HR a talent let down - paying attention to the elephant under the table

The Human Capital Institute (HCI) and Vurv Technology have announced that HR leaders still do not meet the measures of talent management and business acumen. “The Role of HR in the Age of Talent,” shows that only 22 percent of HR leaders were considered experts across talent management issues like globalization, outsourcing, workforce integration and financial acumen.Other key findings from the report include:

1. More than 70 percent of HR Organizations focus on Risk Avoidance rather than Risk Taking;
2. Two thirds of respondents said that HR is either important, respected and/or consulted with on corporate strategy;
3. Almost 60% of HR heads report directly to the CEO;
4. There now exists a 50/50 split in HR versus talent management mindsets; and
5. While only 22% of leaders were assessed as expert, only 15% were considered expert by non-HR respondents.

Whilst this is yet another example of HR bashing I am concerned that the profession does not seem to be focusing on the right issues at the moment. In the current environment where issues such as the “credit crunch” (and other elephants) demand focus on matters such as talent, organisational design and lean processes this research suggests that we are otherwise engaged. And we wonder why we struggle to get a “seat at the table”!

The full report can be found here – be warned they have one of those REALLY annoying registration forms to complete before you get to read the document.