Talent Edge Weekly - Issue #264

Internal mobility playbook, 9 internal mobility metrics, remote work conference presentations, delivering value through HR, and reevaluating HR initiatives/priorities for the end of the year.

Author

Brian Heger
October 13, 2024

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Welcome to this week’s issue of Talent Edge Weekly!

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THIS WEEK'S CONTENT

Below is a quick overview with links and brief descriptions of the topics covered in this issue. If you're interested in my deep dive, including bonus resources, you can read the full newsletter.

  • Mastering Internal Mobility: A Comprehensive Playbook for CIOs and Tech Leaders | GiggedAI | A new 37-page playbook for enabling internal mobility—from building the business case to technology considerations. 

  • 9 Internal Mobility Metrics | Brian Heger | My PDF with sample metrics to measure progress in internal mobility. Includes a worksheet for identifying and tracking metrics.

  • The Implications of Remote Work Conference | Stanford Institute of Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and the Hoover Institution | Includes several presentations (slides, academic papers, and oral presentations) from the October 9-11 conference on remote work.

  • A Radical Rethink of HR | MIT Sloan Management Review | Shares 3 ways in which HR can advocate for employees’ needs, in addition to business objectives. I include a bonus article from Dave Urich and Harrison James on 10 HR dimensions that have the greatest impact on creating stakeholder value.

  • HR Prioritization Template | Brian Heger | My one-page editable template for reevaluating HR priorities and initiatives as we approach the final stretch of the year. Can also be used for non-HR functions.

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

Let’s dive in! ⬇️

THIS WEEK'S EDGE 

INTERNAL MOBILITY

A new 37-page playbook for enabling internal mobility—from building the business case to technology considerations.

Excerpt of table from p.20

Internal mobility (IM)—the movement of workers across different roles and opportunities within the same organization—is a critical component of talent management. However, unlocking IM's potential requires careful consideration and planning of multiple factors. This new 37-page playbook explores several elements, from building the business case and assessing the return on investment (ROI) to addressing stakeholder concerns, technology, and key performance indicators (KPIs). For instance, page 18 outlines various internal mobility models and when they might be most effective, such as 1) Gig/Project-Based Assignments, ideal for large organizations seeking skill development and resource flexibility, and 2) Job Movement, which involves transitioning between roles. Successful IM strategies often blend approaches. Regarding technology to enable IM, page 20 delves into technology solutions (e.g., internal talent marketplaces, skills assessment tools, career pathing software), their features, and their benefits (see post image for an excerpt). As a bonus, I’m resharing this 56-page playbook by The Business Roundtable Multiple Pathways Initiative, which covers many factors related to skill-based internal mobility, such as skills validation strategies for assessing and confirming workers’ existing skills.

INTERNAL MOBILITY METRICS

My PDF with sample metrics to measure progress in internal mobility. Includes a worksheet for identifying and tracking metrics.

As organizations continue to invest in internal mobility (IM), measuring the impact of these efforts is essential for maximizing return on investment. My PDF includes nine example metrics to help organizations assess various aspects of IM. Each metric provides a definition, offers a headline on why it is important, and provides a sample practice tied to it. For instance, the “Time-to-Fill for Internals” metric measures the average time to fill a position with an internal candidate compared to external hiring. This is important because faster internal hiring processes reduce productivity gaps, minimize disruption, and showcase the organization's ability to mobilize talent quickly. A sample practice to enhance effectiveness is streamlining the internal application process by reducing approval requirements and shortening interview stages without sacrificing quality. HR professionals and business leaders can use this list of nine metrics as a starting point, adapting or expanding it to create new metrics that best measure internal mobility effectiveness within their organization. The last page of the PDF includes space to identify the metrics (whether from this list or new ones) that you want to track as part of your efforts.

REMOTE WORK & RETURN TO OFFICE

Includes several presentations (slides, academic papers, and oral presentations) from the October 9-11 conference on remote work.

From slide deck of “Consequences of Return to Office Policies” (Sean Flynn)

Organizations continue to update their return-to-office (RTO) mandates, some of which I’ve captured in this PDF. As leaders make informed RTO decisions, it’s important to leverage the growing body of RTO research rather than simply reply on opinion or anecdotal information. Last week, the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and the Hoover Institution hosted the third annual Implications of Remote Work conference. Nick Bloom and Steven Davis, leading experts on remote work and organizers of the conference, have made the conference slides and videos available. While all of the resources are informative, two relate to research papers I’ve previously shared: Determinants and Consequences of Return to Office Policies (Sean Flynn, Cornell University, et al.) and Return to Office Mandates (Mark Ma, University of Pittsburgh, et al.). The oral presentations related to these two studies are on Day 1 of the agenda, with Sean Flynn’s presentation at the 2:11 video timestamp and Mark Ma’s at 2:41. While research on work-from-office (WFO) and work-from-home (WFH) is still emerging, the more familiar HR practitioners are with the research and scientific studies, the better they can influence business leaders to make more informed decisions.

