CHART OF THE DAY: Report from Startup Land

I don't like to get too caught up in tracking and detailing the latest trends and moves in HR, Talent, or even workplace technology emanating from Silicon Valley. After all, the vast majority of us do not work in go-go startups, can't really empathize with most startups particular challenges, and the rules of engagement for HR and talent leaders at 30 year-old manufacturing companies with 2,600 employees are naturally, (obviously), different than at a new 12-person 'Uber for XYZ' startup in Palo Alto.

But on the other hand if you generally believe that innovation in technology, service delivery, and even 'HR' things like benefits, workplace design, and employee experience does often start at 12-person 'Uber for XYZ' startups, as they are unencumbered by size, tradition, understanding of the 'rules', and simply often too busy to worry about HR things and just get to work, then keeping an eye on what is happening in the Valley can be a useful exercise for any HR and talent pro - no matter what size and type of organization you are in.

One recently published set of snapshots on what is happening in Startup Land comes to us from Silicon Valley Bank in the form of their 2017 Startup Outlook Report (US).  It is a really interesting look at some of the trends, challenges, and points of view from their survey of leaders of 941 global startups, 62% from the US. I want to share three charts from the US portion of the report, with a comment or two for each, then send you on your way for the (long) weekend.

Chart 1 - The 'War' for Talent

You'd expect that a majority of startups would report difficulty in finding the people they need to grow their businesses since many of these startups are in technology fields where the tech itself may be new, and the competition for people with these often very hard to find skills is fierce. But 90% plus saying it is challenging or extremely challenging to find talent? I must say that even surprised me. Even though the percentage ticked down a bit, 9 of 10 startup leaders showed up to work today probably worried about finding talented people.

2. Gender diversity is not improving

While it probably is not surprising that most startups have mostly male leaders and mostly male boards of directors, what is at least a little surprising, given the increased attention on this issue in the last year, is that surveyed startups are getting more male at the leadership and board levels.  Buried behind this chart is the note that about a quarter of surveyed firms have formal programs in place to increase female representation in leadership roles. But a quick look at the above data suggests that these efforts are not moving the needle at all.

3. Despite it all, almost all of these startups are hiring

It is the nature of a startup to grow and hire, so you'd expect these numbers of firms looking to increase headcount in 2017 to be high, but it is pretty encouraging to see that this number has remained consistently high over the last few years. And this is really good news for the kinds of people that these startups are likely to be after - highly skilled, proficient in the latest technology, and able to add value right away. There's a reason why 'Data Scientist' is sometimes called the best job in America today. Although I'd argue that 'Stretch Four' would be better. Non basketball fans, Google that one.

Lots of other interesting data points in the 2017 Startup Outlook Report - I encourage taking a few minutes to read it through. You might not be an HR pro at a Valley startup, but you just might be competing with some of them for your next Data Scientist.

Have a great weekend!

PODCAST - HR Happy Hour 265 - Women in HR Technology

HR Happy Hour 265 - Women in HR Technology

Hosts: Steve Boese

Guest: Bianca McCann, VP, HR Expert Network Cloud HCM, SAP

Listen to the show HERE

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve Boese is joined by Bianca McCann, VP of the HR Expert Network for Cloud HCM at SAP to talk about the recent Women in HR Technology Summit that was held at the HR Technology Conference in Chicago in early October. 

Bianca shared her insights on the Women in HR Tech Summit, the importance of framing these issues in the organization as business challenges and business opportunities, and not just HR programs or 'we should do this because it feels right' activities. Diversity should be looked at as a business imperative and the way to actually move the needle in the organization is to look for root causes, and set about addressing these causes.The key is to bring facts and data to the table, and think through the problems in a manner that is similar to taking on all kinds of business challenges.

We also talked about the real business benefits from more diverse workplaces in the areas of innovation and growth or market share, the idea of the Illusion of Truth, the importance of listening to what the organization is saying about these issues, and some practical steps that organizations can take right away to become better and more inclusive workplaces, particularly for women in technology roles.

You can listen to the show on the show page HERE, or by using the widget player below, (Email and RSS subscribers click through)

This was a fun and interesting show, many thanks to Bianca for joining us this week on the HR Happy Hour.

Many thanks to our show sponsor Virgin Pulse - learn more about their products and services at www.virginpulse.com.

Reminder, you can subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, and all the major podcast player apps - just search for 'HR Happy Hour' to subscribe and never miss a show.

PODCAST - #HRHappyHour 257- Innovative Approaches to Diversity and Inclusion

HR Happy Hour 257 - Shocking and Innovative Approaches to Diversity and Inclusion

Hosts: Steve Boese, Trish McFarlane

Guest: Anka Wittenberg, SAP

LISTEN HERE

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve and Trish talked with Anka Wittenberg, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer (CDIO) at SAP.  We had the good fortune of recording live from SAP/ Successfactors “SuccessConnect 2016” event.  Anka is leading the global People Sustainability Department encompassing Diversity & Inclusion, People Principles and Health. She is the pivotal change agent on how to design and implement work relationship at SAP – all together in an inclusive environment based on mutual respect, care and trust.

Anka talked with us about developing and implementing SAP’s Diversity and Inclusion strategy globally, and the steps they take to ensure sustainable business success. She shared her thoughts on why diversity and inclusion still really matter.  She also talked about some of the programs and policies that have been implemented at SAP to promote and support diversity and inclusion in the organization.

You can listen to the show on the show page here, or using the widget player below:

This was a fun and interesting show, and we hope you check it out. Many thanks to Anka for joining the conversation and to SAP/ Successfactors for inviting us to record live at Success Connect!  For more information, be sure to check out their site and download their paper on Diversity and Inclusion.

