Dec 4, 2015 | Blog

Celebrate the Best of HCI Content in 2015

Engage Your People
Develop Your Workforce
Acquire the Right Talent
Optimize Your Talent Strategy

Seven days ago, I started and finished one of my most favorite annual tasks. It was messy, full of pine needles, and complemented by Love Actually playing in the background.

I’m no Martha Stewart, but I have accrued quite the collection of Christmas decorations over the years - wreaths and garland, lights and ornaments, and a random assortment of candles, Santa figurines, and holiday banners.  And my love of the holiday season seems spurred by one of my favorite pastimes: lying on the floor in the glow of the Christmas tree, fireplace crackling, as I read and reminisce.

There is a silver lining to the chaos of the end of the year, and that is the opportunity for gratitude and reflection. At HCI, we don’t have a fireplace in the office to lie next to (yet), but we have a lot to be thankful for. Thousands of attendees at our events this year were inspired by the wisdom and insights shared by keynote speakers, vendors, and their peers. More than 200 webcasts gave HCI members knowledge and tools to help them solve the most pressing human capital challenges in their organizations. In addition to that, original research reports, hundreds of blogs, articles, and podcast interviews were all added to our content library.

Most notably, we partnered with some incredible individuals and organizations in the development of several HCI Solution Suites. These premium content assets enable our Corporate Members to learn firsthand from some of the most innovative companies and thought leaders. Through Solution Suites, readers can explore how companies approached and solved a specific talent management problem, including access to some of the very tools, templates, models, and techniques they used, and get an overview of the outcomes they have experienced as a result. And until December 31, 2015, all HCI members have access to our 2015 Solution Suites.

2015 Solution Suites include teaching you how to:

  • Define and implement a comprehensive, authentic employment brand strategy.
  • Help your organization grow sustainably by recruiting for cultural fit.
    • Janeen Speer of lululemon athletica describes how managers and employees can be trained to attract culturally aligned talent. Use this suite to better structure your interview process and improve new hire quality and engagement. 
  • Turn your candidate experience into a competitive advantage.
    • Dan Jessup of Groupon explains how to design and measure your candidate experience to ensure you are attracting and engaging high quality talent to join your organization. Use this suite to help define and improve your organization’s talent acquisition process.
  • Recognize the manager’s true role in engagement, development, and performance.
    • Pepperdine University professor Dr. Mark Allen offers powerful alternatives to traditional approaches to selecting and developing managers. Learn how regular discussions and recognition can improve employees’ engagement and performance.
  • Support your organization with agile, informal learning content and experiences.
    • Devin Dreher of Turner Broadcasting explains how to clearly define an informal learning strategy that aligns to the needs and preferences of employees. Use this suite to create and curate content for your learning audience.
  • Harness the power of mobile content to support your learning strategy.
    • TalentPlanet’s Dr. Greg Ketchum shares how to build a library of relevant, mobile audio/visual content and effectively engage your learning audience. Use techniques from the advertising and entertainment industries to bring your learning strategy into the mobile era.
  • Ensure your company’s future by building leaders at all levels. 
    •  Ann M. Harten of Haworth describes how to identify and prioritize leadership competency gaps based on future business objectives. Use this information to design an integrated curriculum for current and potential future leaders at your organization. 

Working at HCI, I am often struck by the impressive amount of knowledge our members and network provide. Despite the challenges we face in our roles, this exchange of ideas, insights, and wisdom helps me maintain a Panglossian view of the future. Indeed, 2016 is shaping up to be another banner year for talent management practitioners. The growth of the freelance economy, the need for managers to practice coaching skills with their direct reports, the necessity of strong and active talent pipelines, the evolution of applying data and analytics to human capital – these are all questions and predicaments on our doorstep.  At HCI, we are hard at work producing content, organizing events, and making plans to address these and many other critical topics. But before we go too far down that road, let’s take a moment before this year ends to celebrate what we have learned from each other already.

Cheers!