Transform It Forward

Although women represent nearly half of the entire workforce today, they’re still massively underrepresented in the technology industry. Transformation is needed not only for the women working in technology now, but also for the girls hoping to make their mark on the industry in the future. In this episode of the Transform It Forward podcast, we share a panel discussion from the recent Axway Summit 2021, which brought these issues to light and sparked a dialogue around the need for diverse leadership in tech. Moderated by Axway’s VP of Customer Success and Experience, Anne Lloyd, the panel included speakers Chhavi Bhargava, Data Exchange Service Manager, Ford Motor Co., Fernanda Toscano, IT Senior Executive, HDI Insurance, and Susanne Schuetz, SVP Customer and Business Intelligence, DB Schenker.

Learn more about the Axway Summit here: https://www.axway.com/en/events/axway-summit-americas

Interested in learning more about the show? Check out our website: https://www.transformitforward.com/

Traditional qualitative market research is impersonal and hard to scale. To make matters more challenging, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, in person interviews and focus groups were no longer accessible. Enter: video. In this episode of Transform It Forward, Paul sits down with Simon Glass, the CEO of Discuss.io, to chat about how video conferencing software is the future of qualitative research. They discuss how video creates a more comfortable setting for subjects to open up, how the research industry has adapted to the digital space over the past year, and the way that video is able to scale customer research techniques. 

Learn more about Simon here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-glass-345b40/

Interested in learning more about the show? Check out our website: 

https://www.transformitforward.com/

The insurance industry is traditionally thought of as slow-moving, but today, even the longest-standing industries are being forced to adapt. On this week’s episode of Transform It Forward, Paul chats with Dan Watt, VP of Product Management at FINEOS, a firm dedicated to creating core systems for life, accident, and health insurers globally. The two discuss the challenges that the insurance industry is currently facing, the need to unify and leverage existing data sources, how (and how not) to launch a successful transformation campaign, and the key to both customer and employee experience.

Learn more about Dan Watt here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dan-watt-ba45353/

Interested in learning more? Check out our website: https://www.transformitforward.com/

An organization’s most important asset is its people. To kick off the second season of Transform It Forward, Paul sits down with Evan Sohn, CEO of Recruiter.com to discuss the future of human resources, talent attraction, and retention. They discuss what’s needed to transform HR departments in corporate settings, where to best invest your dollars into talent, and how the gig economy will play a key role in the next generation of recruitment.

Learn more about Evan Sohn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evansohn

Interested in learning more? Check out our website: https://www.transformitforward.com/

On this episode of Transform it Forward, Paul is joined by Vicki Knott, Co-founder and CEO of Crux OCM, a company utilizing AI and real-time optimization to enable semi-autonomous operation of oil pipelines, reducing risk and increasing efficiency. The future Vicki pictures for this technology goes beyond oil and gas and allows existing systems in energy and other industries to function more efficiently and profitably, bettering the human experience for workers and customers alike.  

Together, they discuss:  

1) The important but challenging nature of innovation in an industry as traditional as oil and gas;

2) The sweet spot in terms of human-centric versus machine-learned jobs and how to balance the two for maximum efficiency and safety;

3) How and why we need to focus on existing energy assets instead of focusing solely on renewable energy.

Supply chain disruption is arguably an inevitability. Factors such as political unrest, tariffs and even weather can cause global supply chain disruption. So how do you manage these disruptions? And as you address major supply chain issues, how do you ensure your people remain at the forefront of everything you do, while still holding your own with the supply chain giants of the world?

On today’s episode, Paul is joined by Robert Gerwig, Senior Vice President of Distribution at Sweetwater, the leading online retailer for music instruments and audio gear in the U.S. Robert has more than thirty years of experience in manufacturing, fulfillment and operations. As a private, rapidly growing online retailer, Sweetwater is one of the smaller supply chains Robert has worked with. But in terms of technology and expertise, Robert says it’s right up there with the big players and has allowed him to strike a careful balance between speed and style, the quantifiable and the qualitative-- things that, according to Robert, don’t need to be at odds.  

Paul and Robert discuss:

1) The value of solid contingency planning to find success in your supply chains;

2) How to balance “hard” measurable things like speed of service with “soft” things like customer experience;

3) The importance of valuing your people-- whether that means your customers, employees or vendors -- and how it can help you find success with your business objectives.

Most work environments look very different than they did mere months ago. The shift to remote work was violently accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing workplaces everywhere to manage internal and external challenges they never could have anticipated. Even companies with strong business continuity plans found themselves executing on them more rapidly than they had ever expected. Remaining operational and productive throughout management of a crisis is at the heart of every business continuity plan, but how do you spring into action to manage global-scale  challenges that previously seemed unfathomable?  

On this episode of Transform It Forward, Paul chats with VP of Employee Experience at Manulife, Amy MacGregor.  For 15+ years, Amy has been a champion of efficient employee experiences that focus on human centred design and collaboration. Her “getting it done together” attitude is driving her team at Manulife through the COVID pandemic.  

The two discuss:  

1) Practices Manulife had in place that allowed for a smooth transition to remote work;

2) The importance of empowering your team to make key decisions through a crisis;

3) Creative ways to keep employees engaged and motivated in a remote environment;

4) The long term effects your response to this (or any) crisis can have on company culture.

What does the future of healthcare look like after the COVID-19 pandemic? Paul sits down with Dr. Daniel Pepe and Albert Tai to discuss the before and after pictures of the healthcare industry, to uncover how it adapted to the ‘new normal’ we’re experiencing today. Dr. Daniel Pepe is a distinguished clinician and educator, with several awards under his belt including the OMA Resident Achievement Award and the PARO Resident Trust Fund Teaching Award. Albert Tai is equally as impressive, being the CEO of Hypercare, a company tackling healthcare's archaic ways of communication, specifically coordination around patient care.  

The three discuss:  

1) How healthcare professionals pivoted their lines of care to digital processes;

2) The technologies currently being used to support frontline healthcare workers;

3) How digital workflows are connecting healthcare practices together;

4) The importance of understanding your stakeholders.

For our third episode of Transform it Forward, Paul sits down with Danielle Brown, Chief Marketing Officer of Points, to uncover the future of D2C marketing. Points is a technology organization dedicated to helping brands enhance and monetize their loyalty currencies and currently serves 60 of the world’s largest brands. 

Together, the two mention: 

1. Why brands need to consider customer reactions; 
2. How to get travel customers excited again, even when the future is shaky and uncertain; 
3. When to focus on equity vs. equality in partnerships;
4. Why leaders need to trust their teams, especially in volatile markets; 
5. How employee happiness correlates to customer satisfaction.

This week on Transform It Forward, Paul is chatting with Victor Lee, the former SVP of Marketing at Hasbro. Victor is a veteran in the customer experience space, having watched the marketing world evolve from the dot com boom to today’s focus on predictive, contextual targeting methods. During their conversation, Victor discusses four major themes:

1) What brands can do to offer a faster, more seamless online experience;

2) How operational excellence can be used as a unique differentiator for brands;

3) Why brands need to do to continually adapt and evolve to customer needs;

4) How to provide superior customer convenience.