Talent Report+THRIVE

By MRA - The Management AssociationBusiness Management Non-Profit

Talent Report+THRIVE episodes

July 26, 2023 MRA’s July Talent Report
Description: In this episode, we’ll explore the July edition of MRA's monthly Talent Report: Trends From MRA's 1,000 Roundtable Members.
We’ll hear from Jim Morgan, Vice President of Workforce Strategies, on best practices regarding employee engagement, uncover C-Suite priorities and top creative HR strategies, learn roundtable trending topics, and more!
Resources:
Talent Report+ Webinar Series
MRA Membership
About MRA
Let's Connect:
Guest Bio - Jim Morgan
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Jim Morgan
Host Bio - Sophie Boler
Host LinkedIn Profile - Sophie Boler
Transcript:
Transcripts are computer generated -- not 100% accurate word-for-word.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:21:03
Unknown
Hello everybody and welcome to 30 minute Thrive, your go to podcast for anything and everything HR, powered by MRA, the Management Association. Looking to stay on top of the ever changing world of HR? MRA has got you covered. We'll be the first to tell you what's hot and what's not. I'm your host, Sophie Boler, and we are so glad you're here.
00:00:21:05 - 00:00:40:19
Unknown
Now it's time to thrive. All right. Well, welcome to this episode of 30 Minute Thrive. I'm excited to go over this month's Taylor Report with Jim Morgan, our vice president of Workforce Strategies, as we kind of go into what he's been seeing in the world of business in July. So thanks again, Jim, for joining us. Per usual. My pleasure.
00:00:40:20 - 00:00:58:24
Unknown
It's good to be here. So this month, it looks like you're kind of focusing on roundtables, the importance of networking. Why did you choose this topic for July? Well, you know, it's interesting, as everybody is trying to figure out how to get more done in less time and figure out how to make the best use of their time.
00:00:59:01 - 00:01:19:08
Unknown
You know, one of the things and not just making a sales pitch for our roundtables, but I think one of the things that people find the most valuable is when you find that peer group of people that share the same issues that you share and face the same problems each day that you face, that becomes a pretty strong group of people to really, you know, be able to call on and do things with.
00:01:19:08 - 00:01:37:02
Unknown
And with all this time spent on staff development and learning and development and things, there's nothing like a group of ten or 12 people who are living the same life you are to just be able to sit down and say, What would you do in this situation? And have half of them say, I've been in that situation. Here's what I would do.
00:01:37:04 - 00:02:08:17
Unknown
And so we just without one, that would be good. Just, you know, so people remember, take advantage of those opportunities. In fact, we surveyed everyone on how many networking groups they were in, and like over 50% of the group were in at least two. So that was that was pretty good. And I think later on we can talk a little bit about what we shared, too, because our roundtables, our peer groups, you know, our C-suite people, their senior age, our people, their age, our managers, and we shared a lot of data with people on here's what everybody's talking about.
00:02:08:17 - 00:02:25:03
Unknown
So that was a real advantage for that talent report. And I'll share some of that with you later, too. So that was the that was the reason for the focus is, you know, really just to get people to take some time and find that really good group of people they can sit down and talk to on a regular basis to, you know, sort of help them with the day to day stuff.
00:02:25:05 - 00:02:44:11
Unknown
Oh, yeah, absolutely. It was cool to see what topics are top of mind right now in roundtables and what our roundtables are kind of discussing. And we'll get into that. But let's kind of talk about what's happening in recruiting and retention world right now. So, Jim, what's new here? The idea is what's new is older. What's old is new.
00:02:44:13 - 00:03:04:04
Unknown
I think the internships continue to be really the best recruiting strategy that people are finding now for the simple fact that you're you're getting people that are close to working age within a year, you know, two at the most of being ready to come work for you. You get a chance to kick the tires and, you know, do they fit with your culture?
00:03:04:04 - 00:03:23:23
Unknown
Do you fit with what they're looking for? So it's just been a really I think people are just more and more realizing if we can give these young adults a really good experience at our place, we have a leg up in being the ones that they want to go work for. And even though a lot of the talent has eased a little bit, there's still some really tough people to find.
00:03:24:00 - 00:04:03:23
Unknown
And the internships have really been an opportunity to to to go find them. Yeah, absolutely. So kind of moving into talent thinking section, you talked about low cost employee perks activities that employers are kind of implementing nowadays. So can you expand on some of the ideas and points you have listed in this category? Yeah, and I'll I'll I'll go with the interns for a second and move into those because I think it applies to, you know, that what we're seeing with the the interns is in terms of the retention part of it, it really gives if you've got some emerging leaders and you're looking for some opportunities to help them grow, they can be a
00:04:03:23 - 00:04:28:04
Unknown
mentor, you know, to these interns. And so that's another advantage of what they're they're getting out of all of this. You're seeing companies now put people through a rotation where they might get to see two or three or four different jobs while they're there to really help them figure out what is it they want to do. And again, I think for both the company and the individual, that's just a jumpstart done.
00:04:28:05 - 00:04:45:14
Unknown
I thought this is what I wanted, wanted to do. But now that I see what it is, I'm not quite sure that's what I want to do. You know, I think that that really benefits everybody. And I think they're, you know, they're putting them to work a little bit with putting together programs at the end and really demonstrating.
00:04:45:15 - 00:05:05:19
Unknown
Here's what we learned. You know, and these are the things I went through and this is my end of the summer, end of nine months presentation that said, this is what I worked on, this is what I did prove a little bit of the ROI. Why did we have these folks here and what were they up to? So that all of that, I think, you know, feeds into the talent part of it too.
00:05:05:19 - 00:05:31:13
Unknown
And, you know, the talent thinking this time was really kind of a focus on keeping people happy. So, you know, that's one group where it's like, okay, we're trying to keep this group happy because we might want to hire them soon. But the keeping people happy, it was interesting to see, okay, retention is now the big deal. And most of that has to do with what the level of engagement and how happy our employees working for us.
00:05:31:15 - 00:05:53:15
Unknown
And so we just started collecting. All right. You know, what are people doing? What are they up to? And they kind of came fell into a couple of categories. I would say, you know, the personal well-being that when you're doing something for the individual, whether that's, you know, we're offering them a gym membership or we're doing the massage chairs, are, you know, something about, okay, I feel better now.
00:05:53:17 - 00:06:08:08
Unknown
You know, most of us are, you know, self-Thriven by those types of things, like, okay, this this would actually be good for me. This would be great. You know, so I'm going to go do it. So I think you're seeing companies try to figure out what is it that some of our people may want and how do we offer that to them?
00:06:08:10 - 00:06:27:21
Unknown
I think the second big one was, you know, what are the services that people need that they may not know where to go and get? And some of that might be financial planning assistance. That might be I want to do a well, where do I get, you know, legal services? I might need some counseling, where do I go to that for that?
00:06:27:23 - 00:06:47:11
Unknown
And a lot of companies have that in their employee assistance programs. But, you know, people may not know it. And these are all, you know, difficult things in life that if people are having trouble with their finances, are having, you know, trouble trying to figure out some of these things, they bring that to work, too. And so this is, I guess, also a personal wellbeing thing.
00:06:47:11 - 00:07:07:08
Unknown
But it's like, you know, one of the services that people are looking for may not know where to go to get them or they might be incredibly expensive or scary. And if the company can help them find that lawyer or that legal assistance or that financial assistance that just makes their life a little bit easier and makes them a little bit happier.
00:07:07:10 - 00:07:31:06
Unknown
And then rewards was another and, you know, rewards we think about signing bonuses and referral bonuses and that's all great, but just the sum of it is just the Thank you. Is it? You know, here's the cup of coffee. Let's go do this. Like they'll take you to lawn chairs, a gift card or, you know, some gas money, whatever it might be, to just, you know, constantly be trying to think about what are the things that are going to mean something to people.
00:07:31:06 - 00:07:56:02
Unknown
And it doesn't necessarily have to be, you know, tens of thousands of dollars. It might be just recognizing the fact that, you know, you went above and beyond on this and whether it you just you take the time to say thank you or you acknowledge that to their supervisor or, you know, bring them something and put it on their desk and say thank you, that seems to be another one where, again, companies are trying to be more purposeful in trying to do that.
00:07:56:04 - 00:08:12:16
Unknown
And they'd say the last one was just food. And no matter who you're talking to, you know, they'll always say, well, you know, if we bring a food truck around or if we have ice cream sandwiches or if we have a pizza day or, you know, any of those things, it's just an opportunity. And we'll talk about this later, too.
00:08:12:16 - 00:08:31:00
Unknown
But it's a chance for everybody just to get together, to talk with each other, maybe across departments, across plants. And they just get to know each other and it just makes people feel good. So I think, you know, those are all the things that we sort of saw in the you know, if our people are happy, we're happy about doing that.
00:08:31:02 - 00:08:57:07
Unknown
So I can say some of my best conversations at work happen when we're eating the leftover pizza that's sitting out in the cafe. So, yeah, I would definitely agree on that food desk, right? Yeah. Well, you know, and it's amazing because we're all in this routine that, you know, I meet with my department here and then I meet with this department there, and then I go back and I do my work and there may maybe a couple of departments that I have no reason to interact with for any reason whatsoever.
00:08:57:09 - 00:09:19:09
Unknown
But then just bump into them and, you know, you sort of force the conversation and then you've got a couple more people around the office that I share this in common with them. So I'm just trying to make it a more enjoyable place to be. Oh, yeah, I love that. Well, from your from the field section, you've got a 2010 to 2020 overall population change chart.
00:09:19:09 - 00:09:37:20
Unknown
So what can you really see in this chart? Why is this included? Yeah, you know, these are the hard ones on the podcast to say, okay, look, I'm going to throw a thousand numbers at you and just try to keep track of it. But I think there were two things that we were trying to share. You know, one, the first one was, as you mentioned, the overall population change.
00:09:37:20 - 00:09:58:12
Unknown
And I was using our five states Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. And over the last ten years, Minnesota actually grew by about seven and a half percent, which was close to the national average. And so they were sort of holding their own. But Iowa was under 5%. Wisconsin was three and a half. Ohio was a little over two.
00:09:58:14 - 00:10:28:03
Unknown
In Illinois was just barely negative. And the point of that one was just to say, we're not growing in the upper Midwest at a rate that's going to keep up with who we need. And then went on to dig a little bit deeper to say, okay, if I take that same ten year period and I'm looking at 2010 to 2020, let's look at the younger folks, because that's going to give us a pretty good idea of what's going to be coming.
00:10:28:05 - 00:10:56:10
Unknown
So if I look at the under five population, so, you know, this is 15 years from now before to back the workplace, but you've got numbers like -15% in Illinois, minus ten in Wisconsin, minus seven in Ohio, minus six in Iowa, minus four in Minnesota. All of them are negative, meaning they're shrinking in that category. And so as people are starting to plan for the future, they got to start thinking about these things.
00:10:56:12 - 00:11:15:14
Unknown
And even in the 5 to 17 category, Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin are negative and Iowa and Minnesota are positive, but not at a number that's going to keep up with what's going on. So there is there's this real. Yeah, it's long term and you know, how much time do I want to be spending thinking about this type of thing?
00:11:15:16 - 00:11:38:00
Unknown
But, you know, it's going to be a big deal and we're going to have to, you know, track it and and see what's going to happen. So the aging thing was part of it. And then on the other end of the aging part is the percentage of growth in the people over the age of 65. In all, five of our states are in the 30 and 40% in Minnesota, in Wisconsin.
00:11:38:00 - 00:12:03:08
Unknown
So 40% growth in the people over the age of 65. While you're saying we have negative some number in the under five. So that's not good and people are going to have to start thinking about that. So that was the first point that we were trying to make from the Census Bureau data. And then the second one is just the incredible change in ethnicity that's going to be happening in our five states.
00:12:03:08 - 00:12:39:01
Unknown
And again, if you look at the population over the age of 65, other than Illinois, in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, that the index for that in the index is really just if I randomly grabbed two people in Wisconsin, what are the chances that they will be of two different ethnic backgrounds for that over 65 group. All of our states are in like the 15 to 18% range, meaning there's an 80% chance that you're probably going to grab two people that are Caucasian, that, you know, came from somewhere in Europe.
00:12:39:03 - 00:13:04:21
Unknown
So that's what's moving out 65, 84. But then when you start looking at the under five, everybody is at at least 50%. So we're moving from 16% to 50%, meaning now there's a 5050 chance that if you grab two people, one will probably still be white, but one's going to be something else. So that's a pretty big change to go from 15% to 60%.
00:13:04:23 - 00:13:27:01
Unknown
And I think, you know, this is now going to be the next couple of generations that are going to flip this whole thing. But you're going to see very different upper Midwest states over the course of the next 15 to 20 years, because the and this is the ethnicity of everyone is going to change dramatically. So as we're just trying to help companies what their long term thinking, you know, one is we got a whole group of people that are getting older.
00:13:27:01 - 00:13:41:23
Unknown
What are you going to do about that? And then you're going to have a whole group of people that are not going to be quite as homogeneous as they have been in the past. And so how are you going to assimilate them? How are you going to help them with whatever their cultural issues are? How are you going to prepare your communities and your company for that?
00:13:42:00 - 00:13:59:24
Unknown
So nothing is going to get easier, I think as we go forward, it's just going to get a little bit more complicated. Well, I know we can't see the chart that you explained, but you did a heck of a job by giving us the main points. I feel like I can see the chart right here. What we're getting, we're getting old and we're getting more diverse.
00:13:59:24 - 00:14:25:01
Unknown
So there there's the chart for you in a nutshell. So how about in terms of C-suite level? What what are some top of mind topics going on here? Well, we heard a lot about in the last month through the roundtables and just from meetings with members is there's a real focus right now on what's the financial acumen of the people that are running our lines of business, those running our facilities.
00:14:25:01 - 00:14:45:10
Unknown
And I think, you know, historically it's always been, well, the accountants and the CFO will take care of the financial stuff, and I'm just going to be out here doing my job and now as as things have gotten more technical, as they've gotten more modernized, there are a lot of tools that are available to every single line of business leader and plant manager.
00:14:45:10 - 00:15:08:12
Unknown
And from a CEO's point of view, I think there's now this question of are we getting as much as we can out of that? And so are they taking responsibility for their own line of business and the decisions that they're making and what that financial impact might be. So rather than just having the CFO come back and say, Hey, you're up or you're down, and what happened, they should know the answer before the CFO does.
00:15:08:12 - 00:15:32:02
Unknown
They should know where they're at. And so they're spending time providing learning and development opportunities for sort of the accounting for the non accountants, helping them understand, you know, what does it mean when I, you know, amortize things over a certain period of time or how is a capital expense different than a regular expense so that they better understand the decisions they're making and what the impact of that is going to be.
00:15:32:04 - 00:15:52:01
Unknown
And then all of us have more tools available to us. You know, we have Salesforce at at Mirror. It can do all kinds of things in terms of, you know, what's the incoming business look like, What's the last month look like? Can we compare year to year, month to month, last three months, all that kind of stuff. But not a lot of people are always using it.
00:15:52:01 - 00:16:15:08
Unknown
And so how do we get them to better understand it and then take advantage of these tools that we've invested in so that they know when I make this decision, it's going to have this sort of impact on the bottom line of my line of business. So the whole financial thing I think is really becoming an added responsibility for those who have some income and expense related responsibilities.
00:16:15:10 - 00:16:38:16
Unknown
In Emory's internal leadership program. Actually, we do a finance for the non financial leader topic there, and the feedback on that one was it was actually some of the interns favorite topic, which is very interesting and some were even like I'm a marketing major, but now I kind of want to move over to finance. So they know just they know just enough to be dangerous now.
00:16:38:17 - 00:17:01:22
Unknown
Oh yeah, You know, but you think of all of those people that are going into their first job and, you know, if they were in marketing or if they were in human resources or they were in communications, the odds of them having had an accounting class, you know, of any kind other than maybe in general, you know, checkbook writing and not any more debit card using, you know, class in high school.
00:17:01:22 - 00:17:24:09
Unknown
That's probably about it. And so to be able to go in and even understand financial statements probably puts them in a well ahead of of an awful lot of people. Yeah, absolutely. Well, there's also been a lot of talk in takeover of A.I. and that's only going to continue to grow. So any creative strategies here or how are companies using A.I.?
00:17:24:11 - 00:17:50:09
Unknown
Yeah, you know, I think A.I. and the Chatbot and all that sort of snuck up on everybody and all of a sudden, you know, really hit the news in about November. And then all of a sudden everyone had, you know, access to it. And, you know, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So I think what what companies are trying to do now is have training opportunities for their people to bring in folks who know something about it, to say, you know, here are the goods and here's of that.
00:17:50:10 - 00:18:08:22
Unknown
But here are the bads and here's how you can use this. And here what you might want to be careful of. And so we're starting to see that type of training so people understand, you know, yes, you can go into Chad GPT and you can ask a question and it'll give you information back in. The information that comes back is as good as the information that it's searching in.
00:18:08:24 - 00:18:32:17
Unknown
So you can't just put the question and get the answer and send it out to a thousand of your clients saying, Hey, look at this. You still got to add that human element that says, you know, let's look into this. And companies that are a little nervous that if people are putting a lot of information in there when they're asking their question, are they putting in some company information so that their question is a little more detailed, But now that information is being fed in?
00:18:32:23 - 00:18:49:20
Unknown
And so that's sort of out there now. And so that causes them to have some caution. So I think people are trying to figure out and that how do we use it to maybe Yeah, it's a great starting point to say I'm trying to put together this presentation on X and I ask some questions and it gives me some resources.
00:18:49:20 - 00:19:06:09
Unknown
Fan tastic. It saved me all kinds of time and now I can start digging into things on earth if I think I can just say, Hey, write me a speech and give it back to me and I'm going to go out and give it. You know, that might be asking a little bit too much. So I think right now people are really sort of finding their way.
00:19:06:09 - 00:19:23:20
Unknown
Most companies have a couple of people that are out there like trying it and sharing their knowledge with other people. But I think the companies themselves, the employers are really just trying to, you know, where, you know, do we put a stop to this? Do we figure out how to use it in our best interest? Should we be going crazy with it?
00:19:23:20 - 00:19:43:12
Unknown
They're trying to find where they fit in all of that and everybody's scrambling pretty quickly because I think it came up, you know, we all knew it was coming, but all sudden it just came in. So how about any other creativity? Anything else you're seeing in this category? The two other ones that came up this month, one was just on team building.
00:19:43:12 - 00:20:16:02
Unknown
And this kind of goes back to that the food comment that we had a little bit ago. And that is, you know, how do we create opportunities for people to interact? And food does that, you know, I mean, people come in and whoever your next to in line as you're walking through, you have a conversation with. So things like that trying to come up with maybe, you know cross-functional team activities where they come up with a problem to be solved and you grab two groups of people that maybe don't have to work together and let's put them together and they get a chance to to, you know, to meet some other people, especially with a
00:20:16:02 - 00:20:48:15
Unknown
lot of the remote workers. How do we do some fun things online? You know, how do you do a treasure hunt online or how do you have prices online? Or does it start with let's all share a recipe, just things to get people to interact a little bit and make it a little bit more personal. And so you're seeing all kinds of you know, companies are there's always walking groups at lunch and there's, you know, book clubs and now there's some that go out and get e-bikes at lunchtime and take a ride, you know, But they're all they're trying to encourage people to, you know, go find different opportunities to meet with maybe some different
00:20:48:15 - 00:21:12:20
Unknown
people and, you know, build some teamwork that way. And then the other one is still the mental health thing and, you know, how do you help employees get through everything they're are going through? And one of the interesting ideas we got from one of our members was they have what they've called mental health champions. And these are folks that, you know, have been trained by the HR department in the offerings that they have.
00:21:12:20 - 00:21:35:11
Unknown
They're not mental health experts are not counseling people, but they know what is our EAP offer, What do we have to offer within the company? Who are people that you can call to get further assistance? And they share information and, you know, the start of a staff meeting or a department meeting and say, hey, just a reminder, I'm one of our mental health champions and we have these available to you if anybody's needing any help.
00:21:35:12 - 00:21:59:11
Unknown
Don't be afraid to, you know, to reach out. So they're just trying to keep on, I think, top of mind for people so that they don't forget we have these resources if you need them. Oh, yeah, that's a great idea. So like we mentioned, Kimberly Emery's round table manager also made an appearance on this month's report webinar, and she gave a lot of great information on top topics and concerns for HR
00:21:59:11 - 00:22:21:16
Unknown
Professionals, c-suite executives, and more. So could you give us a little bit of an overview on some of this information starting out with the senior HR Top ten topics for 2010. This is sort of and this is almost like the the data like. All right, keep track of these. Here come the test. Yeah. Run them down. You know, in my best.
00:22:21:18 - 00:22:40:17
Unknown
David letterman top ten. I'll try to lay them out there for people. Yeah. So this was interesting because we did a couple of things, you know, one is we started with, okay, what's of interest? And we have, you know, 80, 90 roundtables, 1200 people in them. And, you know, so we're always trying to figure out what's on people's minds.
00:22:40:17 - 00:22:57:23
Unknown
And so from the senior HR People, the top ten were first of all, was trends in HR and that makes sense. They're just trying to make sure they're staying up on what's going on. Culture was number two. And how do you build it and how do you, you know, make sure that you're creating a place that people want to be a part of.
00:22:58:00 - 00:23:19:11
Unknown
Leadership was three. I think some of this is the emerging leaders. This is the lot of people retiring and people moving up behind them. And how do we make sure that they're prepared, The business climate and the impact on staffing after everybody came through 2022, you know, and it was just higher, higher, higher, higher. And we still there.
00:23:19:11 - 00:23:39:15
Unknown
What do we need to do? HR Leadership and what's their role? You know, how do they be at the table when the strategic planning is taking place and things like that related to the leadership. Number six was emerging leaders and high potentials. How do we take those best people that we've got and keep them engaged and make sure that they want to continue to work with us?
00:23:39:17 - 00:24:01:03
Unknown
Communicating wages and benefits again after 2022 and everybody, you know, money was going here, there and everywhere else. And now it's like, okay, we can't do that forever. And now, you know, we don't if we've got this expectation of, hey, I'm going to get 10%, this is going to be great, you know, that's not sustainable. And so how do we communicate that information related to that?
00:24:01:03 - 00:24:22:17
Unknown
Number eight was benefit trends. What are companies doing? What are they changing? What might they be offering that they think is going to get people more engaged with what they're doing? Number nine, with strategic planning and business planning and number ten with workforce planning and talent management shortage. So for the HR People, there's probably nothing there that's surprising.
00:24:22:17 - 00:24:52:01
Unknown
They're all huge. And that's sort of why you have an HR Feel that people that are kind of stressed out right now, i think. How about some topics that are on top of mind of just executives in general right now? Yeah. And the executives side of things. The top five were strategic planning, engagement and retention. HR Compliance, performance management and recruiting and hiring.
00:24:52:03 - 00:25:14:05
Unknown
So that was interesting in that if we compare the top five, this is just from this year now benefits recruiting and hiring, strategic planning, engagement and retention, organizational development for the minds of the professionals. There's not a whole lot of difference between the two. A little bit different use of words, maybe a little bit different level on some things.
00:25:14:07 - 00:25:37:22
Unknown
But the strategic planning shows up on both the recruiting and hiring signs shows up on both the engagement and retention shows up on both. So they're on the same page, I think, as they try to to go forward. Yeah. And then you also explained or Kimberly explained and compared 2018 to 2023 with these topics. So can you compare some of the executive and senior HR
00:25:37:22 - 00:26:05:24
Unknown
Discussions from yeah, this this was almost comical when you think about it. You know, the we were just looking at 2018, which would have been just before the pandemic and then what people were looking for this year and i think the c-suite ones were the most interesting. And I think back because I have a couple of ceo and CFO roundtables of, you know, what we were talking about in 2018, and the top three were finding talent and looking at the nontraditional workforce.
00:26:06:05 - 00:26:25:11
Unknown
And that one that's kind of the same. It's changed a little bit and it's had a little bit of panic put into it with the pandemic. But that was the same. But then the next two from 2018 one was the experience economy appealing to consumers. And you probably were you were still in college at that point, I think.
00:26:25:13 - 00:26:46:17
Unknown
But there was this big push in 2018 that everything was going to be about an experience that your product had to be about, an experience it had to like just engulf people, like they weren't going to forget it. Companies are starting to look at giving away experiences as bonus. That is like, Here's $1,000, go on a vacation, you know, some exotic island.
00:26:46:17 - 00:27:10:04
Unknown
But everything was about experience. And I just as I look at that now, that was 2018, and within a year or so we were locked down for two years, you know, So all that talk of an experience economy and then we all go into our homes and don't come out for two years. I don't think I've heard the words experience economy ever since, you know, so that one just sort of left.
00:27:10:06 - 00:27:29:24
Unknown
And we've been having all of these discussions because prior to the pandemic, things had sort of been chugging along. And, you know, we had the Great Recession in 2000, seven, 2008, but we had ten years of, hey, things are going pretty well here. And we were having discussions at the sea level around what's going to be the next biggest disruptor.
00:27:30:01 - 00:27:53:12
Unknown
And if anybody had pandemic on their bingo card, I would give them, you know, they win the prize for predicting that one. But, you know, we're talking about all kinds of things, but none of them had absolutely anything to do with the pandemic. So we go from that five years ago to now planning for growth with economic uncertainty, you know, which is the exact opposite of where we were five years ago.
00:27:53:14 - 00:28:13:23
Unknown
And learning from the unexpected and the impact on future planning, that five year period changed the way everybody thinks about everything. You know, no one's doing strategic plans now five years out, some even three years out, they're doing it one or two years, and they're reviewing every quarter because the world is just changing so much and there's so much at play.
00:28:13:23 - 00:28:36:23
Unknown
So it was just an interesting exercise for everyone to look at. What were you talking about just five years ago and where are those things now? They've they've sort of all disappeared. Yeah, I was going to say interesting to see the difference between the two. Definitely. Yeah. So that was that was actually kind of funny. We had some people, you know, on the chat checking, engineering.
00:28:37:00 - 00:28:57:04
Unknown
Wow. That something. Yeah. And then from the h r point of view, five years ago it was active shooters, you know, and everyone was being trained in that and it was also the MeToo movement. And you know, again, those two years that followed that, you know, not that you mean the shootings have certainly continued and that continues to be a big issue.
00:28:57:06 - 00:29:33:11
Unknown
The MeToo movement is still there. But when you think those things were like all encompassing until the pandemic hit, and then it was, you know, wow, we're in a different world now and everything was focused on that. It does feel like a different world now. Well, well, as we kind of wrap up here, I've always got to ask you, can you give us a sneak peek on August report And the topic again, we're going to be looking at diversity, equity and inclusion next month, and we're going to be finding some best practices from companies, you know, finding companies that maybe, you know, how did you start it?
00:29:33:11 - 00:29:52:16
Unknown
How did you get to where you are right now? And even some of those that are very advanced, how are they measuring it? How do they know that it's something that they really want to be doing? And that'll probably lead into a little bit of discussion on all of the ESG things where companies are having to look at their environmental, social and governance governance responsibilities.
00:29:52:16 - 00:30:10:05
Unknown
So I think it would be sort of interesting because that's driving a lot of things in HR right now that that ESG, where it's what is our corporate social responsibility policy? What are we doing about that? How are we proving it? So I think we should have some some pretty interesting information for you next month, too. So awesome.
00:30:10:05 - 00:30:33:02
Unknown
Thanks. I'm looking forward to that. Thanks for being on the podcast. Today. We shared a lot of fascinating information, so I would encourage our listeners to comment. The most interesting or valuable piece of information you learned today or any current trends or topics that you've been seeing in our world currently. Don't forget to share this episode. Consider joining MRA if you aren't a member already.
00:30:33:04 - 00:30:55:09
Unknown
We have all the resources you need in the show notes below, including the resources to report plus or otherwise. Thank you for tuning in today and we will see you next week. And that wraps up our content for this episode. Be sure to reference the show notes where you can sign up to connect for more podcast updates, check out other MRA episodes on your favorite podcast platform.
00:30:55:10 - 00:31:05:02
Unknown
And as always, make sure to follow MRA's 30 minutes Thrive so you don't miss out. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next Wednesday to carry on the conversation.

