ICC Senior Vice President Meredith Masse recently delivered the opening keynote at the NTCA 2016 HR & OSHA Conference in Denver, Colorado.  NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association is the premier association representing nearly 900 independent, community-based telecommunications companies that are leading innovation and the IP evolution for consumers in rural and small-town America. More than 150 HR and other rural broadband business leaders attended the conference at which the focus aimed at staying ahead of HR trends and building skills to be adaptable to change in today’s fast-moving, dynamic workplaces.

Meredith’s kick-off message centered on the future of HR featuring trends reported in the 2016 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends study.  Deloitte’s survey pinpointed where organizational leaders are putting their focus.

Meredith’s keynote stressed three of those critical areas that have also been part of ongoing conversations ICC has been having with its clients:

1. Organizational (Re-)Design – The vast majority of respondents to the Deloitte survey (92%) rate organizational design as a top priority. Nearly half (45%) report their companies are either in the middle of a restructuring (39%) or planning one (6%).ICC’s recommended questions to ask before getting started on an organizational redesign:
   • START WITH BUSINESS STRATEGY: What strategic “problems” do we need to solve for our customers, stakeholders, employees?
   • ISOLATE SPECIFIC PIECES: What are the pieces, projects, tasks that need to be accomplished to achieve the strategies?
   • IDENTIFY NEEDED TALENTS: What talents, skills, areas of expertise, strengths are required to accomplish each piece?
   • ASSEMBLE TEAMS: Who are the right people with the diversity of skills, knowledge, M.O.s to get the work done… well?

   Two of ICC’s favorite tools for kick-starting a new design: Kolbe Leadership Analytics and 5 Behaviors of a Cohesive Team.

2. Leadership Re-Engineering – The Deloitte study uncovered that 89% of respondents indicated the need to strengthen, reengineer and improve organizational leadership. 56% reported their companies are not ready to meet leadership needs. And more than 1 in 5 companies (21%) have no leadership programs at all. ICC’s first tip for getting started on re-engineering leadership:
   • ACCURATELY PINPOINT WHO’S READY: Who already has developed some of the leadership skills necessary to move into higher levels of management and leadership? Who is motivated to further develop the skills necessary to be successful in those new roles? Who has the capacity (a.k.a. learning agility) to learn and develop those new skills? How much time will it take to develop the critical new skills? One of ICC’s favorite tools for fueling this leadership re-engineering: Pinsight Talent Management Technology.

3. Learning (and Career Development) – The Deloitte study revealed that 84% of executives rated learning as important or very important. This focus on learning seems appropriate, as learning opportunities are among the largest drivers of employee engagement and strong workplace culture. ICC’s advice for getting started on creating employee-driven learning and career development:
   • START BY BUILDING CAREER PATHS: When employees were asked to indicate the factors that would cause them to look for employment elsewhere, lack of career progress was #1 – ahead of pay. How do organizations support employees in sketching career paths? Map career paths utilizing current HR data and/or subject matter experts. Define competencies and requirements for roles/positions included; connect with learning and development resources; gain agreement within organization; communicate with and train managers.

Participants at the NTCA 2016 HR & OSHA Conference were pleased to understand the global HR trends that were most relevant to them and were notably grateful for the practical tips and tools.