On the cover of the 100th edition of HRD, our very own Connie Gibney. Read her interview on why talent is LinkedIn's No. 1 priority.

1. HRD
Celebrating our 100th Issue
The only independent strategic HR publication
the
HRDIRECTOR Issue 100
Of all
elements
necessary for
growth, talent
is our number
one priority
Interview
Connie Gibney
HR Director
Linkedin
Also featured in this issue:
Roundtable Tribunal Health & safety A raft of Redundancy management Change management Old Apprenticeships Some
management, ETS under new considerations; As another tranche of habits die hard! Nudge and employers have deliberately
pressure, employers employer responsibility for redundancies loom, we nudge again, people need misinterpreted the scheme
disillusioned - will reform “grey fleet” drivers, AEDs in look at options to culling to be reminded of both the to utilise cheap labour, in
improve the outlook? the workplace and new fees what is left of the workforce rationale and importance exchange for funding
www.thehedirector.com 100% no paid for editorial

2. Interview: Connie Gibney
int Connie Gibney, HR Director - Linkedin
She was an amazing mentor, and led by example
with how to really engage with the business, how
thinking commercially enables HR to add real value
to the business. Diane was very influential in my
early career and I still reflect on the programs
I worked with her in developing. Foundationally,
I still use many of those concepts today. Another
very influential person for me, early in my career
and at the same company was Robbie Vann-Adibe,
who was one of the founders of Viant. Robbie
pushed me to think ahead of business demand
and also encouraged me to move away from the
US to work on opening up offices in Europe as part
of the company’s international expansion. I took
his advice and moved to London where I was
based for two years, working throughout Europe
and this really put my career in a new trajectory
and since that time I have always had an
international remit in my HR career.
You were still relatively inexperienced, going
from a long-established business to start ups,
how did you prepare for that? I had to really call
on everything I had learnt early in my career and
think about how best to apply my existing
knowledge to what was essentially a blank canvas.
I had to re-invent myself, from being simply an
HR practitioner carrying out parts of the whole,
to thinking and managing on a broader, global
scale. I found it both very challenging and exciting.
I discovered that I had a solid foundation as an
HR practitioner and could translate that experience
all the world’s to support a business that was in rapid expansion.
What was your first experience of working HR
strategically at a high level? I remember my first
a stage experiences of interacting with the board was at
eCast - we were going through a merger and I was
leading the HR assessment. The CEO and I had
identified some critical differences between the
companies’ HR practices that could impact on the
merger. One major difference was pay structures and
It may be lazy journalism to trot out how the internet is rewards, where the two companies were incompatible
revolutionising the human race, but it is truly gob-smacking and would require significant change management.
So my first big strategic work was in this tricky and
that in its tenth year, Linkedin has 200 million registered users.
potentially disruptive area. We had to build a strategy
Jason Spiller interviews Connie Gibney, Linkedin’s HR Director, and get agreement quickly at an executive and board
and finds out what is driving this phenomenon. level so that we could roll it out as part of the merger.
It was far from easy and something I hadn’t done
before, but it taught me to ask a lot of questions,
Connie, give us an idea of your early career, and what were the key influences that have to think through good procedures and ensure sound
helped determine your career in HR? I didn’t choose HR, it kind of chose me! I studied decision-making is communicated well. You’ve also
psychology at school, but my first job was as a business analyst at Texas Instruments, which got to have faith in your own abilities and not be
you won’t see on my profile, because very soon after joining I was asked if I would like to join afraid to question executives in a constructive way
the HR team as a Recruiting & HR Coordinator. This was a great opportunity to learn the to help them find the right answers.
foundations of HR in a well organised and established business. I worked there for about
three years, progressing to a senior HR generalist and from there I joined a start-up company Today I think I can classify myself as a start-up
in San Francisco. It was a consulting company called Viant, and I was the second HR person specialist, being able to work in an agile way across
to be hired by the firm in the late 90’s, during the dotcom boom. It was a start-up in every all HR functions and with executive and
sense and the person who eventually became our chief people officer, Diane Hall, had no management levels. I really love small companies
HR background as such, but had a passion for people and learning. When I look back at the with big ambitions but also with a focus on
key learnings of my life, unquestionably, what Diane taught me was so valuable. developing people. It’s a very different environment
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3. Being in start-ups
means you have to
roll your sleeves up
and personally get
stuck in, but you also
experience the
rewards of seeing
your tangible work
take effect
to working for large and long-established companies,
of course, but I could not have stepped up to the
plate without well-grounded experience in a bigger
firm, because it exposed me to big scale and best
practice in a multitude of HR areas. The start-up
experience, however, allowed me to apply it quickly
and with a keen eye. For example, I can look at
compensation frameworks in Germany and know
what questions to ask to ensure we are meeting the
market competition, I can have a conversation about
equity in France with some authority and I
understand about setting up HR operations in a new
country even if I’ve never worked in that country
before. I enjoy everything in HR from appropriate
procedures and compliance, to business
partnerships, succession planning and thinking
creatively about career paths for people. Being in
start-ups means you have to roll your sleeves up
and personally get stuck in, but you also experience
the rewards of seeing your tangible work take effect.