32 min
July 19, 2023 Thrive in Tough Times: Recession Ready Tactics
Description: Get ready for an enlightening episode where we've got some valuable lessons to share from the past few years. You know what they say: being prepared pays off! This episode will help you gear up and be recession ready. We're not saying you need to start panicking right now, but it's always wise to have a plan tucked away just in case a recession hits—whether it's this year, next year, or who knows when! Think of it like having a disaster recovery plan or a crisis management strategy. We want you to have that "what if" plan in your back pocket, ready to tackle any changes, control expenses, or adjust if needed. It's all about being proactive!

Today, we're lucky to have two fantastic guests with us: Amy Whittenberger, an HR Business Advisor and Subject Matter Expert from our MRA Hotline, and Susan Abler, MS, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, Member Relations Advisor & Director of Outplacement. They're here to take us through exciting "What If" scenarios. We'll cover everything from smart capacity strategies and finding or nurturing talent to retaining employees, keeping them motivated, and ensuring their overall well-being. And hey, we'll even dive into the tough questions about potential workforce reductions if things get real.
Resources:
2023 Economic Outlook
Outplacement and Career Transitions
HR Hotline
MRA Membership
About MRA
Let's Connect:
Guest Bio - Susan Abler
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Susan Abler
Guest Bio - Amy Whittenberger
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Amy Whittenberger
Host Bio - Sophie Boler
Host LinkedIn Profile - Sophie Boler
Transcript:
Transcripts are computer generated -- not 100% accurate word-for-word.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:21:03
Unknown
Hello everybody and welcome to 30 minute Thrive, your go to podcast for anything and everything HR, powered by MRA, the Management Association. Looking to stay on top of the ever changing world of nature. MRA has got you covered. We'll be the first to tell you what's hot and what's not. I'm your host, Sophie Boler, and we are so glad you're here.
00:00:21:05 - 00:00:47:00
Unknown
Now it's time to thrive. Well, we have learned many lessons these past two years, but one of the most important lessons is that it pays to be prepared. So for this podcast episode, we are going to help you prepare and be recession ready in. While we are not saying that you need to be ready right now, whether a recession hits later this year or next year or whenever, it's just best to have a plan in your back pocket.
00:00:47:02 - 00:01:19:23
Unknown
So today we are joined by Amy Whittenberger our business advisor and subject matter expert from our MRA hotline, and Susan Adler, member relations advisor and director of outplacement, will help us take a look at some what if plans, along with the tough questions, if and when it might come time for reductions in your workforce. So one of the best ways to be recession ready is really to prepare Now by optimizing your workforce and optimizing your workforce now helps you focus on long term success.
00:01:19:23 - 00:01:43:15
Unknown
So you will come out stronger after a recession. So, Amy, let's start out by asking, do you have any suggestions for companies seeking cost saving opportunities within the workforce? Yeah, I do. In fact, just recently at one of the roundtables I facilitated for Mra. For our h.r. Group, we talked about this exact topic, just, you know, cost savings, you know, ideas.
00:01:43:17 - 00:02:15:06
Unknown
Some of the things that came up in our conversation were first, you know, is get everyone involved. So saving money, having great ideas, you know, challenge all of your employees to participate in this and help the company. And reward them, you know, when they have great ideas for saving money. So get your employees involved. And then next, one of the things that we talked about is the whole idea of scheduling and time, time keeping, because that's kind of the thing that kind of falls off our radar, that can that can cost the money.
00:02:15:07 - 00:02:38:06
Unknown
We don't even know it. You know, for example, there are times in timekeeping where minutes add up to hours in weeks and months and can add up to thousands of dollars. For example, when we have employees that tend to be those that are tardy for work and tardy, you know, fairly often, often we pay those people for those six, seven, 8 minutes that they're late.
00:02:38:08 - 00:02:59:19
Unknown
And then over time, that can add up to 1000 hours, you know, in a year. And if you multiply that by several employees, it can be a significant cost to the company. Other things that come with timekeeping, you know, include looking at things like calls, last minute changes, which then causes overlap in work for people to put in extra time or overtime.
00:02:59:21 - 00:03:24:16
Unknown
So look at reasons why there is changes in schedule, whether it's employees that that are calling in or if it's things that are happening on the process side of things and look at, you know, how you can prevent those types of things. Then there's also optimizing schedules. So if you're a company that has multiple shifts, look at how much overlap you have between employees and shifts.
00:03:24:18 - 00:03:45:09
Unknown
Sometimes it's fairly common to overlap an hour, but you really need to overlap. An hour can reduce it to half an hour, even 15 minutes to get really efficient. Are there other things that we can look at? You know, as you look at ourselves within h.r. You know, a very common call that i get is what happens when we overtime overpay.
00:03:45:09 - 00:04:16:13
Unknown
Employees. And that can happen for various reasons. You know, the wrong data gets plugged into your address and they're paying on the wrong rate or the wrong premium. And the first thing I say is, you know, it's absolutely okay to recoup those funds, but a lot of companies don't realize that they can and that they should. The second piece is, as I would be taking time to really audit your systems to make sure your data is correct so that you can prevent overpayments in the first place.
00:04:16:15 - 00:04:46:23
Unknown
Yes, absolutely. Well, kind of digging deeper and another way to look at is capacity strategies. So how can that help an organization be better prepared with an agile workforce? Well, I think you kind of said it when we kicked it off, But, you know, the first thing that comes to mind when we think of being agile, I think of 2019 and when coronavirus hit, we all had to pivot and find different ways of working and getting things done.
00:04:47:00 - 00:05:25:10
Unknown
And what I would stress is that all companies instill agility into their core values and really bring that to the forefront in all communications and your staff meetings and things and really learn to be an agile workforce. You know, and one way of doing that is I would take your lessons from what you did for COVID, take out that playbook that you had, you know, in notes you took and things that you did and maybe, you know, make that more of a common function quarterly, semiannually, maybe to look at, you know, what did we do and how can we do that again to make sure that we're being agile?
00:05:25:12 - 00:05:52:14
Unknown
What are the the biggest things that come to mind, I think, is, you know, to be agile, you have to be able to remove barriers so people can make changes and make decisions quickly. So look at your processes and your expectations in terms of how we communicate, make decisions and remove those barriers. Then there's other things. You know, one of the things I found is, you know, have your employees think like they're small business owners and then think like they are a business owner.
00:05:52:15 - 00:06:09:03
Unknown
You know, if I own this business, what changes would I like to make or what I think should be made? Because I am close to this type of process and I know it can be done differently and reward them for that kind of thinking. And then to be more agile, I think you also have to be ready for those changes.
00:06:09:03 - 00:06:40:16
Unknown
So think about people that can be cross-trained in different functions so that if you do make a change, they can make that pivot into the different role or function more quickly. Absolutely. Well, you just talked about across true cross training. And when considering cost concerns, it's essential to kind of determine where to invest limited resources. So considering building versus buying your talent, But it's also important to continue to invest in your future, even in those cost conscious times.
00:06:40:18 - 00:07:03:15
Unknown
So what suggestions do you have on ways to think strategically and plan for current and future talent requirements? I think this is so important. You know, if you think about talent, which is our human resources, right, our people, let's make sure that they are currently as productive as they can be in Agile. As I just said, which is one way.
00:07:03:17 - 00:07:26:18
Unknown
But also when you think of current in talent requirements in the future, you know, I think first let's also conserve what we have. We know that when we lose people, you know, in terms of retention, hiring and turnover can be really costly, right? So let's first make sure that we're conserving our people, but then let's invest in them.
00:07:26:20 - 00:07:54:09
Unknown
And one way, you know, is to look into performance. You know, how can we make sure that they are performance optimally? You know, look at maybe some of your pay philosophies in terms of pay for performance instead of a flat increase across the board. Maybe you're incentivizing those people that are upskilling or hired have high potential with the company or great attitudes and really want to work through their discretionary effort to get things done.
00:07:54:11 - 00:08:28:17
Unknown
Another way of looking at your performance and making sure that we're optimizing our talent is like using like a nine buck philosophy or even the top 10% bottom 10% philosophies in terms of looking at excuse me, when you have the people that are in that top right hand box, right, you want to make sure that you're continuing to challenge them and provide them abilities to reach higher levels and to upskill those that are in the battle of ten bucks or in the bottom 10%.
00:08:28:22 - 00:08:50:07
Unknown
You know, let's look at why and figure out, you know, is it a system thing or is it a person thing and what changes should we make to upgrade them so they're no longer in the bottom 10%? And that way, you continually upgrading your bar in terms of achieved achievement. And then lastly, invest in professional development. And, you know, I don't think this has to be a costly thing or even a cost item.
00:08:50:07 - 00:09:16:01
Unknown
I think that, you know, a great way of doing this is to work with people in terms of providing on the job training or even job shadowing, you know, expose them to other people in the company or other functions in the company. You know, a great example to do that is to provide them, you know, an opportunity to sit on a project that may or may not necessarily in their department or their function.
00:09:16:01 - 00:09:50:03
Unknown
So cross functional exposure is a great way to provide development support or how about communication? We've got to talk about communication and economic uncertainty. So any suggestions you have on ensuring that transparent and confident communication and building trust among employees during this time? Well, yeah, you know, and so if you remember, we just talked about this in another podcast in terms of the importance of communications, you know, when it comes to employee relations, you know, if I think of all my years of working with people and coaching h.r.
00:09:50:03 - 00:10:19:21
Unknown
In leaders, you know, when things are going well at a company, it's probably because communications are going well. When things aren't going well at a company, it could be because communications aren't going well. So i think when there's times of uncertainty, i think we we definitely need to amp up our communication with our employees. You know, when there's when there's ambiguity of what's going on in a company or messaging just doesn't seem to be, you know, at the level it should be for employees to understand what's going on.
00:10:19:23 - 00:10:54:05
Unknown
You know, it just makes them anxious. I think they start filling in reasons of their own. They, you know, it's natural for us to think the worst. So I think in terms of communications, I think even bad news that is honest news about what's going on with the company is probably better than no news in this situation. But I think also it has to be, you know, increase in your touchpoints with employees, you know, so not just written communications, but also make sure that, you know, across the board our leaders are managers or h.r.
00:10:54:06 - 00:11:25:09
Unknown
Supervisors are having more frequent even daily interactions with employees. Just so that you're getting about in, you know, really getting the pulse of people and what's going on. Where are they in terms of their level of anxiety and questions that they have, you know, be more personable, ask what's going on and make sure that you're not making assumptions and then make sure that they're not making assumptions either because they have the right information from the company for sure.
00:11:25:14 - 00:11:53:17
Unknown
Like Amy said, she went into communication a little more deeply in an employee relations podcast. So feel free to take a look at their own if you want to learn more tips on that. But as we talk more about talent, do you have any tips to keep the talent you currently have that businesses currently have or any retention strategies you might suggest for an organization to plan for or in a recession?
00:11:53:19 - 00:12:17:02
Unknown
Yeah, I think, you know, almost probably everything I've said so far are all different ways that can work towards retaining employees, you know, building that level of trust and loyalty with employees that makes them want to stay with the company, you know, So, you know, great communication both, you know, from top on down, but also that personal communication with supervisors is really key.
00:12:17:04 - 00:12:40:17
Unknown
I think, you know, recognition in terms of, you know, how well they're doing, their jobs, things that they're achieving, accomplishing simple thank you's. And, you know, I talked about professional development. That certainly is key. You know, for those that, you know, truly do want to be challenged and just showing that confidence, you have employees when you say, hey, you know, I think you certainly have potential for this.
00:12:40:17 - 00:13:01:00
Unknown
Let's try and see if you like it. And then there's other things I think we also have to talk about, which is understanding where employees are at in terms of work life balance, flexibility, benefits needs, because all of our lives are different. You know, world of work has certainly changing in the world we live in is certainly changing.
00:13:01:02 - 00:13:22:24
Unknown
You know, you know, many of us are in that sandwich generation where we're taking care of kids or grandkids and parents or other family members. So there's so much need for, you know, different levels of flexibility at different points in our lives. And I think that can go a long way towards retention of we're a little bit more flexible now about motivation.
00:13:22:24 - 00:13:51:12
Unknown
How do you keep employees going during these uncertain times? Yeah, so, you know, I mentioned ambiguity as I think if if we're ever going to amp up our communication and get out there and be more visible to employees, I think it's key in order to motivate is to really be, you know, upbeat and optimistic. When you're out there on the floor, you know, really leading the charge that we can get through this together.
00:13:51:14 - 00:14:20:00
Unknown
And, you know, and with that, maybe provide ways or encourage them to reach out to their team members to build a cohesive team and really trust that together we can get through these things. And then, you know, part of being upbeat is, you know, celebrating those wins again. So recognizing big wins, little wins, you know, things that can just help people cheer them up and see the maybe the end of the line of the tunnel that, you know, if we if we keep ticking away, we'll get through this.
00:14:20:02 - 00:14:42:09
Unknown
So, you know, along with employee engagement and motivation, it's also important to consider employees well-being and health during challenging times. So how can employers really help in this area? Yeah, I think everything that we we are doing, we should continue doing and again, maybe be a little bit more intentional about it when we know there's some uncertainty going on.
00:14:42:09 - 00:15:07:00
Unknown
So, you know, mental health, health has become a bigger issue, is coming to the forefront. People are more comfortable sharing that, you know, I need help with it, just like I need help with my my physical issues in terms of benefits that are provided. So when you know, when you think of these uncertain times, you know, people's anxiety again is risen, which causes, you know, some stress.
00:15:07:02 - 00:15:28:06
Unknown
So things that we can do to help relieve stress, there's certainly going to be helpful to people and help them to be more productive. It could be little things that we could take, for example, you know, bring in a massage therapist in order to employees can pay 15 or $20 for a massage. We do that at MRA, which is really cool and awesome.
00:15:28:08 - 00:15:53:19
Unknown
But you can also encourage challenges to walk a little bit more, get away from your desk a little bit, you know, like in activities, you know, and breaks or lunch periods, maybe even send out links for mindfulness activities to do at your computer, just to take even a 2 to 3 minute break. Studies have shown that that is helpful to people's stress levels.
00:15:53:21 - 00:16:17:11
Unknown
And then in a sense, this is a time of, you know, inflation and paychecks are a little bit smaller, it seems, you know, maybe even having lunch and learns with employees where they can talk or learn about, you know, budget ideas and financial concerns and maybe share with each other ideas they have for for saving money in these uncertain times.
00:16:17:13 - 00:16:38:05
Unknown
And then the last thing I think of is, you know, if there's one thing a company can do, which is, you know, if people are already a little bit on edge, you know, let's make sure that we're removing any frustrations that we can with any cumbersome policies and procedures that we have as well. Yeah, I mean, those are all great tips.
00:16:38:07 - 00:17:11:05
Unknown
Now we're on to the tough questions, unfortunately. But let's say you've done all you can, but you're still faced with having to reduce your workforce. What are the first steps that you recommend for an organization facing this? Yeah, so the first thing that comes to mind when you talk about employers, you know, they used to be I think when we we were in the midst of thinking about, you know, downsizing, it could be the thinking that, you know what, we can go ahead and do a layoff because I think we can rebound pretty quickly and bring those people back.
00:17:11:07 - 00:17:32:00
Unknown
Well, I don't know if that's true anymore because, you know, talent is so hard to find these days. I think we have to think a lot harder about that mentality in terms of, you know, letting people go. So I think, you know, first really thinking about alternatives and before we go that route, you know, thankfully, you know, MRA has an awesome resource for this.
00:17:32:01 - 00:18:00:01
Unknown
You know, we've developed what we call the layoff toolkit, and it talks about things that you can think about before you actually think about laying off people and some of those ideas are, you know, first looking at your normal attrition. So look at performance reviews, look at people's performances. You know, is there reason, you know, that some people might be naturally falling off or that we might involuntary have them fall off because performance isn't where we need it to be?
00:18:00:03 - 00:18:30:22
Unknown
Then, you know, also look at, you know, in a larger aspect in terms of voluntary tournaments, you know, is that an all in option or providing in a different kind of scheduling maybe for those people that could start transitioning at a company without losing all that tribal knowledge that they have, but still, you know, make it lucrative or worthwhile for them to retire, you know, in terms of finances and benefits, You know, certainly looking at reduced schedules across the company.
00:18:30:24 - 00:18:53:17
Unknown
So can we eliminate 1 to 4, 8 hours, you know, from a weekly schedule or monthly schedule, even, you know, across the board or making it, you know, a rolling schedule in terms of different amounts of time off. Because like I kind of said earlier, you know, that that our here and there costs, you know, a pretty big spectrum could add up to, you know, pretty good cost savings.
00:18:53:19 - 00:19:26:01
Unknown
So look a bit about changing schedules, reducing schedules, and then, you know, if if it's going to be a layoff, maybe it's not everyone at one time, maybe you could think about a rolling layoff. So, you know, layoff portions or trunks of people at a time, bring them back at different times as well, because it might not be as impactful to the company doing it all at one time and then asking for involuntary furloughs or even mandatory furloughs as well for people.
00:19:26:03 - 00:20:02:10
Unknown
And that's all really good things that we can be thinking about before we, you know, have to really be faced with a full, complete downsizing or layoff. As. Susan, any thoughts from you from an outplacement perspective then? Yes, right. Amy had some really good ideas. One of the things that I suggest to employers when they're contemplating a reduction in force and outplacement is to really think broadly, strategically, legally, because all of those things are involved in a reduction in force.
00:20:02:12 - 00:20:33:06
Unknown
I really like h.r. To take an extra look at the employee list and really look at the dynamics of the current makeup of the workforce. You may be surprised. So you have a group of people who are near to retirement than you thought. So like amy said, perhaps voluntary retirement might be a solution. But if you're starting to talk outplacement internally within the organization, then a lot of decisions have already been made.
00:20:33:08 - 00:21:08:17
Unknown
So think broadly and then also think about those employees that you'll be targeting and the size of that group, two or more individuals as a group, and that has different legal consequences than just doing an excellent job of one person. So letting people go is cost effective in the long run. In the short term, it's expensive because you have vacation pay out, you have severance, you have a benefit continuation and you have outplacement costs.
00:21:08:19 - 00:21:43:24
Unknown
So I always like to advise employers to think about that short term. And in the long term, because it is expensive, you need to be coordinating, you know, in terms of how are you going to get that company property shutting off I.T. access as part of a reduction in force. And then with outplacement, I would just encourage Marie members to give me a call and let's talk about the logistics, what type of outplacement you offer and how you go about that will probably be depended upon how many people you're letting go.
00:21:44:01 - 00:22:10:03
Unknown
Does does it make more sense to do group workshops for the individuals? Let's say you're laying off a couple dozen people. If you're laying off maybe 5 to 10, you might want to offer an individual package. Outplacement tends to be offered in monthly increments, and so I'm afraid we offer a one month to month and six month program, as are standard.
00:22:10:05 - 00:22:30:14
Unknown
But we can customize a program to any need or budget. And again, that's why I offer our members to have a discussion with me to really figure out what a good solution would be. You know, when we talk about it and those conversations are point of outplacement, you know, we also have to think about what we call the survivors, right?
00:22:30:16 - 00:22:54:09
Unknown
So how do we take people take care of the people that are still going to be working? Because it's very common that there's this, you know, the syndrome that's called, you know, the survivor effect. They feel guilty that, you know, why why did I get to keep my job when the next person lost their job? So making sure that you're focusing back on those employees, help them through that.
00:22:54:15 - 00:23:12:07
Unknown
You know, it's part of a grief process. One of the things that Susan said that made me realize I didn't mention a very important piece when it comes to I would say I would say is in groups of people is that there is, you know, state and federal laws that most of us are familiar with, called the WARN Act.
00:23:12:09 - 00:23:41:09
Unknown
If you're letting go, you know, a sizable group or are closing down a plant, which is tends to be about 50 people or more, depending on the size of the company, locations of companies. And but we need to consider the one act as well. You. Yeah, absolutely. I was just going to mention you mentioned about the survivors, but not only is it hard telling people they've been laid off, but you also have to worry about maintaining the productivity of the remaining team, like you said.
00:23:41:09 - 00:24:21:04
Unknown
So just kind of asking you to dig a little deeper and what does the outplacement plan really look like and any advice on how to implement it or start one? Yeah, very good question, Vince. Employees are watching, so it's really important. They are an employer. Think about that. So I reduction of force impacts everybody. It's an incredibly stressful situation across the board and those employees that retain their jobs, they want to know how their former coworkers and friends were taken care of.
00:24:21:04 - 00:24:48:24
Unknown
So outplacement is really an important way for an employer to reduce risk. It gives employees who are losing their job a really soft landing, and it also helps an employer protect their brand. And so I think those are important starting points. When an employer is considering outplacement, think of all the good reasons to do it and to have that additional expense.
00:24:48:24 - 00:25:32:00
Unknown
I mean, we share the mutual goal with the former employer and that we want to get the person back to work as quickly as possible. And so an outplacement program is just so valuable in in that regard. And I think one of the important pieces that Susan and her team plays is that if a company does provide outplacement to employees that conversation where they're, you know, immediately handed off to a skilled person and crew transition that can have that that touchpoint with that employee and the employee knows that the service is available to them and that they will have someone that can help them work through their issues and then help them get reemployed again.
00:25:32:02 - 00:26:00:11
Unknown
It's certainly mitigates a lot of emotional activity or rumors that could go on. Oh, yeah, that's an excellent point. Very few employers today require an employee to sign their separation agreement before outplacement can start. And so not all employers do that, but the vast majority do. So that's one of the decisions that need to be made early on with regards to outplacement as as well.
00:26:00:13 - 00:26:30:19
Unknown
The other thing that employers need to be aware of is once you send the person to us, our obligation is really supporting that individual. And in order to build rapport with that person, we have to have a trust and a big part of their trust is them knowing that the program is confidential. And so employers need to realize that we won't be sharing information back to them about their former employee or we've talked about a lot today.
00:26:30:21 - 00:26:53:01
Unknown
You have given great advice today, but do either of you have anything to kind of end with your might drop moment or your last piece of advice that you want to give our listeners today? Well, I'll give you a quick plug for outplacement. I mean, I do think it's critical. It gives a person a stock landing. Employer reduces your risk, it protects your black brand.
00:26:53:01 - 00:27:18:10
Unknown
Again, employees are watching. And so you really want to take good care of these individuals and people who participate in an outplacement program to get back to work more quickly. And they just have a more positive state of being, which I think is really important. And I would just want to go back to my favorite word, which is communication.
00:27:18:12 - 00:27:45:07
Unknown
There's so much we can do to be ready or to avoid situations, which is, you know, there's never enough communication. I don't think I've ever heard of a company over communicating. It's normally, you know, the ladder where our supervisors, managers leadership is in communicating enough. So communicate, communicate and communicate well. Hopefully all of these great ideas will help you be recession ready if and when that comes.
00:27:45:09 - 00:28:04:05
Unknown
So you can prepare your organization for success no matter what comes our way. So I want to thank both of you for being here today and sharing your knowledge with us into our listeners. Don't forget to like, comment and share this episode and take a look at the show notes below. We've got all the resources we need on this topic.
00:28:04:07 - 00:28:26:19
Unknown
We've got Susan and Amy's bio and LinkedIn profiles in Resources on becoming an MRA member. So thank you for tuning in and we will see you next week. And that wraps up our content for this episode. Be sure to reference the show notes where you can sign them to connect. For more podcast updates, check out other MRA episodes on your favorite podcast platform.
00:28:26:19 - 00:28:36:11
Unknown
And as always, make sure to follow MRA’s 30 minutes Thrive so you don't miss out. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next Wednesday to carry on the HR conversation.

