Talent Edge Weekly - Issue #240

AI in HR use cases template, removing years of experience requirements from job advertisements, contingent workforce, succession planning, and CHRO appointments.

Author

Brian Heger
May 26, 2024

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THIS WEEK'S CONTENT

Below is a glance at this week’s content. A deep dive follows. 

Also, check out the job cuts tracker & Chief HR Officer hire of the week.

Let’s dive in! ⬇️

THIS WEEK'S EDGE 

AI IN HR

My new template to help HR teams identify and prioritize potential AI in HR use cases.

AI continues to show much potential for helping to unlock capacity within the HR function. According to a BCG analysis, AI can potentially help boost HR productivity across the HR value chain by up to 30 percent. To tap AI’s potential, HR practitioners must critically evaluate which AI in HR use cases to experiment with to deliver new forms of value to organizational stakeholders. Here is my new editable one-page template that can be used to help HR teams generate ideas on this topic. Before using the template, identify the business problem(s) you are trying to solve. Then, use the template to think through how AI in HR can address those issues: 1) HR Area. Use the drop-down menu to categorize the HR area to explore, such as talent acquisition, talent management, etc. 2) Use Case. Type in the use case you are considering (e.g., job description generation) for the HR area. 3) Impact and Feasibility. Rate the use case's overall business impact (e.g., organizational efficiency) and feasibility (e.g., level of change). You can further define impact and feasibility to your liking. 4) Potential Next Step. Based on your assessment (the color coding should help to interpret your assessment across the use cases), generate ideas on the near-term next steps for areas you want to pursue. While there is more to AI in HR use case evaluation than listed here, this worksheet can help spark some initial thoughts.

SKILLS-BASED HIRING

A new analysis on the decline in the number of job postings requiring a certain number of years of experience.

Organizations continue to report an increasing focus on skills-based hiring, prioritizing candidates’ skills over traditional credentials like academic degrees. A report by Burning Glass Institute and Harvard Business School showed that from 2014 to 2023, the annual number of job advertisements that eliminated academic degree requirements from job descriptions quadrupled. However, the same report highlights an analysis of 11,300 roles at large firms showing only a 3.5 percentage point increase in hiring workers without a BA degree after removing degree requirements. Another signal of the shift towards skills-based hiring is the removal of “experience requirements” (e.g., 3+ years in a nursing role) from job advertisements. This new analysis by Indeed shows that “less than a third of US job postings on Indeed asked applicants for a specific number of years’ experience in April, down from almost 40% in April 2022; nonetheless, years of experience requirements vary dramatically by sector. While the removal of both unnecessary educational requirements and years of experience from job descriptions is a step in the right direction towards skills-based hiring, by themselves, they are insufficient. This is because hiring managers often use these indicators as a proxy for skill level. Therefore, organizations must develop managers' ability to assess candidates' skills to realize the potential of skills-based hiring. What is your organization’s plan for developing managers’ capabilities in skills-based hiring?

SUCCESSION PLANNING

Shares ideas for building robust succession and leadership pipelines amid disruption. Includes an example from Bridgestone.

Succession planning (SP) continues to be a priority for many organizations. However, due to rapidly changing business environments, SP has become increasingly challenging to implement. This Gartner article shares ideas for building robust leadership pipelines amid disruption and continuous change. One case study involves Bridgestone, which uses two strategies for implementing adaptable approaches to SP. 1) Before discussing who should fill a critical role, Bridgestone’s HR and business leaders analyze the role and consider making changes based on current and future business needs. They ask questions such as, “If the person in this critical role leaves, would we keep this role?” and, “Knowing our strategy and future goals, do we need this role as it looks today?” If a change is needed, Bridgestone’s leaders eliminate the role, split it up based on potential successors’ current capabilities, or redesign it based on strategic goals. 2) Bridgestone also creates pools of potential successors for roles duplicated across multiple business units (e.g., multiple business units may have a VP of Finance). These cross-business talent pools increase the number of available successors for a given role, which makes it easier to fill critical roles if someone leaves suddenly. Other ideas include how Corning uses talent profiles from its HRIS platform to search for succession candidates.

CONTINGENT WORKFORCE

Shares insights into how an organization can view its workforce holistically as an ecosystem of internal and external contributors.

