Technology Association of Oregon’s (TAO) 2021 IMPACT series consists of conversations and online content supporting our efforts to engage with the community on the themes of Economic Competitiveness, Talent + Culture, and Digital Transformation + Innovation.
On Wednesday, June 30th, TAO hosted three interactive sessions focused on Talent + Culture featuring thought leaders from around Oregon and Southwest Washington.
ONE ON ONE: JIM COOK
In 2020, TAO’s “Resiliency Series” was created as an opportunity for community members to hear directly from elected officials, thought leaders, and community stakeholders about issues related to the resiliency of our region.
IMPACT: Talent & Culture continued our resiliency conversations as TAO President & CEO Skip Newberry and Jim Cook, CFO of Orbital Insight and Founder of BenchBoard Executive Network, discuss the changes in how companies are investing in people and offices, what is top of mind for leaders in the CEO and CFO networks Jim manages, and where he sees Oregon and SW Washington leading the way as an innovation economy.
With a long professional career as a strategic and operating executive at Intuit, Netflix and Mozilla, Jim Cook’s wheelhouse is creating and aligning a company’s strategic plan with proper operational structures with focus on building great cultures and great teams.
In addition to his work as the current CFO Orbital Insight, he is the Founder of BenchBoard CFO Leadership Network, and Group Director of the Alliance of CEO’s.
FEATURING
PANEL: ELIMINATING BIAS IN JOB DESCRIPTIONS
Building an inclusive workplace is an important strategy for business success. Developing and retaining employees with an array of experiences and characteristics is key to fostering a workplace that enables you to attract top talent while creating a sense of belonging. But could something as simple as your job descriptions be influencing who applies for your open positions?
Implicit biases that influence wording in job descriptions change candidates’ perceptions about the diversity and inclusivity of the workplace, potentially causing diverse candidates to avoid applying for the position. This is a loss for talent acquisition teams working to create inclusive workforces and a loss for companies’ bottom lines since diverse teams are positively correlated with better financial performance.
This IMPACT: Talent & Culture session featured a conversation about how businesses are utilizing inclusive language to appeal to the widest talent pool, and how automation, AI, and recruiting technology can help you keep your job descriptions bias-free.
FEATURING
Q&A: ATTRACTING, GROWING & SUSTAINING TALENT
According to new research, recruiting and hiring is a top concern for business leaders as the region recovers from the pandemic. Attracting top talent is seen as the most difficult issue to navigate, followed by:
- ensuring candidates feel safe to work onsite
- hiring a diverse workforce
- creating an inclusive workplace
- managing virtual recruiting and onboarding practices
- dealing with a high volume of applicants
The final session of IMPACT: Talent & Culture featured a Q&A of human resource, people and culture professionals from regional technology companies. Panelists shared creative ways their teams have transitioned their hiring strategies during the pandemic, and their strategies for attracting, growing, and sustaining a healthy, diverse and productive workplace in the future.
FEATURING
