I’d say 100 votes is momentum. :)
The video has been up a week and I couldn’t be more impressed with your support.
TopRecruiter.tv hasn’t approved comments in a few days. If you’re waiting for yours to show, they’ll likely be on the site in the morning!
For those that have no clue what I am talking about, click here.
Let’s keep it going!
Love Jillian. xo
Last year I started seeing tweets from HR folks I was following in the States on #HRevolution. I did my research, tracked down their website, and learned a lot about this mystery un-conference. To quote the organizers:
“HRevolution is an event for human resources professionals, recruiters, and business leaders to come together and talk about the problems facing businesses today. This is where thought leadership and action meet. The format for HRevolution encourages interaction and every participant has the opportunity share ideas and opinions in an open manner.”
They provided three options for topics:
Based on my recent participation in McMaster University and Strategic Capability Network’s “FOCUS2040,” I decided to go with option #3. Blog post on my involvement in the past competition is here, and video of my presentation here (part 1, part 2, part 3).
Wish me luck!
From January to March 2010, I competed in “FOCUS2040,” a competition designed for business students across Canada to envision how work will look in the year 2040. The 3 phases of the competition were: the workforce of 2040, the work environment of 2040, and the work systems of 2040. After strong critique from business professionals across Canada, I made it through all three rounds and was invited to present my vision to a panel of business experts.
In the workforce of 2040, I discussed a more diverse workforce, family-centric focus, socially responsibly behaviours, and flexible work schedules. In the work environment of 2040, I took it further generating discussion on power distance, immigration rates, a bilingual society, unemployment rates, new currency policies, and nanotechnology. I concluded with the work systems of 2040, which focused on the concepts of social capital theory, social capital indexes, transformational leadership and a movement to an ethics of care model.
The outcome? I didn’t place top 3 [some brainiac graduate students did ;)], but I had the opportunity to meet fabulous people and share my vision. What was my intention going into the competition? To show that a young HR professional is committed to the future of work and to get the workforce talking.
But wait… how did I get the workforce talking? I texted. I tweeted. I blogged. I created a Facebook Fan Page. I held focus groups. I committed myself to the topic. Reflecting back on the competition, I began to wonder. Will all those initiatives I discussed actually happen in the year 2040 – let alone 2050?
How can we have a bilingual workforce if today’s incoming Generation Y only knows one language? That gives them 30 years to get up to speed. It’s not going to happen. How will we train leaders today on social capital theory? No one cares. Not everyone is a HR keener like myself.
One year later, I can offer you a refreshed perspective on the future of work…
When I think of the year 2050, I get excited. No it’s not terrifying nor a strange world. To me, the difference between now and 2050 is that we will be far more productive.
I am 26 years old and sometimes I completely question my mental capacity. My mind works in 6000 directions all day long. I sit in meetings (completely engaged in the topic too!) thinking about the file that’s on my desk, a lunch date with a boy a few days later, or if an internet friend has tweeted me back. When totally bored out of my mind, I think about nail polish colors, analyze my latest horoscope (I’m a Gemini by the way), and dream of all the places I intend to see in this big bad world.
It’s not that I’m bored (well… sometimes), it’s that I can learn faster than many of my more ‘established’ peers. Communicate the change in process or improvement quickly, provide a real life example, and finito – I get it! I thrive in quick paced environments. I’m more productive and I love it. My mentors have taught me that their is a fine balance between a quick pace and losing quality of work. I get that… but why not push the limits?
10 year olds today have a regular school curriculum (perhaps they’re learning a few languages too), after school activities multiple times per week (dance, hockey, gymnastics), regular TV programming to catch up on, iPods to update, friends to talk on the phone to, parents to argue with, and sleepovers to schedule. One of the favourite 10 year old girl, Paige, does intensive dance 6 times a week. That is practically a part time job.
Society is grooming the next workforce, Generation Z (early 1990s to early 2000s), to be busy. They have high expectations for advancement and success. One might say, are they willing to work for it? In my opinion, that’s still debatable. What do we know though? They thrive in a tech savvy environment. They are also self-directed and extremely individualistic. As sad it sounds, they think about themselves.
When I imagine a workforce of Generation Z… I realize how grateful that they will be mentored to success by Generation Y. I truly believe that I have been set up for success. I had a mom raise me to know the importance of community and giving back. I have had opportunities to continually develop my skills and becoming the accomplished young lady that I am today. Lastly, I am keen on seeing future generations succeed and developing HR as a practice (not a requirement) in the workplace. I feel that Generation Y’s skills as leaders in 2050, coupled with the brains, excitement and energy of Generation Z will create one of the most productive workforces of all time.
