Kevin W. Grossman is the President of Talent Board and the Candidate Experience Awards. Founded in 2011, it’s the first nonprofit research organisation focused on the elevation and promotion of a quality candidate experience with industry benchmarks that highlight accountability, fairness and business impact. Kevin has over 22 years of domain expertise in the human resource and talent acquisition industry and related technology marketplace. He’s been a prolific "HR business" blogger and writer since 2004, and his first business book on career management titled Tech Job Hunt Handbook was released in December 2012 from Apress. His second book, titled The Business Impact of Candidate Experience, will be released in 2022 by Kogan Page. Kevin holds a B.A. in Psychology from San Jose State University, is an HCI certified Talent Acquisition Strategist (TAS) and Human Capital Strategist and has learning certificates from eCornell on HR Analytics and Diversity and Inclusion. An avid reader, a grateful father and husband, he writes regularly about responsible parenting and personal leadership at GetOffTheGround.blogspot.com. How long has Kevin been in the HR space? (05:51) Kevin says it’s been just over 22 years.Prior to his career in HR, he was in the high tech, marketing and communications and university relations industries.He says that he is more focused on recruiting and technology areas of HR.Kevin always had an affinity for recruiting, hiring and retention. What motivated Kevin to get into HR? (10:16) When Kevin was in high-tech marketing and communication, he worked for an agency in silicon valley and helped them with product and service launches.He says he enjoyed the work he was doing and stayed for almost four years.An opportunity at a startup presented itself. They had an algorithm that matched candidates in their communities to companies.He learned what it was like to source and recruit individuals and fell in love with it. What problems have Kevin identified in the industry, and what is he doing about it? (27:21) He says they are trying to help companies understand what impacts their recruiting and hiring efforts, and eventually, their retention. The problem is sustained change, continuous communication and feedback loops.From the research they do every year, they’ve identified communication and feedback as a challenge.Kevin says when COVID hit, they’ve seen the resentment rate in companies go down, and the positive rating go up.They found that there was more empathetic communication going on between employers and candidates and also employers and their employees.The level of communication was higher than they’ve ever seen and was more transparent and empathetic, and candidates were more forgiving.He is worried that they are going to see the empathetic communication decrease as things normalise again. How has the landscape in HR changed because of COVID? (38:15) People had to get comfortable with virtualising everything.HR had to get comfortable answering a lot of questions they didn’t have the answers to.Another challenge he identifies is how to keep the workforce safe. One of HR’s functions is to keep them safe, and they had to figure out how best to do that while also keeping the company going.Kevin says COVID allowed companies to rethink their emergency preparedness and how they address these things.Companies have figured out remote working works, and that is something that we will see going forward. How does Kevin see the industry as a whole change over the next five years? (40:41) Kevin believes technology will be more pervasive in the recruiting and hiring process and in the talent management process.He hopes people will be given the opportunity to share their voice and thoughts more.He also believes we are going to learn to better manage the technologies we choose to employ. What top tips can Kevin give to people who are new in HR? (43:56) Always remember the journey to the job you now have and what the experience was like, both the good and the bad.Always be mindful and positive, and keep that in mind in every single interaction you have. Kevin’s book recommendation: The three-body problem Cixin Liu Improv for democracy - Don Waisanen Connect with Kevin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinwgrossman/ Talent Board Website: https://www.thetalentboard.org/
