Employees as an asset, where's the CRM?

So employees are a company’s most important asset, at least in the knowledge economy. More important, even, than customers in the long run. What kind of tools do managers have at their disposal to manage their relationships with their employees?

For all the silliness of CRM software (as if relationships can be managed with a software application), much of it makes sense. Recording important transactions, storing critical information, and helping to suggest future actions. Where is the corollary for employees? It may not be a big deal if a manager only has a team of three people. But what about up the chain? If a CRM app can tell a manager how an account has been handled, what about how an employee relationship has been handled?

Even if such a tool would work, the problem - I would suggest - is that such things are swept under the HR rug. A more open tool which helps managers and their managers record and measure (ding ding!) how they actually execute (ding ding!) when managing employee relationships might be a boon in a knowledge economy business.