The Gartner Talent Angle Gartner

There are three key changes impacting today’s labor market – a changing workforce composition, evolving attitudes towards work, and new tools and technologies to empower employees and candidates. HR leaders must understand the implications of these changes as they set talent strategies and build out capabilities for their organizations. Gad Levanon, Chief Economist of the Burning Glass Institute, joins the Talent Angle to discuss evolving dynamics in the labor market and offer practical recommendations to HR leaders. He explains how organizations must pull a variety of levers, from technology to rewards and learning programs, at the same time to gain an edge in the talent market.
Gad Levanon is Chief Economist of The Burning Glass Institute. Previously, Gad was with The Conference Board where he was founder of the Labor Market Institute and led the Help Wanted OnLine© program. His research focuses on trends in US and global labor markets, the US economy, and their impact on employers. Prior to The Conference Board, he worked at the Israeli Central Bank. He received his PhD in economics from Princeton University and holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from Tel Aviv University.
Dion Love is a vice president of research and advisory services at Gartner. He’s a labor market expert, focusing on global labor market trends and what they mean for organizations’ talent and business strategies, as well as broader social and economic issues. In his work at Gartner, Dion advises clients on key aspects of talent acquisition, including talent acquisition function planning and management, talent needs definition and internal recruiting, employment branding and recruitment marketing, and talent sourcing and selection. He has co-authored more than 12 strategic research studies at Gartner. His work has been featured in the Harvard Business Review and industry publications, as well as Gartner HR Leaders Monthly and Smarter With Gartner.

The proliferation of remote and hybrid work has forced managers and HR leaders to rethink how they keep tabs on workforce productivity. Meanwhile, emerging technologies like Generative AI have raised expectations for what future productivity can look like. While productivity has always been elusive to define and measure in the context of knowledge work, today’s environment has further challenged organizations to develop new strategies. Paulo Pisano, Booking Holdings CHRO, joins the Talent Angle to offer his perspective on HR’s role in boosting productivity. Touching on the linearity of work and the relationship between stress and performance, he shares actionable guidance for HR leaders looking to harness the full potential of their workforce.
As Chief HR Officer for Booking Holdings, Paulo is leading the company’s efforts to develop an integrated long-term strategy in the People, Organization and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion spaces. Paulo and team are committed to fostering a workplace environment where every employee can do their best work. Paulo joined in 2020 as Chief People Officer for Booking.com and was previously Chief People Officer at Galp. In the last several years, he has been actively engaged in the fields of learning and education through board and advisory roles in organizations such as Singularity University, Teach for All and Stir Education.
Peter Aykens is the chief of research for Gartner’s HR practice. Aykens is responsible for building and leading research teams within the practice to address clients’ key initiatives. Before his current role, he spent over 25 years at Gartner leading research teams focused on banking and financial services strategy, producing numerous studies that addressed business strategy, channels, marketing, customer experience and product challenges. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from St. Olaf College, a master’s degree in international politics from Aberystwyth University (formerly known as the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth), and a master’s degree and a doctorate in political science from Brown University.

The rapid proliferation of HR technology has presented exciting opportunities while forcing HR leaders to make some difficult choices. Marcia Morales-Jaffe offers a path forward and shares insights from her experience as the former chief people officer of PayPal and World Fuel Services. Morales-Jaffe outlines how HR leaders can make the most of their technology investment and discusses the role that manager development, culture and change management play in the success of HR technology.
 
Marcia Morales-Jaffe is a retired chief HR officer (CHRO) and emeritus member of the Gartner CHRO Global Leadership Board. She currently serves as senior advisor at McKinsey & Company’s People & Organizational Performance Practice. Until 2017, Marcia was SVP, chief people officer at PayPal, where she played an integral role in shaping culture and advancing its transformational business vision and social mission.
 
Peter Aykens is chief of research in Gartner’s HR practice. He is responsible for defining research coverage within the practice and building and leading research teams addressing client’s key initiatives. In prior roles at the firm, he spent over 25 years leading research teams focused on banking and financial services strategy, producing numerous studies that addressed business strategy, channel, marketing, customer experience and product issues in financial services. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from St. Olaf College; an MSc.(Econ) degree in international politics from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth; and a Master of Arts and a doctorate in political science from Brown University.

