Steve Goldberg's Analyst Perspectives

Simply defined, an “HR-M&A lifecycle” is the sequence of critical workforce and HR-related activities and decisions that span due diligence through business integration after an M&A event is announced. Until recently, these potentially game-changing events were not the province or focus of HR technology offerings. This is due in part to HCM systems that, historically, were designed primarily to automate and optimize typical HR/HCM processes and events that occur throughout the year, to better understand and drive employee engagement, productivity and retention, and to mitigate workforce-related compliance risks.

Topics: Human Capital Management, Workforce Management, Total Compensation Management, employee experience

Even the most casual observer of HR Technology trends and associated vendor marketing themes will have noticed that the notion of “putting people first” has become ubiquitous as a way for vendors to distinguish themselves. This has become a double-edged sword. Customers ultimately benefit from the intense competition to add functionality that supports this claim, resulting in richer and more robust offerings. The downside, as is the case when any core plank in vendor value propositions becomes ubiquitous, is that buyers are increasingly challenged by differentiating whose “people first” claims are more supported by product capabilities and plans. Also difficult to discern is which product will translate into tangible business improvements within their unique organizational context.

Topics: Human Capital Management, Workforce Management, Total Compensation Management, employee experience

Ventana Research recently announced its 2021 research agenda for Human Capital Management, continuing the guidance we’ve offered for two decades to help organizations derive maximum value from workforce-related technology investments and initiatives. In crafting this research agenda, we focused on three critical themes top-of-mind for both HCM vendors and buyers: Organizational agility and resilience, worker productivity, and leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning as broadly as practical.

Topics: HCM, Employee Engagement, Workforce Management, Total Compensation Management, employee experience

This analyst perspective (presentation) covers how Compensation Management, related enabling technologies and data strategies continue to evolve, particularly in the context of prominent business issues facing all organizations today.

Topics: HCM, Compensation, HR, Talent Management, HR Tech, HR technology, Total Compensation Management, HCM Systems, employee experience, People Analytics

In this video I discuss strategies for effectively engaging candidates to win the war for talent, particularly “passive talent,” or those who are not seeking a new opportunity because they are likely well cared for where they are. Even in economic downturns, candidate engagement is essential for success. I also include some recommendations for assessing and optimizing a candidate engagement program and pitfalls to avoid.

Topics: HCM, Talent Management, HCM Systems, employee experience, candidate engagement, AI and Machine Learning

The employee experience is about more than just the technology an organization uses. While it’s certainly important that an organization provide convenient and efficient systems, the employee experience is much broader than this. People want to feel valued, productive and that they are doing meaningful work; people desire a line of sight into career growth and how the organization supports it and they want to be treated fairly.

Topics: CHRO, Employee Engagement, HCM Systems, employee experience, total rewards management, employee journey

Compensation management is a critical part of human capital and talent management processes. Organizations must determine and provide the appropriate compensation for each person — whether it involves base pay, short or long-term incentives, cash or equity-based compensation — to attract and retain productive members of the workforce. However, the complexities of compensation can make it difficult forhuman resources departments to keep employees productive, satisfied and motivated.

Topics: Human Capital Management, Workforce Management, Total Compensation Management, employee experience, total rewards management

Many decision-makers in HR believe the main function of an HCM system is to track and report on the sequence of events that form an employee life cycle. However, this perspective is misguided because it’s centered on transactions rather than experiences.

Topics: Human Capital Management, employee experience, candidate engagement

Learning management technology, either as part of a larger HCM software suite or as a standalone niche solution, has evolved from its classroom-based, instructor-led origins. Modern systems deliver information the way many employees learn best, through informal social learning that is personalized and engaging. Some of these new, often mobile-enabled approaches deliver education via short (three to five minute) on-demand videos that are tailored to an individual’s specific job responsibilities or interests and increasingly involve artificial intelligence (AI) technology. AI’s role in this context is to better personalize learning content, modality and the pace of learning. In short, this is all about delivering learning the way each person learns best.

Topics: Human Capital Management, Learning Management, HRMS, Workforce Management, Digital Technology, Work and Resource Management, Machine Learning and Cognitive Computing, Artificial intelligence, employee experience, Chatbots, Personalization, Predictive HCM

The early days of my career were spent in HR and payroll systems inside brokerage houses and investment banks. The first CHRO I reported to thought the best way to develop a plan for automating payroll management was for me to run the function’s day-to-day operations. I had no previous experience in payroll but it was a good call, as the trenches of any operations area typically reveal a cornucopia of automation opportunities. Then again, it was a different time; back then the words strategy, decision support and employee experience were rarely heard in a payroll department.

Topics: Human Capital Management, HRMS, Workforce Management, Digital Technology, Machine Learning and Cognitive Computing, Payroll Optimization, Artificial intelligence, Total Compensation Management, RPA, employee experience, Chatbots, Personalization, Predictive HCM