Produced by the wonderful folks at the RSA

In the final part of our series on talent and development Danny talks about some trends he’s seeing in HR.

Trends such as employer branding, social networking, technology as both liberator and jailer, and the rise of blended learning.

We hope you’ve enjoyed the series and found it useful, inspiring or both. If you’ve missed any parts or simply want to revisit them then pop here for the archive.

We’d like to thank Danny for doing this series. Find out more about the wonderful training and development work he does by popping over here.

In a continuation of the theme in part 5, Danny looks at how to measure performance in a meaningful and useful (actionable) way.

He says, for example, “What is the point…of knowing that each individual employee receives on average 5.5 training days a year. So what? Could you get a similar impact with fewer training days…doing something else?”

It contains more useful questions, tips and tricks if you’re a manager or help to manage talent. You can find all the previous episodes here.

Find out more about Danny here.

Dan Pink speaking at this year’s TED Global in Oxford.

He takes us through a wealth of evidence – built up over four decades – which demonstrates that financial incentives tend to focus the mind and as such only tend to be productive on left-brain tasks, i.e. “problems with a clear set of rules and a single solution.”

In contrast, when financial incentives are offered to people to solve more right-brain tasks – those that are more conceptual in nature and require greater use of cognitive power – the incentives actually make the problem harder to solve because they narrow the focus when the solution tends to be on the periphery and so the solver needs to be thinking more holistically and laterally.

The issue, says Pink, is that we’ve known about these flawed links between problem-solving and financial incentives for decades, and yet despite that they endure. And more and more of the work we do is shifting to right-brain thinking as we delegate the routine, rule-based stuff to computers and outsourcing agents.

The solution: offer incentives based on intrinsic motivators. Specifically, autonomy (e.g. Google’s 20% time), mastery, and purpose.

After the brief hiatus, we’re back with Wain’s World!

And in part 5, Danny looks at the tricky area of performance management which he says is “more than the dreaded annual appraisal!”

As always, this is just 2-3mins long and contains useful tips and tricks if you’re a manager or help manage talent. You can find previous episodes here.

More about Danny here.

Part 4 of our series on developing talent. In this episode, Danny looks at building trust – which he categorizes as part credibility, part reliability and part intimacy.

Just spend 2-3mins watching to get some useful tips and tricks if you’re a manager or help manage talent. You can find previous episodes here.

You can find out more about Danny here.

Part 3 of our series in which Danny looks at strategies to convince the board and leadership to invest in initiatives that develop talent.

As always, good tips and tricks and only 2-3 mins long.

You can find out more about what Danny does here.

You can find previous episodes here.

This is the second part of our seven-part series on HR and talent.

This week, Danny Wain looks at how to draw inspiration from Google to innovate in HR and talent management.

Remember, each episode is a mere 2-3 mins long, short enough for the busiest managers or talent folks. And do drop us a line if you’re interested in sponsoring this series.

You can find out more about what Danny does here. Next episode goes up next week.

Two-and-half years ago we did this podcast with Danny Wain who, at the time, was in charge of learning and development at research firm RI.

Ever since then we’ve wanted to capture his considerable experience on how to get the most out of talent and share it with you in bite size chunks, something we can finally do today. We’ve filmed seven episodes which we’ll put out weekly (with a hiatus during August).

Each episode is a mere 2-3 mins long, short enough for even the busiest managers or talent folks out there (that’s right, these are aimed at anyone with line management responsibility or whose job spec involves nurturing talent). Moreover, the series will cover all sectors, not just research.

The series begins with a look at ways to make a business case for learning and development. Next week we look at how you can take advantage of Google’s approach to innovation. And then we’ll tackle some other challenges including persuasion, trust and measurement. All good stuff

This initiative has involved a significant amount of our time which we’re bringing to you free. So if there’s any potential sponsors out there who’d like to support this effort plus get your name in front of a bunch of thought-leaders, drop us a line as we’d love to work with you.

By the way, Danny’s now set up his own talent and learning and development consultancy, do check it out.

