology solutions already discussed, top talent can be identified or developed. A ‘talent mobility hub’ is an agile approach to realigning staffing supply and demand within the organisation (perhaps in times of crises), to share talent, enhance collaboration and eradicate silos. 

Finally, talent technology also drives results when organisations borrow talent - hiring a contingent workforce such as freelancers and contractors. Our research shows that today, about 1 in 5 employees (18%) are contingent workers, a flexible solution to plug short-term skills gaps or increased workload. In a European survey, 30% of companies consider hiring flex workers to be a fruitful option for the future, thanks to the ability to scale up and down easily. Adding data on talented contingent workers (rates of pay, experience, performance etc.) to your CRM means HR and managers have a list of quality flex workers at their fingertips. 

An agile, proactive approach to managing talent is essential for the evolving workforce. Talent technology improves the employee experience across the entire business, including HR teams who gain time for more strategic, rewarding projects. When organisations buy, build or borrow talent, software solutions automate and optimise processes throughout the employee lifecycle. At the recruitment stage, this ensures compliance and enhances equality, attracting the right candidates and using a CRM system to build a talent pool. Powerful talent management software helps employees reach their potential whilst aligning to business objectives and creating a culture of learning. Crucially, HR teams benefit from intuitive smart technology that enhances, rather than replaces, their capabilities. 

For talent technology to perform, it needs accurate, relevant and real-time people data - a single source of truth. When executed properly, it’s revolutionising the game by attracting, developing and retaining promising talent efficiently yet humanly.

Strategic HR is reinventing HCM, shaping the wider business like never before. To find out more about modern end-to-end people solutions, talk to SD Worx.