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As Season 9 of HR Data Labs comes to a close, join David and Dwight for a reflective look back at the season’s episodes, guess, and key topics. They revisit their predictions from the Season 8 finale, evaluate hits and misses on trends like AI adoption and expected DEI shifts. Finally, they peer into the future, offering bold new predictions for what HR professionals can expect regarding financial strategies, AI integration, and the evolving landscape of HR data and analytics. 

[0:00] Introduction

• Welcome, David and Dwight!
• Today’s Topic: Season Recap and Future Predictions for HR Data

[4:43] Reflecting on Season 9 & announcing our new live podcast

• Expect a renewed focus on AI in HR in Season 10
• Our new live podcast series: Brown Bag Lunch!

[15:25] Grading our Season 9 predictions

• Reviewing AI adoption trends in customer service
• Assessing DEI changes from the new administration’s policies

[20:55] Predictions for Season 10

• Dwight’s prediction: Anticipating a slight loosening of organizations’ cautious financial strategies
• David’s prediction: Forecasting a widening gap between organizations embracing AI in HR and those delaying adoption

[28:14] Closing

• Thanks for listening and stay tuned for Season 10!

Quick Quote

“I’m predicting that people will start to adopt [AI], slowly at first, but then in a storm—and I’m talking in the next six months. People will see they can’t get away from [AI].”

To schedule a meeting with us: https://salary.com/hrdlconsulting

For more HR Data Labs®, enjoy the HR Data Labs Brown Bag Lunch Hours every Friday at 2:00PM-2:30PM EST. Check it out here: https://hrdatalabs.com/brown-bag-lunch/

Produced by Affogato Media

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Amri B. Johnson, inclusion strategist and founder of Inclusion Wins, joins us this episode to discuss the tumultuous climate of DEI practices in today’s organizations and how companies can navigate toward more effective inclusion strategies. 

[0:00] Introduction

• Welcome, Amri!
• Today’s Topic: Creating Anti-fragile Organizational Cultures

[7:27] How to begin tackling DEI challenges

• Shifting current DEI practices built on outdated paradigms
• Understanding viewpoints of those with opposing opinions

[16:39] Navigating DEI amidst anti-DEI rhetoric

• Recognizing that people are multi-dimensional, not two-dimensional
• Building trust within an organization to improve inclusion

[30:55] Helping employees overcome fear of organizational change

• Recognizing the root cause of employee concern
• Focus on building relationships and engaging with colleagues

[35:27] Closing

• Thanks for listening!

Quick Quote:

“A lot of DEI practices in the US are based on paradigms of old. We need to think about what’s possible now . . .”

To schedule a meeting with us: https://salary.com/hrdlconsulting

For more HR Data Labs®, enjoy the HR Data Labs Brown Bag Lunch Hours every Friday at 2:00PM-2:30PM EST. Check it out here: https://hrdatalabs.com/brown-bag-lunch/

Produced by Affogato Media

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Charlie Sull, Co-Founder of CultureX and Culture Researcher at MIT, joins us this episode to explore how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the way we understand and measure corporate culture. He explains why traditional employee surveys fall short and how AI tools are providing new insights into what employees really think about their workplace culture.

[0:00] Introduction

• Welcome, Charlie!
• Today’s Topic: Using AI to Understand and Improve Corporate Culture

[5:30] Why should anyone care about cultural measurement?

• We know culture is important, but many still see it as an ethereal concept that’s difficult to manage
• Why so many people think corporate culture is marketing nonsense

[13:22] How is culture actually measured?

• Why 1-to-5-point scale surveys fail to capture true sentiment
• Using LLMs to analyze and distill human sentiment from employee reviews

[24:13] Why is AI a better way of measuring company culture?

• Why deciphering complex employee sentiments is nearly impossible with traditional surveys
• The newfound flexibility of gathering data for culture analysis using AI tools

[35:08] Closing

• Thanks for listening!

Quick Quote

“[With traditional 1-to-5-point scale surveys] you’re not getting any information. If you’re trying to measure company culture with this robotic, repetitive low quality data, you just can’t understand . . . what your employees are saying.”

To schedule a meeting with us: https://salary.com/hrdlconsulting

For more HR Data Labs®, enjoy the HR Data Labs Brown Bag Lunch Hours every Friday at 2:00PM-2:30PM EST. Check it out here: https://hrdatalabs.com/brown-bag-lunch/

Produced by Affogato Media

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Charlene Li, author and analyst, joins us this episode to discuss proven strategies for safely and successfully rolling out AI solutions to employees within an organization. She also compares the roles of generative AI and AI agents in the workplace. 

[0:00] Introduction

• Welcome, Charlene!
• Today’s Topic: Proven Strategies for Integrating AI in the Workplace

[5:43] What are the biggest challenges HR faces with moving Generative AI into the workplace?

