Friday 24 November 2017

Perkbox Top 30 HR Influencers



I'm pleased to be identified as a top 30 HR influencer by Perkbox.

They've put together a great list so do take a look!

Jon Ingham



Thursday 19 October 2017

Workplace by Facebook Live Video Q&A on The Social Organization / 2





This is the Facebook Live video recorded as part of my book launch at Facebook's UK HQ.

It explains why the selection of social technologies depends upon which of the four types of organisational group are the main priority.

And I discuss at the end of the video why Workplace provides an additional benefit in that once people are using it for community it’s then easier to extend its use to cover projects, grouping and broader networking, rather than using separate tools for all these functionalities.

In case the link is not working, the video is available at https://www.facebook.com/workplacebyfacebook/videos/1460793683969313/.






Tuesday 17 October 2017

Recruiter magazine: Emotional AI




I'm quoted in this article in Recruiter magazine on Emotional AI.

My inputs:

1. Do you think there are enough tools around now (such as Watson etc) for recruiters to understand and trust AI in the recruitment process?

AI and machine learning have only recently become helpful and accessible in business contexts, and their support for recruitment and other HR processes have been even more recent. However, there are a range of AI applications available, including for analysing core HR and recruitment data, CV sifting, video interviewing, serious gaming and other areas. There are also a growing number of organisations using a range of these opportunities to sift out a large proportion of their applicants. In particular, Unilever have suggested their AI enables them to interview just a small percentage of their initial applicants, meaning this stage can simply confirm 80% of these candidates. The evidence is there and recruitment teams need to be paying attention to the opportunities.


(There’s a summary of the Unilever case study here: http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/06/26/in-unilevers-radical-hiring-experiment-resumes-are-out-algorithms-are-in.html).



2. If they find themselves on the receiving end of being sold tools with AI, what sort of questions should recruiters ask a supplier?


It is not always easy to understand the way that AI works but recruitment teams should still ask about the algorithms the systems use, the ways they have learnt, and what safe guards have been used to ensure diversity in the system's lists of recommended candidates. They should also want to see the results of previous validation studies showing that the systems do identify people who could be seen as high performers against particular attributes or competencies. Ideally recruiters should also be looking to validate the systems within their own organisations, and suppliers should be keen to support this activity too.



3. Do you think AI will play an increasing part in the recruitment process to help recruiters make data-driven decisions about a candidate?

AI systems can often undertake recruitment activities more efficiently and effectively than humans, e.g. by substantially reducing the amount of human bias involved in the process. They are going to play an increasing role in recruitment activities, particularly in roles / levels which can be described and measured in fairly objective ways, and where there are often high volumes of candidates e.g. call centre operators, production (vs knowledge) workers and graduate entry streams. AI capabilities are developing quickly and over time, I can see them having a growing role in knowledge based and managerial roles as well.


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Thursday 5 October 2017

Workplace by Facebook Live Video Q&A on The Social Organization




I'm doing a Q&A on The Social Organization with Workplace by Facebook, one of the main social technologies I write about in my book, and which are picking up loads of new clients with great adoption levels.

We're planning to explore some of my ideas, including the role of communities and other social groups in organization design, and how social technologies can be aligned with these types of group, as well as other factors that can make them work effectively.

We'll also look at other enablers for the social organization including workplace design (workplace with a small w), innovated HR practices, individual, group and organization development, social leadership and communityship, and social analytics including social / organisation network analysis (SNA/ONA).

The Q&A is being held online at 4pm BST on Wednesday 18th October and you can register here: https://thesocialorganizationlive.splashthat.com (use the access code PIONEER). Please do join me.


You can also buy the book here: https://www.koganpage.com/product/the-social-organization-9780749480110 (use code AHRTSO20 for a 20% discount).



Tuesday 26 September 2017

Sage Top 100 Global Business Influencers





I like this list because it's not just the usual list of HR people. Take a look…

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Tuesday 19 September 2017

The Ultimate A-Z of HR Gurus




Thanks to CakeHR for including me in their A-Z list of HR gurus.

Which of the other 'HR leaders and influencers' on the list do you know too?


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Monday 18 September 2017

Next Generation Workplaces




Next week I'll be presenting IQPC's Next Generation Workplaces conference at Twickenham stadium (Tuesday 26 - Wednesday 27 September 2017).

