Tamara Erickson

Award-winning Author and Expert on Organizations, the Changing Workforce, and Generations at Work

BIG IDEAS

• Avoiding the Workforce Crisis: How to Beat the Coming Shortage of Skills and Talent
  A seismic shift is occurring in the workforce. Globally, several decades of declining birth rates are catching up with us. For the first time in modern history, the number of jobs created could begin to outstrip the number of people who desire to participate in the workforce, creating not just a temporary imbalance for a year or two, but a sustained, systemic scarcity over the decades ahead. And when you add a skill set filter over the raw numbers, the potential shortages look even more alarming. We’re at a tipping point. Over the next several years, most corporations will begin to experience a talent shortage. It will affect the relationships we forge with employees, the opportunities ahead for us and our children, our approaches to education, our philosophies toward retirement, and the fundamental way we live out our lives. In this presentation, Tammy offers a deep understanding of the composition of the future workforce, characteristics and expectations of the four generations in today’s workforce, and actions to attract and retain great talent.
• What Are They Thinking?! Why the Generations Clash in the Workplace
  Four generations are working together in today’s workplace—each bringing different experiences and assumptions to the job. It’s easy to misinterpret “the other guy”—or fall into easy stereotypes for thinking about the other generations’ actions. But as the talent shortage grows, it’s increasingly important to create a culture that is welcoming and engaging for talented individuals of all ages. Based on years of in-depth research on the changing workforce and the assumptions each generation brings to work, Tammy will cut through common stereotypes and help you understand the underlying evolution of an individual’s point of view. Learn why our own assumptions and values often lead us to misinterpret others’ actions and how each generation’s experience with technology has shaped fundamental assumptions about how to get things done. Gain practical approaches to leverage each generation’s values in positive ways within the corporation, including specific ideas such as lateral career moves, “task not time,” no “prove it” tasks, cyclic work, bell-shaped or even “carillon” career paths, and many others.
• They’re Here! Generation Y Enters the Workforce
  They’re here! Generation Y – the Millennials – are joining the workforce. And they’re bringing with them new attitudes and experiences. Technology guides their assumptions about communications, what they choose for careers, how they do work, how and where they learn, and their expectations of organizations they join. They have a desire to live life “now,” as well as high expectations for leadership opportunities. They do not stay very long. Our research shows that over a third of all Generation Ys in the workforce today are currently and actively seeking a new job! They are family-centric and will consult their parents on all major decisions— including work. What are they thinking? Viewed through the lens of a Boomer, these new entrants can look very challenging! Learn how you can adapt your approach to the hiring, engaging and retaining—or even just understanding—young workers.
• What Does It Mean to Work Here? A Signature Experience for Extraordinary Engagement
  Engaging your employees is not about copying another corporation’s best practices. Case studies of firms that have achieved extraordinary levels of employee engagement point to a provocative conclusion: there is no single best practice. It makes sense. Psychodemographic research clearly shows that individuals want very different things from work; work plays many different roles in our lives. Companies with extraordinary employee-employer relationships leverage these differences: they know who they are—and it’s not all things to all people—understand their current and future employees as clearly as most companies understand their customers, and demonstrate who they are vividly, with actual practices or events (not through slogans and posters). World-class companies create Signature Experiences, distinctive elements of the employees’ experience that dramatically illustrate the values that make them unique. These Signature Experiences become powerful ways to encourage self-selection and reinforce values, leading to retention. The result: high engagement, high customer satisfaction, and high productivity...and relationships that capture both hearts and minds. Tammy delivers examples of some of the unique approaches organizations use to achieve high levels of employee engagement. She also helps audiences understand the six psychodemographic segments that describe our relationship to work, and she provides specific ideas for creating Signature Experiences.
• Innovation & Collaboration: Bringing People and Ideas Together
  At the heart of innovation is the combination of two previously unrelated ideas. Creating the capacity for innovation in your organization means encouraging collaboration: namely, sharing knowledge and working together to create new ideas. The paradox: many of the best ways to encourage collaboration work against innovation! How can you balance both? Based on ground-breaking research—one of the largest and most rigorous studies of collaborative behavior within organizations—as well as years of experience with innovative organizations, three keys emerge: building the capacity to collaborate, asking great questions, and introducing sufficient diversity of thought and capability. Chances are high that many of the organizational practices needed...are exactly the ones you’ve de-emphasized in recent years. Learn specific ways to build collaboration among your employees, the importance of “great questions,” and new approaches for introducing diversity of thought. This presentation identifies the highest-priority investments and practices used to build an organization skilled at successful innovation.
• Transforming Your People Management Capabilities
  The role of human resource leaders is changing dramatically, as corporations come to realize that one of the major business challenges of the 21st Century is using the skills and capabilities of our workforce effectively. Human resource leaders are increasingly expected to bring to bear a suite of skills to leverage the human assets of the corporation in ways that increase productivity and customer satisfaction. This shift toward responsibility for engaging and leveraging the human assets of the business requires new competencies in human resource leaders, as well as new organizational models. The long-term possibilities are intriguing: will human resources begin to fill a direct management function for the changing workforce, as increasingly varied and complex arrangements are made with individual workers? Will the role evolve toward one of supplying “ready-to-go” talent on an as-needed basis to individual programs and projects? What does this mean for the corporation’s role in talent development? How will the success in these new responsibilities be measured? Tammy offers leading-edge strategies for today’s HR organizations and provides the key capabilities requirements for HR leaders. Multi-day sessions, based on innovative curricula designed specifically to teach finance, business acumen, and marketing skills to HR leaders, are also available.
• Leading Today’s “Next Generation Enterprise”
  What do we need in tomorrow’s leaders? In a four-generation workforce, filled with different values and beliefs, what leadership characteristics will be key? And how do those characteristics relate to the people who hold management positions today? Our groundbreaking research on the workforce revealed some fascinating data on today’s executives. Explore the implications for developing tomorrow’s leaders. Drawing from recent research, Tammy looks at the trends in executive development and shows how leading corporations are finding and developing the talent needed to meet the leadership challenge. What characteristics are required for tomorrow’s leaders? How do those characteristics differ from today’s leaders, and where are the gaps?

