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High Tech or High Touch? #TChat Recap

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Epic Times in HR Innovation

For geeks in the TalentCulture community, this was a red-letter week. We saw an impressive spectrum of innovative technology solutions roll through the HRO Today Forum in Philadelphia.

As planned, TalentCulture founders, Meghan Biro and Kevin Grossman were on-hand each day — sharing photos, updates and color commentary, live on the #TChat stream. It was like opening a virtual window into the state of HR innovation — and along with it, a perfect springboard to discuss promising “world of work” technologies and best practices.

I dialed-in from a distance, and couldn’t help feeling drawn to the energy of the iTalent innovation showdown (which Connect6° won, by the way), as well as the enthusiasm of #TChat-ters who openly exchanged ideas about HR tech at our Wednesday Twitter discussion. (See complete highlights in the Storify slideshow near the end of this post.)

Key Takeaway: Seek Balance

So, did we reach consensus about technology’s role in acquiring and nurturing talent? Did we agree on what matters most — high tech or high touch?

Wait. That’s not the right question. This isn’t a zero-sum game. Instead, shouldn’t we ask something more useful? Try this:

How well are we balancing the natural tension between “high tech” and “high touch,” for best results in our organization?

Truth is, there will never be a “final answer.” In an ever-changing business environment, we’ll always be seeking true north. A commitment to continuous improvement can help. But even with constant recalibration, it’s easy to miss the mark. So, for future reference, maybe we should tuck this tiny nugget of #TChat advice into the back of our minds:

Whatever helps us go THERE should be good. Thanks for the reminder, Zachary!

#TChat Week-in-Review

SUN 4/28

Forbes.com: TalentCulture CEO, Meghan M. Biro, set the stage for the week in her post: “HR Technology: A Revolution for the World of Work.”

MON 4/29

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Watch Tim’s G+ Hangout videos in his #TChat Preview

Meghan on Monday: To start the week, Meghan expanded on her Forbes commentary in a message to the TalentCulture community: “HR Tech as High Art and Deep Science.”

#TChat Preview: Our community manager, Tim McDonald, outlined the theme and key questions in a preview post: “Live From the Edge of HR Innovation,” featuring brief video interviews with four of the five finalists in this year’s HRO Today Forum iTalent Competition.

WED 5/1

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Listen to the radio show recording now

#TChat Radio: In a special 1-hour “open mic” roundtable live from the HRO Today Forum social media lounge, Jessica Miller-Merrell (Blogging4Jobs), Matt Charney (Talemetry), and a variety of other conference attendees talked with Meghan and Kevin about the changing role of HR, and technology’s role in supporting that shift.

Partner News: Speaking of innovative HR technology, we announced a partnership with Achievers this week — our first formal business alliance in TalentCulture’s 3-year history. Exciting stuff. Learn more in “TalentCulture + Achievers: Better Together!”

#TChat Twitter: Our expanding community gathered around the #TChat Twitter stream, as Achievers Community Manager, Katie Paterson, led us in a real-time exchange of ideas about innovation in HR practices and technology. The feed lit-up with great ideas and interaction throughout the hour. Watch highlights below:

#TChat Twitter Highlights Slideshow: “Live From the Edge of HR Innovation”

[javascript src=”//storify.com/TalentCulture/tchat-insights-live-from-the-edge-of-hr-innovatio.js?template=slideshow”]

Closing Notes & What’s Ahead

SPECIAL THANKS: Again, thanks to the HROToday Forum social media team for sharing their perspectives live from the conference, and thanks to Achievers Social Community Manager, Katie Paterson, for spearheading this week’s #TChat Twitter conversation. You brought insight, humor and energy that everyone could feel.

NOTE TO BLOGGERS: Did this week’s events prompt you to write about HR Innovation or related issues? We’re happy to share your thoughts. Just post a link on Twitter (include #TChat or @TalentCulture), or insert a comment below, and we’ll pass it along.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Next week, education and social learning advocate, Angela Maiers, returns to talk about how our nation can prepare today’s students to become tomorrow’s business and technology leaders. Stay tuned for a “sneak peek” video in our preview this weekend!

Until then, as always, the World of Work conversation continues each day. So join us on the #TChat Twitter stream, or on our new LinkedIn discussion group. And feel free to explore other areas of our redesigned website. The lights are always on at TalentCulture, and your ideas and opinions are always welcome.

We’ll see you on the stream!

Image credit: Pixabay

HR Tech as High Art and Deep Science

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(Editor’s Note: For full insights from this week’s events see High Tech or High Touch? #TChat Recap.)

