Why talk about talent management software in a context of tightening corporate HR budgets?
First of all because the cycle of war for talent, which began in the 90s, is not slowing down, quite the contrary: nearly 60% of recruitments remain “difficult” according to data from Pole Emploi. Then, software is not a miracle solution but they complement the efforts of human relationships to get to know, sometimes reveal, and especially develop collaborators whose attachment to their company can gradually crumble.
As we will see, software has evolved a lot to meet the search for performance, and sometimes even the survival of businesses (60% of French managers think that their business will not be viable in 10 years without transforming their model according to a PWC - 2024 study). While HR teams are no more numerous and their scope is expanding, managing and automating a certain number of tasks seems like common sense.
Talent management software and HR software
What do we mean by “talent management software”?
Talent management software combine 3 main dimensions:
- Performance management (annual interviews, goal setting and people review),
- Commitment management (360 feedback, pulse, surveys).
- Career management (talent marketplace, career trajectory advice, HR development, short missions, mentoring).
Unlike HRIS, which deal with administrative management, expense reports, remuneration, time and activities (GTA), whose equipment rate varies between 80 and 100%, the modules presented above were adopted by 50% of companies with more than 250 people.
How do you interpret software equipment rates?
This equipment can be explained both by the reality of the HR profession, initially focused on administrative aspects, and by gradually improving the offer of these tools for “talents.”
Indeed, differences in equipment rates in HRIS software reflect the priorities given to critical functions such as payroll and administrative management. Today, the gradual adoption of modules for performance or talent development is explained by a more recent awareness of their strategic importance.
Challenges related to the ergonomics of tools and user training sometimes hinder their adoption, especially when projects are not well calibrated or lack an inclusive approach. However, the current context, marked by challenges such as the retention of the best potential or the shortage of skills, is pushing for the increasing adoption of these solutions. The integration of technologies such as Artificial intelligences also substantially improve the user experience and data management.
Why not invest in talent management software?
The choice of talent management software should be aligned with the maturity of the business. Sometimes it's best to start with a specific module (for example, performance management) before deploying all the features.
What are your reservations before taking the plunge?
“We lack the resources to manage such a project.”
Reflection: A lack of resources is a legitimate obstacle; gradual deployment can help manage the workload. The majority of businesses target priority needs to spread the effort over the long term. In addition, some suppliers offer project support to free up a significant part of the operational aspects.
“Our current processes are working well, why change?”
Reflection: If your current processes are working well, now is the best time to accurately transcribe them into a platform that automates them and makes them more visible. In addition, this equipment makes it possible to take a step back and evaluate these processes on an ongoing basis, thus facilitating their improvement and adaptation to future changes in the company.
“We have already failed with similar projects in the past.”
Reflection: past failures offer the best lessons. By analyzing what didn't work, you can put in place the tactics to succeed with the right people.
“Employee engagement is a major challenge.”
Reflection: employee resistance is a common challenge. To remedy this, involve them from the beginning and continuously by presenting the trade-offs that will be made. Choose an intuitive tool that respects your culture, raise awareness among managers and put in place solid support to facilitate their adoption.
The Main Components of a Talent Management Software:
Performance Management
Only two numbers will be enough to make you understand the importance of opting for this module:
- Managers spend an average of 210 hours per year evaluating performance,
- 55% of HR directors never receive all the maintenance grids filled.
Talent management software automates and simplifies the definition and review of goals, making the progress of their achievement in more transparent real time. More and more businesses keep annual interviews but are turning more to more frequent exchanges, focused on skills development. 360-degree feedback, combining multiple perspectives, enriches performance evaluation.
Commitment Management
With 74% of employees saying that they do not receive feedback per month.
Isn't it time to make managers aware of this dimension of their role? How can software help?
While this managerial act should primarily take the form of an interaction, it can be fed by comments that a social platform facilitates. The other facets of engagement modules Are the follow-up of onboarding and initial training. This period lasts about 9 months according to Let's Talk HR, while 42% of departures occur in the first year of the contract according to INSEE.
In addition, employee involvement can be measured through Pulse Surveys. The latter are only of interest to if they are followed by corrective actions to really improve employee satisfaction. Anonymizing responses ensures honest feedback, and reports allow you to precisely target the teams that need the most attention.
Career Management
39% of employees say they don't have visibility on internal opportunities.
Career management software provides better transparency on available positions and Suggest appropriate training to bridge skills gaps. It is not only useful for employees but also facilitates the search for resources for managers who, withinA talent marketplace, can quickly visualize the skills they need.
Finally, it structures thinking and The orchestration of successions, the development of talent reviews or the people reviews of high potentials, in accordance with the needs of the company.
Our advice for choosing the right solution
Start with the Skills Brick:
As mentioned earlier, competencies should be the foundation upon which differences are based. They represent the factor to be promoted in the achievement of objectives and the evolution of roles and take a critical place in the involvement of employees. Without a clear and up-to-date mapping of the core competencies for each position, the impact of these modules will be limited.
Carefully select the project and deployment team:
Choosing software also means choosing a partner and a team that will support you throughout your project. To what extent does it take the time to cDoes understanding your constraints, the corporate culture, give you relevant recommendations?
Ensure the quality of the training provided to your users:
Upstream of your decision, Neobrain provides a comprehensive documentation for each type of user : employees, managers, HR team. Key users are involved from the very first stages of the project.
By nature, quality software is intended to be intuitive, the fact remains that video tutorials explaining each process should be available online on your platform. At the same time, to ensure successful adoption of the software, initial training sessions and ongoing support are essential to maximize the use of the functionalities.
Anticipating change management:
HR teams are very exposed during this project. Explaining the choice and demonstrating the benefits of the new software is an issue for which additional teaching materials can be made available by the supplier.
You should expect your partner to provide Indicators of adoption of the tool post-deployment, here are a few examples:
- User coverage rate
- Average number of monthly connections
- Training completion rate
- Qualitative user feedback
- Time frame for resolving problems according to their criticality
Finally, regular reviews should take place to assess the effectiveness of the software, adjust interfaces, processes, if necessary, and introduce new functionalities over time.
Conclusion
The integration of this type of solutions is progressing within structures of all sizes and sometimes even becomes a lever of attraction for increasingly demanding talents. The scale of a project of this type can discourage some companies when the return on investment is not always concrete and immediate. Here is an example of how we put into perspective the need to think about goals that bring together the HR and Business spheres:
- Business objective : reduce operational costs by maximizing team efficiency.
- HR lever : improve individual and collective productivity by increasing the frequency and quality of performance evaluations.
- The benefits of a performance management module : An increased alignment of performance evaluation processes with strategic business goals, such as launching a new product or expanding into a market, the company can use regular feedback to ensure that teams remain focused on business priorities while developing the skills needed to achieve those goals.
We are convinced of the importance of leading this evolution from a robust skills management base. For businesses whose data quality is not yet perfect, we observe that AI and integrations with existing systems (like Microsoft Graph) can reduce the impact of poor data.