I'll be speaking about the link between workplace design and organisation design:

Workplace design is increasingly being integrated with other disciplines, particularly HR and IT. This session will suggest, however, that the area which workplace needs to be most closely connected to is organisation design. An effective workplace, supporting broader organisational principles, can ensure that people can deliver more than they could elsewhere. An important example is the alignment of group spaces with the design of the organisation structure as well as the selection of social technologies. Hear about how a focus on outcomes, together with tighter partnerships across HR, OD, IT and Property / Facilities can extend the impact of a next generation workplace.


The conference is colocated with the Employee Experience conference and I'll be attending some of the sessions there as well.


Do let me know if you're a reader of Strategic HCM and you're going to be around...


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Friday 15 September 2017

The Quality of Relationships




I've had an article on the social organisation published in the CIPD's Work journal:


"It's not just about the quality of individuals, but the relationships between them."


I also refer to the area I'm increasingly focused on, which extends slightly beyond the content of the book itself:


"We need to be able to navigate the complexities of these different types of group. How, for example, do we manage employee performance and reward people appropriately when they make different contributions - and have different levels of engagement and performance - within the four types of group (hierarchical functions, horizontal project teams, communities and networks)?"


If you have any thoughts or experiences on this I'd love to hear from you.

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Thursday 14 September 2017

#SEanalytics Symposium Mission Critical Analytics





It should be a good event, with some great speakers:

  • Andrea Eccles, Chief Executive and Editor of Measuring Up, City HR Association
  • David Littlechild, Group Head of Engagement & Insights, Lloyd's Banking Group 
  • Rachel Credidio, Group People and Transformation Director, Aster Group
  • Laura Sherlock-Smith, Head of HR Report and Analytics Development, UBS
  • Edward Houghton, Research Adviser, Human Capitals & Metrics, CIPD
  • Neil Parkinson, HR Analyst, CBRE
  • Sunil Kaushal, HR Analytics Thought Leader
  • Adam Gibson , Head of Workforce Planning and Deployment, Metropolitan Police



Maybe see you there?

You may also be interested in my posts from speaking at the last two conferences:





Wednesday 13 September 2017

#ioms17 IOM Summit Keynote




I'll be keynoting at the IOM Summit in Cologne next week. The conference focuses on the digital workplace and the way to the digital work organization and I'll be speaking about HR's role in supporting, and enabling, this


I explain more in this interview.



Tuesday 12 September 2017

Glassdoor Recruit conference




Glassdoor's first-ever recruiting focused conference, Glassdoor Recruit, is designed to help you win the race for top talent with informed candidates.

But just who are these informed candidates? They're twice as likely to be hired because they’re the right fit, saving you time by cutting out those other unqualified resumes.

In the US, the event is being held in Chicago on Tuesday 19th September.

In the UK, we're having a slightly more select, simultaneous event held in London on the Tuesday afternoon. This will feature a live screening of sessions from Glassdoor's and United Airlines' CEOs.

I'll also be moderating a panel discussion with three local recruitment leaders:

  • Craig Hunter Colt Technologies
  • Daryl Sutcliffe The Co-Operative
  • Vicki Saunders Boots.




There'll be networking drinks too. Maybe see you there?


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Monday 10 July 2017

People - vs just business - analytics




I've had this article published on HRZone in a special hub site on automation, analytics and data in HR:



There has been some useful development in HR’s use of analytics over the last few years.

One of the positive aspects of this has been the increased use of the term workforce analytics, rather than ‘HR analytics’, to signal that we are interested in insight on the whole workforce, not just on what happens within the HR department.

A goal which is often linked with this shift is that we need to move further towards ‘business analytics’.

Whilst I support the increasing focus on business I think we also run the risk of missing something vital if all we focus on is HR and the business.
This missing link is the quality of our people we develop through our HR activities…



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  • Sunday 2 July 2017

    10 years of blogging




    Wow!, 2 July 2017. That means it's now been 10 years since I've been blogging here.

    I've recently started sharing some of my favourite posts over this period on LinkedIn:



    Any other suggestions for good posts you've read over the last 10 years?


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    Friday 30 June 2017

    Review of The Social Organization




    I love this review of The Social Organization by People Management's editor, Robert Jeffery:

    "A complex, serious book brimming with ideas that challenge HR convention, such as reward structures or the concept of organisational values, with genuine panache."
    "An important, realistic and frequently inspirational book that implores HR to do things differently - and isn't afraid to show it how."


    You can buy your own copy here, or at Amazon etc.

