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Does Your Hiring Process Speak For Your Brand? #TChat Preview

June 2, 2013/Archives /by Tim McDonald

(Editor’s Note: Are you looking for a full review of all posts and events about this week’s topic? Read the #TChat Recap “Hiring Is Hard: May The Best Brand Win.”)

Think back for a moment about when you accepted your last job offer.

What helped you make that decision? Did your impression of the recruitment process help seal the deal? Chances are, the answer is yes.

It may be easy for employers to overlook the impact of a positive candidate experience — especially in rough economic times, when a large pool of qualified talent is readily available. But when a company goes the extra mile to create a supportive hiring environment, several advantages follow:

1) It’s easier to attract and acquire top performers; and
2) The entire candidate pool sees the corporate brand in a more favorable light.

That second point is increasingly important these days, in a world where brand image is fueled by social media’s transparency and reach.

So, what should employers do to improve the candidate experience? That’s our focus this week at #TChat forums. We’ve asked two experts to lead the discussion:

– Elaine Orler, president of talent acquisition consulting firm Talent Function;
– Gerry Crispin, staffing strategist and co-founder of CareerXroads.

#TChat Sneak Peek Videos

To kick-off this week’s conversation, both guests joined me for quick G+ Hangouts. First, Gerry explained briefly why the candidate experience has become a focal point:

And then, Elaine highlighted some fascinating statistics that illustrate just how influential the candidate experience can be:

#TChat Events: The Candidate Experience Is Everything

Listen to the #TChat Radio show

No matter what side of the hiring table you’re on, this should be an interesting week! Please join us and add your thoughts to our ongoing conversation…

#TChat Radio — Tuesday, June 4 at 7:30pmET / 4:30pmPT – Elaine and Gerry join our hosts, Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman, for a LIVE 30-minute discussion to examine this topic up-close.

#TChat Twitter — Wednesday, June 5 at 7pmET / 4pmPT – We welcome anyone with a Twitter handle to join our open, online community, as we exchange ideas live on the #TChat stream. Elaine and Gerry will lead us through this week’s questions:

Q1: Why is the candidate experience so critical to organizations today?

Q2: What should organizations be doing to improve their candidate experience?

Q3: Is everyone in the enterprise responsible for their employer brand? Why or why not?

Q4: What can business leaders do to establish a quality candidate experience, inside and out?

Q5: How does HR/recruiting technology make or break the candidate experience?

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!

Employer Brands: Big-Company Ideas for The Rest of Us

May 15, 2013/Archives /by Ashley Lauren Perez

Recently on a trip to Seattle, I had an opportunity to visit Amazon.com headquarters — one of the many remarkable corporate campuses located in that region. I’d never explored a “corporate campus” before. But I’ve always been extremely eager to get a first-hand experience after reading many articles about the concept. This was my shot.

Needless to say, I was impressed! But it isn’t just the size of this sprawling facility that blew me away. I was also struck by the branding that is present throughout the environment. It made me think about the whole “employer branding” thing.

Branding From the Inside Out

I know HR practitioners struggle to implement a strong public brand that will attract and recruit top-notch external candidates. It’s one of HR’s primary functions in today’s world of work. But what about the internal brand? It’s also vital to retain talent that is already onboard. What are we doing to keep existing employees engaged and loyal to our organizations? Competitive compensation isn’t the only way to stop an employee from walking.

You may not be an enormous company like Amazon, Google, or LinkedIn. You may not have deep pockets for internal branding initiatives. But you certainly can be inspired by the way the “big boys” cultivate their brands, their work environments, and their corporate cultures. What’s more, you can leverage and adapt some of those heavy-hitter concepts to fit your organization’s circumstances.

Four Key Questions

1) What’s the vibe in your workspace? When I think about world-class employer campuses, one of the most notable characteristics is that many workspace options are available. Yes, I said OPTIONS. Their offices are not set up with jail-like cubicle rows, and an occasional office or conference room here or there. They have open spaces, co-working options, lounge areas, and unique personalities. Perhaps you don’t have the space or budget to create luxurious common areas, but there are plenty of ways to create an open environment that seems welcoming and non-restrictive.

2) Are you committed to internal recruitment marketing? While riding in one of Amazon’s elevators, I noticed a vibrant poster promoting a department that is recruiting Software Engineers. One side of the poster showed a man sitting at a computer with the saying, “This is what it looks like to work on my team.” The other side showed an imaginative, creative, fun scene surrounding the man at the computer with the saying, “This is what it FEELS like to work on my team.” Below that, removable tags featured contact information for the team manager. I absolutely love that. Amazon is huge, so internal communications like that can make it easy to recruit for internal candidates who wouldn’t otherwise know about your team. Makes sense for a company that large, right? Here’s the kicker — even in small organizations, employees say that they aren’t aware of other jobs or openings. This can be a huge issue, especially since many employees leave their company because they feel like they have no internal mobility options. That situation might not be true — their perception may simply come from lack of information.

3) Are you too scared to adapt? I understand the phrase, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” And that phrase is perfectly reasonable. If your company is functioning fine, there is no reason to fix it. But what about offering more options? Compensation isn’t the only thing that can retain your employees. Sometimes other options can be the deciding factor: telecommuting; flex work; tuition reimbursement; on-going training; co-working; employee engagement initiatives, and so on. Your competitors are coming out with really cool options to retain their employees. Don’t let them beat you out because you were too scared to adapt to the changing world of work.

4) Is it a place of hierarchy or community? There most definitely needs to be order within an organization, but top down communication doesn’t really work as well as it did in the past. Employees want their voices to be heard — they want to make suggestions, they want to contribute, and they want to build relationships. I have worked in an organization where the president and directors are extremely open to two-way communication. They make it very easy to initiate a conversation — even to the point where interns aren’t scared to make suggestions or casually chat with one of the company’s leaders. It has created a strong sense of community — which has helped position the company as a progressive work environment.

Your employer brand isn’t just about convincing external candidates that your organization is a great place to work. It’s also about making sure your current employees love working there — so much so that no other company or job offer seems more attractive.

(To read Ashley’s original post, visit The Social HR Connection blog.)

Did You Learn Today? Pass It On

May 8, 2013/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

“To teach is to learn twice.” –J. Joubert

I love my work. But there are challenges (understatement). Keeping pace with 21st-century talent and technology trends means commitment to a perpetual learning curve.

The “human side” of business is now a vast and fluid domain. It’s a melting pot, churning in overdrive, with talent-recruitment-engagement-performance-management-HR-bigdata-leadership-development-socialmedia-and-career-skills all colliding and transforming at every turn. Each day brings more than anyone can absorb. We all feel it. This sensory overload is the new norm.

Learning as a Way of Life

I can’t stop learning (and couldn’t if I wanted to). My career demands nothing less. I just got back from an exciting HR conference in Philly where I met fascinating, bright, dedicated people, and discovered jaw-dropping, radically innovative tools. In a word, I learned.

To be honest, there is nothing in the world I love more than learning — anywhere, anytime. Exchanging ideas in any social environment is an experience that makes my pulse race. And these days, I often feel like I’m experiencing a non-stop adrenaline rush!

It’s exhilarating to see smart people rewriting rules (even at this moment). And although it’s often exhausting to be at the heart of a global learning community like TalentCulture, I also feel alive and engaged every day. I hope you feel that way, too — and that’s why you participate.

