Lorne and Peter spoke about the future of the workplace and Peter said "Neither technology nor the disruption that comes with it is an exogenous force over which humans have no control. All of us are responsible for guiding its evolution, in the decisions we make on a daily basis as citizens, consumers, and investors." He also comments on the budget process by saying that "Budgets is my favorite time of the year, it is a yearly sadistic ritual where people put in fake numbers into Excel which is consolidated into a budget which never is true."

Learn about how we have done things in the past and what Peter believes we need to do in the future to have a work world that works for everyone.

His book The Day After Tomorrow Peter wants us to "grasp the opportunity and power we have to shape the Fourth Industrial Revolution and direct it toward a future that reflects our common objectives and values.

We must develop a comprehensive and globally shared view of how technology is affecting our lives and reshaping our economic, social, cultural, and human environments. There has never been a time of greater promise, or one of greater potential peril. Today's decision-makers, however, are too often trapped in traditional, linear thinking, or too absorbed by the multiple crises demanding their attention, to think strategically about the forces of disruption and innovation shaping our future."

"In the end, it all comes down to people and values. We need to shape a future that works for all of us by putting people first and empowering them. The Fourth Industrial Revolution may "robotize" humanity and thus to deprive us of our heart and soul. It can also lift humanity into a new collective and moral consciousness based on a shared sense of destiny. It is incumbent on us all to make sure the latter prevails."

Podcast Hosted by Lore Epstein

Produced by John Ogulnik

Audio Engineering by Afotey Odai

Over the last 17 years, Charlotte Marshall has led teams behind the creation and activation of five world-class employer brands. In her role she defines an organization's employment experience to drive attraction, engagement and retention of talent. 

When Charlotte was Vice President of Employer Brand at Magellan Health, she completed an employer brand project in less than 100 days when most companies take a year. Her wisdom from the experience was, "Continuity, pace and momentum are essential ingredients needed to deliver everything you are tasked with achieving as an Employer Brand leader, especially justifying the investment to get started and finding yourself with a world-class result at the end." You can follow Charlotte on Twitter @Charlotte_Co

Bryan Adams is the CEO and founder of Ph. Creative, recognized as one of the best global employer brand agencies in the world. Ph. specializes in building world-class employer brand, EVP and talent attraction strategy for companies such as Apple, American Airlines, and Blizzard Entertainment. Bryan is a best-selling author and expert speaker. He is a known employer brand thought leader and his creative and unconventional methodologies regularly change the way people think. You can follow Bryan on Twitter @Bryan_phc

Podcast Hosted by Lore Epstein

Produced by John Ogulnik

Audio Engineering by Afotey Odai

In the episode of The Lorne Epstein Show, China Gorman, head of UNLEASH's American operations, talks about the various human resource conferences that take place every year. She says "things are changing…dramatically" in the conference space. She adds that some user "shows are becoming much less about how to and much more about larger ideas in the general sort of HR leadership space…"  Another challenge, according to Gorman, comes from the internet with pre-recorded conferences and webinars competing with conferences. Gorman isn't a fan of what she sees as the trend away from live events. "Being eyeball to eyeball and being able to converse IRL (in real life) has a powerful benefit; making a human relationship connection in the same space, not via technology, can be a very powerful thing..." she says.

In a wide-ranging conversation on The Lorne Epstein Show, Marc Coleman, founder and CEO of UNLEASH talks about founding the group and how they never imagined it would become so big. He tells Lorne the organization's success comes from listening to their customers. Coleman says when he looks to the future, he thinks about what employers need to look like moving forward and one thing that is important to him is "companies that look after their employees, make them live longer." On the subject of artificial intelligence (AI), Coleman expressed some skepticism about resume reading software, saying "if you look at headhunting, I've experienced this myself, it's almost easier to still go out, if you want the right people for the right jobs headhunters are still doing the best job out there with very primitive methodology. I'm sorry to say, but this is the truth."

