Filtered Sessions

Get an insider’s perspective on the federal workforce in this conversation with U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Kiran Ahuja. Ahuja is responsible for personnel management for the federal government, the nation’s largest employer. The session will include a discussion of the challenges and opportunities facing federal agencies in attracting, developing, and retaining top talent. She will also discuss the latest initiatives OPM is undertaking to modernize the hiring process, fostering a culture of inclusion, and create a more engaging employee experience. This session is a must attend for HR professionals who work with the government or face transformation challenges of their own.

Covid changed the workplace permanently; the workforce of the future will never be what it once was. Workers, whether brash young Gen Zers or suddenly empowered Millennials and Xers, are demanding new and greater flexibility and techniques than was ever imagined in the top-down workplace of the past. Today's courageous leader will help formulate a new social contract and use the workforce to redesign everything we know about recruiting and engagement for the third and future decades of the 21st century. What can you do to be part of this revolution?

Learning Objectives:

• Learn what has changed in the workplace in the Covid and post-Covid era.
• Understand what today's workers are demanding of their leaders.
• Identify how the most successful companies have responded to the challenges of empowering workers who have more options and greater opportunities for growth and movement in today's marketplace.
• Learn what you can do to successfully recruit and retain the best employees in this increasingly complex environment, and reimagine your new workplace.

Repeated on Monday at 10:30am

A happy & fulfilled workforce is today's competitive advantage. This session will give you a 3-Step Flow Strategy System to increase the meaning, joy, and fulfillment with your workforce. With her Copper Dragon Violin in hand, Violinist, and Global Flow State Authority Diane Allen will walk you through the steps to connect what your people love, with the work that they do. According to Diane, flow is when your genius and heart become one.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain basic knowledge and neuroscience of the Flow State.
• Learn the 3 Questions that gives people the path to love their job.
• Tap into your highest levels of performance, on demand.
• Utilize the 3 Questions to coach employees to access high levels of productivity, personal fulfillment, and happiness.
• Include the 3 Questions during job interviews to improve the recruitment process increasing a candidate's job satisfaction and longevity in the organization.

Conflict happens. Everyone approaches conflict differently but usually in the way that makes them feel most comfortable. For some, this may be direct confrontation, but for others, it may be avoidance. As someone who deals with difficult situations every day, you're expected to assess each conflict individually while resisting the innate urge to drift into your personal comfort zone. Having the skills to resolve intense and stressful opposing opinions effectively is one of the biggest challenges in today's business world and is vital to success. This program uncovers results-focused strategies to help prevent, minimize and resolve conflict in the workplace, helping to work more collaboratively with both internal and external customers, to achieve successful outcomes and strive for enhanced relationships.

Learning Objectives:

• Enhance productivity and morale by fostering an environment that encourages differing points of view and enhanced personal accountability.
• Gain clarity, achieve buy-in, and make decisions in a way that cultivates support and leads to faster, more effective outcomes.
• Prevent and better control negative emotional reactions and resolve conflicts more collaboratively-allowing for healthier, stronger and deeper relationships-with individuals both within and outside the organization.

Traditional hiring methods are outdated and broken - a sentiment echoed by job candidates and employers worldwide. In the US, there are nearly two jobs for every candidate, experienced employees are aging out of the workforce, the accelerating pace of change at work and the explosive emergence of new skills and jobs mean companies are falling even further behind. With a shortage of quality candidates, employers need to streamline their process to attract talent and hire those with potential who can grow on a career path rather than just a job. We need a dramatically different approach to answer the question 'are we hiring the right people?' This presentation will show how AI allows us to understand the changing world of work - how jobs are related and what skills people need to develop to adapt. Rather than relying on what jobs a candidate has done in the past ('rearview recruiting'), we can assess for what they are capable of. Allowing candidates to showcase their personality traits, skills, and interests drives better candidate fit, improved performance, and retention.

