Welcome to the New HCI: Three Inspirations for Change

Dear HCI Members,

My name is Carl Rhodes and I’m the CEO of HCI.  If you’ve been to our website this week, you noticed that we changed it quite a bit. And if you came to our website from your tablet or phone, than you noticed it really changed. I’m writing to explain what we did and why, as well as to ask for your help and participation as we move forward.

About a year ago, a number of us at HCI came to some important conclusions about the type of information leaders, executives and practitioners most need about strategic talent management today. 

Inclusively Peer-Based

We believe that the type of information individuals most value and trust comes from our peers. From the trivial (which movies to go see), to the mundane (YouTube videos on installing a garbage disposal), to the innovative (open-source programming), we increasingly look to the best among us to point the way forward. 

Of course, this is driven in no small part by the twin pillars of technology and social media. In the world of talent management, we believe that bridging technology and social media to promote peer-based information and advice is a fundamentally new way to access and leverage information and insights. It is an evolving practice that is only just beginning.

The content that is at the heart of the new www.hci.org is, above all else, peer-based. With on-demand, video content from hundreds of organizations, we believe that we can help the most by connecting you with innovation as it happens.

Powered by Technology

We believe that even in a business environment, the era of consuming knowledge through traditional media is ending. People want information to be short, sweet, engaging …even, dare I say, entertaining. And like all media, we want to access it on whatever device we are using at that moment.

Although I am hopelessly biased, I find the content on the new site fascinating. Learning the ways you and your peers drive employee engagement, workforce analytics, and leverage technology is not only invaluable in helping me think about talent in my own organization (and how to fully unlock it), but it deepens my understanding of the state of the field.  And it is technology - the ability to capture and display such insights in an on-demand video format that works on any device - that makes this content so groundbreaking.

Quality Meets Affordability

Due to business models and methods of production that combine inclusive, expanding peer networks and increasingly inexpensive and easy-to-use technology, we believe that it is possible to create a collection of content that is distinguished in its quality and coverage, yet is free for individual HCI members, or can be affordably delivered to an entire organization at an enterprise-level. 

The simple separation of premium pricing from premium content is liberating. For example, thanks to you, every HCI conference produces dozens of truly remarkable peer-based videos that can now be viewed on any mobile device. Our online offerings like webcasts and research produce hundreds more. At HCI, we pride ourselves on listening to your interests and connecting you to that content.

You may notice that there is a banner that says ‘beta’ throughout the new site. When you click on it you can share your thoughts and feedback. Please do so. Anything and everything is helpful: things that you like and things that you do not; things that you do not see that you would like to see; questions and topics you want more knowledge about; suggestions for other human capital topics to cover. We welcome it all, so don’t hold back. You have gotten us this far - please help us get a few steps further!

As always, thanks so much for your role in this project and your continued support of HCI.

Warm regards,

Carl