Learning as Leverage for Others

Along with the adrenaline highs, sometimes on this “world of work” odyssey, I’m exposed to alarming challenges. And as my friend Angela Maiers explains, one of the most alarming issues today is the increasing shortage of skilled talent. It’s a reality that the business world can no longer afford to ignore.

Simply put — we are not preparing students sufficiently for today’s economy — let alone for the future of work.

On one hand, this leaves behind millions of potential workforce contributors who are considered unemployable by most standards. On the other hand, companies are struggling to find qualified talent for unfilled positions. Adding insult to injury, companies have slashed recruiting and development budgets to the bone in recent years, while simultaneously increasing their expectations for finding capable talent. This is not a recipe for success.

We Can Matter — As Mentors

See the #TChat Preview & sneak-peek video

Something must change. I know that TalentCulture community understands this.

The good news is that each of us is equipped to lead the way — with whatever time, knowledge and skills we have available. Even more good news — there are ready-made ways to “pay-it-forward” as mentors. And one of those ways is through Angela Maiers’ bold educational initiative, Choose2Matter.

Angela isn’t waiting for government or big business or educational institutions to fix the problem. Instead, she’s using her brains, her passion and her professional network to unleash a tiny movement that can make a lasting difference in the future of every student that Choose2Matter touches.

This fearless approach to “future-proofing” our nation is why Choose2Matter’s leaders are joining us this week on #TChat Radio, and on our #TChat Twitter Chat (see the preview: “Business Case for Mentoring”). And it’s why TalentCulture is committed to support Choose2Matter, going forward.

Together we can bridge the skills gap, one student at a time. All it takes is enthusiasm, business experience, and a commitment of your time to help students work productively toward their dreams.

The goal is to encourage the genius in every child. The kids are ready. So let’s give these amazing dreamers the support they need to achieve to their fullest potential. As a talent development champion, I’m in. Why not join me?

(Editor’s Note: To learn more about Angela’s point of view, read her TalentCulture blog post, “Creating Future Leaders: A Mission That Matters.“ Or listen to her appearance on the #TChat Radio Show: “Choose to Bridge the Skills Gap.”)

Image Credit: Pixabay

High Tech or High Touch? #TChat Recap

May 3, 2013/Archives /by Kathleen Kruse

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:

Simple: HR = Human Relationships #tchat

— Zachary Jeans (@ZacharyJeans) May 1, 2013

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

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

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 What Are You Waiting For? #TChat Recap

April 18, 2013/Archives /by Kevin W. Grossman

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:

Stop 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.

Elliot 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

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.

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

April 15, 2013/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

(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

Clouding: Can it Cross the Job Chasm? #TChat Recap

April 4, 2013/Archives /by Kevin W. Grossman

“See the lonely man on the corner.
What he’s waiting for, I don’t know.
But he waits everyday now.
He’s just waiting for something to show.” –Genesis

Contract Work Wears Many Faces

They wait on street corners and in parking lots, flanking big box home improvement stores and local hardware stores. They cluster in groups to keep one another company, hoping together for better opportunities ahead. They keep their distance from the entrances, waving their hands low or snapping their chins back in earnest as cars pull up and in to park. They smile hopefully and wait for a sign that work awaits in your front yard, around your house, at your construction site or at your business office.

We call them “day laborers.” They’re mostly men, who may also be illegal immigrants. They have low-wage skills and are willing to toil in high-risk work environments for cash on an “as needed” basis. (This assumes that they will actually be paid at the end of the day, but there are no guarantees.)

I’ve never hired one of these workers myself. However, I know others who have, and who’ve thankfully paid them for their labor.

Talent Supply Meets Demand: Old School

What does this have to do with TalentCulture? Actually, in many ways, the classic “day labor” model is starting to seem closer than ever to a professional career path.

This week in #TChat forums we’ve been talking about on-demand talent, the rise of the contingent workforce, Humans as a Service (HuaaS) and talent “clouding.” It’s been a fascinating ride; however we’ve focused primarily on how it applies to specialized skills and talent, including business services, marketing and IT — and how this approach can help companies reduce fixed costs associated with headcount. It’s considered edgy — and it’s supported by emerging technologies and innovative business practices.

But there’s another world of work that operates in parallel each day. The one defined by low-wages, high risk and physical labor. Its an on-demand labor market that has become commoditized over thousands of years. Yardwork. Household maintenance and repair. Household chores. Cash and carry.

Can you perform these tasks well? Some of us are handy with DIY projects, but don’t ask me to install a sprinkler system (found a friend to help with that one) or clean my rain gutters (my lovely wife forbids me to climb ladders). Could you fix your own plumbing or electrical systems? Not me — although I did install a dimmer switch once with great pride (and a fair share of sweat and cursing).

Talent Supply Meets Demand: A New View?

While powerful new talent software platforms and freelance online clearinghouses now help us manage today’s on-demand, fluid “professional” workforce, let’s not forget that we’ve been clouding humans for a long, long time. But if we’ve learned anything from history — especially with more recent worker protections and employment laws — we should be mindful that this new world of specialized project work could eventually be commoditized — and not for the better.

Yes, the economics will fluctuate with supply and demand, and business will find efficiency in digital pathways to just-in-time talent. Yes, many are choosing to offer their talent independently — not because they must, but because they prefer operating as free agents. But many others are not so comfortable in that zone.

For now, those who have the skills, the savvy, and the determination to package and promote themselves professionally will help drive their own opportunities, while the corporate world rethinks vendor management.

I just hope that this kind of talent clouding doesn’t arrive on my corner anytime soon.

#TChat Week-in-Review: “Cloud Talent” Guests

Because “Talent as a Service” is a new and complex concept, we invited two experts in HR innovation to inform and guide this week’s discussion:

Jason Averbook, Chief Business Innovation Officer at Appirio, and
Richie Etwaru, Group VP of Cloud and Digital Innovation at Cegedim Relationship Management, and author of the #Brainfood blog.

Also, by popular demand, we’ve captured below links to the week’s various activities and resources, to help you easily find, review and share information now and in the future. We look forward to hearing from you early and often as the conversation continues to evolve within the World of Work.

#TChat “Cloud Talent” Resource Links

See the guest videos on Tim McDonald’s post now…

SAT 3/30 “Sneak Peek” videos: In bite-sized interviews with our community manager, Tim McDonald, both Richie Etwaru and Jason Averbook weighed in with a definition of “Talent as a Service.”

SUN 3/31 “Will Leaders Embrace Talent in a Cloud?” TalentCulture CEO, Meghan M. Biro, offered her perspective and advice in her weekly Forbes.com column.

MON 4/1 #TChat Weekly Preview “Cloud Talent: Gaining Ground?” outlined the week’s premise and core questions.

Listen to the #TChat Radio show recording now…

TUE 4/2 #TChat Radio Show Both Jason and Richie joined our radio hosts to clarify the business issues and opportunities associated with talent “clouding” strategies. It’s a fascinating 30-minute session for anyone interested workforce trends and their impact on global business management, as well as individual careers.

