For HR in Technology Companies Today, It's More Than Just about Food!

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July 17, 2008 - Patty Prosser

We all know that millenials and Gen Xers are motivated differently than their baby boomer predecessors. The buzz today seems to be all about the extras that technology companies are offering to attract and keep these key players in their organizations. But some conference goers I spoke with in the technology sector were more interested in the more practical side of human resources—things like recruiting and hiring practices that align with organizational culture. These folks were thrilled with the message they heard from some key conference presenters such as Google’s Vice President of People Operations Laszlo Bock.  And the message was that it’s much more than free food, “sleep stations” and exercise and game rooms.

At this year’s conference, these savvy HR professionals wanted to hear from real hands-on players who were actually “doing it” day to day. And the message they heard was that it really is about organizational culture. It’s about successfully defining the organizational “brand” and then clearly communicating what this means to existing and prospective employees in a compelling way that makes them want to come to work everyday and stay engaged.    

It’s about the style of leadership that’s acceptable and destined to bring out the best in employees. It’s about defining expectations and career paths. It’s about providing feedback on performance and on coaching for success. It’s about meaningful reward and recognition programs. And it’s about taking an interest in the individual and what’s important to him or her, both in and outside of work.

Among this event’s concurrent sessions, there really were a variety of opportunities to learn from real best practices. I heard from a number of HR professionals who were really passionate about their own company brands and couldn’t wait to get back to their own organizations and begin influencing and applying some of these critical recruiting and retention success factors.

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Patty Prosser is managing partner of OI Partners - Career Consultants (Indianapolis). She has more than 25 years of experience assisting organizations in solving a variety of human resource issues. She has assisted a broad base of clients in growing, developing, retaining and transitioning their human resource assets. Her expertise lies in her ability to help individuals and teams understand themselves and the impact they have within their organizations, seek opportunities for improvement, evaluate options and set plans to meet both professional and personal goals. Patty can be reached at 317-264-4178 or pprosser@oipartners.net.