Our Senior Vice President of North America, Jody Robie has a busy month of webinars, conferences and talks. I sat down with her to find out more about the role she has at TWI and how she sees the industry is changing.
What does your current role at Talent Works consist of?
I am the Senior Vice President for North America for TWI. My official role is to manage our teams and clients in the Americas but the reality is I wear many hats. I am responsible for the growth of our business and sit within the global leadership team.
How long have you been at Talent Works?
I joined in January, 2014- hard to believe it will be 4 years in January.
How does Talent Works differ from other places you’ve worked?
I have worked for large corporations including Hearst TV and Fox Networks, as well as small recruitment marketing agencies. Talent Works is the best of both worlds. We are a professional global organization that still feels like a close-knit team. I have been encouraged to be creative and entrepreneurial, which is a welcome change. We hire individual thinkers who are excited to help us grow the business.
If you weren’t Senior VP at Talent Works what could you see yourself doing?
I love to cook and experiment in the kitchen. I have been working for UK headquartered businesses too long to stay up late enough to work in a restaurant, and I hate having to clean everything up . . . so maybe I would be a personal chef. I also am passionate about inclusion after having a daughter with special needs. There are so many opportunities to train and involve everyone, it is something I think I would find very satisfying.
What key things do you think will change in our industry in the next 5 years?
I think the need to have consultants and partners instead of products and tools is already starting. Regardless of advertising or sourcing technology, an organization needs to have smart people who are willing to pick up the phone and have a conversation. I think the race to have the biggest and best ATS, Career site, or CRM is slowing and the need to understand the authenticity around why someone should join your company is key. The days of full-time workers being based in an office 5 days a week during the same work day will start to fade. Whilst our abilities to bring in SMEs (subject matter experts) will continue to be a growing trend.
Are there any trends you’ve seen happening in the industry this year?
Ironically, I think the effective use of video in all aspects of branding and recruiting is one of the most universal trends globally. It is nice to have had a background in video to help with the transition. Traditional rules of talking heads and only showcasing senior management are dissolving. Now it is not only acceptable to have iPhone footage with rough edits on corporate websites, it is encouraged to get more natural shots. Sharing video on social and programmatic advertising campaigns is a trend that we are seeing net great results and I suspect will continue to advance.
Can you give us a little teaser on what you’ll be discussing on your latest NEHRA series webinar?
There’s a lot of talk about employer brands as if this is something new. We are going to break down our approach, our T.R.U.E approach to building a distinctive and relevant employer brand. We will talk about the ways to inspire your employees, plain and simple.
Jody will be at DisruptHR in NY where she’ll be speaking about how you can diversify your talent strategy. If you’re not in the area you can catch Jody on her latest NEHRA series webinar where she’ll be discussing how to develop a T.R.U.E employer brand. For free event registration use code: TalentWorksWebinar.
