Closing the Gap in Talent Management Systems

• Recruitment
• Onboarding
• Performance
• Training and Development
• Succession Planning
• Offboarding

Yes, the very best Talent Management systems are designed to handle the complete lifecycle of your workforce. They connect and manage all of the stages of the employee’s career within the organization. Cradle to grave, as they say.

Or do they? Is there something missing here? Absolutely there is.

Let’s talk about that cradle to grave analogy. Mom and Dad plan to start a family – Recruitment. The big day comes and the bouncing baby is born – Onboarding. Teach the little one how to walk and talk – Performance. Potty training, manners, and formal education follow – Training and Development. College and career aspirations – Succession Planning. The little one finally leaves the nest – Offboarding.

That’s it, right? Wrong. What about all those endless hours of issues, problems, questions and general conversations that you have with Junior through the years? Why can’t I have the car keys? Can you raise my allowance? Can I go to Miami for Spring break with the gang? I am really mad at my brother!

Probably the most important factor in your children’s healthy development is their continuing interaction with you. When you successfully handle the daily and ongoing issues, your child has the opportunity to be happy, thrive and grow. Ignore their concerns and there is the likelihood they may withdraw from a positive relationship with you and potentially develop instability within the family.

The same analogy holds true in business with your employees – the need for open lines of communication with HR. So what is missing in even the most comprehensive Talent Management systems? HR Help Desk, the all-important social collaboration service that tells employees “we are here to help you, whenever you need us”. Paycheck issue? We will correct it ASAP. Manager dispute? We can mediate. Workplace problems? No problem, we’re on it.

Simply put, Talent Management systems generally do not encompass HR Help Desk capability. Some provide employee self-service knowledge bases and collaboration with peers and fellow coworkers, but they do not address day to day HR case management. Many studies have shown that the more engaged employees are with the organization, the happier and more productive they are. And no system is better designed to encourage employee engagement than an HR specific Help Desk solution.

These systems are developed to manage virtually all categories of HR cases including payroll, benefits, time and leave, workplace issues, personal issues, disputes, harassment, and much more. The best HR Help Desk solutions seamlessly integrate with all of a company’s HR systems, providing a single portal for employees to get questions answered, change demographic information, modify benefit plans, request leave, etc.

For HR, cases are resolved faster and more accurately. Virtually 100% of all details related to cases are electronically archived for rapid search and retrieval, saving valuable time and effort. Legal issues (i.e., government compliance issues) are handled expeditiously. Powerful analytics identify growing workplace problems before they fester.

But it all comes back to employee engagement and satisfaction.  Employees are your greatest asset.  Treat them as such and the company will be aptly rewarded.

In conclusion, as your organization considers implementation of a new Talent Management system, consider integrating HR Help Desk.  The “kids” will thank you for it.

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