In this episode of Make the Shift, Adam Greenberg connects with President & CEO of Baskits Inc., Robin Kovitz to learn how people-first leaders successfully lead their organizations through change. Is the pace of change we're currently witnessing sustainable? What did we learn in the last two years? How can we be better at work, at home, and in our community? Robin and Adam dive deep to discover how a mindful approach to managing change is necessary to keep employees happy and business thriving.

About Robin Kovitz:

Robin Kovitz is the President & CEO of Baskits Inc., one of Canada’s fastest-growing companies. Baskits, designs, manufactures and delivers unique and luxurious gifts across Canada and the US. With over 50,000 customers from around the world, Baskits makes the art of gifting quick and easy through its online stores, catalog/call centre, warehouse and retail locations. In 2020, and again in 2021, Baskits was recognized as one of the Top Growing Companies in Canada by the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business Magazine.

Prior to acquiring Baskits in 2014, Robin worked in private equity on the buyouts of mid-sized companies and as a Summer Consultant at the Boston Consulting Group where she led a part of a large-scale cost reduction project at a Canadian bank. She also played an active role in the sale of her family’s western Canadian food manufacturing and distribution businesses. She began her career in Mergers and Acquisitions investment banking at CIBC World Markets and was recognized with the Chairman’s Award in 2005. 

As a sought-after speaker and commentator on “Entrepreneurship through Acquisition”, digital retail and the topic of “Mompreneurship” Robin frequently serves as a guest lecturer at both the Yale School of Management and the Harvard Business School. She and/or Baskits have been featured in a number of leading publications, including: Forbes, House & Home, Elle Canada, Canadian Business, Huffington Post, Style at Home and on Global News, Your Morning Show.

Robin currently serves as a consultant to the Admissions Marketing team at the Harvard Business School and as a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization. She holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen's University where she was a Rutherford Scholar. In 2017, and again in 2021, she was recognized as a Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 award winner. In 2021, Robin received the Women Of Inspiration Award from the Universal Women's Network. She lives in Toronto with her husband and two children.

Connect:

You can connect with Robin on LinkedIn or follow her on Twitter @Kovitzr

To learn more about Baskits Inc., or order a gift, visit baskits.com

Follow Baskits Inc., on Twitter and Instagram @Baskitsinc and on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Look for @makeshiftapp and follow us on Li, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Have feedback to share or want to be a guest? Reach out to Adam Greenberg at [email protected].

We've witnessed an incredible amount of transformation in the last 2 years. Now, transformation can happen by choice, or it can be forced upon us by situations that are simply out of our control… And a large part of what we lived through would fall in the latter category.

But is all this change for the better? On this episode of Make the Shift, I connected with Dr. Steven Hunt, Ph.D., an industrial-organizational psychologist and recognized expert on strategic human resources and HR tech, to discuss how businesses have always leveraged technology to align their needs with what employees want and what we can expect the future of work to look like.

About Dr. Steven Hunt:

Dr. Steven Hunt is an industrial-organizational psychologist and recognized expert on strategic human resources. He has over 25 years’ experience designing systems for a variety of human capital management applications including performance management, staffing, employee and leadership development, culture change, workforce analytics, and succession planning. He is also the author of two books on HR process design and implementation: 'Common-sense Talent Management: Using Strategic Human Resources to Increase Company Performance' and 'Hiring Success: The Art and Science of Staffing Assessment and Employee Selection.'

Connect:

Look for @makeshiftapp and follow us on Li, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

You can find Dr. Steven Hunt on LinkedIn and connect with him on Twitter @steventhunt

Have feedback to share or want to be a guest? Reach out to Adam Greenberg at [email protected].

Resources:

'Common-sense Talent Management: Using Strategic Human Resources to Increase Company Performance'

'Hiring Success: The Art and Science of Staffing Assessment and Employee Selection.'

Work Matters! (Podcast)

Today, I want to change things up and shine a light on the people and the technologies that have been helping businesses adapt to the disruption we've faced in the last 23 months. And there’s been a lot of disruption hasn’t there? Vaccine mandates, remote working, labour shortages, changing workforce policies and the list goes on.

But through it all companies like AllianceHCM and people like my guest today, AllianceHCM’s President, Matt Umholtz are working diligently to make sure your business has the tools, resources, and services to keep moving forward.

I think it’s time to shed a light on how invisible functions like payroll and scheduling are not only enabling the future of work but leading the way.

It’s time to bring the back office out on center stage. Are you ready for this shift? Let’s go.

Connect:

Look for @makeshiftapp and follow us on Li, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

You can find AllianceHCM at https://alliancehcm.com/ and follow Matt Umholtz at linkedin.com/in/mattumholtz

Have feedback to share or want to be a guest? Reach out to Adam Greenberg at [email protected].

