Knoxville Chamber: Think Differently About Your Talent Pipeline – Start With Skills

From the Knoxville Chamber:

March 15, 2022

As Pinnacle Business Award winner, Reico Hopewell from Hopewell Helping Hands knows, there are many individuals in our community with skills and the desire to work. We can come out of this talent crisis sooner if we all recruit people from places we haven’t looked before, which will help our businesses and create opportunities for more people in Knoxville.

In a recent episode of the podcast, Change Conversations, Goodwill Industries president and CEO Steven C. Preston calls us to think about who we potentially exclude, based on invalid assumptions and historical behaviors. In this conversation with AnitaB.org president and CEO Brenda Darden Wilkerson, Brenda quoted the late United States Navy rear admiral and computer scientist Grace Hopper: “The most dangerous phrase in the English language is ‘we have always done it this way.’”

Let’s all think differently about talent and create more business success while lifting up our city. Listen to the podcast Change Conversations: “Episode 7: Building a diverse talent pool – start with skills” for insightful dialogue on what business leaders can do to bring the right people to the right positions, improve hiring practices and build inclusive and diverse workforces.

Change Conversations features co-hosts Jimmy Etheredge, CEO – North America, Accenture; and Emmanuel Acho, FS1 Sports Analyst, former NFL Linebacker, and The New York Times Bestselling Author, tackling tough topics with purpose-driven leaders who are shaping a more equitable future. In each episode, Jimmy and Emmanuel convene unfiltered conversations between leaders and change makers that challenge commonly held beliefs, change minds and spark lasting change. Topics include leading culture change, expanding diverse talent pipelines, health equity, sexism, codeswitching and racism, among others. Guests have included leaders from Walmart, Comcast, BET, Dallas Mavericks, Goodwill, LeanIn, United Way, Dress for Success, Microsoft and more. You can listen to all the podcasts here: accenture.com/ChangeConversations

This press release was produced by the Knoxville Chamber. The views expressed are the author's own.