As always, we hope you enjoy this. And do please share this with as many people as possible through twitter, Facebook, email etc.

 ESOMAR CONGRESS ‘07  In the second of three preCasts ahead of this year’s Berlin-based Congress event, well known industry figure David (DVL) Smith chats with Orange’s Nick Bonney and CRAM International’s Peter Cooper about the fuss around new research techniques and the skills needed to move the sector forward. All three gents will be speaking at Congress

CAUTION: We apologise for the below par audio quality

Listen to other podcasts in this series

 STARRING 

• DVL Smith, Director, DVL Smith Group (Host)
• Nick Bonney, Head of Market Insight, Orange
• Peter Cooper, Chairman and CEO, CRAM International

This is an ESOMAR sponsored podcast and is published according to our yumminess policy

Listen to the podcast here

Timeline [13m29s]
00m00s Intro.
00m40s Research purity vs. the new creativity.
02m54s The challenge of clientside information overload.
03m28s Researcher skills in the new paradigm.
05m19s Orange and the challenge of integrating output from the research, analytics and competitor intelligence teams.
06m30s Orange: technical specialists preferred over multi-skilled generalists.
08m06s Recruitment tip: delve into the background of candidate’s parents.
08m57s The need for (more) commercially aware researchers – particularly in the larger quant. agencies.
10m17s Is traditional research interviewing now redundant in an era of more conversational techniques?
11m23s Orange: the tension between being consumer- and profits-driven.

Notable Mentions
Bayesian theory.
Fuzzy logic.
Ginny Valentine.
Grounded theory.
Psychology of intuition.
Semiotics.
Skills.

Music Theatrimus from the PMN

Thanks to Jo Bowman, freelance media and marketing journalist, for her dulcet tones in the intro and outro.

Series:Events Series:ESOMAR Series:Congress
Series:Commissioned

 Entrepreneurship: “The satisfaction of building something from nothing“
(Gian Fulgoni)

 
 THE LEADERSHIP SHOW  Not all leaders are entrepreneurs. And not all entrepreneurs make good leaders. But, my oh my, when you get leaders that ARE good entrepreneurs, you can be sure that innovation and success are close behind. So sit down and prepare to be inspired by some anecdotes and wise words from three entrepreneurial leaders of our time – Chet Zalesky, Clare Bruce and Gian Fulgoni, Gian being a serial entrepreneur. Hosted by none other than Simon Chadwick, himself a former leader at Gfk NOP and now a strategic advisor. Part of our new leadership series, look out for more episodes

Listen to other podcasts featuring Clare

 STARRING 

• Chet Zalesky, founder and President, CMI Solutions
• Clare Bruce, founder and CEO, Nunwood Consulting
• Gian Fulgoni, co-founder and Chairman, comScore Networks
• Simon Chadwick, partner, Cambiar and gravitas (Host)

Timeline [21m34s]
00m00s Intro.
01m12s What makes an entrepreneur?
02m19s Starting a business through frustration.
03m11s The satisfaction of building something from nothing.
03m24s Entrepreneurial DNA.
04m35s Are entrepreneurs driven by passion?
06m37s Self belief and battling naysayers.
07m51s “What on earth am I doing!”.
09m10s How the founder’s role changes (“[over time] the justification for me becomes less obvious”).
10m43s The initial vision.
11m46s Change as a friend of the entrepreneur.
12m22s Becoming personally involved in hiring.
13m00s Giving staff a stake in the business.
13m58s Leaving the business and passing the torch.
14m44s Retaining creativity by investing in startups.
16m39s Inspirational hereos and role models.
19m58s Is MR naturally entrepreneurial?

Notable Mentions
ACNielsen.
Atari.
Commodore.
Donald Trump.
Dotcom boom and bust.
Dr. Alfred A. Kuehn (founder, Management Science Associates).
Entreprenurism.
IRI.
John Malec (founder, IRI).
Keller Fay.
Management Science Associates.
Margaret Thatcher.
Venture capitalism.
Winston Churchill.
Yesmail.

