Last week a group of unique people from the talent space came together for the first Talent Camp to delve into transformational work – building the talent function of the future. I’ll get deeper into the ”work” in the next post but I wanted to share something else remarkable that came out of Talent Camp …… community. The mission behind Talent Camp was to bring together a group of smart, passionate people and explore what the talent function would look like if the catalyst behind its “new” existence were a business need. A call to action, if you will, that positions the talent function at the heart of transforming the organization to meet the growing demands presented by the shifts taking place across the business and societal landscapes – driving organizational effectiveness.
The setting on the Oregon Coast was spectacular and a metaphor for our transformational work. A wave is not independent from the ocean just as the organization cannot be separated from the talent that brings it to life each day to drive its success. And, the Coast with all of its remarkable elements is in a state of perpetual change and interdependence. Our meeting place, a 4500 sq. ft. beach house, would serve as a place to open minds and facilitate discussion over the course of 2 ½ days. It would also mean that each of us participating in Talent Camp, who in most cases didn’t know one another, would need to quickly establish a foundation for honest, challenging and meaningful dialogue. We devoted our first evening session to establishing group agreements. 
What time would we begin each day? How much personal time was needed / desired? What was important to each of us in providing an environment that nurtured productive dialogue? What values do we hold around collaboration and communication? And, what would be our comfort level with connecting to the outside world via social media while we were together? This was not an easy conversation. Not because the group was reluctant to discuss it but because their hunger to dive head first into our primary discussion was evident and bursting through, so we took a meandering path. This was time well spent and provided an important foundation that would serve us well over the course of our time together.
What was remarkable was the ease with which the group came together. Every aspect of what would be necessary to be together for this period of time was met with ease. Everyone naturally assumed roles as needed to ensure our shared environment was conducive to being together and immersing ourselves in the work we had come together to explore. Our days were long and our formal conversations began at 9 or 10 am and went until 10 pm. The group’s collective energy created a respectful environment for honest, tough dialogue yet work and play seemed to fuse together as one. We organically found a balance between structure and openness that allowed us to challenge assumptions, wrestle with paradigms, tear things down, and begin again – after all this was transformational work and the path is not linear but an iterative process that unfolds through a process of discovery. People stepped up to lead discussions and everyone stayed engaged and committed to crafting a vision for the future of the talent function, that ultimately led to more questions than answers. There was an ease and a comfort that each person helped to foster through their engagement and persistent commitment to the group dynamics.
Social media played a significant role in how this group came together. With the exception of two people, who I knew, each connection to people attending Talent Camp began with a relationship that grew out of social networking. I do believe that the insight we gain through social networking interactions are quite revealing and in this case helped to bring together a unique group who worked collaboratively to advance a critical conversation around the future of the talent function.
Part 2 of Talent Camp will get into our discoveries and outcomes.
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How effectively is today’s HR function meeting organizational business needs? How about the individual and collective needs and capability of the organization’s workforce? How can a global CEO study indicate that Talent is the most critical imperative, ranking high above access to capital, (see pg 24 of the exec summary) and at the same time reports are emerging that upwards of 60% of employees would leave their jobs when the economy improves? Increasingly, Talent is disconnected, underutilized, over managed, dispensable and bored. And, companies are not realizing the value in their workforce by merely creating a place for work to be done. Where is the excitement around business? Around new ideas? Innovation? Collaboration? Competition? How frequently have talented employees left a company to give birth to a successful venture on their own – could the idea not be born internally? Can we create a true entrepreneurial culture that supports internal incubators and reward innovation? What’s driving the disconnect and when will business get serious about the value to be realized in attracting, engaging and leveraging individual and collective capability? When will organizations recognize there is greater reward than risk in hiring for potential rather than always hiring to fit the round peg in the round hole and that the same approach applied to successful, innovative business practices can and should be applied to talent practices?
As the ecosystem within which companies operate continues to test and challenge the ability of organizations of all sizes to attract, engage and leverage talent how has the HR function stepped up to lead the way? Today’s business environment persistently demands more from people and their companies. What is the new leadership model at the intersection of HR, Talent and business? And, yet, how many companies have truly evolved their internal environments to navigate the waters of the business environment they operate in today and will be faced with tomorrow? This article from BusinessWeek raises some very relevant questions about R&D. Where is the relationship between R&D leaders, the HR function, the CFO and CEO to set a vision that prepares for the future? Any business issue today is also a Talent issue. How will we create adaptive practices that support continuous evolution that better keep pace with an increasingly shifting world with so much to offer, so many opportunities and filled with so many unique challenges?
The Big What If
I like to ask “what if” questions, a lot! It helps me imagine different realities, explore new possibilities and develop differentiated solutions. The BIG “what if” question I’ve been tossing around? Here’s part one – What if the HR function didn’t exist? Lets just imagine this for a minute. Some how business has been able to survive all these years without an HR function. New employees were still hired. Internally, people were paid on time and appropriately. Employees had access to development opportunities and internal movement happened as needed/desired. Things just happened, maybe not in an exciting way but we plodded along and managed. Now, part two – What if the HR function didn’t exist today BUT a business need was identified that recognized there was a synergistic relationship to be leveraged with talent in a way that would drive adaptive business practices. That would drive personal engagement, job satisfaction, creativity, collaboration, innovation and competitive advantages stemming from a talent-centric organization aligned through shared values and a clear vision.
Needless to say, this is a BIG what if! It’s also a critical question to explore during uncertain times that, to a large degree, has widened the gap between the organization and its current and prospective employees. The result of which does not look good from any perspective – and certainly not if you gaze into the future and wonder what will be different.
Talent Camp
About a year ago I began kicking around the idea of Talent Camp – bringing together an intimate group of keen minds with a unique orientation and passion for Talent, business and the HR discipline. All things happen for a reason and in this case I’m particularly pleased that circumstances resulted in Talent Camp being a 2009 venture because there are a few people
involved that I didn’t know last year. On October 18th, 12 incredible people will come together for 3 1/2 days to explore the BIG “what if”. Collectively we have more years, depth and breadth of business and HR experience than I can begin to measure. We also share a strong passion for what could exist at the intersection of talent and business to serve both interests and advance organizational capability and effectiveness. We’ll be gathering in a 4500 square foot beach house on the Oregon Coast to immerse in a dialogue around our big “what if” question, that will no doubt experience the ebb and flow of progress, frustration, curiosity, pain, breakthroughs and clarity as we craft our talent function vision.
What can you expect out of Talent Camp? Well, that’s something that we’ll be defining while we’re together. My goal, hope and desire is that we’ll be publishing a collective work outlining the talent function required for business in the 21st century.
I am so pleased and excited about the incredible collection of people who have committed to join me at Talent Camp. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more from them and can follow each on Twitter (their names are linked) and look for #TalentCamp to follow the conversation.
Briand DeGroodt
Franny Oxford
Jeff Hunter – see what Jeff has to say about Talent Camp
Joe Gerstandt
Lance Haun
Laurie Ruettimann
Mike Johnson
Ron McManmon
Shauna Moerke
Steve Fogarty – see what Steve has to say about Talent Camp
Suzy Tonini
and me, Susan Burns
More risk exists in standing still than in moving forward. We are the future and its time to craft the vision at the intersection of Talent, HR and Business. Talent Camp!
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