On October 3, Chicago SHRM hosted its bi-annual Full Day Conference themed “The Changing Workforce: Strategic Talent Management for the Next Generation.” This networking and educational event was attended by over 100 HR professionals, many of whom focus on talent acquisition. Representing TalentRISE, I facilitated a panel discussion on the topic of “Innovation In the Use of Technology to Capture the Hearts and Minds of Top Talent.” Panelists Kristy Nittskoff of Talent Savvy, Jennifer Marszalek of Havas Global, Jim Conti of SproutSocial and Lindsay Stanton of Digi-Me all did a fantastic job. They each related several real life examples gained from their experiences to illustrate how technology plays an evolving role in the entire recruitment and HR process, from talent sourcing through engagement, retention and onboarding.
For me personally, one of the most compelling presentations at the conference, and one I hope will influence long term thinking about recruitment (as well as other aspects of employee engagement beyond the first day), was by Arthur Woods of Imperative. As a former Google employee, he studies what makes some people outperform others at work. His answer? Purpose. According to him, “Purpose-Oriented people have a psychological orientation towards work whereby they see it as a source of self-fulfillment and serving others…employees who believe work is about purpose outperform their colleagues by every measure – they are more likely to be in leadership roles, advocate for their company, have longer tenure, build stronger work relationships, and adapt to change more easily.” In a “Workforce Purpose Study” Woods conducted of 6,333 employed adults, he found that 28% claimed to be purpose-driven in their work and that purpose-oriented workers reported staying in their jobs 14% longer than non-purpose motivated employees. These data points were strongly supported by a similar Linkedin study which found that 41% of employed participants were purpose-driven at work, and those same employees reported 30% higher performance ratings and were 47% more likely to become brand ambassadors/promoters of their employers brand and services. For more, go here. Arthur’s message is truly inspirational.
About the Author
Carl Kutsmode has over 20 years expertise in talent acquisition transformation — assessing and optimizing corporate recruiting capabilities for greater efficiency and performance.