WED 4/3 #TChat Twitter Jason and Richie returned — this time to connect directly with the TalentCulture tribe live on the Twitter — for a dynamic discussion about the realities and possibilities of “clouding” as a talent strategy. See highlights from the conversation in the slideshow below…

#TChat Twitter Highlights Slideshow: Cloud Talent: Gaining Ground?

[javascript src=”//storify.com/TalentCulture/tchat-insights-cloud-talent-gaining-ground.js?template=slideshow”]

Closing Notes & What’s Ahead

SPECIAL THANKS: Again, thanks to Jason Averbook, and Richie Etwaru, for contributing your time and expertise to help inform and inspire our community. We look forward to continued dialogue with you both on “talent clouding” and other World of Work topics.

NOTE TO BLOGGERS: Did this week’s events prompt you to write about “humans as a service” 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 shift gears to consider how to understand and move beyond workplace stereotypes, with guest experts John Wilson, Founder and CEO of WilsonHCG, and Ashley Lauren Perez, a WilsonHCG Sourcing Specialist and highly regarded HR blogger.

Until then, we’ll continue the World of Work conversation 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: Pixabay

Cloud Talent: Gaining Ground? #TChat Preview

April 1, 2013/2 Comments/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

(Editorial Note: Want to read the RECAP of this week’s events? See “Clouding: Can it Cross the Job Chasm? #TChat Recap”)

Over the past decade, the concept of Software as a Service (SaaS) has transformed the way we work, learn and live. Individuals and organizations, alike, have welcomed the convenience, flexibility and efficiency of on-demand applications – delivered from “the cloud” over digital networks.

Not surprisingly, business strategists now wonder how this “cloud” model can transform other aspects of business management. And in the World of Work community, we wonder — can this “on demand” model be extended effectively to human resources? How?

#TChat Focus Topic: Talent as a Service

First, let’s be sure we’re on the same page. What exactly do we mean by “Talent as a Service” (TaaS)? As I explained yesterday in a Forbes.com post, “Will Leaders Embrace Talent in a Cloud?” think of it essentially as recruiting on an as-needed basis from a cloud-based talent pool.

Of course, this already happens, as contingent workers are sourced for temporary assignments and projects via online freelance clearinghouses and similar services. But I can’t help wondering if this approach will scale effectively and efficiently for the global enterprise, as well as smaller companies and consultants? What does this mean for professional skills development and knowledge sharing? And what are the implications for corporate cultures, everywhere?

#TChat Guests

Some of the most innovative minds in human capital management and cloud technology are now focused on these questions. And I’m thrilled to say that two of those experts are joining the TalentCulture Community this week!

As we revealed along with their “sneak peek” videos last weekend, we are welcoming two brilliant guests:

Jason Averbook, Chief Business Innovation Officer at Appirio, and
Richie Etwaru, Group VP of Cloud and Digital Innovation at Cegedim Relationship Management, and author of the #Brainfood blog.

I expect a week filled with both future-thinking predictions, as well as actionable advice. And I’m sure that this is only the start of a conversation that will continue to resonate with our community for a long time to come! Join us for this week’s events, and let’s talk about the possibilities!

#TChat Radio

#TChat Radio — Tuesday, April 2 at 7:30pmET (4:30pmPT)

Both Jason and Richie will join Kevin Grossman and me to tackle key issues that come with “clouding” strategies.

#TChat Twitter

#TChat Twitter – Wednesday, April 3 at 7pm ET / 4pm PT.

Join our weekly online forum, and share your thoughts with others about these key questions:

Q1: Do you think that “Human as a Service” models will really take hold? Why or why not?
Q2: How can the process of “clouding humans” create competitive advantage for business?
Q3: Could “clouding” humans be immoral? Unethical? Do you see HR compliance issues?
Q4: What processes should business leaders put in place to scale true on-demand talent, globally?
Q5: What kinds of HR technology requirements will facilitate on-demand talent now? In the future?

Want to see more about this week’s topic? Read Richie Etwaru’s blog post, “Go Beyond Everything as a Service.” Or see the “sneak peek” blog post from TalentCulture community manager, Tim McDonald, where both of our guests offer quick video definitions of “Humans as a Service” concept.

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

Career Moves: An Unconventional Payoff

March 22, 2013/Archives /by Kevin W. Grossman

“Not knowing when the dawn will come, I open every door.” -Emily Dickinson

I sat along the far front corner of the partner’s desk, trying not to sulk in the chair. This particular partner, an attractive Chinese woman in her mid-30’s, sat quietly behind her desk while she studied my professional profile like an archeologist attempting to decipher an ancient scroll. She even put her glasses on at one point. The partner’s sister — also a partner, and just as attractive but a few years younger — smiled at me like I was a special child about to get on the short bus for the very first time.

They asked me a series of questions about my experience and skills. They finally warmed up to me as we continued to talk about career aspirations, Silicon Valley, VC’s and HR-related tech startups.

Finally the older sister took her glasses off and said, “You know, you’re very unconventional. You’ve done a lot over time, and have been quite diverse in a short time, especially on paper. Now you’ve engaged with us to help give it all context. And it’s a pleasure, by the way. But still, it’s hard to put you in a…bucket. You know?”

I do. And so do many others who have carved and crafted their way into unconventionality by learning new skills, making career transitions, job hopping, consulting, freelancing, starting business endeavors and any combination thereof.

Professional Mobility Goes Mainstream

Nancy Friedberg, president of New York City executive coaching firm Career Leverage, recently said in a Fortune article, “Partly because of all the economic instability lately, and partly due to the entry of Gen Y into the workforce, people increasingly see themselves as free agents. It’s all about the portfolio of skills you bring, not loyalty or security. Moving around has become the new norm.”

This was a recent candidate experience I had with an executive search firm in Silicon Valley. Lovely, smart women who knew their business and understood the power of the professional skill portfolio. But as I noted earlier this week, we are naturally stalwart creatures of comfort and habit. Talent selection, mobility and succession planning have long been determined primarily by literally matching hard skills and experience to a job description, and of course gut instinct.

This is not to disparage any search professional working today, but saying that talent strategies should focus on hard skills is no longer enough. The softer skills — communication, empathy, team-building — are just as integral to selection and development, if not more so. The partners I met with understood this and made it clear during our conversation.

Looking at Talent Through New Eyes

This week on #TChat Radio, Josh Bersin emphasized the importance of looking at human capital management challenges through a more strategic, holistic lens. Rather than emphasizing the need for hard skills alone, high-impact organizations seek people with a full spectrum of capabilities — and develop both hard and soft skills. As organizations reinforce and expand these combined capabilities in real-time, and provide flexible context that responds to workforce competencies, we can expect talent selection, talent mobility and business performance to improve.

Those of us who pursue unconventional paths should take heart – it seems the tide is turning in our direction. If only unconventionality paid better, right? Actually, for the progressive individuals and companies propelling themselves and the enterprise forward, it does.

I’ll tell you more about my new bucket soon…

Image Credit: Stock.xchng

Empower Brand "You" #TChat Preview

February 25, 2013/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

We’ve made the business case for the unemployed and helped to further humanize brands. The growing space in between elevates employee and employer to better see into each other’s yard. The Internet’s collaborative inter-connectivity empowers us all to own our online presence, our personal branding, our development, our successes, and our painful failures. And own them we must. This goes for professionals and the enterprise.

