If it isn’t obvious by now, the inherent changes in the marketplace has created a domino effect in business.
Business performance is not what it once was. No industry is immune to the disruption that is happening across verticals and business functions.
Deanie Elsner, President of Kraft Snacks Business Unit said this:
Today there is a seismic disruption across all industry verticals. It’s unprecedented because it’s happening simultaneously across consumers, commerce and communication. It’s being driven by the consumer. The consumer is the new CEO…. it’s also leaving companies and industry paralyzed… today business needs to be comfortable with paradox and ambiguity.
Economic conditions compound this change…
While the economy has wreaked havoc on the perception of stability in the workplace, companies are also realizing that employee loyalty is declining. There is a survivalist mentality in the realization that careers within one organization will no longer last a lifetime. This is compounded with the rise of machines and the incessant fear perpetuated with Artificial Intelligence impacting the loss of jobs in the near and long term.
At the same time, changes in technology are also creating new positions that did not exist even a decade ago. The evolution of industry is developing a specialized talent pool that’s both highly in demand and difficult to retain long term within any one company. These days, three to five years in one company is considered “normal,” if not long, tenure.
Changes in market consumption … Economic volatility… Continuous technology disruption… plus a more agile workforce must give rise to new thinking
Companies Are Realizing They Need to Change
These factors, among many, are making businesses rethink how they operate— not only to retain their best employees but also to attract new ones in the process.
The customer is everybody’s responsibility. With the rise of social media, the consumer discussion has moved from platforms to the boardroom. Innovation is happening at lightning speed and corporations must respond just as fast as the markets that are adopting these changes.
We’ve heard the term, “Digital Fluency”. This era of change for companies means they need to close the gap and become more connected to customers and to the market. To be digitally fluent means to have much quicker market response when it comes to reputation, customer service, or just being tapped in to industry trends and emerging discussions.
No longer is one department responsible for the customer. The organization can scale market and customer connections if everyone in the company is listening and tapped in to the marketplace. Digital fluency means technology enablement that will eventually influence cultural and process changes to influence speed to market decisions.
Consider this: Douglas McGregor wrote “The Human Side of Enterprise”, published in 1960. What he espoused was years ahead of his time.
This is how he visualized these two theories:
Today, business does not have the luxury of time. They need to build and maintain relevance in the marketplace when conversations, expectations and behaviors dictate. The only way to do this is to leverage the scale and influence of their own employees.
Does technology enable humanity? This is more of a rhetorical question. What I have seen and what I’ve experienced (especially as a start-up with resources and partners working in remote locations) is that by embedding social technology within the organization, you end up with an eventual reduction of hierarchy and breakdown of the physical and departmental silos that impede the need for agility.
And while technology does not have a direct impact on employee engagement, over time the change within the organization will begin to shape the way the organization functions, how people relate to and communicate with one another, and how they perceive work.
I have worked with a few social business solutions. While social business continues to be an emerging concept, there is slow but promising adoption of solutions that allow organizations to be nimble and more adaptive to consumers and the market. Post Beyond is an example of solutions that enable employees to be social. These days, social scalability realistically will happen when employees (not the hired intern) leverage their individual networks to spread the company messages. While the solution provides immense possibilities for business, employee adoption is key. That is, in itself, a hurdle that many organizations must overcome.
At my company verve.ai, we enable business to be more proactive and more relevant by just knowing more about their customers and their market. We are encouraging companies to move beyond labelling customers by transaction or visible parameters. More importantly we are advocating the strength of the workforce and enable them to act and respond to the voice of the customer when it’s most relevant.
It’s a chicken and egg scenario. Organizations are hesitant to implement solutions without a guarantee ROI on employee engagement. Why would employees add more responsibility to their job description unless there wasn’t a resulting personal benefit? Is there an immediate benefit to management relinquishing control of these decisions?
Traditionally, it has been commonplace to check your emotions at the door the minute you entered the workplace. No longer is that the case. Organizations are starting to realize that employee happiness is key to productivity, reduced churn, and increased profitability.
There have been endless articles written about the social organization. Companies that truly understand this also know that the up and coming Millennials have grown up with the same technologies that allow them to have conversations and develop relationships across the web. The future managers and leaders mandate the latest technology to facilitate digital water cooler discussions and collaboration that ties employees together, and hastens the movement of information across the company.
How do we measure happiness? There is currently no direct correlation to technology but traditional measures can provide indicators that the company is doing everything right: Low attrition rates, referral percentages, plus the ability to attract the best talent.
But still…. Is there proof of employee engagement?
Data science has the ability to make highly accurate interpretations of human perceptions, personality, and team dynamics by analyzing simple text.
It stands to reason that even in its nascent stages, the use of cognitive systems can measure happiness within departments and across organizations.
I’ve spoken to Co-founder, Jonathan Kreindler, from Receptiviti, a “natural language personality analytics API” that can detect human personality, emotion, and tone from unstructured data, email, voice, chat etc. It’s systems such as these that allow companies to have the capability to marry language and psychology with their impact on organizational performance.
If companies need the ROI of social business engagement, we now have the ability to come ever closer to validating this.
Evidence of Happiness Isn’t Necessarily Measured By the Numbers
For those companies trying to understand the value of digital fluency and the impending cultural shifts, there will be more obvious signs that a company is flourishing.
The biggest harm to the organization has traditionally been to increase value to shareholders… That is a very empty way to think about human beings achieving things for the company.
Over and above culture, systems, and frameworks that need to shift, the soft measures that result from these changes should also be counted. Shawn provided a list of these important traits:
Does every individual believe the CEO and organization authentically cares about him/her?
Are people free to do great work?
Do they have a greater feeling of teamwork and collaboration?
Do they feel comfortable moving forward without fear of making mistakes?
Do they have a sense of well-being?
Do they feel they belong?
Do they have greater friendships at work?
Is there a greater appreciation from management for the work they do?
Do they feel empowered to do more and think outside of their immediate responsibility?
Are they encouraged to be creative?
Do they have a sense of personal growth?
Technology is not the solution. My belief is that companies will employ technology because the times call for it. What they will witness over time, though, is an inherent change that allows the organization to care about the well-being of its employees—and prioritize this over and above shareholder value.
What do you think? Do we focus too much on technology at the cost of the human beings actually working in our companies? Is happiness valued and promoted where you work? Is your organization “digitally fluent?”
00Hessie Joneshttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngHessie Jones2016-12-05 09:00:592020-05-31 16:47:08Can Technology Enable a More Effective and Human Business Culture?
“Wheel goes round, landing on a twist of faith Taking your chances you’ll have the right answers When the final judgment begins Wheel goes round, landing on a leap of fate Life redirected in ways unexpected Sometimes the odd number wins The way the big wheel spins…”
Step right up and spin the HR technology Conference career wheel – a winner every time!
Well, not quite, but the nostalgia of the all my previous HR Technology & Exposition conferences overcame me at the latest one when I realized that all my best and worst career incarnations and near misses are collectively linked to this conference.
What’s fascinating about going to the HR Technology & Exposition (or any industry event that you’ve consistently gone to year after year for well over a decade), is what goes on in the sidebars. I’m not talking about the straight networking, or analyst or influencer briefings, or the marketing and PR agency pitching, or the investor pitching, or the parties or the shows or the gambling (when the HR Tech conference is in Las Vegas as it has been for the past three years). I’m talking about the targeted sourcing and recruiting that goes on and on and on.
First and foremost, it’s a personable recruitment marketing and sourcing gold mine for all happy or unhappy perpetual candidates (which we all are) in software sales, marketing, customer service, product management and even software development and engineering. It’s also a potentially diamond-studded referral pool for any and all HR and recruiting technology companies as well as all the attendee companies that are there shopping for HR tech and talking HR tech shop. I witnessed it all around me while I was at this year’s show.
But companies are only a winner only when these investments pay off. Unfortunately, beyond the rush of the front-end schmoozing and selling, companies can neglect to share enough information about the overall recruiting processes and pre- and post-hire expectations, leaving the candidates feeling like a loser.
My reminiscing morphed into the related recruiting and candidate experience data analyses we’re going through now at the Talent Board. Talent Board is a non-profit organization focused on the promotion and data benchmark research of a quality candidate experience. Tired of hearing the same old stories of poor candidate experience, the Talent Board co-founders set out to elevate the mission of a creating and sustaining a better recruiting process and business performance through research.
There were 200 companies and 130,000 candidates that participated in the 2015 North American Candidate Experience Awards, and we’ll round out all of this year’s research in our research report due out in January 2016.
What’s not a surprise from the research surveys over the past four years is the fact that one of the top ways companies engage with potential candidates who haven’t yet applied for any openings are employee referrals. This year, for both CandE winners and non-winners alike, nearly 55 percent of companies consider it a differentiator and another 35 percent consider them a part of their regular recruiting processes.
While I only anecdotally took in the what and how of personable recruitment marketing and sourcing delivered in the sidebars at the HR Technology Conference, we did discuss the bigger picture on the TalentCulture #TChat Show live from the conference.
According to this year’s CandE research candidates found these top five types of marketing content the most valuable prior to them applying for a job:
Company Values – 41.81%
Product/Services Information – 36.59%
Employee Testimonials – 34.89%
Answers to ‘Why’ People Want to Work Here – 30.78%
Answers to ‘Why’ People Stay Here – 23.68%
This is all well and good to the current kinds of recruitment marketing that most companies engage in. But when there’s a misunderstanding (or no understanding) of the entire recruiting process, candidates end up in the “black hole” application process.
