We're Only Human

"The more that we could be pushing that on the business side to say beyond revenue and profitability, what is the quality metric? What is the wellbeing metric? Obviously, employee engagement many companies measure. Are we measuring the investments in learning that we're putting out there for our people, even if they are people that end up leaving, if we're improving the future employability of a workforce, surely that's a good business and  society metric." Bhushan Sethi, People & Organization Joint Global Leader, PwC We're Only Human -- Episode 144 In the last 24 months, HR and People leaders have been in the spotlight more than ever before, and this has given birth to opportunities to influence and change the workplace for the better. But how do you know which priorities to set, where to put your focus and effort, and what to do first?  In this episode, Ben talks with Bhushan Sethi, a global people leader from PwC, to understand how he makes these decisions. Using a blend of research and practical perspectives, Bhushan offers helpful advice to people leaders at every company that is proven to drive employee retention and the organization's employer value proposition.  This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta.    Links and Show Notes Learn more about Workplace from Meta at workplace.com/future Connect with Bhushan Download the new hiring research report Check out the show archives and get free updates

"I think the danger that we tend to run as people analytics teams is that we're not willing to take slightly bolder stances and say, "Hey, we have a better collective picture of the labor market. We have a better collective picture of what enterprise trends and behaviors are like." We need to give strategic guidance and not just be turning over data products." Zach Frank, Senior Manager of People Analytics, Freeman Company (formerly at Aramark) We're Only Human -- Episode 143 When it comes to analytics and AI usage in the business, we don't always think about HR and people first. However, there are tremendous opportunities to create and deliver value using both of those tools, even for something as personal and human-centric as the work of HR.  Zach Frank believes that, and he's used those principles in his different roles to bring new value for the workforce, managers, and executive leadership through smarter people practices. In this episode, Zach shares with Ben some of the ways that teams can do this well, including one area where they need to step up their game if they want to be relevant and valuable contributors to the business.  Note: Zach worked for Aramark when this was recorded but recently moved to Freeman Company prior to publication of this episode in a new Senior Manager of People Analytics role.  This episode is sponsored by Workplace from Meta.    Links and Show Notes Learn more about Workplace from Meta at workplace.com/future Connect with Zach Download the new hiring research report Check out the show archives and get free updates

"Oftentimes they're looking for a quick fix. But what I will say is those that are doing [hiring] well and really moving the needle are those that are looking at this issue holistically. What is our employment brand in the market? Who are we competing with in our market? How does our total compensation package compete? Do we know how to sell to candidates?" Pam Verhoff, President, Advanced RPO We're Only Human -- Episode 142 Everyone's talking about hiring. And we all want an easy button.  In this episode, Pam Verhoff and Tim Oyer of Advanced RPO talk with Ben about their experiences helping clients hire thousands of candidates in recent years, including key practices that lead to success (plus what has and hasn't changed over time). In our research, we see that 8 in 10 hiring leaders say that recruiting has become a business-level priority in the last year. During the discussion, Pam talks about how to elevate that conversation with concrete dialogue and numbers that drive attention, investment, and results.  Show Notes Get a copy of the report with the data discussed on today's episode: https://www.advancedrpo.com/top-talent-acquisition-trends-for-2022/   See the show archives, subscribe for free updates, and more: https://lhra.io/podcast 

"How can you build things that are as small as they can be so that you can plug and play and you can pivot and change? The way that I think about manifesting that in talent programs is thinking about more of a skills culture. If we have the skill of adapting and coping, for example, and we know that's a critical element in a lot of areas of our organization. Let's go ahead and build programs around building that skill up, then we can quickly pivot and change as the organization's needs change." Becky Layana, Global Talent Program Manager, H.B. Fuller We're Only Human -- Episode 141 In today's dynamic workplace, employers need to think about how they can create high-impact talent programs that deliver results like engagement, performance, and retention. At H.B. Fuller, this is a top priority. In today's discussion, Ben and Becky Layana, Global Talent Program Manager at H.B. Fuller, examine how the company prioritizes talent, what that means from a culture and values perspective, and how it opens up opportunities to get the best from people while still supporting the business.  Most importantly, listen to this episode and how much importance is placed on talent management as a business process/practice, not just a siloed HR activity. There are some excellent takeaways on that front.    Show Notes Connect with Becky on LinkedIn Thank you to the team at SHL for making this connection for us! See the show archives and learn more about how to listen to We're Only Human on your favorite music and podcast apps

