Moving Beyond The Bronze Ages of Big Data In Talent Management

Building upon my last post of departing the dark ages of big data in talent management and entering into the Bronze Age let us consider the comparison to where we are today and see how history can inform our journey to find better.
So according to Wikipedia " The Mycenaean Greeks introduced several innovations in the fields of engineering, architecture and military infrastructure, while trade over vast areas of the Mediterranean was essential for the Mycenaean economy. Their syllabic script, the Linear B, offers the first written records of the Greek language and their religion already included several deities that can also be found in Olympic Pantheon. Mycenaean Greece was dominated by an elite warrior society and consisted of a network of palace states that developed rigid hierarchical, political, social and economic systems." - Wikipedia.

No one is unchanged by war, and there will always be competition for resources that pit us against each other often. Those in survival mode for most organizations, find the battlefield as being fought in the hearts and minds of the citizens that comprise the state. Not unlike the past, war is being played out in both the real world and a cyber one. Today we see this in the importance of topics and blog posts that run the gamut from employee online behavior and cyber security or even digital fluency and the tech talent gap, employee engagement, and education which all are important corporate culture factors that can inform recruitment, retention -training and development efforts today.

Like the ancient Greeks, the myths and realities that the C-Suite and HR must contend with have driven the needs to invest and emphasize a talent management approach that can adapt to a changing market, demographic shifts and global forces or opportunities for the business to maneuver through market cycles that can lead to growth.

In the bronze age of big data for talent management; the modern city-states have formed. The internet ecosystem is feeding and fueling new ways to deliver digital media and engage candidates, stakeholders, and employees with academia and non-profits e.g. the Career Ad Network has emerged.

Emerging from the bronze age of Greece factors for growth were favorable and comparisons that can illuminate ways to proactively connect with each other drives the need to address issues early on which can predict the rise and fall of empires or a corporate culture e,g, Kodak, versus a SAP, Oracle, IBM. etc. Even Adobe is talking about "Today’s constellation of digital HR solutions—enabled by technologies such as cloud, e-signatures, and data analytics—provides a better picture of the employment lifecycle. Factors driving change today according to available resources is that they are trying to help bring together formerly siloed knowledge and work practices of enterprises."

It is about Making Connections:
In Warfare as with Innovation initiatives, Talent Management like the Greeks from the Bronze Ages sought to inform leadership ranks to see the business case for inclusive diversity although the activities and output may have unintended risks associated the notion of transparency and accountability would become evident in future generations.

Figure 1. Social Media Command Center in Weston MA. Brandwatch Monster #USjobjoy

When we think of Greek civilization, we think of the Golden Age of Athens in the 5th century B.C., of Aeschylus and Sophocles, and statesmen such as Pericles, whose funeral oration would sound almost traitorous to many Americans today:

“We throw open our city to the world, and never by alien acts exclude foreigners from any opportunity of learning or observing, although the eyes of an enemy may occasionally profit by our liberality. . . . ”

Source: Power and Pathos: Bronze Sculpture of the Hellenistic World recent exhibit at the National Gallery of Art

Although marble was the preferred medium for representing the ideal, especially the gods, bronze became the preferred medium for making images of ordinary humans.

Evolving digital transformation efforts require a different kind of employer brand.
In the midst of the consolidation occurring in the human resources technology sector and formation of city-states the ever-changing digital landscape of marketing tech, HRIS, and need for a unified talent management platform should strike a cord with most Chief Human Capital Officers. If your recruitment strategy and employer brand can be made indelible in the minds of the candidate you want, and need than half the battle is already won if your focal point becomes people analytics. Google, Apple, Facebook, NASA, or the U.S. Army engage communities and stakeholders with an application process that is rigorous but tell their stories using robust digital engagement and content that is firmly rooted in a strong Employer Value Proposition. Have you checked out your organizations' Universum's ranking lately, worth a look is a neat tutorial microsite under the URL www.employerbrandingacademy.com taught by a former colleague Mr. Richard Mosley @RIMOSLEY just one of several mentors that I have had the privilege and opportunity to learn from in the past.
Historical perspectives on building a research-based approach albeit Socratic method to Aristotle for Everyone teachings that can inform us today abound. If we take the bronze age, collapse 1200 BC and for hundreds of years through the dark ages of Greece people passed stories down orally would have been well versed in these stories -Iliad Odyssey. The Bronze Age conflict between the kingdoms of Troy and Mycenaean Greece–straddles the history and mythology of ancient Greece and inspired the greatest writers of antiquity, from Homer, Herodotus, and Sophocles to Virgil - we have all heard of the epic stories of the Trojan War Of Achilles and Agamemnon Helen and Odysseus. From Generation to Generation from town to town to wandering poets until sometime in the 8th century Hesiod and Homer used their high-tech alphabet to write them down- these three poems were the linchpin regarding Greek identity.

