The Hennessy Report

On this episode of The Hennessy Report podcast, Dave is joined by Amanda Bailey, the VP for HR at Boston University.

With 140 HR liaisons supporting over 10,000 students and staff and programs across 20+ countries, Amanda has a lot to share!

She describes how BU's employee engagement begins even before onboarding. It begins at an individual's first interaction with someone within the BU community. They believe how they treat each other spreads beyond the campus borders and effects the perception of future employee and student applicants.

Amanda also discusses how they track success in leadership and check in with individual contributors, the future of work, and social activism as they continue to advance learning outside campuses, where free exchanges of ideas happen.

Amanda is an engaging, inspiring speaker with a lot to share, so tune in today!

On this episode of The Hennessy Report, Dave is joined by Kim Hazen, CPO at Fulcrum Therapeutics.

Kim speaks with Dave about her unique career path from financial services to life sciences, the way employees are treated on their way in and out of biotech, and how they are developed while there, and being a new mom while taking on the role of CHRO at the same time.

Kim speaks passionately about making sure all employees know the impact their work has on patients' lives.

Tune in today!

Dave is joined by Nancy Folan, the CHRO at Amundi Asset Management US on this episode of The Hennessy Report by Keystone Partners.

Nancy shares her journey as a first generation Italian working for a European owned organization, initially taking the opportunity to work as a liaison at the Italian parent company to aid in sourcing talent.

Having headed HR for over 20 years, Nancy shares the challenges and bridge building that come with a global organization and how to build skilled teams.

Nancy also describes her leadership development philosophy and her strategy behind using external coaches to create a coaching culture.

This episode's NEHRA question of the podcast covers how to identify key moments for leadership development for organizations with lean budgets, and the pitfalls of promoting technical leaders without providing coaching.

She is very proud of her team's work in identifying unconscious bias and their evolving DEI journey. To build an inclusive organization Nancy discusses partnering with the NeuroLeadership Institute, whose work is scientifically based and difficult to dispute.

Nancy is a captivating speaker with deep expertise in global HR.

She is so known for attracting and developing HR leaders that our next guest, Kim Hazen - CPO at Fulcrum Therapeutics, was previously a member of Nancy's team.

Dave is joined by long-time friend, going all the way back to the start of the podcast, Ann Hargraves. Ann is the SVP at TScan Therapeutics and an amazingly eloquent speaker, passionate about the work and mission of TScan that she feels so connected to.

As a cancer survivor herself, Ann speaks to the impact she feels working at a company whose mission is focused on life changing therapies for patients and their families.

She also discusses how they choose not to publicize values to outside world, to encourage candidates to focus on who they are and what they are looking for first.

Ann believes learning development should be offered equally across the company, and provides that across the company.

Next up on the podcast is Nancy Folan, the CHRO of Amundi Asset Management US.

Dave is joined by Jen Nash, strategist and author of "The Big Power of Tiny Connections: How Small Interactions Spark Awesome Outcomes." This episode of The Hennessy Report was recorded live at NEHRA's annual conference after Jen's appearance as the keynote speaker.

Through her research for her book, she has found that "highly engaged workforces are 21% more profitable and 17% more productive" and that "companies with connected workforces are 4 times more productive."

In this episode Jen describes why and how you should engage your teams and urges companies who don’t see a link between dollars spent and productivity and profitability to take the leap into coaching, assessments, and more, noting "it costs us money to have disconnected staff."

She also explains where her belief in connections came from as a child, and calls networks "the rockstar foundations of our world."

Jen is upbeat and an amazing speaker you won't want to miss!

On this holiday edition of The Hennessy Report, Dave is joined by Erin Lovering, the CHRO at Edelman Financial Engines.

Erin discusses her start in clinical psychology, juggling strong legacy cultures after a merger, as well as their mission statement: everyone deserves to move their financial lives forward.

She believes HR’s job is to get the best out of organizations and the best out of leaders, and describes her role to her children as, "helping bosses be better bosses."

At one point, Erin shares her beliefs on the importance of investing in new managers' skill sets and examining the end-to-end employee experience to identify how to pulse sentiment during those moments that matter. This holistic way of thinking is growing in popularity, mirrored in Keystone's own research and evolving messaging around preparing for the defining moments organizations and employees alike consistently face, from coaching to transitions.

You'll enjoy this fast-paced, engaging conversation!

Best wishes for a happy and healthy new year!

Dave is joined by Keystone colleague Shawna Simcik in this special edition of The Hennessy Report.

Shawna and her team from ICC, the company Shawna co-founded with Susan Ruhl, recently joined the Keystone Partners community, bringing some amazing expertise and passion for leadership development. Together we will continue to support organizations and leaders at all levels through defining moments.

One of the key offerings Shawna's team brings to Keystone Partners is the Accelerator program, a technology-based, holistically threaded development program teaching through micro-learning, practical application, cohort sessions, and accountability for front-line leaders and first-time managers who are often overlooked. She explains how Accelerator can impact critical pain points such as high turnover, low employee engagement, and retention issues within 30 days.

Shawna also explains part of the research that influenced Accelerator - the Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve, a study on when and how we memorize material. Two weeks from now, how much will you remember from this episode?

A self-proclaimed "geek" for research, Shawna is excited for Keystone Partners upcoming research study on creating a resilient workforce - stay tuned for more!

Shawna has an electric personality and some wonderful analogies you won't want to miss!

Dave is joined by Ajit Vakharia, President and CEO at Flare Education. Dave first met Ajit three years ago, at the start of Flare's creation, and has remained inspired by the mission ever since.

Ajit shares that mission of providing high school students, often from generationally poor backgrounds, with work-based learning experiences.

Flare is redefining the way internships can and should be done. Ajit describes the best practices employers must follow in order to consistently cultivate culturally significant internship programs that benefit the students, supervisors, and overall business goals.

Tune in to this truly invigorating discussion and join us in supporting Ajit's mission of unlocking the potential of young learners and shaping a brighter future for all.

Dave is joined by Bob Selle, CPO at Ocean State Job Lot, in this episode of The Hennessy Report.

From a memorable presentation at NEHRA, to sitting on NEHRA's board with Dave, to the podcast, we've been fans of Bob for years and are excited to share his unique expertise with our audience!

Bob shares the origin story for Ocean State and how they've maintained their humble, family culture through the continued leadership of Marc and Alan Perlman.

He also speaks to the importance of listening sessions to deliver on the benefits and ideas that will keep their associates "from hire to retire" and achieve greater business success.

Bob discusses their fail fast, entrepreneurial spirit, hiring "athletes" for his HR team, and his belief that we are at an inflection point for workplace culture.

Bob is an amazingly thoughtful speaker with so many great stories to share. You won't want to miss this episode!

Next up on The Hennessy Report: Ajit Vakharia, founder and CEO of Flare Education.

Dave is joined by colleague Kim Littlefield and guest Paul Francisco, the first Chief Diversity Officer for State Street. On that topic, Paul speaks about a mindset change he experienced, no longer believing the goal is to work himself out of a job.

Paul shares what it was like growing up in Honduras and his unexpected move to the US, which prompted his passion for DEIB. He also discusses the importance of employee networks, which they manage through the Four C's model: building community, culture, commerce, and creation and who the burden of allyship falls on.

Dave and Paul share a connection to NEHRA, which Paul praises, along with Tracy Burns, for their dedication to spreading Frank McCarthy's memory, the godfather of diversity and recruiting in Paul's eyes.

Next up on the podcast is Bob Selle, CPO at Ocean State Job Lot.