I was working with a client recently who hated their recruiting technology. Everyone was complaining about it. But when we gathered their requirements and evaluated what they had in place, guess what? We found that their current tech stack could satisfy over 90% of their needs.

I was having a discussion a few weeks ago about strategic HR with Dustin Clinard, the vice president of Strategic Partnerships at Betterworks, and I mentioned that I first sat in on a session at an HR conference about how to become a strategic business partner almost 23 years ago. Then, the unfortunate reality set in: We’re still seeing those same sessions on grabbing “a seat at the table” 23 years later.

Will we ever escape this trap? I believe that playing an active role in strategic planning, goal-setting and identifying objectives and key results (OKRs) can set us free.

I worked with a client that hired a new VP of HR (we’ll call her Jane to protect the innocent), who immediately told her team that she needed a dashboard of 20 metrics each month from each HR Business Partner in order to run the business.

Early this year, a meeting planner scheduled a big event with several speakers. The planner worked with a committee to arrive at an agenda and manage a list of planned exhibitors at the event. It was all business. Then, as often is the case, life interrupted.

One of the speakers was known for being strongly opinionated politically and willing to put up a spirited conversation. Between the booking and the actual event, the scheduled personality started broadcasting some opinions on social media that many found antagonistic. At the same time, a few attendees of the event took notice that one of the exhibitors was Trump Hotels.

Simplicity.  It’s a tenet embraced in both business and life, but the practicalities of a complicated world can get in the way. In the realm of talent management strategy and technology, I have struggled with this conflict first hand when helping companies manage a complex function or project in the simplest way possible. Yet often the real goal of simplicity gets lost.

I started my career in HR over 20 years ago, and the questions I heard most often at all the HR conferences were “Why don’t I have a seat at the executive table?” and “How can I get the executives to take me seriously?” Well, we’re 20+ years on, and in spite of all the best intentions, I still hear these two questions repeatedly. What are we doing wrong?

If you are in the market to buy a new Talent Management Technology product, there is no shortage of advice on how you should conduct your selection process. I know this because I am one of the people who preaches about “best practices” vendor selection methodology.