NOW of Work

What keeps every HR & People leader up at night should come as no surprise. Every organization continues to plot and prioritize post-pandemic pivots around DEI; the mental wellbeing of the workforce; optimizing tech and streamlining workflows for the digital and hybrid workplace; and leading people with more transparency, more empathy, and increased personalization and flexibility. We have leadership gaps, too -- most organizations don't have enough or effective enough people leaders to drive the workforce through historic change and transformation.

This is the most exciting time to be in this industry. Does that mean we're in peace time? No, we are in flipping war time! Last year we faced a RESET. Now, more than halfway into 2021, we are confronting the Great Recovery, which is competing against the Great Resignation. People want more and expect better. They also need to reestablish trust and connection in the #NowofWork. Employee Experience and humanizing work has never been more important.

TUNE INTO OUR CONVERSATION.

Join Steve Boese, HR Technology Conference Chair, and Jason Averbook, CEO & Founder of Leapgen, as they discuss ways HR can utilize technology to help employees achieve their goals, improve their skills, and enhance their career development. 

Thanks for joining the conversation!

Jennings Wynn is a CUSTOMER champion for recruiting solutions that deliver results, but he's also a PEOPLE champion for equity, diversity, creating spaces for belonging, and inclusive workplaces. He has deep expertise in Employee Resource Groups and the real value they can bring the business, he talks about the use of pronouns and inclusive language and workplace practices, and he tells a rich story around the real history and significance of #Pridemonth.  

So before the final weekend of Pride celebrations commence, Jennings joins our Digital Meetup to tell us WHY THIS MATTERS in our efforts to humanize work. When it comes to #DEI and corporate values, what does a brand look like when it's not just talking the talk?  We love our Fridays together! 

Join the team at Leapgen for this important conversation.

Connect with Jennings:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennings-wynn-6908409a/ 

Today's Digital Meetup is pretty inspiring. Jess and I are thrilled to welcome Lindsay Wrege to our broadcast. You may remember Lindsay from our #NowofWork podcast. In fact, her interview holds the top spot for our most listened to episode to-date.

Lindsay's best friends in grade school were disabled. She grew up in their world with adaptive activities and inclusive classrooms. After high school graduation Lindsay looked forward to college, internships, and studying abroad. “But for them, it was a stopping point," she said, "...80% of people with disabilities are unemployed, and that’s just not OK."

Instead of simply moving along, Lindsay decided to do something about it. As a college freshman, she created 321 Coffee. 100% of her coffee shop employees are disabled. Her successful business model is not just a rally cry for erasing the stigma around hiring disabled people, it's also a testament to change. It shows what embracing a diverse workplace can truly look like when put into daily practice.

In this episode we see where Lindsay is now that she's a new college graduate, talk about inclusive workplaces, and how we all can take steps to create a working world of change.

Connect with Lindsay:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsay-wrege/

321 Coffee:

https://321coffee.com/

We are excited about today's Digital Meetup, and we have two stellar guests on deck!

https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinakibben/

Connect with Elena:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenavalentine1/

"One thing that we've been looking at and starting to see is this blending of societal culture and organizational culture. We're starting to identify ourselves in very a left and right way...This is starting to get a little bit dangerous, in how we build organizational culture." 

Fascinating chat with Dan Riley, Co-Founder of RADICL, and our Jess Von Bank. On our NowofWork podcast, they peel back the layers of organizational culture, including talking about visible and invisible belief systems, hiring for culture, and what happens if we rally around purpose. 

Check out RADICL's formative work:

https://www.radiclwork.com/

Connect with Dan:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-riley-57b9431/

Happy Friday. It's always great to reconnect with a Leapgen friend, who is a big supporter of the #NowofWork community, and making waves in it! Jess and I are excited to welcome Lisa Sterling to today's Digital Meetup! Lisa is a people crusader, talent and culture advocate, angel investor, and digital CHRO, who is a mastermind at activating the most important asset in business: PEOPLE.

Enjoy this episode as we talk: PEOPLE TRENDS FROM A CHRO PERSPECTIVE. We will dig into:

Lisa is a fireball of energy who doesn’t hold back from speaking her truth. We know you’ll enjoy this exciting and laid back conversation.

Connect with Lisa:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisamsterling/

"We didn't start off to create a business called Experience Happiness...We started it to save our lives," Nancy O'Brien shares with Jess Von Bank on our #NowofWork #podcast. 

Happiness may be a simple topic, but it's not simplistic, especially when it comes to work. On this new episode Jess chats with Nancy and Rachelle Anderson, the founders of Experience Happiness and creators of The Happiness Practice™— an innovative, sustainable, and scalable solution that helps people and organizations increase happiness, engagement and reduce burnout. 

During the chat they unpack what makes us happy at work, how to get there, and why we all deserve it. Jess adds, "We throw a lot of buzz words around, especially when it comes to work. In a workplace setting we talk about how people perform and we measure performance and talk about engagement...use a lot of words to measure human beings at work, but I think that we're missing one really important and that is are people happy?"   

Experience Happiness:

https://www.experiencehappiness.biz/

Connect with Nancy:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancylobrien/

Connect with Rachelle:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelle-abdo-anderson-7546412/

As the notion of "returning to work" becomes a more popular term, it's important to keep the Now of Work in focus. We need to rethink work based on what works TODAY. Prioritizing people and employee experience matters more than ever.

Hybrid work models are top of mind for many organizations. How does that change how PEOPLE and TEAMS operate? On today's Digital Meetup, Jess and Jason chat with Rob Cross. He's the world's preeminent authority on social network analysis, collaboration overload, organizational change, talent optimization, and effective leadership.

Organizations are systems. Social systems, in particular. Looking through this lens is just one way to future-proof HR, innovate workforce experience, and better design hybrid work models.

We hope that you enjoy today's Digital Meetup.

Connect with Rob:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/crossrob/

Connect with Jason:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonaverbook/

Connect with Jess:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessvonbank/