Not a subscriber? Subscribe Here  

Sponsor an Issue of Talent Edge Weekly

Welcome to this week’s issue of Talent Edge Weekly—bringing together insights about work, the workplace, and the workforce from various sources.

A shout-out to Abigail Toner, Senior Director, Organization and Talent Development, Bohler, for referring new subscribers to Talent Edge Weekly. Thank you, Abigail, for your support of this newsletter!

You can show your support of Talent Edge Weekly by recommending it to your colleagues and network using your personal referral link to earn rewards.

Your personal link is https://talentedgeweekly.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER.

Just simply copy and paste your link when sharing it with others, either in email or social media. You can also click the Referral Hub button below to copy your link, view the rewards, and see any referrals you've made!

You currently have 0 referral(s), only 1 away from receiving a Shout out in the newsletter!

If you are not subscribed to Talent Edge Weekly and want to receive this FREE newsletter every Sunday, 6 PM EST, enter your email below.

Have a great week, and I look forward to sharing more ideas in next week’s Edge!

Brian 

Brian Heger is an internal human resources practitioner with a Fortune 150 organization and has responsibilities for Strategic Talent and Workforce Planning. You can connect with Brian on Linkedin, Twitter, and brianheger.com

THIS WEEK'S CONTENT

Below is a glance at this week's issue. My detailed summaries of these resources are in the section after this one.

And don't forget to check out the 2023 Job Cuts and Layoff Tracker.

Want to know which Chief HR Officers are being hired, promoted, and resigning? If so, join CHROs on the Go—the easiest and most convenient way to stay “in the know” about movement in and out of the CHRO role. LEARN MORE

THIS WEEK'S EDGE

Putting Skills First: A Framework for Action | World Economic Forum and PwC

This new 30-page paper presents a framework for implementing a skills-first approach within an organization. A “skills-first” approach focuses on an individual’s skills and competencies rather than their degrees, job histories, or job titles when it comes to attracting, hiring, developing, and redeploying talent. The framework comprises two main areas: 1) Key enablers: These are tools and innovations that facilitate the adoption of skills-first practices more efficiently. Examples include fostering a skills-first culture, implementing related policies and mindsets, and adopting a common skills language. 2) Key actions: These are practical, evidence-informed steps to implement skills-first practices. This section is supported by case studies from Unilever (e.g., creating the foundations for establishing a successful skills-first culture), HSBC (e.g., mapping skills to work tasks using a new skills hub), and Siemens (e.g., linking organizational skills mapping to personalized learning opportunities), among others. One finding shows that it typically takes 24 to 36 months to achieve stakeholder buy-in, make necessary investments, and secure technology partners for a skills-first culture to take hold. However, focusing on the enablers can expedite this process. The insights also suggest that regardless of the skills taxonomy chosen by an organization, there are three essential qualities of a skills taxonomy: 1) dynamism (reflecting the rapidly changing labor market), 2) customizability (tailored to specific industries), and 3) granularity (providing detailed exploration of specific skills and skill adjacencies). Other ideas are discussed.

Generative AI: Questions CHROs Should Ask | The Conference Board

Generative AI—a powerful branch of artificial intelligence that creates new content using trained data—continues to revolutionize the HR function and its impact on workers and the workplace. However, its implementation brings forth several risks that must be recognized and addressed to ensure responsible and ethical usage. This new paper presents 35 questions that Chief HR Officers and their teams can consider while helping to establish guidelines for utilizing generative AI in their organizations. Sample questions related to organizational adoption and policy include: a) Where and under what circumstances will generative AI be utilized within the organization? b) Do we possess the necessary expertise to harness this new technology? How quickly can we acquire the talent required through recruitment, training, or outsourcing? If such expertise is lacking, what changes should be implemented? c) How can we ensure human oversight of AI-generated content and decisions? Will managers have the authority to override suggestions generated by AI/generative AI? If so, who will be responsible for creating, communicating, and enforcing these guidelines? Regarding the implications for the HR function, sample questions include: a) What level of investment is necessary to adapt, upgrade, or replace current HR systems and infrastructure? b) What local, state, or federal laws exist that prohibit the utilization of “automated employment decision tools”? c) What impact do privacy and data exposure have on individual employees? The answers to these and other questions can help HR leaders and their teams critically evaluate the multi-faceted components of AI in the workplace—increasing the likelihood of tapping its potential while mitigating risks.

10 Use Cases for AI in HR and One Risk and Recommendation For Each | Brian Heger

In a recent Twitter thread, I wrote about AI in HR, highlighting 10 use cases. To make these insights easily accessible, I’ve compiled the tweets into a PDF, which I wanted to share with you. In this PDF, you’ll find a brief statement of each use case, an associated risk, and a practical recommendation for mitigating that risk. Each tweet serves as a springboard for your own exploration, encouraging you to think through these areas and determine your next steps. To make this process easier for you, each use case page has an editable text box you can use to document your ideas. One example is Employee Onboarding. This use case entails automating administrative tasks and providing personalized training materials. However, a potential risk is that the lack of human interaction and support may lead to decreased employee engagement and connection. To address this risk, organizations can blend AI-driven onboarding with human touchpoints to ensure a well-rounded experience. Another example is Employee Engagement. With AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants, real-time support for employees becomes possible. Yet, a potential risk lies in the lack of empathy and personalization in AI interactions. Incorporating natural language processing and sentiment analysis is one way to enable AI to offer empathetic responses to tackle this challenge. Other use cases relate to performance management, succession planning, and talent acquisition, to name a few. Remember, the purpose of the PDF is not to provide an exhaustive examination of all use cases of AI in HR. Instead, it aims to spark your thinking and ideas on how your organization might explore a few of these use cases.

Talent Management Today | Gartner’s April Issue of HR Leaders Monthly

This issue of Gartner's most recent HR Leaders Monthly includes six articles covering various aspects of talent management. A few topics include: defining the purpose and scope of talent management, five priorities for heads of talent management, and utilizing talent resources more effectively in a constrained environment. While it is challenging to summarize all the points across these articles, one page to point out is page 6 (the image used for this post). It visually depicts the growing number of interdependent activities that impact the employee lifecycle—a topic that Josh Bersin also addresses in his article Redesigning HR: An Operating System, Not An Operating Model. Both resources can assist HR leaders and their teams in framing and communicating different aspects of their organizations’ talent narrative for stakeholders (e.g., investors, the Board, customers, employees, etc.). The Conference Board's Telling the Human Capital Management Story report also covers this topic (e.g., page 19 outlines seven stakeholder groups and their specific areas of interest within the talent narrative). Additionally, another piece, beginning on page 37 of Gartner's HR Leaders Monthly, explores the concept of decoupling tasks from jobs and using them as the basis for talent management. In this Q&A style article, Ravin Jesuthasan and John Boudreau (authors of Work Without Jobs: How to Reboot Your Organization’s Work Operating System, published March 29, 2022) share various ideas on this topic. All of the mentioned articles provide several insights to enable organizational talent management.

Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Playlist | Multiple Resources

As many organizations continue to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion, this one-page playlist includes five articles and resources to consider. The link in the first column will take you directly to the complete resource. The second column summarizes the article's focus. For example, the Josh Bersin Company's 52-page report analyzes over 80 DEI practices and how they correlate with various outcomes. Another 61-page report by The World Economic Forum identifies five success factors common across DEI efforts and shares examples of how companies implement these practices across their organization. A Harvard Business Review article by Lee Jourdan explores DEI progress through the lens of meritocracy—where decisions about promotions, salaries, and other rewards are based on objective criteria. It uses seven key metrics—spanning the entire employee life cycle—to be most helpful in assessing progress towards a true meritocracy. The Boston Consulting Group provides ideas on how firms can significantly improve feelings of inclusion for People with Disabilities (PwD), while McKinsey explores ideas for Chief Diversity Officers and how they can be effective in their role. Which ideas will you pursue for the remainder of this year as part of your organization’s DEI strategy?

DO YOU FIND VALUE IN TALENT EDGE WEEKLY?

You can use this link to provide a quick testimonial about the value you get from Talent Edge Weekly. Testimonials will be used on my website at brianheger.com. Below is an example of what Dave Millner, author of Introduction to People Analytics: A Practical Guide to Data-driven HR, wrote this week. Thank you, Dave, for your support of Talent Edge Weekly!