So I bet you’re thinking… did she really push the limits in discussing the future of work? Where are the aliens? What about technological implants in employee wrists and iris scans?
I’ve learned a lot in the last year. Most importantly I’ve learned that the majority of organizations are slow to change.
Change is hard. I believe that people and technology will change immensely over the next 40 years. I don’t believe there will be as drastic of a change in the workplace. Workplaces worldwide will adapt to employee preferences and technological requirements. Corporate surveys will reflect changes in workforce demographics. Project teams will be created when new software should be implemented.
Work in 2050. What’s your opinion?
Learn more: http://upstarthr.com/nobscot-hrevolution-scholarship-free-air-fare/#ixzz1E5i55lx2
On October 29th, I received an email from KPMG indicating that I won the national “What Makes a Top Employer” video contest!!! I was on my layover in San Fransisco en route to Tokyo and heard about a minute before I was supposed to board (which as per my previous blog post – fight was delayed a few more hours). I couldn’t have been more thrilled! I was absolutely giddy in the SFO airport wishing that I could tell someone (I was on roaming), and unfortunately I couldn’t resist. I likely have a hefty bill from the international texts and calling.
[Disregard the spelling error in KPMG's tweet ;)]
Representatives from KPMG were completely flexible with the fact that I was on my way to Tokyo and rather unavailable due to the conference I was attending. We agreed to chat upon my return and finalize all the details.
KPMG recently went live with a summary of the competition:
On November 9th, TalentEgg.ca wrote an article on the competition.
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If you missed seeing my original submission to KPMG’s contest, feel free to view here:
And on October 3rd, I posted an additional video to “engage” ;) the viewers.
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I ended up connecting with KPMG late this week and they are currently working on the finding a date for me to connect with the 5 CEO’s. In the near-ish future, I will have a 1 hour meeting with the following well-respected and successful CEO’s:
This means a trip out to Toronto and a whole lot of opportunity!
From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your support during this competition. In 30 days, WE reached 661 votes, and over 2,169 viewings. In 30 short days, you all listened to what I had to say about the future of work. In 30 days, I saw the power of social media, with votes, tweets (retweets), facebook posts, and online discussion. In 30 short days, you gave me opportunity.
Thank you for your continual commitment. Ahh it gives me absolute warm fuzzies to know I have people in my court, rooting for me every ounce of the way. I absolutely have *big* plans for 2011, stay tuned for how the CEO meetings go and for the next steps with my career.
With all my heart. ❤
Today is VOTING DAY!
What does this mean?
1) Today is the last day of KPMG’s What Makes a Top Employer video contest. It has been a month long battle with university students across Canada, but I have attained 2nd place (out of 400+ videos!) and couldn’t be more proud. Contest closes at 11:59pm EST. I would love if you gave me your vote.
2) Today is Calgary’s Municipal Election. Do you research, then head down to the polls and vote for Mayor, Alderman, and School Trustee. Voting stations will be open from 10am to 8pm. Visit The City of Calgary’s website for more information on locations.
I’m looking forward to life being more calm after October 18th. Fingers crossed for team J-N-Z (yes that would be Jillian-Nenshi-Zak)!! ;)
With love. ❤
On September 20th, I blogged about KPMG’s “What Makes a Top Employer” video contest.
We are now 8 days into the contest and what I can I say other than… wow!
Today we hit 1000 views and 200 views!! That means for every 5 views, I’m getting a vote – and I’d say that’s awesome odds!!
Here’s the proof:
We now have 20 days to go… and we need to keep up the momentum.
Yesterday I tweeted that I had finally made it to 3rd place! Yes went from 120th+ place to 3rd place in 8 days!
Anyways, the response was this:
I recognize the importance of engagement. I know that people don’t really want to register – let alone vote daily for the next 20 days. What are the votes I want? I want votes from people who truly believe I’ve presented the best vision of a top employer. I want you to engage in the goal of this competition and understand why initiatives like this have potential to change the employee-employer relationship. I can’t promise a song and dance, but something… enticing ;) … will be posted on YouTube, Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/votejillian) and Twitter within the week.
In the meantime… I need your votes. :)
If you’re just getting started, read more about the competition here or follow my instructions on how to register here.
Thank you to all of you who are supporting me in this competition, in my career and in life. You all mean the world. ❤
Let’s talk Twitter… my gosh, Twitter has provided me with so many opportunities since I became active in late Fall 2009.
I’ve been following @KPMG_Canada for a few weeks and on September 18th, they tweeted this:
I was immediately intrigued. For those of you that don’t know… from January to March 2010, I competed in a national business student competition called “Focus 2040“…. the goal was to predict the future of work in 2040. It involved various stages and in mid-March, I was invited to Ontario as one of the top 10 finalists in Canada. Anyways, throughout the process, I did a lot of research on Generation Y and workplaces of the future.
