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Technology workers are a hot commodity in the age of sky-high salaries and massive sign-on bonuses. One area where employers are struggling to connect with workers is showing them the possibilities of a mid- to long-term career arc and why staying is in their best interest.

Software engineer Ben Shive was at an inflection point in his career path after several years at a transport software company. A larger firm bought his company in 2020 and, as the acquisition progressed, he was left to maintain one particular piece of software essentially on his own. Shive felt maxed out.

Then an offer came through LinkedIn to join Meta as a software engineer. The possibility to pick projects was an enticing selling point.

"It's almost the complete opposite," said Shive of the dynamics of his new role. "You largely direct what you want to work on."

Workers in tech are quitting in drovesto upgrade their compensation, move to more senior roles or seek out more meaningful work. And it's a candidate's market. There are far more positions open than available talent.

To retain workers, executives must align skills and internal needs. A well built resource management practice can help ensure projects are assigned to the right people, and top talent has the runway to see what's next in their careers.

But communication, training and flexibility are essential.

Companies should allow talent to flow naturally to problem areas they can spot and solve, said Miles Ward, CTO at SADA, a cloud solutions provider. For cloud architects especially, retention hinges on giving professionals leeway to find a place of higher impact by themselves.

"It's too late to catch employees once they've already decided that the next right step for them is into another organization."

Adam Glaser

SVP of Engineering at Appian.

A project could be second or third place in priority to executive leadership, but first place in terms of an organization's ability to reap benefits, according to Ward. Assigning workers to specific projects is, perhaps, the wrong approach, he said.

Talent retention is an uphill battle, particularly in tech where workers have the lowest intent to stay in their jobs compared to other corporate functions,according to Gartner data. Employers across industries are seeking workers to backfill open roles, with job postings in June up 62% versus the same month last year, CompTIA found.

With demand up, there's even more urgency to make sure technology experts are satisfied in their roles. Staff can't feel engaged by the work they're doing unless they're aware of the ultimate purpose, said Ryan Downing, VP and CIO, Enterprise Business Solutions at Principal Financial Group, who oversees a team of 3,000 technologists for the financial services company.

"The key thing we really try to continue to focus on is: how do we have our team members really have a line of sight into why this work matters?" said Downing.

There's a clear connection between the daily projects a worker interacts with and how satisfied they feel in a job. Projects can also shape a person's long-term career path.

"Assignments are incredibly important to a person's career growth and happiness," said Joyce Brocaglia, founder and CEO at executive search firm Alta Associates.

And it may seem self-explanatory, but retaining talent as they develop and grow is good for business. After all, talent is typically the biggest investment a company makes, said Ward.

"If not carefully managed, it's really easy for people to work on stuff that doesn't make much business impact," said Ward.

"The key thing we really try to continue to focus on is: how do we have our team members really have a line of sight into why this work matters?"

Ryan Downing

VP and CIO at Principal Financial Group

To find the sweet spot where business needs are met and employees are happy there needs to be an ongoing conversation between managers and workers, Downing said.

The numbers back up this strategy: Employers acting on employee feedback on a regular basis were 11 times more likely to have high levels of retention compared to employers that fail to act on that feedback,a study from Perceptyx found.

In Shive's perspective, there's peril in letting one-on-one check-ins become simply a technical review of projects in progress.

"[Managers should] listen to what they're most interested in talking about both technically and personally," he said.

One tool that can help determine whether employees feel connected to their work is data analytics, said Adam Glaser, SVP of Engineering at Appian.

"The first step in understanding how to retain talent is knowing how talent is doing," said Glaser.

Training is next. If there's a mismatch between the tasks an employee is assigned to do and their skills, training in new areas with high-demand inside the company can help align company goals with employee satisfaction.

At Principal Financial Group, 1,700 employees have gone through AWS training in the last eight months, according to Downing. "We've seen over a 375% increase in AWS certifications from the previous year."

Despite technology leaders' best efforts, workers will still quit. The demand for talent is just too high. Switching to a proactive rather than reactive approach is key, according to Glaser.

"It's too late to catch employees once they've already decided that the next right step for them is into another organization," Glaser said. "We've done a couple of different things to try and invert that model."

While not officially referred to as "stay" interviews, the concept is the opposite of an exit interview. Leadership at Appian checks in on existing staff regarding specific questions about what they're excited about, what they're doing and what they would like to be doing instead. But companies need to be willing to make changes to their assignments.

"Assignments are incredibly important to a person's career growth and happiness."

Joyce Brocaglia

Founder and CEO at executive search firm Alta Associates

At SADA, a resource management practice helps the company understand where skills are going and how to ensure people are working on engaging projects, according to Ward.

"It's kind of like human resources but it's more about the day-to-day blocking and tackling of which skills are required for which projects in which sequence, to be able to get the maximum effect not only for our internal stuff, but certainly for the projects we take on for the customers," Ward said.

And with workers seduced by higher compensation elsewhere, the onus is on executives to connect workers with a path toward growth.

"That sets all of us up to operate efficiently," Wards said. "Even as new staff come in all the time and as a few staff [members] find their next best thing."

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Prevent the exit interview: How CIOs can rethink tech assignments to aid talent retention - CIO Dive

This retrospective study was approved by the Osaka University Clinical Research Review Committee, and the requirement for informed consent was waived by the Osaka University Clinical Research Review Committee. All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. Patients who underwent CT for evaluation of aortic or cardiac disease were eligible for inclusion in this study because we obtained a single scan in one breath-hold from the supraclavicular area to the symphysis pubis in these patients, whereas separate scans were obtained for the chest and abdominopelvic regions in other patients. Enrolled were 73 consecutive patients who underwent CT between January and February 2019 or between December 2020 and January 2021 (50 men and 23 women; age range, 2591years; mean age, 72.9years). The clinical indications for CT in these patients are listed in Table 1.

CT was performed using a 160- or 320-slice CT scanner (Aquilion Precision, Canon Medical Systems, Otawara, Japan, n=34, or Aquilion ONE GENESIS Edition, Canon Medical Systems, n=39). A pre-contrast scan was performed in all patients from the supraclavicular area to the symphysis pubis during a single breath hold. Tube current was adjusted individually using an auto-exposure control technique with a standard deviation setting of 15. The remaining scan parameters were as follows: tube voltage, 120kVp; rotation time, 0.5s; helical pitch, 0.83. Although post-contrast scans were also acquired in 31 patients, only the pre-contrast images were used in this study.

From the raw data of each patient, two sets of axial images were reconstructed, with a slice thickness/interval of 4/4 and 1/1mm. A hybrid iterative reconstruction algorithm (AIDR 3D, Canon Medical Systems) with a weak strength setting was applied. The remaining reconstruction parameters were as follows: kernel, FC03; reconstruction field of view, 350mm (pixel size, 0.680.68mm).

VTS is a conditional-GAN based algorithm. Thick-slice images with slice thickness/intervals of 310mm were randomly simulated from real thin-slice images by down-sampling with Gaussian smoothing. A pair of original thin-slice images and simulated thick-slice images were used to train the VTS generator in the GAN framework (Fig.1). The generator is an encoder-decoder type architecture with skip connections inspired by U-Net to reconstruct high resolution images. The role of the discriminator is to enable the generator to output virtual thin-slice images that are hard to distinguish from real ones. Both the generator and the discriminator are composed of 3D Convolutional Neural Networks. The conditioning labels (e.g. slice interval) associated with input thick images are fed into the discriminator to improve the accuracies of super resolution. While generator training, L1 loss was calculated in addition to adversarial loss, to minimize the pixel-wise intensity difference between the original (ground truth) and the generated thin-slice images, as these should be as close as possible. VTS software is a function of the PACS viewer (SYNAPSE SAI Viewer Version 1.0, FUJIFILM, Tokyo, Japan), which has regulatory approval in Japan. The training CT data for this software contained CT images of various body parts (head, chest, abdomen, and legs) obtained with scanners of various manufacturers. Thus, the software can be applied to any part of the body. The generated VTS images were isotropic with voxel size of 111mm. The details of the VTS technique have been presented at a previous conference, and the manuscript is available for reference on the preprint server14. VTS software was applied to the 4-mm-thick data set of each patient to generate 1-mm-thick VTS images.

Adversarial training framework for thickthin slice translation of CT images.

Two radiologists familiar with abdominal radiology (9 and 6years experience) independently reviewed the sagittal images reformatted from 4-mm-thick images and the VTS images and evaluated the visibility of the intervertebral spaces in each of four regions: cervical, upper thoracic, lower thoracic, and lumbar spine. They reviewed these images on a commercially available workstation (SYNAPSE VINCENT version 5.3.001, FUJIFILM), and assigned a score using the following 4-point scale: 4, all intervertebral spaces are visible; 3, most intervertebral spaces are visible but some are unclear; 2, most intervertebral spaces are unclear; 1, no intervertebral spaces are visible. The radiologists were informed that the images for evaluation were either 4-mm-thick or VTS images, but were blinded to the patients identity, medical background, and the reconstruction protocol used.