For example, according to this year’s CandE data, the types of job and employment content potential candidates found most important while learning about career opportunities included:
Now, when you compare this year’s non-winners and winners on the types of recruiting process content they make available prior to potential candidates applying, it’s clear why the winners win (based on this category):
CandE Non-Winners
Employee Testimonials – 73.78%
Details of Application and Next Steps – 67.68%
Events – Career Related Listings, Dates and Locations – 62.80%
Overview of Recruiting Process – 56.71%
Frequently Asked Questions – 54.88%
CandE Winners
Events – Career Related Listings, Dates and Locations – 76.74%
Details of Application and Next Steps – 72.09%
Employee Testimonials – 72.09%
Overview of Recruiting Process – 72.09%
Frequently Asked Questions – 60.47%
That’s a 15% difference between winners and non-winners, which is more than enough to have a competitive edge in today’s highly complex and competitive hiring economy. Companies shouldn’t worry about revealing their recruiting processes and exposing their hiring weaknesses. Candidates want to be valued and have an engaging and transparent experience and how companies treat them has a direct impact on whether they’ll invest their time or not – that’s the winning combination. In today’s digital age, where people share experiences online, a poor candidate experience can be bad for business and translate to millions in lost revenue annually.
Today’s savvy job seekers want career development opportunities, a great company culture, a positive candidate experience, and a complete understanding of their potential suitor’s recruiting process – before they ever apply. Transparent marketing and selling the recruiting process isn’t a gamble, it’s a prize investment that pays off every single time.
00Kevin W. Grossmanhttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngKevin W. Grossman2015-10-26 09:00:142020-05-31 14:05:24Selling the Recruiting Process Isn’t a Gamble
For the longest time it’s always been about recruiting from the outside in. As if companies had never hired for many of their jobs before. As if the only way to fill them was to post the jobs and pray for new magical applicants they’d never identified previously, and hopefully some of those had just enough of a magical edge to get the final interviews and then get hired.
Of course, the reality is that most of those applicants aren’t magical and aren’t qualified 75-95 percent of the time. And out of those hired, we hope that they’ll stick and stay beyond their first 6-12 months. But that’s the way we’ve sourced and recruited for decades, and recruiting technology automation has only given us more of the same.
A lot more of the same – hundreds of applicants per open requisition on the average according to the latest Talent Board Candidate Experience survey results (a trend that’s increased over the past few years). The good news here is, at least for the companies that have participated in the Candidate Experience surveys (whether the employer won a CandE Award or not), is that:
70% of participating candidates are likely and to apply again to the same employers.
70% of participating candidates are likely or extremely likely to refer others.
68% of the candidates rated the employers with 3 or more stars out of 5 stars on their overall candidate experience.
And nearly 80% of those candidates weren’t hired.
It’s even more refreshing to hear companies are investing strategy, resources and time into their internal candidate experience. Yes, those folks who are already employed. Your hopefully engaged critical talent. Your brand ambassadors. Your key referrers who help attract competitive people your way.
It’s really only been the past few years where I’ve heard larger organizations talk more about improving the internal candidate experience. Anyone who’s read my articles know how much I emphasize the fact that we’re all perpetual applicants/candidates all the time.
We’re all either being constantly re-recruited into their current organizations (engagement and opportunity) or recruited out of them (attrition and opportunity). It makes no never mind whether we’re happily employed (some of us) and unhappily disengaged (most of us), looking for our next gig, or not. We’re all perpetual candidates, regardless of generation or gender, skill set or experience.
So I was energized when CandE Award-winning companies like Humana, T-Mobile, SWIFT and many others shared at this year’s Candidate Experience Symposium that they are truly investing in and improving on how they treat internal candidates and re-recruit and retain them. We learned they’re making it much easier for current employees (including permanent and contingent) to be internally mobile, transforming cultures that used to discourage mobility to those that embrace it, in order to apply for and stay within the “mothership.” And many other companies are right behind them to keep their competitive edge and sharp as possible. Again, these folks are your employment brand ambassadors.
Now, even with these internal candidate experience improvements, it’s true that predicting new employee tenure is about as difficult as predicting the weather, even with various data inputs and powerful algorithms we have today. Most people these days stay in their jobs only about 3-5 years. It’s not just the millennials moving around for better opportunities — all generations do it.
But one thing is clear: referrals can and do have an impact on employee retention. If an employee is satisfied at work, feels like part of a team and the greater culture, and of course is rewarded fairly, then he or she is much more likely to suggest referrals. They become a brand advocate.
And if these referrals have a similar experience to those who referred them, they will in turn potentially last a little longer and make referrals themselves. In fact, even candidates that don’t get hired will make referrals if their experience is a good one as referenced in the Talent Board data above.
Long-time recruiting analyst John Sumser and HR thought leader Jessica Miller-Merrell concurred on the TalentCulture #TChat Show when you hire somebody you don’t know, and you bring them in, you have to figure out all sorts of attributes of trust, in order to get them to fit into your organization.
In fact, John said it best, “When you use a referral, the trust is implied by the person making the referral. Everybody knows that what makes organizations fun, flexible, agile, adaptive and productive is the degree to which everybody in the organization trusts everybody else. Trust is the variable that makes your organization great or makes it fail.”
This is why CandE Winners invest in the internal candidate experience today. Re-recruiting from the inside out makes for one trustworthy and invaluable talent pool.
00Kevin W. Grossmanhttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngKevin W. Grossman2015-10-13 10:48:132020-05-31 13:58:38Why Winners Invest in the Internal Candidate Experience Today
We huddled together while Brad barked out our last names and the next play.
“Grossman, you do a five-yard buttonhook. I’m hitting you, so be ready. Smith, you block, and if I have to dump to you, I will. And Day,” he paused stood up to look over at the other team, and then bent down again in the huddle. “Day, go long. All right, let’s go.”
My friend Robby dropped his head and shook it. Go long was code for please run downfield and draw away the defenders but I’m never going to throw you the ball.
“Brad, c’mon. Go long? I swear I can get open.”
“Okay, okay. Just go long, man. And be ready.”
“Right.”
We all laughed, but I felt bad for Robby. True, he wasn’t all that coordinated on the football field, but he was fast and in excellent shape from playing water polo. He could swim circles around us and could catch and throw the water polo ball with amazing precision.
It was a cold and foggy afternoon during holiday break. We were all high school juniors wearing grubby sweats and playing a little friendly four-on-four football at a local park.
We broke huddle, lined up and ran the play. Robby actually went long even against his own judgment, but then I was covered and Brad was about to get sacked. He had no choice but throw it to Robby, who of course was wide open.
Maybe it was risky throwing it to Robby, but what if he caught it and scored the winning touchdown?
What if indeed. Even with innovative blue ocean strategy and progressive risk-taking, businesses rise and fall on temporary ground as readily as political empires. There are simple too many economic factors in play these days, but the right workforce can and does make a difference.
However, imagine the go-long metaphor in the world of work and what it takes to be competitive with talent acquisition today. Many companies still can’t stomach throwing the long ball, especially when you add in a complex global talent market mired in employment law and regulatory mud.
It’s just easier to replicate the status quo of stale recruiting processes and run the same plays over and over again just to get some of the right butts in the right seats. Because sooner rather than later many of those talented butts will play musical chairs.
That’s why Talent Board launched the Candidate Experience Awards four years ago. Talent Board is a non-profit organization focused on the promotion and data benchmark research of a quality candidate experience. Tired of hearing the same old stories of poor candidate experience, the Talent Board co-founders set out elevate the mission of a better recruiting process and business performance – and found it they did.
Today the Candidate Experience (CandE) Awards is open to all global multinational and regional companies including North America employers, EMEA employers, APAC employers and will soon launch is Latin America – and is free for participating companies. The CandE Awards program consists of three survey rounds designed to evaluate and recognize organizations that produce outstanding candidate experiences.
Round One is comprised of a multi-dimensional survey designed to capture and evaluate the nominated company’s recruitment processes and practices impacting the candidate experience. All companies that complete the first round submission process receive Employer Benchmark data.
Those that meet the awards’ baseline for candidate experience were invited to participate in Round Two of the competition, which involves surveying a random sampling of the company’s 2015 candidates. Each firm had to commit to a statistically significant candidate response, as well as a set standard for the proportion of randomly selected respondents not hired. This year there were 130,000 candidates that participated in the survey and nearly 80 percent were not hired.
Companies that meet criteria for both rounds one and two are awarded a “CandE Award Winner” designation (and this year’s top 50 will be recognized at the 2nd Annual Candidate Experience Symposium September 30 – October 2 in Fort Worth, TX.).
Here’s some go-long recruiting strategy data for you: over 74% of winners and 65% of the nearly 200 participating companies (winners and non-winners) are systematically aligning candidate performance to recruiter performance. The latter represents a 10% increase from all participating companies in 2014. This means that candidate experience for both CandE winners and non-winners is:
Regularly measured & incorporated into the recruiter dashboard per their performance reviews and there are both non-monetary performance (gifts cards, trips, etc.) and monetary performance incentives (salary increase, bonus).
It is regularly discussed in formal recruiter reviews and it’s measured and incorporated into the recruiter dashboard. There are no performance incentives.
Regularly discussed in formal recruiter reviews but the measure is subjective and not formalized, and there are no performance incentives.
Winners with exceptional and innovative recruiting practices are advanced to a final “judged” Round Three, where their video interviews are reviewed by the CandE judging panel to determine whether or not they should receive a special “Story Teller” honor based on their positive candidate experience. This is in addition to the statistical analysis and algorithms applied above and the selection of the top 50 CandE winners.
Those that are getting the “Story Teller” honor this year are including the following three plays in their talent acquisition “passing” game:
Map multiple candidate touch points and take the time to educate candidates on what each one means – and survey them for continuous feedback.
Utilize technologies such as video interviewing and onboarding as a means of improving the recruiting process.
Quantify the impact of poor candidate experience and potential customer loss (potentially hundreds of millions per year).
There’s plenty more where that came from. It’s no longer just about raising awareness around recruiting and candidate experience and avoiding the black hole. The Talent Board CandE survey participants and CandE winners have created a sweet new benchmark for talent acquisition and business performance around the world. And each year the multi-year and first-time winners raise the business bar even higher for us all.
So go long with your candidate experience, kids. I know you can get open.
