All Sessions

If you think negotiating skills are only for salespeople, think again!  Every single relationship in your work life entails some negotiation. True, it's often linked to sales (or business), but that limited perspective ignores the fact that negotiation pervades all aspects of the HR professional's life.   Trying to increase your company's productivity levels? Considering expanding product lines (and therefore people)? Buying a competitor? Going global? Leading a team to increase your employee's engagement level? Attempting to get the best deal from your new benefits provider? Asking for your own well-deserved promotion? In all of these situations, you'll have to negotiate to succeed.  This session will review the eight critical success factors to succeed in a negotiation: 1) Goals, 2) Trade-offs, 3) Alternatives, 4) Relationships, 5) Expected Outcomes, 6) the Consequences, 7) Balance of Power and 8) Determining Win-Win Solutions either live OR via zoom.

Learning Objectives:

• Overcome the zoom divide to get to the heart of the other side's concerns during negotiations.
• Discuss the 5 Negotiation Styles (Avoid, Compete, Accommodate, Collaborate, Compromise) and when to employ (and avoid) each.
• Use objective vs. subjective negotiation criteria.
• Reframe negative internal conversations that can sabotage your negotiation prowess.
• Properly prepare to prevent a lousy outcome for you!

This training session is dedicated to companies headquartered outside of California with facilities and employees in California, for firms just entering the California HR arena, or anyone that wants a deep dive into CA HR compliance. This session will cover some of California's complex and often confusing employment laws and regulations including the 'danger zones' where you need to be savvy. We will exercise your brain and tone your HR muscles so that you are able to recognize the issues that can present risks to your organization in California. With this high intensity and interactive training, you will obtain tools to navigate the complex employment landscape of California and will learn practical skills for reducing liability.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn the key elements of California Wage and Hour.
• Distinguish between exempt and non‐exempt Employment Classification.
• Become familiar with current and new CA protected categories regarding harassment and discrimination for 2023 and 2024.
• Become familiar with California’s unique Leave Administration and how they interact with FMLA.
• Learn the differences and similarities between Federal ADA and California's disability protections.
• Review Workers Compensation Insurance, Unemployment Insurance and State Disability/Paid Family Leave.
• Discuss employee benefits and regulations related to Vacation, Paid Time Off (PTO), Kin Care and new mandated Paid Sick Days.
• Discuss current recruiting challenges including Ban the Box and Pay Transparency Laws.

Your executive team wants the entire business to be profitable, not just a single unit. They want all employees to understand and better contribute to how the entire company makes money, and employees want to feel that the work they do for their company is worthwhile and makes a difference. The problem is that most people 'in' business, don't 'get' business and they lack strategy, finance, and business acumen.   While we understand our jobs, the big picture seems too complex to grasp, and complexity is an underlying challenge in any business, regardless of size, industry, or stage of development. How do we simplify the complex? When you break down an organization into its most fundamental elements, you'll find the same five drivers that power your business, or any business.   If you want to be seen as a major contributor, someone who understands your overall business, not just HR, this a great session for you.

Learning Objectives:

• Use the 5 Business Drivers® to improve your strategic, financial, and business acumen.
• Understand how your entire company makes money, not just your department or team.
• Learn five principles that CEOs expect their employees to understand.
• Speak the language of your CEO and CFO.
• Learn the keys to improving employee engagement.

We are becoming an increasingly diverse society that needs a high level of performance from all members if we are to manifest our intended level of greatness. Studies have long indicated just the opposite is true. Diverse workforces are more creative and innovative than homogeneous workforces.  This training helps attendees assess their behavior toward those who are different and ensure everyone has the opportunity to contribute to the success of the team. Attendees discover what they actually know about those they consider different.  This 'Manifesting Hidden Greatness' presentation, based on the movie 'Hidden Figures' delivers an experience that allows participants to rethink their ideas concerning diversity and inclusion to create an environment for profitable growth.

Learning Objectives:

• Discover the ways biases keep us from seeing the inherent value in those who are different.
• Learn how we use stereotypes to make ourselves comfortable around those who are different from ourselves.
• Discover the difference between diversity and inclusion.
• Recognize and utilize Unique Performance Position (UPP).
• Discuss current trends and demographics that will make our society even more diverse in the future.
• Understand the effects of prejudice, ridicule, teasing and bullying.
• Learn how to create a 'Ridicule Free Zone' – Recommit to and make any necessary adjustments to create a 'Ridicule Free Zone' for all team members.