29 min
July 12, 2023 Principles of Leadership Excellence: PLUS So Much More!
Description: In today's rapidly evolving work environments, ensuring your leaders are equipped with the necessary skills to drive organizational success is more crucial than ever. Join us as we explore MRA's premier leadership series, PLX PLUS, designed to meet the demands of the modern workplace.
Hosted by MRA's premier PLX instructors, this podcast takes you on a journey through the exciting features and enhancements of the newly updated PLX PLUS program. From essential knowledge and skills for effective people leadership to innovative learning experiences before, during, and after the classroom, we leave no stone unturned.
With PLX PLUS, you'll discover how this comprehensive leadership training goes beyond the traditional approaches. By condensing classroom time to just eight power-packed sessions (alongside the option for additional electives), we prioritize efficiency without compromising the depth and breadth of learning. We're here to empower leaders like never before!
Whether you're an aspiring leader, an HR professional seeking impactful training solutions, or a curious individual interested in the latest trends in leadership development, this podcast is for you. Gain insights from industry thought leaders, explore real-world success stories, and unlock the potential within your organization.
Don't miss out on the opportunity to level up your leadership game and drive positive change in your workplace. Tune in to Principles of Leadership Excellence: PLUS So Much More!, and let's embark on a journey of transformation together.
Resources:
Register for PLX Plus!
Other MRA Learning & Development Opportunities
MRA Membership
About MRA
Let's Connect:
Guest Bio - Kate Walker
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Kate Walker
Guest Bio - Kathy Price
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Kathy Price
Guest Bio - Lois Joseph
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Lois Joseph
Guest Bio - Janet Kloser
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Janet Kloser
Guest Bio - Andy Marris
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Andy Marris
Guest Bio - Cheryl Lucas-DeBerry
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Cheryl Lucas-DeBerry
Guest Bio - Michelle Hyde
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Michelle Hyde
Host Bio - Sophie Boler
Host LinkedIn Profile - Sophie Boler
Transcript:
Transcripts are computer generated -- not 100% accurate word-for-word.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:21:03
Unknown
Hello everybody and welcome to 30 minute Thrive, your go to podcast for anything and everything HR, powered by MRA, the Management Association. Looking to stay on top of the ever changing world of HR? MRA has got you covered. We'll be the first to tell you what's hot and what's not. I'm your host, Sophie Boler, and we are so glad you're here.
00:00:21:04 - 00:00:59:16
Unknown
Now it's time to thrive. All right. Well, hello, everybody, and welcome to this episode of 30 Minute Thrive. I am so excited for this episode today because we're joined by a lot of great individuals from the learning and Development team to talk about some exciting news. That is, MRA has just launched Principles of Leadership Excellence Plus on July 13, to be exact, this new version of MRA's Leadership series really includes the essential knowledge and skills from the 12 day PLX plus plus it features to enhance the learning experience before, during and after time in the classroom.
00:00:59:18 - 00:01:17:21
Unknown
So I don't want to go into too much detail because I'll leave that up to the experts here from the L&D team to give you all that good information. So, Cheryl, do you want to kind of kick us off and give us an overview on what MRA's PLX Plus series is and what the new version really looks like?
00:01:17:23 - 00:01:47:08
Unknown
Yes, absolutely something. What I'd like to do is give you some history about the leadership series overall. So MRA's flagship leadership program, which was formerly called The Principles of Management, began in the 1980s, in the early 1980s. It was designed to assist managers with day to day management of their direct reports, also to work effectively with their managers as well as their internal and external peers.
00:01:47:10 - 00:02:14:11
Unknown
The series consisted of ten full days of classes that focused on key leadership skills that managers would need to know and to practice. Some of those included understanding how sometimes you have to be a manager and sometimes you have to be a leader. And also the other sessions explored effective communication skills how to handle conflict effectively, managing performance expectations and so much more.
00:02:14:13 - 00:02:48:08
Unknown
So here's a quote from one of our principles of management participants. They said, and I quote MRA's Principles of Management series prepared me to deal with differing work styles, communication styles and personalities. It also taught me how to deal with morale problems and to find ways to motivate people throughout our organization. It's great to get theory, but it's application of real practical people skills that makes a great leader.
00:02:48:10 - 00:03:23:17
Unknown
Thanks, MRA. And this comes from Barry, who has a 2009 graduate. So in 2015, MRA decided that the series needed to be enhanced to meet the changing needs of leaders in the 21st century. The name was then changed from principles of management to principles of leadership excellence, also known as. The core tenets of the original series was kept and additional topics were added, such as managing generational differences.
00:03:23:19 - 00:03:58:01
Unknown
New activities were also implemented to enhance learning and to give participants more opportunities to practice the skills in a safer environment. But don't take our word for it. Let's hear from some of the participants themselves who completed the series. One participant says the PLX series is a must have for any leader. Another one says the entire PLX series helps to deal with real life work situations and dealing with being a new leader.
00:03:58:03 - 00:04:29:03
Unknown
I can apply what I have learned every day. Finally, another participant says The PLX series has provided so many tools to use in my role. It has helped me to continue to grow. I really enjoyed the classes and look forward to applying it to my job. The new version of the series is eight full days plus one elective, which could be either a full day of training or two half days.
00:04:29:05 - 00:04:57:10
Unknown
The participants will have various topics to select from and that would be based on their both needs and interests. Another key feature of our new series is the peer Learning Circles. So we don't just drop you. After three months, participants can come to the peer learning circles and then again after six months. So the learning will continue after the initial series has been completed.
00:04:57:12 - 00:05:24:06
Unknown
Thank you, Cheryl, for that history and overview. Very interesting. Kathy, we know that MRA already had a program, so how did the team really determine that it was time for a refresh? Businesses always continue to evolve, and especially coming off the last three years, businesses have had businesses and are the people who make up our businesses have had to deal with more than ever.
00:05:24:08 - 00:06:14:13
Unknown
So if 2015 was eight years ago, so lots has changed in those eight years, but we always want to listen to our members, to our participants, and they were saying several things to us. And as Cheryl said, we added new topics when we went to Principles of Leadership Excellence for Principles of Leadership, Leadership Excellence. Plus we've added additional content around emotional intelligence and around resilience and around diversity, equity and inclusion, around conflict management, all the kinds of things that people are living day to day, not only in their businesses, but in their lives.
00:06:14:15 - 00:06:36:03
Unknown
So we heard loud and clear from our members and our participants what their leaders need now. So, Andy, kind of going off of that, we know there's so many different highlights of the series and we've kind of touched on them briefly, but what are some of the benefits of the new and improved PLX plus that you want to talk about?
00:06:36:05 - 00:07:05:04
Unknown
Well, it's all about being sticky and so making what is learned applicable has always been a target of ours. But I think we've got some additional things that are going to make it even better. And one of the things I'm really excited about is we now have a 45 minute manager overview and what that is, is the manager of the participants who are also either aspiring or current managers are going to be there to guide them along the way, be that support and really check in how they're doing beforehand.
00:07:05:10 - 00:07:27:22
Unknown
Look at what are they going to be going to training on and then afterwards following up, what are you going to apply, How are you going to make that part of your daily life? And so I think that's really exciting. There are only 45 minutes there live online, but we're getting those managers to come. They find out what to expect, and then we even introduce them to another thing I'm really excited about, and that is our PLX Plus coaching guide.
00:07:27:24 - 00:07:43:18
Unknown
What they're going to get with that is a guide that actually gives them all the questions to ask their participants. And so they don't have to come up with these things on their own. We've made it as easy and as quick as possible so they get the coaching experience without having to take a lot of time out of their day.
00:07:43:20 - 00:08:13:18
Unknown
And so we're really excited about that. Janet, Looks like you want to add something as well. Yeah, I just wanted to say if the leader does not have the ability, we know the leaders impact on the the participant is the highest, but if they don't have the ability to take time out for that, the participant could also identify a mentor that could come to that manager overview and be their key person to help them and use that coaching guide to hold them accountable and help them as they go through the program.
00:08:13:20 - 00:08:40:02
Unknown
It's a great idea if you have an accountability partner of a sponsor, someone though, that's going to hold your feet to the fire a little bit and say, I'm going to apply what I'm learning because that's really what it's all about. We know you're going to have a lot of fun. We call ourselves agitators. It's it's a it's a really good time when you come, but it really isn't worth what we do very much if we don't have people applying what they learn so that their companies get results and thrive and that that's really what we're all about.
00:08:40:04 - 00:09:09:24
Unknown
And so that's another thing I'm really excited about. In addition to that, we have a new 360. Traditionally we've had a 360 where they're finding out what their manager, what their peers, what their direct reports think of how they're doing in a litany of different areas. And we've got an enhanced one. It's called the Star 360 Leadership Survey, and that will be even more so tied to the content and they'll really be able to go, okay, this is something that people told me I need to work on or This is something that I think I can make a superpower because I know I'm good at it.
00:09:09:24 - 00:09:30:20
Unknown
People are confirming that. And why not take it to an even higher level? And so I think that's something that is going to be really great as well. And then it's just also a great time to be able to have what Sheryl mentioned, these these peer learning circles. It's a chance to come back with the people in your cohort.
00:09:30:22 - 00:09:51:14
Unknown
Talk about what you've learned six months and three months and actually six months after the the training is over, after they graduate, continue the networking and really dive into what have you been applying, how's it been working for you? And then even looking for maybe even additional help to get those results from there? People Yeah, absolutely. Thank you, Andy.
00:09:51:16 - 00:10:16:14
Unknown
And I just have to add to a huge differentiator. And in MRA's PLX program compared to other leadership programs is our instructors. So the folks that we have on here today and they all really have the real world experience, a variety of credentials and have held numerous positions, including executive roles. I mean, some are consultants, coaches, entrepreneurs and some even have their own companies.
00:10:16:14 - 00:10:45:09
Unknown
So I'm going to turn it to our instructors now. This is a nine day program. Can you talk about what's included in these nine days? And we'll start with module one. So Janet, do you want to kind of explain some of the core modules or core initiatives in this module? One? Absolutely. So if you Thank you. So the first module is building trust and relationships and we know that relationships are the basis for the foundation for all of our success.
00:10:45:09 - 00:11:14:16
Unknown
So we will continue to explore the differences between managing and leading. And when do you wear this hat versus when do you wear that hat so that you can be successful for all situations? We also dive into effective uses of both influential and positional power. We look at some different best practices for workplace interactions and relationships going up the ladder, down the ladder and with your peers that you don't have any positional power over.
00:11:14:16 - 00:11:35:22
Unknown
So what are the things that we need to do to be highly successful with all of those? And they'll also be assessing their own relationships and figuring out what's a game plan, What am I missing? What do I need to do? We will dive into emotional intelligence, as Kathy said earlier, and also look at building trust. So it's a little bit of an outline.
00:11:35:22 - 00:12:03:15
Unknown
So in the new PLX plus version, we've done a few things to really maximize the time in the learning. So we've taken this series introduction out of the first day. It's all stuff that's necessary and people want to know. So they're kind of like, What am I in for? But they do it on demand as blended learning outside before they start the series so that we can protect that in classroom time for the most meaningful interactions with other people while we're exploring the content.
00:12:03:21 - 00:12:28:15
Unknown
But they can come confident that I know what I'm in for, right? We've also increased our activities and our discussions around emotional intelligence. So this is a thread throughout the whole series and it has been because it's everything that we do as a leader, but we are going to get more specific and dive in there. We've also expanded our exploration into trust.
00:12:28:17 - 00:12:53:08
Unknown
Previously we had a trust model based really on the 1 to 1 interactions and building trust that way. And now we're introducing a second model that we've been given permission to share, and it's all about building team trust. So we're very excited about it includes things like growing connections and fostering safety in a team environment and creating a meaningful future for your team members.
00:12:53:08 - 00:13:26:00
Unknown
A lot of things that are really top of mind and hot buttons in today's world. So we're very excited about module one and back to you. Sophie Awesome. Thank you. Janet. I'm going to pass it right along to Michelle, who's going to talk about module two to right. Excellent. So after we build this foundation of our leadership series discussing trust and relationships, we're going to move on to module two, day one, where we focus on communicating clearly for results, and we're going to do a deep dive into the ways that we communicate.
00:13:26:01 - 00:14:00:10
Unknown
And that includes not just our words but nonverbal aspects of communication, things like tone, things like body language. We're going to spend some time on active listening, asking the right questions, and then the best way to deliver feedback, which is such an important part of being a leader. We have also kept one of our signature elements of pledge, which is the dis communication skills assessment, and this valuable tool gives us insight into our communication style preferences as well as how to most effectively communicate with those that we work with.
00:14:00:12 - 00:14:24:00
Unknown
We have found the risk assessment to be a real game changer for the folks who participate in politics. And we're thrilled to move this up to the second day of the series. We will have two outside of class e-learning, similar to what Janet was just talking about that you're going to watch on your own and we'll discuss. As a group in class, one learning is going to focus on the modes of communication.
00:14:24:02 - 00:14:46:22
Unknown
So diving into all the different modes we use like email, phone videos, meetings, instant messaging, things like that. And one is going to focus on characteristics of different generations in today's workplace to and then because module two is so chock full of information, we give you a second day to the module and that's going to focus on navigating conflicts in the workplace.
00:14:46:24 - 00:15:10:10
Unknown
And the main thing that's changing about this module and plus is where it falls in the order of classes. So in pure class, this module has been moved closer to the communication module because navigating conflict is so intertwined with communication. And in this day of the module we're going to provide you with a six step process to manage and resolve conflict respectfully.
00:15:10:12 - 00:15:46:03
Unknown
And we're going to talk about the different ways we respond to conflict and when each response is appropriate. Data, as Andy mentioned, is also the day we're going to share out the results from those Starr 360 assessments that you your direct reports, your peers and your leadership will all fill out. And Andy mentioned that there's going to be some enhancements within that 360 report and one of the things we're really excited about is the ability for respondents to add comments throughout that just to give you sort of a more robust picture of your strengths and opportunities as well.
00:15:46:05 - 00:16:06:24
Unknown
Put simply, module two is powerhouse. We're really excited for it. Oh yeah, I'm excited for it. Thank you, Michelle. Andy, you want to take module three? Well, I agree that module two is a powerhouse, but those that know me know that I have always thought the module three is my favorite. And so thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about that one.
00:16:07:01 - 00:16:35:16
Unknown
And the late Peter Drucker once said Culture Eats Strategy for lunch. The baseball rule books this thick right? And yet there's unwritten rules everywhere, including in baseball, that aren't in the rulebook. And people need to know that. So we will work on how do you understand your culture? How do you how do you debunk some of the motivational myths that people believe very strongly and we're really pretty sure don't work all that well anymore and instead work within your culture and then also look for ways to engage your people.
00:16:35:16 - 00:16:54:19
Unknown
We've got a great new enhanced assessment, nine motivators under three major categories that people are going to get into, be able to not have to test the win. What what are you motivated by? And of course, if you ask them, they'll say, show me the money. Well, it gives you eight other things that people could be motivated by.
00:16:54:21 - 00:17:16:11
Unknown
And so we've got a new nine motivation model, and we're also going to still continue to look at praise and consequences and where those are appropriate to get results. And so the thing that I'm really most excited about is really looking at how your own company culture is different than maybe others and how to help people fit within them.
00:17:16:11 - 00:17:39:07
Unknown
We're going to look at four different companies that are models of different types of cultures and really help people understand there's more than just yours. And as I said, we're going to have this nine this nine motivator model is based on the research of Dan Pink in the three areas that he thinks we're all motivated by, but then broken up into different categories.
00:17:39:08 - 00:17:59:20
Unknown
We've got the information from Yale and Harvard Gallup Organization, amongst others, and I think it's just a great way to find out what people are really motivated by, really exciting, really cutting edge stuff. Probably the most so of we've got principles, right? Some of the stuff is thousands of years old, and yet human motivation is a moving target and we're trying to hit the bullseye.
00:17:59:22 - 00:18:24:15
Unknown
Kathy do you want to add something? What I would add is that as the leader of the instructor team, I use that model with them to know what motivates them. And you would think, Oh, they're all instructors there. They would all be motivated by the same thing. Every single one of them is different. So I like to use the tools that we put out there for folks.
00:18:24:15 - 00:18:49:20
Unknown
I would say this one in particular has huge value for you and your teams. Thank you. Kathy and Andy, how about moving on to module four? Cheryl All right, so module four is all about performance management. And so we've given folks a model of the steps that they need to take in order to have and do performance management.
00:18:49:24 - 00:19:22:24
Unknown
The right way. So looking at the job descriptions and understanding what is it that people are doing, how managers need to take a look at and observe and then do some tracking performance behaviors and also looking at both positive as well as opportunities for development. Because sometimes managers will just look at the the negative things. And so we want to give a more balanced type of opportunity for them to look at it both and then give them some tools to do that.
00:19:23:01 - 00:19:46:23
Unknown
And one of the tools that we will provide in this session is about smart goals and having them identify the smart goals. And here we go using our blended learning again where they will do something prior to coming to class, watch a webinar around smart goals and it gives them all the components and then they will come to class and be prepared to share that.
00:19:47:00 - 00:20:10:09
Unknown
And then we move in to one of the key things that we all love about the MRA series is the diagnostic direction, and you learn what your leadership styles are. So participants will learn what their leadership styles are, but also more importantly, what do they need to do to adjust their leadership style. So it's not a one size fits all?
00:20:10:12 - 00:20:31:10
Unknown
What do they need to adjust their leadership style for the people on their team? And then also looking at what is the aptitude of their direct reports? So what is that people already know? And then also looking at the appeal kind of where where do they want to go? How excited are they? Are they about doing certain activities?
00:20:31:15 - 00:20:56:01
Unknown
Then we move into talking about delegation, which many managers don't like to do. Now I can do a better myself. I can do it all myself. Yes, you can. But do you really want to? And more importantly, do you really need to? So giving them some really good tools about delegation and determining who needs to be delegated to and and how and who should not be delegated to.
00:20:56:06 - 00:21:23:10
Unknown
And then we talk about document ation in real estate. We say location, location, location and leadership. We talk about document, document, document, really, really key and giving them some some tools and resources that they can help to be able to track that documentation. And then finally, we talk about discipline management just don't like to discipline. So we go through what are the key steps in discipline.
00:21:23:10 - 00:21:47:16
Unknown
And finally, rounding out module four with performance reviews, giving them the tools and resources, then we talk about performance reviews should just be that a review. So you want to spend more time on coming up with the goals for the report scoring going forward and not spending as much time on what they did throughout the year because the key is regular feedback.
00:21:47:16 - 00:22:18:04
Unknown
You talk to them all year, so spend more time about being what are they going to do going forward. So that's model for and we're excited to offer it. All right. Well, that sounds like a whole lot of fun. Cheryl, Lois, did you have anything to add about coaching in the module for coaching such a key essential part of it for us to be able to put what we learn into practice and be able to make it hit the ground and be realistic.
00:22:18:06 - 00:22:41:20
Unknown
So it's so important that we listen to that, that portion of it and practice it. Because I always say once I learned how to coach, I lowered my stress level quite a bit. Absolutely. Thanks, Lois. Janet, do you want to give an overview of what module five looks like? Sure. So module five is creating collaboration and effective teams.
00:22:41:22 - 00:23:10:06
Unknown
So in module five, we look at the difference between groups and teams and different types of teams that we really put a big stress on the value of teams, right? Having diversity of thought, diversity of perspectives, getting people to weigh in so that we can make better decisions, create innovation and engage the people that we're interacting with as well as take care of the people that we serve, regardless of what product or service a company has.
00:23:10:08 - 00:23:32:06
Unknown
So in this module, they're going to get some guidelines and practice determining how far can we allow the team to get involved without the risk being too high when we are making decisions so that we drive engagement. And again get the best possible results for any decision that we need to be making. We look at the stages of team development.
00:23:32:12 - 00:24:09:03
Unknown
We also have an MRA team effectiveness model and participants use it with their own team so they can go back and assess what's the status of my team and what do I need to do differently. So they can plan for success. In the previous refresh, we had a lot of senior managers out in the community voice that we needed to add something, so we did about helping departmental managers understand their responsibility to align the departmental goals, activities, actions and purpose with that of the company vision, mission, goals and strategy.
00:24:09:03 - 00:24:33:21
Unknown
And so we did this and we've we created a template for that leader to create a team purpose statement and it's become quite popular. So we continue to use that as they learn ways to talk about aligning all of their action and work and integrating goals and vision and mission together. So that's the module in general, things that are kind of new and different.
00:24:33:21 - 00:24:59:07
Unknown
We put another little spin on consensus building, so when we learn these consensus building activities, we have a new tool to introduce, to share with people as they do a fun practice. For that, we've modified some of the activities around the stages of team development to help aid, engagement and retention of that knowledge. We have some case studies and we have practice scenarios throughout the whole series.
00:24:59:12 - 00:25:23:16
Unknown
In module five, we have case studies based on manufacturing and office work and we've added a nonprofit case study to that. So we're excited to be able to speak more to those audiences and give people more of an opportunity when we are doing practice situations to choose what do they best relate to, whether it's hybrid work or office work or whatever it might be.
00:25:23:16 - 00:25:52:09
Unknown
So trying to be very cognizant of that. We've also moved our mission and vision work along with that ever popular purpose statement into this module is to be in a different place. But we thought that combining this with all of the rest of the team activities really makes it a power packed day with a lot of tools, tips and techniques that people can walk away regardless of what type of team they have in person remote, and they'll just have a lot of tools to use.
00:25:52:09 - 00:26:27:01
Unknown
So it's very exciting and they'll get lots of practice. As always. Yeah, sounds like a great module. Thank you, Janet. It's want to kind of bring us home today with module six. Absolutely. So module six is leading and thriving through change and we purposely end with change as our last module because all of those skills that all my colleagues have talked about, you need those to be able to be an effective change agent to as a, as a leader, you need to be able to communicate, understand other people's personal kitties, all that emotional intelligence.
00:26:27:03 - 00:26:49:15
Unknown
But what I'm excited about for the new module is that we are going to look at the individual and human components of it. We're going to look at the team components of it, and then some technical tools and skills in the in the session, because we all know for change to be successful, each individual has to make input and make the change.
00:26:49:17 - 00:27:20:22
Unknown
Otherwise it gets stale and just stalls out. So, you know, we've all been through change before and as change is happening, we see a lot of people running around, very busy making new processes, making those new systems, even training for those new behaviors. But sometimes what I think we forget about when all that stuff is going on is that what's happening to each person, Each person individually is going through emotional reactions, internal transitions regarding the change.
00:27:21:03 - 00:27:47:13
Unknown
And we need our leaders to be aware of that. Not only so they can understand what they're going through, but also their team and their organization to help that. So we talk quite a bit about the emotional stages that the individuals go through during change and actually to bring it to life. We do a quick activity pretty early on in the session and some of them experience some of those emotional changes right then and there.
00:27:47:18 - 00:28:19:21
Unknown
And we use that throughout the whole session to say, See, we were just doing this for fun and practice and look at how emotional some people got and look at how laid back other people were about it. So by making those leaders aware of these emotions, first of all, we're doing one of the things that Kathy talked about implementing better emotional intelligence in our leaders, because they're recognizing for themselves, for their team, and then we're also equipping them with skills of how they can help their teams through each of these emotional stages.
00:28:19:23 - 00:28:51:19
Unknown
And not to mention there's also three transitional stages that individual goes through. Boy, a lot of stuff going on. And we're again helping them understand what those are talking about, the characteristics of each of those of those phases and how they can help the people as they go through each other. How can they say goodbye to that all the way, figure out how the new way is going to be, and then start being proactive about about their new beginning as they're going forward.
00:28:51:21 - 00:29:25:18
Unknown
But we don't stop there because then we go into some technical tools, we go into the cats, a step change model and prophesies and car models. And you may be thinking, why would you give them two different models? Well, both of these models give a holistic approach to the change itself and how they engage with the workforce during the change process and by giving them to models that are just a little bit different and complement each other, it helps them determine what's best for my company or what's best for this change right now that we're going through.
00:29:25:20 - 00:29:48:07
Unknown
And not only do we talk about these models, but we have them practice it through a case study. It just says Jan. And the same we have case studies throughout through all these topics. We're equipping the leaders with skills and tools of how to make an impact, to help with the change and to be a huge part of it is communication, communicating openly, often being transparent.
00:29:48:09 - 00:30:19:14
Unknown
That means giving them the good, the bad and the ugly. All at one time. Because recognizing the difficulties of change and showing appreciation for it is huge. Kathy also talked about resiliency. We spend quite a bit of time on resiliency because it's a topic that we need to get better at. And as we unders Dan to resiliency, we're talking about how can you as an individual become more resilient and what are you doing as a leader?
00:30:19:17 - 00:31:00:19
Unknown
Are you helping your team be more resilient? Are you helping them be more resilient? Are you defeating them because your culture of the organization can build our defeat resiliency? You know, Sophie, because change is constant and it will continue to happen at a faster pace. I think we're really providing tools so we can thrive through the change. I was saying I love, I love that thrives in the title, not just because this podcast is called 30 Minute Drive, but thank you all for highlighting each enhanced module of X Plus.
00:31:00:21 - 00:31:26:22
Unknown
So we kind of gave that overview of what the series looks like. But now I'm curious who should be attending PLX Plus and Sylvia, take that one. So leaders that have some experience of being a people managers are the ones that we would really like to see in PLX. Plus they can have, you know, one or two years experience all the way up to several years of experience.
00:31:27:03 - 00:31:59:06
Unknown
And their reason that it's such a large range is because of the depth and practice that we go into each of the topics. And so the participants back away with more experience under their belt. I do think Sophie, with the right mentors that high Potentials and brand new leaders can also benefit. One of the best things about the PLX cohort is that we do have that range of experience.
00:31:59:12 - 00:32:27:01
Unknown
We have the range of industries, we have the range of job titles. It's a real a lot of companies want to send their folks to the public programs rather than bring them on site to their company because they want those different perspectives. Now, if they want to bring it to their company to enhance the team building activities, we can do that as well here at Emory.
00:32:27:03 - 00:32:55:05
Unknown
So just kind of as we wrap up here, let's do a quick little rapid fire. I want to know what what are you most excited about with this launch? And maybe give me one or two words that kind of describes the series and your excitement so anyone can kind of speak out at this time. Interactive engagement, impactful, let's say applicability, manager involvement, real world opportunity.
00:32:55:11 - 00:33:22:22
Unknown
Well, we are also joined by a recent PLX graduate, Sarah Benjamin. So, Sarah, I'm curious to hear your firsthand experience. How has PLX really impacted you and what are some of your key takeaways from the series? I feel like PLX had a pretty significant impact on me. I don't think I fully grasp the skills needed to be an effective leader before I took the series.
00:33:22:24 - 00:33:57:06
Unknown
Now that I've taken the series, I now know that leadership is an endless journey and you never really stop building on your leadership skills. The series has provided me with invaluable insights and practical tools to become a more effective leader. If I could give future participants one piece of advice it is application is key. You really have to hold yourself accountable and get out there every day and actively practice the concepts you learned in class very well.
00:33:57:06 - 00:34:16:07
Unknown
Let's end with the most important question here, and that is how can you register for PLX Plus Kate I'll give I'll give this one to you. Thanks, Sophie. We are so excited to share that we've got a hand registration system to improve your experience. We're going to make it even easier for you. You're going to love the new system.
00:34:16:07 - 00:34:32:23
Unknown
It's going to be like a shopping cart experience. How you buy other things now, you'll be able to purchase our classes and training just as you do other things. So you'll just go to mranet.org and click on the learning tab and I'll walk you through what you need to do when you select your location or if you're going to be online.
00:34:33:00 - 00:34:47:03
Unknown
One thing to keep in mind if you aren't a member, please take a look at the cost difference because you could probably saved almost as much of the membership by joining MRA, so we'd be happy to talk to you about that too. That might be worth it for you to consider, and we'd love to have you as a member.
00:34:47:03 - 00:35:10:16
Unknown
If you're not, you have any questions about registering or if you'd like to have us come on to your company's site, provide the PLX for your team, we can do that as well. So there are a lot of different options that we provide and we're happy to help you. So thank you. Thank you, Kate. Well, I want to thank this whole group for being on 30 minute Thrive today and sharing this exciting update with our listeners and members.
00:35:10:16 - 00:35:30:18
Unknown
And I just want to say congrats to to this team for all the hard work you've put into creating a fantastic schedule and series. And it's definitely a successful and beneficial program. So kudos to you all, to our listeners. Just before we go, I would just urge you to comment what you're most excited about with this new version of PLX.
00:35:30:24 - 00:35:51:10
Unknown
Don't forget to share the episode and consider joining MRA. If you are a member already. Like Kate said, we've got all the resources of the show notes below, including the resources to get you registered for PLX Plus, so take a look at those. Otherwise, thanks again group and we will see you next week. And that wraps up our content for this episode.
00:35:51:12 - 00:36:09:18
Unknown
Be sure to reference the show notes where you can sign them to connect for more podcast updates, check out other MRA episodes on your favorite podcast platform. And as always, make sure to follow MRA’s 30 minute thrive so you don't miss out. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next Wednesday to carry on the HR conversation.