00Kevin W. Grossmanhttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngKevin W. Grossman2015-09-28 13:00:432020-05-30 13:59:17Go Long with Your Candidate Experience, Kids
Does your organization know what high performance teams look like? Most organizations can point to teams who work together harmoniously and get their work done. And those characteristics are true of high performance teams, but they only scratch the surface, according to team expert Dr. Solange Charas. In an interview with Forbes, she pointed to seven key characteristics that boosted team performance to the highest levels:
Deal with differences
Trust each other
Create a meaningful context
Handle conflict and tension
Enact effective leadership roles within the team
Ability to apply skills and generate solutions
Team self-efficacy
If organizations can get these things right, the payouts are huge. Charas points to results of C-Level teams and boards where higher performing teams yielded greater profitability to their organizations by a factor of 20% or more.
Its not easy though, or else every company would be performing at high levels. Take a look at that list. It truly comes down to how effectively individual members of a team are able to understand themselves and the others on the team. And more importantly, how well they can collaborate to drive results.
High performance teams are about harnessing the diverse perspectives and overcoming the tendency that individuals, especially leaders and those in high-level positions, have to move ahead with their own points of view.
So how do we get to a place where collaboration naturally occurs and cognitive dissonance is favored as a way to reframe conflict to productivity and performance?
Our research points to the fact that while there are seven distinct factors that each and every person possesses (Analytical, Structural, Social and Conceptual thinking and Expressiveness, Assertiveness and Flexibility behavior), the actual ways that each person exhibits them are completely unique and different.
This is nothing new (every person is unique), but differences in thinking and action account for how to take a team from simply getting work done to getting a team performing at the highest levels, where diverse ideas occur, trust is high and team self-efficacy is optimized.
Brian Uzzi, a Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, highlighted in Harvard Business Review how leaders must foster diverse thinking, stating, “Perspective taking for the leader begins with understanding what each teammate values and then brokering and communicating shared value among teammates.”
In order to uncover these perspectives and take advantage of different perspectives to create balanced, results-driven and high performance teams, there are a few key actions that teams can undergo:
Take a look critically at the people on your team and do an audit. Do you have a wealth of analytical thinking for example? Ensure that someone is taking relationships into the picture. Are you a team of focused, process-driven, structured thinkers? Ensure that the bigger, conceptual picture is in sight and that the team members are working together to craft a shared vision for accomplishment. Are your team members boisterous and outspoken in their approach? Ensure that all voices are heard, even the quiet ones, to make sure that either task or relationships aren’t getting overrun by certain tendencies.
Look for missing perspectives and develop ways to bring those perspectives to light. Balance begins with actually having a many equal sides coming together. This is the heart of cognitive diversity and a strategy must be envisaged to bring perspectives that aren’t there. Bringing a new person onto the team may be one option (use a hiring assessment to determine what kinds of motivators or perspectives will benefit the team most). Asking someone to fill in the roles needed is another tactic, even if it may not be their go-to approach. Simply having awareness of a perspective needed (say a more focused, task-oriented behavioral approach to work), can be enough to allow a team member to actively play this role.
Ensure cognitive diversity is achieving business goals. Having a balanced team will only go so far, unless a balanced approach and collaborative effort is placed into the context of business results and objectives for the team and organization. Cognitive diversity doesn’t need to end at an interpersonal level; it can be built into the very framework of the strategy and work that a team performs.
Finding balance is one big way that organizations can create and nurture more productive high performance teams. It’s a performance indicator and one that you can watch closely to monitor your team performance
00Bill Banhamhttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngBill Banham2015-08-18 09:00:582020-05-30 13:43:06What Do High Performance Teams Look Like?
A University of Cambridge study has observed that Ireland is fifth in the world for female economic power, ranking just behind Australia, Norway, Denmark and Finland.
In Ireland, women are in positions of seniority in a staggering number of large global tech businesses – Apple, Microsoft, PayPal and many others.
But the current state of women in technology isn’t great, especially in the U.S. For example, the leadership at all of the top tech companies is overwhelmingly male. The good news is that academic institutions are now seeing businesses and STEM-based industries focus more heavily on the gender diversity agenda.
In January of this year (2015), McKinsey released a study showing that gender diverse companies had financial performance that was 15 percent higher than the national industry median, and ethnically diverse companies had performance that was 35 percent higher than the national industry median.
Sneak Peek:
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Special Live #TChat: The IT@Cork European Technology Summit in Ireland
#TChat Radio — Wed, May 6th — 6 pm GMT / 1 pm ET / 10 am PT Join TalentCulture #TChat Show co-founders and co-hosts Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman as we welcome our special guests from the IT@Cork European Technology Summit: David Parry-Jones, VP UKI Vmware; Caroline O’Driscoll, Tax Partner at KPMG, Vice Chair of IT@cork; and Michael Loftus, Head of Faculty of Engineering & Science at CIT.
#TChat Twitter Chat — Wed, May 6th — 6:30 pm GMT / 1:30 pm ET / 10:30 am PT Immediately following the radio show, Meghan, Kevin and our very special guests will move to the #TChat Twitter stream, where we’ll continue the discussion with the entire TalentCulture community from around the globe. Everyone with a Twitter account is invited to participate, as we gather for a dynamic live chat, focused on these related questions:
Q1: Why is there still such a gender gap in technology and business today? #TChat (Tweet this Question)
Q2: How can business leaders create an inclusive culture that encourages and sustains gender diversity? #TChat (Tweet this Question)
Q3: What are the primary benefits of closing the overall diversity gap? #TChat (Tweet this Question)
Also at the IT@Cork European Technology Summit, Meghan and Kevin will be moderating a Tech Diversity Panel Discussion and Meghan will be a panelist in a Digital Marketing Discussion! Join us!
00Kevin W. Grossmanhttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngKevin W. Grossman2015-04-26 11:21:012020-05-30 12:46:45#TChat Live from Ireland: The IT@Cork European Technology Summit
Does your business compete primarily on product and price?
That kind of old-school strategy may win you customers in the near term. However, competing on price or product is really just a race to the bottom.
Along the way, you’ll miss the broader opportunity — the chance to win a sustainable position of market strength.
Rethinking Business Strategy
Competing on price and product is finite. Eventually, either or both will stop yielding the desired business results. Then what can an organization do to kick-start momentum? There are several choices: 1) Retire the product, and replace it with a new one, or 2) Develop a new pricing strategy.
Either option can breathe new life into sales, right? Sure, but only for a limited time. Price and product can be duplicated or replicated. But there’s a source of competitive advantage that is nearly impossible to duplicate or replicate — and that is your workforce.
The Human Element
Does your organization compete by tapping into your people’s infinite, unique potential — their talents, skills, knowledge, experience, energy and creativity?
Access to any of these is boundless. These inherent strengths can be directed toward developing the next great product your customers need, or that pricing strategy that paves the way to increased market share. For example, think of Southwest and its refusal to charge customers for flying with luggage. Southwest was expected to earn over $200 million from baggage fees. Instead, the airline earned over $1 billion by choosing not to charge.
In the 21st century, people are celebrated as the cause for success that catapults organizations to the top. So, what does an organization do to shift its focus to compete on employee talent? Here are seven people-centric ways that signal organizational commitment that puts people first.
1) Identify how employees set your company apart
Spend time understanding how your employees’ skills, experiences, strengths can help advance your strategy. Focus on how they differentiate you from competitors. You should be able to answer this question with confidence: “How does our work environment let our employees’ talents thrive and grow?”
2) Invest in true workforce development
Don’t just send employees to compliance training. Involve them in training that elevates their skills and knowledge. At its best, workforce development makes it possible for employees to learn on-the-job skills that are crucial for their growth, and helps them contribute more effectively to your organization’s goals.
3) Adopt a customer-centric strategy
Look to build and deepen relationship with customers by transforming products, services and the customer experience. Align your employees to create solutions in each of these three areas. This work is meaningful: it helps employees see how their work ties to the bigger picture. Plus employees want to “be in” on important work.
4) Align your reward mechanisms
Are your reward programs considered irrelevant or worse? Employees should be recognized in ways that are meaningful to them. Rewards must be appropriate and timely. It’s important to motivate people with a mix of regular quick-wins and long-term incentives.
5) Modernize how and where work gets done
Mobile technology and remote work policies can transform how and where your employees get work done. They want the responsibility and flexibility to choose. It’s time to begin trusting your employees to be accountable for when, where and how they contribute. Mobile is not going away.
6) Reevaluate workload
Is there a healthy tension between employee workload and time to get it done? If expectations don’t support optimal performance, then your environment is likely creating distress. Excessive stress leads to anxiety, as people begin to feel undervalued and question their well-being. That’s the start of a long downward slide to disengagement and attrition.
7) Invest in learning employees strengths
Strengths-based leadership is about understanding the kind of work that energizes employees and leads them to perform at their peak. Just as your business must adjust to external factors, it is essential to reshuffle employee responsibilities on an ongoing basis. The more time employees spend in the zone of peak performance, the more likely you’ll see creative contributions from their efforts — and the more meaning you’ll bring to your organization’s value proposition.
Today’s topsy-turvy marketplace sometimes scares executives into behaving like cash-hoarders. But organizations that compete on employee talent position themselves to outwit, outplay, and outlast their competition.
What ideas would you add to this list? Please add your comments.
(Editor’s Note: This post is republished from SwitchandShift, with permission)
(Also Note: To discuss World of Work topics like this with the TalentCulture community, join our online #TChat Events each Wednesday, from 6:30-8pm ET. Everyone is welcome at events, or join our ongoing Twitter and G+ conversation anytime. Learn more…)
https://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/tree-8810_1920.jpg352700Kathleen Krusehttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngKathleen Kruse2014-02-26 09:28:012020-05-27 17:03:53Growth From Within: 7 Ways to Compete on Employee Talent
That’s a tough question to answer in a single 30-minute radio show. But this week’s #TChat guest came well prepared. China Gorman, CEO of Great Place to Work Institute, has been crunching numbers to create the 2014 best employers list — and her perspective reflects a lifetime of leadership and HR expertise.
• The 100 Best consistently perform 2x better financially than the stock market average • The 100 Best experience up to 65% less voluntary turnover than competitors • Companies returning to this year’s list saw unprecedented growth in 2013.
But even as China shared these facts, back-to-back tweets appeared on the Twitter stream. The first from #TChat regular, Donna Rogers:
In a follow-up book, How the Mighty Fall, Jim Collins (the author) revisited 11 of the 60 companies he had previously profiled as winners. These once “great companies” had stumbled for multiple reasons — from hubris, to overreach, to denial.