Two radiologists familiar with abdominal radiology (16 and 9years experience), different to the radiologists who performed the qualitative assessment, independently measured the height of the first thoracic (Th1) and first lumbar (L1) vertebrae on sagittal reformatted images made from each of the 4-mm-thick, true 1-mm-thick, and VTS data sets. Height was measured at the anterior border of each of these vertebrae. The absolute values of the difference between the measured heights on the 4-mm-thick and true 1-mm-thick images (D1) were calculated, as well as the absolute values of the difference between the measured heights on VTS and true 1-mm-thick images (D2). The absolute percentage errors between the measured heights on the 4-mm-thick and true 1-mm-thick images (%Error1) was also calculated by dividing D1 by the measured height on true 1-mm-thick images, as well as the absolute percentage errors between the measured heights on VTS and true 1-mm-thick images (%Error2). Measurements were performed using a workstation (SYNAPSE VINCENT version 5.3.001).

The same two radiologists who performed the qualitative assessment also independently evaluated the possible presence of compression fracture using the sagittal reformatted images constructed from each of the 4-mm-thick images and the VTS images. They classified the likelihood of compression fracture in all vertebrae using the following 4-point confidence score scale: 1, probably no fracture present; 2, indefinite presence of fracture; 3, fracture probably present; and 4, fracture definitely present. Before the assessment, they were informed that a confidence level of 3 or 4 would be considered a positive finding for the calculation of sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV). The criteria for compression fracture used in this study were: 1, ratio of the anterior height of the vertebra (AH) to the posterior height (PH) <0.75; 2, ratio of the central height of the vertebrae (CH) to AH or PH<0.8; 3, height of a vertebra reduced by >20% compared with those above and below15. The reference standard was determined by two other radiologists (16 and 9years experience) who evaluated the presence or absence of compression fracture on sagittal images reformatted from the true 1-mm-thick images, in consensus.

Visual scores regarding the visibility of intervertebral spaces were compared using Wilcoxon signed rank test. The absolute values of the difference in measured vertebral heights (D1 and D2) were compared using paired t-test. The absolute percentage errors of the measured vertebral heights (%Error1 and %Error2) were also compared using paired t-test. Interobserver agreement for each of D1 and D2 was evaluated by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). To analyze diagnostic performance for detecting compression fracture, jackknife free-response receiver-operating characteristic (JAFROC) analysis was performed using JAFROC software (JAFROC Version 4.2.1, http://www.devchakraborty.com). This software computes the figure of merit (FOM), which is defined as the probability that a lesion is rated higher than the highest rated non-lesion on a normal image16. In the present study, JAFROC1 was used rather than JAFROC or JAFROC2 because of its high statistical power for human observers17. For all tests, a P value less than 0.05 was considered significant.

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Three-dimensional conditional generative adversarial network-based virtual thin-slice technique for the morphological evaluation of the spine |...

Were thrilled to be named Netflixs technology and sales partner to help power their first ad-supported subscription offering.

At launch, consumers will have more options to access Netflixs award-winning content. Marketers looking to Microsoft for their advertising needs will have access to the Netflix audience and premium connected TV inventory. All ads served on Netflix will be exclusively available through the Microsoft platform. Todays announcement also endorses Microsofts approach to privacy, which is built on protecting customers information.

This is a big day for Netflix and Microsoft. Were excited to offer new premium value to our ecosystem of marketers and partners while helping Netflix deliver more choice to their customers.

Here is what Netflix COO Greg Peters said today:

In April we announced that we will introduce a new lower priced ad-supported subscription plan for consumers, in addition to our existing ads-free basic, standard, and premium plans. Today we are pleased to announce that we have selected Microsoft as our global advertising technology and sales partner.

Microsoft has the proven ability to support all our advertising needs as we together build a new ad-supported offering. More importantly, Microsoft offered the flexibility to innovate over time on both the technology and sales side, as well as strong privacy protections for our members.

Its very early days and we have much to work through. But our long-term goal is clear: More choice for consumers and a premium, better-than-linear TV brand experience for advertisers. Were excited to work with Microsoft as we bring this new service to life.

