High-tech companies face a range of complex business challenges due to global expansion, shifting demographics, and continuous competitive pressures. Read why the high-tech HR organization finds itself at the forefront of many of these challenges, and what they must do to rise above them.
Winning the War for Talent in the
High-Tech Industry
SAP Executive InsightExecutive Agenda
High-tech companies face a range of complex business challenges due to global expansion, shifting demographics, and continuous competitive pressures. Within this industry context, the human resources (HR) organization finds itself at the forefront of many of these challenges, while facing unparalleled pressure to deliver.
Increasingly, human capital manage- This SAP Executive Insight addresses ment (HCM) is becoming a priority for the following questions:high-tech senior executives. The work- . What specific challenges do HR force, they realize, is not only a source organizations in high-tech companies of competitive differentiation, but also face today?the key to accomplishing a number . What is the impact of these challenges of strategic goals, such as product on HR operations?and service innovation and process . What do best-run HR organizations improvements as well as new channel do differently to achieve leading development. performance?SAP Executive Insight
Winning the War for Talent in the
High-Tech Industry
Key Challenges
High-tech companies operate within an increasingly competitive and complex industry in which many segments are experiencing significant single- and even double-digit growth. Merger and acquisition activity is also high, driven by competition and segment consolidation or the need to expand product lines. In this environment, the industry faces the following three main challenges:. Product excellence: Develop the right product; minimize time to market. Customer excellence: Retain existing customers; present one face to the customer. Service excellence: Align service portfolio with product offering; use services as a sales channel
Strategic Role of HR At the same time, however, fierce . Develop a global people strategy - by competition in the industry extends sharing best practices, through rapid People - that is, talent - are at the into an equally determined battle for learning, and through collaborationheart of any strategy to master the the most talented employees. . Establish a process for planning business challenges of high-tech careers - by encouraging employees companies. This requires the HR orga- Blueprint for Success to grow within the company and nization to transform from the role of maximize their value for the organiservice provider to that of strategic A successful HR organization must zation at each career stagebusiness partner to help deliver address four imperatives if it is to business results, which include: win the war for talent. According to a Study results are clear: HR organiza-. Improving employee productivity recent benchmarking study conducted tions in high-tech-companies must adopt . Reducing time to market by the Americas' SAP Users' Group best practices for their technology, . Delivering higher customer (ASUG) and SAP, leading HR organi business processes, and organizational satisfaction zations in high-tech companies operation. Automating and integrating a ccomplish the following objectives: HR operations with business activities, This transformation requires a shift . Focus on "results" rather than supported by interdependent business both in mind-set and in approach and "effort" - by linking HR programs processes, reduce the cost of deliver-tools as HR is asked to integrate with to specific business outcomes ing basic HR services. Additionally, this research and development, sales and . Build a performance culture - by approach frees up resources to sup-marketing, and production activities to integrating the talent management port an integrated talent management drive optimal results on a global basis. process with the rest of the com process and eliminates information pany's operational processes and communication barriers.The People Challenge
In this industry, HR's struggle against % of Worldwide High-Tech Output, Estimated Number of Industrial Researchers, high employee turnover, long recruiting National Science Board, Science and by Country/Region: 1982-2002cycle times, and extensive employee Engineering Indicators 2006% Researchers (thousands)development efforts is reflected in 40 1600the following exceptional operational United States 1400metrics, as compared to other, less 30 1200competitive, industries: OECD minus United States.... [download for more]