So what are the lynchpins or pillars of your organizational identity?
But that his works were retold hundreds of years after Homer; copied in Egypt so many centuries later reveals how important these stories were to the ancients. Later whether written or spoken stories of bravery dignity love and war articulated what it meant to be Greek. So what does it mean to me as an employee should one choose or aspire to be an Apple Genius, a Starbucks Barista, a Disney "cast member" or even the IT specialist at NASA who feels that they are part of a team working to put a man on the moon? Check out NASA help wanted ads for Mars, but this plays an important part in the larger context of "positive employee engagement" and creating a "mission driven" team as part of the organization living the brand and mapping that via digital personas on and across social media. No doubt an expression of our personal "identity" but when you begin to look at the touch points generated from big data as those key metrics as it is happening or being archived - where sentiment falls into play as being favorable can bear proof and help to lead to greater productivity.

Those work and life experiences are not only played out across social channels but can be backtracked to help illustrate the path forward. We see this in recent reports on How to win over Millennials increase your digital presence.
Data that can help to optimize forecasting future trends make up the greater transcendental whole so to speak, and that sense of inclusion and the benefits derived from a team of diverse individuals working together to achieve a greater purpose or customer experience means taking pride in one's work. How that is shared and finding meaningful connections can lead to Finding the right talent, at the right time with the right skills. Most important to those in Government Human Capital are seeking to engage Data Scientists and Cyber professionals, and one might see this group the key to survival. Winning the battle for technology talent according to McKinsey & Company.  

It takes a full lifecycle candidate approach as espoused in the book by Jean Paul Isson entitled People Analytics in the Era of Big Data: Changing the Way You Attract, Acquire, Develop, and Retain Talent he shares some valuable insights that can help us to:
Apply predictive analytics throughout all stages of workforce management

• Leverage predictive analytics throughout the hiring process
• Utilize analytics techniques for more effective workforce management
• Learn how people analytics benefits organizations of all sizes in various industries
• Integrate analytics into HR practices seamlessly and thoroughly 
  

If your an "Army of One" in a small business concern or moving to more of an introspective approach from the enterprise level of a Fortune 500 look at the examples at the U.S. Army Market Research Group e.g. Are You Army Strong? The AMRG has adopted the notion of being a Soldier for Life with that comes an idea that you and your country and everything that we aspire to be is reinforced by the contextual and narrative that supports a cohesive message hierarchy that needs to speak to the full candidate lifecycle. If it is real enough, authentic and resonates and can be well articulated in demonstrated facts, testimonials, reviews, the individual will move into your loyalty loop, opt-in and hopefully ascribe to those traits and attributes sought. Through acculturation or onboarding like boot-camp employers should seek to enable continuous learning and career development as part of the larger mission, vision, and purpose. When that is evident and thus reinforcing part of the ethos e.g. Army Soldier for Life Program, only then do I think what many refer to as culture can take root towards any change management or innovation initiative. So will the narrative that tells the story of your leadership's aspirations goals ring true in the mind of the candidate? If it is solely for the sake of profit probably not. If the big idea is one that earns the public's' trust then the benefits derived from the meaning and context regarding the employee experience should align with digital citizens engaged and working in consort to deliver on shared or common cause goals.

Introducing wide-eyed interns or re-employed alumni annuitants versus hiring for projects in an on-demand gig economy of contingent workers that may be disconnected from the employer brand may not be the best long term approach but may ease the burden of surge requirements or cost pressures. Benefits to mentors as well as mentees are helping organizations that are balancing that with a desire to change the culture. Without an active strategic communications approach often are at odds with the way your external communications are working towards empowering your employment brand and incentivizing your mentors or brand ambassadors. The promise ultimately of working directly with stakeholders or building out your talent communities or ecosystems to spark new ideas and ways of thinking or a adopting a new approach is something that corporations today are seeking. Conflict occurs when technology is introduced and to make it sustainable and to lower CPH and talent acquisition costs in a fragmented marketplace is where we should seek to emulate some of our history lessons that helped to lay the groundwork for the Golden Age of Greece.
Although marble was the preferred medium for representing the ideal, especially the gods, bronze became the preferred medium for making images of ordinary humans. Today that metal is being forged in software solutions, and we see the ability to find, hire, and develop your workforce as a critical success factor.

