Blog Post from Susan Chambers, Walmart EVP of Global People in the Global People's Blog.

If you don't receive Susan Chamber's blog posts - she is quite articulate about collaboration and the value of people, talent and teams. Susan's 1 November 2013 blog is copied below:

Welcome to Susan’s Spark, The Global People’s Blog. As Global People, we have much to share and discuss. To help us do that more often, you are invited to participate in this blog by sharing your thoughts, concerns and ideas. Like any blogger, I won’t be able to answer each post individually. And I won’t always have the answers to questions. But I will, with my leadership team’s help, always do my best to address and expand on topics that most interest you and our fellow Global People associates. Thank you for sparking a difference through the work you do every day. You inspire me. In turn, I hope this blog inspires you in some way as we build our Next Generation Walmart.

November 01 A global experience – right in my own backyard by  Norma Snyder  on 11/1/2013 2:42 PM It’s been quite a dry spell since my last blog, so it’s fitting that I re-emerge with a personal note about something very important to me – being open to new experiences. My husband and I had an opportunity over the weekend to attend the Northwest Arkansas celebration of Diwali. It is also referred to as the “festival of lights” and for Hindus is one of the most important festivals of the year. It is centered on families coming together in traditional activities that include food, music and dance. It was a rich experience and I felt like I had left home and stepped right into India without the jet lag.   Saturday’s event took place at Bentonville High School and enjoyed record attendance, with over 1,200 people participating. That’s a wonderful representation of the more than 5,000 individuals who make up our local Asian Indian community. I also learned that 19 years ago Mahesh Pradhan hosted our first local Diwali celebration in his living room. That’s a tremendous amount of growth. (Thank you, Mahesh, for being a pioneer, and to all of you who work so hard to make this event a success.)   One of my favorite parts of the evening was hearing dozens of children’s voices chirping nonstop throughout the celebration as they were there having fun and learning about Diwali traditions. The second was watching Ben Hasan lead a line dance in step with contemporary Indian music, inspiring many to join in, including me. It was just plain fun. And it got me thinking. It’s easy to take for granted how diverse this area has become and miss out on the opportunity to experience it.   My larger point for writing this is to acknowledge that our lives are the sum total of our experiences. We should all look for opportunities to embrace things that we’ve never done before. And you don’t have to travel the world to know its people – many different people live in your local communities, whether it’s Northwest Arkansas, Leeds, or Hong Kong. I guess this could be described as a form of inclusion – in reverse. Get involved! And it’s a tremendous way to expand your global mindset. You don’t know what you don’t know, about food or music or dance or culture – or people, until you’re exposed to something new and unfamiliar.    I’d love to hear about some of your experiences that may have been new and taken you out of your comfort zone.

Summit Interview with Anglea McShane

Angela and her team during a LinkedIn up-skilling session.

1.  How did you get into recruiting? Through working in Talent
2.  How many years have you been in recruiting? 6 months
3. What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?  I’ve jumped out of a plane twice
4.  What are your top 3 goals you hope you and your team accomplish in the next year? Reduction in agency use, integration of Talent and Resourcing, global leverage on how we manage Talent
5.  What do you like most about your current job? My team. What do you dislike? The constant, disengaging emails from suppliers!!
6.  Do you have a work pet peeve in yourself or others? Emailing vs. walking over to someone’s desk and having a quick chat (if they’re free!).
7.  What is the best thing for you about working for Walmart? Opportunity to meet people from all walks of life
8.  When does the day start for you? When I manage to find a parking space!
9.  When you are off work how you do relax? Gym, netball, vino, socializing with friends & family,  theatre, movies, music and reading
10. Can you give us a few unchecked items on your Life’s Bucket List: Round the world trip across all continents, bungee jump, flying a plane
11. Tell us about yourself (home town, residence, family, education, etc) From Scotland, parents and family live in Edinburgh, live with partner Brian in Leeds, went to Strathclyde University in Glasgow, played Netball for Scotland and Scottish Universities before joining Asda’s graduate scheme.
12. If you could have dinner with some notable person dead or alive – who would it be and why?  Mohammad Ali to hear what’s been going through his mind in the last 20 years and what he thinks of the world today

Angela arriving at The Maldives by seaplane

13. What was your top take-a-way from the 2013 Global Walmart Recruiting Summit? The opportunity to share & learn from each other and not duplicate work unnecessarily.
14. If you had a Magic Genie and one wish; what one project on your plate would you ask for help on? How we make the most of digital& social media with the current restrictions.
15. Fill in the blank: “I’ve been fortunate to ____" "have no regrets”
16. Where do I spend most of my disposable income:  Holidays to the Maldives
17. What 1 book would you recommend to colleagues to read? Kane& Abel, by Jeffrey Archer
18. What is your biggest productivity challenge? Finding a parking space!
19. One word to sum me up:  Dynamic.       [Ed: Angela asked her team this question and they chose “dynamic” to 21. describe Angela. Angela’s own choice was “resilient”.] 

