Effectively managing its talent-base is critical for the long-term success of any business – even more so for a small businesses. Unfortunately, many small businesses treat their talent management processes as an after-thought and thus fail enjoy the benefits of having a truly motivated, high-performance workforce.

The emergence of on-demand solutions specializing in talent management has made it feasible for even the smallest of businesses to effectively implement proven and powerful performance management practices. Two such solutions that we have seen successfully implemented are Taleo & SuccessFactors. Both are web-based, Software-as-Service (SaaS) solutions that include modules for managing & aligning goals, tracking & reviewing performances and benchmarking compensation and benefits packages.

Both Taleo and SuccessFactors are designed to provide critical, real-time performance data to enable companies to better manage, motivate and engage their talent base in order to drive better business results. Once configured and set-up properly, SaaS solutions such as these are ideal for small businesses as they do not need extensive IT support to maintain.

The latest Asia Business Monitor (ABM) survey by UPS has revealed that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore continue to be plagued by two familiar problems – a shortage of skilled workers and rising costs.

The difficulty in attracting and retaining skilled talent is a perennial problem for small businesses the world over; it is a particularly acute problem in Singapore where the SME sector employs well over half of the total workforce. This labour crunch is only going to get worse and rising business costs are unlikely to reverse their trends anytime soon.

So what is a small business owner to do?

I believe the only viable long term solution is to take a critical look at how resources are being used and managed in your operations. Most SMEs are far from efficient in the way that they utilize their resources, be they warm bodies, equipment or facilities.

SMEs must take a leaf form the big company playbook and automate their business processes and resource management. The tools exist today to allow savvy small businesses to adopt the best-practices of larger organizations at relatively low costs. Technology also makes it possible to collaborate effectively with a range of external partners – thus enabling smart SMEs to provide sophisticated services with relatively modest internal resources.

To succeed in today’s economy, you don’t need massive offices, an army of staff or very deep pockets. You do need to effectively leverage technology to become far more efficient and customer-focused than ever before.