The sobering conclusion? Unless fallen companies return to the fundamentals that made them great, death is inevitable.
Two Implications for “Great” Employers Everywhere
1) Greatness can fade fast. Poor decision-making, heavy-handed micro-management, bad expansion bets, products that fail, fluctuating global economics, government regulation (or lack thereof) — many factors conspire to “kill” even the best companies. But the quickest road to ruin comes when organizations lose talent to competitors because employees lose “love” for what they do, who they do it with, and why they’re doing it.
2) Perpetual salvation requires rigorous work. The work that makes companies shine — a focused, flexible business model, a compelling value proposition, a workforce that feels fairly recognized and rewarded – is the same work that keeps them moving forward through peaks and valleys. Business is a non-stop gauntlet of no guarantees — and it never gets any easier.
So, what have we learned? Great is good, if you can get it. But good can also be great, if that’s where longevity lives.
#TChat Week-In-Review: Lessons From Great Workplaces
#TChat Twitter: Immediately following the radio show, Meghan, China and I joined the TalentCulture community on the #TChat Twitter stream for a dynamic open conversation, centered on 5 related questions. See highlights in the Storify slideshow below:
#TChat Insights: “Best” Employers: What Makes Them Work?
GRATITUDE: Thanks again to China Gorman for sharing your perspectives of effective workplace environments. We value your time, your expertise and your commitment to the TalentCulture community!
NOTE TO BLOGGERS: Did this week’s events prompt you to write about workplace culture issues? We welcome your thoughts. Post a link on Twitter (include #TChat or @TalentCulture), or insert a comment below, and we’ll pass it along.
https://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/800px-Tightrope_walking.jpg351700Kevin W. Grossmanhttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngKevin W. Grossman2014-01-23 17:41:072020-05-27 16:59:14Workplace Greatness: No Guarantees #TChat Recap
Employee engagement has become HR’s holy grail. Organizations are striving to strengthen engagement through every aspect of the talent lifecycle — from recruiting and onboarding, to continuous development and performance management. Why? HR leaders know that emotionally connected individuals simply perform better, day to day. In turn, this increases productivity, improves performance, reduces attrition and boosts overall business results.
That’s why TalentCulture co-founders Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman have gathered a panel of today’s smartest HR executives, analysts and industry influencers to look closer at factors that make engagement work. And we’re saving you a front-row seat!
You don’t want to miss this LIVE #TChat roundtable in Las Vegas! We’re even serving-up refreshments to keep the conversation flowing. So save the date, and join some of the best minds in business, HR and technology for a very special event:
Join The Conversation When #TChat Goes Live In Las Vegas!
WHEN: Monday, October 7th, 2:30-3:15pm PT (5:30-6:15pmET)
WHERE: Peoplefluent booth #1201 (And on the #TChat Twitter backchannel)
This a must-see event for anyone attending the HR Technology Conference and Exposition. So join us in booth #1201 for a lively and insightful conversation with some of the best talent-minded visionaries in business today!
https://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/httppixabay.comendarts-dart-board-bull-s-eye-game-102919.jpg350700TalentCulture Team + Guestshttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngTalentCulture Team + Guests2013-10-02 16:35:472020-05-25 18:00:08Experts On Engagement: #TChat Goes LIVE in Las Vegas!
You may not work in an emergency room — but your organization may want to function like one. As critical issues arise, the ability to quickly shift resources and refocus energy can have a keen impact on continued business success.
This kind of workforce agility helps organizations meet challenges swiftly and succinctly. Which begs the question: Is your organization ready for a work swarm?
Swarming: A Closer Look
Borrowed from the rhythms of nature, the notion of “swarming” to assemble a cross-functional or cross-departmental team, could be considered a key factor in an organization’s ability to develop and thrive. Gartner described a work swarm as a “flurry of collective activity” to deal with non-routine workplace problems or opportunities. (See that discussion here.) Without this option, organizations can fall short in their quest to respond to stressors (or opportunities) in quickly changing internal and external environments.
Developing an ability to swarm is just as much an orientation toward the work itself, as it is a problem solving technique. Swarming needs talent and skills to flow quickly toward projects, as it capitalizes upon an agile culture and a fluid talent stream. This requires a modern view of organizational boundaries and talent utilization. There are challenges to swarming — and the process may not prove appropriate for all organizations. However, it may be an interesting option to consider.
Putting Swarm Theory To Work
Here are some ideas to keep in mind:
1) Apply open-system theory. Work swarming requires talent to flow into the organization, as well as within its borders. Early structure theorists (See Katz & Kahn) discuss open-system theory. However, applications of that view seem more possible with the advent of relevant social networks.
2) Let internal structure flex. To enable swarming, the structure of an organization would need to become increasingly fluid. Talent within the organization would be allowed to cross functional lines more easily and routinely.
3) Seek diversity. Including a considerably wider range of knowledge bases when forming a team to problem solve is desired – as solutions can come unexpectedly, from a loosely “related” discipline or function. These sources can include suppliers and others in close proximity to core problems and customers.
4) Remember roles rule. Becoming crystal clear concerning the roles of team players is key. Role clarity can help focus more energy toward the actual content of the problem or issue – and help team members attack their portion of the task at hand more readily.
5) Utilize social platforms. Crowdsourcing platforms (both internally and externally focused) can be utilized to facilitate the problem solving process – where stubborn organizational challenges can be posted and exposed to greater numbers of potential contributors. (Learn more about Innocentive here.)
6) Curate talent communities. Building a pipeline of talent is imperative with swarming – but this should be developed in a manner that is meaningful. Mapping the skills and strengths of potential team players within relevant industries, becomes a critical goal. Furthermore, teaming applications can also help document the evolving skill sets of potential contributors.
Have you utilized swarming techniques to speed problem solving at your organization? If so, how well did it work?
https://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/fish.jpg349700Dr. Marla Gottschalkhttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngDr. Marla Gottschalk2013-08-20 08:45:312020-05-25 17:51:49What Can Swarms Teach Us About Teams?
Think back for a moment on your career. Who’s been your favorite boss? How would you describe that person’s leadership style?
Is it a command-and-control approach, driven by business goals and results? Or does that leader win support, loyalty and cooperation by putting people first?
For Dan, this is much more than a theory. As Senior Director of Learning & Collaboration at TELUS, he knows first-hand about the challenges and benefits of leadership development, workforce engagement and business performance. That’s why we’ve asked him to lead the way through #TChat discussions this week.
To give you a better taste of what the topic is all about, I spoke briefly with Dan in a G+ Hangout video. Check it out:
#TChat Events: How Open Leaders Win Hearts & Minds
Tune-in to the #TChat Radio show
This topic touches on so many areas of interest and expertise across the TalentCulture community. I know many of you have related insights to add, so I hope you’ll join this week’s conversation!
#TChat Radio — Tue, June 11 at 7:30pmET/4:30pmPT – Dan joins our hosts, Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman, for a LIVE 30-minute radio interview, where listeners are invited to call-in with questions.
#TChat Twitter — Wed, June 12 at 7pmET/4pmPT – Join the real-time community action, as we exchange ideas live on the #TChat stream, where Dan will moderate this week’s questions:
Q1: What does open leadership mean to you and why?
Q2: Can harmonious “soft skills” be developed in leaders at any age? Why or why not?
Q3: How does open leadership produce higher levels of performance and engagement within an organization?
Q4: What can business leaders do to encourage open self-leadership within all employee ecosystems?
Q5: What business technologies facilitate collaboration and open leadership?
Throughout the week, we’ll keep the discussion going on the #TChat Twitter feed and on our new LinkedIn Discussion Group. So please join us share your questions, ideas and opinions.
Engagement performance. It’s a key to learning in today’s world of work. But exactly what is it, and how can we leverage this concept to achieve desired business results?
As Michael Clark, CEO of ReCenter, suggests in this video, it starts by aligning engagement with business goals, and applying social tools that help us perform more effectively.
Michael views “engagement performance” almost as one word – performance is everything that happens after the moment we decide to engage. And in today’s social workplace, it means that individuals and organizations can transform the way they conduct business in profound ways.
During the coming weeks, TalentCulture will explore this concept and offer opportunities for hands-on social learning skills development.
Join us this week, and let’s explore the potential of social learning skills together:
#TChat Radio – Tuesday, March 26 at 7:30pm ET / 4:30pm PT
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”
No surprise here — the concept of lifelong learning is as popular as mom and apple pie, especially among the progressive business professionals at the core of the TalentCulture World of Work community.
But it may surprise you to discover that old-school Henry Ford is the source of that quote. Arguably one of the most successful business leaders in American history, Ford was relentless about elevating machine efficiency to a management science. And he died more than 60 years ago, when most baby boomers were still only a gleam in their parents’ eyes.
Nevertheless, imagine if Ford had tweeted during this week’s #TChat: His philosophy of continual learning would have aligned with the sentiments of our community’s participants, who shared more than 2,900 tweets this Wednesday — ideas and opinions about “Leaders Young and Old” and the dynamics of reverse mentoring. In the brushstroke of a single blog entry, it’s difficult to do justice to the breadth and depth of perspectives exchanged. A common theme did emerge, however, from the 16.4 million impressions that echoed across the Twitter universe:
The Top Takeaway
Leadership is (appropriately) tied to competence and results – independent of age or seniority.
So what are the implications for today’s business leaders, who must span generations to engage and develop the best talent for a sustainable future? “The Leadership Challenge,” the popular management book, reminds us that “The Best Leaders are the Best Learners.” In other words, by modeling teachable behavior themselves, leaders not only grow professionally, but inspire others to do the same. It’s a next-generation extension of the principles established by business legends like Henry Ford, and it’s a valuable lesson that any of us can learn — at any age.
Living Laboratory
Looking for inspiration? That may be why you’re at #TChat, our forum and community for industry leaders committed to continual peer-to-peer learning. We’re grateful for this now nearly two-year adventure, a microcosm of today’s work world. We rely on digital tools to connect, communicate and collaborate 24-7, on-demand. And it works.