I truly feel like I am a voice for the next generation. I embody many characteristics of Generation Y, including the ability to thrive in a flexible work environment, a need for feedback and involvement, tech savvy skills, and of course, pro-change. I have been in the workforce since the ripe ol’ age of 15, but have a solid 8 years of “real” work experience. I have been working in Human Resources for the last 4 years and I have a true understanding of corporate programs and policies.
When I saw this contest my eyes lit up (as lame as that sounds) and once again I was excited about something in my life… I had found a new purpose (or maybe a distraction… regardless, I was excited!). KPMG is the sponsor for the 2010 Canada’s Top Employers for Young People award. This year they are asking Canadian university students to share their opinion on what makes a top employer! Within 24 hours, I had my figured out what I wanted to say, created a video (ahh so many takes, a ridiculous amount of takes), edited the video, uploaded the video, and started promoting my “brand.”
From my perspective there are a ton of angles you could take on a question as large as “What makes a top employer?“ I narrowed it down to flexibility, community focused, diversity, and passion. Flexibility revolves around the need for ‘flexible work options’ in the workplace including personal days, tele-working, and flexible start and stop times. I discussed the concept of “work to live,” and although I didn’t touch the issue in the video, I do believe employers need to be flexible with many facets of the employee-employer relationship, including dress code and office space. The next generation understands the importance of community work and giving back. So many of us are blessed… blessed with family, a support system, good health, food in the fridge, a roof over our bed, and clothes on our back. We are educated and know that we have the skills to help others. Employers need to support their employees in giving back. We thrive in a diverse learning environment. Whether it be gender, ethnicity, religion, geographical location, or skillset, employees appreciate diversity in organizations. Passion. As a young employee, I want to truly believe in my organization. I want to see that my employer is passionate about their business, their employees, and the community.
I would have loved to talk more about management support and the need for mentorship programs, orientation, continual coaching, and performance development plans. Or maybe the concept of socialization in the workplace and how we need to have fun and laugh. Or respectful workplace policies and ethical treatment of employees. At the end of the day, I only had 4 minutes. :)
I chose an angle that was different than most of my competitors. I truly could not sit here in my living room and say that a top employer has to have competitive pay. End of story. That’s not it at all… Top employers have to have the whole package. Top employers for young people need to have the whole package PLUS understand how the next generation’s needs and wants differ from the past.
Just over 14 hours ago, my submission was “approved” by the video contest representatives and made available on KPMG’s official video contest site. I have now had 208 views and 28 votes (see note at end of post!). 208 views in one day – ahh so wonderful!!! In less than a day, I have made it to Top 5 out of approximately 160 videos.
What’s important now is momentum… we have 28 days until the contest ends at October 18, 2010 11:59 EST. [By the way, 208 views, 28 votes, 28 days... all kinda bizarre...] If 28 people vote once per day for the next 28 days, I would be at 784 votes and in 1st place [assuming everyone else stops voting for the others ;)]. I know…. in fact, I am positive that we can do better than 28 votes per day.
My call to action:
Please learn about the video contest and understand the potential impact this competition could have on your future employer. If you are a Canadian university student and under the age of 28, feel free to submit a video.
Check out my video. Just 4 minutes! It will fly by! ;) If you support my ideas and vision of top employers, please vote. You can vote every day until the contest ends (see note below on registering before your first vote).
Share share share. Please continue to spread the word about this contest and my video.
A few options:
Are you going to forget to vote? [I know... daily is a lot!!]
So why should you help me out? Well, I can think of a thousand reasons!! :) I am a voice of the next generation. I have committed my time to thinking about what’s important to Generation Y and making this video. I have truly thought about what I wanted to say and that it was representative of my peers.
I know that even if I don’t win, I will have impact. Impact and influence on both KPMG and Canada’s Top Employers. Regardless of if we believe it or not, people listen. KPMG created this competition for the young people. They wanted the young people to have a voice.
This is not about the iPad or the opportunity to meet with top executives across Canada. This contest is truly about education. Education of employers, employees, and the community. Education on needs, wants, and generational differences.
Together, we can all make a difference.
If you have any comments or questions, feel free to comment on this post, get in touch with me through any social networking site, or email me at jill [dot] walker [at] uleth [dot] ca.
With absolutely all my love,
Jillian Walker ❤
Note: Why is there a considerable difference in the number of views versus votes? I’ll tell ya why… No one wants to register. I completely understand why they don’t – it’s a pain, it’s too much work, it’s this or that. Well, guess what? You have to register! In order for KPMG to ensure the contest is legit, they need you to register… but the good news? You only have to register once!
