The HR department is much more than the administrative powerhouse in an organization. As an industry, HR is traditionally viewed as the area of a company where salaries are decided, safety presentations are developed, and where new hires go through the onboarding process. However, enterprise-level leaders are quickly realizing how critical this department is in retaining high-potential employees and creating future-forward strategies for a balanced scorecard throughout the company.

The modern HR department is also responsible for Talent Management strategies and processes, dictating the development and increasing the retirement of high-potential employees for business success. According to Workable, this vital function of HR operations ensures that:

• High-potential employees are coached to real professional goals
• Succession and hiring plans are developed to sustain growth
• New hires and current employees experience comprehensive employee training programs
• Existing employees are engaged, motivated, and rewarded for positive action and results

Talent Management is key for effective employee engagement and reducing overall employee turnover. Gallup found that businesses are only maximizing 5% of their current high-performance workforce, which are those employees who are talented, engaged, and have been in the organization for 10+ years.

Talent Management within HR helps companies to coach and engage employees, guiding them to reach individual goals and reach their full professional potential. Superior Talent Management can only be achieved with an effective and well-organized HR department.

“We know that better quality talent – in key roles – delivers better business results. This implies that there’s potential value in activities that improve talent quality,” says Marc Effron, President of The Talent Strategy Group. Marc, as many know, is the go-to expert in the talent management space, especially over these past 5 years. He aims to help HR leaders in creating effective Talent Management processes with an approach that highlights Simplicity, Accountability, and Transparency. We at ETG are big proponents of Marc and his teams work.

Best-in-class HR groups realize that these principles are essential for creating future-forward company strategies and aligning employees with a professional culture and environment that allows them to thrive.

Technology is a major facet of any modern business, and new tech tools are allowing HR departments to transform how they operate through the automation of key HR functions and the enhancement of Talent Management endeavors.

How HR Tech is Changing the Industry

The current state of the HR industry is undergoing a massive shift, thanks in part to this enhanced HR technology. New HR tech is allowing for greater organizational Talent Management, providing HR leaders with a seat at the decision-making table of their company.

According to TechTarget, the new generation Software as a service (SaaS) Talent Management tools are leading the way in the rise of HR tech. With minimal investment and frequent automated updates, cloud-based software is allowing HR leaders to make proactive decisions and generate sustainable analytical data about current employees.

With platforms and tools like the cloud, analytic tracking, and social media channels changing the way that organizations are using Talent Management software, HR leaders are enhancing their processes and creating strategies help increase employee engagement. Integrating these HR tools for Talent Management is helping HR managers on multiple business levels, including:

Learning and Development

Technology and online tools are assisting executives meaningfully enhance their leadership in innovative ways, and the same goes for creating meaningful employee learning and development (L&D). Tech like the cloud and mobile-based software is altering how employees interact with their daily workload and how HR professionals reinforce their L&D experiences in the organization.

When paired with effective customizable, in person, one-on-one professional development, accessible online L&D information helps to drive employee engagement and skills both on and offline.

Enhanced Company Culture and Increased Engagement

As Ian Davies describes in Forbes, HR managers are leaving annual employee surveys behind and instead utilizing feedback apps for regular and relevant feedback from their employees. When HR is equipped with real-time feedback on an employee’s daily experience, strategies and tools can be modified to enhance their engagement. Feedback applications also allow HR to gain insights into how employees view an organization and the overall workplace culture to help leaders restructure and align ongoing training and the work environment to retain high-potential talent in the long run.

Human-Centric Analytics

Your employees are the heart of your organization, and integrating HR tools for better Talent Management includes utilizing big data to your advantage. Compiling human-centric analytics helps organizations understand:

• How they can keep employees engaged
• Why they choose to stay in a position or at a job
• How they can increase professional skills for individual and business success

Josh Bersin notes that it’s important HR managers keep in mind that human-centric analytics spans far beyond simply measuring KPIs and retention rates. Ideally, these analytics provide measurable insights into topics like employee experience, productivity rates, and human capital.

In 2018, companies will learn to separate the meaningful from the possible in the HR analytics eld. That reckoning will show that HR analytics will provide incremental information but won’t fundamentally in uence HR’s practices, mission or focus.

Companies will move forward with more caution in this area in 2018. They’ll clarify the exact value they expect from analytics and better structure its work.

Integrating HR tools for Talent Management through human-centric analytics and data collection helps organizations create proactive solutions for employee engagement. With the help of tools like email pattern tracking and text analytics, HR managers and other C-Suite executives can access a deeper level of insights to create real-world employee solutions.

HR experts like Bill Kutik are predicting a surge of AI in HR tech to increase the functionality of existing technology, so HR managers should keep an eye out for these innovative platforms and services.

The Benefits of Utilizing HR Tech for Talent Management

For HR modernization to be truly effective, the HR tools selected are vital. HR tech allows businesses to operate as a collective of departments rather than separated teams who work independently of the other.

This shift from individual to collective has been generated in part thanks to HR tech based in the cloud. Cloud and mobile-based HR solutions provide accessible insights for both leaders and organizational employees to become aligned with their professional development and workplace culture.

With effective cloud technology, employees can view the information they need when they need it most. This information can range from professional development webinars to ongoing employee L&D and can be accessed on their preferred platform and device.

Another benefit of integrating HR tech for Talent Management is that cloud and mobile-based solutions provide a high ROI for the organization itself, with little upkeep costs or expensive updates. SaaS platforms and tools are continuously updating their software for peak efficiency and top-notch security enhancements to keep employee information safe while increasing the user experience.

With the right technology and software, HR managers can create actionable, flexible employee experiences for the modern workplace. Integrating HR tools for Talent Management provides the base for high-performing HR functions that can boast business-wide positive effects.

Leaders can leverage their HR tech with our future-forward Talent Management and people strategies. At East Tenth Group, we work hard to address your real issues, identify HR grey areas, and provide mindful expert assessments and support for all essential HR functions. Whether you’re looking for Talent Management or strategic people management insights, our expert team is ready to partner with you to help your business thrive.

Do you have an HR tool that helps you run your business successfully? Let us know your experiences with integrating HR tools for enhanced Talent Management in the comments. For more information on partnering with East Tenth Group, take action now take action now and subscribe to our newsletter for actionable insights, and connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.