But that creates significant pressure, there is no
room for mistakes and there is no hiding place.
Sure, it increases pressure, but when I talk with
HR practitioners in other firms, they invariably say
that they wish they could do the stuff I get to do.
When I ask them “why not?” they often say the
culture of the company wouldn’t support that
change. I think there is benefits to established
processes and procedures just as much as there
Connie Gibney
is to trying new things out. Keep in mind, there is HR Director – Linkedin
usually a lot of chaos in start-ups and you have to Connie Gibney is HR Director
manage up as well as down, constantly keeping of Linkedin. She was interviewed
leaders in the loop and being open to changing by Jason Spiller and photographed
by Stuart Thomas.
your idea. You might not need so many signoffs,
but the hardest part is creating the idea in the
first place; that’s where you need a team to
collaborate with and that team isn’t always just in

4. Interview: Connie Gibney
int Connie Gibney, HR Director - Linkedin
HR. Something you can influence and, if you proud of is that we've maintained our values, maximising the marketing potential of the
can leave your mark on a business, that’s which are not just stated but, crucially, lived by brand, and not only being a recruiter, but also
massively rewarding no matter the size or everyone who joins the company, as well as a marketer to candidates. This way of thinking
scope of the company. our executive leaders. allows companies and recruiters to look at the
awareness of brand, which is compelling when
Does the nature of the business, it being measuring success of hiring. It’s about
a web-based facility, make it easier to marketing and extending the employer brand
expand internationally with one clear beyond your own website and attracting talent
employer brand and culture? I definitely globally, and that’s an increasingly
think so, but it needs to also be thoughtful valuable resource.
You have to be of the employees in countries we expand into.
thoughtful about We’re a big brand, but we’re also relatively
small as a company. Although our brand does
Would you say Linkedin is on the radar of
young talent as a potential career? Yes and
cultures and values have incredible reach, the site being available increasingly so, but we cannot rest on our
in 19 languages worldwide, we recognise the laurels, and assume this will always be the
and how you foster combined strengths of a global brand and case. We have been actively making
them. You might also the importance of localisation. When connections with students and higher education
you bring that back to how you operate from institutions to ensure we remain top-of-mind for
have the look and an HR perspective, it helps to have brand new university grads. For example, we have a
feel of an office, but awareness as you go into new markets,
but you also need to ensure your employee
really great new university grad program in the
US, where we've developed strong relationships
you can’t force experience matches that brand expectation. with key schools, and this really helps in
sourcing young talent. That awareness comes
something on I should imagine that the ambition is to through at many stages of a student’s life and,
people’s attitudes really capitalise on emerging markets, how
does the Linkedin culture fit say, in China or
when they come close to graduating, it comes
top-of-mind who they want to work for.
towards a company the middle-east? We are currently exploring
what makes sense for Linkedin in China, but Here in Europe we hire a lot of sales
I think a real strength, and this was a professionals, from early stage career to
conscious decision, is wherever you are, you highly experienced, but we also hire many
can walk into any Linkedin office around the young professionals in HR, Finance, Marketing,
world and it feels like Linkedin. The employees Customer Service and Sales Support. In
Give us an idea of what how Linkedin share the same values and culture that are the Ireland where I'm based, as well as in the UK,
painted its picture of the future and what it same across the company. You have to be it’s good to see how many people in those
expected you to deliver with HR? Linkedin thoughtful about cultures and values and how industries are on Linkedin and actively using
has always been an evolving company. At the you foster them. You might have the look and it as a professional tool. We really leverage
time I joined there were only about 65 feel of an office, but you can’t force something the site for recruitment, as you might guess.
employees outside the US, but there were on people’s attitudes towards a company. We haven’t found problems hiring because our
large growth plans in place, so they kind of We like to foster our employee culture in a few brand is exciting and we also have great tools
turned the tables by asking me what I thought different ways. Take Dubai, where we have to find the talent we need.
they should be doing Internationally. That was recently set up. One of the things we've found
daunting, but I understood the vision and it useful is to move existing employees from How should employers adapt to take
was clear that my role would be to help lay other locations, where they’ve been working advantage of social networking, say for
foundations of good HR practice across with Linkedin, to help set up new offices, such example in recruiting? Recruitment is
multiple countries, to ensure our values and as in the UAE. In this situation, these changing, sure enough, and social media is
culture was maintained with the planned employees don’t have much experience in the bringing opportunities to people who are not
growth and find ways to make employees local market but they do know Linkedin, and actively looking to change jobs. This affects
more productive and successful as we grew these advocates are really key to helping to every company in every sector, no matter how
so quickly. I found it’s crucial to set very clear develop new offices and embedding our culture big or how small. As recruiting leaders we
short and long term goals, communicate and business procedures. need to be able to shift gears and ensure our
frequently with stakeholders and also to really organisations are changing with the industry.