This new level of social transparency presents a peer-vetted playing field unprecedented in the world of work. We continue to learn from one another, mentor one another, give it to each other straight whether we live in the same town our across the globe — especially about professonal development and career decisions. Inject a little branded entertainment and you’ve potentially got something crazy good on your hands.

Or more precisely, something crazy good on your computer screen. Queue the wildly popular recruiting show called “Top Recruiter, The Competition Miami” reality show. Creator and executive producer Chris LaVoie brought together savvy recruiter pros and pitted them against one another with a variety of talent acquisition tasks, all in the name of helping professionals find promising employment. Mix in HR and recruiting thought-leader judges along with some melodramatic moments, and you’ve got a hit with season 1. (He’s working on season 2 now.)

Listen to the #TChat Radio show

This week on TalentCulture’s #TChat Radio and Twitter #TChat, we’re going to discuss the good and the bad of putting such an important topic under the hyper-reality TV camera lens.

This week’s theme is world of work transparency and branded entertainment. Following are our very special guests:

Chris LaVoie (@TopRecruiterTV) — creator, executive producer and founder of “Top Recruiter, The Competition Miami” reality show, Chris enjoys creating and producing media that creates a fan base buzz in the digital marketing space for human resources and talent acquisition. He has a deep expertise in producing, advertising, marketing, branding, sourcing and social media, and he applies his channel knowledge in attracting the industry. Chris is the founder, as well, of LaVoie Entertainment and iccimedia.

Rayanne Thorn (@Ray_anne) — vice president of communications and branding for Evenbase US, Rayanne is one of the judges from season 1 of “Top Recruiter.”

And here are this week’s questions:

Q1: The level of transparency for job candidates, employees and employers is higher than ever. Good or bad? Why or why not?

Q2: Does the world of work need a reality-based TV show? Why or why not?

Q3: Do we really live in an online peer-vetted playing field? Why or why not?

Q4: Should we film our daily body of work? What other technologies should we use to empower our personal and corporate brands?

Q5: What should business leaders do to better improve the recruiting process and the candidate experience?

So please tune in. #TChat Radio is Tuesday Feb. 26 at 7:30pm ET / 4:30pm PT, when yours truly (@MeghanMBiro) and Kevin W. Grossman (@KevinWGrossman) will chat it up with Chris. Then, it’s on to the Twitter stream for our weekly #TChat Twitter conversation Wednesday, Feb. 27, from 7-8 pm ET, when Rayanne will guest moderate. We look forward to your tweets. Join us!

When Brands & Humans Meet: #TChat Video

February 16, 2013/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

EDITOR’S NOTE: Want to read the RECAP of this week’s events? See #TChat Recap: Face-to-Face with Brand Humanization

The more we use social media, the more our personal interactions are crossing over into the workplace. While it makes sense to be authentic in the digital realm, this new level of transparency can touch some major pain points in your corporate culture, and challenge processes that don’t accommodate this new type of open communication.

What does it all mean for organizations as well as individuals? These are the issues we’ll address this week in the TalentCulture community.

To kick-off the conversation, I spoke with Jamie Notter, co-author of the book, Humanize (How People-Centric Organizations Succeed in a Social World). Jamie will be a featured guest on #TChat Radio, Tuesday Feb 19 at 7:30pmET, and he’ll join #TChat Twitter Chat as a moderator on Wednesday Feb 20, at 7pm ET.

Here’s a quick look at how Jamie defines brand humanization – and why he feels it’s important for everyone to understand it better:

: Click to watch “Humanize” co-author Jamie Notter in this #TChat sneak peek interview

Feeling the Freelance Love in Today's Workplace: #TChat Recap

February 6, 2013/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

I am so over the global economic upheaval. Aren’t you?

Apparently, so are employers who’ve had to make ruthless staffing choices in order to survive. Repeated layoffs, reduced benefits and increased workloads. It hasn’t been pretty. But necessity is the mother of invention. And to “make it work” along the way, business has embraced an unprecedented shift toward contingent labor. In fact, an estimated 40% of the U.S. workforce now operates on a part-time or contract basis.

Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

But what does it all mean for the future of work? Well, this free-agent shift cuts both ways. Although the allure of a variable-cost workforce may seem sexy for an organization’s bottom line, too much of a good thing has its consequences. Recently, while the romance between employers and freelance talent has flourished, relationships with employees have eroded.

And engagement isn’t the only weak link in the talent chain. According to research by Bersin By Deloitte, organizations will struggle to find, develop and retain the skilled talent they need to expand in the years ahead. Ouch. So where is the love?

A New Employment Relationship Normal

This week, the TalentCulture community looked at issues and opportunities in this new era of hired guns. Our goal was to generate ideas for a more sustainable talent model – one built on relationships and focused on value, competence, trust and mutual respect – regardless of cost or contractual requirements.

Two forward-thinking talent strategists helped guide our interaction:

Greta Roberts, CEO at Talent Analytics Corp., a company that uses data insights to link raw talent with business performance, and

Dawn Rasmussen, founder of career management advisory firm, Pathfinder Writing and Careers, and author of the new book, “Forget Job Security: Build Your Marketability.”

Below are highlights and links to resources that we hope you’ll find helpful. If you know of related articles, or want to share ideas of your own, feel free to add a comment below, or include the #TChat hashtag to your posts on Twitter. The TalentCulture channel is always open, so don’t be shy!

#TChat Week-in-Review

SUN 2/3
TalentCulture Founder, Meghan M. Biro framed the issue in her Forbes.com post: Free Agent Nation Romance: The Good, The Bad and the Unknown

MON 2/4
Our #TChat preview post outlined the week’s core theme and questions: Is The Employment Romance Really Over?

G+ Hangout Video: Career strategist Dawn Rasmussen briefly explains why professionals should continuously market themselves, regardless of their job status.

TUE 2/5
#TChat Radio Show: Dawn joined Greta Roberts, and radio hosts Kevin W. Grossman and Meghan M. Biro, to discuss the upside and downside of today’s talent acquisition and retention realities.

WED 2/6
#TChat Twitter: Participants from around the @TalentCulture community gathered around the #TChat Twitter stream to share their expertise, experiences and opinions about the changing shape of today’s workforce, and the consequences for business and individuals.

NOTE: To see highlights from yesterday’s #TChat Twitter forum, be sure to watch the Storify slideshow at the end of this post.

Closing Notes & Highlights Slideshow

SPECIAL THANKS: Another shout out to Dawn Rasmussen and Greta Roberts for contributing your time and expertise to TalentCulture events this week! Your insights challenge us all to think more carefully about both sides of the employment equation.

NOTE TO BLOGGERS: Did this week’s events inspire you to write about contingency workforce trends or other workplace 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.

NEW: We’ve expanded to LinkedIn! If you like participating in groups we invite you to join us there anytime at TalentCulture – World of Work.

WHAT’S AHEAD: Next week – we’ll look further into the realities of today’s work world, as we talk about why and how companies should focus more carefully on recruiting from the nation’s unemployed talent pool. Don’t miss “The Business Case for Bridging the Unemployment Gap” on #TChat Radio, Tuesday, Feb 12, at 7:30pm ET and on #TChat Twitter Wednesday, Feb. 13, at 7pm ET. Look for details next Monday via @TalentCulture and #TChat.