 

Summit Interview with Shane Quarry

1.  How did you get into recruiting? After taking several months off to reassert my career, a friend of mine asked me to set up a Sales and Marketing division for a MNC recruitment company in Brisbane, Australia. The team was to focus on retail business in Australia and after 12 years in the retail industry I had established some great contacts and a detailed knowledge of the job requirements. My mentor at the time told me it would be a new experience and I should be able to find myself a good new career position if it wasn’t successful.
2.  How many years have you been in recruiting? Getting close to 9 years.
3.  What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you? I like to watch reality tv shows to relax 
4.  What are your top 3 goals you hope you and your team accomplish in the next year?  GRS compliance across Asia, promotions for all team members based on exceeding expectations and becoming culture champions the global sourcing business.
5.  What do you like most about your current job? Being involved in such a diverse and ever changing business that is working directly  with the US retail stores everyday.

6. What do you dislike? Dislike having to face a Chinese customs officer every morning.. Not quite the same as a happy Starbucks employee delivering my morning coffee.
7.  Do you have a work pet peeve in yourself or others? Inconsistency of our internet connection..
8.  What is the best thing for you about working for Walmart?  The people, doesn't matter what office or which team, the people will always thank you and recognize you, this truly is a special feeling!
9.  When does the day start for you? 6:45 a.m. on the train is when I generally start my emails.
10.   When you are off work how you do relax? I enjoy playing tennis, watching cricket on TV, skypeing my family in Australia and long seafood lunches.
11. Can you give us a few unchecked items on your Life’s Bucket List: Premier league football match in the UK, learning Mandarin, have healthy children, take my wife to Santorini, ride a motor bike on the great ocean road in Victoria, Australia
12. Tell us about yourself (home town, residence, family, education, etc):  I was born in Melbourne, Australia in the early 70’s and had a childhood full of sport and outdoor activities. Melbourne is known as the sporting capital of the world and I still follow the Australian football competition very closely, actually my team is playing in the Grand Final this weekend. When I was younger I wanted to be a lawyer after watching shows like LA LAW and finding out how much money they earn. In the end I chose International Trade due to the fact that Australia was starting to push into Asia and I thought this would be a great career opportunity.
13.  If you could have dinner with some notable person dead or alive – who would it be and why? Muhammad Ali - the greatest sportsman ever with the biggest personality.
14.  What was your top take-a-way from the 2013 Global Walmart Recruiting Summit? The size of the opportunity we have to improve what we do and the prospect of creating a true COE in Asia.
15.  If you had a Magic Genie and one wish; what one project on your plate would you ask for help on? GRS
16.  Fill in the blank: “I’ve been fortunate to have met my wife Anjelica, she is my rock and has helped me become a better person”
17.  Where do I spend most of my disposable income:  Clothes, travel to Australia and eating out.
18.  What 1 book would you recommend to colleagues to read?  Hiring and Getting Hired – Lou Adler
19.  What is your biggest productivity challenge? Nicotine and coffee
20.  One word to sum me up: Passionate

 

Summit Interview with Tom Colella

1.  How did you get into recruiting? After a few years of working in HR, I decided that I liked recruiting and joined Korn/Ferry in Atlanta.

