The Talent Economy

As leaders we make decisions every day that affect people on the teams we lead, our company, customers, and shareholders, and the ripple effect of these decisions even impacts the economy.

Sometimes not making a decision has far-reaching impact as well. When the country went into a recession two years ago, where would we be today if leaders (maybe under the influence of or with guidance from Congress) had taken 20% pay cuts across the board in their organizations with people shifting to a four day work week?

I think everyone in the Talent Acquisition field would like to believe they are at the top of the food chain, in other words, a shark when it comes to finding and hiring top talent. The question is — whether you're controlling the waters of your own industry or if you are in a different ocean all together — how do you actually become a shark?

Success multiplies, never divides...isn't it great to share your success? Though I'm on vacation this week, a dozen HCI members, whom I met in Chicago at our Engagement and Retention conference, share s'more successful practices in their companies to engage, collaborate with and retain top talent.

Murals develop community.  Opportunities develop employees.

I live in the Midwest. The land of hills, farms, family values, and – if you’ve been paying attention – a 14 day-long heat advisory and 90+ temperatures. Unfortunately, 14 days ago, I was not paying attention, and I will publicly shame myself for that. See, I also live in a 100-year-old house, which is bursting with charm and severely lacking in modern comforts like central air.

Can we all just take a moment and collectively say “FINALLY”? Yesterday we received an email from Mr. Krafts announcing that yes, the NFL lockdown is officially over. For someone like me who has the Patriots schedule on my bulletin board it came as a definite relief that my beloved past time will be happening this year,  and with pre-season games scheduled to start in August, the prior lack of resolution certainly had me feeling stressed out.

Instant, DVD, BluRay?  Facebook users were in an uproar last week over changes Netflix announced in pricing structures.  This follows earlier shifts to align itself more closely to a streaming-only business model.  (The move didn’t bother me much- I’ve had the same DVD out for months- I’ve shifted with them to a streaming-only account.)  While this may result in a handful of lost customer

The Human Capital Institute is growing their Problem-Solving Networks for Senior Executives in eight cities across the U.S.

John Sullivan’s article, How HR Speak Hurts HR, reminds me of a conversation I had with members in an Executive Workgroup recently; these folks were “business bilingual” in the sense that when they were with business leaders they spoke business language and when among HR peers they spoke in talent management terms.

For those of you who don’t “game” or who do but haven’t found this little treasure I’m going to HIGHLY recommend you download it today on your mobile device! Unless of course you don’t want to become a slave to this tiny (pun intended), highly addictive game with a talent management twist.

As we make our final plans for the "Next Generation of Government Summit" event at the JW Marriott in DC on July 28th and 29th, I thought it would be good to share these 5 tips for managing generation Y employees, especially in the private sector. There is still space available for you to send your team members to this great event. Click here for more information or to get them registered: nextgengovt.com

Like jury selection, there is an overall strategy to follow and a goal in mind when hiring new talent.  Employees will contribute to that strategy and spotting the right talent will improve the end business results.

The second day of HCI’s 2011 Engagement & Retention Conference is in full swing! After a smashing keynote by Doug Conant, Chris Raia from Unilever took over. In a presentation based on organizational design and agile workspaces, it was obvious Chris has a passion for his work, and he made a great business case for it.

Look what we got! Commemorative coke bottles! It was great to come back from the morning sessions and our little networking break to find these babies at our tables. All 300 of us attendees were slurping these down as we heard from the dynamic Stacey Valy Panayiotou, VP of Talent Development & Organizational Effectiveness for Coca-Cola Refreshments.

Have you ever made a hiring decision that you later regretted? I’m betting nearly everyone has. Whether it was letting someone go or hiring the wrong individual we’ve all been there. Sometimes the people who you think will be the best fit, who pass all the tests, have the charisma, intellect and background that makes them seem like the perfect fit well, just aren’t.

It’s the last day of the Engagement & Retention conference – I can’t believe how fast it’s all flying by! As we all filed back into the main auditorium this morning, we were greeted by a complimentary copy of the new, best-selling business book – TouchPoints: Creating Powerful Leadership Connections in the Smallest of Moments written by our first keynote of the day, Doug Conant, CEO and President of Campbell Soup. 

Wow! I’ve been flitting around like a hummingbird all day long at HCI’s Engagement & Retention Conference and finally got a chance to rest and enjoy the first panel presentation of the afternoon.

After a delicious lunch and lots of great networking, we’re back together as a group to hear from the first ever Human Capital M-Prize winners: Lisa Hanenberg (VP and OD Consulting Practice Lead at Management Performance International), Joris Luike (Global HR Chief at Atlassian), and Doug Solomon (Chief Technology Officer at IDEO). This panel was moderated by Chris Grams, Community Guide of The MIX (management information exchange) and President of NewKind.

Move Fast and Break Stuff! This is the motto at Facebook. We heard from one of HCI’s favorite practitioners this morning – Stuart Crabb, head of L&D at Facebook. We had him talk at the Human Capital Summit earlier this year in Atlanta, and we knew immediately that we needed to hear more!

We’re here in beautiful Chicago’s Navy Pier! The sun is shining, the water is sparkling, and we’ve got over 300 attendees packed into this year’s Engagement & Retention conference. Folks, there aren’t any open seats!