37 min
July 05, 2023 Transitioning From Operational to Strategic HR
Description:
Join us in this thought-provoking episode as we delve into the world of HR and explore the transformative journey from an operational HR role to a strategic HR function. Discover the pivotal shift from transactional tasks to forward-thinking initiatives that drive organizational success. Our expert guests share their valuable insights on building strategic HR capabilities, fostering leadership buy-in, leveraging data analytics for informed decision-making, and cultivating a culture of continuous improvement. Whether you're an HR professional or a business leader seeking to unlock the full potential of your HR team, this episode offers practical guidance for navigating this critical transformation.
Resources:
Strategic Workforce Planning Guide
MRA Membership
About MRA
Let's Connect:
Guest Bio - Rebecca Jacobs
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Rebecca Jacobs
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Katie Coulson
Host Bio - Sophie Boler
Host LinkedIn Profile - Sophie Boler
Transcript:
Transcripts are computer generated -- not 100% accurate word-for-word.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:21:03
Unknown
Hello everybody and welcome to 30 minute Thrive, your go to podcast for anything and everything HR, powered by MRA, the Management Association. Looking to stay on top of the ever changing world of HR? MRA has got you covered. We'll be the first to tell you what's hot and what's not. I'm your host, Sophie Boler, and we are so glad you're here.
00:00:21:04 - 00:00:51:03
Unknown
Now it's time to thrive. Well, hello, everybody, and welcome to this episode of 30 minute Thrive. Kind of got a special episode today because we're joined with two awesome HR Professionals from our Ohio division. Katie Coulson is our HR director at MRA company. Kwest group has been there for a little over seven years, but she has over 17 years of overall HR experience and is really passionate about the work she does and is coming with a lot of great advice and knowledge today.
00:00:51:05 - 00:01:23:18
Unknown
In our second guest is Rebecca Jacobs. She's general counsel and director at MRA, Ohio. And with 25 plus years of employment law experience, she really ensures that our members are well supported in their HR and talent development needs. So I'm really excited to talk about the shift from operational to strategic HR With you both today. But before we get into that, rebecca, i don't know if you want to talk a little bit about why we brought katie onto the podcast today and maybe a little bit about how you two have worked together in the past.
00:01:23:20 - 00:01:48:02
Unknown
Sure, sure. In Columbus, I am also the facilitator for our in-person Columbus roundtable, and Katie has been a very active member of our roundtables for quite some time. And I realized as we meeting every month and people are getting to know each other and talking through issues and questions, just the wealth of knowledge and experience that she has.
00:01:48:04 - 00:02:15:15
Unknown
And then just getting a chance to talk to her and see what what she has offered with all of our roundtable attendees. Absolutely. Well, thank you again for joining us. Well, let's dive right into the first question, and that's really talk about what is the benefit of transitioning from operational HR to strategic. And Katie, you can kind of start us off with this one.
00:02:15:17 - 00:02:44:09
Unknown
Yeah. So I really think that this happened for me during COVID with Kwest Group, and it really was taking the organization and leading them in a time of uncertainty through that time. And making sure that they were successful throughout it. So that would be like the number one benefit for me. And I think that for all organizations, this is a huge benefit because it really puts HR at the forefront and it doesn't leave people questioning, well, what do we have an HR department for?
00:02:44:11 - 00:03:14:02
Unknown
Absolutely. Rebecca, do you have anything? Oh, absolutely. The probably the best benefit is the fact that the senior leaders do see HR as being that strategic business partner. The the thing that we would like to avoid in HR is for the business leaders to be off making strategy, thinking that payroll is just there. I'm sorry. That is there just to run payroll and make sure people get their their health insurance and land company parties once in a while.
00:03:14:02 - 00:03:37:08
Unknown
But to actually have HR involved in there so that they're not making decisions that then are difficult for HR to provision and support. Absolutely. Well, kind of moving on to some of the key challenges, what are some of the key challenges that HR departments face when trying to shift from operational to strategic roles? And how do you overcome that?
00:03:37:10 - 00:04:00:05
Unknown
I think one of the biggest things, honestly, is getting stuck in the day to day. You're sorting through all of these weeds and you're just down at that level where you're so embedded into what is going on day to day, just so that the business is operating, rather than focusing on that long term planning and that climate for the, you know, on the business for the strategies to be successful.
00:04:00:05 - 00:04:25:19
Unknown
So that's I think that's a key challenge on my end. Another challenge that i've heard from talking to multiple HR Professionals, especially in the ohio region is is getting their senior leadership to accept that they need to be involved in strategic decisions and moving them past that mindset of oh is in this box and this these are the things they're going to take care of.
00:04:25:19 - 00:04:56:00
Unknown
So that is another huge challenge is the mindset of the other leaders. Yeah, absolutely. Everybody's got to be on board. I'm part. So how can the HR professionals and the HR leaders align their goals and objectives with the overall strategic direction of the organization? Either one of you can jump in on this one. I think Rebecca was saying it really well earlier, you know, making sure HR has that seat at the table for those strategic initiatives, because it's not about the party planning.
00:04:56:00 - 00:05:17:06
Unknown
It's not just about the payroll. It's not just about sorting through those weeds and being able to have that seat at the table to make sure that the goals that they are focused on, again, not just the day to day, but those long team, long term aligned with the mission and the values and the overall company vision going forward.
00:05:17:08 - 00:05:36:14
Unknown
And a key aspect of this, too, is just making sure that you're taking the time. And I know Katie is a great example of this, too, just taking the time to talk to all of the business leaders and one on one talking to them. What are your challenges? What are your opportunities? Where do you want to go? What are some things that you're thinking about doing in the future?
00:05:36:16 - 00:06:03:22
Unknown
And really not only demonstrating that you're that good business partner, but also getting to know them well enough so that you can see, okay, I see that they have this strategy where they want to enter in this particular geographic region. Let's talk about how HR can help them with recruiting in that area of thinking about who can who is here, who can work remote in that area, and really coming alongside them and understanding what they need.
00:06:04:00 - 00:06:29:12
Unknown
And, Katie, you've had firsthand experience with this, but what are some of the best practices that you would recommend for HR professionals to develop and implement strategic initiatives that really drive that organizational success? Yeah. So I've found that throughout the years in the different organizations I've worked for, that there's like a six step process for me that really works well.
00:06:29:14 - 00:06:53:06
Unknown
So the first thing obviously is going through that planning phase, determining who is going to own what in that organization's success in those strategic initiatives. And then obviously setting and writing down that long term clear strategy or strategies. Obviously, if we don't write it down, it's not it's not going to be enforced. And then delegating some of that work, remember, you've got to get out of the weeds.
00:06:53:06 - 00:07:19:23
Unknown
So who is And if you're on each our department of one, get a buddy in some other functional area to help you out, to delegate some of that work. And then obviously executing the strategies, monitoring the progress and performance scorecards are amazing, which we can talk about in a few minutes. But I absolutely love scorecards and then make changes to those plans where necessary and then obviously rinse and repeat.
00:07:20:01 - 00:07:46:10
Unknown
Best practices can list or do anything to add, and I cannot add anything to the list of numbered lists. Love it. Well, awesome. Katie, I know you said you can talk a little bit more about this, but how can the HR professionals effectively leverage that data and analytics to make informed decisions and contribute strategically to the organization? Yes.
00:07:46:10 - 00:08:17:14
Unknown
So I briefly talked about scorecards, and I like to joke with my team personally. And they, you know, we have good fun with this, but I am a people person, not a numbers person. So data and analytics is not my favorite thing, but having a scorecard and, you know, an HR Scorecard can be something as simple as, you know, if you're training, trying to build up your workforce and train them, you know, having that metric to say, okay, this is the percentage of workforce that is going to be trained in 2023 and then we want to see an improvement to that in 2024.
00:08:17:14 - 00:08:42:19
Unknown
Again, getting with the strategic other functional areas is what's going to help drive that scorecard and what you put on it. But training is definitely at the forefront for us now. So that's why I mentioned that one. And then another one is obviously understanding that the people within your functional area and then obviously the other functional area leaders that those people match with the values and the vision of the organization.
00:08:42:19 - 00:09:14:14
Unknown
So having that data into a scorecard is what I call it, is extremely helpful and helps make the decisions so that the the organization continues to strategically move forward. Rebecca, any other advice on this one? No, but can I ask you a question, follow up question on that? Oh, absolutely. Okay. So can you talk a little bit about how you're able to influence those hiring decisions to make sure that you're bringing in those people who are going to be supporting the mission and values of the organization?
00:09:14:16 - 00:09:46:03
Unknown
So I have an amazing HR generalist. She actually started as an intern. She's been with our company for three years now, and I kind of trained her on the processes that I used and she tweaked them a little bit. But the entire time we have focused on a pre interview process. So this is where someone in HR makes that connection with the resumé, looks it over and says, okay, this looks good, or maybe they're a referral from someone which we require like a statement from the person referring them saying why they would be a good fit at the organization.
00:09:46:05 - 00:10:11:05
Unknown
But in the Prescreen interview, if they're not a referral, that's one of the questions we focus on. Like why do you feel you would be a good fit for our company? Because that's that's the most important question that we can ask and then we can get into the skills. Again, skills can be taught. There are there are some personal values that aren't able to be taught as easily as a skill could be taught.
00:10:11:05 - 00:10:37:07
Unknown
So we we really like to focus on that pre interview to make sure that we're bringing the right talent in the organization and then putting them in front of the hiring manager. Great, great follow up question. Rebecca, thank you. Do either of you have any innovative approaches or tools that HR Departments can really adopt to transform that operational strategic functions?
00:10:37:09 - 00:11:01:00
Unknown
Well, something that comes up a lot in our roundtable is talking about relying on the different features of your system to be able to automate as much as you can and kind of pull some things out of the out of the pull yourself out of the weeds a little bit. Like how much of your documentation completion and storage and retention can you do on your areas?
00:11:01:02 - 00:11:22:14
Unknown
Can you leverage the performance management program that you have in there as well? So we talk a lot about the, you know, what we can do with our systems to to get ourselves kind of out of the weeds. I don't know how innovative that is to to rely heavily on interest because it seems like it's something that people have been doing for a really, really long time.
00:11:22:14 - 00:11:40:03
Unknown
But I think that a lot of times we end up with these systems where we've only scratched the surface of the functionality that we have there. And every so often it's good to take a step back and say, Well, what are we missing? What what additional functionality that can save time for us. Are we not digging into them?
00:11:40:05 - 00:12:06:07
Unknown
I would agree with Rebecca on that, and I think that technology can be innovative. So I think that that's a good point. I know this is a slippery slope, but kind of talking about like AI and chat, there are certain things that you can use, for example, job descriptions like getting help in writing your job descriptions, and then obviously having them reviewed by legal counsel to make sure that there's nothing funny in there.
00:12:06:09 - 00:12:30:21
Unknown
I think Rebecca would agree with you on that one. And then the other thing which I I'm part of another round table because we're an employee owned company, actually, thanks to Rebecca. I help co champion this other one. But one of the things that came up was four benefits. Like people spend a lot of time, like just filling out papers, entering stuff into systems.
00:12:30:23 - 00:12:55:10
Unknown
So again, going back to that technology piece, we have a a great broker that has a great system that automates about 80% of the work for us. So being able to have that even offloaded, that can help you go from operational to strategic. You're not spending as much time again in the weeds filling out the paperwork and you can focus on other important areas of the business.
00:12:55:12 - 00:13:16:19
Unknown
And you've also just talked about kind of the skills and the transformation is skills you need from operational to succeed. So how can the HR Professionals really enhance their business acumen and understanding of the industry to provide that strategic insight and value to the company? Well, i'm going to say this first and foremost, getting involved in those HR groups.
00:13:16:19 - 00:13:45:19
Unknown
Mra. Any human resources group that you can find and there's a lot of them out there, you just got to find the ones that fit. You. Obviously very involved with this group and some others that are industry relative for us. Another big thing is attending employment law updates. Whoever your legal counsel is, they often provide free webinars, free in-person seminars so that you can get those law updates that you need to again push you forward and getting that strategic insight.
00:13:45:19 - 00:14:15:23
Unknown
So maybe there's something that's pending legally on the federal level or state level. You can be prepared for that before it even actually goes into effect. And then the last one that I absolutely love is making those colleague friends on LinkedIn to expand your knowledge network. None of us know everything but having more resources and people in your network helps expand that knowledge within the group and you can reach out and ask people, Hey, has anyone experienced this again?
00:14:16:01 - 00:14:44:21
Unknown
Saving time and helping provide some insights as to how well it went or what they might have done differently and just helping again, push more into the strategic rather than the operational have screwed advice for anything that on their own. Yeah. Yeah. I would also suggest looking through the catalog of the MRA training opportunities and seeing what's out there in terms of business acumen, financial training for HR
00:14:44:21 - 00:15:10:07
Unknown
Professionals. Yeah. When I was when i was was where I'm looking for kind of drafting and dreaming up like a strategic track for it for in our class. That was a big piece of it was the financial understanding, the business acumen, and in addition to other things like how how do you select your third party vendors and things like that.
00:15:10:07 - 00:15:36:21
Unknown
So definitely take advantage of the training that's out there. Yeah, I'm glad you brought up training. So I was going to ask how HR Professionals could develop the necessary skills to not only that acumen. So good advice. So what are the potential risks and pitfalls that HR Departments should be aware of when they're undergoing the transformation to operational two strategic roles.
00:15:36:23 - 00:16:00:13
Unknown
I think one of the things is making sure that we're analyzing the right data. You know, what really is impacting our organization long term and having that seat at the table is going to help them be aware of that. You know what the strategic focus is and not, you know, analyzing the wrong data. And then again, the other big thing that we've talked a lot about is, you know, not delegating and getting stuck in that day to day.
00:16:00:13 - 00:16:22:19
Unknown
There are is sometimes that's one of the biggest struggles that we face when we move from operational to strategic, is saying, okay, well, I don't know if this person is doing this right or I don't know or I want to still have my hand in this. And, you know, I it's it's those types of things. And not being able to delegate in your right back in the weeds and back in the operational.
00:16:22:21 - 00:16:41:16
Unknown
And I would add to that that communication is absolutely key. We never want to be in a situation where we're in scope creep with our strategy or someone's making an assumption that this is why we're going after this, this goal and they're moving in that direction. But we're not continually talking with each other to make sure we're on the same page.
00:16:41:16 - 00:17:05:11
Unknown
And then also from the aspect of who's handling the operational tasks, just making sure that you're communicating with those individuals who have been delegating that to make sure that they feel supported and that they're able to accomplish the things they need to for sure. Okay. When we were kind of chatting before, you mentioned, you know, was kind of build up your HR from the ground up and within your department of one.
00:17:05:11 - 00:17:32:12
Unknown
So that kind of poses the question for those who also operate as an HR department of one, what can that single person do to think and act more strategically, not just operationally? No. That might be kind of difficult to balance. Both. Yeah. So we're all HR Superheroes, right? And starting in a role. The company i'm with now, they had 86 employees when i started, so it wasn't HR
00:17:32:12 - 00:17:59:07
Unknown
Department of one, but it was also building up the HR Department and the function and what HR Really look like. So it was kind of really neat to start out in a role like that, helping develop a really nice handbook. Policies, procedures, trainings and kind of moving from there. So laying that foundation like rebecca had asked about earlier, you know, getting people in the door, hiring the right people.
00:17:59:09 - 00:18:26:08
Unknown
It was putting a foundation of the right interviewing process. And that whole onboarding experience in place to make sure as we were growing the company that we were doing the right things from the start to build it up with a firm foundation. So as an HR Professional one, when I was doing that, I won't lie. I mean, I felt like some days I was I was working a lot more hours than other days, but I saw the light at the end of the tunnel.
00:18:26:08 - 00:18:49:10
Unknown
Like as we were growing, I knew the expectation. I knew what the strategic development and growth, what was expected and what they wanted to see happen. So I knew when I put these foundations in place where I was going to be a few years from now with that growth in mind. So making sure that whatever those tools were that were developed in the foundation that was developed could be passed on to the HR
00:18:49:10 - 00:19:15:11
Unknown
Generalist, the Workplace Wellness Coordinator. But in the meantime, when I didn't have those really leveraging like our brokers and the payroll team, the other functional areas of the business to make sure that there was still that balance where I could handle some of the day to day, but also have the time to focus on strategic and then finding time in between there to pop out webinars, to learn a few things.
00:19:15:13 - 00:19:38:05
Unknown
Yeah, I'm glad you gave advice on balancing both operational and strategic, because even though we're talking about the transformation to strategic, it doesn't mean those operational tasks ever go away. So, Rebecca, anything to add on this one before we're down here? All right. Well, as we kind of wrap up here and run out of time, how can the HR
00:19:38:05 - 00:20:03:03
Unknown
Professionals collaborate with other departments in the organization and cross-functional teams to align those HR Strategies with the broader organizational objectives. So for me, i think one of the things that I thought about with this was, you know, having that strategic seat at the table and understanding, know, revenue goals, you know, the things that make the business successful and the role that HR
00:20:03:03 - 00:20:26:00
Unknown
Plays in helping achieve those those big goals. And it can't be just HR Working in a silo. You have to work with the other functional departments to make sure that you're able to meet that that big goal. So, i mean, for me personally, it's working with our operations team to ensure that we have the right people in the right seats.
00:20:26:05 - 00:20:51:20
Unknown
It's working with our accounting team to make sure that we're staying on budget and focusing on the right numbers, analyzing the right data. It's working with the president and the CEO to to ensure that we're still on track for these big goals. And if we're not where we need to be having the conversations to to shift that focus back.
00:20:51:20 - 00:21:12:02
Unknown
I need Mike drop moments here. No, I just I just think that, you know, Katie is a wealth of knowledge and heard her story and not only how she got there, but also the things she's been able to achieve in that strategic role. I mean, you have a whole nother podcast is talking about the amazing initiatives that she has spearheaded.
00:21:12:02 - 00:21:36:23
Unknown
And every time we get together for roundtable, we're like, Well, tell us more. What's new? Absolutely. Well, I want to thank you both for being on 30 Minute Thrive podcast today and sharing your expertise on transforming HR from operational to strategic and to our listeners. If you like the track today, comment your favorite tip you learn from today and make sure to share the episode.
00:21:37:01 - 00:21:58:15
Unknown
And don't forget, consider joining MRA if you are not a member already. We have all the resources you need in the show Notes below, including Katie and Rebecca's bio and LinkedIn profile. If you'd like to get in touch with them and expand your network. Otherwise, thank you for tuning in today and thank you both again for the great info and we'll see you next week.
00:21:58:17 - 00:22:19:19
Unknown
And that wraps up our content for this episode. Be sure to reference the show notes where you can sign up to connect for more podcast updates. Check out other MRA episodes on your favorite podcast platform. And as always, make sure to follow MRA’s 30 minutes Thrive so you don't miss out. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next Wednesday to carry on the HR conversation.