2.  How many years have you been in recruiting? 25 years.
3.  What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you? I served in the US Marines for 30 years.
4.  What are your top 3 goals you hope you and your team accomplish in the next year? Identify and recruit world class talent, standardize relevant processes, create a pipeline of diverse talent for the international markets.
5.  What do you like most about your current job?  I like the opportunity to work with our international markets; I wish the communication between International and the markets was better.
Do you have a work pet peeve in yourself or others?
6.  What do you dislike? I think that we can recruit better and smarter.
7.  What is the best thing for you about working for Walmart? I love the culture and positive attitude of our Associates.
8.  When does the day start for you? 5:15 AM
9.  When you are off work how you do relax? Running and reading history.
10. Can you give us a few unchecked items on your Life’s Bucket List: Visiting Verdun and sailing across the Atlantic.
11. Tell us about yourself (home town, residence, family, education, etc.) I grew up in a small town and looking for adventure joined the Navy. I graduated from the Naval Academy and was commissioned in the Marines. After 5 years of active service with tours in the Far East and Europe, I served in the reserves for 25 years eventually being promoted to Colonel. I graduated with an MBA from Emory University. I have 3 sons and coached baseball and football for 10 years. One is a politician, one is a musician and one is in business.
12. If you could have dinner with some notable person dead or alive – who would it be and why? Winston Churchill who led the fight against Hitler for over a year until the USSR and the Americans joined him.
13. What was your top take-a-way from the 2013 Global Walmart Recruiting Summit? How much talent we have in our recruiting teams.
14. If you had a Magic Genie and one wish; what one project on your plate would you ask for help on? Improved communications
15. Fill in the blank: “I’ve been fortunate to_______” to lead Marines.
16. Where do I spend most of my disposable income: On the politician, the musician and the businessman.
17. What 1 book would you recommend to colleagues to read? "A Message to Garcia"

18. What is your biggest productivity challenge? Staying focused on what is important.

19. One word to sum me up: Optimistic

 

Who moved my talent cheese? Where has the talent pool gone?

By 2021 there is expected large global shifts in talent pools. Many of the developed countries will experience a significant decline in available and skilled talent. Many of the developing countries will have a surplus talent pool. Many recruiting organizations will be forced to think more strategically about how and where to find and recruit needed talent in new areas of the world.

The Oxford Economics Global Talent 2021 did extensive research on "How the new geography of talent will transform HR strategies".

 

Will supply meet demand?

Developing nations understand that as technology changes rapidly and diffuses

readily, sustained investments in education and training can pay off by helping young

workers in their countries become critical players in future waves of innovation.

There is no ironclad rule mandating that areas like the Silicon Valley in the US

will be the only home of future innovation and job creation, as nations like China

and India invest in industries ranging from life sciences to renewable energy and

space exploration. In fact, eight of the top 10 countries likely to boast the largest

talent surpluses a decade from now will be in the developing world, led by India,

Indonesia, Colombia and South Africa. Even though these countries are expected

to experience robust economic growth, more skilled workers will be produced than
job opportunities will appear.

With the digital divide now operating in reverse, the South, rather than the North,

could become the major source of technical talent a decade from now. Moreover,
as the flow of capital and technology becomes increasingly frictionless across the
world, centers of innovation and product development are likely to spring up in
previously unheralded regions.

9 Million reasons why you should check your ATS's automated rejection letters.

9 Million reasons why you should check your ATS's automated rejection letters.

Did you know that since the first Walmart GRS was rolled out in September 2010 there have been 8,987,505 people received a rejection email from Walmart (ASDA, Canada, Chile, China, Mexico, Puerto Rico and US)?  Almost 9 million applicants have received our rejection letters. Yes – 9 million people have received this personal communication from us informing them they were rejected for Walmart employment!  We had 9 million opportunities to make a positive impression – but did we?

Have you read your rejection letter lately? What kind of emotion would it evoke in you if you were a rejected job applicant? Is your rejection letter accurate, honest, sincere, helpful, appropriate, and does leave the applicant with a positive attitude of Walmart or does it create a negative impression?

 I am not an English major or a professional communicator but my recruiting sales experience noted a number of concerns about this rejection letter used here in the Walmart Home Office GRS System (click on below image to enlarge):

What are your impressions after reading this rejection letter?

Here are some of my concerns about this rejection letter:

1) Isn’t the use of just “Thanks” here seem somewhat insincere, curt, too informal? Wouldn’t “Thank you” be more sincere and appropriate?

2) This email never really (or clearly) tells me I am no longer an active candidate for this job.

3) Why include the word “again”; I hear an applicant saying: ‘you mean I have to go to your difficult career site again? Ugh!’

4) This rejection letter encourages the rejected applicant to use our “Search Tool” option on the Profile home page but there is no “Search Tool” but there is a “Search Agent Manager” which allows an applicant to create, edit and run your saved searches. Saved searches can be configured to have the newest results of your search e-mailed to you on a regular basis.

