Failed HR Collaboration with Business Services Leaders to Blame for Growing Talent Crisis

 According to a report by The Hackett Group, business services such as Finance, IT, and Procurement, among others, are experiencing an accelerating talent crisis due to the failure to collaborate effectively with HR. The new research states that these organizations are in the midst of a dangerous talent deficit and are dissatisfied with the level of support in these areas received from HR. This dissatisfaction is largely driven by the exceedingly low levels of service being provided by HR and a total lack of communication and collaboration between the two groups.

Statistically, the report found that business services organizations are only getting the support they desire less than an average of 35 percent of the time. Additionally, those companies reporting a full range of HR services being provided stood at 13 percent or less. The areas receiving special attention for the report were workforce planning and succession, collaboration and knowledge sharing, retention, performance management, learning and development, and recruitment and staffing.

“At most companies, business services functions were badly weakened by across-the-board cuts during the recent recession,” said The Hackett Group Global HR Practice Leader Harry Osle. “Underinvestment in talent has created deficits in important skills such as business acumen, strategic thinking and analysis, change management, and process improvement capabilities. Yet companies seem to be almost completely ineffective at addressing this talent challenge, in large part because HR and business services leaders are not collaborating. This is a dangerous situation with the potential to cripple companies that don’t address it quickly. While these business services functions are often considered cost-centers, they provide key services that enable companies to manage and optimize assets ranging from cash, capital and talent to technology and product/service inputs.”