One way legacy companies can change the recruiting and retention equation

One challenge most older, 'legacy' companies can face when recruiting and attempting to retain their most desired people and keep them from flocking to the newer, more exciting, and often more lucrative startups in their industries is their very own legacies and brands.

One could argue that 25 year old hotshot developers are not that interested in joining say an IBM, when they could jump on a new AI or blockchain startup. Or in finance, the allure of say a JP Morgan Chase might not hold all that much resonance when that same 25 year old has been immersed in crypto currency exchange technology for the last few years. Or in retailing, what would draw someone who has many options to a company like Walmart or Target, when modern, fast-moving, and tech-driven startups like Stitchfix seem to be much more exciting?

Well, one 'legacy' company is trying a really clever strategy for to address this challenge - the legendary auto manufacturer GM is looking to improve its success in recruiting and retaining talent for its new self-driving unit named Cruise, by offering new employees equity directly in the Cruise unit, and not in legacy GM. From a recent piece in TechCrunch describing the plan:

In what will be seen as a big recruiting and retention win for Cruise, employees will be offered equity in GM’s self-driving technology subsidiary rather than shares of GM. The securities offering was disclosed in a recent SEC filing for GM Cruise Holdings LLC.

The equity structure gives all Cruise employees the chance to own actual shares of Cruise, not in GM. It’s a critical development for a company, even one flush with new capital like Cruise, that is working to deploy autonomous vehicles on a commercial scale.

“The goal was primarily to create a new equity structure so that we could recruit and retain the best talent by giving them direct participation in potential upside in Cruise through owning actual shares in Cruise, which we didn’t have before,” Cruise CEO and co-founder Vogt told TechCrunch.

So how does a company like GM better compete for in-demand talent, that may be drawn to their smaller, upstart competitors? By making it seem for the most part that this talent doesn't really work for GM, they work for a self-driving car startup called Cruise that just so happens to be subsidiary of GM. And this allows GM not only to get a lift from not being wed to 100+ years of GM history from a branding perspective, it allows loosens up the compensation purse strings for these Cruise employees, as large, legacy companies like GM have much more rigid and formal methods of allocating compensation - ones that their startup competition usually are not encumbered by.

And if things work out for Cruise, the prospect for employees of really cashing in with a spinoff and an IPO add the carrot of potential future millions that 'legacy' GM would never be able to match. It's a clever way to combine the strengths of GM's legacy and history with some new ideas that shore up some of the weaknesses in that legacy.

And yes, I am a GM owner. But I am still driving my own car. For now anyway.

Have a great day!

HRE Column: Five Things I'm Looking Forward to at HR Tech #HRTechConf

I have been a little slack in posting links back to my monthly column over at HR Executive Online but fear not gentle readers, I have not abandoned this essential public service.

So without further delay, here is the link to my latest Inside HR Tech piece at HR Executive - 5 Things I'm Looking Forward to at HR Tech.

From the piece:

This is the last Inside HR Tech column prior to the HR Tech Conference in September and, since I am pretty well consumed at this point with the final plans for the event, I want to use this space to reflect on the HR-tech market and the themes that have emerged during this year’s planning for the event.

Great HR is simple and complex at the same time.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time in the last several weeks working on one of our featured sessions, “What It Takes to be a Most Admired Company for HR,” a panel discussion featuring the CHROs from several of the world’s most well-known and successful companies (Delta Airlines, Walt Disney Co. and Accenture, to name a few). After talking with each of these CHROs about their business, their challenges, and their approaches and philosophies about the role of HR, I’ve noticed two important things. One is that every one of these leaders spent most of our conversation talking about their company’s culture and the role of HR and the CHRO in building, strengthening and promoting their culture. 

The other is that, while each CHRO focuses intently on culture, how that manifests in specific HR and talent practices and programs is very different in each organization.

Succeeding with HR technology is paramount for HR.

I talk with many executives from the leading HR-technology-solution providers and, in the past year or two, the phrase “customer success” has come up more than ever. Now that cloud-based SaaS delivery of HR technology is the de facto industry standard, providers have been forced to focus on the success of their customers as a primary driver and metric. While that focus is a positive development for customers, it is not enough to ensure your organization is truly set up to succeed. And since the HR-tech market keeps growing, even understanding your options is becoming more difficult. This complexity and the importance of customer success with HR tech are why we focus so heavily on this topic at HR Tech, with a series of expert sessions covering both the “functional” elements of success (such as business case, vendor selection and implementation teams) as well as the more “technical” aspects (including cloud migration, integration and testing)....

