When Rick Spielman took over the role of general manager of the Minnesota Vikings in 2012, their record was 3 and 13. However, after revamping their system for evaluating talent, and a new class of recruits, the Vikings were able to make the playoffs. All teams must be prepared to find the top few players out of a pool of about 3,000 athletes in the draft, but Spielman and his team were able to find an efficient way to identify not just the top athletes, but those that would perform best in their system. Join Spielman as he discusses how having the right talent in the right position is a game changer.

Session discovery topics:

• Evaluating the talent for right fit
• Developing talent — acclimating the new recruits
• Building relationships — having a long-term succession plan

As a global organization formed through a series of acquisitions, Smiths Medical found itself lacking a cohesive global identity. An employee engagement survey in 2009 validated what the HR team already knew — they needed to consolidate their organization and create a company with one value system. Join Ron Leonhardt as he talks about how Smiths Medical reorganized its global functions, strengthened its core values and transformed its culture.

Session discovery topics:

• Knowing when to move quickly — and when to wait
• Aligning top management
• Creating clarity around vision, mission and strategy

Launching strategic workforce planning is a frequently misunderstood endeavor, often leading to frustrating results for the organization. Before you agree to, or mandate strategic workforce planning for your organization, there are several
considerations to work through including the change, the process and the resources required. In this session, Marcus Joseph will discuss lessons learned from piloting strategic workforce planning across several industries and organization types. This conversation aims to help you determine if such a strategy is right for you and, if so, help your launch be a successful one.

CEOs and boards need confident, effective leaders who can inspire others and drive results. Unfortunately, when it comes to filling pivotal roles, the quality of available leaders does not match the need. Critical roles are not filled by internal candidates for one major reason: leaders are not ready. Despite spending millions on talent and succession management systems, organizations still encounter serious leadership gaps. Organizations need a dramatic reframing in how they plan and implement programs to close these gaps and support their business goals. Come prepared to share in this executive boardroom discussion led by discussion leaders Mark Hudak, Pat Jones and Mike Meyers.

Discussion topics:

• Why are companies so dissatisfied with their procedures for identifying and preparing leaders to move to the next level?
• Why do 40 percent of internal job moves made by high potentials end in failure?
• How do you build a strong high-potential bench?

Attendee participation is encouraged in this interactive discussion. Seating is limited and reserved for CHRO attendees. Sponsor participation is limited to boardroom sponsor representatives only.

Although there are indicators that the building industry is picking up, employees are still wary, as there have been heavy layoffs every year since 2006. One approach to dealing with layoffs comes in the form of a part-time workforce. But in these still-uncertain economic times, part-time employees can bring with them challenges around employee loyalty and engagement, as well as cultural cohesiveness. To combat these challenges, Karin Peterson and her team at Pella put their focus on engagement instead of compensation, and in doing so, they are seeing real business results — a decrease in turnover — down to 8.8 percent. Join Peterson in this session to hear more about how they used strength-based leadership in conjunction with a contingent workforce plan to help break the layoff cycle and create more engagement across the board.

With many provisions of the Affordable Care Act coming into play next year, employers have new challenges and opportunities as they navigate employee health coverage strategies for 2014 and beyond. Learn implications of these changes and the questions you should be asking now to manage cost and promote a healthy workforce in this era of reform.

Session discovery topics:

• Discovering what is next in reform and finding focus in a cluttered landscape
• Asking the right questions now to prepare for the future
• Learning which levers help manage costs and promote a healthy workforce

Talent management has become a leading priority for organizations seeking to attract, develop and retain top talent. According to Forrester, the human resource management market reached $4.8B in 2011 and is expected to grow to $6.1B in 2014. Talent management is anticipated to grow at an even faster rate, achieving 17—percent CAGR over the same time period. This limited-seating, executive boardroom discussion puts executive leaders in the driver’s seat, steering a unique peer-to-peer dialogue for sharing best practices and challenges. Join moderator Jan Brockway from ADP, and come ready for an in-depth discussion about your approach to talent management and what you can do to shift it into high gear.

Attendee participation is encouraged in this interactive discussion. Seating is limited and reserved for CHRO attendees. Sponsor participation is limited to boardroom sponsor representatives only.

Companies are often looking for ways to drive sustained high performance. As a diversified industrial company with 30,000 employees in 44 countries, Pentair has achieved high performance across a range of markets, economic conditions and competitive environments through the effective use of business strategy, lean process and culture. In this session, Pentair’s Chairman and CEO Randall J. Hogan shares Pentair’s history transitioning from holding company to operating company to high performance company.

Session discovery topics:

• Key elements for building a high-performance organization
• Insights for achieving and sustaining high performance
• Role of leadership and the human resources function

The business benefits of integrated talent management done right — increased revenue, lower turnover, higher employee engagement — are multiplied as you scale globally. Unfortunately, so are the missed opportunities if you get it wrong. As an HR leader, what can you do to ensure your talent strategy is competitive on the worldwide stage? Join Jason Corsello as he shares how you can achieve full visibility in your talent across divisions by taking an integrated approach, and why this integration piece is so critical to your company’s global success. This is a must-attend interactive discussion for any HR leaders tackling worldwide expansion.

When it comes to analytics in HR, most CHROs feel they are somewhat behind the curve. So whether you are currently leveraging analytics, or you are just starting your journey and feel like you have more to learn, there is opportunity to advance your strategy and define best practices. This session focuses on evolving the role of HR in the organization through the effective use of analytics, allowing you to build your strategic business function, improve the effectiveness of your HR programs, optimize workforce planning and access HR-specific data anytime on any device. Come prepared to explore the real value in HR analytics, and elevate the business partnership of HR in your organization by doing so.

The way HR drives strategy in the organization is evolving, and it’s up to the HR leaders of the future to step up to the plate with a new skill set in order to support their organizations in an innovative way. So how do you begin thinking about the future of HR and your role as a strategic business partner? A panel of CHROs from Best Buy, Land O’Lakes, Regal Beloit and Mayo will team up to share their leadership in this thought-provoking session. From practical strategies like creating a new reporting matrix to understanding the business in a way that allows you to be a true business partner, this session will be sure to inspire the way you think about your role as an HR leader in the overall structure of the organization.