23 min
June 28, 2023 The Engagement Equation: Finding the Right Balance (Part 2)
Description: Welcome back to "The Engagement Equation: Finding the Right Balance." In this highly anticipated second segment, we delve deeper into employee engagement and explore practical tools managers and employees can utilize to solve the engagement equation.
Join us as we sit down with Kristie Haase, an esteemed expert in Employee Engagement, as she returns to share invaluable insights and strategies for fostering engagement in the workplace. Through captivating discussions and real-life examples, Kristie guides managers and employees on a transformative journey toward finding the right balance.
Resources:
Employee Engagement
MRA Membership
About MRA
Let's Connect:
Guest Bio - Kriste Haase
Guest LinkedIn Bio - Kristie Haase
Host Bio - Sophie Boler
Host LinkedIn Profile - Sophie Boler
Transcript:
Transcripts are computer generated -- not 100% accurate word-for-word.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:21:03
Unknown
Hello everybody and welcome to 30 minute Thrive, your go to podcast for anything and everything HR, powered by MRA, the Management Association. Looking to stay on top of the ever changing world of HR? MRA has got you covered. We'll be the first to tell you what's hot and what's not. I'm your host, Sophie Boler, and we are so glad you're here.
00:00:21:04 - 00:00:57:03
Unknown
Now it's time to thrive. Hello, everybody, and welcome to this episode. So in an earlier very popular podcast, we talked about employee engagement, the employee engagement equation with our Employee Engagement Survey director Kristi Haase in. At the end of that podcast, I asked Kristie for one piece of advice for employers to find the right balance of engagement. So Kristie recommended that leaders start at the beginning of the process by defining aspects, passions and goals of positions in order to measure employee performance effectively and be a better coach.
00:00:57:05 - 00:01:21:18
Unknown
So we kind of want to expand on employee engagement a bit more today and go deeper into this important topic by focusing on what truly matters most to employees. So we're going to look at two key factors that drive engagement for employees in discuss employers and employees actions for engagement. So just to recap a little bit, Kristie, what does employee engagement really mean?
00:01:21:20 - 00:01:48:20
Unknown
Well, Sophie, first of all, thanks for having me back. Absolutely. Employee engagement, as we talked about in the first podcast, is the extent to which employees are invested in the organization. And when I say invested, I really mean to what degree do they identify with the organization they're in, see themselves as part of the organization and therefore part of the success.
00:01:48:22 - 00:02:17:23
Unknown
So when the organization does well or the department does well, hey, you know that, you know, I contributed to that. And likewise, when it is not going well, they too feel the pain. So they're really a part of the organization for sure. So based on what employee engagement means, why is this important to an organization? It's important for both the employee and the employer, for the organization.
00:02:17:23 - 00:02:48:05
Unknown
And highly engaged employees are the innovators, the contributors for change. They solve problems. They move your organization forward. So they have a lot of momentum. And even in roles that may not require a lot of innovation, engaged employees are great at executing the mission. So if you have people that are really plugged in, they're performing well for you.
00:02:48:07 - 00:03:14:22
Unknown
For employees, as we talked about last time, it's also important employee engagement is because it if you're working for years on end, if you're engaged, you tend to find your work valuable and you feel valued doing so. So it's a a healthier way to work as opposed to really just dreading going to work. Absolutely. So now we've talked about the what in the why.
00:03:15:00 - 00:03:55:00
Unknown
So let's look at the how now. So how do you measure engagement? We talked about this a lot last time. And the the easiest way for an organization overall is to administer a survey. And we talked a little bit about it's important to really create your definition of engagement and design questions that are measuring that particular definition. So, for example, MRA, we talk about the degree to which are invested, but if an organization really considers engagement as being happy, then they're going to need to have a survey that is measuring that.
00:03:55:01 - 00:04:28:18
Unknown
The other ways, though, besides a survey to measure engagement is to watch and listen to people. And that is really the role of a leader to observe how their employees are performing. Do they seem interested? Are they passionate? Do they have high expectations? You know, we show our levels of engagement day to day. So the those are the qualitative measures, but they are just as important or even more important than the quantitative.
00:04:28:19 - 00:04:54:05
Unknown
Yeah, I like that last point on watching your employees when they don't know they're being watched because then they're acting their most natural selves and it's not a pre I don't know my pre thought about survey that they're answering the questions for they're just acting how they would at work. Yeah best time to observe them. It's very true and I know that might sound a little creepy, but it's really not.
00:04:54:05 - 00:05:17:06
Unknown
Maybe I shouldn't have said what? No, it's. It's perfect. I mean, that is one of the most rewarding things for me is when you're watching people working and you're kind of listening, you know, and we're in an open office environment. So not to make this even more creepy, but I listen to it all the time, right? You can hear when people are really working together to solve a problem.
00:05:17:06 - 00:05:42:21
Unknown
I just I was just in my own team and I observed them huddled around together, working on a problem for a survey. They were trying to resolve a scenario and they were really passionate about it. Yeah, And to me that is so rewarding to see because you can tell they're all in. Yeah. As opposed to that same problem could exist.
00:05:42:21 - 00:06:07:02
Unknown
If they didn't care, they'd just be like, You know, why? Just let's just write this and move on. So it's a great point that you made because you really can observe engagement when people don't know. Yeah. And they're just in their day. Exactly. Yeah, that was a great example. So in our last podcast, you talked about how the employer must help engage the employee by sharing the mission and purpose of their role.
00:06:07:04 - 00:06:46:11
Unknown
And so are there other key factors that significantly impact employee engagement besides that? Yes, staying with that leader and employee relationship. A key component is coaching along the way. So the leader, once they have established what the mission is and the importance of the role to give feedback on what the employee is doing well, to give feedback on what they are not doing well, and to say, here's the alternative, you know, as if if this isn't if you're not performing well here, this is what I'd like to see you do differently.
00:06:46:17 - 00:07:17:09
Unknown
So that holistic feedback, giving that frequently is important. It doesn't have to be a formal thing, but just conversations here and there are key to making an employee feel visible and valued. Absolutely. So you also shared some research with us while we were prepping for the episode. That was very interesting. So that is that 75% of employees don't want to quit, but they also do not see a path forward with their current employer.
00:07:17:11 - 00:07:44:12
Unknown
So any comments on this or anything employers can do to kind of change that somehow? Yes, please. I mean, I have to be honest, that's one of the reasons why I really wanted to come back is when I read that article, I was just I was kind of heartbroken. 75% of employee of employees don't want to leave. And, you know, just to to be accurate here.
00:07:44:13 - 00:08:13:02
Unknown
Only 48% of employees see a path for advancement in their company. So when we think about employee engagement and one of the things that is important for people to stay with the company and to stay engaged in the company is the ability to grow in that company, whether it's within the current job that they have to be able to pick up new skills to learn new things for that role.
00:08:13:04 - 00:08:48:05
Unknown
Or maybe employees desire to move into different roles in an organization, whether it's across or up. That ability to grow is what really keeps us where we are. And so 48% of respondents to that particular survey said, I don't see it. And so that lets me know right away, You know, people are now looking at their alternatives. Meanwhile, at MRA, are engagement surveys that we administer for our members the desire to develop to have those development opportunities.
00:08:48:05 - 00:09:17:18
Unknown
That continues over the past ten years to be one of the top requests. So it's not going away, right? It's just really stark to see that your employees are looking. If they can't see an opportunity to grow, they are already looking around for their alternatives, kind of going off of that. The research also suggests another stat that two thirds of employees believe their performance process is a waste of time.
00:09:17:20 - 00:09:49:07
Unknown
So while employers are using this performance process as a measure, the employers no longer really trust that process. So what can employers do to address this concern? Oh, this is also such a painful topic. I've been in H.R. for a long time now, and as as an H.R. manager and an H.R. business partner, that was a top pain point even before I came to me in my current role.
00:09:49:09 - 00:10:15:00
Unknown
The performance management process has is always a controversial process. And if there's one thing that I think we could do better in any organization that we're in is to focus less on the form, what the the form that you have to complete needs or the process of getting it submitted and focused more on the content and the conversation.
00:10:15:05 - 00:10:50:01
Unknown
And to prepare that discussion. I think that when we talked about 48% don't see a way forward in the company and 75% of those who responded don't want to leave their company. I think one of the missing communication pieces is that as leaders, we are not preparing for the conversation with the employee. We're not thinking about the role that they're in and asking really good questions of what do you need in this role?
00:10:50:03 - 00:11:14:06
Unknown
Where do you see the role going next? And I think that if we really thought about what we're asking an employee to do in a position and had a conversation around that, just a conversation, you could document it later. I think a lot of that would would make the the content more real and more useful for both employee and employer.
00:11:14:07 - 00:11:40:23
Unknown
Yeah, that's a great point. I feel like a lot of employees sometimes are just caught up and kind of get this work she done and I got to submit my career progress report. But a lot of people don't have just those sit down conversations that that's what really matters the most. Aren't filling out the form correctly. Or like you said, I never thought about this until I started administering engagement surveys.
00:11:40:23 - 00:12:09:18
Unknown
But, you know, when I when I was an H.R. manager, I thought everybody dreaded the process in terms of getting the feedback. One of the surprising things for me is over the past ten years, there will be times it doesn't happen in every organizations survey, but there are frequent times when employees will say, Can I please have a performance review?
00:12:09:20 - 00:12:34:08
Unknown
And I'm shocked by that. All people really want them. But yes, they do, because they are interested in the company. They signed on. They found the work interesting to some degree. They want to do a good job. And when they're not getting a performance conversation, when they're not talking with their leader, it makes them feel less visible and less important.
00:12:34:08 - 00:13:02:16
Unknown
And so it's a very refreshing point of view for me to see that people really do want to have those conversations. So how the conversation worry about the form after kind of on that note, what what is it that employees really want to what what matters most to them? Well, I know we are complicated as human beings, and so I can't say that there is one thing.
00:13:02:16 - 00:13:28:06
Unknown
But I would say when it comes to working, provided that the pay and benefits are sufficient, you know, we all would like more sit more, pay more benefits. But if it's enough, if we're if we're making enough and if the culture is good, then I think the next thing for most of us as employees is to feel like that we are making a difference.
00:13:28:08 - 00:13:51:02
Unknown
And so if if we as employees are not getting that, because if I think about our first conversation around this, we talked about the employer and the employee side of the equation. If if you're an employee and you feel like you are not getting the feedback that you need or you don't understand your role, I would want you to ask, ask for feedback.
00:13:51:02 - 00:14:15:16
Unknown
Don't wait. But for the employer's side, I really would want you to lead that discussion. Ideally, this is sort of like a dance. The leader leads, but in the absence of that, I do want the employee to speak up and get an understanding of what's the purpose of the role, how am I doing and where can I go next.
00:14:15:18 - 00:14:41:11
Unknown
So kind of looking at the employer side, then how can they help guide employees through the development process? We talked about this a little bit at the end of the last podcast, but we didn't really flesh it out. I mentioned then that a leader needs to understand how or well, first they need to understand what the positions are that are reporting it to them.
00:14:41:11 - 00:15:07:14
Unknown
What's the purpose of those roles? What do they do? So the leader doesn't need to be competent in doing them. It would be great if they have had some experience, but to really be strategic about okay, for the next 12 months for this particular title that I'm leading, this is what I'm going to need. So they they need to then be able to say, Oh, here are the skills that are going to be required.
00:15:07:16 - 00:15:42:18
Unknown
How are my and how are my direct reports performing relative to what is needed? What do I need to give them? So to really think about the architecture of the organization that they're managing and then evaluate the talent, what they see from their direct reports, and also asking what do you think you need in the role? Because a lot of times as a leader, you might think that a person is performing really well, but from their perspective, they may find really don't have the skill to do this.
00:15:42:18 - 00:16:08:20
Unknown
Or if I had this skill, if I knew how to do this, I could save so much time. It's a good point. And so those types of conversations, you know, how are you feeling in this role? What do you think you need? What would you like to learn? Yeah, What do you think could be improved? You're asking the employee to give their input and then the two of you can set your your performance goals and development goals for the upcoming year.
00:16:08:20 - 00:16:35:14
Unknown
And it's a much more collaborative conversation. That's great advice. So wrapping up here, unfortunately, we mentioned this in our last episode, but engagement falls on both the employer in the employee. So what can or should the employee do here as well to increase their engagement pursue? If I could think of one word for the employer side, it's intentional.
00:16:35:16 - 00:17:07:12
Unknown
For the employee, it's pursue. Remember that there was some reason that landed you in this particular organization that you're in and in this particular position that you're in, and you are important in that role. So I think a lot of times individuals don't realize the impact they have on an organization. And I would want each employee to pursue getting what they need in order to be successful in their role.
00:17:07:12 - 00:17:34:04
Unknown
So pursue great ending. Kristie. Thank you all. Thank you again for being on the podcast today and sharing your expertise again on employee engagement. It's very popular topic, so we're glad you could be here again. But to our listeners, if you liked our chat and topic today, I would encourage you to share this episode. Like Common, give it a review and consider joining MRA if you aren't a member already.
00:17:34:06 - 00:17:53:02
Unknown
We have all the resources you need in the show notes below and we also have Kirstie's LinkedIn profile and bio. If you'd like to get in touch with her. The Rise. Thanks for tuning into it again and thank you Kristie for being on the podcast. My pleasure. And that wraps up our content for this episode. Be sure to reference the show notes where you can sign them to connect.
00:17:53:02 - 00:18:08:05
Unknown
For more podcast updates, check out other MRA episodes on your favorite podcast platform and as always, make sure to follow MRA’s 30 minutes Thrive, so you don't miss out. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next Wednesday to carry on the HR conversation.

19 min
June 21, 2023 Executive Insights: June Talent Report
Description: In this episode, we’ll explore the June edition of MRA's monthly Talent Report: Employee Engagement and Assessments.
We’ll hear from Jim Morgan, Vice President of Workforce Strategies, on best practices regarding employee engagement, uncover C-Suite priorities and top creative HR strategies, learn how to improve employee retention, and more!
Resources:
Talent Report+ Webinar Series
MRA Membership
About MRA
Let's Connect:
Guest Bio - Jim Morgan
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Jim Morgan
Host Bio - Sophie Boler
Host LinkedIn Profile - Sophie Boler
Transcript:
Transcripts are computer generated -- not 100% accurate word-for-word.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:21:03
Unknown
Hello everybody and welcome to 30 minute Thrive, your go to podcast for anything and everything HR, powered by MRA, the Management Association. Looking to stay on top of the ever changing world of HR? MRA has got you covered. We'll be the first to tell you what's hot and what's not. I'm your host, Sophie Boler, and we are so glad you're here.
00:00:21:04 - 00:00:55:23
Unknown
Now it's time to thrive. Hello, everybody, and welcome to this episode of 30 Minute Thrive. We're excited to go over this month's talent report with Jim Morgan, vice president of Workforce Strategies. As we kind of go into what you've been seeing talent wise for June. So just as a reminder, if you aren't familiar with the monthly report, Jim Morgan gives an up to the minute review on what's going on in the world of business with an emphasis on talent, which is based on input from CEOs, CFOs and HR leaders from MRA's 3000 plus member companies.
00:00:56:01 - 00:01:21:20
Unknown
So thanks for coming on the podcast again, Jim. Glad to be here. Well, this month it looks like you're focusing on employee engagement. So why did you choose this topic for you? You know, we've talked in the past on the Talent Report about, you know, last couple of years were attraction, attraction, attraction and everybody spinning. And now people are starting to take a look at retention and how do we hang on to the people we've got.
00:01:21:20 - 00:01:43:12
Unknown
So we're not spending quite as much. And so employee engagement is just a huge part of that. And, you know, one of the things that we do here at MRA- to do employee engagement surveys and do employee engagement strategies, because I mean, right now companies are really trying to get a handle on to what extent are their employees invested in the organization.
00:01:43:14 - 00:02:04:10
Unknown
How do we how do we get them engaged? How do we get them aligned with the mission and vision of the organization? How do they know that what they're doing truly contributes to what it is? The organization as a whole is going to do? And really just trying to figure out, you know, how do we make sure they know their contributions are valued?
00:02:04:12 - 00:02:28:23
Unknown
And that all sounds very oh, of course, you know, it's value. You know, we want to have you here, but, you know, if you're a couple layers removed from the top of the pyramid here, they can okay, I'm just down here and I'm running the marketing department. What do I have to do with the other things? It's really trying to make sure that everybody understand what you did here today makes a difference in everything that we're we're trying to do to accomplish.
00:02:29:01 - 00:03:04:04
Unknown
So I think part of it is just trying to figure that out and then, you know, really trying to look at those employees that are having an organized national impact that are not just in my little corner doing my own little thing, but I can see how if I keep doing this and add this to it, it has even a bigger impact, you know, on the organization and really some of those employees that are going the extra mile, that that usually is a pretty good sign of engagement that, you know, we asked Sophie to do a and she went and did A, B, C and D and engaged employees that you want me to do
00:03:04:04 - 00:03:23:05
Unknown
A, I'll do it when you add those other things on. And that's usually a pretty good indicator that you've got somebody that is good, is engaged and you really want to keep an eye on and those are the people you want to retain. And so how do we put something in place then? You know, we talked about emerging leader programs and things, you know, a week ago or were a month ago.
00:03:23:05 - 00:03:44:00
Unknown
And it really does take that to say, okay, so if he's an overachiever, let's make sure, you know, Sophie wants to stay with us so everybody thinks you're the greatest person ever because you're my example for everything. So I know I was going to say, gee, it's just an honor. I know you have Kristie Haase joining you, our employee engagement survey director.
00:03:44:00 - 00:04:15:08
Unknown
And she was just on the podcast, too. And she's got some great insight. So, yeah, Kristie is really good at what she does. I mean, she really understands and has helped a lot of companies. Absolutely. Well, let's talk about what's happening in the recruiting and retention world right now. So, Jim, what's what's new here? A couple of things that, you know, I've heard over the course of the last month, you know, people are talking a lot about perfect attendance for employees and trying to hang on to them.
00:04:15:10 - 00:04:43:02
Unknown
And, you know, some folks may or may not know, but if you reward someone for perfect attendance, that might get into some salary and wage related issues that, you know, you may want to talk to your legal counsel about, but it affects their income. And so companies are now taking a look at you know, maybe what we should be doing is offering paid time off for perfect attendance, because in essence, those people are there every single day in one.
00:04:43:02 - 00:05:01:08
Unknown
The PTO might mean more to them and two, it gets them away from some of those wage related issues. So companies now are looking at, you know, if you have perfect attendance for a quarter, you you earn 2 hours or you earn 4 hours. And so if you do that all year long, you can earn an extra day or two of paid time off.
00:05:01:08 - 00:05:26:23
Unknown
So try to use that perfect attendance as a motivator by providing paid time off is is a new one for us, an interesting one and kind of the negative side, talking to some people somehow we were talking about what their recruiters are seeing and companies are starting to see folks say, oh, you know, it says on your resume that you grade that you graduated from UW Lacrosse.
00:05:26:23 - 00:05:54:12
Unknown
Yeah, yeah, I did these. We called there and they don't have a record of that. Oh, I'll send you a copy of my diploma. And candidates are photoshopping diplomas, putting their name on it and sending it off to people. So I think employers are getting very smart about checking and double checking. I think it's pretty safe to say that if the registrar doesn't think you graduated, that's probably the person that you're going to go to.
00:05:54:12 - 00:06:12:18
Unknown
And because you sent me a Photoshopped picture of a diploma, that's probably not going to do it for me. So points for creativity, but I'm not sure you're going to get away with that. I was going to say, if they're going that far to get the job, yeah, I think I would just go back and take the six more credits and actually get the diploma.
00:06:12:18 - 00:06:40:12
Unknown
I think if anything else that's going on, yeah, we've talked in the past about, you know, companies that were rewarding people for if you were fired, someone that they hired, you would get a bonus or whatever it might be. And we had an interesting come another one from a company that said, you know, we're now rewarding people for just giving us a qualified candidate, even if we never interview them and we never hire them.
00:06:40:14 - 00:07:08:09
Unknown
We're just trying to increase that funnel of people whose names we have should we ever need them. And so they're now rewarding. I think it was with gift cards, someone who I just write, Hey, I know Sophie Boler. She's really good at marketing and social media. Just want to throw it out there. And even if they're now looking for a social media expert or whatever it might be right now, but they look at their resume and they say this would be a qualified person if we were ever looking.
00:07:08:11 - 00:07:39:04
Unknown
They'll reward them just for that, just so they've got names in the hopper. So that's sort of going a little bit farther than we than we have before. And then lastly, you know, there's been some surveys that have come out now just on employee engagement. And this is going to be a mixed message talent report. But the Conference Board had said something out that, you know, work life balance, satisfaction is up, workload satisfaction is better than what's been performance review is better.
00:07:39:06 - 00:08:02:06
Unknown
So they're getting a lot of feedback from employees, basically saying, you know, things aren't quite so bad. You know, I think, you know, we're doing okay here and it's hard to read yet whether or not we've been through so much in the last three years that I don't know if they'll ever be normal again or they'll love or be like the dust has settled and now we're back to even.
00:08:02:08 - 00:08:24:08
Unknown
And it might just be that some employees are starting to settle back in to say, All right, either I moved in, this is where I'm going to be now. And so I'm more content or I didn't go, but people took care of me and so I'm more content. So the engagement statistics from the Conference Board, at least have a little bit better, a little bit more positive in terms of employees outlook.
00:08:24:10 - 00:08:49:10
Unknown
I'm going to contradict that in about 5 minutes. So, you know, I feel like an economist, the economy might go up, might go down. One of those two things is probably going to happen. So but there is some positive news out there. So another topic I'd like to dive into is thinking section. You talked a lot about training and change management, so can you expand a little on that?
00:08:49:12 - 00:09:19:09
Unknown
Yeah, you know, the change management thing with everything that's been going on, remote work, new resources, new technology, we've started, disrupted everything and companies are always talking about, boy, we really need to prepare people because we're about to move or we really need to prepare people because the shock is about to hit the organization. But the shock that's about to come ends up overriding the needs.
00:09:19:10 - 00:09:43:09
Unknown
Okay. We got to we got to give everybody some change management skills so that they're ready to go. And so one of the companies that we talked to said, you know, we have now made it part of our managers and hiring managers job to have conversations about change management with their employees at their one on ones. So they change management training at least took place at the higher levels.
00:09:43:09 - 00:10:06:05
Unknown
But their job now is to say, look, we may not have time to send 200 people through change management, but here are the skill set. So we want you to be talking about your employees, about how people adjust to change differently, how people prepare for change, some terminology and nomenclature about what change management might look like. But they've almost taken it to a one on one stage.
00:10:06:05 - 00:10:31:12
Unknown
It sounds like this is an important skill set for you. Here are some resources for you, but if we're not going to have time to get everybody through our typical four or eight hour training session, we're at least going to expose everybody to some of the training that is necessary for for change management. So it was just a different way of approaching it and trying to make sure at least everybody had had a little bit of a flavor anyway of what's available up there.
00:10:31:14 - 00:10:56:06
Unknown
Yeah, that's a great example. Anything else you're seeing here? Well, the other thing, this will be sort of the I guess this is still part of the good news part. But on the retention side, you'll survey by a dive that was talking about, again, how companies are trying to in essence double down on let's identify what are the roadblocks and problems for people.
00:10:56:06 - 00:11:21:23
Unknown
Let's identify, you know what, I just started those stones in their shoes that maybe we can get some of those things out of the way to really better understand what's causing some of the strife in their employees or what. Maybe there's just some little things that we're this close to making them really happy, but we're going to really start trying to get some of those things out of the way that if this is what the stickler is, we can change the coffee in the coffee machine.
00:11:21:23 - 00:11:42:12
Unknown
We can do this type of flexibility, we can have healthier snacks, just some of the little things that might be irritants. But now we're trying to really adjust those and get them out of the way for people. All for kind of keeping that positive vibe here in the from the field section. You mentioned that American workers are more content than ever.
00:11:42:12 - 00:12:00:21
Unknown
According to a recent survey from 2023. So why is that? You know, I guess I think I'm going to go back to what I just said a couple of minutes ago, is that there was so much turmoil, turmoil and so much change and so many people realizing I can make four bucks more an hour, six bucks more an hour.
00:12:00:23 - 00:12:21:23
Unknown
I'm in demand right now. I can get a signing bonus if I go someplace else. All of those things are very attractive and I think people went and did them because there was obvious personal benefit. But that's a little bit of turmoil in your life too, that all of a sudden you uprooted yourself. Maybe you had to move, maybe you've got different hours, you got to meet all new people at the office.
00:12:22:01 - 00:12:50:03
Unknown
And as good as it sounded and as great as the money was, you now have to figure out a whole bunch of things. And that all happened a year and a half ago. And so, again, I think we might be back to people are now settling in again like, okay, I've been here. I'm a little bit happier with my pay maybe now because I moved or I went to a working office, whether it was in-person or remote, that better served me.
00:12:50:05 - 00:13:08:22
Unknown
And so I made a decision to go somewhere that met my work life balance, that met my needs and demands. And I think you're starting to see that now as people are starting to report out on here's what's going on, here's what we're seeing. And now there are just a little bit happier about some of the things that are happening.
00:13:09:00 - 00:13:36:16
Unknown
Yeah, it's all good stuff. Yeah, there's the good stuff. So there's my there's my contradiction of what's happening out there. Right. So how about C-suite level, what our leaders doing now and what should they really be aware of right now? There's a couple of things going on. One of them that was sort of interesting is, you know, in a lot of cases, companies are using their own employees as trainers and which is a wonderful thing.
00:13:36:16 - 00:13:57:04
Unknown
It's complimentary, you know, and we may come to you and say, Hey, Sophie, can you put on just basic training on social media for some of our people that are engaged, or can you do a little advanced training for some of our people that are engaged? And while I'm sure that would that's flattering to you to say, oh, people recognize that I can be training and teaching on these things.
00:13:57:06 - 00:14:34:06
Unknown
I also have my day job and now I've got to start to prepare for that. And so people are being picked because of their subject matter expertise to go train others on some of the things that are going on. And companies are now rewarding that, saying, look, you know, you're making blank dollars an hour or we're going to give you an incentive if you're an hourly person to say, we'll upgrade when you're doing preparation and training because we know it's above and beyond for you, or we'll provide you a bonus to do this one time, prepare, execute, measure your success.
00:14:34:06 - 00:15:00:22
Unknown
And so they're realizing that that's not everybody can trade. And so if you've got a subject matter expert who can train, you know, let's begin to reward them for some of that. You're actually we're seeing things now on the economic uncertainty, you know, continuing to sort of swirl about. I don't think anybody's in panic mode still. It's like it's always three months away and it's been three months away now for a year.
00:15:01:00 - 00:15:29:06
Unknown
But it's causing companies to start with some of the, you know, what ifs. If something happens, if all of a sudden sales dropped, if we can't get raw material, if we have to cut back, what's the playbook look like? Like, let's think through this when we have time to think through it so that if we actually do have to execute it, it's sort of like, you know, we all did disaster recovery plans a while back where we thought, boy, we better be prepared for this.
00:15:29:08 - 00:15:48:10
Unknown
We've all put cybersecurity plans in place now because we think, boy, we better be ready for this. The same things happening now with just what if we have to cut back or we have to adjust and, you know, reduce our expenses, whatever it might be, They're started putting in the what if playbook so that they're they're prepared for it.
00:15:48:12 - 00:16:21:03
Unknown
And the last thing that we're hearing a lot about is sort of this environmental, social and governance issues that are going on because of the European Union's corporate sustainability anti reporting directive. And that's a whole bunch of words or letters around words. But it's on CRT, those radar because the European Union has set these rules around environmental, social and governance issues that have expectations around, you know, what are your emissions, what's your social contract, how are you running your organization?
00:16:21:05 - 00:16:45:22
Unknown
And even though it's not an American requirement, if your mother ship is in Europe or you are a supplier to a market to a European company, they're now looking down the supply chain and saying, okay, well, we're being judged on this and we're supposed to be judging our suppliers on this. So we now have some questions for you around your environmental, social and governance issues.
00:16:45:22 - 00:17:10:08
Unknown
And can you report back to us on this? And so companies are now you're starting to see it pop up on websites. They're starting to review some of the things that they're doing to make sure that they have data to back up their environmental footprint or whatever they might be doing to reduce emissions. So it's putting a little bit more pressure on companies to be telling your story, to be recording what they're doing.
00:17:10:10 - 00:17:32:22
Unknown
So seeing a little bit of more of that and that's becoming, I don't want to say a headache for people, but it is another piece of information that they have to in essence begin to record. And you don't see what's happening now on some of the earlier strategies you mentioned for under succession planning, but any other creative strategies you've been seeing here?
00:17:33:00 - 00:18:01:17
Unknown
The succession planning is it's sort of omnipresent now. Everybody's talking about it. Everybody knows what should be going on. I think I talked a month ago about there seems to be a little conflict growing between some of the people who are looking at maybe demographics, a whole bunch of other things, saying, you know, we're going to lose 75% of our executive committee in the next five years or 30% of our staff are over the age of 60.
00:18:01:17 - 00:18:20:12
Unknown
We're going to have a lot of intelligence walking out the door, really just trying to get people to think strategically about, are we ready for this? What happens not only if we lose at this level or we lose at this level or three key people out of one department can, in essence, shut that down? Are we ready for that?
00:18:20:12 - 00:18:43:14
Unknown
So they're really looking strategically around the entire company to say, you know, if we lose this person or two people out of this department, or we only have one person who knows how to run this piece of machinery, those people are just as important. And succession planning now as who's the next CEO. So who's the next CFO? So it's really become almost a strategy within strategic planning.
00:18:43:14 - 00:19:07:17
Unknown
Now on the talent side to say, what are our biggest weak points here where, you know, where can this all break down? But it's going to have just an incredible sort of impact on us to say if this happens, we don't really have a plan B. So I think they're just trying to make sure there's a plan B for just about everything that's out there.
00:19:07:19 - 00:19:26:02
Unknown
And I'm looking at the end of your report now, the last section, you've got a chart there that shows the top six reasons why different generations stay in their current job. So can you kind of talk about what's on the chart for a little bit? Yeah, The first one we looked at is why did you decide to stay?
00:19:26:04 - 00:19:46:22
Unknown
And, you know, this was done by McKinsey and it's a very large study and it took all of the generations into place just to see if there were differences and things like that. You know, and in terms of overall, the number one reason for staying was total compensation. You know, so we talk about a whole bunch of things, but money still matters.
00:19:47:00 - 00:20:12:00
Unknown
And it mattered more to the two older generations, the Gen X and the baby boomers. But it really was right there in second place for the millennials, Gen Z. It was actually at the very bottom. And I think that's mostly because their first job probably increased their salary by four fold and they just wanted for making $12 an hour somewhere, getting their job.
00:20:12:00 - 00:20:35:12
Unknown
But for just about everybody else, that's still a big deal. The second big deal is meaningful work, and that is really amongst everybody that I want to know that what I'm doing actually makes a difference. And, you know, I'm having an impact on things. So that was number two. And number three was workforce flexibility. And we hear that absolutely everywhere.
00:20:35:12 - 00:21:00:07
Unknown
And we hear it from basically everybody that I'm looking at. You know, I want to be able to work a little bit on my time and, you know, my my situation, the work life balance. I want to be able to do it. And the way I moved here, the money is everything across all five, four generations. Money matters.
00:21:00:07 - 00:21:26:03
Unknown
That was was basically number one. The second one, though, with the people who took the new job was career development and advancement potential. So that might be one where on that retention side, wherever they were working, they weren't paying attention to what are these people looking for and what is it that they need? So they're really that one jump up between, you know, why I stayed and why I left.
00:21:26:03 - 00:21:44:11
Unknown
So I think it really speaks to that career ladder. The where am I going? How am I going to get there? That part is really a big deal. And somehow these new companies that they went to, they offered them money and that probably got the retention. But then they were very excited to find out the development advancement opportunities.
00:21:44:11 - 00:22:11:11
Unknown
So I think that plays a little bit more to the long term of what they were looking for. So money matters, but I think that advancement and that, you know, feeling like I'm wanted and feeling like I'm, you know, sort of loved here in terms of what's going on does make a difference. DO Yeah. As we wrap up here, I've got to ask you, can you give us a sneak peek at next month's July ten report?
00:22:11:15 - 00:22:44:18
Unknown
Yeah, I'm pretty excited for the July one. We're going to be talking with the head of our Roundtable's department. We have over a thousand people in our roundtables throughout our now five state area, representing about 600 companies. And this is everything from payroll h.r. Generalist rose marketing, i.t. cfos, ceo hours. And we're going to be talking about basically cumulatively, what are we hearing out there?
00:22:44:19 - 00:23:02:07
Unknown
Like what's going on? This is not just a focus group of a thousand business people to say when we look at the first six months of this year and maybe the last 18 months, what are they talking about? What's the commonality? Is the same thing on the mind of a CEO as is on the mind of a benefits manager.
00:23:02:12 - 00:23:21:03
Unknown
Are those completely separate? Where are the differences and things like that? So I think we're going to have some pretty interesting insights from business leaders all over the upper Midwest and all different levels talking about, Hey, this is what's keeping us up at night and we'll see how that relates to some of the other things that are going on out there.
00:23:21:05 - 00:23:46:19
Unknown
And well, I'm excited for that one. Looking forward to it. Yeah, I think it's going to it's going to be fun. Yeah. Well, thank you again, Jim, for being on 30 minute Thrive and sharing June's report. You always bring great insights and information, so we appreciate it. It's my pleasure. Love doing. But to our listeners, I'd encourage you to share this episode, leave a comment or review and consider joining MRA if you aren't a member already.
00:23:47:01 - 00:24:09:00
Unknown
We've all the resources you need in the show notes below. We've got Jim's bio and LinkedIn profile along with some talent report resources in the show notes as well. Otherwise, again, thank you for tuning in and thanks. Thanks, Jim, too. And we'll see you next week. And that wraps up our content for this episode. Be sure to reference the show notes where you can sign them to connect.
00:24:09:00 - 00:24:24:03
Unknown
For more podcast updates, check out other MRA episodes on your favorite podcast platform. And as always, make sure to follow MRA’s 30 minute Thrive so you don't miss out. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next Wednesday to carry on the HR conversation.