Quotes
On what makes an entrepreneur: “Someone who can’t work in a larger organisation!” (Gian).

“My family came from a farming background.” (Gian).

“We’ve even moved on from insight to adding emotion to everthing we do. Adding pixie dust is how we describe it, adding something that will touch their hearts and reach them as a person.” (Clare).

“[A receptionist asked me how I did it]…it wasn’t that I did it, I loved what I did…You really need to follow your passion and the rest should take care of itself.” (Chet).

“I would say though that the passion is necessary if one’s an entrepreneur because you’re always coming up against people who will tell you something can’t be done…you’ve just got to have alot of passion and emotion to just keep going and drive through all of that.” (Gian).

“As you build a company it’s really important to not have your people see the doubts that maybe occasionally cross your mind as to whether something can be done or not.” (Gian).

“It makes no sense to hire professional managers during the early years of a company, it’s the last thing you want. You want people who can thrive in change and people who are creative.” (Gian).

“The challenge for me, and I’m sure for every other leader on the planet, is to create the environment that makes these awesome people stay…we can’t afford to be so stupidly arrogant these days.” (Clare).

Thanks to freelance media and marketing journalist Jo Bowman for the use of her dulcet tones for the outro

Music 
Steffen Coonan and Theatrimus from the PMN

Series:Leadership

 BIG Conference  In this, the final podcast in the run up to the BIG Conference, Andy Dexter makes the case to Steve Wills for a pure consultancy focused completely on insight. But while he makes a persuasive case, can he convince Steve that he has thought through the many issues surrounding talent? Listen to find out

Listen to other podcasts featuring Steve

 STARRING 

• Andy Dexter, founder and Managing Partner, Truth Consulting
• Steve Wills, co-founder and MD, Customer Insight Solutions (Host)

Learn more about BIG Conference 2007

Timeline [15m28s]
00m00s Intro.
00m43s What is Truth Consulting doing that’s new?
01m37s Why couldn’t Andy do this in his previous, larger organisation?
02m45s Is MR ripe for change?
03m14s Agencies that provide true insight can’t also be data collectors.
04m01s Is the aim to compete with management consultancies.
04m47s The good and bad about being in a listed group.
05m35s Fragmentation.
07m11s Will insight consultants be able to deal with more than just research data?
08m03s Attracting and retaining quality talent.
09m37s Changes in clientside insight teams.
10m21s Where within client organisations should the ‘Insight’ function live?
11m31s Clients are frustrated with the lack of researcher enthusiasm at the end of studies.
12m19s Clients are learning to ask for something different to promote change.
12m52s Andy’s paper at BIG.
14m43s Andy’s future ambitions.

Notable Mentions
Allan Leighton.
Compaq.
Consultancy.
Customer Insight Forum.
David Smith (DVL Smith).
Dell.
GMI.
IBM.
Industry consolidation.
Insight.
Jorge Garcia Gonzalez.
Management consultancy.
Managing talent.
McKinsey.
Research Now.
RoI.
Simon Chadwick.

Quotes
“The world ‘industry’ is freighted with quite a lot of connotations…it by no means captures the whole of the market research sector”

Thanks
A huge thanks to Steve, Andy, and to Ruth McNeil for their help in producing these podcasts

Thanks to freelance media and marketing journalist Jo Bowman for the use of her dulcet tones for the intro and outro

Music Theatrimus from the PMN

Series:Events Series:BIG07
Series:Leadership

The body of Cathy Marlow, Finance Manager for panel firm Research Now, was discovered in the shower cubicle of the firm’s London head office on Saturday night. Police say the 28-year old was murdered in a ‘frenzied attack’, and are questioning a man in connection with the inquiry.

Police responded to a call made at about 9.40pm on Saturday 13th January and have reportedly arrested but not yet charged the person who made it. However, they are appealing for witnesses who saw anyone acting suspiciously or wearing bloodstained clothing near South Lambeth Road, between 1.30pm and 9.30pm that day.