If you’ve seen this week’s #TChat Preview, you know that I’m packing my Team TalentCulture bags and heading for Philadelphia to join the action at the HRO Today Forum — where I’ll again help judge the iTalent innovation showdown.

Although it’s a live show-and-tell competition among vendors, I don’t think of it as a smackdown. Instead, I think of it as a celebration. A very important celebration.

The Upside of Change

Why is this so important? And why now? Because the world of work is changing at a phenomenal rate — and there’s no going back. You can find evidence everywhere — and it’s exciting. Just think about it. Only a year ago, at the first iTalent competition, HR infrastructure was in a much different place.

Enterprise adoption of social business is no longer just a smart idea, but a requirement that is rapidly redefining organizational culture. This shift is spawning a whole new class of start-ups — ventures that are challenging the status quo across the HR technology space. The convergence of cloud computing, big data, mobile connectivity, collaboration tools and social channels is disrupting talent management processes at every level.

Some might feel threatened — but that kind of inertia is eroding fast.

There’s a new mantra in the networked organization — adopt and adapt. That means there is no wide-open, well-marked, straight-line path to the future. On the other hand, leaders can no longer afford to delay or deny. Agility is the keyword in a world of relentless change. Without it, organizations jeopardize the effectiveness of their workforce, the vibrancy of their corporate culture, and the competitive advantage that comes from a strong talent infrastructure.

This is today’s truth. The road ahead may be uncertain, but I’m on your side. So you might as well hear it from me.

HR as High Art and as Deep Science

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Read the Forbes.com post now…

So with the future at stake, how do we get “there” from “here”?

As I noted in my Forbes column this week, technology, alone, is not enough.

HR (specifically talent management) is an art because, at it’s heart, it’s about people – in all their messy glory. It’s about hiring the right people, and then inspiring and enabling them to deliver stellar performance.

HR is a also science because there are ways to measure talent, skills and compatibility that can take some of the guesswork out of the process and dramatically increase the odds of success.

Imagine being able to recruit, hire, recognize, measure and reward stellar performance on a virtually continuous basis. Imagine a real-time feedback loop that allows leaders to gauge the pulse and productivity of their organizations from mobile devices and tablets. Imagine unsung workforce heroes receiving the recognition they so richly deserve.

All of that is already happening now, thanks to new HR technology — in the hands of smart talent-minded professionals. I’d say that’s reason to celebrate the art and the science that makes the “human” side of business so complex, so rich, and so rewarding.

And that’s why — no matter which vendor “wins” the iTalent competition — I am celebrating the fact HR innovation is leading us to a whole new future of work.

To look more closely at this topic, read my Forbes.com post:

HR Technology: A Revolution for the World of Work

(Editor’s Note: For full insights from this week’s events see High Tech or High Touch? #TChat Recap.)

Image Credit: Pixabay

Live From the Edge of HR Innovation #TChat Preview

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(Editor’s Note: For full insights from this week’s events see High Tech or High Touch? #TChat Recap.)

On The Road Again

It’s a huge week ahead in Philadelphia at the HRO Today Forum — not just for #TChat-ters, but also for some of the most innovative vendors in the HR space.

As we mentioned several weeks ago, TalentCulture co-founders Meghan Biro and Kevin Grossman will be front-and-center throughout the conference, where they’ll do triple duty:

Meghan equates the iTalent competition to a reality show like “The Voice” (or, as she explained last year, “The X Factor”) — a live “show-and-tell” experience for HR professionals who obsess over innovative ideas and technologies. But I think anyone who likes to stay ahead of business and technology trends will find it fascinating.

Hangout Now With iTalent Finalists

Last week on the Reach-West Blog, Kevin introduced the five finalists:

You can get a taste of the “iTalent Five” right now by watching my sneak-peek interviews with representatives from several of these organizations:

John Younger, President, CEO and Mojo Master at Accolo HireMojo, talks his organization’s vision and ability to dramatically accelerate the hiring process:

Christopher Hohman, Co-Founder of Connect6°, explains how this powerful recruiting platform leverages social networks to connect companies and candidates more easily and effectively:

Ed Newman, Vice President of Strategy at iMomentous, talks about how and why it’s vital to find and engage talent through mobile channels:

Mark Talaba, EVP and a Principal at The Gabriel Institute, discusses Teamability — a new way to help business understand and measure how people work together:

#TChat Events

Inspired by advancements from organizations like these, we’ll be putting HR innovation in the spotlight throughout the week in #TChat events. Whether your’re at the HRO Today Forum in person — or connecting from a distance — it should be a great way to learn about what’s hot in talent-related technology. So join the TalentCulture conversation, and let’s explore the possibilities:

TChatRadio_logo_020813#TChat Radio — Wed, May 1 — 4pmET / 1pmPT

Special 1-hour time slot!