25 min
June 14, 2023 Improving Employee Relations From the Inside Out
Description: Today we are talking about improving employee relations. Hear from an HR expert Advisor on how to foster better relationships between employees and management, and ultimately create a more positive and productive workplace.
We’ll look at how to handle common challenges, communication breakdowns, and performance issues. We'll explore effective techniques for building trust, boosting morale, and creating a culture of respect and collaboration.
Whether you're an HR professional, a manager, or an employee looking to make improvements in your workplace, tune in for valuable tips and actionable advice for cultivating positive relationships at work.
Resources:
Protecting Your Most Important Asset With a Positive Employee Relations Culture
MRA Membership
About MRA
Let's Connect:
Guest Bio - Amy Whittenberger
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Amy Whittenberger
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Sam Siebenaller
Host Bio - Sophie Boler
Host LinkedIn Profile - Sophie Boler
Transcript:
Transcripts are computer generated -- not 100% accurate word-for-word.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:21:03
Unknown
Hello everybody and welcome to 30 minute Thrive, your go to podcast for anything and everything HR, powered by MRA, the Management Association. Looking to stay on top of the ever changing world of HR? MRA has got you covered. We'll be the first to tell you what's hot and what's not. I'm your host, Sophie Boler, and we are so glad you're here.
00:00:21:04 - 00:00:51:16
Unknown
Now it's time to thrive. Hello, everybody, and welcome to MRA's 30 minute Thrive podcast. Today we're going to be talking about improving employee relations and hear from an expert advisor on how to foster better relationships between employees in management and ultimately create a more positive and productive workforce. So Amy Wittenberg is one of MRA's HR advisors. So she's on our 24 seven hotline answering any HR questions you may have.
00:00:51:18 - 00:01:10:16
Unknown
So, Amy, welcome back. I'm glad you're on the podcast again. Thank you. It's fun. I enjoy it. Good. Well, employer relations is such a big topic and we only have 30 minutes, unfortunately, in the episode. So let's kind of break this down a little bit and just kind of give us an overview of what employee relations is and what can be done about it.
00:01:10:19 - 00:01:40:07
Unknown
Sure sounds like fun. When I think of employee relations and being on the hotline is probably my favorite call. Yes. You know, because you really get to work with the show in terms of discussing an issue that may or may not be easy in working through, you know, what is the best way for them to handle it. I give them a lot of respect because most of time they're calling and knowing that the answer is, but they just want to walk through it with someone to make sure that they're thinking about all the things that they need to do.
00:01:40:09 - 00:02:04:00
Unknown
It's really where we can help coach and brainstorm ideas and maybe even it's even training the trainer, coaching them how to talk about the supervisor regarding an issue. And this is where we really get to help each other thrive. Yeah. So in terms of what's going on, when I think of employee relation issues, you know, it's running the gamut between investigations.
00:02:04:01 - 00:02:29:11
Unknown
It could be employee complaints about how they're working with the fellow colleague or maybe with their supervisor. It could be complaints about bullying, offensive behavior and performance, attendance, things going down, the terminations. Sometimes managers come to us and say, you know, we don't think this employees working out or is a good fit because they're, you know, toxic or rather brawls or gossiping, things like that all really hard.
00:02:29:13 - 00:02:50:08
Unknown
And then there's the cell phones. You know, they're everywhere these days. So we get regular calls in terms of, you know, what do I do with employee that this texting about another employee, I'm using the phone too much, maybe using it for social media and talking about employees of the company. So it's it's pretty broad based in terms of the issues we work through.
00:02:50:09 - 00:03:12:16
Unknown
Mm hmm. But again, it is my favorite favorite call because they're really good to work with them and answer questions and help them think through the best solution. Oh, yeah, absolutely. I like the more positive side you were talking about. We get into the investigations and conflict resolution, stuff like that in another episode. But let's start out by kind of defining what would good employee relations look like.
00:03:12:18 - 00:03:33:17
Unknown
Sure. You know, when I think of a story, when I used to teach occasional stretch and I call it the H.R. triangle, it is a trick question because I used to say, you know, as H.R. the advocate for an employee or a manager, that's a trick question because there it's an and so they're the advocate for the employee and the manager as well as the company.
00:03:33:19 - 00:04:05:12
Unknown
And that's when we think about the big picture of employee relations. You know, it's everyone's role to really work on, maintain a proactive environment so H.R. can help support employees do that, and managers do that as well as help drive some of those communications that can be proactive, more proactive. And that's from employee relations. Works best as when it's positive and proactive, which then it gets to avoiding some of the negative situations.
00:04:05:12 - 00:04:34:15
Unknown
Yeah. So I like to say an ounce of prevention is certainly worth a pound of cure in terms of working to pilot communication. Yeah, for sure. Any other practical strategies that employers can implement to improve employee relations or how can H.R. really support this in an organization? Yeah, I think of three areas probably where it's best of focus, and the very first thing that comes to mind, you know, is working on onboarding.
00:04:34:17 - 00:04:59:19
Unknown
Then certainly like an over communication plan and with an open door policy. And then I think because so much happens between the manager and the employee, I think it's really important for us to provide training for our managers. Yeah, So, so I think of onboarding, I think of that's where employee relationship begins between employer employee. And so I think any time you can spend more time upfront.
00:04:59:21 - 00:05:24:08
Unknown
So during the onboarding, you know, having really good, rich conversations in terms of, you know, what is it that you expect from employees, you know, what, what expectations do you have for behaviors? What behaviors do not want to see in the environment? And I think it's important not to assume that these employees know that. I think you need to be really intentional in terms of what you want to see in employees and guide them that way.
00:05:24:10 - 00:05:45:18
Unknown
Talk to them about what it means to build trust in an environment, how to work respectfully with each other, how to empathize each other, getting to know them, building relationships with employees, and then tell them what you don't want to see in terms of, you know, what is offensive behavior, what is gossiping, you know, and why doesn't it work?
00:05:45:18 - 00:06:10:07
Unknown
Because it, you know, breaks down trust and hurts people. So I think those and the more you have those upfront people understand better, then if you move into, you know, after they're employed for a while, you know, I think whatever h.r. Leadership can do to develop an overall strategy for working through positive communications. Yeah. So what kind of strategies can we put in to be proactive?
00:06:10:09 - 00:06:28:06
Unknown
Mm hmm. What can we do to help our managers in terms of having an open door policy in and that isn't about, you know, bring everything you want to my door, right? But teach them what it means, which is if you're going to come to my door, let's talk about where you can be part of the solution. Yeah, Come with ideas.
00:06:28:06 - 00:07:02:17
Unknown
And what what you don't like and what it would look like if it was fixed. Absolutely. So just maintaining those conversations. Yeah. And then. And then I'm sorry. And then working with the managers. Yeah. So, so much happens between a manager and the employee. It's really supporting those managers and how to have good communications and what that means for them in terms of, you know, setting outcomes, making sure employees understand those outcomes, allowing questions, building rapport, checking in with them, all those things that you can do to be proactive plus relationships.
00:07:02:18 - 00:07:28:23
Unknown
I love that. That was all great advice. I, I like the onboarding, um, examples of giving your new employees those examples because some of them may not even know what. I don't know what they mean. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. So earlier you mentioned that this is about maintaining positive relationships. So what are some strategies that h.r. And managers can use to build relationships?
00:07:29:01 - 00:07:52:06
Unknown
So i think some of the things that we can focus and is really those terms i said earlier, which is working and trust. So what does it mean, you know, to trust each other when i'm working together with an employee, it's teaching them how to have those conflict resolution conversations. Yeah. Understanding people's stories. So, you know, get to know the work your workers and where they're coming from.
00:07:52:07 - 00:08:17:02
Unknown
Yeah. And then the same thing with managers. But then I think leaders really need to do some broader things, which is make sure employees understand that their contribution is important and that we should seek their feedback and let them know that what they're sharing with us is important for us to understand, you know, kind of like the pulse of what's going on in the environment.
00:08:17:03 - 00:08:38:04
Unknown
Yeah, that's that's great advice. Let's switch gears a little bit now and return to the relationships fundamentals. So let's talk a little bit about how we can prevent or lessen these employee relation issues may arise. Mm hmm. So they another story kind of comes to mind only because, again, I think much of what happens is between the manager.
00:08:38:04 - 00:08:56:18
Unknown
The employee? Yeah. You know, they're managing them every day. And I think, you know, communications is hard to get right. And, you know, getting work done through employees is hard to do. So I think, again, working through managers. But I think of a many times and I've worked with supervisors and managers that have come to me about an employee.
00:08:56:20 - 00:09:19:15
Unknown
And, you know, either it's time to, you know, let them go or work through a performance improvement plan. And you always kind of went a step back in. I would always say, you know, in your point, in your finger at an employee, there's three fingers pointing back at you supervisor and try to get them to realize, you know what what has been the proactive things you've done?
00:09:19:17 - 00:09:47:22
Unknown
Have you been proactive in the relationship? Mm hmm. You know, so at asking questions like. And have you set expectations with them and did you give them time to think about what that means in ask questions and how to achieve those? And that's when, you know, the first deer in the headlights comes. Yeah. And then. And then they get to finally asking, you know, did you do everything in your power to make sure that they're succeeding at their job, You know?
00:09:47:22 - 00:10:05:12
Unknown
And that's when you get kind of radio silence with them. Mm hmm. Yeah. And I think that's frustrating for the managers because oftentimes will send them back and say, well, let's let's not start over, but let's go back a little bit with the beginning and make sure you did do those things to give employees everything they need to be successful.
00:10:05:14 - 00:10:29:12
Unknown
Mm hmm. And I think that's where it starts with is the more proactive you are in all of those things with your employees and the better it's going to be in terms of preventing employee relationships or just talk about how important communication is, too, in this whole process. So. Mm hmm. Can you share any tips for maintaining open lines of communication between employees and management?
00:10:29:13 - 00:10:49:10
Unknown
Yeah, I'd be happy to. You know, a couple of things come to mind. So when I work with managers, I would often say, you know, I think you should spend at least once a month talking with the employees, which, again, in opinion on the span of control, that means seen in a little over burdensome for them or unrealistic.
00:10:49:12 - 00:11:09:16
Unknown
Yeah, but that doesn't mean it has to be a long conversation. You know, mainly I think it's just brief check ins. How are you doing? You know, asking questions, you know, personally about them. You know, for example, how are your kids? Soccer's going, you know, or, you know, what did you do this past weekend to have some fun or what are your plans for the holidays?
00:11:09:18 - 00:11:33:15
Unknown
It's a little bit just getting to know them and show that you care. Exactly. Then it's building some other tips then, which is when you're talking with employee, make sure that you're not making any assumptions about them or their stories or where they're coming from. You know, make sure that you spend enough, enough time to to understand who they are and what might be going at home that could be affecting their job.
00:11:33:17 - 00:11:52:22
Unknown
Other things it can do is certainly, you know, listen, to understand. Mm hmm. We hear about proactive listening and how important active listening is. But I truly believe. Oh, yeah, you know, it's important to give someone your full attention when you're talking to them, looking at the rebels and nonverbals to see how comfortable they are with that conversation.
00:11:53:00 - 00:12:12:04
Unknown
And I think another thing that's really important is choosing words carefully. I think it tries, you know, managers that I speak with and I say it's really important to role play. You know, think about that conversation, advance, you know, and what words are you going to use? Because if you use the wrong word, it's going to make them play defensive and make them shut down.
00:12:12:06 - 00:12:33:11
Unknown
Right. And then you lost all your credibility and then speak to credibility, you know, with employees, if you say you need to do something, you need to do it. Oh, yeah. You need to follow through. You know, And if you said you need to look up something for them, make sure you look it up. If you say, you know, talk to someone else about something, make sure you talk to someone and then follow up and let them know, because that builds credibility.
00:12:33:13 - 00:12:57:06
Unknown
And then lastly, I think it's just being vulnerable, authentic and humble and showing them, you know, that I've been in your shoes, I've made mistakes and huge it I mean, and this is how I learned from them, you know, And but being vulnerable with them really builds a lot of trust. Yeah. Those are all great tips and great reminders, too, for just creating that culture of positive employee relations, you know?
00:12:57:08 - 00:13:17:03
Unknown
Mm hmm. We're closing out there. So now. But I want to thank you for being on the podcast today and really sharing your expertise on this topic. I know you deal with this every single day, so you're definitely an expert on it. But to our listeners, I would encourage you to like the episode, share it, leave a comment or review in.
00:13:17:03 - 00:13:34:18
Unknown
Consider joining MRA if you aren't a member already. We've got all the resources in the show notes below, and we've got Aimee's LinkedIn profile and her bio in there too, if you want to get in contact with her. All right. Thank you so much for tuning in today. And thank you again, Amy, for all your great knowledge. Thank you.
00:13:34:18 - 00:13:53:18
Unknown
It's been fun. I love it. I will see you next week. And that wraps up our content for this episode. Be sure to reference the show notes where you can sign them to connect. For more podcast updates, check out other MRA episodes on your favorite podcast platform. And as always, make sure to follow MRA’s 30 minutes Thrive so you don't miss out.
00:13:53:18 - 00:13:58:11
Unknown
Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next Wednesday to carry on the conversation.

