Reflections on FTC Stockholm 2023

The Future Talent Council conference in the beautiful city of Stockholm (June 2023) brought together 200+ delegates and speakers from industry and universities along with a range of policy advisors, sponsoring vendors and global industry thought leaders.??

This was not a ‘European’ focused event, there were representatives from as far away as South America, US, Canada, South Africa, Philippines, The Carribean, Middle East and of course Australia, represented by TQSolutions and University of Newcastle .

The corporate speakers represented businesses including UBS, DHL-Deutsche Post, McKinsey, EY, HSBC, Phillip Morris, SAP, Southwest Airlines, Siemens, Astra-Zeneca, Ericsson, Spotify, Anglo American, Mondelez, Novo Nordisk, TietoEvry, Northern Trust Corporation, Zalando and Valtech.

My major take-away from the 2 days in Stockholm can be summarised as ‘Same Issues, Different Geography’ and again I keep asking myself the question whether we are trying to solve the right problems as an industry. ?I am becoming more convinced that we need challenge the current paradigm we are operating within including the very purpose of HR and Talent functions within business. This, however, is a topic for another day......

Returning to the conference…..the major topics of discussion and concern were:

• Extremely tight labour markets around the world and a desperate need to diversify the talent pools being recruited from. Julia Duhamel from McKinsey gave a great example of its maturing hiring diversity – it has broadened its talent sourcing sites from 500 to 1700 which now include many non-traditional institutions. McKinsey's focus has shifted to the notion that ‘exceptional can come from anywhere’ and there is a need to pursue ‘potential over pedigree’.
• There were deep concerns, hype and excitement over the emerging role and influence of AI in Talent Attraction / HR more broadly. Interestingly, whilst we were in Stockholm the EU passed the AI Act, the first major regulation over AI’s use which is worth reviewing and getting your head around (https://www.artificial-intelligence-act.com/). Tools like Chat GPT were seen as useful for ‘input’ but not appropriate or accurate enough for ‘outputs’. Some interesting research and insights were shared by Richard Mosley from Universum showing just how distorted Chat GPT’s Gen Z attributes were relative to their actual research findings, in some cases they were poles apart and simply cannot be relied upon. ?
• The need for HR/Talent functions to have way better technology and access to much richer and deeper talent and workforce data. This aligns well with TQSolutions research findings from its 2023 Talent Maturity Model research. There does however seem to be more advanced and mature examples of Workforce Intelligence strategies and deployments in other parts of the world with some interesting cases from HSBC (Technology) and DHL-Deutsche Post (including front line).
• Overwhelming consensus of the need for talent and HR functions to pursue a relentless focus on ‘Experience’ across the talent and workforce lifecycle. The session which seemed to challenge most people’s thinking was unsurprisingly Dart Lindsley ’s session on ‘Work for Humans’ focusing the group on the notion that ‘Employees are customers, and work is a product'.?His view that HR/Leaders need to purposefully design work experience products seemed to really resonate with the group.?They also had lots of fun answering the question: ‘What job do you hire your job to do for you?’ which is the basis for understanding your customer (employee).
• Around the world, and in particularly in the US and Europe, the focus on corporate social impact, sustainability and broader DE&I strategies is significantly more mature than in Asia Pacific and Australia. It is clear we have a long way to go to catch up with other parts of the world and it will be important for the A&NZ region and its businesses to remain ‘talent and skills competitive’ particularly when we rely on the world of global mobility.
• There is an acute need for new modalities of learning, beyond the traditional university approach to develop the skills and mindsets needed in the future. There was plenty of discussion around the skills needed for energy and digital transition but also some fascinating approaches to the development of mindsets needed for the future of work.?Check out Ben Nelson and the work he is leading at the Minerva University - they are a great example of a new approach to learning that equips people with the skills and mindsets needed in business today.
• Canada has very similar challenges to Australia in relation to its broader economy, the need for energy transition, relatively small population and a significant reliance on migration for future growth and access to skills. However, they appear streaks ahead in so many ways, with Federal and State Governments actively working with business to solve the skills challenge. It is worth reviewing the Ted Rogers School of Management - Toronto Metropolitan University ‘Magnet’ program or Digital Community Workforce System to show what is possible when Governments actively work with industry and universities. There are some very harsh and practical lessons evident here for Australia – we have a LOT of work to do.
• Finally, there was plenty of discussion throughout the event of the need for greater and speedier HR transformation. The function desperately needs new capabilities and must be more focused on data and analytics as well as marketing and design. Dart Lindsley raised the idea that 'traditional' HR, whilst needed in some form, will require augmenting with a workforce experience design function. I know which part of HR I would rather work in.

A re-occurring question: Is HR itself, its biggest challenge to progress? ??

I personally think the HR/Talent industry is in for a rough and challenging ride in the coming years, and it must try to get in front of what is coming. There is no ‘steady state’ and change is only going to get quicker and more dramatic. We simply cannot afford to stand still or meander as an industry.?I think we need more revolutionary not evolutionary thinkers, and we need people to be prepared to challenge themselves, the status quo and re-design the industry from within itself.

In conclusion I think the HR/Talent industry needs to adopt some Finnish ‘Sisu’ (see’-soo) as defined below:

(noun) – extraordinary determination, courage and resoluteness in the face of extreme diversity. An action mindset which enables individuals to reach beyond their present limitations, take action against all odds and transform barriers into frontiers. An integral element of Finnish culture and also a universal capacity, which we share.

Thank you so much to Jonna Sj?vall , Global Head of Talent Attraction from UBS for sharing such an inspiring concept. I think you’ll agree it’s how we as Talent/HR professionals need to think and operate as we adapt and embrace the Future of Work.

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