SNAPSHOT BIO

Tamara Erickson is a McKinsey Award-winning author and widely respected expert on organizations and the changing workforce—on the shifting relationships between individuals and corporations—and on enhancing innovation and workforce productivity. Her work is based on extensive research on changing demographics and employee values and, most recently, on how successful organizations innovate through collaboration. Tammy offers a fundamentally optimistic point of view, along with fascinating trends and actionable counsel.

A popular and engaging storyteller. Tammy creates custom sessions for your group that are interactive and fun. She is skilled at keynotes, workshops, and innovative multi-day executive sessions.

Tammy co-authored four Harvard Business Review articles (the first, "It’s Time to Retire Retirement,” earned her the McKinsey Award), one MIT Sloan Management Review article, and the book Workforce Crisis: How to Beat the Coming Shortage of Skills and Talent a guide for corporations. Her weekly blog “Across the Ages” is on HBSP Online. Tammy is currently writing a series of books, one for each generation, including the recently released Retire Retirement: Career Strategies for the Boomer Generation.

A respected authority on technology and its implications for business, Tammy also co-authored Third Generation R&D: Managing the Link to Corporate Strategy. The book is a widely accepted guide to making technology investments and managing innovative organizations.

A Closer Look at Tammy

FOCUS AREAS
What's on Tammy's current research agenda?

In her own words:

There is a lot happening in our world, particularly in our work world. Some people view that with a sense of doom and dread, but I don’t. I see tremendous opportunities ahead for both individuals and corporations, provided they are ready to take advantage of the shifts under way and adapt approaches and practices.

My current research agenda includes continuing exploration of the trends that shape tomorrow’s corporations and the values of the individuals who work within them. My view of the future is grounded in extensive research on changing demographics, employee values and, most recently, on how successful organizations collaborate and innovate. I have always been very interested in technology, how it is changing the way people work and live, and how organizations function as a result.

Although my most recent work has focused primarily on the changing workforce, my career more broadly has involved issues associated with building and managing successful organizations. I started with work in classic business strategy, but quickly focused on developing strategy for firms in which the success of their investments in technology/R&D was a key determinant of their strategic options (pharmaceuticals and others). This led me to work on how to make those investments more successful and strategically aligned and eventually to my first co-authored book Third Generation R&D: Managing the Link to Corporate Strategy. Today my work continues full circle with continuing themes of understanding the implications of technology, the forces changing organizations, capturing people’s passions, and becoming more innovative.

ENGAGEMENTS
How have other organizations utilized Tammy's expertise, and what's ahead on her schedule?

In over 30 years as a researcher and advisor to senior executives, Tammy has worked with global organizations throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, helping them become more innovative and effective.

Her work today includes a great deal of "light bulb" work–helping senior executives understand the key issues that will affect their businesses by looking at events in new ways and identifying insightful and thought-provoking patterns. Although not (primarily) a futurist, Tammy’s work does include discerning and describing interesting trends.

Based on solid research, Tammy’s work is well-grounded and academically rigorous. It is also fundamentally optimistic, driven by the perspective that there are tremendous opportunities for both individuals and corporations who take advantage of the great changes that are occurring around us and adapt their approaches and practices. Working primarily with senior executive teams, she provides actionable counsel for business results and offers smart advice on how to capitalize on the changes around us.

Tammy is also a gifted and passionate teacher. Her work includes designing innovative curricula and teaching in a number of executive development programs.

Her colleagues at BSG Concours work with client companies to develop effective talent strategies and design engaging employee experiences.

SPHERE OF INFLUENCE
Who shapes Tammy's thinking and inspires her work?

• Those with insight into patterns, trends, technologies and organizations of the future–Peter Drucker, Thomas Malone, Jim Collins, John Seely Brown, John Hagel
• Those who understanding effective organizations and individuals within–Lynda Gratton, John Boudreau, David Garvin, Dave Ulrich, Peter Senge
• Those with a unique perspective on engagement–Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Jim Loehr
• Those who understand the demographic and workforce trends–Ken Dychtwald and her colleague Bob Morison

RECOMMENDED READING
What's on Tammy's must-read list?

Books that provide a unique perspective on or describe a pattern of historical events, such as Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond and books that offer provocative views of the future, such as The Future of Work by Thomas Malone.

MIND FUEL
Which blogs, web sites, and industry events does Tammy tap into to feed her mind and fuel her creativity?

Edge Perspectives with John Hagel (http://edgeperspectives.typepad.com/)

Edge (http://www.edge.org/)

The Long Tail by Chris Anderson (http://www.thelongtail.com/)

Applied Abstractions by Espen Andersen (http://www.espen.com/weblog/)

The Becker-Posner Blog by Gary Becker and Richard Posner (http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/)

The Gig by Nadira A. Hira (http://thegig.blogs.fortune.com./)

OUTREACH
What are Tammy's pressing questions, and on which topics does she seek your feedback?

How will organizations change over the next decade? How do they need to change to take advantage of the technologies that will be available and respond to the way the today's workforce prefers to work? How can leaders create organizations that are innovative, collaborative and engaging—as well as highly productive and successful?