14 min
June 07, 2023 Emerging Leaders are Making an Impact
Description: This week, we shine a spotlight on the up-and-coming innovators who are reshaping industries, communities, and society as a whole. Listeners will gain insight into the challenges and opportunities faced by emerging leaders, and learn what organizations can do to leverage their skills, passions, and values to create a positive impact.
With such a competitive job market, along with changing workforce demographics and developing business needs, organizations are looking within and identifying emerging leaders to play a vital role. By investing in developing emerging leaders, organizations can proactively address talent shortages, build a pipeline of capable leaders, and position themselves for success.
In this episode, we will share results from a recent MRA Hot Topic Survey on emerging leaders and you will be able to use that data to identify the emerging leaders in your organization.
Resources:
Hot Topic Survey: Emerging Leaders
Emerging Leader Roundtable
MRA Membership
About MRA
Let's Connect:
Guest Bio - Courtney Lamers
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Courtney Lamers
Host Bio - Sophie Boler
Host LinkedIn Profile - Sophie Boler
Transcript:
Transcripts are computer generated -- not 100% accurate word-for-word.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:21:03
Unknown
Hello everybody and welcome to 30 minute Thrive, your go to podcast for anything and everything H.R. powered by MRA, the Management Association looking to stay on top of the ever changing world of HRA. MRA has got you covered. We'll be the first to tell you what's hot and what's not. I'm your host, Sophie Muller, and we are so glad you're here.
00:00:21:04 - 00:00:42:13
Unknown
Now it's time to thrive. In this episode, we're going to be sharing results from a recent MRA Hot Topic survey on emerging leaders. So you will be able to identify your emerging leaders in your organization. Speaking of success today, we're joined with one of Emory's emerging leaders to talk about these survey results and get her perspective on the topic.
00:00:42:15 - 00:01:00:11
Unknown
So hi and welcome back to the podcast, Courtney. Thank you. I'm excited to be here. You know, we've talked a lot with companies recently about emerging leaders. So I think the timing with the Hot Topics survey was perfect. And, you know, it's really an exciting topic and it's fun to hear all the cool things that companies are doing with their emerging leaders.
00:01:00:11 - 00:01:31:16
Unknown
So excited to share that with you today, for sure. Well, let's first start out by talking about what is an emerging leader. I was joking before, but I do love this question because I think the definition of an emerging leader really depends on your organization and what your goal is with the Emerging leader program. There is not a one size fits all, and I share a couple of examples, and one of those is there is one company that uses their emerging leader program to help develop women in their organization.
00:01:31:17 - 00:02:01:21
Unknown
So it's a primarily a male dominated organization. A lot of their leadership is male dominated, and so they're putting together an emerging leader program to help women grow their leadership skills and develop that way. So I do share that as an example, as emerging leaders can be whatever you define it as. But I I'll say for Emory's perspective, we've kind of defined it as an individual who is developing and demonstrating those leadership skills and aspire to grow to that next level of leadership.
00:02:01:22 - 00:02:22:16
Unknown
So I think that aspiration is key because not everybody wants to be a leader and that's perfectly fine. So I think, you know, as we talk about it today, I definitely encourage you to think about your organization, your goals, where you're at and where your company is headed and how emerging leaders apply to you. Yeah, I like how you said that it can differ from company to company in the example you shared.
00:02:22:16 - 00:02:53:16
Unknown
That was cool. So according to the Hot Topic survey, more than half of organizations, 62%, identify emerging leaders. So how do you really know who they are in an organization? Yeah, I think it goes back to defining what emerging leader means for your organization. I definitely encourage you to sit down with your leadership team or whoever is working on this emerging leader program, but to identify what that criteria is of an emerging leader for your organization.
00:02:53:18 - 00:03:21:16
Unknown
Like we said, you know, maybe it's that person that aspires to grow to that next level of leadership. Maybe they have some technical expertise that's important for your company and where you're headed, but really defining that criteria before identifying them. Make sure it's an equitable process. So I think as important as it is to have those conversations with those emerging leaders, you're also going to have to have some of those tougher conversation with those that maybe want to be an emerging leader, but maybe they're not.
00:03:21:16 - 00:03:48:09
Unknown
So if you have that criteria defined, it helps kind of arm the managers to be able to have those conversations. So like I said, and not everyone wants to be a leader and that's okay. So I think it's just important to. What does it mean for your organization? Yeah, that's a great point. The survey also talked about the top three reasons to identify emerging leaders, and those were career development for high achievers, succession planning and maintaining the culture.
00:03:48:11 - 00:04:09:03
Unknown
So as an emerging leader yourself, Courtney, you've taken on a lot of different projects to learn more. So what kind of inspired you to become a leader and be in this leadership role, and what do you hope to achieve as a leader? It's a great question. The question here. Well, I don't think I ever was like, I want to be a leader or something.
00:04:09:03 - 00:04:35:08
Unknown
I don't I don't know. I, I don't think I ever had that lightbulb moment or anything like that. But I think just working for an organization that supports our growth and our desire to learn the business, I was exposed to a lot of different areas of our business and all of the cool things that our members do. So for me it really was just a passion for learning and growing, you know, as an individual, as a worker here and then naturally as a leader.
00:04:35:10 - 00:05:04:21
Unknown
And I would say for myself, I, I would say I'm a pretty curious person. So when something comes up, I just tend to ask questions, probably sometimes to a fault. But I think over the years, really just taking on those additional responsibilities and projects have allowed me to learn a lot about myself. But you know, as far as end goal type of thing, I don't I don't know if I didn't have anything to say there, but I think for me it's really all about the learning and the growing and just, you know, being able to help others succeed as well.
00:05:04:23 - 00:05:33:21
Unknown
Do you like taking on all these different projects? Yeah, You know, sometimes again, it's a fault. I, I always encourage people to say yes to different projects because I think the more you push yourself out of your comfort zone, the more you're going to learn and grow. But I yeah, I mean, I've been told that you need to stop saying yes certain things, but it has allowed me to kind of, you know, move throughout my career because, you know, I had a marketing background and although I still do some marketing, I think I've kind of taken a different path, which I think a lot of people do.
00:05:33:23 - 00:05:54:07
Unknown
So I wouldn't be able to do that if I hadn't taken on those projects, those maybe stretch projects or ones outside of my department. Yeah. For those of you who don't know a little background, Courtney is definitely the type of person to like. You'll go to Courtney for anything. Like any department. Courtney is like your go to person and I guess I have it out.
00:05:54:09 - 00:06:20:17
Unknown
So we talked about finding emerging leaders and identifying and identifying them often requires a systematic approach. In the survey kind of highlighted this in the top five criteria included high performers, high potentials, demonstrates motivation and desire to grow on their career, their behavior aligns with organizational values and their team player, which is what you kind of just outlined.
00:06:20:19 - 00:06:50:14
Unknown
But can you kind of start from the beginning talking about you now personally and share how you were identified as an emerging leader? And did any of these criteria or criteria apply to you? I hope so, no. But in all seriousness, companies do it a little bit differently. But I was just talking to a senior at our group the other week, and I think a lot of companies, when they do it right, they have that criteria in advance and what's important to them as an organization.
00:06:50:16 - 00:07:10:12
Unknown
And then they involve, you know, whether it's your whole leadership team, your executive team, really involving those people and having those conversations. So our each our friends, you're probably very familiar with the nine box. And I know that is something that our senior team used to identify, you know, our higher potentials, our emerging leaders, those type of people.
00:07:10:17 - 00:07:30:08
Unknown
And they had a long conversation around where people fit and where they had room to grow. And, you know, people challenged each other. And I think that's what is important to have those conversations. And so when you're doing that, you know, it really just helps you see and get different perspectives from people. And I think that's what our senior team did.
00:07:30:08 - 00:07:54:07
Unknown
And then for me, it was our senior, my senior manager that came to me and shared that, you know, congratulations, even selected as an emerging leader. And then we talked a lot about my career path and what skills I wanted to develop and then, you know, where within the organization I could even go and grow from there. So, you know, I think it's definitely a process and having those conversations is important.
00:07:54:07 - 00:08:17:02
Unknown
And I think even just being able to be heard and have someone that can bounce ideas off of is really helpful. You know, I think I would say I owned a lot of my own professional development. It was something that I was passionate about. But, you know, like I said, I want to take this training, I want to develop these skills, but also to have a senior leader that's engaged and cares about you is important.
00:08:17:02 - 00:08:38:15
Unknown
But also for them to be like, you're actually really good at that, but maybe you should think about this and like, okay, well, I didn't even think about that. So again, those conversations is really important. And you just highlighted training and kind of other opportunity opportunities to grow. So there are a lot of opportunities for growth employers can offer their emerging leaders in.
00:08:38:15 - 00:09:06:18
Unknown
From the survey, we learned that there's external trainings or classes, mentoring one on one meetings and cross trainings which are helpful for emerging leaders. So were any of these kind of helpful for you and as you're an emerging leader now? Yeah, I think everything you know, I think about the ways that we learn and the ways that other companies engage their emerging leaders, and there are so many different ways that you can do that.
00:09:06:18 - 00:09:26:16
Unknown
And there is one company I talked to and they have a two year emerging leader program and you know, two years seems like a long time to go through something. But when you outline different training classes and technical experience, some shadowing, some mentoring, one on one meetings, honestly, two years, like it's a lot to fit in there if you do a variety of different ways to learn.
00:09:26:16 - 00:09:54:00
Unknown
But I would say for me, I love the hands on projects. I think that's where I learned the most. But you know, America has a lot of great training classes, like I took our principles of Leadership excellence class. I love assessments, too. I the Strength Finder desk are both great ones. After I took the Strength Finder one, I actually met with one of our coaches at Emory and we talked through what my strengths were and you know, we were just talking about it again the other day.
00:09:54:00 - 00:10:22:06
Unknown
And I think it's eye opening when you talk to somebody else about those results because, you know, sure, you take your strengths and those are your top five strengths, but when you talk through it, it's like, oh, but those are actually some of my weaknesses. You with assessments, training and coaching projects. I volunteer with a nonprofit and I'm on their associate board, so a lot of that really hands on experience has been most helpful for me.
00:10:22:08 - 00:10:45:10
Unknown
But again, having those conversations with people because people learn differently and they want different avenues to train and to learn and grow. So just having those conversations is important. I love taking those assessments, so it's fun to find out. Yeah. Oh, that totally fits me. Or I don't know. It's like, Yeah, I know for sure. I love assessments, but more companies are starting emerging leader programs.
00:10:45:10 - 00:11:06:10
Unknown
So what are some ways an organization can start their own emerging leader program? Yeah, so usually when I go through this, there's about eight staff. So it's it seems like a lot, but really just starting with why are you even starting an emerging leader program? And you rattled off a couple of reasons from the survey, but a lot of times it's the succession planning.
00:11:06:10 - 00:11:23:22
Unknown
You, you know, maybe look out on the floor and, you know, your top three managers that have been there for 30 years and they they've told you they're going to retire in the next couple of years. We see a lot of that and then retention is the other reason we see a lot is, okay, we have these high performers and high potentials.
00:11:24:00 - 00:11:48:17
Unknown
How are we going to hang on to them? So I think understanding the why before you build the program is really important and then taking a look at what your companies goals are for the year, where you're going over the next couple of years and how that can be started. But, you know, I think you will talk about this a little bit, but so once you have all of that stuff thought through and then you identify your emerging leaders, you know, then it's so what?
00:11:48:17 - 00:12:11:20
Unknown
So what? So congratulations. So if you're an emerging leader, that can't be the end of the conversation. What are the next steps? What is the training look like? You know, what is that plan after that? And we always tell companies, it's okay. You don't have to promise anything. If you go through this emerging leader program, you don't it doesn't mean a promotion, it doesn't mean a pay raise, but there has to be some type of celebration.
00:12:11:20 - 00:12:31:19
Unknown
So room you know, there's there's a lot of different pieces of it. But I think if you think it through from beginning to end, you should be okay. But really just starting with that, why is important and what you're in aligning your emerging leader program to your corporate goals. So why do some of these programs fail or not succeed right away then?
00:12:31:21 - 00:12:46:07
Unknown
Yeah, you know, I think a lot of companies when we talk to them, know that this is important. They know that they have to do this and they know if they have these people that they want to stick around, that they have to put some extra time and effort and energy into it. And that's a lot, especially upfront.
00:12:46:07 - 00:13:07:12
Unknown
And if you do it right, it takes a lot of planning and it's a time investment and it can it can cost money to go to training and that type of thing. So, you know, I think time everyone we hear, especially in our ads to add one more thing to a play, it isn't good. But if you can help develop the program upfront, I think there'll be a lot of long term benefits from it.
00:13:07:12 - 00:13:30:12
Unknown
So yeah, but I also I always find this kind of funny too, and I know this is one of the stats in the survey, but a lot of companies don't always tell their emerging leaders that they're selected emerging leaders. And, you know, I think it's all great if your senior team or your executive team goes through and you develop this program and you identify them, but if they don't know about it, how are you going to retain them?
00:13:30:12 - 00:14:00:05
Unknown
I think even just from a recognition standpoint, it's really important to communicate that with them and being intentional about it. But the other thing, you know, I just want to caution people, too, a lot of times emerging leader can be associated with more work, which I think is fine, but you don't want to burn somebody out and have the opposite of the retention, you know, your attention goal adding more work to their plate isn't necessarily a good thing since making sure that we're managing that work.
00:14:00:05 - 00:14:27:07
Unknown
And if they take on more what maybe is coming off that point for sure and you just mentioned this, but our survey asked of individuals who are identified as emerging leaders know that they are an emerging leader. And it was almost a 5050 split, which is kind of crazy. So why do you think that is? Yeah, I think it's funny, you know, when we're talking with companies and it's totally normal, but people say like, well, the emerging leaders know they're emerging leaders and they're like, Oh, yeah, of course.
00:14:27:12 - 00:14:53:16
Unknown
And it's like, well, maybe the manager is. Then I talk to them. I don't know. You know, I haven't followed up. And, you know, there's so much going on and people are so much on their plate. But I think part of it is a little bit of fear. I mean, I think there is tough conversations to be had if there are people that aren't emerging leaders and you're walking down the hallway and, you know, Sophie and my colleagues are in a room because they're selected as emerging leaders and it's like, okay, well, how do I get to be a part of that?
00:14:53:16 - 00:15:21:19
Unknown
Or I want that. So I think, you know, it it's really important to kind of know that stuff and make sure that managers are, you know, comfortable having those conversations as well. I also think if you don't have a learning plan, you know, I think it kind of becomes that. So like we talked about, so it's congratulations, you're an emerging leader, but if you don't have anything to provide them, it's just kind of like, okay, well, that's nice.
00:15:21:19 - 00:15:40:10
Unknown
Thank you. So, yeah, but like, I just reiterate to, you know, you don't have to promise anything. So if I think that's another thing is when I was talking to that group of senior h.r. Professionals, they had kind of asked like, okay, you identify them, they go through all this training. Then what? I think a lot of times people are like, well, i did everything.
00:15:40:10 - 00:16:06:18
Unknown
I should be promoted now. And, you know, if you can build out those steps within a career, I think that's really nice and it's something that they can see right away. But you don't have to promise anything, but you do have to acknowledge it because they did a lot of work and they were selected and you're trying to retain them, but you don't have to promise anything is something I'll keep reiterating because so many won't even go through the program and maybe you find out they were an emerging leader, but maybe leadership isn't for them and that's okay.
00:16:06:23 - 00:16:25:20
Unknown
Yeah, that's a good point. So do you think it was to your advantage to know and be identified as an emerging leader early on? Yeah, I think so. I mean, from a recognition standpoint as just it was, to be honest, I was kind of shocked. I was like, I didn't even know that half of the senior team even knew who I was.
00:16:25:20 - 00:16:46:12
Unknown
But the visibility and being able to just be recognized for your work, for me personally, the the recognition motivates me. So I think it's helpful. And I think again, retention as part of your goal with it, if they don't know that you recognize them in the work and the potential they have, I mean, how would they know? So I personally believe in, you know, sharing that with them.
00:16:46:12 - 00:17:11:12
Unknown
I don't see a lot of harmony, especially, again, if your managers are ready to have those tough conversations with those that may not have been selected. Exactly. So moving on to a little different worksheet or what do you think some of the most pressing issues our leaders are facing today and how do you approach them? Yeah, you know, I think there's a lot i think going on and i think we just had a great h.r.
00:17:11:12 - 00:17:34:03
Unknown
Conference a couple of weeks ago and our keynote speaker talked a lot about, you know, mental wellness and you're carrying, well, the individual, you know, outside of work and at work. And I think there's a lot to balance there. And i think that can be hard for leaders to kind of manage. But I think, you know, for me, it's always about just putting the people first and caring about them as an individual.
00:17:34:03 - 00:17:55:12
Unknown
And, you know, really that people first mindset. But I think, you know, there's a change management, there's a ton of change going on right now. And when I facilitate an emerging leader roundtable and we talk about change almost every single month, just because there's so much going on and people handle change differently. So, you know, bringing everyone on your team along is always a challenge.
00:17:55:12 - 00:18:16:05
Unknown
But I think communication is so important too, and I think those go hand in hand. And, you know, I think communication can be a challenge, too, because, you know, we we have a like a subcommittee working on communication for our employee resource group. And, you know, the group all gets together and we're like, well, we already get so many emails that are our CRM system.
00:18:16:06 - 00:18:37:19
Unknown
You know, we already get so many notifications. And so it's like, okay, where is the best place? And then we have, you know, five different states and offices that we're communicating through. So you don't have all of your team in one place and some people are members and hybrid. So the communication is a challenge too for everyone. But, you know, I think just kind of being that people first mindset is what I try to put first.
00:18:37:20 - 00:19:00:05
Unknown
Absolutely. And you mentioned that you talk a lot about change very often. So how do you stay up to date on emerging trends and technologies in the industry and how do you use that knowledge to really drive the leadership strategy? Yeah, that's a good question. I think the cool thing about being an employer association and working at Emory is you get to work with so many companies.
00:19:00:05 - 00:19:15:21
Unknown
So it's I always really enjoy just hearing what, you know, what they're going through and the cool things that they're doing. So I think, you know, we we talk a lot about, you know, member being member centric. That's one of our values. And I think the nice thing here is everyone's really passionate about that and truly listens to our members.
00:19:15:21 - 00:19:39:17
Unknown
So I think that's huge. I facilitate an emerging leader roundtable, so I get together with about 12 other leaders on a monthly basis. You know, we manage the internal leadership program with our members. So again, being able to talk to that next generation of leaders and just hearing what's on their minds. And then, I mean, I, I also volunteer and I serve on a board.
00:19:39:19 - 00:20:02:06
Unknown
So, you know, you're just talking with other leaders all across industries and across the Midwest and the EAA are employer associations of America. So our sister associations, they're doing a lot of great work with their members, too. So I think really it's just that networking and asking questions and just really listening probably more than more than talking is how I try to stay up to that for sure.
00:20:02:08 - 00:20:23:00
Unknown
Well, to close out the episode, do you have any last pieces of advice that you could give emerging leaders who are really just starting out in their careers or have just been identified as an emerging leader? Yeah, I think, you know, when I look back, you know, where I started and how I got here. And I think a lot of the credit goes to the mentors and the sponsors that I've had.
00:20:23:00 - 00:20:40:15
Unknown
And if you haven't heard of a sponsor, it's really that person that says your name in a room full of opportunities and it's you know, you're sitting there and maybe it's a senior level person and they're like, So if you can handle this project or yourself, you should work on this project. And who or who is that person that saying you're in?
00:20:40:15 - 00:21:00:02
Unknown
And when there's opportunities that arise. And I'm really grateful for the mentors and the sponsors that I've had that I do like. I honestly really think getting involved in volunteering to do work and projects and just raising your hand, I think, you know, I talked a little bit about earlier about how I tried to own my own my own professional development.
00:21:00:02 - 00:21:17:23
Unknown
So, you know, if your manager is not coming up to you and saying you should do this or this, I think it's okay to go back to them and say, I'd like to do this and here's why. And then you can do stuff on your own time too. Like I said, I volunteer on the board, and that's specifically just for my own growth.
00:21:17:23 - 00:21:37:02
Unknown
And because I want to be involved in the community. But you can do that on your own time as well. Yeah, that's that's great ending. And I say to the last thing I would say is, but you're yourself to do things that you're not comfortable doing. So I think as a leader and just as a professional, the more you push yourself and try new things, the more you'll learn a lot about yourself too, for sure.
00:21:37:04 - 00:22:03:16
Unknown
Well, thank you for being on the podcast again and really sharing your expertise on emerging leaders and your personal experience of being one too. So to our listeners, I would encourage you to like, share this episode. Weaver comment or review and consider joining MRA if you aren't a member already. Again, we have all the resources in the show notes below, including Courtney's LinkedIn profile and bio, so you can get in touch with her.
00:22:03:18 - 00:22:25:19
Unknown
Otherwise, thank you for tuning in and thanks again, Courtney. We'll see you next week. Thanks for having me. And that wraps up our content for this episode. Be sure to reference the show notes where you can sign up to connect. For more podcast updates, check out other MRA episodes on your favorite podcast platform. And as always, make sure to follow MRA's 30 minutes Thrive so you don't miss out.
00:22:25:19 - 00:22:30:12
Unknown
Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next Wednesday to carry on the conversation.

23 min
May 31, 2023 Work Hard, Play Hard! Balancing Fun and Productivity in the Summer
Description: Summer is the time of year when many people want to kick back, relax, and enjoy the warm weather. However, with work and other responsibilities still demanding attention, finding the balance between having fun and being productive can be challenging.
In this episode, we explore strategies for achieving that balance and discuss the benefits of taking time off to recharge. Our guest Samantha Siebenaller shares her personal experiences and offers practical tips for managing work and play during the summer months.
Whether you're a part-time employee or a full-time professional trying to stay focused, this episode will help you find the right balance between work and play. Join us for a fun and informative discussion about how to work hard and play hard in the summer!
Resources:
Time Management - MRA Course
Role Modeling Your Culture, Summertime Style
Benefits of Flexible Scheduling Options
MRA Membership
About MRA
Let's Connect:
Guest Bio - Samantha Siebenaller
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Sam Siebenaller
Host Bio - Sophie Boler
Host LinkedIn Profile - Sophie Boler
Transcript:
Transcripts are computer generated -- not 100% accurate word-for-word.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:21:03
Unknown
Hello everybody and welcome to 30 minute Thrive, your go to podcast for anything and everything HR, powered by MRA, the Management Association. Looking to stay on top of the ever changing world of HR? MRA has got you covered. We'll be the first to tell you what's hot and what's not. I'm your host, Sophie Boler, and we are so glad you're here.
00:00:21:04 - 00:00:39:17
Unknown
Now it's time to thrive. Hello, everybody, and welcome to 30 minute Thrive. We're excited you're here, and I'm excited to introduce our guests for today. Thanks for being on the show, Sam. Happy to be here. Well, the topic we're talking about today really applies to any time of the year, but since summer is just right around the corner.
00:00:39:19 - 00:01:01:12
Unknown
Think now's a great time to talk about balancing fun and productivity in the summer. So like i said, i'm here with Sam Siebenaller. Sam is our HR Services manager here at mra. So she oversees our HR Business partner teams at MRA, and she comes with a 20 plus year background of employee relations, talent management, policy, development and more.
00:01:01:14 - 00:01:27:03
Unknown
So, again, thanks for sharing your expertise today and your personal experience, too. Well, let's kind of start out with the overarching picture. So how do you define work life balance and what does it mean in the context of summer? Yeah, for me, work life balance specifically means figuring out what's most important to me in my life and then how do I make sure work doesn't take away from it while still achieving whatever I need to achieve at work?
00:01:27:03 - 00:01:48:12
Unknown
Great summers. Not very different for me than the rest of the year, of course, but in the context of summer, it's really shifting schedules for my family and making sure that we kind of reset everything. You know, going from a school schedule to God knows what I'm going to be doing, right? So I was having a conversation this weekend with some parents actually.
00:01:48:12 - 00:02:09:02
Unknown
And one thing that I thought was was funny and I thought was great advice for parents is we overbook our kids all school year. They're doing taekwondo, they're doing swimming, they've got soccer, they've got baseball. What about in summer? We don't overbook. But what if we didn't? And it was that reminder that I can have a life that's not overbooked, and that's going to help all of it go a little easier.
00:02:09:02 - 00:02:38:18
Unknown
Yeah, absolutely. Well, we know that communication is also key between employees and managers. So when talking about work life balance, how can people effectively communicate their needs to employers or colleagues when it comes to taking time off during the summer? Yeah, well, I think it comes back to planning. So understanding what your needs are, understanding what the business needs are, and then communicating your needs to your manager with us with suggestions from balance at all.
00:02:38:20 - 00:02:57:21
Unknown
So if you think you need to leave early two days a week, how are you going to get your work done? If you need to work it out and get it back it up? You still got to do. You still have to get your job done, you know, in the summer. But, you know, I think as long as you're clear and communicate with your manager regularly, you know, usually you can figure something out and it's good advice.
00:02:57:23 - 00:03:17:03
Unknown
Well, let's kind of get into your own personal experience with work life balance. So how do you personally manage your workload and schedule to make time for your leisure activities and stuff like that during the summer? Yeah. So one of the things I do is I always look ahead a couple of months now, so I see when do I need to take off for my child?
00:03:17:03 - 00:03:38:18
Unknown
Doesn't have school, when do we have appointments? When are we going to take a vacation? We're going next. We just got back from Puerto Rico a couple of months ago. When can I go again? And another one of. So I really look ahead and then I make sure I communicate with my team, with my peers. So everybody at MRA knew I was going to Puerto Rico well in advance so that I could take off, unplug, unwind, yeah.
00:03:38:18 - 00:04:05:06
Unknown
And had backups in place and a plan in place so that I wasn't working while I was off. So again, it's all planning, communication and really thinking about what's important at home and at work and in and out. Yeah, that kind of reminds me of like, even just your calendar, like on Outlook. Well, we use Outlook, but it's so nice to, like, look ahead at coworkers schedules and see like, oh, so-and-so's working remotely two weeks from now.
00:04:05:06 - 00:04:26:10
Unknown
Like, I won't plan anything. They're like, That's so important. Yes. So could you share any tips for setting boundaries between work and play when the lines can easily blur during the summer? Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, I mentioned I have a child and one of the things I see parents do a lot is work when they're at their child's events.
00:04:26:10 - 00:04:47:14
Unknown
And that's great if that works for them and and what have you. What I try to do is balance my schedules so that when I'm with him, I'm with him. And if that means that, okay, I've got to cut out early because he's got to sporting events, well then maybe I'm going to work a little bit on a Sunday because that brings me peace to have my my week kind of ready for whatever whatever else is going to go on.
00:04:47:16 - 00:05:11:13
Unknown
So but having those boundaries can look different for everybody. Some people here I work on Sundays and they think I'm not right. And but for me, that boundary works. I'm okay doing that. And where for other people that's maintaining a very fixed schedule for work and then cutting out at the exact same time every day because they have whatever responsibilities outside of work or whatever fun things planned out at work.
00:05:11:13 - 00:05:34:06
Unknown
So everyone kind of needs to decide what their boundaries are and communicate and plan for them. So kind of going off of that, what what other advice do you have for individuals who kind of struggle to have that disconnect from work while on vacation or at your kids for fun or just time off in general? Yeah, I think first step is understanding why they're struggling to disconnect.
00:05:34:06 - 00:05:56:21
Unknown
Yeah. Is it that they're overwhelmed at work? Is it that they love their job and so they're choosing not to disconnect because they want to check their email? Yeah. And they want to know what's happening. So understanding their why and then figuring out how you get away from that. So last fall, I last August, I took a vacation with my family and candidly, Sophie, I worked almost every day, a couple hours.
00:05:56:21 - 00:06:15:21
Unknown
Here they are. Yes, eight out of ten. But I looked back at it when I was planning ahead for my next trip and said, I want to do that again. Right. I don't want to run a payroll from Puerto Rico. Right. So and I remember is probably don't want me to buy it. So I kind of looked at why so why did I end up working every day?
00:06:15:21 - 00:06:33:17
Unknown
And I realized I didn't have a backup plan in place for some of my responsibilities. I realized I hadn't set specific contacts for some people on my team if they needed things from me. So I learned from that and started communicating my plan early and often for the next trip. So again, reflecting on what happened and planning ahead for next time.
00:06:33:18 - 00:07:05:01
Unknown
That's good advice. So work life balance also goes hand-in-hand with motivation and productivity. So how do you maintain motivation and productivity at work while also making time for that leisure time and time off during summer or in general? Yeah, for me it's all about knowing what my goals are and what it's going to take to achieve those. So, you know, thinking ahead over the course of the whole year, what do I need to keep moving over the summer to make sure we hit our targets by the end of the year?
00:07:05:03 - 00:07:27:00
Unknown
Knowing that my team relies on me also plays into that. And so I need to make sure that I'm available when they need me. We were talking about Fridays, right? Yeah, before. And I know that a lot of my team has free time on Fridays when they don't have free time. The rest of the weeks are so busy working with our members and so on Fridays I keep myself available to be there for them.
00:07:27:02 - 00:07:53:19
Unknown
And, and I think that really it helps them feel feel supported. It reminds me why I'm here, what my job is. But still, you know, helps me balance my workload by knowing, okay, I'm to keep Fridays open for my team. I'm not going to overbook myself and be able to support their needs. Yeah, that's a great idea. Well, MRA and I'm sure at other companies too, we do a lot of summer activities or team bonding activities.
00:07:53:21 - 00:08:18:20
Unknown
So do you know any other creative ways that individuals or organizations kind of incorporate that team-building activities and bonding during the summer while also still being productive with work? Yeah, so, you know, lots of different ways. One of the ways I just I thought of that that I did here just last week, Friday, is I met with another member of our team out on our patio here at our Waukesha office.
00:08:19:01 - 00:08:40:23
Unknown
Yeah. And we, we had a few open items we needed to discuss. We sat on the patio, discussed them, soaked up the sunshine, was a little chilly, but soaked up that sunshine and really felt refreshed when we came back in from it. So again, looking for opportunities to just kind of maybe change your setting if you can. Yeah, Obviously we you know, we also work with a lot of employers where maybe we have a more fixed schedule.
00:08:40:23 - 00:09:07:12
Unknown
We can't step away from an assembly line. Right. And so for those employers, the challenge is to find ways to incorporate it into the work schedule, into the day. So a lot of employers and they love this one, they'll do cookouts over lunch for their teams, so provide a meal, encourage camaraderie, maybe set out some fun games, place megs over lunch, whether it is a catered lunch or a or a potluck.
00:09:07:15 - 00:09:26:06
Unknown
Yeah you know also taking opportunity is for personal connection during training. So if you're a team that has some scheduled mandatory training has come OSHA, you name it you know could you tack on an extra half an hour for some team building activities as part of that? And can you get it outside when the weather's nice? Because we're in the Midwest and it's not nice all the time.
00:09:26:06 - 00:09:48:22
Unknown
Yeah. Yeah. We that reminds me when we had a couple food trucks last summer, it kind of got everybody to go outside, take a little breather from work, enjoy some tacos, come back. We joke on our team, actually. How do you give your employees a taco truck experience? Yeah, if they don't, we're working in an environment where you can give them the actual talk express.
00:09:49:02 - 00:10:08:11
Unknown
Good point. You know, if they can't step away, if they're remote workers, how do you bring those experiences to your employees? Yeah, that's actually what I was going to ask. If you have anything else to add. I know we touched on it briefly, but what about for companies or departments who can't have flexible scheduling or. Yeah, need time off in the summer?
00:10:08:11 - 00:10:28:15
Unknown
What, what options do they have? Yeah. So I really think it's about looking at the full year and understanding the work that you do, understanding the, the business cycles for your organization and figure out what you can accomplish. So great example as a company we work with up in Minnesota, their employees love their long weekends. They all go up north, right?
00:10:28:17 - 00:10:45:21
Unknown
They're fishing, they're hunting, they're having time with their families. As an organization, they're relatively small. So they could do this. They decided we're going to do 4/10 Monday through Thursday and a half day every Friday. So for hours on Fridays, if they have over time, the front loaded into the week. So everybody still gets their long weekends because they know it's valuable to their people.
00:10:45:23 - 00:11:16:07
Unknown
And, you know, they've they've made it work for their organization. And I think, you know, identifying that they're able to do that and then following through. Now, not every company can do that in the summer or around, but looking for ideas like that. Crowd sourcing from your own employees. Yeah, you don't want to overpromise and under-deliver, but if you let your employees know, hey, we're looking for ways that we can give you more flexibility, that we can, you know, identify your needs as an individual and hopefully satisfy them, ask them what they think.
00:11:16:09 - 00:11:44:04
Unknown
Great to get and and take that take those opinions. Look at your business cycles, look at your needs and try to come up with solution for sure. Are there any specific tools or technologies that you personally use to help manage or organize your time? Yeah, I just live and die by my calendar, basically. Right. We all do. So what I do personally though, because you know, when you're managing a family or you have a lot of personal commitments, doesn't matter if you have kids or not, right?
00:11:44:04 - 00:12:11:16
Unknown
Yeah, I make sure that my work calendar reflects my personal calendar, so I know. Hey, you need to leave by 430 to get on to taekwondo, don't forget. And so I make sure I blend those calendars. We are extremely lucky to have a nanny in the summer who is amazing. Shout out to Colt. Right? And so we also put our personal commitments on his calendar and make sure that we all kind of know where we're going when we're go in, when we're going there, so we can plan ahead.
00:12:11:16 - 00:12:35:21
Unknown
Yeah. And so really, for me, it is just my calendar. No, I second that. Yes. Yeah. And to do less my go to. Yeah. I think some people might be wondering like why is it so important to prioritize just relaxation during the summer. So are there any benefits in doing so. I mean obvious mental health benefits from kind of unplugging and unwinding.
00:12:35:21 - 00:12:55:12
Unknown
Right. And then as I mentioned before, we're in the Midwest. Summers are short. Yeah. And so if you're somebody where sunshine makes a difference to how you feel about life, you want to find ways to get out there. I was speaking with another parent this weekend and she was talking about finding opportunities to get into nature and the mental health benefits just of that.
00:12:55:14 - 00:13:17:02
Unknown
And you know, we can do that year round. But I don't love snow, so I personally try to find ways to get more sunshine into my day or agree with that. You know? Well, as we kind of close out the episode here, can you end with any other practical steps that employees or employers can take to achieve that healthy work life balance throughout the year, not just the summer?
00:13:17:02 - 00:13:38:19
Unknown
Yeah, I mean, I think it's just continually evaluating what's working for you in your life and at work and what's not, and then thinking about ways to make that better. We each individually own our lives in our careers, so it's on us to do it, and it's on us to give feedback to our employers. If we're not in a good place, if we're not getting what we need without that, it's never going to get better.
00:13:38:19 - 00:14:04:08
Unknown
If you don't have that work life right now. Yeah, that was a good ending point. So we all hope that's all the time we have today. So thank you again for being here. I learned a lot. I'm definitely going to implement those strategies and techniques that you mentioned for my summer work life balance. But to our listeners, I would encourage you to like, comment and share this episode if you enjoyed it or learn something to know.
00:14:04:09 - 00:14:24:11
Unknown
Also, take a look at the resources that we have in the show Notes below. On becoming an MRA member. We've also got Sam's bio and LinkedIn profile down in the show notes below. Also, if you want to get in touch with her or have any follow up questions, I'm sure she'd be happy to connect. Absolutely. But thanks again, Sam, and thanks to our listeners.
00:14:24:12 - 00:14:46:01
Unknown
Thank you. And that wraps up our content for this episode. Be sure to reference the show notes where you can sign them to connect for more podcast updates, check out other MRA episodes on your favorite podcast platform. And as always, make sure to follow MRA’s 30 minute Thrive so you don't miss out. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next Wednesday to carry on the HR conversation.