"I think the the one stat that came out of this research, that nine out of 10 employees would be more likely to stay with their employer if they had this benefit, I was just kind of blown away." Rob Whalen, CEO, PTOExchange We're Only Human -- Episode 140 One of the most common employee benefits is paid leave. Employers offer a variety of options, from more standard accrued leave during every pay period to a newer option for "unlimited PTO." But how do people feel about these benefits?  Well, the data are in, and you might be surprised by what you learn.  In a new research study of 1,000 North American workers, we found that many of them have issues with the Paid Time Off (PTO) programs their companies offer. In this episode, Ben dives into the data with Rob Whalen to understand how workers feel, what they desire, and how employers can embrace flexibility in a powerful, tangible way.  Listen in to learn: how men and women see this differently, what this means for low-income workers, and why diverse individuals may have different feelings about PTO plans.  Show Notes Get a free copy of the report to see all of the data Listen to our show archives and sign up for free updates

"Stay interviews are highly under-rated, but yet can provide , so much insight to your employees and so much data. It's almost like a secret weapon or secret tool that  companies just don't take advantage of." Amanda Turbeville, Global Head of Human Resources, Montway Auto Transport We're Only Human -- Episode 139   In today's challenging hiring environment, employers need a way to connect with their people. Compensation? It's a start, but it doesn't motivate long-term. What about autonomy, training, and support? Those can create lasting connections with staff and drive retention in a powerful way.  But where do you start? In this conversation with Amanda Turbeville, Global Head of HR for Montway Auto Transport, you'll hear how the company leverages stay interviews not just to keep people, but to help define custom career paths to keep them engaged and connected with the organization. Amanda opens her play book and shares the questions they ask in these stay interviews as well as how they are utilized.    Show Notes Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aturbeville/ Check out the show archives and sign up for free updates: https://lhra.io/podcast 

"In 2021, our employees asked about 27,000 questions from the chatbot and completed about 16,000 transactions. So this year our focus is really on reinforcing awareness and adoption while we're working to continue to improve our processes, our content, and our support structure." Nicole Sloan, Employee Experience Leader, Kimberly Clark We're Only Human -- Episode 138 For many workers at large companies, the only way to get help is with a phone number or a web portal. While there's nothing wrong with those actions, they can be disruptive to the daily flow of work and even difficult for those working in positions that don't lend themselves to office or desk work.  Kimberly Clark's Employee Experience team knew this and set out to change the fundamental interaction points for the firm's 46,000+ global workforce (including everything from desk workers to front line workers and everything in between). The plan hinged on the implementation of KayCee, a chatbot that drove rapid, tailored interactions for every single request that came in. Listen to this episode to hear how Nicole Sloan and her team approached this challenge. In addition, we get to hear from Melissa Swisher from Socrates about how she and her team helped to enable these positive outcomes with a personalized, responsive chatbot experience for the workforce.  If your company is thinking about a chatbot for employee self service, this story is going to give you good ideas and insights for your journey. If you're already on that path, this conversation has good ideas for process improvement that you won't want to miss.  Show Notes Connect with Nicole on LinkedIn Learn more about Kimberly Clark Connect with Melissa on LinkedIn Learn more about Socrates See our show archives and sign up for free updates

"We're talking ISO 45003 that I highly recommend people look at . Or you can talk to people like me who can break it down into regular language. Those three components of psychological health and safety, which are the structure, the environment and the expectations of behavior." Dr. Allessandria Polizzi We're Only Human -- Episode 137 In the workplace today, one of the common phrases that gets thrown around a lot is "psychological safety." But what is it, and how does it fit into the bigger conversation about resilience at work?  In this episode of We're Only Human, Ben talks with Allessandria Polizzi about this intersection, exploring practical ways to bring this from idea to reality. While it's easy to feel like these elements are "soft" or unimportant in the bigger scheme of things, they are emerging as critical leadership skills. Listen in to dive into concepts like self compassion, organizational dysfunction, and more.  If you enjoy this episode, you'll probably also like our talk with Faye Ekong from RavelWorks Africa on how to diagnose culture issues within the business. Show Notes Connect with Allessandria on LinkedIn Check out the show archives, sign up for updates, and more