utilise your key experiences when applying What do you think are the next significant A key part of recruitment is to understand
them to a company in build mode. The main challenges for the business? We’re really still people’s motivations, both long and short-
one was to bring an international perspective growing and maturing and, of all the elements term. Why they may want to join a company
to the people strategy that was mostly derived necessary for growth, talent is our number now or down the line? I feel we in HR need to
from US practices. I was able to engage one priority. We’ve seen time and again hiring also adapt to change, to think about how we
quickly both with US colleagues and those in and developing strong talent is paramount to engage with employees from a very early
Europe and Asia-Pacific. While it was a pretty delivery and success in times of high growth. stage of the process throughout.
blank sheet of paper, within two and a half The brand, as you might expect, does a lot of
years we’ve gone from six offices outside the the work for us in attracting talent, but you So you think there will be more migration in
US to 25 worldwide - that’s pretty high growth can’t be complacent, this is a massively the future, and do you think this will cause
and not short of challenges. What I’m most competitive arena to hire. So it’s about brain drain in some territories? Only around
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5. www.thehrdirector.com
20 percent of people who hold the right skills why that is crucial and, more importantly, think There is a lot of talk about the so-called
you need are actively looking for jobs. about your employees and their experience change in the employee/employer
Traditional recruitment methods overlook the with your company. relationship, how impactful do you think
other 80 percent. As HR professionals, I think that has been? I would say the relationship
we need to think about developing a people Is there really, to coin a much-used phrase, has changed quite significantly and HR has
strategy to accommodate business needs, but a talent drought? I’m always impressed had a hand in that, particularly in the areas
also think strategically about connecting by the talent we come into contact with, and of employee engagement, perceptions and
opportunity to the right candidates, no matter I’m constantly astounded by the skill and expectations. That relationship is also about
where they are located. It’s about developing knowhow of our colleagues here. That being understanding that a company’s culture is
a people strategy to meet business needs, by said, complacency is a killer as there are driven by the employees. I think fostering and
reaching out to candidates who may be in other constantly new opportunities for people with nurturing the employee/employer relationship
regions and possess the exact skills you are high-demand skills and roles that need to be is a work-in-progress, and something we
looking for. In today’s environment, HR and filled with those specialised skills. The reality should always be mindful of. Ultimately, as an
recruiting professionals need to search for the is there’s competition for talent so we have employer, we need to ensure we value people
best talent, even when it may not be somebody to be agile and keep ahead of the curve by and recognise achievement, and that’s not
in the same town or indeed country. While we actively recruiting top talent and thinking just about money.
see a global diversification of opportunity, I also about developing our existing talent while
think Europe has a high level of opportunity ensuring that the employee experience keeps In years to come, what would you like to
too. Business is transforming and employers people motivated and rewarded. be remembered most for in terms of your
should consider recruitment costs differently, input at Linkedin? Knowing I was the first
such as budgeting for relocations, as both Do you see a difference in attitudes towards HR person hired outside the US and helping
internal mobility and talent movement careers in this sector? I think the world is further the expansion of the business, while
increases on a global scale. changing especially around how people think providing value as a partner, has been
about their careers. It’s not just about what incredibly rewarding. And I’d like to feel that I
What would you say are the obvious you get paid, but also the professional stayed true to my roots of being very
business challenges going forward, and opportunities companies can give to their entrepreneurial. Linkedin has been a place
what are HR’s priorities? For us, the employees. I think when it comes to where I have grown, continued to learn and
challenges continues to be scale and growth, opportunity, people want to feel like they make develop my skills as an HR leader, whilst
ensuring we make intelligent decisions quickly a difference in the company they work for, they fostering my desire to innovate. My passion
and effectively, so that’s where we look to want a career, and a career is about evolving for HR comes down to people: what motivates
invest. As I mentioned, talent is our number your skills, and learning and developing as you them, what inspires them, what makes them
one priority and we invest heavily in developing do meaningful work. But, as with everything, want to try new things. I’m compelled by
our people, at the same time as hiring in new it’s about balance. I think HR plays an human behaviour, and how with thought and
employees. I think HR remains a critical important role advising and encouraging innovation, you can help people fulfil and even
component to any organisation as we bring people to think about their development, what succeed expectations and outcomes.
expertise to help our managers and employees the opportunities are and to think carefully
reach their full potential. We have to be about their next career step. At the same time,
conscious of what might hinder HR, including as HR professionals, we need to ensure our
stereotyping and bureaucracy, so we don’t fall companies really look at the reward strategy
into that trap. I think as HR professionals we on a more holistic level, asking ourselves
HRD
need to keep the objectives clear with clear “what is it we want our employees to feel
communication. Do I get frustrated with about the company and what rewards will
bureaucracy or administrative requirement? encourage certain behaviours that are in line For further information:
Of course. But you need to have a balance of with what the company wants to achieve”? www.uk.linkedin.com
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