Let's face it - Fearful of the spotlight and conservative to a fault, HR pros generally aren't the best examples to look towards when it comes to professional branding. Kris Dunn (Kinetix RPO, The HR Capitalist) and Tim Sackett (HRU Technical Resources, TimSackett.com) think that needs to change.  That's why they created this series - The Top 20 Branded HR Pros(sponsored by the team at Glassdoor).

KD and Tim searched the globe for HR Pros who used the tools at their disposal (writing, speaking, social and more) to brand themselves in the HR space, but limited the results to actual practitioners in the areas of HR, Recruiting and Talent Management.  No consultants, no vendors. They found out well-branded HR pros who are actual practitioners are hard to find.  

Tim and KD are running the Top 20 they found here on the HR Capitalist and at TimSackett.com.  No rankings, just inclusion in the list and some notes on why.  There are at least 20 well-branded HR Pros in the world.  These are their stories. 

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Funny thing about employment branding, personal branding, etc. - the tools change.

Whatever the prominent tools are today, you can bet the tool set will change in the years to come.  That's one of the things that makes what Linda Aldred has helped build so amazing.

Linda's the SVP of Human Resources at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, one of the premier pediatric hospitals in America.  She's been at TCH 25 years, which is also amazing because it seems like she would have had to start at 10 years of age for that to be true.  Check out the profile below and we'll break it down after the jump:

Energy is always in ample supply when you talk to Linda, and energy is required when you lead the HR function for an organization as big (13,000 employees) and as dynamic (healthcare in America!) as TCH.

When it comes to being branded as an HR leader, Linda always thinks of the organization - and others - first.  That's represented by her super power as a branded HR pro - she serves as a digital ambassador first and foremost for the TCH brand.  Need examples?  Linda was the driving force behind the vision for two employment brand and engagement initiatives - one called InfinitePassion.org and one called TexasChildrensPeople.org.  Infinite Passion gets into what makes an organization like TCH tick culturally- its tireless work on behalf of children and the stories of those who love and represent that mission.  TexasChildrensPeople.org helps connect top candidates who want to work at TCH to the departments who need them most.  While many were a part of bringing both sites to life, it's fair to say neither would have happened without the work of Aldred.

But the strengths as a branded HR leader don't stop there.  One of the most interesting things about Linda is her work on Twitter, where she's amassed 1.5K in followers but more importantly - has an HR team actively using the tool to communicate and promote the TCH brand.  Corner her on why, and she'll tell you that she poked and prodded the team into social engagement over time.  I suspect there's only so many times your SVP of HR can mention you on Twitter before you get engaged with the tools, right? Linda's org is rare in this regard, and it's all about leadership.

Other tools look solid as well.  Take LinkedIn - In a world where HR leaders with 25 years of experience routinely have 64 connections and no picture, Linda's way past the 500 connection threshold and uses the tool like the kids do.  

What can we learn from Linda Aldred related to branding as an HR Pro?  A pretty important lesson actually - you can spend your entire career at the same organization and stay fiercely relevant - as long as you're willing to learn new tools and reinvent things as needed.  No one does that better than Aldred.

Check out Linda Aldred here - Twitter, LinkedIn, TexasChildrensPeople.org, InfinitePassion.org

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The Top 20 Branded HR Pros is brought to you by Glassdoor, who invites you to attend the Annual Glassdoor Employer Branding Summit on September 25th, where a stellar speaker lineup of industry experts and thought leaders exploring the intersection of employer branding and talent acquisition, the candidate experience and employee engagement. 

Tickets are sold out, but wait!  You can attend the livestream online featuring studio coverage with Kris Dunn and Tim Sackett by registering here (click to register).  Fun and games are sure to be a part of that coverage.