Tapping the talent of the emerging generation of human resources leaders means engaging with the latest social media technologies, which is what the Future of Human Resources Talent initiative did for its 2022 case competition. The competition, led by the Master's in Human Resources program at the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business, aims to attract more high-quality talent to the HR profession.
In September 2022, about 50 students from 11 top master's of human resources programs were brought to campus, including three students from the Master of Science in Human Resource Management program (MSHRM) at Purdue's Daniels School of Business, to develop TikTok videos to show undergraduates the impact they can have in HR.
The two-day competition included group activities and livestreamed and recorded talks by Chief Human Resource Officers. Students had the opportunity to interact with the chief officers, ask them questions, and record interactions. Following the presentations, teams of students from different institutions were tasked with developing a TikTok video highlighting one of the discussed topics.
“My biggest takeaway from the experience was a presentation by Dave Ulrich, one of the top subject matter experts in the field. He talked about how as HR professionals, when we create initiatives, we must think beyond how those initiatives impact employees and managers, we must think about how it impacts outside stakeholders. Essentially how we move HR from inside the organization to outside,” said Nimisha Prasad, MSHRM '22.
The goal of the competition was to reach as many individuals as possible to influence their future education and career goals in the field of HR. The TikTok video with the most views was declared the winner. A cash prize was awarded to the top teams as judged by a group of undergraduate students. Additional cash prizes were given for the videos with the most reactions and comments on TikTok two months after the event.
“I believe that attending the competition allowed me to connect with students from some of the top institutions in the world of HR. The biggest takeaway was seeing what direction HR is going in and understanding that the young people in the room will be championing that change in the future. The real world is fast-changing and unpredictable, especially in HR, and being able to experience that firsthand not only compliments the theoretical aspect of this degree, it also allows us to apply what we have learned so far,” said Juliana Donoso Abuawad, MSHRM '23.
Prasad said, "I enjoyed going to the Future of HR Talent conference because it helped me build a strong network of other future HR professionals as well as listen to top leaders in the field. I also really loved the creative aspect of working with a team from other schools to create the TikTok video. That is something that I have not experienced in a conference setting before and it was fun getting to know my team!”
“I love that our program director Dr. Brian Chupp and our program manager, Kristin Deckard Dawson, are always searching for and extending opportunities to participate in these types of experiential learning opportunities. Opportunities like this give you the chance to really step into the world of HR, see the struggles and the victories of global companies, help you build your network, expose you to new avenues of learning and development, and of course, have an amazing experience as a student,” says Makenna Dillingham, MSHRM '22.
Abuawad’s group came in second place with a TikTok video focused on the perks of a career in HR, while Prasad’s group came in third with a TikTok video focused on the perceptions versus the realities of a career in HR.
