Carmel-based Purpose HQ prides itself on providing data-driven solutions to talent-related problems.
“We’re not in the business of recruiting talent,” Purpose HQ President John Qualls said. “We’re in the talent management space. We call it talent optimization. We use data to help companies design, hire and inspire and diagnose their people problems. I was in a meeting where someone said, ‘Raise your hand if you have people problems,’ and every owner raised their hand. I think there’s a great opportunity to help with that.”
Qualls, a longtime Carmel resident, is the co-founder, along with Indianapolis resident Brent Shopp, who is in charge of operations.
Purpose HQ launched in October 2018, but Qualls said he was still president of Eleven Fifty Academy, so he didn’t get started until March 2019.
Qualls said there are usually four problem areas where companies seek advice from Purpose HQ.
“The first is job fit, which we like to call, ‘Hire harder to manage easier,’” Qualls said. “We tend to hire people for skills and experience and fire them for behavior or personality conflicts, so we bring the science to measure the head and the heart to go on top of the briefcase that you normally use. One of the key problems is how can we hire better.”
Per that issue, Purpose HQ will offer a free 45-minute webinar with Qualls leading the topic, “Survival to Thrival Series/Hire Hard to Manage Easy,” at 11 a.m. Nov. 11.
The second common problem area is team dynamics.
“There are a lot of people moving the deck chairs now, and they’re trying to relook at roles and team dynamics and figure out what it looks like in the new world going forward compared to what it was a year ago,” he said. “That’s the area we’ve had the most interest in.”
The third area is leadership development. Qualls said leaders are trying to determine how they lead their employees when they can’t manage them by walking around the office.
The final problem area is culture.
“We found companies won’t usually write a check for culture,” he said. “They want a culture. They want to hire the right people, have the right team dynamics and leadership. When those three things line up, then you are kind of dealing with culture. There are only two types of cultures, the one you allow and the one you craft. We are seeing companies say now when it comes to culture, ‘I feel like I’ve been playing checkers when we should be playing chess. We feel we have to be much more strategic about our culture.’”
To register for the Nov. 11 webinar, visit us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Vr2YO5h9RrW-9RH-ZzOrgg.
The Dec. 16 webinar topic will be “The ROI of Talent Optimization.”
For more, visit purposehq.com.
