10 New Approaches for Engaging Talent in the Agile Era

This blog is an excerpt of the eBook written by Cary Schuler, SVP Marketing & Product Strategy, Vibe HCM.

As we leave the last vestiges of the industrial revolution behind us, organizations are pushing the envelope in terms of how they organize and engage their teams. Bottom line business results remain top priorities but organizations increasingly strive to balance growth with a desire to be good corporate citizens. Adding to the mix is a highly diverse group of tech-savvy, socially connected millennials and new agile work methods. The result is a need to rethink traditional approaches to talent management.

Business Trends Impacting Talent Management:

Disengaged Workforce
According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace Report, 85% of employees are not engaged or actively disengaged (Gallup, 2017). They are showing up but not giving their best ideas and efforts. Or worse, they are actively working against the organization and have one foot out the door. What a tremendous wasted opportunity. Businesses in the top quartile of employee engagement are 17% more productive and 21% more profitable than those in the bottom quartile (Gallup).

Rise of the Socially Connected Workforce
Bersin By Deloitte indicates that citizenship and social impact were rated as critical or important by 77% of respondents (”The Rise of the Social Enterprise”, Bersin By Deloitte, 2018); effectively underscoring the importance today’s workforce places on relationships inside and outside of the organization. Millennials, in particular, are extremely team-oriented and enjoy making social connections and friends at work.

Shift from Hierarchical to Networked Agile Workforces
Traditional enterprise software was designed to support rigid, hierarchical approaches to talent management. The focus was on getting data in the system, filling out forms, following processes. Contrast this with a new networked, agile way of work, characterized by: just-in-time decision support, connecting teams with experts, outcomes versus processes, talent moving in and out of multi-disciplinary teams based on the particular project.

Today’s talent management systems (TMS) were designed in the same mold as traditional enterprise software. TMS suites evolved to span recruitment, performance management, learning and development and compensation management. The challenge lies in the fact TMS were created as systems-of-record; not tools for engaging employees. They were designed for administrative reasons - to capture data, complete forms and route approvals through complex workflow processes.

From overly complex form-based applicant tracking systems to demotivating once-a-year performance reviews, TMS at best get in the way of agile processes and at their worst, can actually disengage and demotivate talent. These TMS are too rigid and compartmentalized to effectively support talent driven organizations, where the goal is to engage employees in a more agile connected world.

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to explore the role that next generation talent engagement capabilities, deployed as components of an HCM Engagement Platform, play in supporting organizations as they adapt to this rapidly changing world of work. We outline 10 new strategies illustrating how technology can be an enabler of the new way of work versus reinforcing outdated administrative approaches. These 10 strategies tie directly to what employees value in their work and fulfill a meaningful role fostering a highly engaged productive workforce.

 

Cary Schuler, SVP Marketing & Product Strategy at Vibe HCM is a business strategist passionate about redefining the way companies leverage technology to maximize the potential of its people. Intent upon transforming workforce applications to recognize and harness the inherently social nature of its people.

Specialties: HR Management, Employee Engagement, HR Tech, HCM, Talent Management, Onboarding, Business Strategy, Assembling High Performance Teams, SaaS, Strategic Alliances