According to the 2020 Gartner Well-Being Benchmarking Survey, 70% of companies have introduced new well-being benefits or increased the amount of existing well-being benefits in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To sustain momentum in developing a healthy workforce, organizations must continue to create an environment where employees value well-being. Dr. Richard Safeer, author of “A Cure for the Common Company,” joins the Talent Angle to make the case that organizations should go beyond well-being programs to create a culture of well-being. He offers practical guidance to help HR leaders establish the norms and environment that supports workforce health.
Dr. Richard Safeer, MD, currently serves as the Chief Medical Director of Employee Health and Well-Being for Johns Hopkins Medicine, where he leads the Healthy at Hopkins employee health and well-being strategy. Richard released “A Cure for the Common Company: A Well-Being Prescription for a Happier, Healthier, and More Resilient Workforce” in January 2023 with publisher Wiley. Previously, he was the medical director of preventive medicine for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield in Baltimore, Maryland.
Jessica Knight is a vice president of research in the Gartner HR practice. She leads research teams to identify best practices and new opportunities for addressing HR executives’ most urgent challenges. Her areas of focus include employee experience, organizational culture, change management and the future of work.

As employees rethink the role that work has in their lives, organizations must similarly reimagine how they engage and retain employees. Author and commitment expert Joe Mull makes the case that employees do a great job when they believe they have a great job. Mull joins the Talent Angle to share insights from his book “Employalty: How to Ignite Commitment and Keep Top Talent in the New Age of Work.” He discusses how key employment value proposition (EVP) aspects such as compensation, workload and flexibility help create a destination workplace.
Joe Mull is the author of three books including “No More Team Drama” and “Employalty: How to Ignite Commitment and Keep Top Talent in the New Age of Work.” He is the founder of the BossBetter Leadership Academy and hosts the popular podcast Boss Better Now. Joe has appeared as an expert in multiple media outlets, including Forbes, the International Business Times, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and Good Morning America.
 
Brent Cassell is a vice president of advisory in Gartner’s HR practice, and he has spent the past 19 years in Gartner’s HR and CIO practices. His job is to help clients find the research they need, to help them understand that research, and to coach them through the implementation of those best practices in their own organizations. Brent is the contributing editor of the HR Leaders Monthly journal. In 2022, he won Gartner’s award for Outstanding Thought Leadership for his work on Redesigning Work for the Hybrid World.

As organizations continue to face fierce competition for talent, HR leaders have upheld internal mobility as a lever to retain talent, yet many employees remain unaware of the career opportunities in their organization. In this episode of the Talent Angle, Helen Tupper illustrates how championing squiggly careers — or nonlinear career paths — can deliver on the promise of internal mobility by giving employees relevant and engaging opportunities. By intentionally empowering talent to apply their skills across a diverse set of experiences, HR leaders can create meaningful careers for individuals while also serving the needs of the organization.
Helen Tupper is the co-founder and CEO of Amazing If, a company with an ambition to make careers better for everyone. Together with her business partner Sarah Ellis, she is the author of two Sunday Times bestsellers: “The Squiggly Career” and “You Coach You.” Their “Squiggly Careers” podcast is the U.K.’s No. 1 careers podcast, and their TEDx talk “The Best Career Path Isn’t Always a Straight Line” has over 1.5 million downloads. Helen also works as a trustee for Working Families, a U.K. charity with a mission to support families and caregivers with their work and life commitments. Prior to Amazing If, she held leadership roles for Microsoft, Virgin and BP and was awarded The Financial Times and 30% Club’s Women in Leadership MBA Scholarship. She is mum to Henry and Madeleine and lives with her husband in Buckinghamshire. You can find her on Instagram @amazingif.
Dion Love is a vice president of research and advisory services at Gartner. He’s a labor market expert, focusing on global labor market trends and what they mean for organizations’ talent and business strategies, as well as broader social and economic issues. In his work at Gartner, Dion advises clients on key aspects of talent acquisition, including talent acquisition function planning and management, talent needs definition and internal recruiting, employment branding and recruitment marketing, and talent sourcing and selection. He has co-authored more than 12 strategic research studies at Gartner. His work has been featured in the Harvard Business Review and industry publications, as well as Gartner HR Leaders Monthly and Smarter With Gartner.