Tags: advertising, netflix

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Netflix names Microsoft as partner for new consumer subscription plan - The Official Microsoft Blog - Microsoft

DETROIT, July 13 (Reuters) - Electric vehicle startups that promised to disrupt the automotive industry by using a software- and technology-heavy approach are now scrambling to cut costs amid the type of industry slowdown that has bedeviled Detroit automakers over the years.

To remain a player in an increasingly competitive business as incumbent automakers introduce their own EVs, startups like Rivian Automotive Inc (RIVN.O) and Arrival SA will need to tighten their belts and in some cases reinvent themselves, industry officials and analysts said.

In many cases, they are partnering with larger, deep-pocketed companies to aid their survival and provide access to funds.

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Those who fail to control their spending or find the right partners could wind up like electric delivery van startup Electric Last Mile Solutions , which filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection last month. Industry officials do not expect that to be the last startup to hit a pothole. read more

"Like every company that is burning money, you need to make the right adjustments so that you can get to the other side of the desert," said Evangelos Simoudis, a Silicon Valley venture capital investor and industry adviser.

Even as overall new-vehicle sales have slumped during the COVID-19 pandemic, EV demand remains strong. Global sales of battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles nearly doubled last year to 6.6 million, according to the International Energy Agency.

On Tuesday, British startup Arrival said it planned to cut spending, reorganize its business and potentially shed 30% of its workforce in response to the challenging economic environment. read more

Arrival, trying to launch production of electric delivery vans, is following the lead of industry stars Tesla Inc and Rivian, which have cut jobs as supply-chain snarls hobbled production, holding revenue below expectations and sending costs soaring.

Arrival said its $500 million in cash on hand would last until late 2023 with the proposed cuts. The question is whether that will be enough.

"One billion dollars doesn't last very long in the auto business. That's a redesign for a Malibu or something," Cox Automotive executive analyst Michelle Krebs said.

Partnerships or long-term contracts with financially strong companies are one lifeline for EV startups.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said on Wednesday that rising inflation is cutting off easy access to "free money."

"This means some startups will have a little bit more difficulty to develop by themselves," he said during an awards presentation to startups with whom the carmaker works.

Rivian not only has a large deal to supply vans to Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), but the online giant also is a major investor.

Rivian Chief Executive R.J. Scaringe told employees on Tuesday that job cuts were coming in order for the company "to stay ahead of the changing economic landscape." read more

Lordstown Motors Corp (RIDE.O), an Ohio startup that briefly had a larger market value than Ford Motor Co (F.N), has restructured, selling assets to and partnering with Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn .

The staff cuts and restructuring in the new EV industry reflect challenges common to all automakers, and some that are unique to small companies in a capital-intensive industry where even global economies of scale sometimes are not enough to assure profitability.

When Tesla CEO Elon Musk last month told top executives in his company in an email that he had a "super bad feeling" about the economy, and said the world's most valuable automaker needed to cut its salaried staff by 10%, he was amplifying concern about the global economy other CEOs shared. read more

"This is an incredibly tough business," said Barry Engle, a former auto executive who started a special-purpose acquisition company that merged with air taxi startup Lilium . "With the success of Tesla, it's easy to forget that was a story that was 20 years in the making and along the way there were many points where they stared death in the face."

In Tesla's case, economic turbulence struck as the company was launching large assembly plants in Texas and Germany. Supply- chain bottlenecks had turned those operations into "money furnaces," Musk told members of a Tesla fan club last month. read more

Detroit automakers are at risk too from rising money costs and persistent supply-chain problems.

At General Motors Co(GM.N), executives look at a dashboard of market indicators "every day, every week, every month," Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson told investors at Deutsche Bank conference in June. "I don't want to end up in a situation where we walk off a cliff."

So far, established automakers have been able to raise prices on their popular, high-volume combustion trucks and SUVs to keep cash flowing. GM, Ford and Stellantis have so far stuck to their full-year profit forecasts.

EV startups do not have established model lines churning out cash the way the Ford F-series truck lineup does. The slumping stock market and rising interest rates have made it tougher for new companies to raise fresh capital from investors. That intensifies pressure to start building and selling vehicles, and to slash expenses to conserve cash on hand.