Police believe Marlow called in at work at about 1pm and was killed in the next hour and a half. The exact cause of death has yet to be established. Police say her body was fully clothed.

The office itself remains closed today while forensic officers examine the crime scene. Research Now have issued a statement as follows: ‘Cathy will be much missed by her friends and colleagues who, along with the board of Research Now, send their deepest sympathy to her family.’

Cathy Marlow, of Hawke’s Bay in New Zealand, was in the third year of travelling for her ‘Big OE’ – the overseas experience common to many kiwis. According to reports on the web, she was a keen traveller and was living in a five-bedroom house in south west London with ‘other young Antipodeans’. Friends and former colleagues described her as a sporty, popular person with many friends and a bright smile, who loved travelling and working overseas.

Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of Cathy Marlow, and her colleagues at Research Now. Get updates here

 Sponsored by 
Aimed at managers and HR folks, Anna Farmery and Daniel Wain take us through some practical ways in which to help employees better engage with their employer brand and hence realise their full passion and potential. As a former HR director and someone who is passionate about this issue, as evidenced by her excellent blog and podcasts, there’s no better source than Anna for this valuable advice. And in his inimitable style, Daniel shares his views, tips and initiatives from RI

 STARRING 

• Anna Farmery, The Engaging Brand
• Daniel Wain, Director of Learning and Development, Research International

PODCAST
Please let us know what you think of this podcast.

Timeline [32m07s]
00m00s Introduction.
01m31s Rationale for The Engaging Brand.
02m10s Training 2.0.
03m00s The role of HR, managers and employees.
03m32s How to engage employees.
07m32s Recruiting the right leaders and managers.
09m28s Is the MR industry sufficiently attractive to new recruits?
13m12s The three rules to getting the best out of people.
15m50s Delivering on internal brand promises.
17m48s Roles and responsibilities.
18m59s RI’s approach to training and development.
22m42s Effective training on a tight budget.
26m08s Using modern tools to connect with employees (blogs, podcasts, wikis).
29m28s Anna’s hoped-for legacy.

NOTABLE MENTIONS
Hallmark.
Harvard Business Review.
Royal Mail.
Sir Richard Branson.
Southwest Airlines.
Virgin.

QUOTES
On the rationale for the blog and podcast: “It’s all about getting that fun and experience into the workspace.” (Anna).

On how the research industry sees training: “I feel very strongly that we think about learning in a very narrow definition of training …and it being something that is done to you.” (Danny).

On being resourceful with the training budget: “There is a huge amount of resource on the Internet that is absolutely free.” (Anna).

On the crucial reason for engaging employees: “…if people are engaged they deliver higher performance … I don’t care what it is, whether you are making a product or a service, it’s people that deliver the experience to the customer … the first port of call is give the person in the company the experience themselves.” (Anna).

On the need to engage all employees: “The salary maybe reflects the experience or the technical level of the job, but that does not mean that the person is not valuable to creating the company vision. Where companies really succeed…is that seeing every part of your company as an extension of your customer or corporate brand.” (Anna).

On being authentic: “If what you’re trying to do is portray to the outside world an innovative, creative solution, then you need to create that culture within … if it’s one where no individual can ever make a decision without going to the CEO, then that’s not necessarily innovative, creative to that individual.” (Anna).

On attracting talent: “I don’t think that within the industry we have enough role models and also I don’t think we think about developing people as ambassadors for the whole industry.” (Danny).

On what makes a good manager: “The further up you go [in an organisation], the more the emotional intelligence actually comes into it and the more it is about getting the best out of people, and that isn’t the best market researcher.” (Anna).

On nurturing: “In order for people to be ambassadors they’ve got to actually feel it.” (Anna).

“You join a manager, you leave a manager.” (Anna).

On effective recruitment: “Word of mouth marketing happens with employees as well … people start to join companies that people are talking about as a great place to work.” (Anna).