The Emergence of Mentors

No one will test your mettle as will a good mentor, and when we dive into the legacy of knowledge transfer today we still come across notions in popular culture around the role of the teacher like Digital Aristotle: Thoughts on the Future of Education https://youtu.be/7vsCAM17O-M via @YouTube

In Federal circles the question is often asked, how can we make government jobs cool again? According to Gallup having a Greek Restaurant may be more popular than being in the Government Industry. This is where Content Marketing can help most cash-strapped agencies looking to build awareness. Pull from your history, for instance, the National Archives & Records Administration is seeking stakeholder engagement on a collaboration board called History Hub.

The Greeks were the great myth-makers of Europe but even today the power of telling a good story and the role that Content Marketing can help in building a sustainable and replicable approach.  Not only in building traffic to your careers site but when applied to some truths according to the U.S. General Services Administration who has provided guidance around multimedia tips check out Multimedia Storytelling in Government  Also notable is the fact that some in U.K public sector have established a governmentwide communications strategy see image below.

As a McKinsey report recently shared on How to Lead a skills-and-competencies revolution. Governments need to identify and attract talent into data-specific jobs and positions, such as data scientists, data architects, UX designers, agile development project managers, and analysts. A skills gap exists, and we are forging ahead. Even in the UK’s Government Digital Service has developed a comprehensive talent management strategy for digital and data skills. Its recruitment hub helps all departments recruit digital and data talent and organize rotational programs. In fact, we at Monster Worldwide are helping the OPM equivalent in the United Kingdom do this today.

Telling the story through your paid media can be done in a way to be sustainable, replicable and authentic ( Social Job Ads or fully automated Twitter Card generation and distribution circa. 2014). Essentially Identity & Culture are intangibles. Just as emotional intelligence is to the success of a leader, employer brands need to be activated, and candidates need to make (Connections) across your owned media and social channels. Facebook & Twitter and the myriad of data points and digital exhaust they emit are enabling targeted placements to attract mission critical occupations and roles with new entrants to the workforce when compared against the programmatic and behavioral targeting capability we have today available through my current employer. In modern or ancient Greece, it was thought one could tell one's fortune through various means, maybe from the coffee rinds in reading demitasse cups, or in reputation management tools for social mentions of your organization. Your digital footprint e.g. google analytics ( web pages ), ATS data (applicant tracking system ) or our sources of online information records management can tell employers and candidates a story as well. Digital empowerment and the transformation that comes with it means being a digital citizen in an age where we can begin using technology to address significant societal challenges through social media outlets such as Facebook. 

What may have been developed from accidental empires of the early nineties serves to increase our abilities related to computational learning and e-commerce, trade and architectural modeling to scientific discovery. Not unlike western civilization at a crossroads back centuries ago, perhaps America only a couple of hundred years or so old from now like the Greeks will be emerging from our Dark ages towards a more promising and fruitful future.

Citizenship, Rights And Culture "Diversity is a part of democracy." HT @abrysk or read Good Global Citizenship by Professor Alison Brysk from UC Santa Barbara on women's empowerment encouraging good global citizenship. In a past blog post she notes:

"To me, mentorship is nurturing and accompanying students on the academic journey of producing human rights scholarship that expands our knowledge and our vision of the field,” explained Brysk. “Part of what I am trying to do in teaching and mentoring is to foster global citizenship. She challenges her students to place their research in a historical trajectory and to appreciate and question global context."

Mentoring as the catalyst for accelerated knowledge management and knowledge transfer
As a first generation Greek, I was taught at a young age that life comes in three parts. The individual learns all they can; then applies that learning in the "good-strife" and then we enjoy the fruits of our labor in old age. So to like the three fates, media comes in three parts: paid, earned and owned. Like the three fates in mythology, there was one who spins the yarn, one who measures it, and one cuts it. Three pillars that speak to the dark, bronze and golden age of big data in HR may very well begin with a discussion regarding the objectives for digital disruption, and the volume, velocity, and variety of data points and key performance metrics that matter to you the individual and are meaningful and can inform management. As a framework at least at Monster our three pillars are Reach, Connections & Solutions.  

