Q and A with Christine (Gilboe) Walsh, B.B.A.'05
Christine Walsh graduated from WMU with a degree in human resource management and received her master’s degree in human resources and industrial relations from the University of Illinois. She then entered General Electric’s rotational program where she held positions in Boston, Grand Rapids and Connecticut. In this program, she worked in talent and executive development, acquisition integration, HR business partner roles, and labor relations and negotiations. While at GE, she led the integration of an acquired British aviation electronics business and provided HR leadership for the chief marketing officer and commercial teams for GE’s private label credit card business.
She then joined American Express in New York City as a director of human resources for the credit operations business, a global organization with 2,000 employees. Walsh’s current role is director of talent, engagement and development at Nielsen, a global information, data and measurement company operating in more than 100 countries with approximately 44,000 employees worldwide.
What is your philosophy regarding change?
We live in a time when change is constant, though still challenging for most people. I have been in many jobs where my main focus was on changing organizations and their cultures, including recently acquired businesses. I tell my teams we need to understand where people are and meet them there. In order to effectively drive change, it is important to understand the starting point and mindset of the people affected and approach change with empathy. I have also learned that regardless of the change I am trying to drive, people will eventually forget the details of the shift but will remember how they were treated, so listening to their concerns and showing respect for their perspectives is critical.
When you see a positive change that can be made, how do you go about recruiting support for the idea?
I first assess the group to determine who is supportive, neutral and opposed to the changes. Because these groups will accept change differently and at different speeds, I need different approaches for each. I tend to invest a lot of energy in people who are influencers among their peers and often these individuals become informal leaders. Building a network of change agents enables change to happen more effectively and quickly. Another way to build support is to communicate the reason for change effectively so people understand the rationale.
What changes do you see occurring in the human resource management field generally?
One of the major changes is the move to increased use of analytics and data to drive decisions. HR is becoming a field of business people who specialize in people strategy to drive business results. Another shift is embracing a feedback culture. As a society, we expect to receive information quickly, easily and with transparency. In the field of HR, this means that traditional HR tools like engagement surveys and performance reviews cannot be annual or episodic events. These should be ongoing, less formal and integrated into the employee life cycle. Lastly, like other fields, there is an increased use of HR technology that is replacing manual work. Major areas where this change has already occurred are payroll, benefits and HR information systems.
What is evolving in terms of what attracts new hires to an organization? What factors have remained somewhat static over the last several years?
Long gone are the days of pensions and the stability of spending careers at single employers. Today’s new hires are focused on professional development and learning and will often select jobs they feel will enhance their skill sets. People want to know how they will be stretched and challenged and expect organizations to make an investment in them as employees. Culture is a key driver of engagement, which means there is a much greater focus on working as part of effective and engaging teams. The work environment is growing more important to candidates, and organizations are investing more in their employment brand than ever before.
Something that has not changed is that people want to work for capable leaders who care about their well-being and success. Employees want to feel like they are being treated fairly and with respect by their managers and organizations. This sense of fairness extends to compensation where both new and existing employees expect to be paid equitably.
What excites you most about the changes in your field? What are you hesitant or concerned about related to change in your industry?
I am excited about the progression of the HR function and the partnership it has developed with business leaders. HR professionals have transitioned from being “people people” to business-minded leaders who focus on maximizing human capital. This shift causes some concern about potential gaps in the HR function as skills and needs shift. As a group, HR practitioners need to enhance and update their skills in data analysis, technology and the evolution of performance and assessments.
Is adaptability or the ability to accept change something employers are valuing more highly? What about the ability to lead change initiatives?
Agility continues to grow even more crucial as a skill. Given the environment of constantly changing technology and business imperatives, the ability to pivot is important to success. For this reason, the ability to learn quickly and openness to change are quite important. I can think of a time when I took a job where the plan was to shut down a business within my first two months. Then, there was a change in strategy, and we ended up growing that business rapidly. I had to use different skills and quickly change my approach and plans in that role.
The good news is that navigating and leading change is a skill that can be developed. People can learn to manage change both by learning approaches and methodology and also through experiences and jobs that require them to build and exercise these skills.
What is one key piece of advice you would give to people in hiring roles today? What about those who are job seeking?
I would encourage hiring leaders to look beyond specific experience and years of work history and look at candidates more broadly. Specifically, it is beneficial to look at capabilities around learning agility, self-awareness and demonstrated history of accomplishments. Some of the best employees I have hired have not had 100% of the desired skills but their flexibility and willingness to jump in and learn quickly have made them wildly successful.
For job seekers, I would encourage people to be open-minded and look at job opportunities holistically. Careers look more like lattices versus ladders today. The career paths of people who have had the most interesting and successful careers have seldom been vertical. I have grown the most and acquired critical skills in roles that involved taking a risk or making an unexpected move. I would also encourage job seekers to look beyond compensation into what provides the most interesting experience and builds their resumes and capabilities for future opportunities.