SuccessFactors Thought Leader Network

Zak

Hello, and welcome to People Performance Radio, sponsored by SuccessFactors, the global leaders in performance and talent management software solutions. Without further ado, please allow me to introduce Dr Steve and Jim “The Mad Dog” Matheson!

Jim

Welcome back to People Performance Radio, you're here with Jim Matheson …

Steve

… and Steve Hunt.

Jim

Steve, are you giddy with excitement —new format?

Steve

I am, I am giddy, the enthusiasm and energy is palpable.

Jim

Yes, I'm pumped up, I think the new format's going to be great, we're going to be bringing some great Thought Leaders through the airwaves through People Performance Radio. We have with us in the studio Erik Berggren from SuccessFactors.

Steve

Yeah, this is Erik from SuccessFactors Research, just to start, I've had a great opportunity, Erik and I have worked quite a bit over the last year, so it's been fantastic, and Erik, thank you so much for meeting with Jim and I today.

Just to start off a little bit, can you tell us a little bit about what SF Research is, and what your role is within SuccessFactors?

Erik

Yeah, absolutely. First of all, thanks guys for having me on the air, it's very exciting to be able to work with you guys on this as well. Yes —SuccessFactors Research really started with helping organizations drive real results, and when I mean real results, I mean driving their top line, translating that superior growth into bottom line results, and ultimately drive some shareholder value back, and all this is actually through getting people a better place to work —that's the research that we are setting out to do, and we are doing a lot of primary research into this, and then of course we also talk about these findings and research in various media outlets, such as this People Radio, which is a little bit new to me, but that's another outlet maybe for us to share some of our great research content that we're coming up with.

Steve

Yeah, I think so, I think one of the things that, research is not about having the knowledge, it really becomes valuable when you share it and get it out there, and one of the things that SF Research has put together is this Thought Leader network, and that's one of the things as we go to this new format, to talk to people that are really sort of instigators of different ways of thinking, and really on the cutting edge of talent management, as far as what's new. We're going to be interviewing all these people from this great Thought Leader network that Erik, you really helped put together, so you talk a little bit about what the SF Research Thought Leader network is?

Erik

Yeah, absolutely, and you are of course one of our esteemed members of this great, well I guess you have two hats —you're part of the core research team, but also this virtual research team. We have an opportunity to work on this on a true global scale, so we're meeting with some of the smartest and brightest people in strategic HR, or human capital management, if you will, throughout the world. Those people that we think are the greatest luminars in this space, they come with a perspective that they're actually doing some research, and they have a vantage point to help drive real results for organizations through people, that they share our strong ambition of driving worldwide productivity, all while creating a better place for people to work —we want to work with them, so we extend an invitation to join this virtual network of smart thought leaders, and they work with us.

I don't know if that's really what you're getting there, Steve, otherwise clarify that question more.

Steve

How does one become a member of the SF Research Thought Leader network?

Erik

Oh yeah, that's a great question. Well, we don't really have a super-formalized way of doing it, so it comes down to a decision based on a few parameters. The first one is obviously, you've got to be a Thought Leader, you've got to be smart, you've got to have some specific content that is important for the world to know, and it's got to be framed in that overarching goal of driving real productivity, real results for organizations, that are focusing on investment in their people. So if you have those two assets, you have the right angle to it, and also that you have something, a great perspective to bring to this field, then you're considered for it, and if you wanted to work with us and helped pushing that agenda, well it's get to know us and work with us, and then you might be included in this prestigious network.

Steve

Can you just list some of the people that are in the Thought Leader network?

Erik

Yeah, of course, let me start with maybe the acknowledged father of human capital metrics, my dear friend Dr Jac Fitz Enz, the founder of the Saratoga Institute. We've been doing a lot of primary research together, and definitely I wanted to highlight him.

There are, of course, some others as well, another good friend would be Peter Cappelli, a Wharton professor, that has been writing a lot of books here as well, and he has some very very leading edge ideas and concepts, and in doing also a very true global research into some of these areas.

