Workplace Stories by RedThread Research

Megan Bickle is the Director of Culture, Employee Engagement and Employee Listening at Western Digital. In Megan’s experience, roles can be viewed as a collection of skills. Viewing roles this way allows organizations to be more responsive to the evolving needs of the business in terms of the skills needed for development and hiring. Megan believes that job architecture is essential to becoming a skills-based organization. Skills were a part of their overall integrated talent management strategy, infused throughout the organization. Capability models and job structures were built in tandem. In this conversation, Megan shares her experience building a skills-based organization as the Global Talent Management and Organizational Development Leader at GE Digital. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...Learning more about Megan Bickle [4:45]What a skills-based organization is [6:03]Why job architecture is important in skills-based organizations [9:04]How a capabilities-based architecture works in practice [18:06]Accounting for the evolution of the skills themselves [22:13]How learning/development dovetails into talent practices [24:34]Managing the ownership of the architecture [28:19]The lightning round [33:07]How the skills effort evolves over time/lessons learned [36:48]How people analytics were involved in the process [39:30]The strategy for assessing employee skills [42:37]Why Megan does the work she does [48:32]Resources & People MentionedBOOK - Good to Great by Jim CollinsConnect with Megan BickleConnect on LinkedInConnect With Red Thread ResearchWebsite: Red Thread ResearchOn LinkedInOn FacebookOn TwitterSubscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

The world of skills is evolving rapidly thanks to technology and data which is why we are devoting yet another season to the skills odyssey. In these opening arguments, you’ll hear how we’ll shape the season, why we’re focusing on skills again, who you can expect to listen to, and what we are most looking forward to. Press play to start a new season of Workplace Stories. Connect With Red Thread ResearchWebsite: Red Thread ResearchOn LinkedInOn FacebookOn TwitterSubscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

The importance of creating skills-based organizations is no longer a theoretical discussion: it’s now a practical reality. To ensure that businesses reach their desired outcomes, it is necessary to ensure that their workforce has the skills needed to get the job done.Brian Richardson and Brian Hackett are deeply entrenched in helping business leaders discuss and develop the skills initiatives needed to improve their organizations’ metrics.In this in-the-weeds discussion, we learn from both Brians’ breadth of experience to hear what it takes for businesses to bring skill building to the forefront.Connect with Brian Hackett and Brian RichardsonConnect With Red Thread ResearchWebsite: Red Thread ResearchOn LinkedInOn FacebookOn TwitterSubscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

Peter Tulumello is changing the culture at one of Canada’s largest grocery retailers. As a grocery chain, Sobeys has a large segment of frontline workers and with it, their own unique pain points.To understand the problems that the frontline faces, Peter recognized that he needed to get into the stores to understand frontline workers’ day-to-day roles. Listen to this interview to hear how Peter identified major problems and came up with valuable solutions. Connect with Peter TulumelloPeter on LinkedInConnect With Red Thread ResearchWebsite: Red Thread ResearchOn LinkedInOn FacebookOn TwitterSubscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

What happens when a mechanical engineer tackles an L&D problem? A completely redesigned learning environment.On this episode of Workplace Stories, we interview General Mills’ Valerie Digman. Valerie describes how she helped solve a frontline training problem and improved efficiency by 5%.If you’re interested in improving efficiency and rethinking traditional training methods, you won’t want to miss this interview. Press play to learn from Valerie’s experience at General Mills.You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...The work she does [4:32]The difference between [6:15]Problem-solving [9:48]Process of problem-solving [15:28]Lightning round [21:06]Strategy to gain 5% in efficiency [23:03]What they learned [29:38]Their biggest challenges [30:48]How to apply more broadly [32:52]Working with union vs nonunion [36:46]What’s next [39:25]Resources for senior leaders [41;50]Valerie’s biggest learning experience [43:48]Why Valerie does what she does [45:10]Resources & People MentionedAxonifyConnect with Valerie DigmanValerie Digman on LinkedInConnect With Red Thread ResearchWebsite: Red Thread ResearchOn LinkedInOn FacebookOn TwitterSubscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

We’re all humans, so the needs of workers are similar across the board. John Brothers has learned this from his time as VP of Talent at Acuity.On today’s episode of Workplace Stories, John recounts his experience working through Acuity’s cultural and business mindset shift and how that has affected the frontline workforce and beyond.Connect with John BrothersJohn on LinkedInConnect With Red Thread ResearchWebsite: Red Thread ResearchOn LinkedInOn FacebookOn TwitterSubscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

Improving the employee experience starts with data. Rotana’s Andrew Wolhunter understands that and uses Rotana’s qualitative data to retain frontline workers in a competitive market.Andrew has an enthusiasm and infectious energy that he not only shares with his coworkers at Rotana, but he also shares this excitement with us on today’s episode. Listen in to learn how Andrew is using data to lead the change in the employee experience at Rotana.Connect with Andrew WolhunterAndrew on LinkedInConnect With Red Thread ResearchWebsite: Red Thread ResearchOn LinkedInOn FacebookOn TwitterSubscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

Frontline workers face unique challenges so organizations are making changes to empower them. On this season of Workplace Stories, we’re exploring the unique challenges and positive situations happening on the frontline. On this episode, we chat with Tabatha Cronin to learn how Cargill is supporting its massive frontline labor force. Listen in to learn how Cargill dug in to understand the motivations driving their employees. You won’t want to miss how this changed the way the company approached its solutions.Resources & People MentionedReThinking - Adam Grant’s podcastBOOK - Think Again by Adam GrantBOOK - Never Waste a Crisis by Anne HarbisonConnect with Tabatha CroninTabatha on LinkedInConnect With Red Thread ResearchWebsite: Red Thread ResearchOn LinkedInOn FacebookOn TwitterSubscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

Frontline workers can have an outsized influence on the success of an organization. They are often the only interface our customers have with a brand. At RedThread Research, we have been diving into how to support frontline workers more holistically which is why this season we are focusing on the unique challenges that frontline workers face. We’ll also explore the changes organizations are making to empower them, as well as the good things happening on the frontline and how organizations can adapt those practices more broadly.In this episode, we welcome Steve Hunt from SAP. Steve has a unique perspective based on his work as an organizational psychologist in the technology space. This discussion was a fantastic way to open the conversation and sets the bar high for the rest of the season. Don’t miss it; press play now to listen.Connect with Steve HuntSteve on LinkedInBOOK - Talent Tectonics by Steve HuntConnect With Red Thread ResearchWebsite: Red Thread ResearchOn LinkedInOn FacebookOn TwitterSubscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES

Welcome back to our ninth season! We are excited about these upcoming episodes. In this season, Stacia and I focus on the frontline by discussing frontline workers with thought leaders from many organizations across various industries.Frontline workers have typically been a part of the workforce that has been swept under the rug, but during the pandemic, they were thrust to the forefront of people’s minds.In this season, we’ll discuss how to define a frontline worker, how to lead them, how to engage with them, and how to help them plan their career path.You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...Why we chose this topic for our 9th season [2:32]What frontline workers are [3:38]What has shifted for frontline workers [8:10]Themes of this season [10:10]What we’re looking forward to learning [13:12]How this season aligns with our research [16:26]Connect With Red Thread ResearchWebsite: Red Thread ResearchOn LinkedInOn FacebookOn TwitterSubscribe to WORKPLACE STORIES