The strongest teams are not the ones without conflict; the strongest teams are those that know how to have conflict and thrive because of it. When teams are psychologically safe and adaptive, team members can be their whole authentic selves, they can ask questions, take risks, be able to fail, and disagree. There is a commitment to constant exploring, experimenting, and evolving on an individual level and as a team. Great teams do not happen by chance - they are built by choice.   But what if people aren't able or don't know how to engage in honest conversations that are candid, compassionate, and curious? Then the room fills with avoidance and elephants start to take up space. Now our teams are not only avoiding conflict, but connection as well. To overcome our avoidance of the problem, we need to understand how and why we are feeding the elephant. By taking a Curiosity First Approach, we increase ownership, have kind and candid conversations, and build more powerful partnerships.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify common avoidant behaviors and human factors that drive them.
• Examine when avoidance may be appropriate and necessary.
• Discover different "elephants" that can emerge.
• Explore and apply the Curiosity First Model of Coaching.

Managing projects can be challenging, especially if they span multiple divisions, time zones and countries. Done wrong, it can destroy careers (and companies!). Done right, it can garner you a 'seat at the table.' From global outsourcing to workplace analytics to leading company-wide change management initiatives, the HR executive has unique insights into what motivates and engages employees thus giving them the edge at spearheading projects that can directly impact the company's bottom line. To do so though requires your Project Management skills and leadership chops to be at peak performance level and constantly at the ready.   This highly interactive session will prepare you to lead by providing in-depth, step-by-step instructions and tools to 1) Plan for Success, 2) Lead and Execute Projects big or small, 3) Deliver Results all while 4) meeting Budget and Schedule Deadlines (oh, and get it all done via ZOOM!).

Learning Objectives:

• Examine the essentials of Project Management.
• Define deliverables in financial terms important to senior leaders.
•  Conduct comprehensive risk probability vs. impact analysis to determine causes for derailment and how to plan for and overcome those challenges.
• Explore easy-to-implement Project Management tools to help you plan for and manage your project including Gap and SWOT analyses, Fishbone (Cause & Effect) diagrams, Goal Breakdown Structure diagram, RACI matrix and several types of Gantt charts.
• Identify potential software tools to assist with organizing and tracking projects including Microsoft Project and/or Excel, Mind-Mapping software, SharePoint, Smartsheet.

63 million is the number of Hispanics in the US. The Latinx workforce makes up close to 20% of American workers, and 8 years from now Hispanics will no longer be a minority. Still untapped, still underrepresented, still a source of remarkable opportunity. This energetic presentation will focus on highlighting the unique characteristics of the Hispanic culture and the meaning they have in the workplace. We will explore the fundamental differences of this culture and provide some tips on how to make Hispanic employees feel engaged and valued. The speaker will involve the audience in dynamic exercises such as the Myth or Truth trivia game, where we will debunk myths about the Hispanic culture. We will also answer questions like: What does it mean to be a Hispanic in the United States? What are the biggest challenges they face? And what can you do to make them a key component of your HR strategy? This session will portray the latest facts, metrics, and proven strategies.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn the A, B and C to successfully recruit, develop and retain Hispanics to include Generation Z.
• Discover the latest demographic research on this growing market.
• Understand the unique characteristics of Hispanics and how they differ from other cultures.
• Debunk myths and acquire facts about the Hispanic community.
• Understand what works and what doesn't with Hispanics-Awareness, engagement and connection.

2023 ushers in volumes of sweeping changes, from continuing to manage through the Covid crisis to large-scale employee turnover, silent quitting, and returning employees to the office. How HR leads its operational management teams through extended periods of upheaval directly ties to organizational effectiveness, culture change, and the bottom line. Join former CHRO of Nickelodeon, Paul Falcone, as he helps to identify new ways of mastering the ongoing aftershocks to our teams and organizations.

Learning Objectives:

• Explore Individual Crises, including addressing "silent quitting" syndrome, termination and layoff communications, and dealing effectively with employee burnout.
• Examine Departmental & Team Crises, including mediating employee disputes, putting a final end to bullying and passive-aggressive behaviors, and making it safe for your teams to share their concerns in a "psychologically safe" way.
• Review Company Crises, including demands for hybrid work and returning reluctant employees to the office, threats to unionize, and being prepared for further global crises and natural disasters

By no means a "gloom and doom" approach to the many changes before us, Paul places a healthy and constructive spin on reinventing your role in light of your organization's and team's changing needs and provides timely tools and guidance to help you every step of the way.