Until then – we’ll see you on the stream!

Image Credit: Stock.xchng

#TChat INSIGHTS Slide Show: “Employment Romance is Over. Now What?”

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Is the Employment Romance Really Over? #TChat Preview

February 4, 2013/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

EDITOR’S NOTE: Want to read the RECAP of this week’s events? Read “#TChat Recap: Feeling the Freelance Love in Today’s Workplace”

You know the story. Once upon a time, companies courted new talent with the promise of a lifelong relationship. “Work” meant employment and job security for years, if not decades. But the romance has died, for better or worse. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an estimated 40 percent of all U.S. workers currently operate on a part-time or contract basis. And, as Bersin by Deloitte says:

The contingent workforce is now a permanent fixture, so many elements of talent management, recruiting and engagement are being extended to these mobile ‘free agents.’

Really? Just how well are companies rising to the occasion in this highly scalable new world order they’ve created? Are contractors still considered second-class citizens in most corporate settings? What’s being done by leading-edge companies to ensure that contingent workers fit into the culture and engage with the organization? Without funding from hiring companies for professional development, is the future of the contingent workforce at risk? And what does this mean for business innovation and competitiveness, overall?

Here are the questions we’re asking at TalentCulture World of Work events this week:

Q1: Do all these shifts in the employee-employer relationship mean they’ve broken up for good? Why?

Q2: Do you see a world of work where the employee & employer ever get back together, like it used to be? Why?

Q3: Contractors & part-timers are “pan-opportunists.” Is this what they want? Does it help or hinder innovation?

Q4: Social media leads employees & contractors into other orgs’ arms. How can leaders use it to foster fidelity?

Q5: What are some specific strategies for employers to rekindle the romance with their employees?

Click on the image to see the preview at #TChat Radio and, on the day of the show, to listen and participate.

Just a reminder — we do the #TChat dance twice every week now. So, join us first on Tuesday, Feb. 5, for #TChat Radio from 7:30pm ET / 4:30pm PT. Then, on Wednesday, Feb. 6 — from 7-8 pm ET (6-7pm CT, 5-6pm MT, 4-5pm PT, or wherever you are) — we’ll revisit the employment romance, on #TChat Twitter.

Joining us as guests for both the chat and radio show will be Greta Roberts (@gretaroberts), CEO at Talent Analytics Corp. — a company using analytics to link raw talent with business performance — and Dawn Rasmussen (@dawnrasmussen), founder of Pathfinder Writing and Careers, a boutique resume writing and career management company.

It’s a Valentine’s Month–themed #TChat this week, so let’s check in for some World of Work relationship counseling. Is the employment romance really, truly over? Or can the employer and employee — full-time, former, part-time, contractor or other — really still be friends?

Image Credit: Stock.xchng

Employing Our Veterans: #TChat Preview

November 5, 2012/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

The long-term unemployed get airtime and programs to help them retrain and find new career paths. Millennials looking for the first big job, and a way to pay school loans, draw lots of attention. But we could probably spend much more time, as a society, talking about military veterans and the challenges they face reentering the civilian workforce.

Vets have tremendously strong skill sets. Depending upon their service, they may have skills such as people management, logistics, mechanical engineering, IT, aircraft repair, med tech, civil engineering/construction, language arts and more. Most importantly, they understand teamwork and the practical, rather than theoretical, value of collaboration. So why is it so hard for them to come home to civilian jobs?

The country faces huge cuts in its defense budget. The government is trying hard to wind down one war, and equally hard to avoid formal engagement on other fronts. Caught in the middle are tens of thousands of servicemen and women — and their families — who may need a slot in a shaky civilian economy. What can we do to help them? How can we best manage them? What skills do we, as leaders and HR people, need to refresh or acquire to accommodate our veterans in today’s world of work?

These are tough questions, practical and pressing concerns. And we’re going to take them on this week on #TChat. Here are a few questions to guide our discussion:

Q1: US legislation is creating skill certifications for military experience. What else could be done?
Q2: What management styles work best when leading an employee with military experience?
Q3: What’s the biggest challenge for veterans in the civilian world of work?
Q4: Does long-term loyalty help or hinder the career of a veteran in today’s workplace?
Q5: How can HR/recruiting tech help internally assess and translate veteran assets to employers?

You may not know anyone who served in a war, and you may not know much about the Korean conflict or the Vietnam War. That’s OK. Just do some research — i.e., talk to your parents, uncles, aunts and friends. Then, join us for a very special #TChat this Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 7-8pm ET (6-7pm CT, 5-6pm MT, 4-5pm PT, or wherever you are).

We’re not afraid to take on difficult topics, and we know you aren’t either. Our guest moderator this week is Brenden “Bo” Wright (@BrendenMWright), director of information technology recruiting at Laureate Education and, as a veteran marine, a former nuclear, biological and chemical defense specialist. Yours truly (@MeghanMBiro) and the rest of the #TChat gang will be there, too. We look forward to Brenden’s thoughts and yours. Tweet with us!

Image Credit: Pixabay

Employee Engagement or Lack Thereof? #TChat Preview

October 16, 2012/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

One thing it know is true about the world of work: All business leaders say they want to engage with employees. They know it’s a way to retain talent, hold off attrition, boost productivity and support job satisfaction. However, they don’t know why engagement really matters, because they don’t know really what engagement is.

Most leaders sense that engagement is a soft skill – a skill they don’t have. You’d think that leaders in HR and other disciplines would come with soft skills built into their DNA, but that’s not the case. Many people come to HR from the risk–compliance management spectrum; not all have equal strengths, intuition or training in psychology, motivational leadership or cognitive sciences to count mindfulness as a core skill. Yet this soft skill set is needed to be an expert in employee engagement.

When you’re a direct report—even dotted line—to executive management, you’re dealing with spreadsheets, numbers, percentages and formulas. Engagement is an abstract notion and tough to measure using a formula or process analysis. It’s fine to be analytical: I am; most introverts are. But you also must have antennae up all the time for the nuances of human interchange: the averted glance, the nervous tic, the anxious re-arrangement of articles on a desk, the bold stare with irregular blinks, the pinking of complexion that reveal what a person is really feeling, really thinking. All are cues that tell a state of mind, and all tells for engagement or lack thereof.

This week on #TChat Twitter we’re going to examine employee engagement—i.e., the lack of it, the skills needed for it, the mindful state required to understand the very notion of it. It’s a controversial topic. Some of us are data-driven, and some are emotion-driven. But we all need to discuss, and attempt to understand, what drives employee engagement. So here are this week’s questions:

Q1: We hear so much about lack of employee engagement, but what exactly is “engagement” and why?

Q2: Is it simply toxic leadership that affects culture and engagement, or more than that?

Q3: Are stretch assignments and risk-taking important to employee engagement? Why or why not?

Q4: What can employees do to improve their own mindful engagement investment? What about leaders?

Q5: How can technology facilitate and improve employee engagement? How can it hurt?

Are your pumpkins out on the front step yet? Please join us Wednesday, Oct. 17, from 7-8pm ET (6-7pm CT, 5-6pm MT, 4-5pm PT, or wherever you are) to explore employee engagement—the roles that leaders and employees alike must fill, and those that employers must be responsible for, as organizations. Peppering our conversation will be discussion of the roles that new (and old) technologies play, as well, in facilitating employee engagement.

