Last week’s HR Technology Conference & Expo was a departure from previous years in many ways – seriously cool new technologies, higher levels of innovation, slicker UI’s, some of the best of commercial applications incorporated into HR applications, and mobile device integration to name a few.  But there was one overriding difference that jumped out at me in every session I attended, every conversation that I had and even in the product demos that I saw - and that was a new focus on the BUSINESS.  Yes, that word I kept hearing was “BUSINESS.” 

In fact, I would venture to say that for every 10 times I heard someone say “HR” at the conference, I would hear “BUSINESS” one time.  While 10:1 is not as good as it can get, it’s a far cry from a year ago when as an industry we were at roughly a 40:1 ratio.

The conversation at HR Technology had two new threads to it that were not there in 2007:

1. HR technology as business solutions, not HR systems
2. HR technology as means to connect, share and co-create across the business

The myopic view of HR is slowly changing and the walls between it and the business are slowly disintegrating.  Here are some snippets from 2 of the best attended sessions that give proof to this changed conversation:

From the 11th Annual Industy Analyst Panel:

• General consensus amongst the analysts that HR needs to respond to the financial crisis by getting crystal clear on what will make the biggest impact on the business.  There was more attention given to aligning HR activities with business strategy than to cost containment and risk mitigation (the traditional HR and IT response to a downturn in the economy)
• Focus on “critical roles” based on business strategy; be targeted in the way you approach talent
• Discussion of HR technology as “productivity tools”

From The Industry's First Talent Management Shootout:

• “Business people are the users of talent management suites”
• Focus on the employee: recommended jobs based on strengths and desires; interest lists (ala Amazon)
• Focus on the business user: mobile device integration, and action-oriented functionality
• The C-suite view of talent

So congratulations to ALL who have played a role in pushing the B-word – BUSINESS – into the HR technology conversation. 

Who knows? Maybe next year we’ll be at a 2:1 ratio. Here’s to change…

As a Patriotsfan who lives in Boston, I have been subject to a multimedia barrage of game analysis this week.  That I had the misfortune of traveling to NY this week to see people dawning Giants' jerseys on their way to the City's ticker tape paradewas really salt in the wound.  I have read and heard a lot of reasons offered for the Big Game's outcome, but a theme has become apparent to me through all this unwelcome noise.  Regardless of either team's strategy - or 1,000 analysts' interpretation of that strategy - there were more players in more roles who drove their team's success or sadly for my beloved home team, their lack of success than normal headlines and salaries would lead one to believe.  It's not just a game of throw-and-catch between a quarterback and a wide receiver. 

A growing number of talent management professionals in the KI community recognize this in their own organizations.  Many of these professionals have been chartered in recent years with tackling the baby boom problem that threatens to leave their organizations without competent senior leadership in the near future.  What most find is that a focus only on keeping chairs warm in the executive ranks is not sufficient.  Indeed many critical roles (i.e., key positions) are in the middle management and individual contributor ranks.  

Think about it this way.  We have all seen good people leave the organizations for which we have worked.  However, the impact of their respective departures on business performance is largely dependent on the roles they played in the organization. 

So what makes a role at an organization critical?  To start building a list for talent planning purposes, you should evaluate roles at your organization by asking yourselves and your employee base simple questions such as:

• What roles have the largest and most direct impact on the metrics that matter to your organization? Revenue and costs are universal. Other measures such as those related to innovation and customer satisfaction vary based on industry and organization strategy.

• What roles have traditionally been the most difficult to fill?

• In what roles is there a big gap between good performance and bad performance? How has having sub-par performers in these positions bitten the organization in the past?

• With whom does the market associate the organization's brand?

There are other questions we advise KI community members to ask themselves so that they can better drive their talent management (e.g., recruiting, development, succession, compensation) efforts.  However, starting with this simple list should provide a lot of insight, particularly if you survey a broad audience - employees, partners, and customers.  Those roles that appear on one or several lists are worth your organization's focus.

I've sat through more vendor software demonstrations in my time then I care to count. Though all of these demos, one thing is for certain, the person demonstrating the software, the Product Consultant, can make or break that demo and leave the customer either wanting more or totally confused and looking for the door. I've seen some great software that would have been a good fit for the customer completely decimated by the product consultant. Through a combination of failing to connect with the audience and following a haphazard flow, the demo was doomed from the word go. The flip side is also true. I've seen some terrible software shine simply because the person demonstrating connected with the audience and was able to present the software in its best light. The result in this case was a win for software that probably wasn't the best fit.

Through all of this, I've concluded that the Product Consultant should be designated as a critical role within the vendor organization. Critical roles are those that create competitive advantage and help produce "moments of truth" with customers and clients. These are the roles that, when it counts, get the job done by driving the sale or build client loyalty through exceptional service. While all roles within an organization are important, critical roles are those that help you not only play, but play to win.

What more critical of a role then than the Product Consultant. As described above, this is the individual in the process that can make or break what may be the one and only chance to win the business. It is this person that is the conduit to making the connection between a client's unique needs and the capability of that software to fill those needs. Critical roles deserve, and frankly require, special handling. Critical roles should receive increased focus from HR and should see more robust development opportunities, competency models, compensation plans, etc. In today's model, this increased focus is usually reserved for the Sales Rep that usually just keeps a chair warm (sorry guys) while the Product Consultant does all the work. I think it's time for the software vendor community to change the game and put some fire power behind this critical role.