Canoo Inc (GOEV.O) shares got recharged on Tuesday when the company said it had landed the deal to deliver 4,500 delivery vans to retailer Walmart(WMT.N). read more

Canoo shares rose more than 50%, although from a low base. The company told investors in May its management had "substantial doubt" about the company's ability to remain a going concern. read more

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Reporting by Joseph White and Ben Klayman in DetroitAdditional reporting by Nick Carey in LondonEditing by Matthew Lewis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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EV disruptors hit industry speed bumps that have plagued legacy automakers for years - Reuters.com

The modern recruitment process is linear, often starting with a search for potential candidates who match available job positions and ending with the onboarding process. However, HR professionals and recruiters such as yourself can refine this recruitment procedure to fit your companys unique needs.

A refined recruitment process makes everything more efficient and cost-effective for your recruitment team and potential candidates. The big question is: How do you streamline your HR process so it fits like a glove along with your companys unique hiring needs?

Tailor the recruitment process to your companys unique needs by improving each step of the process flow so it works smoothly for your company.

In order to hire candidates that will be the best fit for your company, you need to make sure you know what your company needs. Think in terms of what the role requires, but also the type of candidate thatll be the best fit for your company. For example, an SMB welding company might have a strong focus on the technical skills of potential welders, while a media company looking for a social media manager might want a strong focus on both technical and personality skills. To help you streamline this process, itll help to ask yourself the following questions:

A job description is often a candidates first interaction with your company. Well-crafted job descriptions attract suitable candidates, while poorly written ones are often ignored. How do you perfect your job description? You can start with the following:

Make job descriptions clear and concise

When writing your job description for a role, be specific and concise about what you want. Be clear in the roles responsibilities, be non-comparative when describing the basic qualifications needed (education, work experience, etc.), and include behavioral capabilities for the job. An excellent guide for you to look at is Harvards hiring tool kit[1].

Create simple but clear job titles

Creating industry-standard and concise job titles will make sure your job description appears in search engine results. This is important because potential candidates cant apply if they cant find you. Avoid using terms such as rockstar, ninja, or clickbait titles such as Great opportunity for Millenials! Instead, use industry-standard titles such as TIG welder, fullstack engineer, social media manager, etc.

Use inclusive language

Make sure your job description is free of biased or discriminatory language[2] that may deter qualified candidates from applying. For best results, run your job description with an AI-based software that detects and ideally suggests alternatives for you to use. Also, let potential candidates know about your companys dedication to DEI[3] by posting an inclusive statement on all your job descriptions.

Recruitment is a lot like going fishingyou need to know where the fish are. There are many channels in which you can post your job ads, but the key to success is knowing where to post them.

To know where to post your job ads, you need to know who your potential candidates are and their preferred channels. You can even be unconventional and post jobs on Tinder[4] (a dating website) like Amazon did when looking for engineers. Or you can skip the written job posts altogether, create video job ads instead[5], and post them on Youtube and other social media channels.

After posting your job ads, youll want to monitor which channel you receive most of your job applications from. Knowing from where you get most of your job applications is a form of recruitment KPI[6]. This data helps you track which channel brings in the most qualified candidates that are a good fit for your company. Whichever source brings the most conversion is where you should channel your resources.

Instead of having just one person interview a candidate, create a team. A team will be able to get different types of information from the candidates and eliminate any personal bias that may creep in during interviews. When creating your interview team, consider people with diverse backgrounds and characteristics who will be respectful of different cultures and situations. The FAS in Harvard[1] suggests limiting your interview team to no more than four members. When youve assembled your team, be clear about each team members role, and assign one person to be the decision-maker in the group.

Solid onboarding can make a big difference to a team members success. The sooner your new team member is working, the sooner they will feel integrated and valued. Research by Glassdoor says companies with good onboarding improve the retention of new hires by 82%.[7] Below are some ways you can ensure an excellent experience for your new team members:

Fine-tuning your recruitment process with the right strategies to fit your companys needs ensures youll be getting a diverse set of applicants so you can find the perfect team memberall while being cost-effective. Remember there is no perfect recruitment process, only the process thats a great fit for your company. Are you looking for tools that can help refine your recruitment process? Take a look at some of the top recruiting solutions that can help you.

Sources

1. Staff hiring at the faculty of arts and sciences, Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences

2. Do your job ads use discriminatory language? You may not realize they do., Recruiter.com

3. DEI definitions, The University of Iowa

4. Amazon advertise new job openings on tinder, Global Dating Insights

5. 21 of the best video ads of all time, Wyzowl

6. 9 recruitment kpis to measure success in your organization, AIHR

7. The true cost of a bad hire [PDF], Brandon Hall Group

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How To Perfect the Recruitment Process - Software Advice