I have no clue how old or young my peers are, and frankly, I don’t care. I’d rather focus on key issues and shared interests. I evaluate insights based on their own merit. My impression of #TChat participants is shaped by the quality of their contributions and the street cred they develop within the community. Age and rank aren’t even on the radar.
Why do I return each week? This forum helps me quickly find relevant, useful ideas — and the smart people behind those ideas — without having to slog through the formalities of organizational structure and protocol. #TChat is a living laboratory for transparency and access in the networked age. And I gain immediate value from participating in this grand experiment.
It stands to reason that if learning is an equal-opportunity endeavor, then leadership is, too. Perhaps this week’s #TChat could add another layer to Kevin’s quote:
“Leading is learning. Learning is doing and doing is knowing. So do.”
Just imagine what Henry Ford would say if he could see us doing this #TChat thing we do!
Did you miss the preview? Go here. We again thank Mark Babbitt (@YouTernMark) for guest moderating this week and for bringing along his super-smart team from YouTern (@YouTern) — e.g., @YouTernDave and @YouTernErica — to tweet alongside all of us. They brought the awesome, and you did, too: Check out the slide show below of your many insightful tweets. We wish you all a wonderful weekend and look forward to seeing you at next week’s #TChat.
#TChat INSIGHTS: Full Smorgasbord of your Tweets: Leaders Young and Old
Storified by Sean Charles · Thu, Sep 27 2012 01:34:51
Can’t we all just get along? #TChat today talking mulit-generational leadership #BringIT [PIC] http://pic.twitter.com/Fk2Z2ri6SocialMediaSean
Hello, #TChat – tweeting to you from Bsquare here in sunny (today) Bellevue, WA w/my #vinylmation Recruiting “helpers” http://pic.twitter.com/g2IVUejmMichaelRecruits
Look! I gotta #TChat stache. Get it? http://pic.twitter.com/m4oBQ2pjjocelynaucoin
Bar & grill in suburbia :) @SocialMediaSean #tchat http://pic.twitter.com/SbHeSJu6Lara Zuehlke
#Tchat outside. Bene of living in NoCA. http://pic.twitter.com/qdKJymlishawmu
@SocialMediaSean Hello from the Conservatory of #music in #Ottawa to everyone at #TChat http://pic.twitter.com/fHvDOfoJnghannoum
Q1: Age was once synchronous with seniority & management roles. How has a multi-generational workforce changed that? #TChatMark Babbitt
A cultural change in business has heightened the realization that influence is not a function of age. #TChatVala Afshar
A1: new gens carry tech insights and older gens carry cultural and industry experience. Organizations must create a leadership mesh #tchatMegan Rene Burkett
A1: More mentoring for young employees + reverse mentoring where they help older workers develop millennial generation skills. #tchatInside Jobs
A1: At the risk of sounding ageist, I think that generation-y can be best for tech jobs because we grew up with technology. #tchatAndrew Bream
A1: However advance the technology might be, the drive &passion to learn &use them has to come from the person &age is not a matter. #TChatPadma Mohanram
A1 w/ rise of networked biz, virtual teams & freelance economy, shift continues toward competence as king not arbitrary factors (age) #tchatExpertus
A1 ever wonder where the phrase “quiet leader” came from and how that person earned that title? #tchatSteve
A1: 15% of GenY workers are currently in management roles. #TChatPayScale Business
A1: Absolutely, leadership has become more based on merit than seniority… #tchatMark Salke
A1: Young or old it’s about being the best version of yourself. Confidence over age any day of the week. #TChatSean Charles
A1 #TChat – as this “new economy” emerges, I think long term will be 5 yrs, no longer 25 yrs w/org. Faster transition time, move quicklyMichael!
A1 Age matters. Experience bring wisdom and perspective. Youth bring optimism and innovation. #tchatSam Fiorella
A1: young mgrs can be effective leaders, but they gotta work at it continuously. Learning to be a leader is hard work. #TChatBill Cushard
A1: years of experience does not necessarily make anyone a good manager #tchatGeorge LaRocque
A1: Mgmt of 2day encourages all generations to collaborate, giving workplace variety of views and showcasing talent no matter the age #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A1 if you have the NEED to stay current and relevant you’ll stay current and relevant. #tchatKeith Punches
A1: Younger workers have not experienced stability so we do not value it #tchatLaTonya Wilkins
A1, #TChat – I think as the marketplace, ie tech has shifted, different gens moving up quickly as they seem to adapt faster to the changeMichael!
A1. As for age people see I have gray hair and say but you don’t act old? I take is as a complement. I do have a young mindset #TchatGuy Davis
A1 The big difference is the opportunity to work for yourself at any age #TChatBill Boorman
A1: Younger generations do not even know what “seniority” means. Normal to switch jobs every few years. #tchatLaTonya Wilkins
A1: Young leaders through hard work & integrity of purpose have shown that age does not matter. #TChatSean Charles
A1 Not sure if this age to be honest but my parents gen waited for opportunities while me (39) & my DD (21) seek them #tchatClaire Crossley
A1: Less about age now & more about aptitude. I was promoted quickly at 22 b/c I was willing to step up. Not e’one wants to #lead. #TchatLara Zuehlke
A1: Age does seem matter in the hiring process though. #TChatJanis Stacy
Hellllooo #tchat! A1:Technology means I really have to put an emphasis on continuous learning. Tech is always changing.Rebecca Jo Luke
A1: I’d say technology has had greater impact than multi-generational work force. #tchatSam Fiorella
A1: The workplace has shifted and age is not seen as inexperienced. More weight on knowledge, education & exp – not age. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A1 due to the nomadic trends, ppl only staying for shorter periods, internet gives younger empl an advantage, not intimidated by it. #TChatRobert Rojo
A1. Conscious leadership and ownership of what you rock at and what you’re “not” at, are more important than ever. #tchatSalima Nathoo
A1: The shift offers the opportunity for more knowledge sharing + mentoring possibilities. #tchatInside Jobs
A1: As babyboomers leave #workforce in droves, seasoned mindshare dwindles; younger generations fill gap. #TChatBrent Skinner
A1: The focus in many instances appears to be on skill sets over experience. Sr. Execs have to know how to develop each group. #tchatSalary School
A1: Age hasn’t been a position criteria in forward leaning corps. Judgement and capability makes one ready for higher positions. #TChatJanis Stacy
a1. Managment isn’t just for old ppl anymore – We now allow capable & competent young ppl to do it too! #TchatDave Ryan, SPHR
A1 More ppl than ever before have a college education. This has opened more doors for younger generations. #TchatCyndy Trivella
A1: Many other attributes have compensated for pure longevity…educational level, energy, people skills, drive, etc…. #tchatEarly Careerists
A1) Age aside, reaching upward in an org made much easier through SoMe, virtually flattens hierarchy, bridges stovepipes. #tchatTom Spiglanin
A1: Growing generational spectrum @ work now includes folks who expect less emphasis on position + more on collaboration + results #TChatAndrew Henck
A1: The younger generations are seen as having a fresh perspective rather than not knowing anything #TChatSpark Hire
A1) Gen Y is generally open to learning from everyone… We don’t expect that just b/c someone is older they get to be our boss. #TChatErica Roberts
A1: Age? What does that mean? I’m no longer aging ;-) #tchatKathy Herndon, GPHR
A1. I think technology has allowed younger gen’s to learn and execute so they can move up faster #tchatAshley Lauren Perez
A1 – I think technology has enabled younger generations to make a more immediate impact within their organizations right out of gate #TChatmatthew papuchis
A1: Age is just a number. It doesn’t dictate experience or wisdom. #tchatJen Olney
A1 – age is just a number; the internet itself made it so – we’re in the realm of ideas now – you don’t know if I’m 18 or 81 #TChatSylvia Dahlby
A1: With technology changing as quickly as it does, everyone is on a more even playing field with keeping up. #TChatSimplicant
A1: the challenge of younger leaders managing employees who are older and often more experienced. #tchatShawn LaCroix
A1 age is now synonymous with wondering why others are treated differently than you #tchatSteve
A1: New gens on the workforce expect more than age/time in position to dictate mgmt/seniority potential. #TChatAndrew Henck
Q2: Does leadership come when experience meets the right context of strategy, tactics & soft skills? Why or not? #TChatMark Babbitt
A2. Some ppl are natural leaders & other will never be leadder regardless of training or mentoring #TchatDave Ryan, SPHR
A2 Leaders develop leaders. #tchatJoe Sanchez
Leadership opportunities are available for those who are able to inspire and influence without authority. #tchatVala Afshar
A2 Yes! Any gen mgr must have empathy & mileage to understand whole employee, personality+skills+goals! Then, frame fit in #strategy. #tchatShawna Kelly
A2: I think it also depends on how #leaders are groomed. I came up thru ranks in creative shops & WAY different than tech/corporate #TchatLara Zuehlke
A2 mgr/leadership title are synonymous wth blue ribbons everyone received as kids-just for showing up; but a title isnt leadership #tchatSteve
A2: those are helpful but it also needs #humility #passion and #dedication. #tchat a humanistic meeting of the mindsMegan Rene Burkett
#tchat A2 leadership is about content not experience…Formation
A2: Great leaders don’t create more followers, they create more leaders. Teach employees how to inspire – lead one day. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A2: Strong #leaders use strategy to listen. #TChatJulia Gabor
A2 Great leadership should show up at any time; think crisis situations, ppl you didn’t think ‘had it’ ~ shine! #TChatClaire Crossley
A2: Some ‘bosses’ are so damn smart, but just can’t lead. #ashame #TChatJulia Gabor
A2: A good leader is someone who motivates you, brings out your best – regardless of age. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A2: Leaders motivate. Managers coordinate. It takes skills to do both. #tchatInside Jobs
A2: Being around a true leader is an experience that resonates far beyond title #TChatSean Charles
A2. Experience is always nice but is it RELEVANT, up-to-date, and useful experience that can lead multi-generations? #tchatAshley Lauren Perez
A2 #TChat – Also as the younger gens enter workforce, they are creating their own orgs, therefore as business grows, they are the leaders!Michael!
