Talent retention: A new approach to hiring and developing employees

Forbes

11-07-2025

When the National Association of Colleges and Employers asked employers what attributes they look for in applicants, technical skills were not in the top five. Problem-solving, work ethic, and initiative were rated as far more important.
In a rapidly changing economy — where AI will reduce the importance of some technical skills even further — it is more important than ever that companies focus on talent that is driven to contribute and continually learn.
The Human Potential Network, which is backed by Stand Together, Western Governors University, and Walmart.org, aims to help employers transform their talent practices so they can better source and develop workers capable of consistent evolution.
HPN brings together employers, investors, and workforce and education innovators to accelerate an already-growing talent development movement that centers on each person's unique attributes and desire to contribute.
At the inaugural Human Potential Summit last fall, employers, investors, and workforce and education innovators came together to rebuild and refine hiring and talent development practices to better reflect the modern economy.
The second Human Potential Summit, the Network's flagship annual event, convenes 300 leaders who have achieved business value through human-centered talent strategies and are looking to further break down silos, seed innovation, and forge new partnerships. HPN is actively seeking business leaders to join the movement. Sign up at the website here.
I talked with HPN's founding partner, WGU President Scott Pulsipher, and one of the Network's advisory council members, Patti Constantakis from Walmart.org, about the value they find in HPN. Here is the first part of our conversation.
This interview was edited for clarity and length.
Stowers: What sparked your organization's interest in the Human Potential Network?
Pulsipher: The core of WGU's mission is to change lives for the better by creating pathways to opportunity. We firmly believe talent is truly universal, and opportunity is abundant. But the means and mechanisms, or the systems and pathways by which we telegraph talent and opportunity, are not as effective as we need them to be.
We are not tapping into all the talent that is resident in every individual. We need to be thinking about developing, inventing, and scaling more effective means by which we can make these pathways to opportunity more accessible, more relevant, and more traversable. This is where I think the Human Potential Network starts to come into effect.
Constantakis: The Human Potential Network naturally fits and aligns with Walmart.org's mission. It leans into the way we think about things, which is how to activate the entire system around fostering human talent. We're looking for systems change — how is it that we can really think about our full talent system and actually transform it?
The Human Potential Network focuses on human capital and economic mobility. From an employer's point of view, people are our most important asset, and we're looking to understand where those ladders of opportunity are for people and how we can actually create those ladders of opportunities for our associates.
What I believe the Human Potential Network is trying to do is transform our talent system into one that that recognizes an individual's skills, aptitudes, and unique experiences. It's trying to create an agile, skilled workforce that's well positioned to adapt to these changing times and technologies.
WGU President Scott Pulsipher speaks at the inaugural Human Potential Summit last fall. The second Summit is set for November in Utah.
Stowers: That's awesome. And at Stand Together, we really believe it's not just large employers that need to be thinking about the future of work. Whether you're a large retailer, a web design company, or a wine shop, these principles apply. But tell me: Why now? Why is the Network so essential at this current moment?
Pulsipher: Data shows the gap between the readiness of college graduates to contribute and the reality of what employers are looking for has been widening for two or more decades. And it's only going to grow with artificial intelligence and the digitization of the workforce itself. If there were ever a time when we needed greater alignment between talent development pathways and employers, this is it.
The workforce is so rapidly changing that employers need to be more active in setting expectations for what the talent needs to do, what people need to be capable of contributing, and what skills and knowledge they need to possess.
Constantakis: It feels like we're at this crossroads. Things are moving and changing really quickly, so our talent needs are changing very quickly. There are jobs that we'll need to fill in three to five years that we don't even have a clue about right now.
Current talent ecosystems are just woefully unprepared to handle that kind of change. We simply move too slowly. Our education and training systems are not aligned to the jobs of the future. So, ultimately, what we need here is an agile, adaptable talent system that is going to help us create an agile, adaptable workforce.
To create that system, we must bring people together, and that's the sort of transformation I think we'll get with the Network. When you bring people together in a collaborative situation, you get the best ideas. We just can't do this alone.
Patti Constantakis and Walmart.org have facilitated conversations with employers about how to transform talent ecosystems to create a more agile workforce.
Stowers: Thank you, that's so helpful and I'd like to drill down a little more on the employer side. Why should employers engage with the Network, and how will it benefit them? What are the pain points they are facing now that would be alleviated by joining this movement?
Constantakis: I think most employers would agree that we need an agile workforce. We need to close our skills gaps and all of that big stuff, but what is not clear is how to execute that change and transformation. At Walmart.org, we've taken a lot of different kinds of steps to try to facilitate this with employers, but we still haven't cracked this problem.
What I like to tell people is that we've started on this journey, but we run into a lot of challenges, whether it's technology or something else.
Pulsipher: Patti articulated the value well. I think the Network will help all of us collectively crystallize the problems or the challenges we're trying to address and synthesize them in a very actionable way. The Network then will activate its many participants to collaborate and engage together to advance solutions and designs of new processes, or mechanisms, or even technologies that are needed to not only benefit each individual employer organization but also the overall talent ecosystem.
Are you an employer trying to modernize your talent acquisition and development strategies? Join the Human Potential Network.
The Human Potential Network brings together employers, investors, talent innovators, and education providers to catalyze a talent development movement that centers on the individual and unlocks potential through skills and strengths. Learn more about its upcoming Human Potential Summit, taking place this November.
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