Learning Objectives:

• Current uses of AI in talent acquisition.
• Where the space is going with Generative AI.
• How we can leverage the right kind of assessments to measure potential.
• How to get away from 'review recruiting'.
• How AI can actually improve fairness.

Repeated from Sunday at 2:15pm

A happy & fulfilled workforce is today's competitive advantage. This session will give you a 3-Step Flow Strategy System to increase the meaning, joy, and fulfillment with your workforce. With her Copper Dragon Violin in hand, Violinist, and Global Flow State Authority Diane Allen will walk you through the steps to connect what your people love, with the work that they do. According to Diane, flow is when your genius and heart become one.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain basic knowledge and neuroscience of the Flow State.
• Learn the 3 Questions that gives people the path to love their job.
• Tap into your highest levels of performance, on demand.
• Utilize the 3 Questions to coach employees to access high levels of productivity, personal fulfillment, and happiness.
• Include the 3 Questions during job interviews to improve the recruitment process increasing a candidate's job satisfaction and longevity in the organization.

Wouldn't hiring be easier if we just had a machine that could do it for us? Every CEO in the world will tell you there is nothing more important than talent. Yet, most of us still struggle to hire great talent. Tim Sackett is a talent acquisition expert and author of the SHRM best-selling book The Talent Fix, and he has written the instruction manual for all of us to build our own hiring machine. There are actually ten pieces you need to build a great hiring machine, and Tim will share each one in this session. 

• Attract more talent.
• Convert more candidates to applicants.
• Fill jobs faster.

You will leave with an exact roadmap and the tools needed to build your world-class hiring machine. Hiring is hard. Having a hiring machine that does most of the hard work for you will make your life exponentially better!

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how world-class talent acquisition functions do things differently in successful hiring.
• Be given a roadmap and understanding of how to build their own hiring machine.
• Develop more strategic talent attraction strategies.

The impact of reliable, safe child care for workers, their employers, and the broader economy is undeniable. As states explore how to help employers make quality care more affordable for their workforce, companies are stepping up, leaning in, and shaping policy.  In this session, explore what is working across the nation to make childcare more accessible and affordable, and the ways that employers are leading the charge.

Learning Objectives:

• Hear the economic impact and benefit of accessible, reliable care for an employer and the broader economy.
• Receive examples of how states that are innovating in the employer-sponsored child care space.
• This includes programs to match employer contributions, tax credits and deductions, and dedicated startup funds to help employers invest in their workforce.
• Discover the role of businesses in advancing STATE efforts to adopt employer incentive programs using case studies and examples.

In 2023, we saw a flurry of activity from various federal agencies targeting employment practices. As of this writing, we anticipate publication of the FTC's final rule effectively banning non-compete agreements as a key example.  When published, the rule is likely to face legal challenges. The DOJ and FTC continued to push their 'no poach approach.' Federal rules and guidance are also changing related to employers' sharing of wage and benefits information, M & A's, and more. Join this interactive program as we review the latest news, trends, cases, and pitfalls to avoid throughout the employment cycle from recruitment to separation.

Learning Objectives:

• Review applicable laws and recent court decisions impacting related policies and practices.
• Consider the most recent federal agencies' rules and guidance.
• Consider the legal question of 'Can we do this' balanced with the subjective, 'Should we do this?'

Are you motivated and ready to take your career to the next level? Show employers that you have the HR expertise and competencies needed to drive organizational success by earning your SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP credential-the only HR certification anchored in behavioral competencies and backed by SHRM's 75 years of expertise in the industry. This session benefits anyone with an interest in learning what motivates HR professionals to pursue a SHRM credential, planning to apply for a SHRM credential, or already scheduled to sit for the SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP exam. This session covers the practical basics of the SHRM certification exams and provides an opportunity to test-drive your readiness by answering sample questions.

Learning Objectives:

• Determine which exam is right for you.
• Explore the various in which you personalize your preparation plan.
• Gain best practices for studying.
• Get tips and tools to put you on the path to success.