A2. As a leader you still have a boss, if you don’t respond to micromanaging you likely won’t succeed #TchatGuy Davis
A2 i would add perseverance and the ability to build great teams into the equation #tchatShawn LaCroix
A2: Need exp in diff environments & teams. 90s leadership is different from 2012 and beyond. Now lead via tech & dispersed workforce #tchatLaTonya Wilkins
A2 Leaders must have soft skills & strategy and most often this is gained through experience. #tchatLidia Cords
A2: Workplace is different now, technology plays huge role as does continuous learning. Younger mgrs are already used to the pace. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A2: The RIGHT experience can develop leaders. Any old experience may not. #TChat Got to stay on top of change.Janis Stacy
A2: Doing the right things and doing things right is the difference between Leadership and management. #TChatPadma Mohanram
A2: Years do not contribute to a measurement of leadership, imo. #tchatGeorge LaRocque
A2; Depends on a lot of variables & external factors, i.e. who knows who & what their relationships are. #TChatRobert Rojo
A2: Not always. Ldrshp is pulled from our experiences, background, & willingness to learn. Context reveals r ldrshp effectiveness. #tchatShawn Murphy
A2: If the org culture prizes loyalty, time worked + other criteria not open to “newer” gens, then their leadership is already failed #TChatAndrew Henck
A2 never heard leadership described that way but Yes. Helps me make sense of a situation I had where the context was all wrong for me #TchatGuy Davis
A2 I think leadership comes from experience, self-awareness, passion; once you have those, tactics & strats, easy part #TChatClaire Crossley
A2: Leadership comes about when you have the brains & the will to do difficult things…consistently! #TChatEarly Careerists
A2 you have to want to be a leader. It’s a different mindset. Nothing wrong with being a “worker amongst workers”. Depends. #tchatKeith Punches
A2. Leadership doesn’t happen bc you “paid your dues/put in your time”- you either have it or you dont- its not a privilege #tchatAshley Lauren Perez
A2) Leadership comes when guts, instinct, & confidence meet in right context. Good ldrshp may/may not require experience. #tchatTom Spiglanin
A2: Leaders better have that mindful presence EQ flowin’. I don’t care how good at tactics you are. (That’ll get some calls.) #tchatKevin W. Grossman
A2 seems to be asking whether or not leaders are born, or if circumstances create leaders. It’s a bit of both, yes? #TChatBrent Skinner
A2: Some leaders don’t have years of experience that other seasoned workers have but are strong strategic thinkers, see big picture. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A2) Experience + strategy +tactics + (soft skills) = Leadership <-Sometimes but not always #TchatDave Ryan, SPHR
A2 – #TChat – Not always. Depends on person, do they want leadership? Others see the opps when others have missed seeing it.Michael!
A2: yes and no. Those are helpful but it should also include #humility, #passion, #dedication. #tchat the humanistic componentMegan Rene Burkett
A2 Good leaders also have strong emotional intelligence, which can be shaped by experiences, interactions and outcomes. #TchatCyndy Trivella
A2: Yes – leadership comes from organic growth of knwldge, soft skills. Dsn’t become mgr just as natural progression of current role. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A2: If you ask good questions & solve problems strategy & tactic are less necessary. Come in time. Soft skills are always #1 for me. #tchatLara Zuehlke
A2) Leadership comes whenever its needed. Someone needs to step up or nothing gets done. Hasn’t changed since beginning of time. #tchatTom Spiglanin
A2: Not necessarily, depends on the type of leadership. #TChatRobert Rojo
A2 leadership is more about context #TChatBill Boorman
A2 Yes & No. It depends on the person. Some ppl see opportunities where other ppl don’t. #TchatCyndy Trivella
A2 Many comps offer “fast track” program to new grads that provides mngmnt training early in the new grad’s career,so advance faster. #TchatCyndy Trivella
Q3: Beyond the usual clichés and stereotypes, why is it so hard for workforce veterans to be led by younger managers? #TChatMark Babbitt
A3 In a true team culture, informal/distributed leadership works. #tchatMark Salke
A3: We need get the job done!!. For some, age means outdated and experience can be negative. New, fast, done is important! #TChatJanis Stacy
#TChat – A3 I have had younger than me managers & learned a ton from their perspective. Loved the fresh outlook.Michael!
A3: lack of support and interaction collectively #TChatNissrine Ghannoum
A3: #tchat Younger gen needs to empathize with the veterans feeling threatened. But the veterans need to remember being a young prof too!Rebecca Jo Luke
A3: leadership seems to be 1 of the larger issues in the “skills shortage”. we need all generations to step up in most co’s #tchatGeorge LaRocque
A3: Successful leaders realize that each generation learns differently and taps into each generations strengths. Creates unity, team. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A3 The bottom line is you have to create a culture of #Meritocracy – regardless of age or experience #tchatRobert Moore
A3: Ego, Ego, Ego #TChatSean Charles
A3: Very important that respect goes both ways. <-> Younger managers can learn something from seasoned workers, too. Learn together. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A3: Knowing yourself is critical to know & #lead others. Self-awareness, growth, and authenticity are ageless. #TchatLara Zuehlke
A3. Ego for the older is a sign of earned title/insecurity where for the younger its a sign of entitlement/ambition. #tchatSalima Nathoo
A3: Older workers may view younger workers’ leadership style differences as incompetence #tchatLaTonya Wilkins
A3 one side had to earn their stripes, the other was given theirs just for showing up (yes a bit simplistic); so why all the rancor? #tchatSteve
A3: Orgs who can create environment for diversity and communication values upfront will have an easier time w veterans & young folks. #TChatJulia Gabor
A3: It’s all approach. Some older people should have a problem working with culturally immature leaders #TChatSean Charles
A3 Younger workers tend to stray away from the safety net of what they know works & lean more on vision & make it work. #tchatBeverly Davis
A3: The young and the older need one another! Let work together to bridge gaps. #tchatTara Markus
A3: Experience used to go hand-in-hand with age. Not that way anymore and some have a hard time having an open mind. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A3. It doesn’t have to be that way. With some time and effort on both sides it can be an awesome relationship@TalentCulture #TChat”Garret Meikle
A3: We were sold a bill of goods that the aged breed success, while the youngsters all get trophies. Gotta break ’em down. #tchatKevin W. Grossman
A3: I think so many firms still have the earn it mindset vs. the collaborative mindset. So it’s me vs. you mentality. #TchatLara Zuehlke
A3 Some comps R getting smarter & not looking at tenure & time-on-job. Who’s innovative; works smarter rather than harder, flexible? #TchatCyndy Trivella
A3: Everyone struggles to accept change sometimes. Working for someone younger could be one of those challenges #TChatSpark Hire
A3: There is something exciting about the young dynamic minds & mature ripened minds working together! #tchatTara Markus
A3 do you jump into a raging stream or do you survey the surroundings first? each side has its prefs but both sides are “right” #tchatSteve
A3) Raised on hard work and experience is what makes you climb that ladder, having someone with less experience lead you is daunting. #TChatTim McDonald
A3 Insecurity, esp if org culture encourages this; of losing job, not being the go-to anymore perhaps. Culture matters! #tchatClaire Crossley
A3: So hard for veterans to let their work be seen and viewed by a younger colleague w/out feeling threatened. #TChatJulia Gabor
A3 “Tradition” has it that mngmnt is a position you earn once you’ve paid a certain number of dues in your career. #TchatCyndy Trivella
A3: Great leaders create more opportunities for all. #TChatJanis Stacy
A3: In industries where moving fast is the key to success, like tech, it seems to be more common and accepted. #TChatPayScale Business
A3: Trust & Respect are hard for some people working with younger leaders #TChatSean Charles
A3: Great leaders have respect from their employees because they lead by example and will jump in the trenches w/ them. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A3. Different views of opportunity: Veterans are about borrowed time. Younger generation is about borrowed authority. #tchatSalima Nathoo
A3 Comes down 2 this: communication. When 1 person doesn’t communicate in the way another understands, misunderstandings will ensue. #TchatCyndy Trivella
A3: It could be hard to see today’s jobs as actual skills. Social Media jobs don’t make sense to some members of older generations #TChatSimplicant
A3: Great Leaders don’t see age – they see maturity, wisdom and the courage to celebrate young ideas and people! #tchatTara Markus
A3 The answer may be in the question. Are younger managers managing or leading? There is a difference. #tchatJoe Sanchez
A3 #TChat Not always the older worker, maybe younger managers need 2 take some life lessons from their older workers, rework, move forward!Michael!
