C-suite talks HR: Kathryn Minshew, CEO, The Muse

The author and entrepreneur shares how leaders can use the rules of work to their advantage

C-suite talks HR: Kathryn Minshew, CEO, The Muse
Talent is no longer playing by traditional hiring rules – and leaders can’t afford to, either.

HR professionals need to be across the novel ways prospective recruits are flipping the old rules on their head by designing and pitching their dream jobs to employers – with many using Kathryn Minshew’s modern playbook to their advantage.

The co-author of The New Rules of Work and CEO of innovative recruiting platform The Muse will share her insights into the changing world of talent and work at the HR Leaders Summit.

Though her book is written with talent in mind, HR and executives can also use those rules to their advantage – whether hiring or deciding their next career move.

“The HR industry is undergoing a really important transformation right now, much in the same way that finance two decades ago went from being seen as bean counters to being seen as strategic partners at the highest levels of the organization,” Minshew says.

“There’s a similar opportunity for HR and talent professionals to really step up into a strategic role, helping to shepherd the company’s most important resources: their people.”

By being both the first face of an organization, and the guardians of its resources, HR is in a “really powerful role” – and can use that to their advantage.

Minshew adds that to find success in their own work, HR professionals “need to do a few things”.

“One is to think about the overall business implications of decisions that they make. They need to rely on data whenever possible to explain the overall business, strategic, or financial impact of the people decisions, and they need to step up in demonstrating to leadership that companies who are forward-thinking to recruiting, retaining and developing their people are going to continue to attract better and better people, and see success. Companies that don’t succeed [at that] are going to fall behind.”

HR should also be unafraid of challenging the way their company operates to achieve people-related success.

“The world is becoming much more transparent, candidates .... are voting with their feet, and top talent in particular is doing their research, and the companies with the most innovative, authentic, human experiences are going to come out ahead.”

Minshew urges any leader to make sure they bring their people with them, by helping them understand the “why” behind their work.

“One of the best ways to do that is with stories. I’m a huge believer in the power of storytelling, and the magic and motivation that can happen when you unite a group of people around a set of authentic stories around what it is that you aim to do in the world.”

Kathryn Minshew will speak at the HR Leaders Summit in November.


Related stories:
Are you ready to play by the new rules of work?
Should every employee get leadership lessons?


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