Top 100 Influencers in HR, Recruiting & Talent Acquisition

Top 100 Influencers Todd Raphael v1.26

Posted on 04. Sep, 2009 by John Sumser in Blog, Top 100

By John Sumser

Todd Raphael v1.26

Two things work really well if you want to develop influence: /component/page,shop.cart/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,35/vmcchk,1/”>cialis pro having a strong opinion and not having a strong opinion. If a booming voice and a belly full of charisma was the only recipe, Todd Raphael would be completely out of luck (SOL). Being a connector is vastly more than good ole boy backslapping. It involves understanding personal value and delivering it in a sustained way.

Raphael, who is ERE’s Editor in Chief, is at the nexus of community and content at the venerable online property. Todd, like Craig Newmark, feels an essential bond to customer service. /component/page,shop.cart/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,35/vmcchk,1/”>cialis pro He’s the voice of the folks who don’t participate publicly. Like Newmark, his ties to the customer service desk are at the heart of his influence in and beyond the community.

When I caught up with him, it was a Monday morning and he was wading through the email. Todd, like Newmark, feels a deep personal responsibility when even one email goes unanswered. “If I haven’t gotten back to you, I’m not doing my job” he says. Raphael is a low key, laid back shepherd. He has lots of really deep relationships with practitioners all over the industry

Todd summarized life before ERE nicely.

“I went to D.C. after college, working mainly for the National Restaurant Association, which lobbied for various restaurant issues. Employer issues, basically. I came out to California and worked on a northern California campaign. I worked a lot, and slept in the office some times. I had enough of politics and spent 7-8 years at Workforce magazine. I had a great experience there, doing a lot of things online that other media companies weren’t doing, and getting some good recognition in the media industry. I was on the management team; learned a little HR; launched some product; and mainly tried to build a sense of community. The company was bought midway through my time there, by a large company called Crain, and I managed to survive the tumultuous times that followed“.

Todd has a clear view on the comings and goings of people in the business. Often, he’s the first voice outside of the company that a new recruiter or (increasingly) HR professional sees or hears. These days, he sees more and more generalists turning to sites like ERE for initial training. The Recruiters are laid off and the generalists are being asked to do their jobs. As a result topics like on boarding and workforce planning are increasingly popular on ERE.

Todd believes that recruiting is becoming more and more like baseball, a game of statistics and accountability. Metrics, quantified performance assessment, scouting, pipelines and an emphasis on measurable quality are the hallmarks of his view of the future.

One of the most interesting things I discovered about Todd is that he is personally excited about the speakers and activities at ERE’s various conferences. Our conversation was peppered with things he learned from this or that speaker. He’s particularly excited about an upcoming presentation at the fall ERE conference that features a stock market analysts like view of recruiting and recruiting futures.

Influence is not all shades of the Godfather. Concern, compassion, personal responsibility and enthusiasm for the market can yield an extraordinary impact over time. Raphael’s gentle and subtle hand can be seen around the industry. He helps people find their voice when it doesn’t seem possible.

John Sumser is the founder and CEO of TwoColorHat, a company specializing in market strategy for HR – Recruiting Vendors. You can keep up with his other stuff at johnsumser.com. Follow the rest of the Top 100 Influencers project.

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