2014 HRPS Global Conference Recap: Empower Your Talent with “Purpose”

The changing economy is rapidly altering how organizations view talent. Challenges such as the impending retirement cliff, an increasing skills gap and talent shortages, as well as the persistent difficulty of retaining top employees—who are creating havoc across all companies and industries. These challenges demand the status quo for talent acquisition and talent management strategies be modernized, updated and transformed in an effort for to stay competitive. These challenges call for innovation.

At the 2014 HRPS Global Conference held in La Jolla, California, innovation and “purpose” were primary focuses. Senior Human Resources (HR) executives from 13 different countries gathered to explore how organizations can tackle their challenges head on with effective talent acquisition and talent management; keynote speakers addressed important strategies and initiatives, and panel discussions were held to inspire and facilitate thought leadership around the importance of resetting the corporate approach to now involve talent.

Aaron Hurst quote

Specifically, leaders in attendance agreed: Achieving competitive advantage today requires empowering your workforce, leveraging the data available to make key talent management decisions, and aligning a strategic workforce plan with future talent and business goals.

Employee engagement was also a key focus. Not merely creating engagement, but sustaining it every day. This requires reevaluating engagement strategies. Aaron Hurst, author of The Purpose Economy, emphasized that employees are motivated by purpose. As Aaron explains, this new economic era demands connecting people to their purpose: “It’s an economy where value lies in establishing purpose for employees and customers—through serving needs greater than their own, enabling personal growth and building community.”

The difficult part, however, is that each individual within an organization may be serving a different purpose. Some employees may find purpose in the form of driving company growth and improving its market share. Others may look to help the company solve challenges within the consumer community. The list of individual motivations can be countless, but it’s the ambiguity of purpose that can harm the workforce’s well-being. Gone are the days an employee can be counted as a number yet remain engaged and inspired in his/her work. Today, retention and productivity, even employer brand and recruitment marketing hinge on employee engagement and purpose—defining purpose for every job, every function and every employee.

A lack of purpose is a major reason top employees choose to leave their current organization. In fact, Millennials will make up 75% of the global workforce by 2025. Today, we’ve already reached 36%. This generation will soon dominate the global workforce, yet many organizations are already struggling to connect, engage and retain the best talent. The Millennial generation believes in itself—its intelligence, contribution potential and career development—and a lack of clarity or dedication to purpose can drastically harm retention, engagement, brand and performance. Employees want to know who and what they’re fighting for each day. Define their purpose, help them achieve their personal goals, individual professional goals, and company-wide goals, and empower them.

Build a culture around empowerment by listening to each employee as they explain what truly matters to them. Strategic, purpose-driven talent management has the capability to revolutionize existing culture, while purpose-driven talent acquisition can build employment brand into an asset that fundamentally inspires empowerment and attracts prospective employees. A large undertaking to be sure, but the value is far-reaching and enduring.

Post contributed by Jake Ebenhoch, Pinstripe & Ochre House Business Development Director. Connect with me on LinkedIn.


Link to original post

Leave a Reply