The WFH Show

Nikki’s guest is David Zinger, a leading employee engagement speaker, educator, and community builder. David has over 24,000 hours’ experience working in employee engagement in over eight countries and has taught education and counselling at the University of Manitoba for over 20 years. Among many topics, David talks about how to make well-being and employee engagement programs authentic. And, drawing on his background in psychology, he discusses workplace place anxiety and the complexity and ambiguity facing leaders striving to create safe workplaces during the current climate. If you want to hear from one of the industry's best, this is the episode for you!

Check out the video podcast here: https://youtu.be/C0bc6r5z_jM (https://youtu.be/C0bc6r5z_jM)

Nikki’s guest is Mark Simpson, Vice President of Legendary People at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant chain, which has 56,00 employees at 563 locations, plus their support center (HQ). Stressing the importance of flexibility and communication, Mark has helped his team achieve some incredible things since the start of COVID, like handling a 600% increase in takeout business. And there have been no layoffs or pay cuts (except some executives taking voluntary cuts) - so you know they’re doing something right! Mark also talks about the importance of transparency and how recognition and appreciation are more important than ever. If you’re in the food service industry you’ll definitely want to hear Mark’s many great insights and tips!

Watch the video podcast: https://youtu.be/KG89f3LFUCU

Nikki’s guest is Jackie Kindall, CEO of Kindall Evolve Consulting, which provides, executive coaching, leadership development programs, and organizational consulting. Jackie tells us that we need to realize that we are experiencing massive change and that we should be aware of the accompanying emotions and be gentle with ourselves and others. She says that appreciation and recognition are especially important at this time, adding that it is important to understand how your team members like to be recognized (publicly or privately for example). Looking ahead to returning to “normal,” Jackie says we must realize that some people will be fearful so we must take that into account and acknowledge that it’s okay to not be okay. Listen to the podcast for the rest of Jackie’s great insights and tips.

Nikki’s guest is Angie Duong, Manager, People and Culture at Avanti Software Inc., makers of cloud-based, HR solutions that help to recruit manage and retain employees. During COVID-19, Angie has been busy facilitating ways to be sure her team stays connected. These include increasing the cadence of CEO-led “all hands on deck” meetings (often focusing on gratitude), and innovative activities like “5 in 5,” a cool activity where people use five slides and talk about themselves for five minutes. Great idea! Angie and her team have been pleased to see the viability of hiring people virtually (Avanti hasn’t stopped hiring in the WFH era) as well as conducting successful virtual training sessions. Angie says Avanti plans to carry over many of these new practices and activities once things get back to “normal.” Listen to the podcast to get more great tips from Angie.

Watch the video podcast: https://youtu.be/nj8ZsjYXd-Q

Nikki’s guest is Kevin Kruse, author of several books and a contributor to Business Week, Fast Company, Business Insider and Forbes. He is also the founder and CEO of LEADx.org, a next generation AI-powered leadership development and management training company. Kevin tells us how AI can help us – and our managers – be aware of our personality type which in turn can guide us to better, customized WFH strategies. He notes that managers should be less concerned that people are working too little at home, but rather too much – which can lead to burn out. He also tells us how important recognition is, and suggests that since we are missing physical interactions around the office, companies should use systems (like Kudos, for example😉) that take “take the friction out of recognition” for remote team members.

Watch the Video Podcast: https://youtu.be/lhGX4Wr1UxA

Nikki’s guest is Marisol Hughes, EVP and general counsel at WilsonHCG, which aims to be the premier global talent solutions provider, and talent firm. Marisol has helped to implement an excellent range of engagement and collaboration events. There are the expected activities like virtual coffee chats, but also some intriguing ones, like painting with a twist, Top Chef, WHCG Cribs, and a popular one called “What’s in your fridge right now?” They have also designated a mental wellness month with weekly areas of focus, including sessions with a team member who is a certified “Happiness at Work” coach. It’s for real! Listen the podcast to learn more.

Nikki’s guest is Gabby Hughes, People Program Manager at Gong, makers of “Revenue Intelligence” software. Gabby has helped to establish a range of virtual events for Gong, from workouts with trainers to mediation sessions to events for kids of parents working at home to virtual happy hour with activities. Gabby and her team also look for ways to give back, including volunteering to send letters to people and inviting out-of-work people to Gong activities. Tech-wise, Gabby recommends Donut, which enables random coffee dates with team members you might not know very well (yet), and Guru which is like an internal wiki with all kinds of information about Gong, including WFH resources.

Watch the Video Podcast: https://youtu.be/27lGpoSxp1s

Nikki's guest is Cornell Verdeja-Woodson, Diversity Business Partner for Google Cloud. Cornell tells us that the new WFH era can be an eye opening moment for people of privilege, because restricted lifestyles can let them feel how others may feel when their choices are restricted by race, gender or socioeconomic class. Cornell also advises leaders to be mindful of team members who might not feel comfortable advocating for themselves regarding difficulties they may have working from home – from childcare issues to mental health concerns. He encourage managers to be be patient, kind and, most importantly, to ask questions.

Nikki’s guest is Tom Morin, a renowned speaker, writer, coach and consultant through his business, https://workfeelsgood.com/ (Work Feels Good). Tom talks about how leaders have more work than ever since their teams are working remotely. His (possibly counterintuitive) advice that is working for his clients is to cut back on scheduled meetings with team members. Instead, Tom suggests scheduling more informal “open door” times when the leader is available to members. He has other tips, including how to support the new kind of team members we see emerging in the WFH era, the “self-inspired" worker who needs less supervision and guidance. Listen to the podcast to get the whole story.

Watch the Video Podcast: https://youtu.be/06kN8upsdR0

Nikki's guest is Michelle Berg, CEO of Elevated HR. Elevated has been very busy dealing with companies who have had to institute temporary layoffs. Michelle and her team have handled 2,400 layoffs in a two-week period, so she has some very valuable advice for HR pros, including offering to do check ins with laid off personnel (a new service that has been very popular with clients). Michelle also advocates paying close attention to the mental health of employees. At Elevated, Wednesday standups are devoted to mental health with each team member being asked to rate how they are feeling on a scale of one to ten. She notes that, “the only way out of this is by sharing, and that means being vulnerable enough to share.” Listen to the podcast to get the whole story.

Watch the Video Podcast: https://youtu.be/cggghClMLtY