Get Your Copy of RESET by Johnny C. Taylor, Jr.

SHRM’s Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. Introduces His New Book RESET Available Now

FINDING AND KEEPING GREAT TALENT

Forget skills. Forget technical competency and Ivy League degrees. Forget the greed of the 1980s, the 401(k)s of the 1990s, and the stock-option frenzy of 2010. Forget the foosball tables and rock-climbing walls of 2015. The evolution of payouts and perks, of all the staples employers have used to land the best and brightest, is not always enough to attract top talent anymore. And when great talents are discovered, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are in perfect alignment with your culture. A strong culture is weatherproof. If established with a firm hand, leadership can successfully endure chaos and come out the other end stronger than ever. Once you define your culture, and when you lock in on values and vision, who is the matchmaker in this case? HR. With HR developing the plan and using the right tools, employers can hone in on who meshes with their cultural makeup through the search and interview process. Rooted in our identity at SHRM is a challenge culture. As the CEO, I want divergent opinions and diverse perspectives to push new ideas and initiatives. Can those ideas withstand a challenge? Can they hold up to the rigor?

• Competency is discoverable. Skills are identifiable. But culture is the tripwire for many companies once an employee is hired. This is where data can come back into play as a way to monitor cultural alignment. • If you miss the markers of cultural misalignment, then misguided individualism can blow up a team. It’s that simple. If we look at collectivism research, we see that the world has shifted much more toward individualistic cultural norms than collective ones. Collective cultures are sort of dying off. • With HR developing the plan and using the right tools, employers can hone in on who meshes with their cultural makeup through the search and interview process. • Having the right team to assist the right person is paramount—organizational leadership distilled to its essential elements is pure alchemy.

Your biggest challenge isn't technology, innovation or even leadership. It's finding, hiring, and engaging the right talent to thrive now and in the future.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP, is President and Chief Executive Officer of SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management. With over 300,000 members in 165 countries, SHRM is the largest HR professional association in the world, impacting the lives of 115 million workers every day. As a global leader on the future of employment, culture and leadership, Mr. Taylor is a sought-after voice on all matters affecting work, workers and the workplace. He is frequently asked to testify before Congress on critical workforce issues and authors the weekly USA Today column, "Ask HR." Mr. Taylor's career spans over 20 years as a lawyer, human resources executive and CEO in both the not-for-profit and for-profit space. He has held senior and chief executive roles at IAC/Interactive Corp, Viacom's Paramount Pictures, Blockbuster Entertainment Group, the McGuireWoods law firm, and Compass Group USA. Most recently, Mr. Taylor was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. He was appointed chairman of the President's Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and served as a member of the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board during the Trump Administration. He is a Trustee of the University of Miami, Governor of the American Red Cross, and member of the corporate boards of Guild Education and iCIMS. He is licensed to practice law in Florida, Illinois and Washington, D.C.

A ABOUT SHRM

SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, creates better workplaces where employers and employees thrive together. As the voice of all things work, workers and the workplace, SHRM is the foremost expert, convener and thought leader on issues impacting today's evolving workplaces. With 300,000+ HR and business executive members in 165 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 115 million workers and families globally. Learn more at SHRM.org and on Twitter @SHRM.