HR EFFECTIVENESS

Shares 3 ways in which HR can advocate for employees’ needs, in addition to business objectives. I include a bonus article from Dave Urich and Harrison James on 10 HR dimensions that have the greatest impact on creating stakeholder value.

This new article discusses the evolving role of HR in organizations, highlighting how HR can focus more on advocating for employees’ needs, not just business objectives. Using a Venn diagram metaphor, the article emphasizes the overlap between business interests (e.g., market share, efficiencies) and employee interests (e.g., meaningful work, supportive teams). Three key steps are proposed: 1) measuring employee experience, 2) investing in leadership training, and 3) reorganizing HR to support teams. As HR leaders and their teams continue to evaluate how the HR function can deliver the greatest value to organizational stakeholders—employees, customers, executives, investors, and communities—I encourage them to read Dave Ulrich’s and Harrison James’s recent LinkedIn article, Upgrading HR: Evidence and Implications from the Organization Guidance System. The article draws on data from 527 organizations to evaluate 10 HR dimensions that have the greatest impact on creating stakeholder value. One key finding is: “HR transformations focused solely on department design or technology often fall short in creating value. Instead, the highest impact comes from clarifying HR's reputation, customer focus, and relationships.” This research can help identify which HR investments and initiatives will most likely deliver incremental value to stakeholders.

HR EFFECTIVENESS

My one-page editable template for reevaluating HR priorities and initiatives as we approach the final stretch of the year. Can also be used for non-HR functions.

With 79 days remaining in 2024, I continue to receive many requests for resources on performance management and tactics for accelerating the achievement of year-end goals. One resource I recently shared is my infographic highlighting practices leaders, managers, and employees can use to drive performance. To complement this and other resources I’ve shared, here is my one-page template to help facilitate discussions on reprioritizing initiatives for the final months of the year. This editable template, designed for the HR function but adaptable for non-HR teams, allows users to list initiatives, evaluate their impact on stakeholder value, and assess the complexity and investment required. Teams can then decide whether to stay the course or deprioritize, using the resulting information to ensure that resources are allocated toward the most critical areas. As with all my templates, this tool is intended to jumpstart discussions and help teams make informed decisions that help to drive performance. Tailor it as needed if you feel it can support your efforts.

MOST POPULAR FROM LAST WEEK

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

My cheat sheet with 24 example questions across 8 different areas managers can draw from for 1:1 performance check-in discussions with their direct reports.

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 announced this past week:

  • Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). Plans to cut 14,000 managerial positions to improve efficiency by increasing the number of individual contributors compared to managers by at least 15%. The reductions will primarily impact corporate roles, with no effect on Amazon’s front-line warehouse and delivery staff.

  • Boeing (NYSE: BA). The aerospace company disclosed that it will reduce its total workforce by 10%, amounting to approximately 17,000 jobs, over the coming months. The company has endured tremendous financial pressures and extra scrutiny following a series of problems involving its aircraft and supply.

  • CareerBuilder and Monster. The recently merged job sites disclosed that they have cut 15% of their workforce, amounting to approximately 200 jobs. Prior to the layoffs, the combined company employed nearly 1,300 people.

Click here to access all listed announcements.

CHIEF HR OFFICER HIRE OF THE WEEK

This past week, 13 new Chief HR Officer announcements were posted on CHROs on the Go, my subscription-based platform tracking movement in and out of the CHRO role. This week’s CHRO hire of the week is:

Leidos (RESTON, VIRGINIA) [NYSE: LDOS]—a Fortune 500® innovation leader—announced the appointment of Leslie Fautsch as Chief Human Resources Officer. Fautsch, who most recently served as SVP for HR Operations and Total Rewards at Leidos, will support the company’s 48,000 employees worldwide and shape its workforce strategy.​

Leslie Fautsch

Never miss another Chief HR Officer announcement. Subscribe to CHROs on the Go with a monthly or yearly subscription and gain immediate access to +4000 (and growing) CHRO announcements, including hires, promotions, resignations, and board appointments.

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FROM ME ON LINKEDIN

Catch up on what you may have missed from me on LinkedIn:

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FROM ME ON X

IMPACT OF LAYOFFS

TALENT EDGE WEEKLY REWIND

TALENT ACQUISITION

I share reasons why recruiting former employees, in some cases, can help organizations meet their talent needs. Includes my template to support this effort.

THE BEST OF SEPTEMBER 2024

Did you miss the “Best of September ” issue of Talent Edge Weekly? If so, check out issue #262, which includes 20 of the most popular resources from the month.

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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, a human resources practitioner. You can connect with Brian on Linkedin, X, and brianheger.com