NOW of Work

Rocki Howard is doing some of the most important work that needs to be done right now, but wishes that her job didn't exist. "I would love to live in a world where I don't have a job," she tells our Jess Von Bank in this Now of Work podcast episode.

Rocki is the Chief Diversity Officer of SmartRecruiters, and explains that she's on a mission to "disrupt the intersection of diversity and recruitment and create systems that lead to simple, substantive, sincere and sustainable diversity solutions." And although Rocki would love to live in a world where ALL recruiting includes diversity recruiting, she knows that the industry is not there yet. 

To chip away at this dilemma, Rocki spearheaded a Diversity Hiring Toolkit with SmartRecruiters, that's changing the way people and orgs think about hiring, diversity, and retaining talent. She digs deeper during her engaging chat with Jess, as they unpack about everything from unconscious bias to tech and budget barriers. "We don't want price to be a barrier. We want people to have diversity hiring success. We believe that when you change the lives of people who are underrepresented, you change the world."

Before joining SmartRecruiters, Rocki spent over 20 plus years in the recruitment industry. She's held leadership roles that include the US Operations Director at Resource Solutions, a Principal at Pipeline HC, and VP of Colleague Experience at Adecco. If you think Rocki and Jess's convo is smooth, it's because Rocki also has a podcasting background. She brings her wealth of experience and insights to her role as Host of the Voices of Diversity podcast, which seeks to amplify and humanize underrepresented voices and diversity efforts.

Hear more from Rocki about changing the way we do diversity recruiting and hiring on Friday. She'll be a guest on our 2/26 Meetup Series.

Save your seat now!

REGISTER:

Connect with Rocki:

ACCESS Smart Recruiter's Diversity Hiring Toolkit:

WE LOVE highlighting people doing innovative work in #HR, #HRTech, #DEI, & #Women in Leadership worlds! THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT. Nearly ONE THOUSAND people have registered for our Friday #NowofWork Digital Meetups!! Surely a moment to celebrate. It's also an incentive to keep doing the work to help move the industry forward.

Mita Mallick is the head of inclusion, equity and impact at Carta. She's a columnist for SWAAY and has been published in Harvard Business Review, The New York Post, and Business Insider.  In this powerful conversation with Jess Von Bank, Mita tackles head on the mass exodus of women from the U.S. workforce - 2.2 million of them since the beginning of the pandemic, to be precise. In her latest HBR piece, she moves beyond the statistics and suggests 5 ways to bring women back into the post-pandemic workforce. 

Perhaps these changes were needed ALL ALONG to bring more fairness, equal opportunity, and parity to working women, and perhaps some of these changes should be legislated. But business leaders don't have to wait; companies can and must step in to bring women back into their organizations. Jess and Mita agree: we cannot see full economic recovery without women, and it's up to individual organizations to show radical leadership and take charge. 

The Now of Work is about all of the ways work has changed forever. Mita and Jess explain 5 simple ways work can change for good.

Connect with Mita: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mita-mallick-2b165822/

Mita's HBR Article: https://hbr.org/2021/02/5-ways-to-bring-women-back-into-the-post-pandemic-workforce

Shereen Daniels chose HR as her profession; she did not choose anti-racism as a platform. That is, until she broke her silence. Now she knows freedom like never before, and she actively works to deconstruct racism in leadership teams, in organizational constructs, and in everyday conversation. "I wish we stepped into our power more," she told our host Jess Von Bank on the Now of Work. "It's not about asking yourself why culture or society or the system doesn't work for Black people; ask yourself why it works so well for White people." 

Shereen lays it all bare with Jess on this raw, real, action-inspiring, change-fueling conversation. She'll tell you the words you need to say without flinching before we see real change, and together they challenge HOW we can focus on DEI for as long as we have and STILL be in the situation we're in. Change is possible, as Jess illustrates when she recalls visiting the George Floyd memorial in her native city of Minneapolis. "It occured to me," says Jess, "this this was a moment of both horror and hope. A moment of crisis so great it will inspire the biggest movement of change in the world."

LISTEN if you want to see the needle move in our lifetime. LISTEN if you want to dignify work by dignifying people. Just listen. Welcome Shereen Daniels, LinkedIn Top Voice of 2020, to the Now of Work.

Connect with Shereen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shereen-daniels/

HR-rewired: https://hr-rewired.com/

Connect with Jess: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessvonbank/

In this episode we preview the spring keynote speakers on our Weekly Digital Meetup. The brilliant Jackye Clayton is up FIRST.  Her keynote—One Size Doesn't Fit All for Diversity Recruiting is the type of conversation that will change work for good. Jackye, a DEI expert and strategist,  will dig into the tactics needed to successfully scale diversity at your company. She'll also talk about sourcing candidates, how all career trajectories aren’t the same, and the best HR Tech to consider when diversifying.

Jason asks the question "how did you get into HR in the first place?" and it is definitely interesting to hear the vastly difference, and yet relatable, stories of our listeners. 

We also wish our very own Jess Von Bank a happy birthday with a special musical number. 