• Developing a strategic, rolling 18 month plan for AI implementation
• How HR can avoid stumbling through an AI rollout with a proper governance plan

[15:15] How can HR teams avoid stumbling with AI initiatives?

• Building a minimum viable team to champion the AI integration strategy
• The importance of training everyone in the organization

[31:25] How does generative AI compare to AI agents?

• Managing a team of people and AI agents
• Understanding how AI agents are designed and how to best prompt them

[42:47] Closing

• Thanks for listening!

Quick Quote

“Yes, humans need to be in the loop, but the real power of AI is when you take the human out of the loop because you trust it.”

To schedule a meeting with us: https://salary.com/hrdlconsulting

For more HR Data Labs®, enjoy the HR Data Labs Brown Bag Lunch Hours every Friday at 2:00PM-2:30PM EST. Check it out here: https://hrdatalabs.com/brown-bag-lunch/

Produced by Affogato Media

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Susan LaMotte, the founder and CEO of exaqueo, joins us this episode to discuss the intricacies of acquiring custom data for your organization, how to pull the most impactful insights from that data, and how to secure support (financial and otherwise) for data collection. 

[0:00] Introduction

• Welcome, Susan!
• Today’s Topic: The Importance of Custom Data for HR and the Future of Benchmarking

[5:55] What are HR teams missing when working with large amounts of data?

• Data vs. insight
• Critical data analysis that many HR teams overlook

[17:01] How to gain useful insights from HR data?

• Quantitative vs. qualitative insights
• How organizations can address and accommodate their employees’ personal needs

[30:51] How can you get the data you need?

• Seeking data and insights from outside the digital norms like social media
• HR teams’ ability to secure necessary funding for data collection

[41:46] Closing

• Thanks for listening!

To schedule a meeting with us: https://salary.com/hrdlconsulting

For more HR Data Labs®, enjoy the HR Data Labs Brown Bag Lunch Hours every Friday at 2:00PM-2:30PM EST. Check it out here: https://hrdatalabs.com/brown-bag-lunch/

Produced by Affogato Media

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Michael Gomez, CHRO at Tasty Restaurant Group, joins us this episode to discuss what drives employee engagement and the steps organizations can take to boost their own employees’ engagement. 

[0:00] Introduction

• Welcome, Michael!
• Today’s Topic: The Secret to Better Employee Engagement

[3:21] What’s the “secret sauce” for better employee engagement?

• Understanding the interdependency of various systems within an organization
• How to build trust within an organization

[8:30] How to create more engagement within an organization

• Why employee feedback is a powerful tool for driving engagement
• Offering employees meaningful benefits that won’t compromise their take-home pay

[27:32] How can organizations begin boosting employee engagement?

• Letting your employees know that you want to understand their challenges
• How to garner leadership support

[30:40] Closing

• Thanks for listening!

Quick Quote

“[Employee engagement] is about aligning from leadership through all levels of the organization on what’s important.”

Connect with Mike:

·       LinkedIn

Connect with David: 

·       LinkedIn

·       [email protected]

Connect with Dwight:

·       LinkedIn

·       [email protected]

 Podcast Team

·       [email protected]

To schedule a meeting with us: https://salary.com/hrdlconsulting

For more HR Data Labs®, enjoy the HR Data Labs Brown Bag Lunch Hours every Friday at 2:00PM-2:30PM EST. Check it out here: https://hrdatalabs.com/brown-bag-lunch/

Produced by Affogato Media

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Sarah Katherine Schmidt, Vice President at Peoplelogic, joins us this episode to discuss why performance management fails so many employees today and how improving performance management increases employee engagement and retention.

[0:00] Introduction

• Welcome, Sarah!
• Today’s Topic: Revolutionizing Performance Management for Today's Workforce

[4:27] Why Sarah advocates for agile performance reviews

• How regular feedback reduces recency bias and improves accuracy
• Why psychological safety should be built into an organization’s promise to its employees

[13:24] How does agile performance management help improve engagement and retention?

• Addressing the needs of the varied generations in the modern workforce
• How to bring managers and employees onto the same page

[24:42] How do organizations roll out agile performance management?

• Key mindset shifts leaders must make for successful implementation
• Letting the business set the norms for performance

[32:37] Closing

• Thanks for listening!

To schedule a meeting with us: https://salary.com/hrdlconsulting

For more HR Data Labs®, enjoy the HR Data Labs Brown Bag Lunch Hours every Friday at 2:00PM-2:30PM EST. Check it out here: https://hrdatalabs.com/brown-bag-lunch/

Produced by Affogato Media

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Desiree Goldey, Director of Marketing at ZRG Partners and Founder of Do Better Consulting, joins us this episode to discuss how the disconnect between talent and HR teams impacts an organization’s employees, both current and future. 