15 min
May 24, 2023 Talent Report: Emerging Leaders, Planning for Your Organizational Future
Description: In this episode, we’ll explore the May edition of MRA's monthly Talent Report: Emerging Leaders, Planning for Your Organizational Future!
We’ll hear from Jim Morgan, Vice President of Workforce Strategies, on best practices regarding emerging leaders, uncover C-Suite priorities and top creative HR strategies, learn how to improve employee retention, and more!
Resources:
Talent Report+ Webinar Series
MRA Membership
About MRA
Let's Connect:
Guest Bio - Jim Morgan
Guest LinkedIn Profile - Jim Morgan
Host Bio - Sophie Boler
Host LinkedIn Profile - Sophie Boler
Transcript:
Transcripts are computer generated -- not 100% accurate word-for-word.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:21:03
Unknown
Hello everybody and welcome to 30 minute Thrive, your go to podcast for anything and everything HR. powered by MRA, the Management Association. Looking to stay on top of the ever changing world of HR? MRA has got you covered. We'll be the first to tell you what's hot and what's not. I'm your host, Sophie Boler, and we are so glad you're here.
00:00:21:04 - 00:00:42:16
Unknown
Now it's time to thrive. Welcome to this episode of 30 Minute Thrive, I'm excited to go over this month's talent report with Jim Morgan, our vice president of Workforce Strategies here at MRA. We're going to kind of go into what he's been seeing talent wise this month of May. So I know this month kind of highlighted emerging leaders as the featured topic, too.
00:00:42:17 - 00:01:12:18
Unknown
So I'm excited to kind of talk about that and put that into the conversation, too. Okay. Looking forward to it. But just as a reminder, if you aren't familiar with the monthly talent report, Jim Morgan gives an up to the minute review of what's going on in the world of business in HR., with an emphasis on talent. And that's based on input from CEOs, CFOs and H.R. leaders from MRA's 3000 plus member companies, 1000 roundtable participants and subject matter experts.
00:01:12:21 - 00:01:38:09
Unknown
So again, thanks for coming on the podcast. My pleasure, Jim. So we'll kind of kick off the episode talking about what's happening in the recruiting and retention world. So, Jim, what are you seeing here this month? Well, we found a really interesting one. This was in northern Wisconsin, and we're always talking with companies about is there a niche of people that you can attract, that you can really sort of absorb into your workplace and differentiate yourself in the market?
00:01:38:11 - 00:01:58:06
Unknown
And in this case, they had a number of Hispanic speaking people. And in that area there is a pretty good population of Hispanic people. And so they had found that, you know, they were trying to accommodate that people that had English as a second language. And as they saw more and more people coming in, they thought, you know, there's more and more that we can do.
00:01:58:06 - 00:02:22:07
Unknown
And so, one, they began to offer English as a second language to the people that were primarily Spanish speaking, but they also turned it around the other way and were helping their English speaking people learn Spanish or if they had had Spanish before. You were mentioning before the podcast that, you know, you had an outstanding high school experience and got a great grade and went on to take it in college, but then maybe you don't use it for a few years.
00:02:22:10 - 00:02:46:11
Unknown
So they would do the refresher so that people could understand a little bit more Spanish. And so then the communications began to improve. They had some interpreters that they were floating around their three shifts in an effort to help them sort of facilitate conversation. And then they actually worked with their technical college that, you know, learning a language is one thing, but learning it specific to an industry is another.
00:02:46:13 - 00:03:11:12
Unknown
And so they had the technical college come in and sit in on some of the conversations, and this was our food manufacturing business. So they learned words like, you know, volume and moisture and P-H and things that may not be in your Spanish 1 to 1 when you're learning dog and cat and things like that, but more specific to the industry so that when the harder words came up, both sides of it began to understand.
00:03:11:15 - 00:03:35:24
Unknown
They made sure all of their signs were, you know, bilingual, not only by law, but you know, in addition putting up additional signage as well. Anyway, the long and the short of this was that this began to spread through the Hispanic community. And they were saying, wow, if you come to this company, they really seem to care about making us feel at home, making sure that we can be heard, making sure we can communicate with others.
00:03:35:27 - 00:03:56:27
Unknown
And it actually has become sort of a talent supply chain issue for them now, where they're finding out that people are making a conscious choice to come work for them because of all the effort they're putting in to make them feel comfortable. And so, again, as you know, we talk about trying to match the work life balance of people to try to match what your employees want in terms of needs.
00:03:57:00 - 00:04:24:10
Unknown
Here was one where it was really a language thing, put a real emphasis on let's make that's remove the language thing from the barriers. And as a result, they've sort of become a magnet now for English as a second language group people. Scott That's an interesting recruiting and retention tactic, and I feel like it's one thing to say that you can do all of that in a company, but it's also another thing to actually implement that and yeah, kind of show that culture around.
00:04:24:10 - 00:04:42:04
Unknown
So that's cool. Yeah. And it's obviously so important to these people if they're going home and yeah, you know, telling me, telling their friends, you know, and so it becomes a topic of discussion and all of a sudden they're seeing people come in and you know, they're coming because it's a comfortable place to be. Yeah, exactly. Successful tool, right?
00:04:42:09 - 00:05:06:06
Unknown
That's right. So I mentioned earlier that emerging leaders was a topic that was highlighted this month in the talent report in MRA, just actually released their results of our Hot Topic survey on emerging leaders. So can you talk about that survey and the results a little bit? Was there anything that kind of jumped out at you? Yeah, I would say what it did was confirm some things we thought we already knew.
00:05:06:06 - 00:05:26:25
Unknown
And it is almost become I've sort of developed this hierarchy now of emerging leaders, which if I go into almost any company and I say to them, Do you have emerging leaders? And they'll say, Oh yeah, we have emerging leaders. And I said, Interesting. You know, have you identified them? We sort of know who they are and where they're at.
00:05:26:26 - 00:05:51:14
Unknown
Okay. Do they know that you've identified them as an emerging leader? And usually the answer then becomes, well, no. Yeah. And said, well, you know, why haven't you identified them? Well, we're not clear on the criteria and we don't really have a game plan for them after we've identified them. And you kind of go through this list and you're sort of realizing that everybody knows it's a big deal, everybody knows who they are, and then it gets hard.
00:05:51:14 - 00:06:13:01
Unknown
And then that sort of where it begins to drop off. And so when we started, one of the questions that we asked in the survey was, you know, what's the criteria for your emerging leaders? And they're, you know, 90 plus percent said, oh, high potential or, you know, good work ethic. And some of these you know, I'll know it when I see it, but I'm not quite sure how I put a measurement on it.
00:06:13:03 - 00:06:43:24
Unknown
And really not so much about getting a little more specific, like because they live the mission and vision of the organization, because they're looking to develop their skill side, because they have a learning plan in place and have worked with their manager to see this is how they're going to upgrade all that they're doing. And what it really began to confirm for us as we're trying to help companies with their own emerging leaders is there's got to be a whole bunch of steps put in place here that says this emerging leader program has to tie to your succession plan.
00:06:43:25 - 00:07:05:25
Unknown
It has to be tied to your mission and goals. You've got to have a career plan in place for these folks. There has to be a learning and development plan. They have to be able to apply what you're trying to teach. Because if you tell me I'm an emerging leader and what I get out of that is a whole bunch more work because, you know, I'm trying out and I'm doing things that's great and I'll feel good about that.
00:07:05:25 - 00:07:29:16
Unknown
But, you know, is there a recognition component? Is there a compensation component? Is there a promotion component? Is there a learning and development component? And so what we're really starting to see is this is really important for companies. They understand the value of it, and now they're just sort of getting to I'm not sure we can just say the emerging leaders are who I think they are, but it's criteria based.
00:07:29:16 - 00:07:49:18
Unknown
It's confirmed by the senior team, by their supervisor. Other people that work with them that, yep, you know, this is someone who goes the extra mile. This is someone who really understands the organization and then we have to put in place, okay, well, what does that mean? And then how do we continue to build them up? So we did learn that, you know, there are companies that have some criteria.
00:07:49:18 - 00:08:09:23
Unknown
They've gone through the whole thing and using some of those best practices. Now we're working with other companies to say, all right, you know, have you done this? Have you done this and have you done this Because in Emerging Leaders program that only consists of, well, we know who they are and that's the end of it doesn't really qualify as an emerging leader program.
00:08:09:25 - 00:08:31:14
Unknown
And going off of that, as you're talking about emerging leader programs, you mentioned this and talent thinking section. So you talked about how emerging leader programs can help with retention and as a kind of aid as a retention tool. So can you expand on that a little bit more? Yeah, You know, and I think we've gone through this.
00:08:31:14 - 00:08:49:06
Unknown
You know, we had a couple of years of everybody frantically trying to attract talent that just churning that, you know, as many as we can. Let's get them as quickly as we can and hopefully bringing in more people than were going somewhere else. And while that's still going on, I think that pendulum has stopped swinging quite so much.
00:08:49:09 - 00:09:06:06
Unknown
And the attraction, while still important, has now focused a little bit more on retention, like, okay, we're gonna go through all this work to try to attract these people. How do we then hang on to them and ultimately how do we hang on to the best of our best? And I would argue that that's probably your emerging leaders.
00:09:06:08 - 00:09:34:16
Unknown
And so this is a group of people that, you know, that they're high fliers, you know, that they're high motor, their high energy. They're looking to be recognized for that. They're looking to have growth opportunities. They're looking for opportunities to, you know, move up in their career. And so now it has become a retention strategy that says we can't just say we have an emerging leader program and say, hey, self-congratulation, journey, emerging leader.
00:09:34:18 - 00:09:55:10
Unknown
That doesn't mean much to Sophie or if we say to Sophie, what we'd like you to do now is we're going to do a skills assessment of you and see where you're strong, in which case we'll just keep building on those and maybe some areas where you haven't had the opportunity for experience. And we'll give you more of that and make you more broad based and give you a little bit more breadth in what you know about the organization.
00:09:55:13 - 00:10:18:21
Unknown
Will give you some applicable opportunities. Maybe we'll have you run a project, we'll have you get on a volunteer board somewhere, will expose you to the executive committee and the board of directors. Those types of opportunities that now say, Wow, somebody has recognized what I'm doing. They publicly recognize it to say, Hey, these are our emerging leaders for the year and here's what's about to happen.
00:10:18:23 - 00:10:37:05
Unknown
And so I think now they're seeing, oh, I've got a future here. People are taking an interest in me because if they become unengaged, that's when they start looking. What if you're keeping sort of that carried out there that says there's opportunities for you, there's growth for you now that's become part of. All right. You know, we've got these best and brightest.
00:10:37:05 - 00:11:14:17
Unknown
How do we make sure we keep them? It seems like there's more of a strategic plan involved with the emerging. Yeah, and that's a really good point, because first of all, if there isn't any plan that bad. Second, if the plan is almost department by department, that's that's good. But it's not a strategic initiative for the organization. Whereas if the organization has said, now, look, we need we're going to need to fill position, you know, the number of people that are saying, yeah, of our 12 leaders in the organization, seven of them are going to retire in the next three years, or we just lost 200 years of experience with our last round of retirements
00:11:14:17 - 00:11:39:13
Unknown
in the past 12 months. Those are things that people are having to start to plan for now. And an emerging leader program is really, you know, sort of the way to build that bench and build those succession planning for sure. So is there anything else you want to highlight in that talent thinking section? Well, I think, you know, really your point on the strategy part of it that says this is our succession planning.
00:11:39:13 - 00:12:03:03
Unknown
This is not only trying to fill the C-suite positions, but to try to fill all of our critical positions. And that might be, you know, somebody on the factory floor, might be somebody in the accounting department, it might be someone at the front desk. There are jobs that, you know, are going to be important. And when that person goes, you're going to have to try to figure out what are we going to do in all of these and how are we going to fill them.
00:12:03:03 - 00:12:25:20
Unknown
So I think it really that strategic part is really become a big part of, yeah, all of the emerging leader work that companies are doing. Mm hmm. And you just talk about succession planning and that's kind of been a buzzword, I feel like nowadays. And just more frequently I feel like I've heard that. But in terms of C-suite level, what are leaders really doing with that and what are they doing now?
00:12:25:23 - 00:12:53:09
Unknown
You know, I think people always want to say they've got a succession plan and I think people are really trying to push now to say, you know, the succession plan doesn't come when the person gives three weeks notice. The succession comes long before that. And I think there's two sort of parts of this. One is, you know, not to be crude, but what's the succession plan if the person gets hit by a bus tomorrow and we don't see them again, because that's a next day.
00:12:53:10 - 00:13:14:01
Unknown
Yeah. And it happens. And that may not be the long term fix, but who is the person that you know? Okay, let's take you you're running our social media. If you're not there the next day, does anybody know what we're doing in social media? It doesn't have to be their primary job. It can someone walk in the next day and say, wow, here's everything that you had planned.
00:13:14:03 - 00:13:39:25
Unknown
They may not be our permanent solution, but there's somebody who can step in the next day. And from the external world, they don't know that we miss a beat so that succession planning part one and then part two is did we plan someone that was going to be the next person up to say, okay, this person can get us through the next two weeks, three weeks, the month, but then we've got to get this other person off speed and they can take it on the long term.
00:13:39:27 - 00:14:01:07
Unknown
So I think from the C-suite perspective, they're trying to look at both. And then they're also with the emerging leaders. You know, this is kind of a balance to say right now, if I said to you, congratulations, you're an emerging leader here. I can't really follow that up and say, you know what? And in six months you'll be our director of marketing, because I don't know if that's what's going to happen.
00:14:01:07 - 00:14:19:09
Unknown
We've got a director of marketing and he does a wonderful job. So I don't know if he's going to be here or not be here, so I can't say that to him. So from a C-suite perspective, I think there's almost a there's no promises here. I can't guarantee you a raise or a promotion or whatever. What I can tell you is we're going to support you in all of this.
00:14:19:09 - 00:14:38:03
Unknown
We'll put resources into you and you are going to be in a much better position that should that job open up or should that opportunity become available, you'll be ready to fill it. And that's, I think, what we're trying to prepare that next generation. And as much as someone might say, okay, if I do this in six months, how much more money do I make?
00:14:38:06 - 00:14:55:17
Unknown
I'd love to be able to tell you that. But if you're still doing the exact same job right, then that's not something that I can. Yeah, that's a good point. So trying to make sure that everybody is realistic in their expectations that we're going to make sure you are as ready as you can possibly be. Yeah. And then we just have to sort of see what happens.
00:14:55:18 - 00:15:17:07
Unknown
Yeah. I feel like being realistic is a great point to bring out because you don't want to make any promises that are going to come true or give high hopes to someone that I don't know. Those things might not happen to them. Yeah. And we also then, you know, we added that to the CEO, to the C-suite, that there was a new CHRO poll that came out sort of asking what they were thinking.
00:15:17:07 - 00:15:39:06
Unknown
And we confirmed this, you know, with some of the CEOs and CFOs, too. But there seems to be for the first quarter anyway, at least some optimism that the world is settling down a little. And I say that because we're going from completely frantic hair on fire to maybe just completely frantic. Yeah, that's still better step down. But it's not like we're all sitting back and, you know, enjoying life.
00:15:39:06 - 00:15:57:27
Unknown
But at least the turnover has stopped a little. It seems like the are out the door, back in the door. All of that has slowed down a little. And when we just had the Talent Report, one of the questions we asked is, you know, sort of where are you at right now? And one of the choices is, hey, I at least I have time to breathe.
00:15:57:29 - 00:16:20:07
Unknown
And a majority of the people said at least they have time to breathe. So that's a little bit better. And at least can you do some strategic thinking? The first quarter went relatively well for most industries, so nowhere near normal when I think people feeling just a little bit better about what's going on for sure. Mm hmm. Well, earlier we talked about some of the characteristics of emerging leaders.
00:16:20:07 - 00:16:51:27
Unknown
But I know you have a chart that it kind of explains the criteria used to also identify emerging leaders. So can you talk about what's on the chart or a few points on the chart? Yeah. You know, and as I said a little bit earlier, when I was talking about the emerging leaders that, you know, high performer, high potential and there's almost an intrinsic like, yeah, I know the people that are getting stuff done and those, you know, were like, you know, in the nineties but those were followed relatively closely by demonstrated motivation and desire.
00:16:51:29 - 00:17:10:23
Unknown
The behavior aligns with the organizational values. They're a team player. And so I think you're starting to get, you know, some of them maybe more subjective. They're doing the things that we want them to do. Now, measuring some of those are difficult, but even team player, you know, that's coming from other folks who are saying, you know, I enjoy working with Sophie.
00:17:10:23 - 00:17:36:29
Unknown
She's easy to work with. She's flexible. She, you know, listens to other people ideas. And so, you know, they had some of those things in there. And then I'd say, you know, the next round still, you know, in the 70% influence and it inspires other employees, has a real knowledge of the organization, takes the initiative they're those people are I didn't you know you didn't have to go say hey, this isn't getting done.
00:17:36:29 - 00:17:51:05
Unknown
You know, they're the ones who say like, I'll do it. Yeah, you know, might be outside their area, but you know that they're going to step up or you're sitting in a meeting and you just say, Boy, we really need some help on blank. It's the person who raises their hands as well. You know, I can do it.
00:17:51:05 - 00:18:16:27
Unknown
Yeah. And so, you know, you see those things and other people see it. So you start getting a little bit of. That's what's going on out there. Mm hmm. And then lower down. But I think the pandemic sort of showed this. It's it's the, you know, who's who's willing to be the person that's there who was willing to just kind of roll with it and say, okay, I'm going to be flexible here.
00:18:16:27 - 00:18:42:07
Unknown
I understand there's a hardship here. I'm going to take this. This isn't really my job, but I understand there's somebody else here who can't do it. This person dealt with an illness, this sort of thing happens. So they really were good under fire, I think in almost every organization as they went through the pandemic, you just saw certain people who just sort of ducked down and said, I'm just going to hope this thing passes and I'll still be here.
00:18:42:09 - 00:18:58:04
Unknown
And the others who stepped up and said, All right, we're not going to able to do things the way that we used to do them. So I'll come in and I'll help with this part. Might just be for a month, might be for a year, might be until, you know, normalcy returns about now. But they were the ones who just always raised their hand.
00:18:58:05 - 00:19:19:12
Unknown
Yeah, that's interesting that you can identify, I don't know, a high performer, high potential from a global pandemic. Yeah. Yeah. You know, for all the bad things that happened, it certainly nothing else the pandemic sort of showed us. Yeah. Who can work remotely. Exactly. Who can step up and who is adaptable. Yeah, we did pick up on those.
00:19:19:14 - 00:19:47:08
Unknown
Well, as we kind of wrap up here, I've always got to ask if you can give us a sneak peek to what next months our part looks like for June. Yeah, I'm very excited. We're going to talk about employee engagement and employee assessments and, you know, similar to almost what we talked about today, there's a lot of companies that will say, Oh yeah, you know, we want to know more about employee engagement and yeah, we want to know how our people are feeling and they might do it from a gut feel, which isn't all bad, you know.
00:19:47:10 - 00:20:13:13
Unknown
But you also really want to find out what people are thinking and why they're thinking that and once you get those results, you really want to put something in place that says, All right, look, they told us this and that. We got to dig deeper into that and maybe do some focus groups and sit down with a group of employees or by department, have some different discussions because, you know, if you don't ask the questions, you don't have any idea what the answers are.
00:20:13:16 - 00:20:31:19
Unknown
And the flip side of that being is if you do ask the questions, you better do something about it. And so we're going to have a discussion with Kristie Haase about just, you know, what do some of those assessments look like? What happens when you're done with those assessments? What is some of the follow up, you know, and what do you see from companies that really do it well?
00:20:31:22 - 00:20:53:10
Unknown
And what are some some of the best practices out there? So again, with this emphasis on retention and keeping people happy, one of the things that we're really, you know, seeing more and more because of the pandemic, because of the these last two generations, is you really have to start to know the individual and what they want. And sort of a one size fits all doesn't really work anymore.
00:20:53:10 - 00:21:20:11
Unknown
Yeah. So we'll have some pretty, I think, interesting discussions around best practices and employee engagement and employee assessment. Yeah, awesome. I'm looking forward to it. Do you have any last pieces of advice you want to leave the listeners and I know you've given a lot, but any and I know your last mike Drop my, my mike drop. Okay Yeah I think my mike drop is, you know, sort of hanging in there and we just had our our conference, we had about 500 people there.
00:21:20:11 - 00:21:41:23
Unknown
And, you know, we were surveying them on different things. We did a word cloud on, you know, how are you feeling? Yeah. And, you know, I think people are still stressed. They're still a little overwhelmed. But like I said, they're feeling a little bit better about what's happening. I don't know that the end is in sight, but at least they feel like we're we're moving in the right direction.
00:21:41:26 - 00:21:58:25
Unknown
And we had some really good conversations around mental health and, you know, people being overwhelmed and strategies to deal with that. So from an H our point of view, I would encourage, you know, the people that about the center of the storm, you got to take care of yourself because you spend a lot of time taking care of a lot of other people.
00:21:58:26 - 00:22:27:26
Unknown
Yeah. You know, don't be afraid to, you know, spend some time on yourself. Yeah. Self keep yourself healthy. Yeah. Good, good. Lasting advice. Well, thank you for being on the podcast stage and sharing this month's talent report to our listeners. We hope you liked our chat today and the topic today, so I'd encourage you to share this episode and leave a comment or review and make sure to share it with your coworkers and on social media and then consider joining MRA if you aren't a member already.
00:22:27:28 - 00:22:54:00
Unknown
Like always, we have all the resources you need in the show notes below, and we've got some resources from today in the show notes and Jim's contact information there too, if you want to get in touch with him. Otherwise, we'll see you next week. And thanks for tuning in. And that wraps up our content for this episode. Be sure to reference the show notes where you can sign them to connect for more podcasts updates, check out other Amari episodes on your favorite podcast platform.
00:22:54:00 - 00:23:03:19
Unknown
And as always, make sure to follow MRA’s 30 minute Thrive so you don't miss out. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next Wednesday to carry on the HR conversation.

24 min

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