Attracting, Retaining, and Adjusting Talent for a Successful Data Organization
CDO Magazine and ComSpark hosted the CDO Midwest Summit 2022, an industry-leading event that provided the data and technology community with deep insights and relevant problem-solving experiences. “Attracting, Retaining, and Adjusting Talent for a Successful Data Organization” was one of the most critical breakout sessions recorded at the event. The session, moderated by Catherine Bushong, Strategic Accounts & Partnership Engagement at Vernovis, featured Doug Fuller, TriHealth System Executive, Analytics & Decision Support, and Stephanie Globus, NetJets Director, Business Insights & Analytics, as distinguished speakers.
Globus states that NetJets hires the best talent as it looks for brain power and skill set diversity. “As long as we can bring that talent in and foster them, the ecosystem thrives,” she says.
According to Fuller, health care represents the community, and his organization strives for inclusivity, diversity, and equity in hiring. “We have some programs to develop — not only internal hiring and bolstering those individuals from a diverse background but also reaching out to our community and partnering with organizations such as Sea Change,” he adds.
Fuller says that in the post-COVID environment, organizations must invest in individuals who have the appetite to learn and can adapt to change. He states that job descriptions describe only some of the actual jobs. Trihealth launched a center of excellence with a workgroup devoted to career planning to resolve the issue.
“We empowered our team members to lead those work groups so that they were developing their career plans and job descriptions,” he adds.
For example, Fuller refers to hiring freshers with little to no experience but only education for associate roles.
Globus concurs, noting that Netjets values the right talent by providing a growth avenue. Her goal is to create a career framework that supplements job descriptions and other frameworks across the industry.
Globus insists on developing the leadership abilities of team members, to which Fuller says, “The only way to advance is to become a leader.” Globus affirms that it is the soft skills that ultimately lead the way. “If you have that appetite for learning, we can develop the skill sets you need to succeed,” she states.
Next, Fuller speaks on TriHealth’s initiative to ensure proper health care. He calls it “the journey from good to great.” He emphasizes that he takes pride in implementing the Leadership Development Institute, with its 800 leaders among 12,000 employees.
“Being a good developer does not make a good leader. Being a good physician does not make a good leader. And if there are certain principles that we want to instill in our leadership team, we have to train them across the board so that everyone knows what is expected,” Fuller explains. In addition, he mentions the program "Building Our Leadership Diversity." From team member to CEO, compensation is based on diverse hiring. He states that the organization never used data to determine success.
Globus says that NetJets also has a two-year leadership program to prepare leadership teams throughout the business. She believes that every role is a leadership role. “It's all about what you do with it and what you bring to it,” Globus adds.
The two speakers had differing opinions about the impact of hybrid and remote work on work culture. Globus shares that her workforce is hybrid and stresses the importance of face-to-face conversations with business partners. She says specialized skill sets, intra-team awareness, and situational awareness are criteria for successful remote workers.
Continuing, Fuller says COVID changed the ways businesses operate. He maintains that it is challenging to decide which method is better. Responding to an audience query, he says, “I have relayed to my leadership team that if you cannot explain why you are asking somebody to come back in, then you should not do it.”
Furthermore, Globus says that offices are gradually inviting people to work from the office, and some have lost employees who prefer to be 100 percent remote. Despite the easy transition into remote work, she believes it was less effective than being on-site.
Highlighting retention, Fuller states that his organization is developing its business case to offer incentives to keep people. Globus confirms putting together HR support for Netjets’ recruiting and retention strategy. She also points out that NetJets supports career development by reevaluating compensation according to the market.
In conclusion, Globus says the challenge remains in quantifying and communicating value to business partners. Fuller notes that TriHealth deals with ROI on a project basis.