www.thehedirector.com 100% no paid for editorial

HRD

Roundtable Tribunal

management, ETS under

pressure, employers

disillusioned - will reform

improve the outlook?

Health & safety A raft of

new considerations;

employer responsibility for

“grey fleet” drivers, AEDs in

the workplace and new fees

Redundancy managementAs another tranche of

redundancies loom, we

look at options to culling

what is left of the workforce

Change management Old

habits die hard! Nudge and

nudge again, people need

to be reminded of both the

rationale and importance

Apprenticeships Some

employers have deliberately

misinterpreted the scheme

to utilise cheap labour, in

exchange for funding

theHRDIRECTOR Issue 100

The only independent strategic HR publication

Of allelementsnecessary forgrowth, talentis our numberone priority

InterviewConnie GibneyHR DirectorLinkedin

Also featured in this issue:

Celebrating our 100th Issue

8

Connie, give us an idea of your early career, and what were the key influences that havehelped determine your career in HR? I didn’t choose HR, it kind of chose me! I studiedpsychology at school, but my first job was as a business analyst at Texas Instruments, whichyou won’t see on my profile, because very soon after joining I was asked if I would like to jointhe HR team as a Recruiting & HR Coordinator. This was a great opportunity to learn thefoundations of HR in a well organised and established business. I worked there for aboutthree years, progressing to a senior HR generalist and from there I joined a start-up companyin San Francisco. It was a consulting company called Viant, and I was the second HR personto be hired by the firm in the late 90’s, during the dotcom boom. It was a start-up in everysense and the person who eventually became our chief people officer, Diane Hall, had no HR background as such, but had a passion for people and learning. When I look back at thekey learnings of my life, unquestionably, what Diane taught me was so valuable.

She was an amazing mentor, and led by examplewith how to really engage with the business, howthinking commercially enables HR to add real valueto the business. Diane was very influential in myearly career and I still reflect on the programs I worked with her in developing. Foundationally, I still use many of those concepts today. Anothervery influential person for me, early in my careerand at the same company was Robbie Vann-Adibe,who was one of the founders of Viant. Robbiepushed me to think ahead of business demandand also encouraged me to move away from theUS to work on opening up offices in Europe as partof the company’s international expansion. I tookhis advice and moved to London where I wasbased for two years, working throughout Europeand this really put my career in a new trajectoryand since that time I have always had aninternational remit in my HR career.

You were still relatively inexperienced, goingfrom a long-established business to start ups,how did you prepare for that? I had to really callon everything I had learnt early in my career andthink about how best to apply my existingknowledge to what was essentially a blank canvas.I had to re-invent myself, from being simply an HR practitioner carrying out parts of the whole, to thinking and managing on a broader, globalscale. I found it both very challenging and exciting. I discovered that I had a solid foundation as an HR practitioner and could translate that experienceto support a business that was in rapid expansion.

What was your first experience of working HRstrategically at a high level? I remember my firstexperiences of interacting with the board was ateCast - we were going through a merger and I wasleading the HR assessment. The CEO and I hadidentified some critical differences between thecompanies’ HR practices that could impact on themerger. One major difference was pay structures andrewards, where the two companies were incompatibleand would require significant change management.So my first big strategic work was in this tricky andpotentially disruptive area. We had to build a strategyand get agreement quickly at an executive and boardlevel so that we could roll it out as part of the merger.It was far from easy and something I hadn’t donebefore, but it taught me to ask a lot of questions, to think through good procedures and ensure sounddecision-making is communicated well. You’ve alsogot to have faith in your own abilities and not beafraid to question executives in a constructive way to help them find the right answers.

Today I think I can classify myself as a start-upspecialist, being able to work in an agile way acrossall HR functions and with executive andmanagement levels. I really love small companieswith big ambitions but also with a focus ondeveloping people. It’s a very different environment

It may be lazy journalism to trot out how the internet is

revolutionising the human race, but it is truly gob-smacking

that in its tenth year, Linkedin has 200 million registered users.

Jason Spiller interviews Connie Gibney, Linkedin’s HR Director,

and finds out what is driving this phenomenon.

a stageall the world’s

Interview: Connie Gibney

Connie Gibney, HR Director - Linkedinint

to working for large and long-established companies,of course, but I could not have stepped up to theplate without well-grounded experience in a biggerfirm, because it exposed me to big scale and bestpractice in a multitude of HR areas. The start-upexperience, however, allowed me to apply it quicklyand with a keen eye. For example, I can look atcompensation frameworks in Germany and knowwhat questions to ask to ensure we are meeting themarket competition, I can have a conversation aboutequity in France with some authority and Iunderstand about setting up HR operations in a newcountry even if I’ve never worked in that countrybefore. I enjoy everything in HR from appropriateprocedures and compliance, to businesspartnerships, succession planning and thinkingcreatively about career paths for people. Being instart-ups means you have to roll your sleeves upand personally get stuck in, but you also experiencethe rewards of seeing your tangible work take effect.

