If trends are anything to go by, then talent management is no longer the bastion of HR and talent tech is not the exclusive preserve of the IT leadership. Trends have shown that organizations are able to position themselves most effectively to reap the benefits of talent tech provided there is a radical shift in their approach. The new approach is a more inclusive one than the HR or IT initiatives. Here are the five attributes in the new approach that is successful in driving the implementation and scaling up of talent tech in organizations:
1. Operational managers-not HR or IT teams-must drive talent tech adoption.
When HR or IT teams plan and invest in talent tech, there is less likelihood of the investment succeeding or the technology scaling up. These teams are not versed in the operational aspects of business. Whereas the operational heads have better insights into business challenges and customer pain points. Therefore, it would be in the best interest of the enterprise to bring the operational leaders to the table whenever the topic is about talent management, because they know about the inherent problems and what solutions they require. The potential for development must come from the floor and not the other way down-even if the subject in question is talent management. Putting responsibility for innovation in the hands of those who are closest to staff and customers increases the likelihood of talent technologies fitting the business purpose.
2. HR leadership must enable and drive the Operational teams’ staffing initiatives.
Line managers continue to bet on embracing business imperatives and technology adoption to improve business results. This is an area where the HR leadership is still found lagging behind. The advent of AI, machine learning, and people analytics make it possible to reimagine work. Line managers can easily access the right people and skills at the right time, thereby having ramifications on talent strategies and other programs of the HR leadership. It is, therefore, important to let the HR act has an enabler or partner whenever the operational leadership undertakes talent initiatives.
3. Enterprises should start small & pilot different systems.
Piloting a tech with only a few projects and a select pool of employees has numerous benefits. Starting small permits extremely fast learning and iteration, broader scaling, and more-complex uses of the system. AI-powered tools like on-demand talent platforms and project staffing algorithms can be helpful for rapid prototyping, iterative feedback, customer-focused multidisciplinary teams, and task-centered projects to determine their usefulness.
4. Focus is on continuous evaluation.
Acquiring and accessing talent on an as-needed basis is fuelling a strategic shift in managing talent. It is no longer becoming feasible to evaluate individuals regularly; rather, the focus is on looking at how people perform as a team on a continuous basis.
5. Leaders must foster a culture of learning.
Successfully piloting new technologies requires shifting to an experiment-and-learn approach. It is a significant move from the traditional plan-and-implement approach. It is, therefore, critical for leaders to shift from respecting boundaries, knowing the answers, or implementing top-down changes, to valuing dissent and debate, questioning the status-quo, and iterating to learn.
