2011 Aberdeen HCM Summit: “It’s All About Engagement”

Last week The Aberdeen Group concluded its annual Human Capital Management Summit in New York City; check out #hcm2011 on Twitter for a recap of the conversation.

The participation and support shown by the members of the Human Capital community ensured this event truly lived up to its billing as a ‘summit,’ in the most literal sense, defined by Webster’s as “the topmost level obtainable.”

It was 2011 Aberdeen HCM Summit attendees themselves who truly helped make this an amazing event, creating a thoughtful, engaging dialogue with the speakers.  These phenomenal discussions allowed our HR colleagues to walk away with real, actionable insight.  And of course, our thanks go to all of the event’s sponsors, whose support allowed Aberdeen to share this experience with our executive community free of charge.

Throughout the event, the themes validated Aberdeen’s research over the past year.  Here are some of the major trends we’re seeing:

Three Top 2011 Human Capital Management Trends

1. Employee Engagement Produces Measurable Business Results:

According to Dr. Tina Decker, Best Buy can predict changes in revenue based on changes in engagement data.  The key to an effective engagement strategy rests in obtaining the buy-in from the most senior level of the organization; executing this strategy effectively, however, starts  with the managers on the front line.

You can roll out a red carpet for your new employees and get them excited about your culture, but if their manager is not bought in, you would have wasted all your efforts when getting them on board.

2. Knowing What Drives Your Employees Drives Your Organization’s Success:

At United Airlines, after a rough climate that led to significant layoffs, it was essential to sustain engagement among those who were left on board to navigate the company through a difficult landscape.

Leveraging succession planning and providing specific career plans not only increased engagement, but also allowed United to identify successors for the 40 most critical roles at the company.

3. Use The Data

In our recruitment panel, VWR and New York Life shared with us how powerful it is to have metrics that allowed them to maintain control over a third-party recruitment process outsourcing provider.

Karl-Heinz Oehler showed us how metrics (based on HR and business data) enables him to add value to his organization – Hertz – by running his department, Global Talent Management, as a business.

2011 Human Capital Management: What’s Next

Lastly, some things for my HR colleagues to keep in mind as we trek through 2011:

• The business reality in 2011 requires HR to balance growth and efficiencies.

• We need to be strategic by connecting HR to the priorities of the business by standardizing, automating, and leveraging data.

• Best-in-Class HCM organizations are prioritizing gaps between current and future needs and getting more from their workforce by developing better leaders

• Integrated talent management must be founded on a sound competency framework fro recruitment to succession planning.

Thanks to everyone involved for making our Third Annual Human Capital Management Summit a success, and I hope you enjoyed New York City as did I.  If you couldn’t join us, check out the recap video on the summit website.

Hope to see you next year!

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About the Author

Jayson Saba is an analyst in the Human Capital Management practice at the Aberdeen Group. His coverage encompasses a bevy of technologies from enterprise-wide human resource systems to more specific solutions such as those addressing HR transformation, shared service, and outsourcing. Most recently, Jayson has published research that covered Best-in-Class practices for core HR functions, health benefit administration, core HR systems and recruitment process outsourcing.He has contributed to several leading industry publications including The Economist, Talent Management magazine, Workforce Management magazine, and HRO Today. Follow him on twitter if you like: @jaysonsaba