This session will share keys for the successful utilization of corporate engagements with higher education institutions.  In today's fight for high quality talent, business leaders are often unaware of how the implementation of academic partnerships can be a long-game strategy worth investing in. Along with developing a pipeline of future potential employees, academic partnerships are an effective model for supporting tomorrow's workforce career readiness, for activating DEI goals aimed at providing access opportunities, and for building community via goodwill.

Learning Objectives:

• Research based insight about Gen Z employees and what they are looking for in the workplace.
• Understanding the impact of corporate partnership with academic institutions as a pipeline for engaging Gen Z future employees.
• How to build a success academic partnership.

Many employers in the United States start international expansion slowly, often employing one, two or a few employees (or maybe using them as contractors). While there are many benefits to this type of expansion, the risks related to issues such as Permanent Establishment, tax presence, using independent contractors and/or third-party employers can outweigh those benefits, if not handled properly.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn the key components to a successful start-up abroad.
• Learn how to navigate the risks of international expansion in various countries.
• Gain insight into making key strategic decisions about international expansion such as jurisdictional choices based on business needs, the relevant legal environment and local cultural challenges.

Nonqualified plans have become increasingly important in the last 18 to 24 months. Employers need new and inventive ways to attract, retain and incentivize highly compensated and key management employees.  One of the biggest (and most overlooked) differences between qualified and nonqualified plans is the lack of a 'due diligence framework' on the nonqualified plan side. In the world of nonqualified plan, you and your plan committee are required to meet regularly, and to comply with various fee disclosure, notice requirements, etc.   In the world of nonqualified plans, there's a tremendous amount of flexibility, but due diligence is still imperative to make sure plan sponsors comply with applicable law.   The purpose of this presentation is to identify nonqualified plan due diligence needs and develop a related framework and support system.

Learning Objectives:

• What is a nonqualified deferred compensation plan and how does it defer from a qualified retirement plan?
• What are the related advantages for employers and employees?
• What are the due diligence requirements for nonqualified plan sponsors?
• How can these types of plans provide a significant value add to employers?
• What are the key due diligence considerations?

SHRM-certified HR professionals stand out in the workplace for all the right reasons. Overcoming the hurdle of successfully becoming SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP certified may seem like a daunting task, but fear not! The SHRM certification team is prepared to fully demystify common misconceptions, identify what to expect on test day, and provide tools to help you navigate the exam questions!    SHRM Certification provides HR Professionals with the opportunity to exhibit their proficiency, skills, and knowledge needed to ensure success in today's demanding business environment. With the ever-changing job market becoming stronger, the competition for talent is fierce as new skills and knowledge are required to meet the demands of tomorrow. In fact, over 70% of business executives agree that it will be important for HR professionals to be SHRM-certified in the near future. Furthermore, studies show that 76% of SHRM-certified HR professionals reported a salary increase in the prior year, and over 90% of SHRM-certified individuals report that they feel valued and respected by their organization, have the expanded skill set to perform more meaningful work and feel confident in their abilities and decision-making skills.   In this presentation, you will learn how SHRM-developed preparation resources will aid you on your journey to becoming SHRM certified, including the different processes for testing in-person at a Prometric test center versus remote proctoring, overcoming test anxiety, and mapping out a study plan that meets your financial needs and works with your schedule.    Join us for this Spotlight Stage session to learn the best way you can Ace your SHRM certification exam!

Learning Objectives:

• Take a deep dive into the SHRM-developed resources to help applicants prepare for the SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP exams.
• Receive an overview of how the exams are constructed, including details on knowledge and scenario-based situational judgment items (SJIs).
• Identify the resources available to help applicants prepare for the exam.

