How development drives corporate performance

Vincent Belliveau, General Manager EMEA, Cornerstone OnDemand

Traditionally, employee performance management meant focusing on the top and bottom 10% of employees, but a new generation of integrated talent management systems are enabling executives to adopt a more strategic approach towards all employees. Performance is monitored on an ongoing basis – and access provided to the learning each employee needs to improve their competence in line with their job role and business objectives.

This development-driven performance management approach, delivered via integrated talent management systems, better equips employees and managers to deliver the outcomes expected from the business.  According to research from Bersin & Associates, companies with intermediate to advanced levels of talent management performed better financially during the recession and generated higher revenue per employee.  They also benefitted from a lower level of voluntary turnover, avoiding the costs and productivity gaps associated with recruiting new employees.  A key reason is that integrated systems give managers more levers to improve performance, especially when they cannot increase compensation or offer promotion to reward good performance. 

Organisation-wide access to such systems empowers each employee to take greater control of their own career development, particularly if it allows them to visualise potential career paths.  Employees who can grow within the organisation are less likely to move on to another and are more fully engaged.

Delivering better return on investment

Integrated talent management systems inform better decision making, particularly when they are used to cascade organisational goals and actions to managers, teams and employees.  Organisations evolve rapidly and departmental and team managers need to be prepared.  This will become increasingly important as the recession ends and competition for talent increases.  What do managers need to do to develop a pool of talent to fill any gaps in pivotal roles and avoid disruption to business continuity?  What development strategy is required for a successful move into a new market or business area?  For example, a new office may need a combination of expatriate and local staffing.  Which existing employees could be deployed, and how can the talent management system automate the induction process for new starters or new managers to speed their time to productivity?

They also deliver increased value by ensuring that training provision is tailored and optimised to the actual needs of the individual and the organisation, particularly if managers can select from a menu of formal or less costly informal learning opportunities.  Moreover, a common platform facilitates stronger communication between departments and within teams as to their priorities, and is more cost-effective than operating different systems for performance, talent and learning management. Software as a service (SaaS) solutions are an even more cost-effective option and can be implemented rapidly and painlessly without any up-front hardware costs. 

A robust response to key market trends

This new breed of talent management systems is equipping managers with clear visibility concerning their team's performance, goals and development needs.  Used effectively, it can provide C-level executives with evidence that the organisation is delivering on its priorities and meeting regulatory requirements.  An increasing number of organisations are adopting these systems precisely because they help them achieve their business objectives; they are proven to be benefitting from better performance now - once the recession ends that competitive advantage will be even more telling.

Five key trends driving demand for talent management systems   

1.     Globalisation - Global businesses often operate via local companies that are separate legal entities.  A single shared talent management system helps to unify multi-brand organisations and cross-border teams into a cohesive whole while allowing local flexibility.

2.     Regulation - Pan-European and globalised organisations need to comply with an increasing amount of regulation according to their industry and countries of operation.  A flexible, agile system provides managers with data and reports to demonstrate compliance at the individual, team, country and organisational level.  This may mean proving equality of opportunity, competency to gain certification or level of training activity to reduce corporate taxation.  For example in large businesses, it helps them prove they have mandatory succession plans in place and in countries like France can be used to facilitate discussions around training plans with influential social partners like unions. 

3.     Workforce deployment - Multinationals have to manage geographically dispersed employees and in-country, a significant proportion of workers may telecommute.  In addition, surveys indicate that a significant proportion of employees are planning to move jobs after the recession.  These factors increase the need for employee engagement to ensure staff retention.  In addition to career management, talent management systems facilitate virtual communities that enable greater collaboration between employees and teams; this also drives productivity, increases motivation and fosters employee engagement. 

4.     Changing demographics - Up to 40% of the workforce in developed countries will retire in the next decade, creating shortages in skilled labour or specialist areas.  A talent management system that incorporates informal learning tools can be used to capture mission-critical knowledge from these retirees in advance.  In addition, it can help to identify and train suitable replacements, building a pool of talent to fill critical positions across multiple regions.  In addition, it can be used to manage the abilities and aspirations of newer, "generation Y" employees who are predicted to have up to seven careers in their lifetime.  If their talent and expectations can be managed so those careers are within the same organisation, the return on investment will be increased by having a highly proficient, experienced and adaptable employee. 

5.     Deconstruction of the traditional enterprise - Many businesses now employ a high proportion of contractors to facilitate flexibility, or operate in collaboration with partners, suppliers or even customers themselves.  A world-class talent management system can be used to ensure everyone in the supply chain is trained effectively to ensure productivity, profitability and compliance. 

Vincent Belliveau is Cornerstone OnDemand's General Manager of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).  Prior to joining Cornerstone OnDemand, Belliveau served as the North East Europe Director of IBM's Master Data Management (MDM) and Information Integration Solutions. Belliveau was also a consultant with McKinsey & Company earlier in his career.