WATSON WYATT   TRENDS   TALENT MANAGEMENT

Global - Given the increasing importance of talent management in today's workforce, many companies are considering replacing their manual talent management processes with automated ones.

These automated processes integrate compensation, recruiting, performance management, learning management, career development and succession planning into the talent management system.

According to Watson Wyatt's 2009 HR Technology Trends Survey, 56% of companies plan to use more talent management technology over the next two years.

Out of these companies, 46% plan to integrate their existing technologies or leverage their current integrated systems and the remaining 27% plan to start from scratch with a new integrated suite.

"For many employees, talent management is made up of several separate processes that need to be manually tracked and updated. Creating programmes that integrate some or even all talent management components into one common technology platform would be a major step in the right direction," said Brian Wilkerson, global director of talent management at Watson Wyatt.

Survey findings revealed that about half of companies are in fact still using a manual approach for many talent management processes, with the top three being in workforce planning (55%), succession planning (53%) and career development (48%).

Unsurprisingly, these areas also yield relatively low levels of employer satisfaction, leaving only 20% satisfied with the functionality of their succession planning processes, 18% satisfied with the functionality of their career development processes and 13% satisfied with the functionality of their workforce planning processes.

Wilkerson noted that the current manual methods are not only not delivering, but also causing frustration.

"Automating and integrating these talent management processes, including compensation, would enable companies to better manage their workforce, anticipate future needs and keep employees engaged," Wilkerson said.

He added that this way, in addition to helping businesses save costs in the long run, a more efficient management system would also help ensure that businesses are better equipped to handle downturns and talent shortage in the future.

The survey was conducted in February and March 2009 on 181 large employers.

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