But that creates significant pressure, there is noroom for mistakes and there is no hiding place.Sure, it increases pressure, but when I talk withHR practitioners in other firms, they invariably saythat they wish they could do the stuff I get to do.When I ask them “why not?” they often say theculture of the company wouldn’t support thatchange. I think there is benefits to establishedprocesses and procedures just as much as thereis to trying new things out. Keep in mind, there isusually a lot of chaos in start-ups and you have tomanage up as well as down, constantly keepingleaders in the loop and being open to changingyour idea. You might not need so many signoffs,but the hardest part is creating the idea in thefirst place; that’s where you need a team tocollaborate with and that team isn’t always just in

Being in start-upsmeans you have toroll your sleeves upand personally getstuck in, but you alsoexperience therewards of seeingyour tangible worktake effect

Connie GibneyHR Director – Linkedin

Connie Gibney is HR Director of Linkedin. She was interviewed by Jason Spiller and photographedby Stuart Thomas.

HR. Something you can influence and, if youcan leave your mark on a business, that’smassively rewarding no matter the size orscope of the company.

Give us an idea of what how Linkedinpainted its picture of the future and what itexpected you to deliver with HR? Linkedinhas always been an evolving company. At thetime I joined there were only about 65employees outside the US, but there werelarge growth plans in place, so they kind ofturned the tables by asking me what I thoughtthey should be doing Internationally. That wasdaunting, but I understood the vision and itwas clear that my role would be to help layfoundations of good HR practice acrossmultiple countries, to ensure our values andculture was maintained with the plannedgrowth and find ways to make employeesmore productive and successful as we grewso quickly. I found it’s crucial to set very clearshort and long term goals, communicatefrequently with stakeholders and also to reallyutilise your key experiences when applyingthem to a company in build mode. The mainone was to bring an international perspectiveto the people strategy that was mostly derivedfrom US practices. I was able to engagequickly both with US colleagues and those inEurope and Asia-Pacific. While it was a prettyblank sheet of paper, within two and a halfyears we’ve gone from six offices outside theUS to 25 worldwide - that’s pretty high growthand not short of challenges. What I’m most

proud of is that we've maintained our values,which are not just stated but, crucially, lived byeveryone who joins the company, as well asour executive leaders.

Does the nature of the business, it being a web-based facility, make it easier toexpand internationally with one clearemployer brand and culture? I definitelythink so, but it needs to also be thoughtful of the employees in countries we expand into.We’re a big brand, but we’re also relativelysmall as a company. Although our brand doeshave incredible reach, the site being availablein 19 languages worldwide, we recognise thecombined strengths of a global brand andalso the importance of localisation. When you bring that back to how you operate froman HR perspective, it helps to have brandawareness as you go into new markets, but you also need to ensure your employeeexperience matches that brand expectation.

I should imagine that the ambition is toreally capitalise on emerging markets, howdoes the Linkedin culture fit say, in China orthe middle-east? We are currently exploringwhat makes sense for Linkedin in China, but I think a real strength, and this was aconscious decision, is wherever you are, youcan walk into any Linkedin office around theworld and it feels like Linkedin. The employeesshare the same values and culture that are thesame across the company. You have to bethoughtful about cultures and values and howyou foster them. You might have the look andfeel of an office, but you can’t force somethingon people’s attitudes towards a company. We like to foster our employee culture in a fewdifferent ways. Take Dubai, where we haverecently set up. One of the things we've founduseful is to move existing employees fromother locations, where they’ve been workingwith Linkedin, to help set up new offices, suchas in the UAE. In this situation, theseemployees don’t have much experience in thelocal market but they do know Linkedin, andthese advocates are really key to helping todevelop new offices and embedding our cultureand business procedures.

What do you think are the next significantchallenges for the business? We’re really stillgrowing and maturing and, of all the elementsnecessary for growth, talent is our numberone priority. We’ve seen time and again hiringand developing strong talent is paramount todelivery and success in times of high growth.The brand, as you might expect, does a lot ofthe work for us in attracting talent, but youcan’t be complacent, this is a massivelycompetitive arena to hire. So it’s about

maximising the marketing potential of thebrand, and not only being a recruiter, but alsoa marketer to candidates. This way of thinkingallows companies and recruiters to look at theawareness of brand, which is compelling whenmeasuring success of hiring. It’s aboutmarketing and extending the employer brandbeyond your own website and attracting talentglobally, and that’s an increasingly valuable resource.

Would you say Linkedin is on the radar ofyoung talent as a potential career? Yes andincreasingly so, but we cannot rest on ourlaurels, and assume this will always be thecase. We have been actively makingconnections with students and higher educationinstitutions to ensure we remain top-of-mind fornew university grads. For example, we have areally great new university grad program in theUS, where we've developed strong relationshipswith key schools, and this really helps insourcing young talent. That awareness comesthrough at many stages of a student’s life and,when they come close to graduating, it comestop-of-mind who they want to work for.

Here in Europe we hire a lot of salesprofessionals, from early stage career to highly experienced, but we also hire manyyoung professionals in HR, Finance, Marketing,Customer Service and Sales Support. InIreland where I'm based, as well as in the UK,it’s good to see how many people in thoseindustries are on Linkedin and actively using it as a professional tool. We really leverage the site for recruitment, as you might guess.We haven’t found problems hiring because ourbrand is exciting and we also have great toolsto find the talent we need.