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    Thursday 29 June 2017

    Influential HR Leaders




    Thanks to CoreHR for including me in their list of 9 Influential HR Leaders You Should Follow on Twitter.

    Please do! - I'm at @joningham - http://www.twitter.com/joningham 


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    Thursday 15 June 2017

    #HRVision17 how to divorce from Dave (Ulrich)





    Two sessions at HR Vision focused on the Ulrich model and how this may now be being updated.

    First up was Xavier Savigny from Bureau Veritas in a session titled 'Get ready for the future, and how to divorce from Dave'. Xavier described a number of cultural changes required by HR (e.g. saying no but also offering a new solution).

    In terms of structure, Xavier suggested a change to Ulrich's three wedded stool, as shown above.


    • HR business partners become HR coaches, more focused on building the required skills in business and people leaders
    • Centre of Excellence specialists become innovation laboratory scouts recognising the need for these staff to continuously transform and experiment with new approaches
    • Service centre advisors being replaced by a digital platform (RPA, AI, chatbots, etc).

    These are all useful and appropriate changes, though in a sense are a second honeymoon, rather than a divorce, e.g. specialists surely should always have been innovating?


    However, if nothing else, it'll be interesting to start calling HR's updated structure the fried egg model! (see the above picture).

    The second of the two sessions was delivered by Reza Moussavian at Deutsche Telekom and was titled 'What digital really means for HR - Dave and doing the same-same will not help!'







    For Reza, the Ulrich model is too structured, hindering us by promoting structured thinking. Deutsche Telekom have therefore installed disruption into HR through a digital and innovation unit. This tracks all the HR startups, has run an internal HR tech conference, and uses design thinking which it sees as the greatest enabler for change. Eg it has developed 21 personas representing DT's workforce.


    I was pleased to hear that, as I had suggested in my own keynote, HR is also responsible for digital collaboration.


    Once again these changes are interesting and appropriate, but again, not that significant. Ie they still support a three legged stool and once again, the type of innovation Reza has introduced is really only the sort of thing that the central policy team (the seat of the stool) should always have been doing.



    It's got me thinking - is this enough, or do we still need more radical transformation to the Ulrich model?  More on this next week.


    Wednesday 14 June 2017

    #HRVision17 - DaVita - da community company




    I had a great couple of days in Amsterdam at Osney Media's HR Vision conference last week where I did a keynote on moving focus from individuals to groups. I described how most organisations have four main types of group, each of which need to be treated differently, which are hierarchical functions, horizontal project teams, networks and communities (from The Social Organisation).

    Organisations often prioritise one of these types of group as well and it was great to see a session from Gwen Burbidge from DaVita, which sees itself as a community first, and a company second. And yes, this means it does work differently from most other companies which are mainly based on hierarchical functions.

    Gwen, pictured above, also used the metaphor of a village several times, which I use in the Social Organization too. The company's CEO is called the major. The slide in the above picture provides a couple of snapshots of DaVita employees and cultural artefacts. For example, one is of the three musketeers, and their motto 'one for all and all for one' is frequently heard in the organisation.

    This isn't a small company though, it's a community of 70,000 team mates which is something quite special, I think.

    A lot of this comes from intentionality, i.e. the actions they take to make it a community. One of my favourite points is that everyone has their own favourite walk-on music! I'm not quite sure how this works but imagine their offices get quite noisy around 9, 1 and 5.00.

    The mayor often asks intentionally directed questions, for example what is it your parents taught you that you are still very grateful for, what should be be improving, and what was your DaVita crazy moment in the last six months?

    They also have start / stop / continue meetings, announced in advance so that introverts can prepare for them, and they often look for someone who knows about an area to lead these.

    All senior staff participate in reality days where they go and work at a clinic at 6.00am with the team mates working there.

    The purpose of all this is to create a place where people want to work (or a village they want to live in). The metaphor here is like it being a mix of air and water - they want to be profitable, but they know this needs them to be a good place for people.

    It's a terrifically impressive case study, and definitely the sort of organisation I'd love to work in, if I was ever going to again. In The Social Organization, I write about maverick organisations which manage their people completely differently from 99.999% of the world's businesses, and I'd definitely put DaVita in this list of companies.

    I was a little disappointed when I asked about how DaVita's HR processes are different as a consequence of them being a community, as there didn't seem to be any. That can't be a good choice. Although they have just implemented Workday which is probably a good fit.


    You may also be interested in the slides from my keynote:




    Tuesday 13 June 2017

    Enterprise Digital interview on The Social Organization




    I've been interviewed on The Social Organization for the Enterprise Digital conference.