A3 #tchat Trust is a rare and precious thing that people give carefully. Developing confidence in a younger colleagues can feel riskyMichael Leiter
A3 Every(every)one suffers from pride and righteous indignation at some point. Question is do you CARE “who moved my cheese” #tchatKeith Punches
A3: it is the cultural mindset the older generation grew up with. It is what they have always known. Change is challenging #tchatMegan Rene Burkett
A3: Sometimes it is hard for #babyboomers to be led by #GenX or #GenY managers because of “old school” thoughts and views. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A3. Older gen’s might see gen y as lacking exp but thats not always the case… sometimes they’re more evolved in other aspects #tchatAshley Lauren Perez
#TChat A3: New technology; new techniques; new rules; new jobs; new authorityAbby
A3: It isn’t harder if the younger leader has authenticity, integrity and actually has believable plans for growth. #TChatJanis Stacy
A3: upbringing that bosses need grey hair #TChatBill Boorman
A3. Sometimes veterans assume that new pros don’t understand the biz (whatever biz) I resist that and collaborate with new pros #TchatGuy Davis
A3: Lack of trust, doubt, fear of being reorganized out. #TChatAndrew Henck
A3, Speaking as an “old white guy” It somehow seems outside the natural order of things #TchatDave Ryan, SPHR
A3 both parties lacking a solid understanding of generational differences and how to appeal to each other #tchatShawn LaCroix
A3. I think its hard to accept change- in other gens you worked hard and put in your time and waited to move up. now its different #tchatAshley Lauren Perez
Q4: What can orgs do better to assess & execute cultural fit… as well as employee & leadership development? #TChatMark Babbitt
A4: I’ve met some really smart people who are smart about getting stuff done. But dumb about #leading people. #Justsaying #TchatLara Zuehlke
A4: My last interviewed, they really believe I have the talent, culture et all, but concerned I’ve become obsolete. Age.. #TChatJanis Stacy
A4: giving every employee access to knowledge, and resources that can potentially be exchanged #TChatNissrine Ghannoum
A4: Who’s got a trendier word for Leader? Feels a bit dated! #TChatSean Charles
A4: Spotting a leader is when you look at the person not their birth certificate #tchatJen Olney
#tchat A4: #socialtech will make culture easier, added transparency, collaboration and cross functional aptitude, builds interconnected orgsFormation
A4: Great leaders can get their team to put their differences aside to work towards a common goal. Reward goals met, deadlines beat. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A4: People and Positive communication come first! #tchatTara Markus
A4: Lateral #leadership helps to break down the emotional barriers that stunt progress. #tchatBrent Skinner
A4 find ways to reward collaboration..up and down the chain. #tchatKeith Punches
A4: Give all your employees a leadership responsibility & see who shines with passion #TChatSean Charles
A4: Focus on accomplishments and acts of innovation & greatness, not so much on yrs of exp or age. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A4. Engage from the core…not top down or bottom up. The dots need to be connected with 360 peripheral vision. #tchatSalima Nathoo
A4: Stop trying to be everything to everybody. Realize not e’one is going to fit in your culture even if they have the experience. #TchatLara Zuehlke
A4 If orgs want to assess fit & development, become a learning culture, supporting ppl working & learning in various ways #tchatClaire Crossley
A4: The culture of a company all comes down to how the employees are treated. #TChatSpark Hire
#TChat A4 – New Economic Culture = more collaboration, lot less micro-managing. generations working together & solving issues.Michael!
A4: Listen & Learn – stretch out & shape new ideas – build relationship & trust. Lead with truth & best of intentions. #tchatTara Markus
A4: Define “Cultural Fit” upfront and understand it is the first step I think. #TChatJanis Stacy
A4: Don’t emphasize the variety of generations in your workforce, focus on the talent. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A4. Make your culture transparent. Flaunt it. Candidates will apply if it matches their values #tchatAshley Lauren Perez
A4: Orgs need to spend time to define their values and understand what contributes to culture. only then can they discern who fits #tchatGeorge LaRocque
A4: Communication. It always comes back to the basics. Management listens to employees and vice versa. #TChatSimplicant
#TChat A4 – I think with the economy changing the workforce, culture is being redefined, even as we speak.Michael!
A4: Increase managers’ understanding of generational characteristics+the impact of their own management practices on these groups. #tchatInside Jobs
#TChat A4: Create an environment where different workers and skills work together and learn together. Otherwise there’s always divisionAbby
A4: Trust your gut. Too many times we rely on BS metrics & fail to listen to our intuition & fail to watch things like body language. #TchatLara Zuehlke
A4: Recognize generations learn differently & are motivated by different things. What works for #babyboomers wn’t work for #GenX, etc #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A4. set up networking events for candidates to meet-greet-learn. it’s like a job fair but SOOOOOO much better #tchatAshley Lauren Perez
#TChat A4 – Asking candidates what they want in a company culture, how will they help get the org there? What do they bring to the table?Michael!
A4 I really dont think culture fit is going to mean the same thing in the new world of work #TChatBill Boorman
A4: Need to take full advantage of the knowledge of their experienced workers+rethink paradigms about what work is+how it gets done. #tchatInside Jobs
A4. Only on-board those who fit the culture #TchatDave Ryan, SPHR
A4 how about listen and learn vs following the status quo???? #TchatRebel Brown
Q5: Can technologies help facilitate the older employee/younger manager dynamic… and how? #TChatMark Babbitt
A5: That’s assuming tech’s a barrier! Part of taking time to understand employees is finding HOW to best connect—ask & experiment. #tchatShawna Kelly
A5 you don’t have to lose your edge to old age. Technology is the great equalizer. A yearn to learn is cancer to ignorance. #tchatKeith Punches
A5: Regardless of technology, u should know manual methold for a task. What if power goes out? Learn the basics, appreciate the tech. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A5: #tchat Technology is a tool to enhance relationships. Make sure you do the work to start the relationship off on the right foot.Rebecca Jo Luke
A5: Tech is a great connector. Still comes down to integrity of the interaction, intention of the communication & mutual openness #tchatLara Zuehlke
A5: Anything that gets people talking and recognising each other helps integration #TChatBill Boorman
I think: Knowledge knows no age, only limit is the WANT to get the education at any age! #TChat A5Michael!
A5:Tech provides opportunity 4 experiential moments & productivity btwn any staff. Leaders must set the groundwork for it to happen. #TChatJulia Gabor
A5: #Tech engages all who are willing and interested #tchatKathy Herndon, GPHR
A5: technologies inspire connectivity and community- fueling leadership. Provide tech for open internal dialogue #tchatMegan Rene Burkett
A5: Tech bridges the gap in generation – both young and old are still learning how to adapt to the changing environment #tchatJen Olney
#Tchat A5 Tech has allowed older workers to be active for more years, the young talent helps them stay relevant & this includes leadership.ALEX BOTTOM
A5: I have #GenX friends who don’t have a FB profile, while I also know #Babyboomers who are tech savvy. Age knows no boundaries. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A5 I’m not quite sold that tech is age issue; I know some fine tech peeps, from 3 yrs old (no kidding) to 90yrs. Comfort? #tchatClaire Crossley
A5: Yes, technology brings increased engagement opportunities which builds trust & rapport #TChatSean Charles
A5: Technology erases physical age. Know the technology or become history! #TChatJanis Stacy
#TChat A5: Absolutely. Look at what how we’re communicating right nowAbby
A5 yes, but if done correctly, no differently than enabling other human interactions. It’s an issue of leadership, culture, adoption #TChatBrian Rensing
A5: With workplace technology advances, older/younger employees’ experience & knwldge can compliment ea other. #tchatEmilie Mecklenborg
A5 a time machine seems like it would help out generational understanding. #tchat #billandtedsexcellentadventureShawn LaCroix
A5. each gen needs to embrace it– if used well, it can increase communication and build/maintain relationships #tchatAshley Lauren Perez
A5 Technology is native to younger, a learning curve to older #tchat Young-dont be arrogant, Old-dont be defensiveRobert Moore
#TChat A5::: absolutely, enough said.Formation
A5: Technology bridges a divide that often keeps barriers of position/title based on age/experience. #TChatAndrew Henck
A5 – #TChat – as Tech becomes more “social” older using it, younger get it and are teaching others to use in day to day.Michael!
Attention, #TChat! See #HRTechChat Fri 9/28 @ 2pmET/11amPT -> #HRTech & the Free Agent #Workforce: http://ht.ly/e1iVpBrent Skinner
#HRTechChat: They Used to Pick Up the Telephone for That | Talent Management TechThere’s a technology for that. It’s called the telephone. They should pick it up and call their staff. That’s rich. #HRTechChat Lead Co-h…
00Meghan M. Birohttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngMeghan M. Biro2012-09-28 09:01:292020-05-22 14:47:52A Legacy of Leadership & Learning: #TChat Recap
Hello, World of Work! McKinsey has spoken, and I am listening: Social technologies are valued between $900 billion and $1.3 trillion by virtue of pushing social interactions to Internet speed, with the attendant increases in productivity, collaboration and understanding of employee and consumer behavior.
Do you buy it, or don’t you? For you TalentCulture World of Work aficionados, what matters is not that we believe it’s beneficial; the employee and employer experiences are what in fact matter. What’s the result of the speeding up of social interchanges in the world of work? There’s lots to look at there, and clearly, there’s a business opportunity in finding ways to morph social tech into business tech.
Here at #TChat, we’re accustomed to social in our personal lives, but it’s one thing to use Facebook with friends and, at work, the enterprise Facebook-style interaction tool, Yammer. Facebook isn’t really a productivity tool, but a way to maintain loose bonds with friends.
Companies investing in Yammer want something very different: productivity. And many companies worry that employees waste time on social media, which is why Yammer and other related systems are so appealing: These keep all interchanges within the firewall. No Gchat, Skype or IM, only Lync and Yammer: so much more control. But then, where’s the social magic? Will only the loud and super-exuberant types use corporate social tools?
We think about these things at TalentCulture. Then, we want to talk about them. So here are the questions for this week’s #TChat about social tools and their role in the workplace:
Q1: Social tech is valued upwards of $1.3 trillion. Where’s the greatest biz opportunity in the next few years?
Q2: Currently only 5% of U.S. online content sharing happens on social media. Will this change?
Q3: How do leaders overcome the perception that employees “waste” their time on social media?
Q4: Will social media only be valued by extroverted sharing & collaborative people? Is it an ego thing?
Q5: What are the best social tech tools for recruiting, onboarding, learning, performance, retention & mobility?
Feeling social yet? Then join us Wednesday for #TChat. That’s Sept. 19, on Twitter, from 7-8pm ET (6-7pm CT, 4-5pm PT, or wherever you are). Look for yours truly (@MeghanMBiro) and Kevin W. Grossman (@KevinWGrossman) on the #TChat stream. Your tweets — they bring us back, every time. And guess “hoo” else is coming to #TChat: Hootsuite.
We welcome this week’s #TChat guest moderator, Ambrosia Humphrey (@hambrody), Hootsuite’s director of human resources. Guests Ben Watson, Hootsuite’s vice president of marketing (@bitpakkit), and Steve Johnson, Hootsuite’s chief revenue officer (@steve1johnson), will join us, too, to discuss the trillion dollars of social, and look for additional nuggets of wisdom from Sabrina Lavin and Kristine Naldoza, also members of Hootsuite’s HR team. Woot!
00Meghan M. Birohttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngMeghan M. Biro2012-09-17 11:34:512020-05-22 14:47:03$1 Trillion of Social Media: #TChat Preview
When HR is truly about the business, embraced by the business, then they should manage all of people management, from beginning to end.