No one likes talking about mental health. It's stigmatized, it's scary, and it's anything but comfortable! It's also very often misunderstood. And, it's here to stay.   As we navigate life post Covid, effectively addressing mental health is more important than ever. This session will explore the concepts of Brave Conversations, Brave Boundaries, and how to advocate for yourself and others. You will leave with actionable strategies to create safer, more supportive workplaces for everyone to thrive.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the dangers of perfectionism, people pleasing, and approval seeking.
• Learn the signs of everyday stress versus panic and anxiety, and how to prevent burnout.
• Explore how other mental health diagnosis' present themselves, so as to recognize signs in co-workers.
• Gain strategies and confidence to engage in brave conversations, and advocate for what you need.
• Leave a little more comfortable, being uncomfortable addressing mental health.

Attendees will get a contextual overview and summary of core HR, leave and benefits requirements that all HR professionals should know.  The presenters will give the attendees a structure to bring some order and understanding to the seemingly arbitrary rules associated with HR and Benefits Compliance.   Just knowing the internal structure and logic of individual rules and regulations help to broaden and clarify the rules when applying them to specific instances.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn the overall structure, organization and methodology (versus just a recitation of specific rules) of ERISA, IRC and other laws and regulations that govern employee benefits.
• Learn the overall structure, organization and methodology of the core HR rules and requirements.
• Learn the basics of the various paid leave requirements in the various states and other jurisdictions and how they interact with the federal rules.
• Learn how the various rules and regulations interact in various situations to understand the overall structure and be able to apply the rules in specific situations.

With COVID-19's upheaval of the workplace and our lives, many employees have reexamined their work/live balance, priorities, expectations and career path. Some have taken advantage of the hot job market and moved on to better positions. Others have decided to stay put but their approach to work may have changed. Some have chosen to downshift and with that only perform the basic duties of their jobs. This phenomenon, first announced on Tik Tok, is referred to as 'Quiet Quitting' and it takes on many forms but the most common is an employee no longer going above and beyond in the job. This level of performance is acceptable to some employers. But other employers have responded with efforts to improve employee engagement. Still other employers have responded with demotion, discipline and termination. This session will review the legal issues presented with a variety of employer responses.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how to detect quiet quitting.
• Hear about various ways in which employers have responded.
• Discuss the legal issues raised with these responses.
• Review best practices.

Given the tumultuousness of the environment that executives operate within - including escalating change, pressure, uncertainty, and complexity - and statistics that indicate our struggle to develop effective executives, transformational improvement in how we develop executives is needed now more than ever. In this session, Ryan Gottfredson and Amy P. Kelly, SHRM-SCP, will discuss how human resource leaders can change or improve their practices to help their executives operate at a higher level. Specifically, Ryan and Amy will: 1. Explain how executives are commonly operating at a leadership deficit. Stated differently, we will illuminate the challenges executives are facing and how they are commonly operating at a level below the magnitude of these challenges. 2. Identify the common consequences of operating at a leadership deficit.  3. Introduce vertical development as the approach human resource leaders must take to develop executives, so they can operate at a higher level.

Learning Objectives:

• Analyze the degree to which your organization's executives are operating at a leadership deficit and identify the consequences.
• Employ a transformational form of executive development, called vertical development, to elevate your executives' ability to navigate change, pressure, uncertainty, and complexity.
• Elevate your organization by elevating the effectiveness of your organization's executives.
• Expand your executive team's capacity to drive the organization through vertical development.

Succession planning in organizations is being disrupted by advanced technologies. The psychology toolkit is rapidly changing with advances in executive assessment and platforms for organizing, managing, and determining the health of succession plans. Explore the future of tech-enabled succession planning and general best practices for today and the future with interactive exercises, including a discussion about the primary factors (e.g., assessments, technology, CEO and board buy-in) differentiating a good from great succession planning process.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss trends in succession planning over the last couple of years.
• Learn how technology is disrupting the succession space, and what that means for the future.
• Review the future of executive assessment and talent segmentation.
• Learn best practices and case studies from other HR professionals.