Read the rest of the piece over at HR Executive Online...

And remember to subscribe to get my monthly Inside HR Tech column via email on the subscription sign-up page here. The first 25 new subscribers get a coffee mug personalized with a picture of me. Well, maybe. 

Finally, you can still register to attend the HR Technology Conference, September 11 - 14 in Las Vegas. Use my code STEVE300 for $300 off your conference pass.

Thanks and have a great day!

PODCAST: #HRHappyHour 336 - Hiring Success with Recruitment Automation

HR Happy Hour 336 - Hiring Success with Recruitment Automation

Sponsored by Virgin Pulse - www.virginpulse.com

Host: Steve Boese

Guest: Madeline Laurano, Aptitude Research Partners

Listen HERE

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve Boese is joined by Madeline Laurano of Aptitude Research Partners to discuss some new research they've recently published on Recruitment Automation. More than just a method to make recruiting processes more efficient, modern recruitment automation technologies are focused on candidates - helping to create trust, improve the method and frequency of communication throughout the hiring process, and to create more personalized recruitment experiences. 

Additionally, Madeline shared specific examples of how and where recruitment automation technologies can be leveraged throughout the hiring process, and offered some advice for organizations looking to get started with these modern, innovative technologies and approaches to recruiting automation.

You can find the full report we talked about on the show at www.aptituderp.com.

Listen to the show on the show page HERE, on your favorite podcast app, or by using the widget player below:

Thanks to Madeline for joining us, it was a fun and interesting show!

Remember to subscribe to the HR Happy Hour Show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, Google Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts - just search for 'HR Happy Hour.'

WEBCAST: Discovering the Next Great HR Technology Company Final Four Reveal #HRTechConf

Quick note for a 'I can't believe summer is almost over and the HR Technology Conference is only about two weeks away' Monday.

Today at 4PM EDT on a special LIVE Webcast I will be joined by George LaRocque, Lance Haun, Madeline Laurano, and Ben Eubanks - the experts who helped select the seven semi-finalists in the HR Tech Conference's 'Discovering the Next Great HR Technology Company' competition.

On the webcast we will reveal the Top Four vote-getting companies who came out on top of our online voting process and who will advance to participate and present next month at HR Tech. We will also, by random draw, pair up each Finalist company with one of our expert coaches who will help them get ready for the big stage.

Register HERE to see the Final Four companies revealed LIVE in this special webcast on Monday August 27th at 4PM EDT featuring expert coaches George LaRocque, Ben Eubanks, Madeline Laurano, Lance Haun, and host Steve Boese.

It should be really fun, hope you can join us at 4PM EDT today!

PODCAST: #HRHappyHour 335 - Discovering the Next Great HR Technology Company

HR Happy Hour 335 - Discovering the Next Great HR Technology Company

Host: Steve Boese

Guest Co-host: George LaRocque

Sponsored by Virgin Pulse - www.virginpulse.com

Listen HERE

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve is joined by George LaRocque of HRWins and host of the HR Market Watch Podcast to talk HR Technology and preview the Discovering the Next Great HR Technology Company Competition that is underway with voting open until Friday August 24 at the HR Technology Conference's HR Tech Insiders site - www.blog.hrtechnologyconference.com.

On the show, Steve and George introduced each of the seven semi-finalists in the competition, Butterfly.AI, CompensationCloud, Cultivate, DailyPay, Engage, Joyous, and Zeal. We talked about each solution, why each is interesting, innovative, and cool, and why you should consider giving them your vote for the Next Great HR Technology Company.

You can learn more about each solution, see videos and screenshots, and plenty more over at the HR Technology Insiders site as well as vote for your Final Four solutions who will advance to the big stage at the HR Technology Conference. 

Listen to the show on the show page HERE, on your favorite podcast app, or by using the widget player below:

And you can also catch a live webcast where the Finalists will be announced on Monday, Aug. 27 at 4PM EDT - register for that webcast HERE.

And remember to subscribe to the HR Happy Hour Show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher Radio, Google Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts - just search for HR Happy Hour.