The WashingtonExec Strategic Human Capital and Critical-Talent Council held its second event of the year last week. Members took time out of sequestration planning to hear Dr. Ginny Bianco-Mathis, human resource and organizational development leader, founder of the Strategic Performance Group and Marymount University professor on the topic of “Surviving and Thriving in Today’s Economic Environment: Focus on Talent Management.”
The Group of 25 HR executives broke out into groups of 5 to discuss how to recruit top talent cost-effectively, support high retention rates, and how to best create career development opportunities for employees.
Crowdsourcing, LinkedIn and manager engagement were key points during the discussion. Unlike a company committing to an executive search firm, attendees suggested crowdsourcing as a risk-free and easy way to recruit and obtain top talent. One member discussed how allowing current employees to broadcast corporate openings on their social networks has led to real referrals and hiring. Employees receive a recruiting bonus if the new hire found the posting on a personal media outlet.
Dr. Bianco-Mathis suggested that managers play a key role in retention rates and success of corporations. “If you keep your managers engaged, they will soon become your leaders,” said Dr. Bianco-Mathis, adding that retaining top managers saves money in having to look for new recruits. Managers are key to an organization’s success because they can become coaches to your employees and also display the overall motivation and culture of the company. “Put your money into managers,” Dr. Bianco-Mathis told the group.
Each participating government contracting company sponsors a human resource executive and nominates one critical-talent individual for this WashingtonExec Council. Building trust is a key aspect of any business relationship. This one-of-a-kind group allows the VP of HR the opportunity to help develop the next generation of HR leadership while building their own networks.
Eleni Z. Antoniou, Vice President of Human Resources at FCi Federal, and Kay Curling, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer at Salient Federal Solutions, co-Chair the Council.
Read more about our kick-off event here.
