The HR Gazette is lucky to have lots of awesome columnists from across the HR world. One of new guest experts is Consultant, Coach. Knowledge Curator and Talent expert Kathleen Jinkerson. Our Editor asks the questions..
Editor: Tell us about your personal career history and what brought you to your current company.
KJ: As is often the case, it was a journey.
I began my career in project management. After a couple of years, I joined an entrepreneurial Canadian organization where I was working with the Executive team to implement their projects. During my tenure there I had the chance to work on a lot HR projects including implementing and managing a comprehensive recognition and rewards program, rebranding their career site and building a talent pipeline for key positions. That’s when I realized that I had a passion for HR programs and that I wanted to focus on working with individuals and organizations to create great places to work.
I spent the next 8 years working for recruitment agencies helping our clients build their teams. I took great pride in my ability to not only be a transactional partner but to provide value-added advice. I wanted to play a bigger role in advising and coach my clients on the full range of talent processes. I joined The Talent Company as their Director, HR & Talent Solutions because the Partners of the firm asked me a very smart question; they asked me what I most liked to do and we have designed a role around my passions and expertise.
Editor: Can you tell us a bit about what your company does for HR professionals and Managers?
KJ: The Talent Company is a full service HR consulting firm. We work closely with our clients to develop, optimize and innovate their talent and HR practices.
Our greatest opportunities to help HR professionals and Managers come from meaningful conversations. I meet with HR professionals and business leaders to discuss how their HR and talent programs are working for them. For programs that are working effectively, I look to understand why it works for their organization and identify trends and innovations in the market. For the challenging areas, those pain points, I work with them to design customized and cost-effective solutions which improve their capabilities and capacity.
Editor: What is your target market? Please tell us a bit about typical companies which use your services?
KJ: Anyone really. Recently The Talent Company worked with a cloud-based software company to transform and optimize their talent acquisition function. For a mid-sized Canadian services provider we developed and implemented an organizational talent management strategy, focused on workforce and succession planning. We’re proud of the work we did for a global financial services company. We designed and delivered leadership development and coaching programs that supported their ongoing strategic initiatives including an operational consolidation and two acquisitions within the space of a year.
We also offer HR for growing businesses. As an organization looks for ways to scale for growth, our team of experienced HR Consultants can provide support on an on-call, hourly, daily or project basis as they are needed.
Editor: How does The HR Gazette fit with your brand’s objectives?
KJ: As a firm we are not only advisors and coaches but also knowledge curators and advocates. We are active in various professional associations including the Human Resources Professional Association, the Society for Human Resource Management and the International Coaching Federation.
We are members of the Advisory Boards for HR degree programs as well as various leadership and mentorship programs. We speak at conferences and present white papers. The HR Gazette is a natural outlet for us to continue this work. We are looking forward to sharing fresh content that highlights innovative ideas and provides insight in to market conditions and trends.
Editor: What are the top three things you think make for a happy and productive work environment?
KJ: The right team, the right leadership and a culture that allows for people to do meaningful work.
Editor: What are the top 3 things you’re working on/developing in 2015?
KJ: The Talent Company recently launched our Pulse on Leadership and that is keeping me very busy. The study was a tremendous success with leadership insights being shared from HR and business professionals from around the world. As a result, I’m spending a lot of time sharing the results of our study and discussing people’s experiences and opinions on leadership.
It’s always great when these discussions uncover opportunities for us to work with new companies or with existing clients in new ways. So, throughout 2015 I will continue to work with our subject matter experts to make sure that our clients have the tools, capabilities and capacity to attract, retain and motivate talent they need.
Finally, as much as I love our big clients, I’m looking forward to doing more work with small to mid-sized companies. I want to help these organizations grow.
Editor: Do you prefer team work or going solo?
KJ: I am definitely a team player. I go a bit stir crazy when I work by myself for too long.
Editor: Will your company be attending any events/conferences this year? If so, which ones and why?
KJ: We just delivered two sessions at the HRPA Conference in Toronto. Joe Minaudo, our Practice Lead for Strategy & Transformation, spoke on Being An Effective Business Partner. Simon Parkin, our Practice Lead for Talent Advisory, presented 2015 Recruitment Trends and Best Practices. Simon will also be presenting at the 5th Annual Talent Management Summit in May.
Editor: If you could be a super hero who would you be and why?
KJ: A great question! I’m such a geek it’s hard to choose one. Probably Jemma Simmons from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. She’s intelligent, curious and focused; she’s ambitious and doesn’t apologize for it.
Now that I think about it, she’s not really a super-hero since she doesn’t have any super powers. So, I’ll also pick The Flash. There’s something very compelling about a character who was capable and successful even before he developed his super powers.
Editor: Finally, got anything else to say to our readers?
KJ: I’m always happy to talk to people. They are welcome to reach out to me through social media, email me or even call me directly.