The talent organization is often seen as a business within a business, but sometimes it is seen more as an expense than a massive contributor to the bottom line. Today we are joined by Liberty Mutual's Shawn Tubman, who is the head of talent acquisition, and Loralie Thostenson the SVP, technology talent officer. Our guests provide insight into how the operation of the huge talent organization at Liberty Mutual is structured before we discuss how the talent team is seen as an expense center, and how to put into dollars and cents how it is profitable. Tuning in you'll hear about the transactional lens and the global lens through which Shawn sees ROI for talent processes, as well as the pros and cons of the qualitative approach versus the quantitative approach to proselytizing the value of HR to an organization. Later we talk the very important role of strategy in HR, how our guests determine what specific things a talent organization needs to do to meet the needs of a business, how understanding these needs informs the process of decision making, and why you should ask "A year from now, what are we going to regret not doing?" Listen in today to find out how to balance trying to reach a high headcount goal while also being strategic, the importance of scheduling time for strategizing, and Shawn and Loralie's advice on how to build your career and be deliberate about your own growth.

 

Key Points From This Episode:

 

• How Shawn Tubman has managed to stay at Liberty Mutual for so many years.
• Loralie Thostenson's thoughts on how the job may stay the same, but unique challenges provide diversity.
• Insight into how the operation of the talent organization at Liberty Mutual is structured.  
• Thoughts on how the talent organization is often seen as a business within a business and how this compares to other departments. 
• How Shawn and Loralie put into dollars and cents how HR contributes to the bottom line.  
• The transactional lens and the global lens through which Shawn sees ROI for talent processes and how they differ. 
• Thoughts on the qualitative approach versus the quantitative approach to proselytizing the value of HR to an organization. 
• How our guests determine what specific things a talent organization needs to do to meet the needs of a business on a macro-level. 
• How taking the time to understand what the organization really needs informs the process of decision making. 
• Why you should ask "A year from now, what are we going to regret not doing?" 
• How to balance trying to reach a high headcount goal while also being strategic. 
• The importance of scheduling time for strategizing.  
• Loralie's advice to make sure that you always understand how you're adding value. 
• Shawn's advice to not be afraid to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and the importance of self-awareness.

 

Tweetables:

 

"You can't put a price on making the best hire because one hire could really change and shape an organization." — Shawn Tubman [0:13:46]

 

"'Nothing really happens in an organization until you make a sale,' right? You've got to make the sale and then everything comes after it. — The thing that came to my mind was, 'Nothing happens until you hire the person that makes the sale.'" — Shawn Tubman [0:14:17]

 

"I think one way of thinking about it is data often times is your 'what' and the anecdote is the 'why'. Having the 'what' and the 'why' paired together on any topic really makes the connection and gives the whole picture." — Loralie Thostenson [0:17:50]

 

"There is a balance between the transactional piece of recruitment, which is working with a hiring manager to fill a singular job and then having that overarching strategic approach. I don't think one could live without the other." — Shawn Tubman [0:22:56]

 

"A well-thought-out strategy, it has to be part of all recruitment organizations, whether that exists on the individual recruiter desk or whether it exists on the leader level for a large organization. Time and intentionality has to be spent in defining that strategy." — Shawn Tubman [0:23:51]

 

"Make sure that you always understand how you're adding value to the business regardless of what level talent role that you're at." — Loralie Thostenson [0:30:46]

Links Mentioned in Today's Episode:

Shawn Tubman 

Loralie Thostenson

Liberty Mutual 

Hired

Talk Talent to Me