RILA and NAHR Open First-Ever Retail HR Leaders Forum in Atlanta, GA

HR Executives from more than 25 of America’s largest retailers meet for inaugural event

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), in partnership with the National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR), opened the first-ever Retail HR Leaders Forum today with sold-out attendance., Opening keynote Paul Raines, CEO for GameStop Corporation, gave his perspective about how the chief human resources officer (CHRO) can contribute to a retailer’s success, specifically citing four key roles of the CHRO: change management, communication, business partner (to all functions of the business) and advisor/confidant to the CEO. Raines put particular emphasis on “inviting yourself to the party” – making sure that you as CHRO are sharing the knowledge, concerns and issues that you believe are important to the business.

Dana Telsey, CEO & Chief Research Officer of Telsey Advisory Group, followed, macro retail and economic trends trends and the importance of “people” issues to the analyst’s view on a company’s outlook. The retailers’ ability to create the in-store experience that keeps consumers coming back is clearly critical to the company’s success – and people are clearly the key to that in-store experience.

Employee engagement was also in the spotlight, as speakers from Towers Watson, Kroger and Target covered the latest research on employee engagement and its importance to retail performance as well as how these two companies have tackled the issue successfully.

The afternoon focused on leadership and development, including developing HR talent and teams, development of the CHRO, and leadership development throughout the organization. Critical learnings included the importance of development and recognition for HR people and teams, who sometimes may get overlooked. Additionally, developing new HR leaders was discussed in depth, including how to address competency gaps for newly promoted leaders who may have gaps in their careers or training.

The day concluded with a detailed session on workforce planning. Laura McDonald, senior director, store operations and Bob Ravener, EVP and Chief People Officer, both from Dollar General Corporation, explained the need for proactive planning processes in business operations and employment practices.

About the Retail HR Leaders Forum

Hosted by RILA and the National Academy of Human Resources (NAHR), the Retail HR Leaders Forum will bring together the leaders in retail human resources to network and brainstorm together on topics like bringing employee engagement to life, the CEO/CHRO relationship, the CHRO role in corporate governance, and other issues top of mind for HR leaders.

This conference is invitation only for retail CHROs. Seats are limited to 35 executives.

Executives from the following companies have already registered. Join them.