During the session, you will explore the remarkable impact of empathy in the recruitment process. We will delve into the art of truly understanding and connecting with candidates on a deep and meaningful level. By cultivating empathy, you'll gain a unique insight into their motivations, aspirations, and potential fit within your organization.  This session will guide you in harnessing the power of empathy to create meticulously crafted candidate personas. These personas serve as invaluable tools for making informed and successful hiring decisions. You'll learn how to go beyond surface-level data and uncover the human stories behind the resumes. By the end of this session, you'll be equipped with the skills to approach recruitment with a more empathetic lens, enabling you to build stronger connections with candidates and, in turn, select the best-fitting talent for your team.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the significance of empathy in the recruitment process and its impact on candidate engagement and long-term success within the organization.
• Learn how to effectively employ empathetic listening and questioning techniques to uncover candidate motivations, values, and cultural alignment.
• Gain the skills to create comprehensive and human-centered candidate personas that go beyond traditional qualifications, enabling more informed hiring decisions.
• Explore real-world examples and case studies showcasing the transformative effects of empathy on candidate interactions and the recruitment process.
• Discover strategies for implementing an empathetic recruitment approach within your organization, fostering a more inclusive and harmonious workplace culture.

Repeated on Tuesday at 3:30pm

The presentation offers an in-depth exploration of how contemporary social trends, many of which started before COVID-19, significantly reshape HR practices, particularly in the realms of recruitment and retention strategies. Exploring transformative shifts catalyzed by the intersection of social trends aligned with the rise and redefinition of the gig economy, technological advancements, social media impact, work-life balance, environmental and social responsibility, data-driven decision-making, and federal funding the indispensable need to create holistic employee experiences.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain a profound understanding of various contemporary social trends and their direct influence on HR strategies, particularly in recruitment and retention.
• Explore trends such as remote work, DEI initiatives, generational diversity, mental health emphasis, and technological advancements, grasping how each factor shapes HR functions.
• Learn actionable strategies to attract and retain talent in dynamic work environments influenced by trends like remote work and the gig economy.
• Acquire insights into tailoring recruitment approaches for remote talent and leveraging flexible work arrangements to bolster retention rates.
• Delve into the significance of DEI initiatives beyond just attracting diverse talent.
• Understand how these initiatives foster inclusive cultures essential for improving retention rates and promoting a positive work environment.

Many employees expend considerable emotional energy hiding their disabilities from colleagues and bosses in every interaction at work, in every meeting, and when toiling away side-by-side. It's exhausting and stressful. But the stigma around disabilities - the fear of discrimination and rejection, and the risk related to job security - prevents many employees from disclosing their condition and asking for supports and accommodations to succeed at work.  Yet studies show that when employers intentionally create an atmosphere of acceptance and show a commitment to build inclusion - offering disability awareness training and creating employee resource groups as a safe place for people with disabilities, chronic conditions, or difficult life situations to meet and support one another - employees no longer feel threatened to reveal a disability. Instead, they take advantage of employer-provided supports, which, in turn, improves their wellbeing, increases their level of trust in others, and boosts their productivity.  This presentation explores how to approach disclosure in the workplace and provides research-driven strategies that cultivate acceptance from colleagues and supervisors.

Learning Objectives:

• Hear how masking inhibits executive functioning skills.
• Learn about strategies to determine whether and how to disclose a disability.
• Discuss questions to ask to try to determine whether an organization has a culture of acceptance and diversity.
• Talk about approaches to help you advocate for policies that support people with invisible disabilities.
• Innovative research to aid organizations in becoming more aware of invisible disabilities and create policies that foster advocacy and acceptance.

With the 2024 presidential election in full swing, immigration is in the news on a near daily basis. But what is rumor and what is reality? What is signal and what is noise? In this session, BAL experts will cut through the campaign-trail rhetoric and detail how the presidential election may impact business immigration. They will also provide updates on the less newsy, but still important, regulatory changes that affect HR professionals on a day-to-day basis.

Learning Objectives:

• Hear the differences between the two leading presidential candidates on important immigration priorities.
• Discuss the likelihood of different policies being enacted under a new administration.
• Review recent, or soon-to-be implemented, regulatory changes related to immigration.
• Discover the day-to-day impact of immigration policy changes on HR professionals.