On not being so defensive about MR: “If you just keep flagellating yourself in public [that MR doesn't seem to attract people] then you shouldn’t be surprised if the only people you attract are masochists. Why would anyone want to join an industry that is constantly beating itself up?” (Danny).

On poor marketing: “I made a joke at conference this year … we might as well put an ad. in the paper saying telepaths wanted, you know where to apply. We should be, of all people, the very best at identifying our core market … and then getting them in.” (Danny).

On engaging people: “Do some research on what they want from an employer … that needs to be a dialogue … get down to the individual level.” (Anna).

On being authentic: “Nothing matters unless people are walking the talk.” (Anna).

On delivering on the internal brand promise: “There is nothing wrong in being a dictatorial, lacking creativity, being a completely inflexible organisation!” (Anna).

On managing engagement: “HR are partly to blame, because HR actually quite like controlling the management of people … but at the end of the day, the management and the motivation and the inspiration of people is purely and utterly down to the leaders and managers.” (Anna).

On RI’s coaching programme: “Once upon a time we were known as the university of market research … and so [we now] offer training in client relationship management, business development, negotiating, people management, IT skills, e-learning, mentoring, coaching…” (Danny).

On RI’s coaching programme: “What I would like to do … is that we actually get to the level where we have a number of what I would call milestone development programs in place, which before e.g. someone becomes a line manager, they have to have gone on our people management essentials programme.” (Danny).

On training on a tight budget: “Most of management is on the job … if you have good managers and you have good leaders, they will be able to develop people to be a manager without necessarily going on a training course.” (Anna).

On training on a tight budget: “I used to look after 3,500 people and at one point we had a [training] budget of £20,000 … if you’re crafty you can do it.” (Anna).

On employee blogging: “Some people use blogging as a way of improving communications that are bad within an organisation – No! You’ve got to start with communication skills at the top of the organisation.” (Anna).

On employee blogging: “[employees ask] how do I get my ideas back up the organisation? And blogging can be a tool that can be used to help that dialogue.” (Anna).

“For all the technology in the world, I still come to human-to-human contact.” (Anna).

Music courtesy of: 2006 Pl@stic Soul and The Blue Mile from the PMN

Thanks to K D Consulting for sponsoring this podcast.

(tags: market research marketing)

Series:MarketingTalk
Series:Skills
Series:Sponsored

 WE’VE HIT 50!  Forgive us this bit of self-indulgence, it’s an important milestone for us. Have a listen as the fun gang recall some amusing anecdotes

 STARRING 

• Alex Burmaster, Nielsen//NetRatings
• David Day, Lightspeed Research
• Tas Tasgal, POV
• Anumita Sharma, The Third Eye
• Darren Noyce, Skopos

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all guests, guest hosts, partners and supporters who have over the last six months, and true to the mission, inspired us to think different and better

We’d like to pay particular tribute to a few who have been extraordinarily helpful and supportive over the period. We won’t mention why because that would probably make them cringe. But they are, in alpha order, BrainJuicer’s John Kearon, KD Consulting’s Kate Dann, Moët Hennessy’s Mark Whiting, MW&A’s Michael Warren, and MrWeb’s Nick Thomas

But most of all we’d like to thank you for listening, it’s the only reason we do it. Here’s to the next 50…

 GUEST  Poet, mountain climber and entrepreneur Derek Leddie, Founder and Director of innovative research consultancy The Leading Edge

 TOPICS  Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro; Will the industry really grow at 11-12%? Bridging the chasm between client needs and research delivery; Skills gap; Genesis of TLE and rationale for selling to Photon Group; EXCLUSIVE: UK office coming soon; Turning insights into assets; Managing talent with some cool benefits

 NOTABLE MENTIONS  Carlton Draught, ESOMAR, Fosters, Frank Small & Associates, Kristin Hickey, Mark Sundquist, Outsell, Photon Group, Stephen Phillips, Toby Hill

Music Brother Love from the PMN

Series:MarketingTalk
Series:Weekly