The New Talent Code

Josh Bellis joins Ligia and Jason on The New Talent Code to share how and why he found his specialization as a diversity and inclusion practitioner and which processes, systems, and mindsets organizations need in order for their diversity programs to actually be successful.

He shares how his unique experience with a variety of organizations has shaped his approach to DEI, and he dives into the practical advice on how to integrate DEI beyond acquisition into talent management.

Here are the biggest takeaways from the episode:

- "It's really about a culture shift. It's really about making the whole company find out what they can do to advance diversity initiatives. And I think for too long, it's just sat with the DEI people." - Josh Bellis [7:28]

- "It is worth taking a step back, even if that means that yes, you're hiring slower, to actually think about the available market and what we can realistically hit with that. Understand the market that you're in and understand the levers that you have available." - Josh Bellis [10:54]

- "We're moving away from the things that we traditionally think make someone qualified. And I think looking at those transferable skills [is important] because, for a lot of underrepresented groups, they don't have the connections to get into these things." - Josh Bellis [26:40]

Alexandra Levit joins Ligia and Jason on The New Talent Code to share her five pillars of career durability, and how companies can help employees visualize their career paths.

From an emphasis on applied technology skills to deciding which skills employees should really focus on in their upskilling and reskilling efforts, Alexandra shares practical insights for anyone reshaping their mindsets towards work and non-linear career paths while enabling companies to make skills-based talent decisions.

3 quotables from this episode:

- "You're never going to get people in the door to see what their learning agility ability is, if you are insisting that they have the exact combination of skills and experiences that you would ideally want in that role. " - Alexandra Levit [20:23]

- "Maybe this is something that you revisit every six months to a year to really look at your current size, your composition as an organization, how you've developed your workforce to start evaluating demand for skills based on the direction that the market is taking, and that your competitors are taking, and determining the gaps where there's going to be a need for skills that you don't currently have." - Alexandra Levit [23:33]

- "In your culture, is it OK to tell your boss that you want to move into a completely different function?" - Alexandra Levit [25:22]