Transform Your Workplace

Our latest bonus episode of Transform Your Workplace with Nicole Blevins, where we discuss mentorships. Nicole shares her experience with formal and informal mentor relationships and how to make the most of them. Listen in as we discuss the importance of being prepared as a mentee and how to drive the relationship forward. Don't miss out on this insightful conversation!   A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST 🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR 🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws 📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”  

SHOW NOTES In this episode of Transform Your Workplace, Eli Blackman, the Co-Founder and CEO of Field Day, discusses his career journey and the importance of community engagement in the workplace. He shares how his experience at Elemental, a small startup later acquired by Amazon, inspired him to start Field Day, a program that connects employees with volunteering opportunities at local nonprofits. Give this episode a listen, and learn how volunteering can have a positive impact on your team’s morale, job satisfaction, and company culture.   TAKEAWAYS Creating a culture of giving back to local nonprofits boosts employee morale, job satisfaction, and retention. Recognizing the value of this outlet for employees, Eli Blackman co-founded Field Day, aiming to fill the gap in the market for tools that empower companies and employees to participate in volunteer activities together. Volunteering shouldn’t be forced; instead, once employees participate of their own accord, they make connections that inspire and spur them to continue. Leaders must address the challenge of relationship-building among their hybrid workforce, and one way to do so is through volunteering initiatives. 80% of employees who participate in volunteer events see a decrease in stress and report an improvement in mental health. Companies that integrate corporate social responsibility into their culture see a 50% decrease in turnover.   A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST 🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR 🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws 📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.” Quick LinksGet Embed PlayerShare on SocialDownload Audio File

In this episode, we talk to Michelle about career pathing and how employees can own their career growth. Michelle shares her journey from customer service to HR and how she landed her current role as an HR business partner. We also discuss the benefits of career pathing programs for employers and metrics to measure success. Tune in to learn more about career pathing and how to empower your employees to take control of their career growth.   A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST 🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR 🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws 📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”

According to recent guest, Shane Kovalsky, Co-Founder and CEO of Glue, meaningful relationships are the lynchpin for authentic employee engagement. In this episode of Transform Your Workplace, we take a closer look at the challenges of connecting with others when it comes to the “distributed” workplace. Learn how to gain insight into employee sentiment and make data-informed decisions regarding connection.    TAKEAWAYS If you’re not intentional about fostering a sense of belonging — if you leave it to chance — it won’t happen. Employee surveys have significant limitations as employees’ sentiments change quickly and the surveys offer only a glimpse at one “point in time.” The big difference between using observability and input data versus survey data is it allows leaders to see early indicators of disengagement and be proactive about solutions. Making meaningful connection is about converting similarity into familiarity.   A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST 🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR 🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws 📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”

Sit down with Hareta McMullin, founder of Third Space People, and dive into a discussion on the misconceptions and challenges facing HR and what it takes to transform the employee experience. It’s time to reject outdated approaches to HR and take real steps toward building trust with the people you lead.   TAKEAWAYS Employees often see HR professionals as rule-loving and unapproachable people who are disconnected from the workforce. By managing the perception gap and addressing employee needs, HR professionals can create an environment where people willingly share concerns, enabling them to address challenges and retain valuable talent. Policies and procedures are important, but if we're leading the employee experience with that, we're telling our people that we don't trust them from the outset. We need to take a serious look at how HR policies and procedures are embedded in and support the culture. When we trust, involve, and empower leaders, changes can be rolled out successfully. To understand your priorities, you need to speak with your people.   A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST 🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR 🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws 📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”

This week's podcast guest host Lacey Partipilo sits down with Xenium employee Annie Oxenfeld to discuss the topic of workplace flexibility and its importance in retaining employees. They touch on workplace flexibility, from shift schedules to fully remote work or a four-day workweek. This episode also addresses common concerns and misconceptions employers may have about implementing flexible work arrangements, such as productivity, logistics, availability, and fairness. They agree the key ingredient to workplace flexibility is building a culture of trust.    A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST 🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR 🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws 📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”

In this episode, renowned performance psychologist Jim Loehr delves into the crucial topic of decision-making, a unique capability of our species that allows us to shape the direction of our lives. His book, Wise Decisions, offers a research-based approach to intentional decision-making, empowering readers to enhance their own abilities and teach others. Tune in to gain valuable insights and strategies for making wise decisions that can positively impact your future.   TAKEAWAYS Decision-making is a unique feature of our species, as humans have the ability to pause between stimulus and response and consciously choose the direction of their lives.  Most of our daily decisions are made without any intentional thought. Oftentimes, small decisions often become the greatest levers for the big decisions that will change the trajectory of our lives. Your inner voice, not your public voice, reflects your true perspective and approach on all decisions. The pause between the stimulus and response is the most sacred space we have as human beings.   A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST 🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR 🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws 📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”  

In this episode, Nicole Blevins and Brandon Laws of Xenium HR dive into ChatGPT and AI and their potential impact on the HR profession. Together, they discuss various applications of the technology in HR, how to optimize its usage through prompt engineering and address potential problems, such as plagiarism, inaccuracies, bias, and non-critical thinking. In this episode, they cover: Exploring ChatGPT's use in HR tasks: Crafting job descriptions Composing and updating employee handbooks and policy manuals Drafting e-mails and offer letters to job candidates Checking HR laws and regulations Summarizing research and reports Generating employee surveys and sentiment analyses Streamlining administrative tasks (e.g. event and holiday reminders)

In this episode, host Brandon Laws sits down with Randeep Purewal, CEO and Founder of Divercial, an all-in-one B2B SaaS solution for building an inclusive workplace culture. Randeep believes that, unlike the subjective human perspective, technology can help remove bias and gather reliable data, with the ultimate goal of engaging employees and boosting productivity. Listen in and learn how to prioritize cognitive diversity and position your employees for success.   TAKEAWAYS Divercial is a B2B SaaS platform that specializes in building inclusive workplaces by placing a more diverse group of decision-makers in every aspect and dimension of business. Technology is less biased than humans and could be used to make more objective business decisions. Using a third-party company for collecting employee feedback protects anonymity as data collected is scrubbed and provided in aggregate form. Unlike traditional consulting work where recommendations are given and not always implemented, Divercial provides recommendations based on collected data, prioritizing issues for the greatest impact. To put employees in positions of success, it’s important to have a better understanding of their strengths, interests, and approaches to work. An inclusive workplace increases employee engagement and productivity, which positively impacts the company's bottom line.   A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST 🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR 🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws 📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”

It’s time to change the game when it comes to providing effective feedback in the workplace. In this podcast episode, Brandon Laws sits down with an executive coach, speaker, and author Jen Ostrich to discuss the importance of focusing on strengths, growth, and allyship when giving feedback to employees. It’s about moving beyond simply pointing out ineffective behaviors and painting a picture of what true growth and progress look like. TAKEAWAYS Effective feedback should focus on strengths, growth, and allyship. Research shows that strength-based feedback improves well-being and engagement by making employees feel appreciated and seen. Be clear about desired behaviors instead of only focusing on the negative. Focusing solely on someone's weaknesses without providing guidance on how to improve is insufficient for change. Delivering feedback on what more effective behavior would look like provides specific guidance for improvement, which is less likely to trigger defensiveness. When leaders show vulnerability by sharing personal stories about tough feedback moments, they build psychological safety among their teams. Links: Get Feedback Reimagined www.growcollective.us   A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST 🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR 🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws 📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”