How should employers adapt to takeadvantage of social networking, say forexample in recruiting? Recruitment ischanging, sure enough, and social media isbringing opportunities to people who are notactively looking to change jobs. This affectsevery company in every sector, no matter howbig or how small. As recruiting leaders weneed to be able to shift gears and ensure ourorganisations are changing with the industry. A key part of recruitment is to understandpeople’s motivations, both long and short-term. Why they may want to join a companynow or down the line? I feel we in HR need toalso adapt to change, to think about how weengage with employees from a very early stage of the process throughout.

So you think there will be more migration inthe future, and do you think this will causebrain drain in some territories? Only around

10

You have to bethoughtful aboutcultures and valuesand how you fosterthem. You mighthave the look andfeel of an office, butyou can’t forcesomething onpeople’s attitudestowards a company

Interview: Connie Gibney

Connie Gibney, HR Director - Linkedinint

20 percent of people who hold the right skillsyou need are actively looking for jobs.Traditional recruitment methods overlook theother 80 percent. As HR professionals, I thinkwe need to think about developing a peoplestrategy to accommodate business needs, butalso think strategically about connectingopportunity to the right candidates, no matterwhere they are located. It’s about developing a people strategy to meet business needs, byreaching out to candidates who may be in otherregions and possess the exact skills you arelooking for. In today’s environment, HR andrecruiting professionals need to search for thebest talent, even when it may not be somebodyin the same town or indeed country. While wesee a global diversification of opportunity, I alsothink Europe has a high level of opportunitytoo. Business is transforming and employersshould consider recruitment costs differently,such as budgeting for relocations, as bothinternal mobility and talent movementincreases on a global scale.

What would you say are the obviousbusiness challenges going forward, andwhat are HR’s priorities? For us, thechallenges continues to be scale and growth,ensuring we make intelligent decisions quicklyand effectively, so that’s where we look toinvest. As I mentioned, talent is our numberone priority and we invest heavily in developingour people, at the same time as hiring in newemployees. I think HR remains a criticalcomponent to any organisation as we bringexpertise to help our managers and employeesreach their full potential. We have to beconscious of what might hinder HR, includingstereotyping and bureaucracy, so we don’t fallinto that trap. I think as HR professionals weneed to keep the objectives clear with clearcommunication. Do I get frustrated withbureaucracy or administrative requirement? Of course. But you need to have a balance of

why that is crucial and, more importantly, thinkabout your employees and their experiencewith your company.

Is there really, to coin a much-used phrase,a talent drought? I’m always impressed by the talent we come into contact with, andI’m constantly astounded by the skill andknowhow of our colleagues here. That beingsaid, complacency is a killer as there areconstantly new opportunities for people withhigh-demand skills and roles that need to befilled with those specialised skills. The realityis there’s competition for talent so we have to be agile and keep ahead of the curve byactively recruiting top talent and thinkingabout developing our existing talent whileensuring that the employee experience keepspeople motivated and rewarded.

Do you see a difference in attitudes towardscareers in this sector? I think the world ischanging especially around how people thinkabout their careers. It’s not just about whatyou get paid, but also the professionalopportunities companies can give to theiremployees. I think when it comes toopportunity, people want to feel like they makea difference in the company they work for, theywant a career, and a career is about evolvingyour skills, and learning and developing as youdo meaningful work. But, as with everything,it’s about balance. I think HR plays animportant role advising and encouragingpeople to think about their development, whatthe opportunities are and to think carefullyabout their next career step. At the same time,as HR professionals, we need to ensure ourcompanies really look at the reward strategyon a more holistic level, asking ourselves“what is it we want our employees to feelabout the company and what rewards willencourage certain behaviours that are in linewith what the company wants to achieve”?

There is a lot of talk about the so-calledchange in the employee/employerrelationship, how impactful do you thinkthat has been? I would say the relationshiphas changed quite significantly and HR hashad a hand in that, particularly in the areas of employee engagement, perceptions andexpectations. That relationship is also aboutunderstanding that a company’s culture isdriven by the employees. I think fostering andnurturing the employee/employer relationshipis a work-in-progress, and something weshould always be mindful of. Ultimately, as anemployer, we need to ensure we value peopleand recognise achievement, and that’s notjust about money.

In years to come, what would you like to be remembered most for in terms of yourinput at Linkedin? Knowing I was the first HR person hired outside the US and helpingfurther the expansion of the business, whileproviding value as a partner, has beenincredibly rewarding. And I’d like to feel that Istayed true to my roots of being veryentrepreneurial. Linkedin has been a placewhere I have grown, continued to learn anddevelop my skills as an HR leader, whilstfostering my desire to innovate. My passionfor HR comes down to people: what motivatesthem, what inspires them, what makes themwant to try new things. I’m compelled byhuman behaviour, and how with thought andinnovation, you can help people fulfil and evensucceed expectations and outcomes.

For further information:

www.uk.linkedin.com

HRD

11

www.thehrdirector.com