I will moderate (look for me @MeghanMBiro). Joining us will be Kevin W. Grossman (@KevinWGrossman), the rest of the #TChat gang and, most importantly, you. Please bring your thoughts, tips and guidance to the show. Perhaps we can, together, learn a bit more about how to foster employee engagement. It’s a worthy topic.

Image credit: Aleksandra P./GiniMiniGi

Leaders With & Without Character: #TChat Preview

October 1, 2012/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

EDITOR’S NOTE: Want to read the RECAP of this week’s events? See #TChat Recap: Leadership, Visible From the Inside Out

It’s a party! At least it’s a virtual party for TalentCulture World of Work. I’m very excited to announce the arrival of a new book from The Lead Change Group, “The Character-Based Leader,” with a chapter from yours truly (@MeghanMBiro) and more than 20 other authors.

The book looks at characteristics of leadership, running the gamut from the ability to communicate, to humility and trust, with lots of stops in between. It’s a huge accomplishment and a group effort, and it inspired us here at TalentCulture to look at the notion of character for this week’s #TChat.

What makes a leader? Is leadership an innate quality or a learned skill? Plenty of business schools argue for the latter. You could argue both positions, really, and you could also say that what makes a leader is a combination of both those ingredients, with different combinations apparent in different leaders. For many of us, however, the ability to lead is innate, in a person’s bones.

We all know people who lead because they crave power. Others were in the right place at the right time with the right skill set, and they’re now leaders. It’s a long shot that either group contains many character-based leaders, those people of integrity, humility, emotional intelligence and energy who make leadership look easy. Yet leadership isn’t easy; it takes character, will, energy and commitment, and anyone who’s done time in corporate America recognizes the importance of character in leaders and colleagues.

So here are our questions for this week’s #TChat Twitter conversation:

Q1: Some draw power from their position. Are they effective? Have expectations around positional leaders changed? #TChat

Q2: Does the character of an org’s leaders & staff matter to the bottom line? #TChat

Q3: What might character look like in the actions of positional leaders vs. other leaders vs. other employees? #TChat

Q4. How can leaders nurture & reward character in staff & other leaders & thus have a positive impact? #TChat

Q5: How does good character underpin an org’s brand & affect frontline leaders & staff in treating customers? #TChat

How did fall get here so fast? Please join us on Wednesday, Oct. 3, from 7-8pm ET (6-7pm CT, 4-5pm PT, or wherever you are) to discuss what makes a character-based leader and how to help those who aren’t as gifted in the area of character to learn the attributes of a good leader.

We hope to see you there. Joining me will be one of my co-authors, Susan Mazza (@SusanMazza), a speaker and coach, as well as founder of Random Acts of Leadership. We’re excited to have Susan co-leading this week’s discussion on Twitter. As usual, Kevin W. Grossman (@KevinWGrossman) will be there, too, along with the rest of the #TChat gang — and you.

Image Credit: Pixabay

A Legacy of Leadership & Learning: #TChat Recap

September 28, 2012/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

“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.

This is an organizational imperative in today’s fluid and highly competitive business environment. What’s more, as technological innovation continues to accelerate, today’s desirable skills are just as quickly becoming outdated.

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.

Several months ago, during a #TChat titled “Why We Are All Generation NOW,” TalentCulture World of Work co-founder Kevin W. Grossman tweeted:

“Learning is doing and doing is knowing. So do.”

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.

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Leaders Young & Old: #TChat Preview

September 24, 2012/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

Here’s a pop quiz: When was the last time you reported to a manager older than yourself? Younger than yourself? The workforce is multi-generational, but unlike 10 or even 20 years ago, age is not the primary determinant of management status. Many organizations are less hierarchical by design; matrix management may have fallen out of favor as a leadership style, but in many workplaces it’s the de facto organizational structure.

From an HR or leadership point of view it’s clear talent shouldn’t be chosen by age, but for raw ability, skills and vision. Leaders must combine strategic understanding of the business’s goals with tactical ability to execute to plan. They need soft skills too — lots of capable individuals don’t have what it takes to lead.

So we’re puzzling here at TalentCulture World of Work about multi-generational workforces, why (or if) it’s problematic for older workers to be led by the younger ones (because they say “like” every other word, perhaps?), and how to achieve cultural fit when managers are younger than their staffs.

The term “reverse mentoring” has come up, but we’re curious what the crowd thinks, so we’re throwing it open to our #TChat tribe to help us find clarity. We’re also wondering if there’s technology out there that may help smooth out the younger manager–older worker dynamic. Here are a few of the questions we’ll be discussing this week:

Q1: Used to be, age was synchronous with seniority & mgmt. How has the multi-generational workforce changed that?

Q2: Does leadership come when experience meets the right context of strategy, tactics & soft skills? Why or not?

Q3: Why is it so hard for older workers to be led by younger ones beyond the usual cliches?

Q4: What can orgs do better to assess & execute cultural fit as well as employee & leadership development?

Q5: What technologies can help facilitate the older employee/younger manager dynamic and how?

Please join us Wednesday night, Sept. 26, 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. We’re open to your thoughts on reverse mentoring, culture and multi-generational workforces, so bring your thoughts (in 120-character blocks) to this week’s TalentCulture #TChat.

We’re fortunate to have guest moderator Mark Babbitt (@YouTernMark) and the team at YouTern (@YouTern), where Mark is CEO and founder, lending their wisdom this week as we all explore reverse mentoring, culture and the many roles workers will fill as they progress through life.

Image Credit: Stock.xchng

$1 Trillion of Social Media: #TChat Preview

September 17, 2012/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

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!

Image Credit: Pixabay

A Lifetime of Social Learning Culture: #TChat Preview

September 11, 2012/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

At TalentCulture World of Work we love all things culture and all things social, talent, leadership and learning. Imagine my excitement when the notion popped up to combine all three ideas: social, learning, and culture. The trifecta. Talent. Culture. Social Learning. Very cool. It’s nirvana for the geeky side of me.

I’ve been digging in on the #TChat social channel lately about social media – how it’s changing businesses and changing people’s relationships to jobs, family, and friends. It’s also changing the relationship between leaders and employees.

It’s no longer sufficient for leaders to tell employees what to do – now they need to provide context, both business and social. The trick is learning how to infuse social into your culture, and into how you train and teach employees – not just to perform jobs or tasks, but how to think in a way that benefits themselves, clients and the business.

Fast-forward to this week’s #TChat topic: how to build learning cultures for the workplace and social community, relying on social tools and concepts. This week’s questions should stir healthy debate:

Q1 What are the top attributes of a learning culture?

Q2 How can leaders teach employees to learn how to learn?

Q3 How can an organization leverage informal social learning opportunities?

Q4 Why do learning cultures create competitive advantage?

Q5 How do you know whether or not an organization’s culture is conducive to learning?

Social people interested in culture and learning, UNITE. Join us Wednesday night, September 12 th from 7-8 pm ET (4-5 pm PT) to question the value of formal learning, explore the limits of informal learning, and plumb the depths of social learning. Bring your culture-vulture point of view, because learning doesn’t happen in a void – it happens in a learning culture.

