Opening session with Libby Sartain was a good fit for the conference. I thought that the crowd was low energy at first, then I realised that everyone was listening pretty intently to the content, not needing a constant string of punch lines to stay engaged. Good. When a funny story was told, the laughter was there.
Libby’s message was a mix of generational issues and aligning HR with corporate strategy. A few key points:
When you terminate people, make sure you do it in a way that you remain “friends” if at all possible. The example she gave was of the relationship you might have with a headhunter. You hire them, do the search, then end the arrangement with an agreement that you might work together again, or might not. In the brave new world of the future, that is a description of the “just in time” nature of the coming workforce.
Many of her stories were from her time at Yahoo and, to a lesser extent, Southwest Airlines. She gave examples of the hiring practices of Google (trendy and “out there” ) to Yahoo ( more “normal”) and reflected that the results produced different cultures. Overall she said that Google probably hired more innovative thinkers, and Yahoo hired more methodical types that “get more done” Different alignment, different cultures.
On social networking:
Social media is essential to new “consumers of work”. When fresh MBA students were asked what would make them NOT consider a firm. “Not being able to use Facebook at Work.” the reason given is that their peer group and their problem solving resources are all on Facebook, and they want access to the resources they have always used.
Will Work for Peanuts - got this guy a job at Southwest. Then, he quit for more pay...
Karl Ahlrichs' Uncommon Experience 
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