Live from the HRO Today Forum’s social media lounge, Jessica Miller-Merrell (Blogging4Jobs) and Matt Charney (Talemetry) talk with our hosts, Meghan and Kevin, about HR’s role in shaping today’s business landscape, and technology’s role in that mission.

#TChat Twitter — Wednesday May 1 — 7pmET / 4pmPT

Everyone is welcome at our open, online Twitter forum, where executives from Achievers (employee recognition software innovators) will lead us in a real-time exchange of ideas about these key questions:

Q1:  What leading-edge HR processes are truly best practices? Why?
Q2:  What innovations in HR technology are helping business grow? Why?
Q3:  How can HR leaders drive revenue growth in their organizations? Why?
Q4:  How can HR leaders better develop and manage multiple talent ecosystems? Why?
Q5:  “Employee engagement” gets buzz in today’s world of work. Is it legit? Why/not?

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.

We’ll see you on the stream!

Image credit: Pixabay

HR What Are You Waiting For? #TChat Recap

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HR is the only department that asks for funding and C-level approval. Why?

Launch your powerful “world of work” initiatives and help the business grow.

Ask for forgiveness later!

Cy Wakeman passionately and matter-of-factly shared this sentiment about reality-based leadership at the SHRM Talent Management Conference and Exposition this week. It’s an unapologetic challenge to business leaders — especially those in HR — to stop the company coddle. In other words:

  • SHRM LogoStop coddling unhappy employees;
  • Focus on developing those who want to work for you, and expanding their strengths;
  • Accelerate development changes;
  • Encourage differentiation by using “benefits” as a reward for results.

Stop the company coddle, indeed. HR professionals have an opportunity today to truly make a difference in the ongoing success of their organizations. It comes from lifting performance across all members of the workforce — from contingent to full-time. It comes from tapping deeply into individual and collective strengths, and elevating performance to new levels.

It’s not about gaining a “seat at the table.” HR is already there. It’s about making the most of HR’s natural ability to support business strategy. So let’s get to work!

#TChat Topic: “World-Class” Workforce

Cy’s perspectives are very timely — aligning with discussions we had in #TChat events with Elliot Clark, CEO & Chairman of SharedXpertise, publisher of HRO Today and creator of the HRO Today Forum, which is coming up soon in Philadelphia.

HRO TodayElliot echoed Cy’s call for HR to help make organizations flatter, and more agile, and to leverage data for decisions that drive better business results. In the quest for competitive advantage, today’s bravest and most business-savvy HR leaders are building organizations that that are more flexible, more engaged and more resilient. It’s about focusing on mission-critical core talent, while outsourcing other responsibilities to reliable partners who deliver highly responsive business process services and technology infrastructure.

This is what it means to have a “world-class” workforce. “World-class” may have become a buzzword in our industry. But if we don’t aim high, what are the consequences? An underutilized, unhappy workforce undermines the very essence of innovation, drive and success.

#TChat Week-in-Review: Resources

SUN 4/14

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Watch Elliot Clark discuss HR issues and trends

Google+ Hangout video:  Our community manager Tim McDonald, briefly framed the week’s issues with HRO Today Forum creator Elliot Clark.

#TChat Preview:  We outlined the week’s topic and key questions in the #TChat Preview post: “Building a World-Class Workforce”

MON 4/15

Meghan on Monday: To kick-off the week, our community CEO, Meghan M. Biro challenged use to look at “The Human Side of Self Service” — which provided context for her Forbes.com column.

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Listen to the #TChat Radio recording

Forbes.com: Meghan brought meaning to popular HR buzzwords in her post: “5 Attributes of a World-Class Workforce”

#TChat Radio: Hosts Kevin and Meghan talked with Elliot Clark about key workforce management trends, and what’s on the agenda for the HRO Today Forum.

WED 4/17

#TChat Twitter The TalentCulture community came together on the Twitter stream to talk about the realities that today’s organization’s face in developing a high-performance workforce. For insights from the stream, watch the Storify slideshow below:

#TChat Twitter Highlights Slideshow: “Building a World-Class Workforce”

[javascript src=”//storify.com/TalentCulture/tchat-insights-building-a-world-class-workforce.js?template=slideshow”]

Closing Notes & What’s Ahead

SPECIAL THANKS: Again, thanks to Elliot Clark for joining us to discuss workforce management trends, and the agenda for the HRO Today Forum. Meghan and I are excited to be participating in this year’s Forum, managing and judging the iTalent Competition, as well as running #TChat Twitter live from the conference. We hope #TChat-ters will save the date – and join us live in Philadelphia, or via social streams!