We’ll discuss learning – formal, informal and social learning – and provide recommendations for leaders and HR practitioners trying to chart the best path for their organizations and communities. No blue book required – just a Twitter handle and some ideas. We look forward to chatting!

A dear friend of our community and social learner and teacher Joe Sanchez @sanchezjb will be our guest moderator this week. Here’s his timely blog post:

We’re happy and honored to have Joe leading the #TChat tweets on Wednesday from 7-8pm ET (6-7pm CT, 4-5pm PT, or wherever you are), to talk shop with us.

Social Learning IS The heart and Soul of the TalentCulture Community!

Look for all of us, on the #TChat stream!

Image Credit: Stock.xchng

Employer and Personal Brands Tango: #TChat Preview

August 28, 2012/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

Companies spend a huge chunk of time, marketing investment and human capital in building a brand. For people building personal brands the investment ratios might be different, but for both employer and individual, brand is an asset, a form of intellectual capital. In the HR, talent management and leadership realm we often are first to see fault lines emerging between employers and employees, and what’s becoming apparent is the possibility for conflict between employer and personal brands.

Before it happens — before employers feel cheated by employees building personal brands on the clock, before employers lose followers to employees who feel their brand is more important than the company’s, and before employees feel coerced into the role of brand advocate — it’s time to have an adult discussion about how to create an environment where employer and personal brands can coexist and complement each other.

This week, the TalentCulture community will explore the boundaries separating and areas of overlap between employer and personal brands. We’ll review the essence of employer brand and propose best–practices for promoting and protecting employer brands. As well, we’ll look at how technology has changed the landscape for employee and employer brands alike.

I often don’t think it’s hard to determine when employer brand trumps personal brand, but for some it’s an open question, so we’ll add that to the discussion. My goal is to unearth insight into how personal and employer brands can coexist to mutual benefit. It’s possible, too, that a toxic workplace may be revealed by employees active in social media, so we’ll discuss strategies for identifying bad vibes and containing the damage (and learning from the experience.)

Let’s build our brands! It’s fun.

Here are this week’s questions for the #TChat forum:

Q1: What is the essence of an employer brand?

Q2: How have innovations in technologies altered employees’ relationships with their employers’ brands?

Q3: Which needs the other more, employee personal brands or the employer brand? Why?

Q4: What does it look like when employers’ brands exist dynamically & positively with employees’ personal brands?

Q5: How can leadership right an employer brand when employees’ personal brands reveal a toxic workplace culture?

Susan Strayer, SPHR (@SusanStrayer), will be our guest moderator this week. That’s appropriate and timely: At ERE Expo 2012 Fall, Susan will deliver a presentation on how employees’ personal brands can strengthen the employer brand. Founder of Exaqueo, where she helps start-up and high-growth organizations sort through their employer brands and talent strategies, Susan is a top 100 influencer in HR.

We’re happy and honored to have Susan leading the #TChat tweets on Wednesday, Aug. 29, from 7-8pm ET (6-7pm CT, 4-5pm PT, or wherever you are), to talk shop with us about employer brands and personal brands doing the tango.

Look for all of us, on the #TChat stream: yours truly (@MeghanMBiro) and Kevin W. Grossman (@KevinWGrossman), as well as Sean Charles (@SocialMediaSean), Salima Nathoo (@SocialSalima) and Brent Skinner (@BrentSkinner). We can’t wait for your tweets.

Image Credit: gmarcos1 on Flickr

Painful Formalities of Informal Onboarding: #TChat Preview

August 20, 2012/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

We’re big fans of social media and all things social here at TalentCulture World of Work. We’re also fairly informal as a social community, most comfortable with relaxed interchanges and a bit put off by super-formal processes at times.

But I’ve noticed something interesting of late in the social world — the very informality of social media is creating a new formality in the workplace, one that’s actually harder to monitor and manage than conventional interchanges happening in the workplace. How can this be? A good deal of this happens in employee orientation or onboarding, so we decided it would be a great #TChat topic. On the one hand we have loads of research showing people learn best in informal settings. On the other hand, we have companies still pushing process and culture through the employee handbook (although there are some great handbooks out there — tip of the hat to Valve.)

One weird paradox is that social media at once eliminates much of the formality and much of the human touch. And informality isn’t necessarily what the new hire craves; he or she may just want real, live, approachable human beings to deal with. I’m talking about the face-to-face, in-person, in-real-life (IRL) touch.

In real life, a formal setting doesn’t need informality to provide a real, live, approachable human. All the interactive technology and informality that comes with it lacks the human touch. And then, all of a sudden, it feels like all the things we mistakenly correlate necessarily with formalities — clinical, lacking in warmth, thin, superficial. UGH. People hire people – right?

What to do? As leaders how can we shove a handbook at someone and expect the person will pick up the company’s nuanced workplace culture? And who’s responsible for making sure new hires are brought into the workplace culture fold, anyway? Please don’t tell us you’re relying solely on social media, either. As HR turns to more automation, are we at risk of losing the opportunity to acclimate new hires in a systematic, repeatable and personally-meaningful way? I’m worried to be honest. I guess it’s time we talk it through to find some peace.

So many questions, so little time — here are this week’s questions for your consideration:

Q1: Data shows that informal learning is the best way to know, so why do we throw the “employee handbook” at folks?

Q2: How do we embed the behind-the-scenes, impromptu workplace cultural experiences into the onboarding process?

Q3: Who’s responsible for cultural acclimation, training & retention at & beyond formal & informal onboarding & why?

Q4: When does formal onboarding make the most sense & why?

Q5: Much of the hiring administrative processes can be automated today, but how can HR tech promote informal onboarding?

If you are interested in or responsible for leadership, workplace culture, employee onboarding and best practices, we hope you’ll join us at #TChat World of Work on Wednesday night, Aug. 22, from 7-8pm ET (6-7pm CT, 4-5pm PT, or wherever you are) as we explore the balance between “social” workplace onboarding and more formal, classroom-style employee orientation.

Dr. Marla Gottschalk, industrial and organizational psychologist, as well as workplace strategist (@MRGottschalk / The Office Blend), will be our guest moderator. We’ll assess the formalities and informalities of employee onboarding and new-hire orientation and discuss the merits of informal social learning vs. formalized orientation processes. I look forward to chatting with you soon.

Image Credits: UnWelcome Mat via Freaking Craft

Battle Foods Employee Handbook Cover, by John Trainor

Cultures of Trust = Productivity, Retention and Business Growth: #TChat Recap

August 16, 2012/Archives /by Kevin W. Grossman

If you ride in on your white unicorn shooting trust arrows and sprinkling culture glitter, are you the magical Chief Culture Officer?

Probably not — someone will call security or dial 911, and you’ll be hauled away quicker than most of your management colleagues can tell you how poorly you’ve been collaborating and knowledge-sharing, both of which contribute to quality workplace cultures.

And, unfortunately, that means HR folks are the not-so-magical professionals in whom management folks usually place responsibility for cultural onboarding – from recruiting, to hiring. to training, to retaining. And yet, according to a recent study by global business consultants The Hackett Group, 79% of executives were dissatisfied with HR’s collaboration and knowledge-sharing.

