Steve Hewitt, HR Director, Lumesse
HR is a profession that requires philosophy and vision to be turned into action. It is the fundamental process underpinning every successful organisation; yet whereas the action affects thousands of employees, philosophy and vision are often the creation of a single person. To celebrate HR Tech we devised a list of HR Heroes whom all represent a wide variety of traits within HR and for humans in general.
We thought we’d use a select few HR Heroes as examples of how instrumental figures continue to influence the world of HR today in 2015 and what they’d be doing if they were still around today (some of them still are!).
My work is better than yours
Look at any best place to work list and sitting high, high above is Google, a position they owe a great deal to Laszlo Block, senior vice president of People Operations. Laszlo played a key role in promoting the need to constantly innovate the workplace environment, adapting it to the changing desires of its workforce, and learning what will make employees feel excited about working for Google. Since starting at Google, it has since been named Best Company to Work For over 30 times.
With 82% of 840 HR leaders admitting in a recent survey that their biggest challenge was retaining talent, the success of Laszlo in helping create such a strong employer brand for Google sets the bar for HR. He puts the main drivers behind his success down to giving employees freedom, being open and accessible, and recognising that each employee is unique and brings different skills and limitations to the table. After helping an organisation convey an attractive recruitment offer, HR must ensure employees continue to feel excited and motivated in the workplace by giving them the freedom for self paced learning and a supportive community – often e-learning portals that have a social or community element to them underpin these programmes.
This is not just a man’s world
Another HR Hero whose work and attitude is still making an impact today is Ada Lovelace. Credited with being one of the earliest pioneers of the algorithm, Ada embodies the very meaning of diversity in technology, highlighted by the recent Ada Lovelace Day that saw thousands of females in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers, celebrate their achievements. The work of Ada Lovelace is not only seen in the philosophy she espoused, but in her pioneering work in the field of computing and algorithms. Were Ada around today, then she would see her work being put to good use ;addressing the STEM skills gap and embracing new technologies such as automated user profiling and open recruitment platforms that connect businesses quickly to the right recruiters integrated with a range of talent management applications.
Hey, I would love to connect with you
The next Hero is responsible for helping talent across the breadth of the globe announce itself to employers; he is Reid Hoffman, Co-founder of LinkedIn. Hoffman has changed the way businesses recruit and empower employees. With 200 million users, across 200 countries, a staggering 77% of all job openings are now posted on LinkedIn. The website represents one of the key changes in the workplace - that of connectivity and potential for talent to find opportunities across the whole world. Understanding the importance of recruiting through online platforms is essential for HR, who must ensure that they are searching the right place, at the right time.
I’m telling you to think for yourself
Now the last HR Hero is pretty well known to all, and you may balk at the link to HR, but bear with me. Socrates is a true HR Hero. His advice “To find yourself, think for yourself” has never been more pertinent. In an age where the democratisation of the workforce is leading to ever flatter organisational structures, HR must place more and more trust in employees to carve their own roles and responsibilities within an organisation.
These are just a few of the HR Heroes that have either had a vision that has changed the HR landscape, or had the ability to turn another’s vision into action. Listening to others, drawing inspiration from a wide range of human sources, and then finding ways to turn all this to the advantage of the business in a digital landscape is one of the most important things HR can do. Who will be the HR Hero of tomorrow?