NOTE TO BLOGGERS: Did this week’s events prompt you to write about “The World-Class Workforce” or related issues? We’re happy to share your thoughts. Just post a link on Twitter (include #TChat or @TalentCulture), or insert a comment below, and we’ll pass it along.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Next week, we’ll look at the role that social networks play in facilitating corporate responsibility and “social good” business initiatives. Stay tuned for “sneak peek” video and a full preview this weekend!

Until then, as always, the World of Work conversation continues each day. So join us on the #TChat Twitter stream, or on our new LinkedIn discussion group. And feel free to explore other areas of our redesigned blog/community website. The lights are always on at TalentCulture, and your ideas and opinions are always welcome.

We’ll see you on the stream!

Image credit: Stock.xchng

 

The Human Side of HR Self-Service

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(Editor’s Note: If it’s Monday, this must be Meghan’s #TChat Preview, right? Well, in the spirit of continuous improvement, we’re shifting the editorial flow. Starting this week, you’ll see #TChat Preview/Sneak Peek videos even earlier than before. Our Community Manager, Tim McDonald, is posting weekly previews on the weekend, so that Meghan is free on Mondays to share whatever is on her mind. That should keep us all guessing! Let us know what you think of this approach. And as always, thanks for your support!)

HR & Technology: A Natural Power Couple

I’m psyched about the upcoming HRO Today Forum in Philadelphia from April 30-May 2. This is a fun HR/Tech meeting of the minds. It’s always exciting and inspiring — filled with the best and brightest minds, and the latest cool and innovative HR technologies. In fact, this will be my second year serving as a judge at the Forum’s iTalent competition. Think of it as “The Voice” (or as I put it last year, “The X Factor”) for those of us who obsess over HR technology. I can’t wait to see who wins this showdown!

Forbes_MeghanMBiro_on Attributes of a World-Class Workforce

Read the full Forbes.com column now…

What Makes HR Tech So Powerful?

But of course, tech for tech’s sake isn’t the goal. It’s really about finding ways to create a better world of work. As I explain in my Forbes.com column this week…

Self-service is a key development in building and retaining a work-class workforce. It is a key leadership and learning tool. It is what the future looks like. And it’s here today. 

But … Self-service is no substitute for savvy hiring. It can take smart hiring to a new level, but never, ever forget that hiring is the bottom line in HR and leadership. If you hire wrong, all the “insanely great” self-service efficiency in the world will be worthless.

So, even as we embrace new ways to operate more efficiently and effectively, we need to keep our eyes on the strategic business prize. To see the full picture from my point-of-view, read my Forbes post:

“5 Attributes of a World-Class Workforce”

Bottom line: Technology is only as valuable and productive as the people using it. Until robots rule the world, people are your core asset. So let’s not lose sight of what really makes the world of work go around.

P.S. Want to explore the link between workforce strategy and technology in deeper detail? Then read this week’s #TChat Preview post, and join the conversation!

(Editorial Note: Want to read the RECAP of the week’s #TChat events? See “HR: What Are You Waiting For?)

Image Credit: Pixabay

Building a World-Class Workforce #TChat Preview + Video

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(Editorial Note: Want to read the RECAP of this week’s #TChat events? See “HR: What Are You Waiting For?)

Change. We all feel it. It’s become a relentless business reality — and the pace just continues to accelerate.

Now, however, the structure of work itself is changing. This means HR processes and programs are also shifting in fundamental ways.

The evidence is all around us. HR organizations are becoming flatter, more flexible and more agile — as we discussed several weeks ago when exploring “Talent in the Cloud.” And increasingly, talent strategies are driven by insights from relevant research and data analysis.

What does this suggest for the next chapter on the human resources management front? What issues and opportunities should be foremost on HR practitioners’ minds?

These are the questions that the HRO Today Forum will tackle in Philadelphia, April 30-May 2. And that’s what we’ll also discuss throughout the coming week in the TalentCulture community.

#TChat Sneak Peek Video

Leading the #TChat conversation this week is HR trendspotter, Elliot Clark, CEO & Chairman of SharedXpertise, creator of the HRO Today Forum and publisher of HRO Today and other specialized publications for business professionals.

