Big week in the talent acquisition road show warrior world, because both Unleash and Indeed Interactive are going down at the same time. (Both start tonight with people getting in to Vegas and Austin, respectively.) This post is going to focus on Unleash; my colleague Ted Bauer will be down at Indeed and I’m sure he’ll be blogging for us from there in the next few days.

The entire Unleash agenda is pretty solid, as you’d expect. But here are some of the ones I’m most hyped to see.

Gary Hamel on Humanocracy: I like this one because it has the potential to be no-BS. Gary cites this example: when Zappos tried to replace bosses with interlocking decision-making groups or “circles” staff turnover jumped to 30% and many of those left behind were confused and demoralized.  So, despite the fascination of policy-makers and pundits with the Valley’s unique capacity for “disruption,” the real challenge isn’t creating more entrepreneurial enclaves, but infusing the spirit of innovation in organizations.  It’s about more than just being hip. Remember: successful startups often don’t stay hip and entrepreneurial for long. This could be a nice reality-check to those that try to build culture simply by copying what they think Google has done. (5/15)

Bill Boorman on humanity by design: Boorman is a friend of the program here at RD, and this should be a good session. Tech is not built with the intention of doing harm, but it is built with a focus on “frictionless” experiences, and that can have ramifications for human beings. Where are we headed? Will HR tech start being more for good and truly value-add? (5/15)

Nancy Vitale on health and well-being: No doubt that today’s workplace has many stressors, impacting the health and wellbeing of employees. But what are you going to do? Most managers might answer: “Well, I need them working that much! We have deliverables!” Indeed. But there’s a declining rate of return issue here as well. If you work out for six hours, Hours 3-6 aren’t always going to be as good as Hours 1-3 were. It’s very similar with work. Nancy will be highlighting some solutions from her firm’s work. (5/15)

Ester Frey on the path forward in TA: Frey is head of TA for Consumer – Retail and Marketplace at Amazon. Her basic tenet: Nowadays HR processes are transforming significantly: most industries are embarking on a path of digital transformation. Organizations are struggling more than ever to find the right people, and technology is disrupting the way we think about things: on the way companies attract people and how people get hired. Amazon’s a pretty-forward thinking company that often has to bend to the reality of bulk hiring needs, so this session should be pretty sweet. (5/15)

Hey, where’s Tincup gonna be? Glad you asked. My RD partner will be on a panel about the positive aspects of automation within recruitment. The site blurb:

“Siri, which of my technical recruiters has the best track record in hiring top engineers that are engaged with the company?” Sounds kind of far fetched right? Well, yes and no. It’s not flying cars on Mars and it’s also not common place for today’s HR & TA leader but we all feel the anxiety that this or something like this will become commonplace. Our panelist are doing some really cool things with automation. During the panel we’ll explore what’s working, not working and where they feel this is all heading. Please join Robin, Johnny, Lars and William.

That’s also on 5/15.

Now for a couple on 5/16:

Mo Gawdat on Google X’s moonshot thinking: Mo will—for the first time—to openly share the secrets of Google’s Innovation factory, [X]. A look at what worked and changed the world and what needed improvement. With a critical insider’s eye, he will share a step by step approach to building an innovation factory that can transcend the restrictive guidelines of any organization. Literally every organization I can think of needs this, so attendance here is a great play.

Donna Murdoch on digital transformation: People’s willingness to adopt and adapt to new technology depends on their desire to have something that makes their lives easier. What’s in it for them, personally? I think tons of orgs struggle with this one. They kind of assume you can throw tech at the team, and the tech will just boost the team — even if that’s not how their pre-existing workflows worked. If that sounds like your business, go to this.

Kathleen Hogan on empowering your culture: Kathleen is Chief People Officer at Microsoft. In this session, you’ll gain tips from Microsoft on how to use technology to navigate and optimize for today’s workplace trends, tap into game-changing data and insights you already have, and find out how to use technology tools to engage and empower today’s employees.

Fireside chat with Kathryn Minshew: She’s the founder of The Muse, and in this talk on the startup stage, they’ll discuss:

  • Kathryn’s entrepreneurship journey and how she scaled The Muse from the ground up
  • How The Muse is building a future of work based on purpose, authenticity, and fit
  • The importance of storytelling and how companies can build an authentic and engaging employer brand

If you’re trying to scale a business in this space, The Muse is a good example. Attend this one.

Michael Kim on paid leave policies: Michael is VP of HR, APAC for Spotify. That’s a hyper-growth company. Spotify’s Parental Leave and Flexible Public Holiday programs received global recognition and they are leading the way when it comes to best places to work. What have they been doing?

Kyle Lagunas on data-driven recruiting ops: Based on IDC’s (where Kyle works) latest research, data-driven functions are still rare, existing in pockets across the hiring organization (like in recruitment marketing or campus recruiting). That’s not surprising — so what are we going to do about it? Kyle will walk through building out a program in real-time.

 

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Ryan Leary

Ryan Leary helps create the processes, ideas and innovation that drives RecruitingDaily. He’s our in-house expert for anything related to sourcing, tools or technology. A lead generation and brand buzz building machine, he has built superior funnel systems for some of the industries top HR Tech and Recruitment brands. He is a veteran to the online community and a partner here at RecruitingDaily.