Another year is in the books for Talent Economy. And for us editors, 2017 represented a banner year for the brand.
We launched Talent Economy in late 2016 with the promise of delivering compelling insights, commentary, news, research and analysis on the most important talent-related topics relevant to running a business. From the rise of the gig economy to the continued development of artificial intelligence and robotics, to individual and organizational leadership development tactics, Talent Economy has built a foundation of readers on the idea that talent is the most important currency in business, and that leaders who prioritize this mindset are poised to beat the competition.
In 2017, Talent Economy experienced tremendous growth. Web traffic to its website, talenteconomy.io, hit an all-time high in November. Our Talent10x podcast, in which I interview leading thought leaders and experts in the talent industry, and which I occasionally invite Workforce editor Rick Bell to participate in the fun, continued to expand its audience. In 2018, we plan on propelling this trend further by expanding the number of days each week we publish the podcast. Starting in January, Talent10x will offer listeners a new episode every Tuesday and Thursday.
The Talent Economy Quarterly Journal also experienced great success in 2017. The print supplement continued to garner great attention and acclaim from readers with in-depth essays and reporting on topics from emotional intelligence to people analytics and the continuing evolution of the human resources function. In October, the journal transitioned from print to an all-digital platform, promising to deliver the sophistication of the journal experience to exponentially more readers in a format that enables our staff of writers and editors to deliver a more robust and engaging experience. The same is on tap for the journal in 2018.
We also launched our first event, Talent10x, in 2017. In September we welcomed nearly 100 executives to Chicago for a half-day conference on how startups and high-growth firms can manage the inevitable challenges they face in scaling their operations.
Finally, let’s reflect on the great year Talent Economy had in 2017 with a recap of the top stories of the year. This list represents the stories that earned the most web traffic in 2017, as well as a few stories of our editors’ choosing that we feel are worthy of special year-end attention.
How Does the Minimum Wage Impact the Economy?: The federal minimum wage provides compensation increases at a different rate than inflation increases, leaving many workers behind economically. However, increasing pay too dramatically can have negative impacts.
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5 Ways to Fix the Gender Pay Gap: Despite rules around equal pay for equal work, the wage gap persists. Here’s what companies can do to change it.
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8 Ways To Be More Influential: The ability to influence is a vital skill in today’s business environment. Here’s how leaders can master it.
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The New Employer Brand Advantage: Employer branding has come a long way from its early days as a marketing offshoot. Here’s how two companies are employing sophisticated tactics to ensure their brand is front and center amid the war for talent.
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Are Bots the New HR?: Bots and other forms of automation software are making their way into traditional human resources domains.
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What Uber’s CEO Can Teach Us About Leadership: Uber CEO Travis Kalanick’s recent spate of trouble offers a nuanced view of how leaders need to balance aggressiveness with humility.
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Here are some of the best from Talent Economy‘s Talent10x podcast in 2017:
Talent10x: The Rising Risk of Cyber Threats — And What Leaders Can Do About It: This episode of the podcast welcomes cyber risk expert Anthony Dagostino as he and Frank discuss steps executives can take to thwart the rise of cyber theft.
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Talent10x: What Leaders Can Expect From Gen Z: Generations expert Ryan Jenkins talks about what leaders can expect from Gen Z, the next generation to enter the workforce.
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Talent10x: Measuring the Human Capital Element of M&A: This weeks podcast features Sue Quackenbush, CHRO of Vonage, who talks with Frank Kalman about how leaders can assess the human capital element in any M&A deal.
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Talent10x: What Makes a Company a Great Place to Work?: This week’s Talent10x features Ed Frauenheim from Great Place to Work. Frank, Ed and Workforce editor Rick Bell discuss culture, competitiveness and leadership.
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Talent10x: How Jellyvision Changed the Game of Quitting by Abolishing Two Weeks’ Notice: In this week’s Talent10x, Frank Kalman talks with the Chicago-based technology company’s top people executive about how it got rid of the notion of two weeks’ notice in favor of a more open and transparent quitting policy.
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Talent10x: Dave Ulrich on Why Organization is More Important Than Talent: Ulrich’s most recent book, “Victory Through Organization,” details why companies fighting the war for talent are somewhat shortsighted.
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Here’s to a another great year to come in 2018.
Sincerely,
Frank Kalman
Managing Editor
