Geeks, Geezers, and Googlization Show

Nine out of 10 companies will be embracing the hybrid workplace model according to a new McKinsey report. But 68 percent of them have no detailed plan. A recent Wall Street Journal described the emerging era of hybrid work "might be even more messy" than the work from home transition millions of workers experienced in 2020. What does the future of hybrid work mean for employees, talent acquisition, employee engagement, diversity & inclusion, and productivity? What must managers and leaders do to become a remote-first or remote-friendly company? IBM Vice-President and North American Talent & Transformation Leader Victoria Pelletier joins me for this episode of Geeks Geezers and Googlization. My second guest will focus on how many organizations are recognizing and addressing misconduct (discrimination, sexual harassment, bullying) while employees work completely remotely or in a hybrid model. This segment's expert is Kia Roberts, the Founder, and Principal of Triangle Investigations. Kia is the former NFL Director of Investigations. We'll be exploring what misconduct reporting processes managers should be implementing to ensure employees feel safe whether working in a virtual, hybrid, or physical workspace.

With job openings at an all-time high, it's crunch time for companies to get diversity hiring right. Women dropped out of the workforce in droves during the pandemic (almost twice the rate of men) but many won't be coming back unless companies start treating them fairly, equitably, and as equals. The change goes beyond policies. According to the FairyGodBoss survey on diversity recruiting, 98 percent of organizations say it's a priority, but only a fraction have made significant changes. Only 1 in 4 of those same companies even has a requirement for a diverse slate of candidates. Women of color were particularly hit hard. It's also notable that some progress has been made at senior executive levels but much more work needs to be done at the front lines and even mid-management. Joining me for this Geeks Geezers Googlization Show is Georgene Huang, CEO, and co-founder of FairyGodBoss.com, the largest career community and job board for women.

Can you imagine leading an organization where employees from all generations respond to "What's it like to work here?" with "I love it here!" Instead of making Millennials and Gen Z scapegoats and labeling 100 Million people as lazy, disloyal, and work-ethic deficient, treat them as people. That's what Clint Pulver, as the Undercover Millennial, discovered after interviewing 10,000+ employees - that loyalty and engagement aren't innate to different generations, but dependent on how managers and leaders treat all people. His research has discovered 4 types of managers and during this interview, he'll share the impact that Mentor Managers have on building loyalty that lasts. Clint's book "I Love It Here: How Great Leaders Create Organizations Their People Never Want to Leave" was published in April 2021. Our 2nd segment features Tova Sherman, CEO of the Reachability Association with more than 25 years of experience in diversity and inclusion and author of the Win, Win, Win. Tova's message is crystal clear: diversity without inclusion is like a house without a foundation. She talks about why ramps and handrails aren't enough, why inclusion is different but not difficult, and offers 5 simple steps you can take to create a more inclusive workplace for people with disabilities.

Companies have promoted very proudly that "people are their most important asset." But behind closed doors, they managed human capital as an expense. Recent changes, however, at The Securities and Exchange Commission now say "put up or be shut up!" Public companies are now required to disclose information about "human capital resources." The lines between old-school workforce management and bottom-line growth are merging. While this new requirement currently only applies to public companies, it is not a stretch to say this will affect businesses large and small, public and private. What metrics should human resources start tracking today to comply with the demands of the modern marketplace? This week we reached out to Solange Charas, PhD., Founder and CEO of HCMoneyball and Distinguished Principal Research Fellow at The Conference Board, will share what this means for the future of Human Capital Management. Our second segment features a favorite passion topic of Geeks Geezers Googlization - candidate and employee experience. There is no better resource than UX and CX strategist Debbie Levitt, "the Mary Poppins of CX/UX" and Chief Experience Officer at Delta CX. She recently shared that "hiring for UX and CX jobs is a freaking disaster." Descriptions are ambiguous, expectations are unrealistic, and screening is often not aligned with the skill requirements of the job. Debbie's solution? She recently wrote an 8+ hour training with 50 videos (Attracting and Retaining CX and UX Talent) to help HR and Recruiters learn more about UX and CX and how they can attract and retain great talent to their companies.

If you're hearing recruitment crickets, this could be why: your hiring process sucks! The economy is showing signs of a boom. The job market is heating up. The labor market is tight. Wages are rising and time-to-fill rates are rising. And yet, the top talent that companies seek, simply walk away and head straight to the competition. Why? HR and managers aren't always on the same page. The values and expectations of hiring managers don't align with the messaging used to attract candidates. Onboarding is more about paperwork and getting acknowledgment that new hires read the employee handbook than welcoming and introducing them into the business and culture. We also do our best to pound the last nail into the annual performance review's coffin! It's time that organizations accept that recruitment is marketing and hiring is sales according to our guest Molly McGrath, founder of Hiring & Empowering Solutions. In this episode, we'll be talking about why HR and your managers may be killing your hiring process and how to fix it.