It takes a few minutes to submit, and the process is fully automated. Thank you in advance for your consideration!

MOST VIEWED FROM LAST WEEK

HR Operating Model Playlist | Multiple Resources

Provides 5 articles that help HR leaders think through multiple aspects of their HR operating model. Sources include Dave Ulrich, Josh Bersin, Marc Effron, Gartner, and McKinsey.

CHIEF HR OFFICER HIRE OF THE WEEK

As part of CHROs on the Go— a digital platform subscription that provides the easiest, fastest, and most convenient way to stay informed about hires, promotions, and resignations in the Chief Human Resources Officer role—20 new CHRO announcements were posted on the platform last week.

This week’s CHRO highlight is:

• ​Burberry (LONDON) [OTCMKTS: BURBY]—the British luxury brand— has named Alexandra McCauley as its new Chief People Officer. McCauley will start her new role on November 15, when she will become responsible for all aspects of the brand’s people strategy on a global basis. She will also join Burberry’s executive committee and will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Akeroyd. McCauley currently serves as Head of Global Diversity and Inclusion and Global People Communications and Engagement at Chanel—a role she has held since April 2017. Prior to Chanel, she held senior HR and labour relations roles at NBCUniversal.

Do you want to join hundreds of others getting the EDGE each week in knowing which CHROs are being hired, promoted, and resigning? If so:

Currently, there are +2300 CHROs announcements on CHROs on the Go, with an average of 25 new announcements added each week!

If you are already a member of CHROs on the Go, you can log in to access all announcements and site functionality.

2023 Layoff Tracker of Organizations Announcing Job Cuts | Brian Heger

Click the link or table below to see the latest updates from a segment of organizations that have announced job cuts and layoffs since the start of 2023.

Recruiters, search firms, and hiring managers can use this resource to identify opportunities for recruiting talent from organizations affected by layoffs. A few firms that announced job cuts this past week include Disney and SoundCloud.  

TWEET OF THE WEEK

TALENT EDGE WEEKLY REWIND

Highlights a previously shared Talent Edge Weekly resource that received many views and engagement!

The CHRO as Growth Executive | Accenture

This 36-page paper submits that a new type of CHRO is stepping up to lead their C-suite peers in connecting data, technology and people and cultivating collaboration—referred to as High-Res CHROs.

DID YOU MISS "THE BEST OF APRIL" OF TALENT EDGE WEEKLY?

If so, you can check out issue #174, which includes 15 of the most popular resources from April. Topics include workforce planning, succession planning, workforce trends, AI in the workplace, and more.

RECOMMEND TALENT EDGE WEEKLY TO OTHERS!

Do you find value in Talent Edge Weekly? If so, please use your personal referral link to recommend Talent Edge Weekly to your colleagues and network. Whether using the link on social media, email, or text, you earn rewards anytime someone subscribes using your link!

Click the image below to see more details about the rewards.

You currently have 0 referrals, only 1 away from receiving a Shout out in the newsletter!

Your referral link is https://talentedgeweekly.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

You can also copy the text below to make it easier for you to send to others:

I highly recommend subscribing to the Talent Edge Weekly newsletter. It covers many aspects of talent, the workforce, and workplace and is a great way to stay informed about what is happening in this space. You can sign up via this link. I hope you find it helpful. https://talentedgeweekly.com/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON THIS ISSUE

It is always helpful when you provide a comment as well!

Have a great week and thank you for your readership of Talent Edge Weekly!

Brian

RESOURCE LINEUP

​brianheger.com provides free access to +1,000 curated articles, research reports, podcasts, etc. that help practitioners drive better business results through strategic human resources and talent management.

CHROS on the Go is a subscription that provides the easiest and most convenient way to stay informed about Chief Human Resources Officer hires, promotions, and resignations in organizations of all sizes and industries.

​Talent Edge Weekly is a free weekly newsletter that brings together the best talent and strategic human resources insights from various sources. It is published every Sunday at 6PM EST.

Complete 90-second Subscriber Survey

Sponsor an Issue of Talent Edge Weekly

Share a testimonial about Talent Edge Weekly!