In days gone by, if you worked for a medium to large-sized company, the personnel department was the place that processed your job application and federal Form W-4 when you were hired and maybe handled your pension. There wasn’t much interaction beyond that.
Times have been changing since those days of paper files and mimeographs, and once again, we can thank technology for driving a major shift in business strategy that started with the evolution of the Human Resources department and accelerated with another new concept known as “talent management.”
After computers began to automate many traditional personnel functions, managers in that arena were freed up to offer broader employee assistance. The Human Resources Department coordinated sophisticated benefit enrollments, staff trainings and evaluations. Starting in the 1990s, there was a new focus on staff development and view that people, not just capital or property, are business assets.
Over the past decade, one of the key functions of the Human Resources department— hiring, recruiting and retaining staff—is finally aligning with long-term business strategy. This is talent management. Now common parlance for top level executives, talent management refers to the strategic side of HR beyond the traditional role of personnel management.
The HR administrator is no longer the CEO’s step-child, relegated to a dusty office at the end of the corridor. Rather, that person is part of the management team, ensuring that the right staff is in place and prepared to advance core business objectives.
“Getting the right people in the right jobs doing the right things,” is how Stephen T. Hunt defines talent management. Hunt is a principal director at SuccessFactors, a company that develops HR management software for businesses. This blog draws from his white paper “Driving Business Execution Through Integrated Talent Management.”
Talent management is about increasing workplace productivity by recruiting, hiring and training the best candidates. It’s also about valuing and retaining remarkable employees by providing the best workplace environment possible.
It might seem obvious that even with a great product or service, without the right team and talented staff, the business will struggle. Your product developers, technical support, customer service agents, marketing and sales team will all have an impact on the bottom line. And now you know why, so will your HR department.
Experience Factor is there for companies who don’t have the time, budget or expertise to manage hiring. They know that to be competitive in their industry, they need to hire the best people and that to do it well takes time and expertise. Our hiring process is designed to carefully vet candidates and find the best matches for our clients as possible. We also offer a full-range of staffing solutions including part-time and contract-to-hire options.