    The book is available at www.koganpage.com/SocialOrganization. Use code AHRTSO20 for a 20% discount.


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    Saturday 3 June 2017

    The Social Organization out in the UK




    Great to see my new book, The Social Organization, out in the UK.

    Use code AHRTSO20 on the Kogan Page website for a 20% discount

    https://www.koganpage.com/product/the-social-organization-9780749480110 

    Wednesday 31 May 2017

    Keynote at #HRVision17




    Next week I'll be speaking at HR Vision 17 in Amsterdam.

    The focus is a brave new world: the marriage of tech and HR:

    As always, trends from the past year will continue to play a part in forming 2017’s future. With an ever competitive working landscape, employers are continuously searching for ways to distinguish themselves as a top company to work for, and that comes down to culture. Ranging from health and wellbeing, both mental and physical, to organisational design, to fostering innovation, to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace, to developing social leaders, to being a learning organisation, no company wants to be left behind in securing the best possible candidates. The need to adopt a continuous innovation model will be critical to this in 2017.


    I'll be speaking on Thursday 8th June about facilitating group performance: building social organisations, workplaces and technologies:

    People have evolved to live in groups and our organisations succeed or fail based mainly upon group performance. However most of our management activities focus on individuals. Shifting focus requires us to incorporate new group structures and to align the design of HR processes as well as workplaces and social / digital technologies with these new groups. I will describe and provide examples of social organisations in which groups provide the basis for effectiveness and competitiveness. The session will also review the role of HR, working in cooperation with other social leaders, in facilitating changes in perspective and management practices. You will learn how to unleash the power of our social brains and social networks to transform organisational performance.


    Come and see me there if you can.



    More about me:

    Also develop your Strategic HCM capabilities at my new Strategic HR Academy



    Friday 26 May 2017

    Great new reads from Kogan Page /1: Exceptional Talent



    Publisher Kogan Page have done a great job this year in having several stars from the world of HR blogging to write books for them.


    In addition to my own book, The Social Organization, there is:






    I'm aiming to read and post on all of these books and have already been reading another one, Exceptional Talent from Mervyn Dinnen and Matt Alder.

    Despite the title this book focuses on talent management vs talent. That's probably a good thing and I completely agree with Matt and Mervyn that talent is an overused term. So despite the reference to 'exceptional', we 're not looking at a 'high-skilled, high-potential candidate who is in some ways special.  Again I think that's useful. M&M suggest this can lead to poor recruitment practice and I'd have loved to hear some examples of this (the book has plenty of case studies of successful approaches - eg one of my recent clients, Bromford Housing - but it can also be useful (and often more fun) to learn from the disasters too. But for me, an even more important reason to avoid a focus on the special ones is that this is vital to create and retain an inclusive environment.

    I'd also suggest that the book focuses more on talent engagement rather than capability eg there's a lot of great ideas on employer branding, talent attraction and the candidate experience. Most of this is about the new approaches open to organisations, and perhaps required for exceptional talent management, brought about by advances in technology. I spend quite a bit of time in this area myself but will need to do some further research into Workometry, Life Guides, Papirfly, Quesocial, Rolepoint, Social Referral, Lever, Greenhouse, 4MAT and Punchkick too. It doesn't deal with Google Jobs but that's just an indication of how quickly things are changing in the space, and therefore how important it is to try to keep up with them.

    However there's less focus on talent selection, where I think there's been a lot of innovation in technologies and other approaches too. But the biggest gap is talent reward. I'm not blaming M&M for this - as I've suggested previously reward is an area that as yet there's been little innovation taking place. That's going to change. Soon.  But it does cover talent onboarding, development, engagement, recognition and retention and again, makes a good case for why and how these need to change. I'd have liked to have seen more on the employee experience as well as the candidate one but in a sense, that's what the whole book is about.

    I really liked the sections on social graphs, social sharing and social proof, and if you do too, you should definitely check out The Social Organization. This also make some further suggestions for how talent management processes need to change to respond to the social and technological factors M&M describe.

    In summary, it's a great summary of the huge shift many organisations still need to make. Well, actually, I don't think any businesses have made it. But many have still to start. If that applies to you, you need to read this book so that you'll understand some of what you need to change.

    As an added incentive, this weekend (26, 27, 28, 29 May) you can get a 50% discount on all of the above books, and all of KP's back catalogue too.


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