Working women have made impressive progress. Just 20 years ago, S&P 500 companies claimed only 2 women among the elite CEO club. Today, 41 women are CEOs of companies such as General Motors, Best Buy, Walgreens, The Hershey Company, Oracle, Citigroup, and Clorox. But still, that's only 8 percent of CEOs, while women make up more than half the U.S. population. Women made gains in the C-Suite too but are still outnumbered 17:1. The pandemic took a pronounced toll on women. Some even called it the "shecession." Women left the workforce at 4 times the rate of men. The "mom penalty" added insult to injury. Upon reentry, many professional women over 50 will meet gendered ageism. The United States is facing a reckoning about race, diversity, equality, and inclusion. Ageism and genderism often fall off the radar. What can women over 50 do to overcome the bias in the workplace as well as stop their own internalized bias? What are some of the self-inflicted stereotypes that working women themselves perpetuate? Bonnie Marcus has some advice: Stop Playing Small. Stay Marketable. In her new book "Not Done Yet," Bonnie shows a generation of women how to avoid self-sabotage and go from sadass to badass. Our second segment features Professor M.S.Rao, whose passion and vision is to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. He'll share the importance of soft leadership, from his bestselling book "See the Light in You" for which His Holiness Dalai Lama wrote a foreword and "Strategies to Build Women Leaders Globally."

Have you experienced VirtualReality yet? Are you wondering what the big deal is? Are VR and AR just for gamers? How much different would our jobs and education have been if VR and AR were as common as Zoom? Did the pandemic come too soon for virtual reality? How much better could remote work and education have been if AR and VR had become as popular as Zoom? Video conferencing platforms like Zoom literally saved millions of jobs and probably our economy in 2020. But the 2D experience of staring at Hollywood Square-like screens all day is unnatural. Sharing the same space with co-workers, friends, and family simply offers a more robust and legitimate experience. But what if we had the power to bring places to people; to give us the feeling we're in the same place but thousands of miles away; to immerse ourselves with others using technology. That is exactly what virtual reality can do. Welcome to a future world where the line between science fiction and reality blur to give us the power to make positive changes in the way we live, work, and play. To explore this fascinating future of virtual reality and other immersive technologies like AR and XR, Senior Virtual Reality Research Scientist at Virtual World Society Dr. Angelina Dayton joins us for this episode of Geeks Geezers Googlization. Then stay tuned for the 2nd segment when co-hosts Ira S Wolfe and Joyce Gioia reveal what's ahead for recruitment, hiring, and employee retention for 2021-2022.

Did you know the average W-2 employee is working 13 hours per week from a side hustle? From the extraordinary growth of workers pursuing side hustles to how people think about their homes and employee activism, the pandemic has altered and accelerated consumer trends … and they will have a long-lasting effect on HR. For example, one of the major findings from Clicksuasion's 2021 Marketing Survey was that 49% of the US population has some kind of Side Hustle. Instead of frowning upon and discouraging the pursuit of alternative sources of income, how can HR nurture and support these side hustle projects? Tune in to our podcast and learn more about how side hustles and other consumer trends will shape the future of recruitment, retention, and HR. Our featured guest is Dr. Michael Barbera, Chief Behavioral Officer at Clicksuasion Labs. What's next for networking and conferences? You'll want to stay tuned for our second guest today, Mike Spremulli, who shares his experience using the Hopin networking app and the HyperFair virtual trade show app. And if you're interested in more one-to-one networking, don't miss Ira's discovery and recommendation.

On the brink of normalcy, many organizations are wrestling with what a return to work looks like. Conversations about the future of remote work and the evolution of hybrid workforces populate our news feeds daily. So what happened to the 4-Day work week? Did it die with the pandemic or is it still a viable option? Who benefits the most - workers or employers? Is now a good time to implement it? What are the best practices to follow and pitfalls to avoid? On this episode of Geeks Geezers and Googlization, the Do-Be Associates - Tony Carnesi (Mr. Do) and Brian Gorman (Mr. Be) - join forces to discuss how a 4-Day work week might work for your business and your employees. Our second guest for the day was Kim Bettie, Greater Advantage LLC, exploring the convergence of emotional intelligence and diversity, in what Kim describes as diversity intelligence.

You're probably familiar with the glass ceiling? But have you ever heard about the glass cliff, glass escalator, and sticky floor? Dr. Kate Richmond doesn't believe that all men want to oppress women but masculine norms certainly present a strong argument that it's still a man's world. From birth, boys and men are socialized into a strict code that is difficult to break. The result is a workplace where gender inequity, motherhood wage penalties, sexual harassment, discrimination, and unpaid work persist despite a glaring spotlight shining down on them. Look no further than the impact of the pandemic. Women took a far bigger hit in job loss than men. Women bore the brunt of caregiving and childcare. During this episode of Geeks Geezers and Googlization, we talk about the future of work, gender diversity, women leadership, and what it will take to ensure equity for men, women, LGBTQ. Our 2nd guest for this episode is Thomas Michael Hogg, author of the new book Profitable Growth Strategy: 7 Proven Best Practices from German Companies.