Today we’re going to talk about resilience. We as people, as businesses, as societies, and as countries have demonstrated a great deal of resilience over the last 22 months, even when it felt like we were up schitt's creek… we managed to continue to move forward, together. 

As CEO of MakeShift, a web and mobile cloud-based employee scheduling app, I have witnessed this firsthand. I am incredibly proud of how the MakeShift team stepped up to help businesses like Alberta Health Services, La Senza, Best Western, Air France, and many more improve their employee scheduling experience during the pandemic to help our essential workers on the frontlines.

I am a big believer in the idea that companies that give their employees the flexibility to work schedules that fit their lives improve employee morale and make work fun.

But, how else can we make work more fun? As businesses face a massive labour shortage and a worsening war for talent, how do businesses create a culture that improves recruitment and retention and can stand up to these new challenges?

My last guest, retired Navy Seal Commander and best-selling author of the Attributes, Rich Diviney, gave me the answer I was looking for. Do you know how the Navy Seals bond and build an everlasting culture of trust and camaraderie? They do it with humour. Yes, the Navy Seals get through some of the toughest challenges anyone could ever face with a dash of humour. 

Now, humour in the workplace is tricky.

And anyone that knows me, knows I am no expert. So, I decided to find someone who is… Today, I am incredibly excited to welcome Emmy Award-winning writer and producer of the very popular Canadian show Schitt's Creek, Michael Short on my podcast.

Ready to make the shift to a culture that keeps employees coming back? Let’s go!

Connect:

Look for @makeshiftapp and follow us on Li, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Have feedback to share or want to be a guest? Reach out to Adam Greenberg at [email protected].

The world is going through a monumental change and every single day a new headline points us to a new challenge we need to overcome. As an optimist. I believe in the collective power of people working together as a team to solve the problems facing our businesses, our communities, and our global societies. 

But, sometimes we need someone to look to. Someone to guide us. Someone who understands what it means to operate in the most difficult and challenging of environments and to come out the other side as proof that it can be done. 

Today, I couldn’t be more excited to welcome that someone – Rich Diviney as my guest. Rich is a former Navy Seal Commander. 

When I look for an example of a team, this is the kind of team that always comes to mind. The kind of teams that have to operate together based on trust and optimal performance because it could literally mean the difference between life or death - or perhaps even worse than death. Rich completed more than twenty overseas deployments – 11 of which were to Iraq and Afghanistan. He guided specialized operational teams to train their brains to perform faster, longer and better in all environments.

Since his retirement a few years ago he has trained over 5000 businesses, athletic and military leaders from the world’s best-known organizations.

Rich is also the author of the book ‘The Attributes’ which does an excellent job of helping his readers understand what makes people tick so to speak and how to uncover these attributes in all of us, whether it’s sports, business, health and science, government or even your everyday relationships.

More recently, Rich helped kick off MakeShift’s first all-company meeting in Calgary! It was an incredible experience and our team learned so much.

On a personal note, and in full transparency, Rich is going to be joining me and the Leaders2Inspire team in Mexico in November to facilitate optimal performance workshops for participants at the Leaders2inspire retreat.

But today, Rich is here to help us all maximize our potential. Are you ready to Make the Shift? Let’s go!

About Rich Diviney:

Rich draws upon 20+ years of experience as a Navy SEAL Officer where he completed more than 13 overseas deployments – 11 of which were to Iraq and Afghanistan. Through his career, he has achieved multiple leadership positions – to include the Commanding Officer of a Navy SEAL Command.

Since retirement in early 2017, Rich has worked as a speaker, facilitator, and consultant with the Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute and Simon Sinek Inc.

Connect:

Look for @makeshiftapp and follow us on Li, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Have feedback to share or want to be a guest? Reach out to Adam Greenberg at [email protected].

If you’d like to connect with Rich or buy his book, visit https://theattributes.com/

Resources:

The Attributes: 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance

Leaders2Inspire - High Performance Corporate Retreats

The hybrid workplace… is it the best of both worlds? Your employees want it, your organization benefits from it, and the environment is better for it, yet 68% of businesses have no detailed plan in place. Do you have your post-pandemic plan? Join Adam and Angelique Slagle, SVP & Head of SuccessFactors North America, as they discuss what the post-pandemic workplace will look like and share a roadmap for the hybrid workplace.

Look for @makeshiftapp and follow us on Li, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Have feedback to share or want to be a guest? Reach out to Adam Greenberg at [email protected].

If you’d like to connect with Angelique you can find her on Li or follow her on Twitter: @angeliquemedley

Don't forget to check out Angelique's new show on Li:

Experiences Unfiltered with Angelique Slagle