You may be stuck between a rock and a hard place, but remember that today’s every day talent decisions are the seeds of future growth.
I don’t want to be yet another person saying that we are experiencing a time of change – but we are. We are experiencing a new array of challenges, including economic disruptions and yet another round of spending and hiring freezes. While it seems on the surface reasonable to put talent investments on hold, this is not the best course of strategic action. Now is not the time to overlook your talent systems and decisions.
Don’t wait for future stability to take talent seriously. Quite the opposite. Strategy doesn’t pause because budgets do. Talent decisions are still occurring every day. And every decision — or act of indecision — shapes who gets seen, supported, and developed.
That’s why HR leaders must reframe talent management not as a cost centre, but as a strategic investment – now is as good a time as any to ‘focus on investing, rather than expensing.’
Talent systems and decisions are always strategic investments – adopt a mindset that ‘focuses on investing, rather than expensing.’
Whose Logic Is Driving Your Talent Strategy?
Many organisations have defaulted to digital talent management systems (DTMs) that promise objectivity, efficiency, and “best practice.” But as I argued in MIT Sloan Management Review, these systems are fit-for-sale, not fit-for-purpose. They encode frameworks designed to be broadly palatable and easily monetised — not necessarily aligned with your unique context, workforce, or commercial goals.
The result? Organisations are unknowingly handing over the “who” and “what” of talent to third-party vendors. These systems direct attention to specific capabilities and attributes while obscuring others, using algorithms and scoring that can’t accommodate nuance. While these systems can be efficient, they hide strategic misalignment in plain sight.
Externally designed talent systems rarely provide the fertile soil needed for healthy talent decisions to take root.
They may look efficient on the surface, but beneath the interface, they lack the nutrients — the context, nuance, and strategic intent — required to grow strong, resilient talent outcomes. If we want talent decisions to flourish, we need to cultivate our own ground.
Talent Decisions Are Strategic Investments
This is why we need a mindset shift. Talent decisions are not neutral. They direct time, energy, attention and resources — and they compound over time.
HR leaders benefit from (re)framing internal conversations. Talent management isn’t a “nice to have” or an HR compliance function. It’s a mechanism for enacting strategy. If you’re not actively shaping your talent frameworks, then you’re limiting our ability to respond, adapt, and compete in the current context.
Furthermore, asking for budget to “do talent management” in the traditional sense might not resonate right now. But positioning talent systems as decision infrastructure that enables strategic execution? That lands differently. Because leaders understand the importance of infrastructure. They understand the cost of misalignment.
Consider (re)framing talent systems as design infrastructures to make the case for (or build) top leadership attention.
So, now is not the time to pause your talent investments.
The decisions you make today will shape not only how your organisation navigates disruption, but whether it has the capability and clarity to respond to what’s here now and what’s ahead.
If this resonates with you — if you’re ready to rethink how your organisation defines, designs, and decides on talent — then join us for a timely and practical conversation.
📅 Center for Effective Organizations and MIT Sloan Management Review
Webinar: A Strategy-First Approach to Talent Systems and Decisions
🗓️ Thursday, May 29, 2025 | ⏰ 8am PT | 11am ET | 4pm BST (1 hour duration)
🎙️ Featuring (me) Dr. Sharna Wiblen and Elizabeth Heichler (MIT SMR)
We’ll explore how to design fit-for-purpose infrastructures that align talent ideals and systems with your unique strategy, providing an environment for positive talent outcomes to grow.
👉 Register now to reserve your spot.
Because when resources shrink, talent decisions amplify — and now is the time to get them right.
Sharna Wiblen 