Getting the Best Future for Your Company

Stephen Burr 01-Jun-2009

Early May saw SAP release the latest “Enhancement Package” (EhP4); these packages are SAP’s way of deploying new software functionality to customers without disruption.  Although there are notable improvements in the core HCM module, this enhancement package delivers major improvements in the area of Talent Management. 

But in the current global downturn, is this important right now?

Firstly, I’d echo Damian William’s thoughts in the previous article “Investing in the future” that continual progression of your organisation’s capability, by managing your talented employees, is key to your company’s growth.  Les Hayman (ROC Chairman) has previously spoken about how almost every company, via corporate mission statements, tells us that their employees are key to their business.  But how many act on this corporate statement?  Talent Management is a process that helps deliver on that goal.

It is crucial to realise that Talent Management is a business process that I.T. can help enable.  It is about joining up processes across recruiting, learning, performance management, succession planning and compensation management to ensure the right data is collated and available to key decision makers.  SAP EhP4 ensures a common data model is used to ensure data is accessible to the right people at the right time using specific roles that are defined for each person in the talent management process; recruiter, learning administrator, managers, etc. 

While technology can provide a mechanism to the business to achieve its aims, it needs the business to embrace the process as well as the corporate strategy to re-enforce that commitment.

Talent Management is about getting the best future for your company.