We hope you enjoy the episode!

Connect with Jackye: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackyeclayton/

Connect with Jason: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonaverbook/

Connect with Jess: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessvonbank/

Jerome Ternynck is the CEO and Founder of SmartRecruiters, and he's actively changing the face of hiring forever. Like Jess, Jerome introduces himself as “born and raised in recruiting." With his heart in recruiting, his soul in technology, we see the perfect recipe for innovation. From his recruiting roots and founding one of the first Applicant Tracking Systems more than 20 years ago, Jerome now leads the smartest Talent Acquisition Suite for the modern workforce, actively changing the way global enterprises achieve hiring success while embracing diversity and inclusion in their process and technology approach (to go minute 10:20 for that conversation). 

SmartRecruiters was one of the first companies to boldly proclaim they would go ‘Remote First Forever.” What have they learned from that business decision, and how is it helping them shape remote hiring best practices inside the world’s largest enterprises? Plus, one of our favorite questions to ask a podcast guest, and one of the best answers we've ever heard...be sure to listen to the end.

Connect with Jerome: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerometernynck/

Diversity Hiring Framework Marketing Toolkit: https://hiringsuccess.com/diversity-and-inclusion/?utm_source=LeapGen

Jess Von Bank welcomes Lorna Borenstein to the Now of Work. Lorna is CEO and Founder of Grokker, the enterprise wellbeing engagement solution that enables physical, emotional, and social wellbeing for everyone. She honed her consumer technology product and marketing skills at Hewlett Packard, eBay, and Yahoo!, giving her a front row seat at some of the most iconic and disruptive companies. 

Recognized as a woman of influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal and a Human Resource Executive Top 100 HR Tech Influencer, Lorna talks to Jess about the pink collar recession, her upcoming book “It’s Personal: The Business Case for Caring" and the critical importance of mental wellbeing in the modern workplace. 

Connect with Lorna: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorna-borenstein-71220/

Lorna's Book: https://www.grokker.com/caseforcaring

https://www.grokker.com/

Digital Strategy is top of mind for all CHROs as we enter 2021 with fresh eyes. In this episode, Leapgen’s own shares tips and strategies to make the transition to digital as smooth as possible.

Alex is a Digital Experience Evangelist and one of Leapgen’s most tenured employees coming to us from Morgan Stanley. Harry has 20+ years experience in Human Capital Management as a practitioner, software provider, thought leader and consulting expert.

What Harry and Alex propose in this episode is a major shift in mindset and approach to shaping a better digital workforce. Although they only tease at their content in this podcast, you can catch them at their session this week at the FUEL 2021 Kickoff event where they will be sharing models, processes, and key strategies to thrive in the new now or work.

Don’t miss their keynote or this event, register today:

https://bit.ly/3oVVpyX

Harry West: https://www.linkedin.com/in/westharry/

Alex Zea: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdzea/

Everyone is buzzing about Leapgen’s Fuel 2021 Kickoff this week. If you haven’t yet, register today and join us for 2 days of action-packed content that will continue to transform the industry and HR best practices.

On this episode, Jason reviews his predictions for 2020, which were made before the pandemic hit, and answers the question, “are these still relevant after the post-pandemic shutdown?” His answers are insightful, timely, and inspire action. He also sets the stage for CHRO’s to have a beginner’s mindset in 2021 and rediscover a people-centric model that drives high engagement. Jason offers hope for what the new year will bring and how it will strengthen organizations.

2021 is the year of RE: renew, refresh, review, revolve, renovate, reinvent. It is our opportunity to build a better workforce experience that drives engagement, value, and impact. This conversation gives listeners a glimpse at Jason’s keynote as he makes predictions for 2021 and helps HR departments not only rebuild, but reimagine what is possible in the new now of work.

Enjoy the chat and we hope to see you at our Fuel kickoff event!

Register for FUEL 2021: https://bit.ly/3oVVpyX

Connect with Jason: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonaverbook/

We’ve got an all-star cast joining us on the show today, Ryan Malkes, Emily Dahl, and Mackenzie Rohn are here in the virtual studio to discuss their upcoming presentation “Design Thinking for Digital Workforce Experience” at the Fuel 2021 kickoff event produced by Leapgen.

I was amazed at the energy and passion that they brought to our listeners, and at 8:30am in the morning. They shared a powerful message about driving empathetic action in the workplace. Not everyone has adapted to change in the same way and organizations need to implement a continuous listening strategy to best gauge how to help their employees. Empathy is a foundational element in Leapgen’s work to design a human-centric experience through design thinking. They reminded us that it is not about thinking so much as it is about design doing.

While “planes are grounded” right now, we can take this opportunity to act and change. Join their session this Wednesday, January 13th, to gain actionable insights and practical next steps to design a better digital workforce experience.

Register for Fuel 2021: https://bit.ly/3oVVpyX

Ryan Malkes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-malkes/

Emily Dahl: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmdahl/

Mackenzie Rohn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mackenzie-rohn/