“Traditional HR practices such as performance management and leadership and development are undergoing radical change, forcing HR to throw away the old playbook and deliver more innovative solutions.”

– From “Human Capital Trends 2015,” Deloitte University Press

“Human Capital Trends 2015,” a study from Deloitte, states that “HR is at a crossroads. Once designed primarily as a compliance function, today’s HR organization must be agile, business-integrated, data-driven, and deeply skilled in attracting, retaining, and developing talent.”

The Deloitte report emerged from one of the largest studies of talent, leadership, and HR challenges in the world, based on surveys and interviews with more than 3,300 business and HR leaders from 106 countries.

A Changing World of HR

Why are expectations changing about what HR is supposed to do? Here are some of the findings reported in the Deloitte study:

• CEOs and senior executives are more worried about talent development than ever before.
• Only 30% of business leaders think that HR has a reputation for making sound business decisions.
• Only 22% believe that HR is adapting to the changing needs of the workforce.
• Only 20% think that HR is effectively planning to meet their companies’ talent needs.
• Only 11% believe that HR provides excellent talent development for their organizations.
• Only 11% believe that HR staff is receiving appropriate training and learning experiences that will lead to better talent development and integration with larger business goals.

A Growing Alignment with Training

How will HR take a more active role in talent development? Part of it will be done through better, more effective hiring. HR, after all, has always been about hiring. But we also foresee that HR will take a much more active role in developing the kind of training that cultivates talent internally.