Helping businesses attract and retain talent is TPD’s specialty. So is making sense of a dramatically changed HR landscape that is now global, diverse, and complex.
- By Jill Motley
The only thing certain is that uncertainty in the Human Resources (HR) landscape is the new operating model. As marketplaces went global, so did talent recruitment, and that has implications for retention and training. The Personnel Department recently rebranded itself as TPD in recognition of the changing HR challenges and market needs. The Personnel Department, now TPD, is a global HR Solutions corporation that excels at temporary staffing, staff recruiting, executive search, contract staffing, project staffing, and human resource consulting. TPD has offices across the United States and Canada
The sleeker rebranding is a reflection of a company that understands what it takes for businesses to remain competitive in talent management. Keeping the pipeline filled with the right people, retaining them once hired, and managing a diverse workforce has never been more challenging as people have become globally mobile. With over 30 years of experience in talent management strategies, Leslie Meingast, CEO of the global Workforce & HR Solutions firm TPD, has a team of experts with a deep understanding of the global talent pool to help organizations manoeuvre the diverse Human Resources landscape.
The uniqueness of TPD’s services lies in its ability to provide a variety of people solutions to fit corporate talent requirements. The company assists with traditional recruiting, needed as baby boomers retire and take their skills with them into retirement. TPD also works closely with their clients’ corporate management teams to improve their training strategies and reduce employee turnover. In other words, TPD works both sides of the people equation.
Retention is Money
A prominent Canadian marketplace change taking place is a shifting from permanent employment to contracted personnel. As Leslie explains, “When I started, 2 percent of Canada utilized people in the staffing [contracting] arena. Today, 16 percent of people in the Canadian workforce are contracted. So there is a huge need for people who will come into a business to get specific projects done and then will leave once the project is completed.” To stay competitive globally, companies must be able to draw on the right kind of talent as needed, whether staff or contractors, and have strategies in place for retaining that talent. It is about balance. TPD has many success stories, including one client that increased its retention rate fourfold by taking Leslie’s advice.
The TPD philosophy is the source of its success. While many companies are focused on metrics, TPD is focused on matching value sets and cultural traits to find the right person for each position. Though people need to know how to do their jobs, TPD is more interested in getting the right “fit” rather than generating metrics. The company also practices what it preaches. TPD’s executive team is composed of two women and one man who are Canadian, European and Hong Kongese. On the same note, the TPD leadership team is 65 percent female and diversity is broad from both an age and ethnic perspective. The company monitors itself to ensure it fairly reflects the representation of Canada.
With so many HR companies in the marketplace, TPD must have a unique value proposition. Competitive companies promise results, but, in most cases, their services end at recruitment. TPD works with its clients at every stage of talent management from recruitment to retention and uses the same strategies it recommends to customers in its own organization. For example, TPD extensively trains staff and has a retention rate that exceeds the industry average. As a result, clients trust TPD because of its proven employee recruitment and retention strategies. “We have a 12-person defined leadership team that represents our offices and meets on a weekly and quarterly basis. Coupled with an annual two-day summit, TPD keeps its finger on the world of innovative best practices in our industry,” explains Leslie.
Other strategies include an educational program and formal mentorship programs. The President has a four-person President’s Council. As the CEO, Leslie directs the CEO Council and personally mentors two high potential staff members. She accompanies them to the WBENC conference so they can learn through networking about successful procurement strategies from the diversity space. Learning is clearly the DNA of TPD.
One of the main challenges that TPD helps companies overcome is turnover. A mobile, global workforce can move from company to company with ease. Companies that are experiencing above average turnover, while doing business the same way they have always done it, frequently do not understand why turnover has now become a major issue. And turnover is extremely expensive. TPD developed its innovative HR model to specifically address issues like turnover, and there have been remarkable results in client companies.
Pay It Forward
Leslie is an active member of her community, and believes her responsibility includes paying it forward. At conferences, like those held by WBENC, there are so many smart, successful, driving women it is impossible to not be inspired. “The courage and perseverance that it takes to run a business successfully is extraordinary. This group provides a lot of support, and it is great to network with others starting their own businesses. Having been in their shoes in the past, I now attend the conferences to see what I can give, as opposed to what I can get,” Leslie said.
Leslie is involved in many initiatives. She is a member of the Vancouver based group called the Women’s Economic Business Advisory Group. She is also a founding member of WEConnect International, WBE Canada, a Board Member with the Women’s’ Presidents Organization, and Vice Chair of FITT (Forum for International Trade Training). Recently, she returned from France where she was invited to be on the jury panel for the women’s Global Initiative Organization, which had three PhD engineers as North American finalists. There is a whole groundswell of diversity activity going on around the world and Canada is on the cusp of it all…and so is Leslie and TPD.