8 Predictions (with 4 Main Themes) for HR Tech from Knowledge Infusion

Recognize This! – Talent is indisputably fluid. So are business objectives. HR must deliver a way to align fluid talent with fluid business needs.

I’ve just finished reading a very interesting report from Knowledge Infusion CEO and Co-Founder Jason Averbook and President Heidi Sprigi. In “HR Tech Predictions & Prescriptions for 2012,” Jason and Heidi make eight distinct predictions (and associated prescriptions).

Across those eight predictions, I see four continuous themes:

1. Global, mobile and social “just simply is.” You can’t work around them, legislate around them, or ignore them. You must find a way to incorporate global, mobile and social appropriately into the workstream.
2. Software as a Service (SaaS) is the killer app. “HR is a department, but HCM is a strategy.” And to implement that strategy, HR needs an agile “delivery platform” not just a technology. That platform is SaaS.
3. Reporting on metrics and analytics that matter is fundamental going forward. “Metrics, analytics and dashboards are the things business leaders care about because they present integrated data in a useful way.”
4. Fluidity of talent is necessary to meet ever changing business needs and priorities. I saved the best for last. This theme runs throughout all 8 predictions because it’s the new reality of the workforce today. “HR must understand where the business is going, which talent is needed to support that direction, and which decisions will need to be made get there, before thinking about HR processes and technology.”

The challenge with this reality of fluid talent – and fluid business needs – is this: How do you find the specific talent you need when you need it? You need faster, deeper, real-time talent insight – knowledge about your employees, where they reside, and what their current skills and abilities are – than you can get from a traditional performance review or skills assessment.

You need to pull in the wisdom of crowds and let your entire organization tell you, perhaps, who your most consistently innovative employees are so you can pull them together to get a new product designed and developed ahead of your competition.

How you do that is what Globoforce announced today in with its new “Talent Maps.”

Through data populated by peer-to-peer recognition across the company, HR and business leaders can see firsthand who the top performers and influencers are within teams, departments, and the company. This knowledge and data can be used to identify high potential, high performance individuals for succession planning, flight risk assessment, and leadership development. In addition, managers gain actionable data for more effective day-to-day team management and individual performance assessment.

Averbook agrees. He commented in the press release:

Quotation

“HR leaders have long needed a better way to understand the true performance of individual employees and teams. Globoforce addresses this need with its latest release. Through its social DNA, intuitive reporting, and performance alignment, peer recognition can play a significant role in talent and performance management. The next couple of years will be fun to watch as social recognition fully enters the stage of must-have HR technologies.”

What are you seeing as your major challenges on the horizon? Can you find the people you need when you need them?