And it’s getting there for many HR executives. Yet still for others, not so much. No matter the title you give Human Resources, those “business partners” I know in the space are the ones who manage the internal talent economy.
That doesn’t mean that the HR executive does the day to day tactical of recruiting, training, reviewing and all the minutia of compliance and administrative tasks. However, to all my recruiter friends out there, no need to throw rocks; I’m not discounting recruiting to basic tactical work. But I am saying that whether you call it VP of HR, VP of Talent, Chief Human Resource Officer, Chief Talent Officer, Chief People Officer, you name it, and you work for a company of any significant size, usually over 2,500 employees, you more than likely have a specialized team working for you.
Again, when HR is truly about the business, embraced by the business, then they should manage all of people management, from beginning to end.
But as I’ve written before, if someone says “seat at the table” one more time, I’m gonna blow (and many others along with me). I’ve talked with many HR practitioners of late who are part of their company’s executive business strategy, but unfortunately the dissing “buzz” of disservice continues. The good news is that smart CEOs who want growth have strong talent management, which means they have smart people management who understand the business, what drives growth and how to keep the workforce in order to get there.
And what better way to check on the business of HR than to take the shuttle bus at SHRM 2011. On one such ride I struck up a conversation with the nice woman next to me and find out she’s VP of personnel and talent acquisition at a large company in the Midwest back from the brink of death (and yes, she used the word personnel — add that to the VP list above).
So I start asking her questions, and she tells me things like:
We have no mainstream HR or talent management software deployed. Our systems are home grown, tedious and temperamental. But, we have no plans to dump them any time soon because we’re just getting our life back. (But that will be on the priority list soon…)
We still had net employee losses last year, but this year we plan on hiring a few thousand before the end of 2011.
We’re in the midst of developing a broader scope succession plan that includes not only upper management but middle management and line managers as well.
We’re going to be cross-training management across lines of business, including those of us in personnel and HR.
We’re in the midst of developing a social media strategy that includes establishing employee guidelines (meaning loose ones — we want folks to participate now), employment branding, recruiting, marketing, you name it. That’s a far cry from the traditionally conservative world we’ve been living in for a long time.
In fact, when I came across Glassdoor.com for the first time recently I was horrified of what I saw written about us and other companies. It’s time to participate in the conversation and rebuild our brand.
Human resources and workforce management is maturing and businesses along with it. The above example is just one of many stories I’ve heard recently. Remember, we may still be on the front end of “the business of HR” mainstream, but the next 5-10 years I believe will be amazing.
You can read the #TChat preview here and here are the questions from this the big #SHRM11 #TChat:
Q1: What does HR do? Is that different from what they’re supposed to do?
Q2: Why should HR be responsible for all talent management and recruiting? Why not?
Q3: What are the common misperceptions other departments have about HR and why?
Q4: What’s HR getting right in today’s world of work and business?
Q5: HR pros: What can employees do differently to better partner with HR?
Q6: What does the future of HR look like? Does it have one?
Happy 4th of July everyone! We’ll be back on July 12 with an all new #TChat — Employer branding, Talent Acquisition and Company Culture.
And don’t forget — #TChat Radio starts on July 26! Details soon…
https://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.png00Kevin W. Grossmanhttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngKevin W. Grossman2011-06-30 10:05:192020-05-20 17:19:27When HR is About the Biz and Embraced by It: #TChat Recap
It’s as if HR became a simultaneous cliche and pariah that’s at least earned a seat at the kiddie table. Like geeks that keep stuff glued together and in working order so the company doesn’t get sued or lose too many good employees or has to lose employees the right way because of a downsizing.
But hey, those are my friends you’re talking about, those fine people in human resources and talent management, so back off.
About 150 of them will be gathered in Atlanta for HRevolution — the progressive people management event for human resources professionals, recruiters, and business leaders to come together and talk about the problems facing businesses today.
“This is where thought leadership and action meet. The format for HRevolution encourages interaction and every participant has the opportunity share ideas and opinions in an open manner.”
I can’t wait to go!
But if someone says “seat at the table” one more time, I’m gonna blow. I’ve talked with many HR practitioners of late who are part of their company’s executive business strategy, but unfortunately the dissing “buzz” of disservice continues. The good news is that smart CEOs who want growth have strong talent management, which means they have smart people management who understand the business, what drives growth and how to keep the workforce in order to get there.
Hey, maintaining and retaining the workforce in a complex global business world ain’t easy, but it’s being done. We’re also still on the front end of mainstream with technology, but exciting consumer-focused collaborative software abounds for HR/recruiting — and is getting better. This includes all things social, mobile, collaborative, cloud computing and analytics all baked into HR technology for the way we work today and the way we maintain the workforce. The drive to better manage across all lines of business is critical. Vacuum management silos will atrophy the business unless they’re collaborative and interconnected.
Human resources and workforce management is maturing and businesses along with it. Remember, front end of mainstream, but the next 5-10 years I believe will be amazing.
“While HR professionals are rarely understood, the truth of the matter is, they’re also not fully appreciated for doing the mission critical work they do. It’s not an easy job, but it’s an important one, and one that touches the lives of every employee, every day. That goes for you, too.”
And you, and you, and you…
A seat at the table is poop (Thank you, Kimberly Roden). Now, get back to work. See some of you at #HRevolution this weekend.
Here were last night’s #TChat questions:
Q1: Employees: What does HR need to do differently to be an effective people manager and business partner?
Q2: HR Pros: What can employees do differently to be a better business partner and collaborator with HR?
Q3: Is HR finally seen as a strategic executive partner in business today? Why or why not?
Q4: In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge facing HR today? How can it be overcome?
Q5: How is technology today improving the HR and talent acquisition functions?
Q6: Is education and intellect enough to be a great people manager? What about emotional intelligence?
Q7: What’s your biggest HR pet peeve? What about your biggest HR thrill?
Thank you again everyone for joining us!
https://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.png00Kevin W. Grossmanhttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngKevin W. Grossman2011-04-27 11:27:072020-05-20 17:01:53Some of My Best Friends are in HR, Back Off: #TChat Recap
No one grows up wanting to be a “human capital strategist” or a “talent acquisition consultant” or, really, any of the litany of titles that add to our profession’s mystique of mistaken identity (at least for those professionals who aren’t HR professionals).
Because no one really knows what HR does. And, most of the time, that includes HR itself.
See, for people in the people business, there are some instances where HR is seen as, by employees at least, more of an antagonist than an ally. If employees work in a global company, it’s likely they couldn’t pick their HR business partner out of a line-up.
And it’s easy to ascribe blame to a faceless group who many employees think are responsible for their career development and job satisfaction. Particularly when that group writes policies and governs things like promotions and compensation.
If employees could really see what HR does, if they could put a face to the signature on their annual reviews, they’d likely be surprised. And maybe, just maybe, they’d understand that HR and talent professionals are just like them, a diverse group of people from a confluence of backgrounds.
People whose careers happened more by happy coincidence than careful planning. People whose professional passion and purpose is to help improve the work, lives, and working life of their employer’s employees.
But the HR trenches have a protocol. HR is rarely visible, by necessity, design or choice, and operates beyond closed doors and self-service HRIS, employee relations resolutions and miles of red tape.
While HR professionals are rarely understood, the truth of the matter is, they’re also not fully appreciated for doing the mission critical work they do. It’s not an easy job, but it’s an important one, and one that touches the lives of every employee, every day. That goes for you, too.
The HR and recruiting professionals converging on Atlanta this weekend for the third HREvolution represent a cross-section of specialties, companies and geographies. They also share a belief in transparency, in sharing best practices, solving problems and driving real change, not in a theoretical vacuum, but on the front-lines Monday morning, at an office near you. Hope you’re paying attention.
According to the official website, HREvolution “is an event for human resources professionals, recruiters, and business leaders to come together and talk about the problems facing businesses today. This is where thought leadership and action meet.”
Another big surprise that’s very un, well, HR: “The format for HREvolution encourages interaction and every participant has the opportunity share ideas and opinions in an open manner.”
Obviously, #TChat shares a similar online format and supports HREvolution’s mission of facilitating interactions and creating an open, democratic platform where all voices are heard. That’s why tonight’s #TChat theme is: “Trench HR: Trends on the Frontlines from HREvolution.”
As always, we’ll be joined by a diverse group of employers, job seekers, HR thought leaders and social media mavens. We’ll take a candid look at HR perceptions vs. realities from a variety of perspectives, and explore some of the topics and themes that are on this year’s HREvolution agenda.
Join HREvolution presenter Kevin W. Grossman as he leads tonight’s discussion before heading to Atlanta. If you weren’t one of the 150 people lucky enough to get tickets, don’t worry. Tonight’s #TChat is a way to make your voice heard about the issues that matter to both HR professionals…and the employees they support.
Help shape the HREvolution conversation with tonight’s #TChat at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT and let HR and recruiters know what’s really on your mind…and what should be on theirs. And maybe, just maybe, see the real people behind the policies. We’re pretty cool.
Trench HR: Trends from the Frontlines of HREvolution: #TChat Questions and Recommended Reading (04.26.11)
To get you thinking and to help you get ready to #TChat, here are tonight’s questions, along with some recommended reading to help inform, and inspire, your participation in tonight’s conversation about trench HR and trends affecting the front-line – and the bottom line.
Q1: Employees: What does HR need to do differently to be an effective people manager and business partner?
Visit www.talentculture.com for more great information on #TChat and resources on culture fatigue and how to overcome it!
Our Monster social media team supports the effort behind #TChat and its mission of sharing “ideas to help your business and your career accelerate – the right people, the right ideas, at the right time.”
We’ll be joining the conversation live every Tuesday night as co-hosts with Kevin Grossman andMeghan M. Biro from 8-9 PM E.T. via @monster_works and @MonsterWW. Hope to see you tonight at 8 PM ET for #TChat!
https://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.png00Meghan M. Birohttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngMeghan M. Biro2011-04-26 13:45:472020-05-20 17:01:41Trends from The HREvolution Frontlines: #TChat Preview
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