As the number of external contributors (e.g., contractors, freelancers, gig workers, etc.) in an organization’s workforce grows, HR teams play a vital role in helping organizations manage this blend of external contributors and internal employees as a total workforce. Here are three articles with actionable insights for supporting this effort. 1) “Managing External Contributors in Workforce Ecosystems" from MIT Sloan Management Review, spotlighting Cisco's challenges with over 50,000 contingent workers, managed separately from HR, resulting in fragmented strategies and compliance issues. Cisco's initiatives for improvement are detailed. 2) "The Rise of The Invisible Workforce" from The Conference Board stresses the necessity of a strategic, integrated approach to contingent workforce management, highlighting governance, workforce planning, and managerial guidelines for transparency and compliance. 3) “Workforce Ecosystems and AI Research Report” by the Brookings Institution explores the intersection of workforce ecosystems and AI and the implications for designing work, supplying workers, conducting work, and measuring work and workers. What is one idea from these resources that you can implement to help your organization more effectively manage its workforce of internal and external contributors?

CHIEF HR OFFICER

I share summaries of seven Chief HR Officers who were appointed to a new CHRO role in April and May 2024.

The Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) role continues to gain prominence in many organizations. Over the past 60 days alone, I have tracked more than 150 CHRO appointments on CHROs on the Go —a subscription-based digital platform that provides insights into hires, promotions, and resignations in the CHRO role. These appointments range from first-time CHROs to seasoned heads of HR transitioning to a new CHRO role. Here is my new PDF that includes summaries of seven Chief HR Officers who were hired or promoted in the last 60 days (April through May). The summaries include a brief description of the announcement and links to the CHRO’s LinkedIn profile, the organization’s web page, and the detailed source announcement. The appointments were in the following organizations: AIG, BNY Mellon, DraftKings, GXO Logistics, Inc., Mars, Incorporated, Mattel, Inc., and Tory Burch. I hope you find this resource helpful in keeping track of movement into the Chief HR Officer role.

MOST POPULAR FROM LAST WEEK 

INTERNAL MOBILITY

My curated one page PDF with resources on internal mobility— from case studies to research on the benefits of IM.

Internal mobility (IM), the movement of employees across different roles and opportunities (e.g., projects, assignments, etc.) within an organization, is a critical component of talent management. However, despite its well-documented benefits, IM remains an underutilized talent strategy. As I continue to receive several requests for resources on the topic, I’ve created this one-page summary of eight resources.

JOB CUTS AND LAYOFF TRACKER

Check out my tracker of announcements from a segment of organizations that have conducted job cuts and layoffs since the start of 2023.

Partial view of tracker on brianheger.com

A few job cuts were announced this past week:

  • BioMarin (NASDAQ: BMRN). The pharmaceutical company is laying off 170 employees, or about 5% of its workforce of 3,400.

  • Cue Health (NASDAQ: HLTH). The San Diego-based medical tech company is laying off its entire staff, its entire leadership team, and every remaining U.S. employee effective Friday, May 24.

  • Guild. The Denver-based online worker training platform company announced that it will be laying off employees. While the company didn’t specify the number of workers being laid off when asked, it is estimated that 300 of the company’s 1,200 employees will be impacted.

Click here to access all listed announcements.

CHIEF HR OFFICER HIRE OF THE WEEK

Revlon (NEW YORK)— a multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, perfume, and personal care—has appointed Tchernavia Rocker as its new Chief People Officer, replacing Ely Bar-Ness, who departs from his role as CHRO next month. Rocker joins the make-up brand on June 3. She most recently served as Under Armour, Inc.’s Chief People and Transformation Officer. In addition to her role as Chief People Officer, Rocker will also play an advisory role in building Revlon’s ethnic hair care portfolio and report directly to Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth (Liz) Smith.

Tchernavia Rocker

If you want access to +3700 (and growing) detailed announcements of CHROs hired, promoted, and resigning, join my CHROs on the Go subscription—a one-stop-shop for knowing who is moving in and out of the Chief HR Officer role.

If you are already a subscriber to CHROs on the Go, log in here.

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TALENT EDGE WEEKLY REWIND

LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

This article proposes a three-step approach to assist companies in better evaluating the “return on learning investment” (ROLI) of upskilling and reskilling. Exhibit 1 showcases various metrics for assessing the impact of learning programs.

THE BEST OF APRIL 2024

Did you miss the “Best of April ” issue of Talent Edge Weekly? If so, check out issue #236, which includes 16 of the most popular resources from the month.

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OUR RESOURCE LINEUP

​brianheger.com provides free access to +1,300 curated articles, research reports, podcasts, and more that help practitioners drive better business results through strategic human resources and talent management.

CHROS on the Go is a subscription that provides the easiest and most convenient way to stay informed about Chief Human Resources Officer hires, promotions, and resignations in organizations of all sizes and industries.

​Talent Edge Weekly is a free weekly newsletter that brings together the best talent and strategic human resources insights from various sources. It is published every Sunday at 6 PM EST.

Talent Edge Weekly is written by Brian Heger, an internal human resources practitioner. You can connect with Brian on Linkedin, X, and brianheger.com