"Best-in-class" Human Capital Management Trends

I came across a free whitepaper titled "Human Capital Management Trends 2012: Managing Talent to Lead Organizational Growth". This study of nearly 300 organisations from November and December 2011 investigates "key strategies, technologies, and capabilities deployed by Best-in-Class HR and talent management practitioners, and the positive impact of those activities on business performance."

I'll post a few interesting points and tables I took from the white paper here but to get the full picture, I recommend you download the paper. Business lingo aside, the report essentially breaks the 300 organisations interviewed into 3 categories: Best-in-Class, Average and Laggards. These categories are made by looking at employee engagement, successor risk management and hiring manager satisfaction.

The report then expands on all the other data surveyed, categorising and linking the results into these three categories. It also references some other models and gives tips at the end for how Average and Laggard companies can move into the next category. One table I particularly liked as it gave quite a lot of information was the one below:

At the end of the paper, as mentioned earlier, it provides notes on how organisations which are not defined as Best-in-Class can lift their game. Additionally the paper also provides a similar 3 key points for Best-in-Class organisations to make sure they keep their top position.  I'll summarise these steps below:

For Laggard Organisations:

• Involve the business in setting HCM (Human Capital Management) Strategy - HR strategy needs to coordinate itself with business strategy this includes stakeholder buy in from the get-go. 
• Define what success looks like - Determine how process will be measured and ensure the organisation has tools in place to actually do so. Only 20% of Laggard organisations had clearly defined metrics for HCM effectiveness. 
• Automate to reduce tactical burden - Free up HR from the tactical activities and allow it to become more strategic by automating workforce management solutions, employee performance management and employee data management/payroll. Laggards clearly lack in these areas vs. Best-in-Class organisations. I for one can vouch for the importance of a versatile and capable HRMIS/Payroll  system in opening up new strategic discussions through powerful HR metrics.

For Average Organisations:

• Set the data free - Make sure the right people have access to the right data. Managers need information to make informed and better decisions - employee profiles, development plans, skill assessments etc. 
• Know what drives the business - Ensure succession management systems are in place and identify the critical roles to the business. If HR doesn't understand how revenue is generated it can build plans to support it. 
• Use assessment data throughout the lifecycle - Pre-hire assessments remain a key identifier of success in this survey but post-hire assessments are just as important as an indicator of which category your organisation will fall into. Plan beyond an employee's first role in the organisation. 

For Best-in-Class Organisations:

• Know your (external) customers - Once you connect HR initiatives to business priorities the next step is to understand the organisation's industry and customers. Use customer feedback to inform HCM decision making. 
• Measure early, measure often - Evaluating HCM plans just one year after implementation is not enough. Develop evaluations into the long term and adjust plans accordingly. 
• Apply analytics to make the case - Even in Best-in-Class organisations only 48% of them use workforce analytics and or reporting tools, even fewer (25%) use predictive/forecasting analytics. Use analytics to provide valuable insight for the organisation.