[0:00] Introduction

• Welcome, Desiree!
• Today’s Topic: Fixing the Disconnect Between Talent and HR Teams

[4:32] How do we know there’s a disconnect between talent and HR?

• Root causes of talent-HR miscommunications
• Challenges in transforming company cultures

[10:53] How does the disconnect impact the recruiting process?

• How candidates experience a company’s confusion and mixed messaging
• Resume insights and advice, including why AI tools are essential in applicant-heavy job markets

[24:30] How does the disconnect affect employee engagement?

• The toll on company culture and morale
• Challenges facing remaining employees after a significant layoff

[36:10] Closing

• Thanks for listening!

Quick Quote

“When there’s a state of confusion [within a company], who suffers? It’s the employee.”

To schedule a meeting with us: https://salary.com/hrdlconsulting

For more HR Data Labs®, enjoy the HR Data Labs Brown Bag Lunch Hours every Friday at 2:00PM-2:30PM EST. Check it out here: https://hrdatalabs.com/brown-bag-lunch/

Produced by Affogato Media

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Michael Ohata, leadership coach and former Big Four partner, joins us this episode to discuss building a resilient workforce through better talent management. He addresses the shortcomings of many organizations’ outdated talent management models, offers ideas for improvement, and speculates on how AI could enhance talent management.

[0:00] Introduction

·       Welcome, Mike!

·       Today’s Topic: Leadership and Building a Resilient Workforce

 [5:26] What are the primary shortcomings of traditional talent management frameworks?

·       Current talent management models are 25 years old

·       The pandemic highlighted an already outdated system

 [14:11] How can organizations retain talent while cutting costs?

·       Why short-term cost cutting often sacrifices talent

·       How developing detailed career frameworks benefits employees

 [23:52] Why do some companies stick with underperforming talent management systems?

·       Leaders’ tendency to rely on familiar processes

·       How AI might transform talent management

 [32:20] Closing

·       Thanks for listening!

 Connect with Mike:

·       LinkedIn

Connect with David: 

·       LinkedIn

·       [email protected]

Connect with Dwight:

·       LinkedIn

·       [email protected]

 Podcast Team

·       [email protected]

For more HR Data Labs®, enjoy the HR Data Labs Brown Bag Lunch Hours every Friday at 2:00PM-2:30PM EST.  Check it out here: https://hrdatalabs.com/brown-bag-lunch/

Produced by Afogato Media

To schedule a meeting with us: https://salary.com/hrdlconsulting

For more HR Data Labs®, enjoy the HR Data Labs Brown Bag Lunch Hours every Friday at 2:00PM-2:30PM EST. Check it out here: https://hrdatalabs.com/brown-bag-lunch/

Produced by Affogato Media

Send us a text

Christopher “CJ” Gross, CEO of Jabbar HR Solutions, CEO and Founder of Ascension Worldwide, and author, joins us this episode to discuss key takeaways from his book, What’s Your ZIP Code Story? CJ shares how our backgrounds shape workplace interactions, techniques for navigating difficult conversations, and practical approaches to addressing class bias in professional settings. 

[0:00] Introduction

• Welcome, CJ!
• Today’s Topic: Understanding and Overcoming Class Bias in the Workplace

[6:55] What inspired CJ to write his book?

• Where to begin when discussing class in the workplace
• Understanding that it’s human to develop biases

[19:26] Where did CJ start the journey to write his book?

• The power of conversations that stems from curiosity
• Exploring the dualities within people

[31:39] How do you navigate difficult conversations with people who share opposing opinions?

• How to engage productively with people who hold opposing opinions
• Why face-to-face conversations build trust in ways digital communication cannot

[41:18] Closing

• Thanks for listening!

Connect with CJ: 

• LinkedIn  

Connect with David:  

• LinkedIn 
• [email protected] 

Connect with Dwight: 

• LinkedIn 
• [email protected]  

 Podcast Team 

• [email protected] 

 Produced by Afogato Media 

Quick Quote

“If we’re not able to share [our stories] without fear of retaliation, then we don’t have an environment where we can have dialogue. When that happens, people will use power to protect themselves.”

For more HR Data Labs®, enjoy the HR Data Labs Brown Bag Lunch Hours every Friday at 2:00PM-2:30PM EST.  Check it out here: https://hrdatalabs.com/brown-bag-lunch/

To schedule a meeting with us: https://salary.com/hrdlconsulting

For more HR Data Labs®, enjoy the HR Data Labs Brown Bag Lunch Hours every Friday at 2:00PM-2:30PM EST. Check it out here: https://hrdatalabs.com/brown-bag-lunch/

Produced by Affogato Media