So in the spirit of the Olympic Games, competition and individual performance management or measurement through achievement albeit recognized by the raise, an olive wreath, or even a gold medal the accomplishment of tasks for reaching ones' goals serve as an opportunity for recognition, confirmation of success, monetary reward or dare I say elevated status in your work group.

Micro-learning as an extension of your Academic Centers of Excellence
Like on the steps of the agora, today we have tools like WIN Insights for Diversity & Inclusion Training, eMentoring Platforms, gamification tools around socializing curriculum. I think back to some lessons in film studies ( growth of video) as a new medium it forces us to use all of our senses.  However if you go to Hong Kong where the environmental conditions are such that new generations are prone to spend exorbitant amounts of time inside, and in doing so have created their own cultural experiences e.g. mass events of collectively coming together to watch other gamers play in contrived virtual worlds e.g. Second Life Xbox and the such -recruiters for instance in the armed forces early on determined that to garner attention for newly minted recruits meant they would have to break through the electronic bubble if you will - lead to games like "Americas' Game" where brick and mortar location or rolling truck would provide experiential learning opportunities in war games is telling- but absent my limited understanding or study in game theory being what it is, the Digital persona we create for ourselves and how we come to terms with self-actualization as our Digital lives coalesce could be a good topic to explore as well as a double edge sword - we could lose sight of the Agoura and the power of collective debate without personal contact and interactions that come from the real world and experience derived in the classroom which in turn inform our sense of self and role as a member of a society, class, group or organization.

Just as "Leveling up" can release endorphins in game theory, as in motivation, Daniel Pink's views on autonomy and mastery are a couple of ways to approach the build out of your affinity groups and brand ambassador efforts. Sure hard work is its' own reward but the desire to be part of and belong to a larger community speaks to the core benefits of employee engagement. That is why employers may want to focus more on building a sense of identity and inclusive diversity around career development and mentoring. If you are trying to address talent fragmentation in HR or market segmentation in Public Affairs with transactional not a holistic approach to staffing or content marketing by providing no career paths or editorial calendars/road maps of any sort, require operating together to find better.

Socrates was a mentor to Plato who in turn was a teacher to Aristotle who in turn taught Alexander the Great. From Mentors to Mentees: Plato, Socrates & Aristotle to Alexander the Great all brought new modes of thinking and ideas about solving problems. These qualities and actions taken centuries ago shed light on how the continuum from the birth of democracy to modern day was founded upon a tradition of academics. A tradition that carries forward, the idea that anyone of us is not smarter than all of us and as individuals we are or can be agents of change - the pursuit to find better -isn't that what Big Data in HR is all about. Millennials want to make a difference, an impact and be part of a revolution, and the revolution will not be televised ladies and gentlemen it will be digital and the blue sky era of cable TV morphed into what we call the evolving digital landscape of social media today.

Just as the phalanx was to the ancient Greek military, as is having a diverse set of tools and the talent with a broad and varied spectrum of backgrounds and ethnicity e.g. for the Greek military they were diverse as they possessed and built into the organization capabilities that proved as critical success factors for the Mycenaean's. As is the case today in talent management. Successful as they were, in building an empire some have speculated this was the result of diversity. The ancient Greek military had a cavalry, infantry, archers, and navy - they were made up of individuals across city-states bound together to fend off the invading Persian forces under Darius and Xerxes.

War for Talent Management will be won by those that see the business case for inclusive diversity. For us today it means diverse teams that collaborate to build brand equity while sharing stories to articulate the EVP. Just as stories are passed forward through history at one level, they carry forward the norms, myths, religions, and traditions that have been passed down through decades and centuries even perhaps. Similarly, your employer brand tends to work at another more introspective level. And perhaps tapping into resources such as a directory of diversity based nonprofits as is being done by this IAB initiative is a great first step to building a Digital Training Course to Increase Workforce Diversity in Digital Media and Marketing Industries. Building your candidate pools as you garner the traffic and conversion rates your plan and business objectives demand. Owned media like your careers websites should be responsive and convey the meaningful purpose and mission. So as the technology landscape changes, those (Solutions) or software as a service, cloud analytics or platform as a service that you may want now will not only come cheaper but can help drive continued growth and enable an articulation of the return on investment in the future

The People Behind the Code
A couple years ago about 400 of the world’s best and brightest in cryptology converged at UC Santa Barbara for the world’s premiere cryptology conference and thought it interesting that cryptology it can be traced back as far as the ancient Greeks and Romans who used early cipher devices to send secret codes across the battlefield, cryptology didn’t become an established academic research topic until the mid-1970’s. With the rise of computers and the availability of increasingly more complex ciphers, the field grew.

