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High Tech or High Touch? #TChat Recap

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

Live From the Edge of HR Innovation #TChat Preview

(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