Give this lively episode a listen, and be sure to subscribe to the HR Happy Hour Show on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, or your favorite podcast app.

Diversity, testing, and how bugs often go unnoticed

Recently I was talking to a friend who told me that he was in the market for a new car. My friend, who has been a loyal driver of a particular brand of vehicle for many years, for argument's sake let's call it Lexura (not the actual brand, but since I don't want to get hassled by any PR folks, I am making up this brand). When I asked him if he was considering the latest Lexura luxury model, a brand new one for 2015 that has generated significant buzz and some really stellar initial reviews, my friend surprised me by saying 'No', that he had soured on the Lexura brand.

When I asked why the conversation went more or less as follows:

Him: 'I like Lexura, I really do. But the last two Lexura's I owned have had the exact same problem. When it is raining, and I have the windshield wipers on, the water comes right inside the driver's window. I am always getting wet.'

Me: 'Why would you have the window open if it is raining so much that you have to have the wipers on? That seems a little odd. Most people you know, close the windows when it's raining.

Him: 'Well, usually I do. But sometimes I am smoking. And I like to keep the window open when I am smoking in the car. And then if it is raining the water comes right in off the wipers.'

A sort of odd story, and immediately after hearing the 'when I am smoking in the rain the wipers get me wet' take from my friend I starting thinking about software, (and really any other kind of product), that is developed, tested (significantly), and then is released into the wide, strange, and harsh world of customers and users.

My friend should not, on paper anyway, be driving in the rain, wipers on, driver's side window rolled down, getting wet. It does not really make much sense to most of us. It's raining. Roll up the window, dummy.

But if you are a smoker, then it is pretty common that when you are smoking and driving that you want/need the window down, at least part of the way. I guess even smokers don't really want to be trapped in a small, enclosed area with their own second hand smoke. So they open the window. And most of the time it works out just fine. Unless it's raining and your Lexura has the bad habit of directing water off of the windshield wipers right into the open window and in your face.

So let's spin this back to technology and testing and think about how/why 'bugs' like the Lexura spitting water back through the driver's window (let's just assume that it is actually, a bug for now), can make it past the testers and developers and engineers and make it into the world. Could it be, perhaps, that no one on the Lexura design/dev team was a smoker? That driving in the rain with the wipers on and window open was never actually tested, as it would have never occurred to the non-smokers at Lexura that this was actually a thing that would be important to some customers? That this possible lack of 'diversity' in the makeup of the Lexura team led to a bug that was only likely to be experienced by customers whose specific issues were not adequately represented at Lexura?

This is kind of a odd story, as I mentioned above, but I think there is something important here nonetheless.

First, it is almost impossible in the design, development, and testing processes of software, hardware, or products of any sort to test everything, every potential use case that is possible. It just cant' be done. Bugs will results, often from customers using the product in a way the builders never considered or even could have reasonably imagined.

And second, 'diversity', at least the way we usually think about it, is often a very incomplete way to frame the noble notion of ensuring all important and representative voices are heard. Because every time you think you have incorporated ideas and points of view from all the necessary constituencies, one new one you never thought about raises a hand, and wants to be heard.

Even smokers who drive in the rain with the windows open.

Have a great week.

Diverse teams can (literally) better take the Heat

Did you happen to catch Game 1 of the NBA Finals last week between the San Antonio Spurs and two-time defending NBA champions the Miami Heat? In the game, won by the Spurs 110-95, probably the most notable element was the Spurs arena air conditioning system failing in the second half. This led to soaring arena and on-court temperatures which (likely) contributed to Heat star LeBron James' serious leg cramps, a condition which forced him to leave the game in the 4th quarter, and factored significantly in the Spurs win.

While each athlete's ability to tolerate or withstand the increased temperatures is probably difficult to predict, the Spurs team seemingly had a slight advantage adapting to the tough conditions. Why? Possibly because of the team's diversity. The Spurs are the NBA's most diverse team in terms of the player's nationalities, featuring guys from places like France, Argentina, the US Virgin Islands, Australia, and Italy.

Many of these players have considerable playing experience in leagues and competitions in Europe, where in-arena air conditioning is much less common than it is in the USA. As such, these players were able to draw on that experience that the diversity of their backgrounds helped to provide, to successfully adapt to the unusual conditions in Game 1. 

Here's a quote form Spurs guard and native of France, Tony Parker:

"I felt like I was playing in the European Championship. We never have AC in Europe so it didn't bother me at all."

The Spurs Manu Ginobili, an Argentine, had this to say about the heat (and the Heat):

"I don't think we (the Spurs) suffered as much. And for sure I played for more years in situations like this than with AC on the court. Not a big deal in that case."

As the Heat, and in particular James, were unable to adapt to the tough conditions, the Spurs were able to go on a late 31-9 scoring run and win the game by a comfortable 15 point margin. And in no small part, their diverse set of contributors were a key factor in the game's outcome.

It seems obvious that people from different backgrounds will have a different set of life experiences, sensibilities, and likely have ways to adapt and react to situations in a beneficial manner - all traits in evidence during Game 1 last week from the diverse players on the Spurs roster.

We all know, or have been trained to accept, that increased diversity is generally a good thing for workplaces and teams, but rarely do we get to see such a public and clear set of circumstances where having that diversity directly leads to increased organizational performance and better outcomes.

In this case, Game 1 of the NBA Finals, we saw loud and clear how having a more diverse team allowed the Spurs to succeed in conditions that really were not all that foreign (pardon the pun) to many of their players.

A good lesson and a fun game to watch as well. Unless you are a Heat fan.

Have a great week!