That was just one of many criticisms of HR, the best of the worst coming from recruiting colleagues who said their HR leaders were kinda okay, but not really. What surprises me about all of this is that organizations have decimated the people management and development budgets of the past five years, with little or no support being given to the growing number of progressive HR leaders and other executives who actually want to better facilitate cultures of trust, sharing, collaboration and learning (sans the unicorn, arrows and glitter).

Most of us in talent acquisition and management know that culture and trust fuel productivity, retention and unified business growth. And even if you don’t buy the culture line, if I don’t have anything beyond short-term affinity, then productivity will wane quickly, killing business growth.

Think about organizations today — the greater cultural ecosystem of the business is made up of full-time employees, part-time employees, flex-time employees, temporary employees, contractors, vendors, service providers, alumni, new applicants — and let’s not forget the customers. This morning on Facebook my friend Bryan Wempen, from DriveThruHR, wrote:

Just pointing out that social networking is powerful; the two way conversation is happening WITH or without you corporate america. American Airlines did a great job today being in the conversation, very nice. I always try to balance my bitchin’ and compliments about 20/80 if possible. Just kidding….LOL

Kidding aside he then shared the Twitter exchange between himself and American Airlines. Today businesses are big, messy melting pots of talent communities that spill over onto one another constantly — true talent communities in every sense of the words, offering professionals and organizations the ability to connect, communicate and collaborate.

All three activities take place not just around employer brands for the sake of branding and marketing, but also around customer service exchanges, relevant learning and developing opportunities for an organization’s entire cultural ecosystem. The bulk of it helps to elevate the 21st-century value of long-tail engagement, learning and all different kinds of growth — again, with cultures of trust fueling productivity, retention and unified business growth.

Let’s give back the tools, resources, the quivers of arrows and, yes, the glitter to the Chief Culture Officers, HR, executive management and anybody and everybody who executes on cultures of trust and fuels team-slash-work learning and loyalty. Again, thank you, Matt Monge, for your guest moderation of this important topic on #TChat. Already, we can barely wait for next week’s #TChat World of Work. Check out the slideshow below of your tweets from yesterday. Did you miss the preview? Go here.

Image Credit: Stock.xchng

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Chief Culture Officer, Onboarding & Beyond: #TChat Preview

August 13, 2012/Archives /by Meghan M. Biro

At recent HR and leadership conferences and chats with colleagues, I’ve been hearing a lot about an emerging trend: Companies are hiring Chief Culture Officers. No, the CCO is not always interchangeable with the Vice President of Human Resources. It’s not as simple as it seems.

The CCO is on the leading edge of employee engagement. He’s in charge of onboarding, and beyond. And I mean, beyond. She might be part of the VP of HR’s peer group, or she might be in the C-Suite. It’s pretty fluid right now, and our TalentCulture community will discuss the Chief Culture Officer’s many permutations during this week’s #TChat.

Some leaders believe changing the nature of a company’s culture requires a revolution, a movement. Some believe (as do I) that culture springs from trust and communication. And others think it takes an ecosystem of management, business partners and executive leadership. Still others believe line managers and rank-and-file employees should have a say. What isn’t in debate is the need, now that the job market seems to be at a tipping point, for a dose of company culture-building. A giant dose of workplace and people happy!

Who is the Chief Culture Officer? Is it you, or does it require someone of a different temperament? To whom should the CCO report? Should the VP of HR report to the CCO? So many angles, and we only have an hour to discuss them. Here are this week’s questions:

Q1: What is a Chief Culture Officer? Do they exist? If so, what is their role & why?

Q2: How should the CCO facilitate and maintain employee connections, communications & collaborations from day 1?

Q3: Cultural ecosystems of biz = employees, contractors, vendors, service providers, alumni, new applicants. T or F?

Q4: Who should the CCO report to & why? Who should report to them?

Q5: What social HR technologies should the CCO implement to their cultural ecosystems & why?

If you feel the need for a little culture in the workplace, please join us at #TChat Twitter Wednesday night, Aug. 15, from 7-8pm ET (6-7pm CT, 4-5pm PT, or wherever you are), to talk about the emerging role of the CCO.

Matt Monge (@MattMonge, themojocompany.com) will be our guest moderator. Joining him will be yours truly (@MeghanMBiro) and Kevin W. Grossman (@KevinWGrossman), as well as Sean Charles (@SocialMediaSean), Salima Nathoo (@SocialSalima) and Brent Skinner (@BrentSkinner). We look look forward to looking at trust, culture, ecosystems and executive reporting structures with you, this week. It’s a controversial topic, so bring your opinions and be ready back them up with examples and facts.

See you there!

Image credit: Trust, by vagawi

HR Leadership Can Make All the Difference: #TChat Recap

August 2, 2012/Archives /by Kevin W. Grossman

We wish that the world defined us only by our successes, but the reality is we define ourselves continually by our failures. We build monuments to greatness like statues and skyscrapers and sweeping internal processes, while the foundations of each are filled with poor decisions, inefficient planning, half-hearted executions and the shell casings of emotional gunfire.

In fact, we long to point out where the bodies lay lifeless, and we remain excited even after they’re removed. We want to feel better about our failures, but because societal and religious mores force those feelings to be repressed, the feelings seep out and stain like sweat rings on a hot day. Then we cover our eyes quickly as if being forced to look into that same hot sun.

Imagine dealing with this everyday, throughout the entire lifespan of each and every employee. Shatter the glass half empty at your feet and you’ve got wet shards of different sizes, from full-time to part-time to flex-time to contractor. Human resource professionals have to manage all this mess as well as facilitate and mediate the supervisors in between. It’s no wonder we’ve got so many rules and regulations around people management.

Maybe if we explored what it means to be more human on the HR job and how that pays dividends in small business and the enterprise we’d come closer to reconciling the ratio of failure to success. Maybe if we took a more holistic and transparent approach to performance management instead of transactional silos of shame we’d come a lot closer to growth Nirvana, both personally and professionally.

Thankfully that’s the way it begins — change — the movement from one state to another, from a static status quo state to a hopefully more progressive and productive state. Like moving from flat two dimensions to a vibrant three. The change begins in small groups, the sharing of new knowledge of what can be done that hasn’t been done before and the return of that “change” investment. The new knowledge fills the room, some of it permeating each exposed pore, entering the bloodstream and flooding our brains with possibility.

The possibility that our failures truly define our success and understanding the why of it all — that’s where HR can truly make a difference today: to know the business, staff the business, teach the business and grow the business, all predicated on managing the messy yet mingled bad with the good.

Join us for our first-ever World of Work live #TChat Session at the 13th Annual Illinois HR Conference & Exposition, one of the many HR Super Social Hero events that occur throughout the year. We want to personally thank Dave Ryan (@DaveTheHRCzar), Susan Avello (@SusanAvello), Donna Rogers (@DonnaRogersHR), John Jorgensen (@jkjhr), and many, many other friends who have always supported our efforts to make the World of Work more social. We certainly like hanging out with our friends in the trenches, and it all starts with #ILSHRM coming up next week, on Aug. 5-7, 2012. Our live session will be Monday, Aug. 6, from 5-6 pm CST.

In the meantime, did you miss this week’s preview? Go here, and be on the watch for more tweets and slideshows from us. You Rock!

Image credit: Sears Tower, by Marcin Wichary

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