The talent war is on

The competition is getting fierce in northern Nevada for the best and most qualified and Dan Oster, president of the Northern Nevada Roundtable of the Council of Supply Chain Managers and adjunct professor at the UNR College of Business, has decided to do something about it.

“With all of the economic development that has been in the news lately, the war on talent has begun,” said Oster. “Organizations need new people at every level, from entry, to mid-level and senior executives. We need to be taking concrete steps to connect the best of our emerging young professionals and the wealth of our institutional experience.”

Oster’s passion for the region’s emerging new economy and his skill set are well-known. On the heels of the recent CSCMP National Conference in San Diego, he’s enlisted the MBA students he teaches and local industry leaders to get energized and field teams in the first-ever Roundtable Global Challenge. The challenge is a diversity initiative that seeks to bridge generational gaps in business via an interactive educational competition and a new supply chain simulation game called The Fresh Connection, which presents participants with scenario-based exercises to improve processes and profitability.

“We’ve laid out all of the details,” he said, “and secured the venue so we’re excited to begin! We already have 20 MBA students participating. I’ve set aside three Monday nights of my class sessions at the university, 7 to 9 p.m. at the College of Business, and instead of having a final, we’re committing to this.”

Now, local business people are encouraged to get in the game and have fun while they get to know, appreciate and gain insight into our regional talent pool. If you are interested, start at this link: http://cscmpnnrtfresh.eventbrite.com. Oster calls it, “A very unique opportunity.”

Working in teams of four that include young professionals, middle management, and senior executives, the game creates an experience wherein Millennials and seasoned professionals work together, discuss new ideas and develop a winning supply chain strategy for the same fictional company.

“For the players it’s a challenging and enjoyable learning experience across the multiple generations represented on each team. The best one will represent northern Nevada in the Roundtable Global Challenge,” Oster said.

“This three-night local event, taking place in November and December, provides the ideal opportunity for collaboration between young professionals, middle managers and senior leaders. The process will allow all participants to demonstrate their skills, challenge their thinking and share their experiences. Marketing professionals, finance officers, supply chain operations professionals from all levels and strategic leaders will all benefit, as will our economy.”

Global teams will be selected in January, and three rounds will be played in early 2016. Each team will engage in scenarios that require the collective knowledge and experience of team members to make the best tactical and strategical decisions.

The three top-scoring teams will then be invited to the final competition to be held during the 2016 Roundtable Leadership Forum in Southern California. Each member of the winning team receives an all-expense paid trip to CSCMP’s Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, in September where team members will be invited on stage and recognized for their accomplishments.

“This is a time for action in northern Nevada. I expect to see some great collaboration across the generations of players and great results from our local teams,” Oster said.

For more information about the 2015-16 Roundtable Global Challenge, visit roundtab leglobalchallenge.org.