I attended Mercer’s analyst day last week and had an opportunity to chat a bit about the Health Care Reform changes. In our space today, HR professionals can’t afford to work in silos and the newest Health Care Reforms are just another reminder of the importance of working as a team with integrated efforts.

One of the many upcoming changes in the new legislation will be the 2014 requirement that large organizations offer “full-time” employees and their dependents the opportunity to enroll in minimum essential coverage under an employer sponsored insurance plan. It is the definition of full time “an employee working an average of at least 30 hours or more each week” that may require many organizations to rethink their part time and full time workforce plans for many employees.

There are obviously nuances and exceptions within this law that organizations will work through as we get closer to 2012 and 2013, but we can see that this law could affect many organizations labor strategies. It could greatly impact organizations that intentionally limit hours to manage labor costs, such as retail, entertainment, or food service businesses. Many organizations will simply create new policies about full and part time employment – ensuring that employee’s hours are limited even further than they are today. Our discussions last week centered on the question of whether this was truly just a new policy question – or was this an opportunity for strategic workforce planning.

Should organizations begin to look at their workforces and identify those roles or employees that would be most beneficial to leave at a full time work load?  Will they risk losing long standing “good” employees in these critical roles if they simply cut hours across the board?

Some organizations could face the opposite challenge, as many organizations use insurance options to incent workers in critical technical areas to work additional hours to make up for limited resources. Employees in job roles such as nursing, teaching or other highly skilled technical areas may decide to cut back on work hours now that they have the option to obtain insurance with only 30 hours per week. . 

Will companies take Health Care reform as just another policy and procedure or compensation and benefits discussion, or an opportunity to use their workforce planning data to begin thinking about how they can better prepare as an entire HR team. Should these discussions be limited to a labor cost question, or should they be a strategic talent discussion as well?  

Workforce planning is a critical new process for many organizations who have taken their integrated talent management efforts to the next level.  It is a process that requires true integrated data, metrics, and tools to obtain the full benefits.  In our new report on Talent Management Framework - A Modern Approach for Developing and Mobilizing Talent,  – you’ll find key updates to Bersin & Associates  Talent Management Framework that outline where we see the market taking their talent management discussions today.  This report highlights best practice organizations efforts at integration through updated discussions on:

• Talent Strategy
• Workforce Planning
• Capability and Competencies
• Total Rewards
• Talent Acquisition
• Leadership Development
• Succession Management
• Career Management
• Performance Management
• Learning & Capability development
• Governance, Business Metrics, and Infrastructure

In November, our analyst team got together to discuss what we were seeing take shape in the TM market over the last few years, things that had changed since we first began to identify and document the best practices on Integrated Talent Management . Collaboration and integration is as important for us as analysts as it is for your own HR team in this space. It is imperative that although we have particular topic areas, we must understand how each area touches, integrates, and is affected by other critical talent areas. 

Has your organization taken the opportunity to talk about how the upcoming Health Care reforms could impact the entire HR function? Many organizations are having discussions that go beyond workforce planning and are talking about difficult financial and ethical questions such as whether to drop or maintain coverage entirely. These are topics which can affect every area of talent, from acquisition and compensation to performance mgmt and succession planning. This should spark integrated dialogue amongst all players to ensure the best possible choices are made from a budget and branding decision.  How often does your talent or HR function get together to discuss changes in your business, process integration opportunities, or external issues that could affect them all.

If you’re working on creating a culture of integration and collaboration, take an opportunity to download, read, and share this newest report on changes in the talent management market with your HR partners. Look for opportunities in team meetings to identify the definitions, integration points, and metrics within your own functions approach to talent and you may be surprised what opportunities you uncover to make real improvements.

Stacey Harris
Principal Analyst