Torin Ellis, who heads a boutique HR firm, talks about diversity and inclusion (D&I) in a conversation on The Lorne Epstein Show. Ellis says, "diversity work is more will over skill." Asked how to recruit for diversity, Ellis says you do it "the same damn way you do any other recruiting…we're not aliens." Ellis says he makes this point in a keynote address he sometimes delivers titled "Everybody Wants Ice Cream. "I want you to understand that I go to an ice cream shop just like you go to an ice cream shop," Torin explains. "If you don't see me at your ice cream shop, or selection of shops, then find another ice cream shop so you can find Torin, and people that look like Torin." He says there is a shift underway and leaders in organizations are beginning to understand they need to recruit in different places when hiring for diversity.

Kevin Oakes is the CEO and founder of the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4CP), a research firm that, according to its website, helps "progressive organizations shift from best practices to next practices." In an interview with The Lorne Epstein Show, Oakes cites a recent study called "Culture Renovation," detailing how HR professionals can lead and sustain change within an organization. Oakes says companies that renovate keep "what made (them) good to begin with and prepare for the future."  He says only15% of companies that try to change their cultures succeed, adding "they fail because they did not enlist the support of the organization." According to Oakes, a key is that companies need to find "influencers and energizers." And he adds finding the "blockers" is equally important so they can be "gently moved out of the way."

On this episode of The Lorne Epstein Show, we speak with Jill Larsen, the CHRO of Medidata Solutions. Larsen has worked in HR for more than 20 years and in 2017 she was honored with the Bob Gatti HR Leader of Distinction Award. "I think it's an amazing time to be in HR. I think it's a scary time to be in HR," Larsen says. "Those of us that adapt ourselves and continue to learn are going to be probably the most relevant in the future." As a leader in the field, Larsen is optimistic about the future of AI. She says at this time it's helpful at the "front end" of the TA process as candidates engage with a company's website and "how you can push information to them." However, this is all a work in progress and she says some programs "don't have enough data yet in order to really be unbiased." 

On this episode of The Lorne Epstein Show, Amy Cappellanti-Wolf talks about her experiences leading companies through transformations. Cappellanti-Wolf has more than 30 years of experience and is currently Senior Vice President and CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer) at Symantec. "Companies are constantly transforming," she says, "and during that transformation there's lots that goes on from an HR perspective and I think it's time where HR can play a really critical and pivotal role to help the business succeed." She adds that companies need to identify the problem they're solving so they can put structures in place to fix it. She warns, however, that there is "no silver bullet to solve all problems."  Cappellanti-Wolf says everyone is impacted by change and to help employees cope with transformations companies need to be honest with employees, to get them involved in the process. 

Alex Smith, who worked strictly in the private sector until Memphis, Tennessee Mayor Jim Strickland hired her to "bring new eyes (to) old problems…bringing in a diverse set of executives to help him think through how to address major issues for the city…" In this episode of The Lorne Epstein Show Alex Smith talks about the transition from the private sector and her role as a change agent bringing private sector practices to the city. Smith also says she's always been interested in politics and her work in Memphis gives her an opportunity to "marry two things that I love politics as well as HR into one role…is just a wonderful opportunity and blessing."

Amit Mohindra & Bill Boorman give a behind the scenes view of People Analytics and how this emerging field is shaping HR. Amit sets the tone of the interview with his reflection: "There is exponential increase in the volume of data." Bill elaborates on the incredible opportunities this data offers, "When you go into this new world, and say, actually, we've got a million CVs—what do they tell us? Education? Location? Skills? Background? Progression? What companies do people come from? Where do they go? How long does it take someone to do that? We begin to have lots of useable data." Yet this new data also presents dangers for the emerging field. "Big data–we take numbers and turn it into pictures for idiots to understand. But if you don't understand the foundation, because you never had to do that because it's all automated, then you don't know how to fix what the numbers tell you," Bill warns. He asserts that HR professionals need a "data driver's license" to ensure they understand the data they are collecting, and how to use it for positive action. When managers don't understand the fundamentals, "they always have to accept what technology tells them as absolute truth." Both Amit and Bill offer resources to HR professionals who want to harness the power of People Analytics for positive change in their organizations.