Presentation: Who and Radical Candor: Hiring “A” Players and Retaining Rockstars and Superstars
Abstract: UMD Center for Advanced Transportation Technology Laboratory (CATT Lab) is an applied research lab employing 50+ full time professional software developers, UX designers, data scientists, IT professionals, engineers, and customer support specialists. The CATT Lab provides big data visual analytics to support real-time operations and planning efforts at state, local, and federal transportation agencies.
Over the last decade the CATT Lab has grown from a two-person organization to over an organization of 50+ employees. In this process, the organization has experienced many growing pains, not the least of which was hiring and retaining talent to support rapid expansion.
As with many other processes, the hiring process and retention tactics have evolved over time with varying levels of success before settling on a winning method based on Geoff Smart and Randy Street’s book “Who” and principles from Kim Scott’s “Radical Candor.”
This presentation will describe hiring and retention challenges in a rapidly growing organization, including failures and lessons learned that led to improved processes, steady influx of talent, and positive workplace culture.
PMI Talent Triangle: Leadership
Biography: Nikola Ivanov serves as the Director of Operations at the Center for Advanced Transportation Technology Laboratory (CATT Lab) where he manages operations and technical development, and oversees every aspect of software implementation from conception to deployment.
Nikola has extensive experience with big data and information visualization, focusing on translation of data into actionable information. Over the last 15 years, Nikola has worked with state and federal agencies to build situational awareness tools for transportation operations and safety, emergency management, and security applications, using big data.
Nikola received his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering, Master’s degree in Systems Engineering, and Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Engineering Management from the University of Maryland.
