Author Archives: Ben

Chief People Officer Perspective: How Persado Uses Bryq to Debias Hiring Decisions

“Our main priorities right now are not unlike all people leaders. We’re focused on hiring and we’re focused on retention. On the hiring front, it’s less about volume hiring. I think that everyone’s slowing down just a little bit. With this economy we’re focused on smart hiring and making sure that we’re bringing in the right people for the right roles. Making sure not just to check a box or to make sure we’re getting people in, but we want them to be happy in that role.”

Allison Lee, Chief People Officer, Persado

We’re Only Human — Episode 152

When we select candidates, bias enters the process. There’s no other way to say it. But increasingly companies are using tools to help them make selection decisions based on data. In Persado’s case, the company uses Bryq to help create a clear picture of what each candidate brings to the table so hiring managers can select the best fit candidate for the role, not just one that makes them feel comfortable.

As we hear from Allison Lee, Chief People Officer at Persado, this type of tool also makes internal mobility and employee career development a more structured and valuable process, turning it from a reactive challenge to a proactive opportunity.

Show Notes

How Southwest Airlines Promotes Internal Career Opportunities on We’re Only Human

“One of our ramp agents interacted with our CEO during one of his station visits and mentioned that he had taught himself how to code and that he was interested in technology. Our CEO was able to come back and connect him with recruiters and with our career mobility center [to] learn about a new program that we were just standing up. That employee actually moved from a ramp agent into this program, and our CEO was the one to call and make him an offer.”

Kelby Tansey, Manager of Recruitment Marketing, Southwest Airlines

We’re Only Human — Episode 151

Most companies put at least some thought into how they promote their jobs to candidates outside the company. But what about promoting those jobs within the organization? Research shows that two out of three workers have quit a job because of a lack of growth, but 90% of them would have stayed if they had seen a path ahead!

In this episode, Ben talks with Kelby Tansey of Southwest Airlines about how the company makes positions and career choices known to its internal staff. Kelby opens the playbook on how to communicate, what to share, and why they prioritize it at Southwest. If your company is trying to get better at moving people within the business, get ready to take notes.

Show Notes

Don’t Teach Managers About Engagement: Teach Them to Be Engaging

“One day he challenged me and he said, ‘Listen, I want you to help our 477 store directors be great. But listen, I don’t want you to go and teach them about engagement. They don’t need like a history lesson. But I want you to teach them how to be engaging.’ As I’ve navigated through various organizations, what I realized is that most organizations have the same challenges around manager performance.”

Kamaria Scott, Manager Enablement Expert at Accenture

We’re Only Human — Episode 150

During a recent livestream event, when first-time managers was brought up as a conversation topic, multiple attendees quickly pointed out their own follies and challenges when it came to first time leadership roles.

Yet most companies still don’t have a structured way to identify, select, and equip managers to be capable professionals.

In today’s conversation with Kamaria Scott from Accenture, Ben and Kamaria talk about:

Some of her favorite methods for helping to create more openness around manager performance enablement
Supporting open dialogue with “manager circles”
Carefully applying training where it needs to go instead of wielding it as a weapon.

This is a powerful discussion for any organization or leader who has wondered how to create a more capable and connected manager.

Show Notes

This RPO Firm Hires Thousands of People a Year-Here’s How Hiring is Changing

“What I’ve seen over the last six to 12 months is that companies are literally craving this information to understand: are they still competitive? Because they’ve made so many moves, whether it was with pay or benefits, they want to understand where they stack as it relates to their competition.”

Terry Terhark, Founder and CEO, NXT Thing RPO

We’re Only Human — Episode 149

If you want to be an Olympian, you’d look at what Olympians do and learn from their approach. If you want to achieve that same world-class level of success in hiring, you should look at what world-class organizations are doing in hiring.

NXT Thing RPO is a recruitment process outsourcing partner for innovative companies that desire support in their hiring operations. The leader of NXT Thing is Terry Terhark, a veritable legend in the RPO industry and a wealth of information about what creates successful hiring outcomes.

In today’s discussion, Ben talks with Terry about how hiring is evolving, what’s next for the economy, and how cultural alignment between employers and service providers plays a role in success of outsourcing relationships.

Show Notes

Better Managers, Better Support, Better Results

And so we experimented and said, let’s have a trial run at being a manager. We took about 25 people that wanted to be a manager as a cohort. We said, okay, for a period of six to nine months, we would give you a small team you’d be responsible to learn how to interview and make hiring decisions. Then you get to decide whether or not you want to continue the manager path or not.

Pat Wadors, Chief People Officer, UKG

We’re Only Human — Episode 148

Managers are an essential part of getting work done.

But many times managers and talent leaders end up butting heads, having mismatched expectations, or simply not getting along. In this episode, Chief People Officer Pat Wadors shares her experiences and advice for creating stronger manager relationships and outcomes that benefit not just HR and line managers, but their teams as well. Pat also dive into belonging and what it means in the modern workplace, giving each of us some ideas on how to make it a part of what we do every day.

Links and Show Notes

Positioning Culture as ”Business Success Insurance” on We’re Only Human

“I guarantee there is a direct correlation between a fantastic culture to business success. They are always together. I would say that the strong culture is the insurance policy of every business.”

Ronni Zehavi, CEO, HiBob

We’re Only Human — Episode 147

What if we had a way to shield our businesses from unnecessary turnover, disinterested staff, and other similar challenges?

It turns out that we do. It’s called culture. In some new research, we found that just 52% of HR leaders say their technology supports the employee-focused culture they desire. That’s a big gap.

In today’s interview with Ronni Zehavi of HiBob, Ben dives deep with Ronni into culture, why it matters, and how HR technology helps to support an employee-focused culture in practical ways. Ronni talks about transparency, teamwork, flexibility, and other tangible examples based on his experience as a business leader.

This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta.

Links and Show Notes

Learn more about Workplace from Meta at workplace.com/future
Learn more about HiBob and the Bob platform
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How Mayo Clinic Selects Leaders: A Case Study

“When we select leaders, what we have found is leaders may have great, innovative ideas. They may be very driven to achieve. But if they’re not inspiring people, if they’re not demonstrating those interpersonal qualities that people see them as servant leaders, we’ve noticed that people are not willing to follow them. So we really emphasize that [serving] is exactly the quality that we want to see in leaders.”

Ji-Yun Kang, Leadership Assessment and Selection, Mayo Clinic

We’re Only Human — Episode 146

All of the data indicate that a leader can make or break someone’s experience at work. In this episode of We’re Only Human, Ben talks with Ji Yun Kang, head of leadership assessment and selection at Mayo Clinic. Ji-Yun shares the key attributes the organization looks for in its leaders, including the things that push someone into the “no” pile when under consideration.

Ms. Kang also suggests how to evaluate if leaders are actually successful or not, offering examples that help to make this conversation very practical for companies that want to use their leaders to engage, develop, and retain their workforce.

This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta.

Links and Show Notes