The book opens with a chapter on identifying and understanding the trends shaping the future of HR and talent management. The four critical trends (demographics, diversity, globalization and global economic reconstruction as well as technology and innovation) are clearly presented and discussed in an engaging manner. The next two chapters deal with the present and future of technology and talent, the current state of affairs, understanding of influences shaping the market and how and why to move forward. The last numbered chapter helps the reader select an appropriate system for managing the talent; more specifically, it deals with assessment of internal needs, detailed vendor analysis and final selection of the vendor/system.
If those guidelines are not enough for the potential buyer, the next 385 pages present detailed company information and a functionality matrix for each of the twelve selected vendors, which represent the market’s “suite players,” offering integrated technology platforms with sets of tools and solutions allowing the users to manage all facets of HR with a single toolset. The information on those companies and the solutions they offer is ample, ranging from handy phone numbers, e-mail addresses and web pages to descriptions and history of each of those organizations as well as details on products/services/solutions they offer to the consumer. The corresponding functionality matrix allows the potential buyer to quickly cross-reference particular needs with available solutions and make an informed decision of which vendor would best suit the needs of any particular organization. The functionality matrix addresses numerable items in such diverse categories as are:
- Requisition Management & Posting,
- Candidate Experience,
- Sourcing/CRM,
- Assessment and Interview Management,
- Offer Management and Onboarding,
- Global Capabilities and Compliance, - Reporting & Integration,
- Performance Dashboard,
- Employee Information Review,
- Career Planning / Personal Development (Employee),
- Career Development (Manager),
- Individual Goal / Self-Assessment (Employee),
- Review Process (Employee and Manager),
- Workflow,
- System Admin,
- Search Functionality,
- Employee View / Navigation / Help / Other,
- Security,
- Reporting,
- Succession Planning,
- Succession Pooling,
- Content Management and Delivery,
- Testing and Tracking,
- Integration,
- Web 2.0 Features and
- User Communication.
I found “Talent Management Technologies” clearly written, thorough and to the point in spite of its size. In the ever expanding and oftentimes bewildering field of HR, this book is a welcome guide through the maze.
Talent Management Technologies: A Buyer’s Guide to New, Innovative Solutions
Allan Schweyer, Ed Newman and Peter DeVries
AuthorHouse (2009)
ISBN 9781449005405
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (10/09)




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