"As technology develops, the reach of cryptology expands. Especially in the realm of computers and the online world, virtually any digital communication is prone to hacking, whether it comes from a user or any node in a network.
This leads me to recall a "rising sense of insecurity" as shared on the big issues facing HR from The SHRM Thought Leaders Panel but as was shared by an officer of the International Association for Cryptologic Research

"Given the consideration for effective encryption in areas as diverse as business (think Bitcoin); health, in which there is a push for electronic medical records; and even more futuristic developments, such as self-driving cars and smart homes." - Meeting the people behind the research, IACR President Christian Cachin said, is the primary reason most participants come to the conference. “In the end, every scientific contribution is authored by people,” said Cachin, “and this is why we are socializing here.” - IACR President Christian Cachin

In the late 80s, mass media communications theory taught at UCSB would debate between two schools of thought in terms of media affects on children. Notions of multi finality or equi-finality aside, (in that communication starts at one point and expands out to thousands of nodes or your communications come from a myriad of points are centralized) speaks to the distribution of the message.  I am excited to see more efforts focused on a similar question these days now with social media as it relates to the online behavior of our youth and it's relation to the modern digital citizen and identity. So the theories of Cultivation hypothesis ( we are desensitized by viewing violence ) vs Direct Effects theory ( media has immediate impacts and connotations around a "mean and scary world" hypothesis ) but both can still apply and several Universities and sociologists are continuing to build on our understanding of these dynamics on society and culture.

There should be more efforts towards closing the digital divide / net neutrality, but to do so with a vision of what the Khan Academy , MOOCs, and platforms like this promise or down the road what sensors, AR, e.g Pokemon Go can mean for us is telling, moreover If technology can provide us a path out of Plato's cave it should teach and inform, but also protect the rights to privacy and the ideals on which our country are founded, it just as easily can take us down the wrong path if no governance is established and we mistakenly open a Pandoras Box. The fact is that a battle does exist on the Dark Web and the ramifications of that to us today in both a formal workplace or more personal level in the home setting is the topic of much debate around future workforce needs around Cyber shortages.

So how can we shape the future workforce skill sets and protect our children online is a topic of debate I trust taking place in the halls of the Department of Homelands Security, NIST, NARA, GSA, and literally any Federal Agency or Fortune 500 IT department i.e. National Cyber Security Alliance HT @StaySafeOnline. What happens when this cyber war is played out into home, which is the topic of a new book by a digital forensics specialist I hope to read soon by Mary Aiken on HOW CYBERSPACE IS CHANGING THE WAY WE THINK, FEEL, AND BEHAVE

So if Washington DC has become the Athens of today, then perhaps the Library of Alexandria has become the National Archives and Records Administration. As Digital Transformation for them means moving from analog to digital so too in our world of HR we are all susceptible to threats in funding, resources, surge requirements, and even more pronounced in the areas of cyber security. This speaks to a need to protect the integrity of our data and find the balance between structured and unstructured data as well as governance and collaboration across sectors. I find it gratifying to see more of an emphasis cross-agency collaboration and public-private partnerships. As the formation of new alliances can and will set the context for growth up along the trajectory of historical perspectives informed by whatever maturity models du jour you ascribe to- we must propel ourselves and society forward just as government agencies are moving to more open and transparent solutions using big data in all facets but most notable need to accelerate the change in human resources to help shape the workforces of the future in seeking to #FindBetter systems of learning and digital engagement that can modernize human capital communications.

So as we look to move from the Connections we have made in the alliances formed in the bronze age and begin to move to the Golden Age of Big Data in talent management towards Solutions we should be informed by lessons learned in the past and bring us to the present are often commingling, history teaches us that it repeats itself. As markets evolve and recruiters emerge from the dark ages of HR one might say, like moths to the flame- we are drawn to the bright shiny thing - the latest technology and the promise of a new digital age. For better or for worse when will it come you ask? Maybe in just a few years or decades from now, but when that day does come, my friend, the digital age will still need to put people first to build a new more evolved culture one that is more digitally savvy, one that can stand for something or fall for anything but most importantly stand the test of time and be one for the ages.

- views expressed are my own -

#FindBetter

Part II of III - Next Up The Golden Age - Solutions