Here are a few tips on writing good rejection letters:

1) Rejection letters are extremely difficult to write – don’t wing it.
2) Be honest with the applicant. Be as courteous as possible without being misleading.
3) Don’t be so brief as to appear curt or seem a “brush off”.
4) Soften the “No”.
5) Show appreciation for the applicant’s interest in working for Walmart
6) The focus should be on the applicant’s needs, not on those of the corporation – applicants really do not care about the corporations needs thus the uses of “we” and “I” should be limited and the uses of “you” and “your” should be maximized.
7) Avoid using business or recruiting jargon.
8) Try to leave the applicant with a positive impression of the Walmart brand and Walmart employment brand.

2013 Post-Summit Feedback; Overview of Top Takeaways

We value the 2013 post-Summit feedback and appreciate those that were able to respond to the feedback survey.  Please find below a summary of the feedback. A link to the entire survey results can be found at: http://bit.ly/13oN22J

 Quick Overview of the top- take-a-ways from the survey results:

1) 92%: Overall, the value of the 2013 summit was very good or excellent.

2) 84%: Overall, the content of the sessions was appropriate and informative
3) Comments about “what did you like most about the summit?”

• Collaborating with other teams – learning about their projects and best practices
• Networking
• Knowledge Sharing, sharing best practices across teams.
• Meeting other colleagues from around the world and building links
• Interactive Sessions vs. just presentations

4) Comments about “what did you like least about the summit?”

• Room was cramped
• Summit was too short to justify so long of travel
• Not enough time to share more from each country
• Lack of true actionable projects we left with
• Need more networking time

5) Suggestions on how the summit could be improved?

• Bigger room
• Ensure all teams have time to share
• Send out the summit discussion topics and “pre-work to do” before the start of summit
• Some discussion topics are too big
• Send out “RTP” “Request to Present” to solicit for presenters and topics from the field.
• More informal networking time.
• A summit leader to drive and direct conversations, create actionable projects and get past just talking about problems – let’s get to solutions.
• Do not have summit during shareholders – too much going on.
• Bring in one activity from outside for professional development
• Improve the collaboration with and attendee experience of those attending virtually

6) Top Topics for 2014 Summit (garnered 55% or more):

• Developing a Recruiting Strategy
• Employment Branding
• Avature (Contact Management tool)
• Recruiting Organizational Structure
• Social Media
• Creating a Sourcing Team

Summit Interview with John Delpino

Summit Interview with John Delpino

1.      How did you get into recruiting?  Like everyone else in recruiting, I majored in it in college.  Seriously, while working and finishing my MBA, sought out a recruiter for a new role in sales/marketing and got recruited into ‘intangible sales’ at $700/month draw against commission.
2.      How many years have you been in recruiting? Over 25 years
3.      What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you? Grew up in 3 countries, and attended 9 schools in 12 years
4.      What are your top 3 goals you hope you and your team accomplish in 2013?  Hire new officers More, Better, Quicker/faster
5.      What do you like most about your current job? What do you dislike?  Like: The depth of internal and external access. Dislike: Starting a search and an internal surfacing well after getting started.
6.      Do you have a work pet peeve in yourself or others?  Timeliness, as Fred once said, “John’s on time, he’s 15 minutes early.”
7.      What is the best thing for you about working for Walmart? Undoubtedly, the people and the culture
8.      When does the day start for you?  Wake at 4AM, workout, in the office by 615AM
9.      What was your first impression of NWA and Bentonville?  In the dark, the longest 10 miles I have ever driven and then when reaching Walton Blvd, lo and behold, I was greeted by the neon signs of every budget hotel known to man.  Initial optics not great, which made the area tour all the more impressive.

10.     When you are off work how you do relax?  Yard work, exploring new areas, hanging out at the pool with our pets.
11.     A few unchecked items on your Life’s Bucket List:  For me, staring with ‘A’, Africa and Alaska.  My wife would rather go back to Hawaii or Tahiti (Bora Bora).
12.     Tell us about yourself (home town, residence, family, education, etc)  Born Monterey, CA, high school years in Bucks County (suburban Philadelphia), PA.  Proudly served in the United States Marine Corps.  Re-met at HS reunion and married 17 years (eloped in Maui) collectively have 5 boys in NC, NJ and CT.  BS/MBA.  Two dogs (Bernease Mountain Dog and a rescue) and 4 rescue cats.
13.     If you could have dinner with some notable person dead or alive – who would it be and why?  Theodore Roosevelt, a true renaissance man who we can thank for our National Park system.
14.     What was your top take-a-way from the 2013 Global Walmart Recruiting Summit? The incredible depth of talent we have moving up the ranks within TA.
15.     If you had a Magic Genie and one wish; what one project on your plate would you ask for help on?  The never ending task of finding diverse talent.
16.     Fill in the blank: “I’ve been fortunate to___________”  Find Walmart, wish it had been earlier in my career.
17.     Where do I spend most of my disposable income:  Travel and leisure.  Since moving here, personal travel  to Europe (3 times), DC, NY, San Francisco, San Diego, Hawaii (twice), KC, Dallas, Chicago, Boston, etc.  Going to Peru (Machu Picchu) this August and Cabo San Lucas January 2014.
18.     One word to sum me up:  Loyalty

