TalentCulture #WorkTrends

Today I’m welcoming Quincy Valencia, Vice President - Product Innovation at Alexander Mann Solutions. We’ll be talking about the importance of providing a great candidate experience not just to any employer, but to hourly employers, who often get short shrift in that department. We’re going to lay out the central factors in a positive hiring experience for hourly candidates, and look at an innovative solution in hiring that transforms the journey, end to end. Alexander Mann’s Hourly is a platform that locates the entire hiring process within mobile, providing more communication, more connection, more interaction, and smarter and more effective ways to run assessments that really engage the candidate. It brings a sense of dignity and respect to the hiring journey, making hourly candidates feel valued. These days, that’s more important — to both the employee and the employer —  than ever.

Today I’m welcoming LaFawn Davis, Vice President of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging, Indeed to look at best practices for cultivating a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone feels like they belong. It’s not enough to aim to improve diversity or inclusion on its own — it’s when you strategically focus on all three factors that you can really transform your workplace. We’ll also look at some common mistakes leaders, managers and HR teams make when trying to address diversity and inclusion in their workforces and why they don’t work. And we’re going to lay out what to do instead.

Blending personal and professional goals into a comfortable mix is gaining ground. As more and more people seek gratification in their personal lives, finding satisfaction in one's career is equally important, if not more important, than some aspects within a person's personal life. According to a research study conducted by a team of academicians at Purdue University, they discovered that some people considered their employment more important than their marriage. Ultimately, though, most people's goal is to find the intersection where happiness lies at the crossroads of their personal life and work life.    Attempting to create strict boundaries between one's personal life and work often meets with disappointment. Given that we live in a world where communications travel fast and people are easily reachable, distancing oneself from personal life when at work and work when on downtime is becoming increasingly difficult, but not unacceptable. In actuality, it is possible to blend personal time and work hours into a finely balanced lifestyle. However, with some concerted effort, people can find ways to balance satisfying personal and work goals. 

The pandemic state of 2020 has taken its toll on everyone, everywhere, and for many, it has thrust them into working conditions they did not anticipate. Millions of people who were once driving to work and being in an environment where collaboration and face-to-face contact was a common practice are, for the most part, no longer doing this. So now that we are working from home and cannot lean over the cubicle with a quick question or ask for assistance and feedback, how can we effectively put ourselves in a position to get what we need and maintain our productivity levels along with the need to be heard? Simply, honing and using finely tuned communication skills.    According to many pundits on this topic, our ability to communicate any time, especially now during the pandemic, is our best way to stay actively engaged with our business associates. Some experts take it further and encourage people to be over communicators, especially when engaging with their supervisors. This action will help people set the stage for what they need and how their new work-life balance has changed. For productivity to be maintained, both employees and leaders must understand how the new work-life balance will affect workloads and prepare themselves accordingly. 

Today I’m welcoming Dawn Mitchell, Vice President, Human Resources, Appian to look at effective strategies for supporting your workforce and their mental health during and beyond the pandemic. Appian was a fully in-house, open-door, come-together work culture that found a way to take that work culture remote — and also make sure its employees get the support and help they need. And that includes mental health: we’ve all seen anxiety levels jump over the past 9 months. The key is to acknowledge it, and find ways to discreetly remind employees they have access to help.

Corporate integrity is not just a buzz phrase; it sits at the core of an organization's business dealings and how the organization conducts itself, both inside and outside the company. Corporate integrity applies to all organizations, whether it be a non-profit or profit-gaining business. It's like doing the right thing when no one is looking and knowing that the right thing is the most integrity filled way of conducting business. Companies that conduct themselves using intentional integrity and do so for the greater good of the organization and its employees, are leading the way in revolutionizing how smart companies are changing the landscape of business. However, outside (and sometimes inside) unforeseen forces can lead companies astray.    Enter the pandemic of 2020. If ever there were a time when corruption could rear its ugly head, it would be now. Given the confusion, lack of face-to-face contact, loosened controls, and opportunity for fraudulent activity, the time is ripe for integrity to take a nosedive. In fact, according to a 2020 survey conducted by EY, they discovered that 90% of employees believe that the pandemic puts their employer at risk for unethical business dealings. 

Today I’m welcoming Natalie Baumgartner, Chief Workforce Scientist, Achievers  to talk about the challenge of alignment in workforces right now. Achievers’ Workforce Institute just put out the 2020 Culture report, based on their June survey of over 1100 people around the world. Culture alignment now is just as important as ever — but as with so many facets of working today, COVID-19 has had a profound effect. Culture alignment plays a key role in recognition as well as engagement. We’ll talk about the study, and the best strategies to promote alignment now.

Today I’m welcoming Brad Sutton, Strategic Accounts, EightfoldAI, to talk about how talent management — and talent acquisition as well —  are being transformed by AI. AI is changing the game in everything from recruiting to team building to succession planning, and proving a powerful ally in retention and engagement initiatives as well. 

Today I’m welcoming Dickens Aubourg, Paycom Director of Client Learning, to talk more about the power of reskilling, retraining and upskilling when it comes to engaging, retaining, and developing your talent, and why that’s a key business strategy right now. Developing from within is always a smart approach, but it makes even more sense in the context of remote workplaces — and the need to engage our people and motivate our top performers.

Today I’m welcoming Chris Wakely, Executive Vice President, Global Sales, Benify, to #WorkTrends to talk about benefits in general. We mean everything besides compensation — the perks, culture, health plans and other offerings that the employer offers. The best way to deliver them all is via a digital platform that meets the needs of employees today.