But I don't want to name too many, because if I name half of them, I'd think it would be dishonest to the people that I don't mention, so I prefer to actually just let me share with the world those two friends, and then why don't you go to our website —and check out the other people on there as well?

Steve

Yeah, I think if anything we should name all of them, it would take half our episode.

Erik

So Steve, you're right, but why don't we do that? —why don't we set that up, as we were talking about, and invite some of these people to actually come and share their perspective through the People Radio, and that we can actually get their real perspective and you can really dive much deeper, and have a good conversation about their current topics with them?

Steve

That would be awesome, absolutely, I think you just mentioned Peter Cappelli and Jac Fitz Enz, and that gives you a sense of what level of people we're talking about, people that really are looking and have made very big impacts on how people think about talent management.

I guess my last question, Erik, about working with these different Thought Leaders is, what have you learned personally from working with these people, what are some of the things that have changed, in terms of how you view talent management, that has come as a result of working with all of these different people, that really are thinking in very advanced ways about this space?

Erik

Well, I really have learned a lot on a personal note from being able to work with so many really really experienced and talented people. I think we have, virtually talking here, about 700 to 800 years' worth of experience that I've been able to tap into and work one on one with some of the smartest people on this planet on this topic, so humbly put, I've learned just a ton, and both in terms of what the actual specific research areas are, but also very important —how can we use this to help people in progressive organizations to actually step up and take these recommendations to heart, and do something about it, and really make a change for the better in the world, for their organizations, for themselves —that is definitely something I've learned.

Steve

Cool. Well hey Jim —do you have any questions for Erik?

Jim

I don't think so, I think that that last answer really I think is what we're hoping to be able to accomplish for all of our listeners, I think gaining some of those hundreds of years of experience and learning from this. In terms of the SuccessFactors Research website is on successfactors.com/research, and from there you can find out all about the research team, but also the Thought Leader network, which, in terms of, there's about 25 or so folks in that network?

Erik

We're actually right now about 35 people, we're regularly working with.

Jim

Oh wow, growing like crazy —that's great!

Steve

One thing to add, one more question for you Erik, and I want to tell our listening audience that, like the Hair Club for Men, Erik is not just the head of the SF Research Thought Leader network, he's also a member as well. So we'll be talking to Erik in a future episode to get his perspective on what are the big changes in talent management as a Thought Leader, but just maybe to tease the audience with some of that next interview, Erik —is there just one thing, if you could say one thing that leaders in organizations should really be thinking more about, that they're not thinking about enough now in terms of talent management —what would it be? What would you think that leaders of organizations really need to be focusing more time and energy on?

Erik

That's a great question, and if there's anything I really hate, is to tell an executive to do more of something, because that's the last thing they want to hear, they want to hear, “I want to do less of something, because that frees up time to do more”, we're always trying to put more and more on the plate of the agenda of executives, and it's already more than full, but if there is one thing that I should say, in terms of tapping into that, is —you cannot stop focusing on your talent, once they have signed the contract and started working for you —that's really when it starts, if you want to drive some real results, if you want to win through people, if you want to do that, then you're going to focus in driving the real performance of the people that are working for you, that are actually part of your cost now, it's part of your ongoing expense. A lot of organizations spend a tremendous amount of money, time and effort and maybe even heartburn, on getting and finding talent, finding the right people to get them in there, but very few spend as much energy to make sure that they really perform at their best, once they're on board and part of the ongoing business —that is the one thing I've found that most organizations and people actually do wrong.

Steve

Awesome, that's really interesting, and right there I'm going to cut myself off because I immediately have lots more questions I'd like to ask, but I'll save that for our next interview, and thank you, Erik, very much for your time on the show, and your great work you're doing with SF Research, and your support of us here, People Performance Radio, in terms of helping us connect with this great group of Thought Leaders you've put together.

Erik

It's my pleasure —thanks a lot guys, bye bye.

Jim

Thanks.

Speaker

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