Summit Interview with Sharon O'Hara

Summit Interview with Sharon O'Hara

1.  How did you get into recruiting? By accident.  I always swore I would never be a recruiter.  I was determined to be in L&D (Learning & Development) or Compensation when I completed school.  During my first internship I became involved in recruiting and since then every job I have held seems to involve recruiting. 

2. How many years have you been in recruiting? Officially 17 years.  Unofficially I have always “selected talent” in every job I held.

3.  What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you? I have my motorcycle license.

4. What are your top 3 goals you hope you and your team accomplish in 2013?  Implement GRS technology at the store level, Complete the EVP & Branding activity and introduce Candidate and Hiring Manager satisfaction metrics.

5. What do you like most about your current job? My team is amazing.  They are young, eager to learn and amaze me every day with their new ideas and creativity.  What do you dislike?  Solicitation emails & telephone calls from agencies who have not done their homework. 

6. Do you have a work pet peeve in yourself or others?  I am a great idea person but not good on follow-through.  Fortunately I have a team that take my ideas and make them even better.

7. What is the best thing for you about working for Walmart? The associates.  Hands down.  From the stores to the leadership I have met and worked with some of the most amazing people.

8. When does the day start for you? I wake up at 5:30 am answer some emails, get ready and arrive at the office for 7:30.  It gives me 1:30 hours to get ready before we start our day with a huddle. 

9. What was your first impression of NWA and Bentonville?  Coming from Toronto I found it very small.  But after living there for 18 months I love it – Fresh Air, fun activities and friendly people.

10.  When you are off work how you do relax? I love to have dinner with friends, paint , read and travel. 

11.  A few unchecked items on your Life’s Bucket List:  Cambodia, Italy, Drive a Stock Car at Daytona

12.  Tell us about yourself (home town, residence, family, education, etc)  I was born in Montreal Canada a long time ago.  I mostly grew up outside Toronto and actually worked for Woolco (the stores Walmart bought) in high school.  I went to the University of Guelph (pronounced gwellf) for my undergrad and masters in Sociology, got my HR certification and worked for a number of Canadian technology companies before joining Walmart July 10, 2006.  I am single but two dogs (my boys), 2 brothers, 7 nieces and nephews and a whole bunch of other wonderful kids in my life.  I lived in Fayetteville for 18 months before moving to Shenzhen, China.  Located just over the border from Hong Kong, Shenzhen was the first special economic zone in China and, until about 30 years ago it was a sleepy fishing village.  The city is now a growing city of 15,000,000.  You can imagine how fast it is growing!  Whenever I can I get home to Canada to spend time in my cabin in the woods with my dogs and no electricity, cell service or distractions.  It is heavenly.

13.  If you could have dinner with some notable person dead or alive – who would it be and why? Curtis Joseph.  My favourite hockey player ever.  And more seriously with Terry Fox, a great Canadian who started the Marathon of Hope where he proposed to run across Canada, running a marathon a day, to raise money and awareness for Cancer Research.  He made it almost half way before he had to stop because his cancer had returned.  Every year millions of people around the world carry on his mission and run or walk to raise money.

14.  What was your top take-a-way from the 2013 Global Walmart Recruiting Summit?  We need to cooperate and talk to each other more.

15.  If you had a Magic Genie and one wish; what one project on your plate would you ask for help on?  Field Recruitment – it is tough when you are dealing with people who don’t have computers, internet access and the country is growing so fast.

16.  Fill in the blank: “I’ve been fortunate to travel the world and meet people from all over”

17.  Where do I spend most of my disposable income: Books and Travel

18.  One word to sum me up: According to my co-worker I am Complicated – I prefer to say I am Canadian.