I spoke with Elliot in a Google+ Hangout, to learn what is foremost on his mind, and what’s on the agenda for the HRO Today conference. Interestingly, there are ties to last week’s #TChat focus on the generational stereotypes in today’s workplace. Watch the video now:

#TChat Events: Building a World-Class Workforce

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Tune into #TChat Radio – Live on Tuesday or on-demand after

Join us this week, as our TalentCulture community examines what it means to create and sustain a world-class workforce:

#TChat Radio — Tuesday, April 16 at 7:30pmET / 4:30pmPT  Elliot joins hosts Kevin W. Grossman and Meghan M. Biro to tackle key issues facing today’s HR practitioners, and how data is increasingly being used to shape talent planning, acquisition and management.

#TChat Twitter – Wednesday,  April 17 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT  Everyone is welcome to join our open, online Twitter forum, as talent-minded professionals exchange ideas in real-time about these key questions:

Q1:  What are the primary elements of today’s world-class workforce? Why?
Q2:  Can gamification really help us recruit, engage and retain employees? Why/why not?
Q3:  The contingent workforce continues to grow; how can companies truly integrate with FT employment?
Q4:  Why are manager and employee self-service technologies so important to the enterprise?
Q5:  Will mobile workforce communication/collaboration circumvent other forms? Why/why not?

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.

We’ll see you on the stream!

HRO: Engagement Perception and Social Recruiting Technology

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I spent most of this past week at the HRO Today conference in Las Vegas as a member of the blog squad, and what do I have to show for it? A new appreciation for HR and Recruiting technology innovation – that’s what.

On the personal side, new friendships were made and old bonds renewed. In short, a very good conference. I even had an opportunity to sing along with dueling pianos  – talk about a Talent Show. Right up my alley. We had many laughs. What happens in Vegas is not always meant to stay in Vegas after all.

This week’s #TChat was a highlight of course. As I referenced earlierin the week,  The HRO Analyst Study was pretty fascinating from my perspective. So while there’s plenty of HR technology out there, much of it is focused on talent management and recruitment. HR and recruiters just are not perceiving what’s out there as innovative, perhaps because most of what we’re seeing isn’t screaming cloud, mobile application. What the survey found, instead, was a gap in perceptions of innovation.

For example, 62 percent of technology providers think it’s vital to innovate in talent management technology – but only 33 percent of practitioners agree. Even more telling: 70 percent of providers surveyed think talent management technology supports work, while practitioners – 37 percent – view the technology as ‘just gadgets’.

But wait, there’s more – over 70 percent of practitioners surveyed say providers ‘rarely or never’ talk to them to gauge whether their offerings align with the practitioners’ business strategies and goals. Yikes, what a disconnect! As a “recruitment practitioner” (one of my hats) I’m hoping there are many more of us who see these innovative tools as a must have – I certainly fall into this grouping.

So let’s go to Door #1 and a review of my stint as a judge on the iTalent2 Demo Competition. The talented roster of hopefuls: BranchOut a solution that helps people tap into their Facebook friends network to find career opportunities; InternMatch a brilliant yet simple application that simplifies finding interns and marketing internship opportunities for organizations of pretty much any size; JobScore a social media-enabled talent management application; SmartRecruiters a winner (did I say it is free?) application with a great SaaS recruiting solution; Wednesdays a team building and employee engagement application built on social media networking, and Work4labs, with a very cool application that enables career sites on Facebook. Quite an impressive array of new technologies included here.

As a judge who ended up being closer to Simon Cowell than Paula Abdul as we first thought – I was way careful about the numbers I gave each company featured, never going past 8 on a scale of 1-10. Apologies to the contestants if that seems harsh, but we’re talking about my passion here: innovation meets matching people talent with new career opportunity.

I have a weak spot for technologies that do it well. In classic start-up form no company or application is perfect just yet. Innovation is truly about creating a culture of working and reworking ideas where it’s ok to make mistakes in the early innings. I found flaws in each application from either a usability or branding perspective. It will be exciting to watch their progression in the coming months. There were almost too many good things on offer for the judging panel.

SmartRecruiters won – it’s a free (yes, free), social-media enabled application that helps companies recruit top talent. The pitch was strong, the website is user friendly, it’s organized and the people are enthusiastic about it’s potential in the market.

I have a soft spot for InternMatch. I mentor as many interns as I can and many people know I’m an advocate for these programs. Pay it forward and all, interns are a great resource for any company – and actual work experience with actual companies is part of a complete education.

I’m so energized by the people I met, the ideas that were presented, the technology that is available right now that will make talent recruiting and hr management so much easier and more productive. I can’t wait to talk to people (and clients) about what I’ve heard about in Vegas and beyond. Onward we go.

IMAGE VIA BestofWDW