As we look at Human Resources disciplines in 2013, there are many significant HR technology trends returning to the forefront. Over the past five years, many HR budgets were slashed in great proportions, with training and technology leading those cuts. But in 2012, we saw that trend shift, as a Towers Watson survey reported a strong and increased level of HR technology spending. More and more companies looked to leverage the HR department through technology. This trend will continue in 2013, with three major HR Technology trends at the forefront.

Talent Management continues to be the top HR service delivery issue in organizations. With online tools, social media, and Software-as-a-Service applications on the rise, companies are evaluating Talent Management systems at a rapid pace. Because of this HR need, Talent Management systems are plentiful in number, and most are still silo applications that are difficult to integrate with core HR Management Systems (HRMS). In 2013, these systems will get more flexible, and integration and other challenges attributed to these systems will be decreased. Talent Management applications will also increase the strategic value of HR in a company, allowing HR to contribute to long term talent issues for an organization. Organizations will utilize these systems to tie employee goals and objectives, link goals to performance measures, and integrate measurements to long term business strategy.

In addition to getting strategic through talent management, HR will leverage their HRMS to generate meaningful business analytics on their human capital. Workforce analytics are an imperative part of HR technology, and are an integral component in corporate-wide decision-making. HR must meet the demands of their organization by delivering analytics that can be integrated with other key corporate data in order to predict workforce demands for the future. HR departments must also be able to sift through the ever increasing amounts of Big Data in the organization to transform it into valuable information and business intelligence. In 2013, organizations will harness the power of their HRMS via robust reports, dashboards, and business alerts in order to meet this demand.

As mentioned in the other trends, integration with other data in the corporation is critical to HR technology needs. HRMS must integrate with a plethora of applications, including talent management, accounting systems, and CRM in order to provide valuable metrics and insight. Data integration is intricate and complex, and does not only involve on-premise solutions. With the introduction of other trends in HR technology, including cloud-based systems, social networking, and workforce mobility, integration has become even more complicated.  Ultimately, each of these systems must work together to provide the organization with relevant, worthwhile information. These systems must also synchronize in order to manage the quality of employee data.

In conclusion, these trends will increase the visibility of HR technology in a company, and will fundamentally change the way HR works in an organization. Companies will be challenged to meet these trends, but will benefit greatly by adapting to these changes.