Although Quiet Quitting is all the rage, speaker/author Bob Kelleher first introduced the concept in his You Tube Video, Who's Sinking Your Boat (1.2 million views). In this dynamic and multimedia presentation, Bob shares studies that show that an individual's level of engagement or disengagement can be directly linked to a variety of factors: One's own engagement; who you select to manage people; the disconnect between an individual's and the firm's values; the dynamics that take place in people's lives OUTSIDE of work; and the failure of firms to hold the actively disengaged accountable.  Bob will walk through key steps to reverse disengagement, while energizing and engaging your 'quiet quitters'.

Learning Objectives:

• How to identify your disengaged employees or those who are quietly quitting the organization.
• Learn the secrets to why employees become disengaged.
• Learn the key engagement drivers of the various workforce generations.
• Learn why staff selection might be the reason you have disengaged employees.
• Understand the important role accountability plays in one's engagement and self motivation.
• Leave with practical videos, case studies, and metrics to share with your own leaders.

The 2023-2024 SHRM State of the Workplace report delves into the significant challenges organizations faced in 2023 and what they foresee looking ahead into 2024. Integrating the perspectives of HR professionals and U.S. workers, the research explores topics such as inflation, labor shortages, the state of HR departments and organizations’ adoption of AI. We invite you to join us as we unpack the findings, and share our recommendations for navigating 2024 and beyond.

Learning Objectives:

• The key issues faced by organizations in 2023.
• The emerging trends and anticipated challenges for organizations in 2024.
• The adoption and utilization of AI technologies in HR.

Breaking into (or back into!) the workforce can be hard for people  whose life responsibilities require creativity, flexibility, and upskilling to access the work they want to do. In this session, we will dig into flexible get-into- or return-to-work options like internships, micro-internships, returnships, and apprenticeships. Explore what these pathways open up, and who (including you and your company!) can most benefit. Sail into a future of professional fulfillment and dig into an incredible untapped talent pool. This session is your compass to charting a course for a more skills-based recruitment.

Learning Objectives:

• Define and understand the benefits of micro-internships, interships, returnships and apprenticeships and how these can be implemented within your organization.
• Understand how to change the work landscape and be part of innovative work trends by utilizing these opportunities.
• Take home specific, immediate actions you can use to implement the future of work within your organization.

Ghosting is an issue that has plagued employers for years, but recently, this phenomenon has seen the disapparation of more applicants than ever before, almost reaching a new high of 28% in some industries. While many employers are blaming the rising generation, laziness, lack of respect or professionalism, etc., what if part of the problem was the employer's fault?   In this session we will cover how to become a recruiting ghostbuster by looking at three specific areas where ghosting occurs the most. Understanding why it occurs is the only way to potentially mitigate the issue and give your organization the opportunity to attract applicants, while keeping them interested and engaged to avoid losing them along the way.   Finally, you will learn a bit more about quiet quitting, and how ghosting is related to this underlying issue.   What would you do if you learned that quiet quitting is sometimes a call for help?   Come learn to be a Recruiting Ghostbuster, and you will have applicants and employees alike answering the question:   Who you gonna call?   Why, the Recruiter, of course!

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how the application process can cause ghosting and three immediate practices that can be implemented to mitigate ghosting at this stage of the process.
• Define the job seeker persona to help avoid the common mistakes that lead to ghosting and understand how the job ad has a direct impact on the likelihood of ghosting from the application stage to the interview process.
• Gain a sound understanding of how manager engagement during the interview process can help stop ghosting and learn the three core elements needed to help managers better prepare for the interview.
• Learn the six core principles for practicing an engaged focus mentality versus the traditional focus mentality to help counter the effects of quiet quitting, leading to greater retention.

Repeated on Wednesday at 7:30am

To become the best in the business, it is essential to employ the best people. But how do employers build a staff that is ready and able to take an organization to its next level? Inspired by the best-selling book, this dynamic session focuses on how to attract talented employees to the workplace, empower them, and sustain an environment in which they are more likely to stay.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn best practices and new strategies on how to restructure their workplace as a more productive and engaging environment, as well as learning how to gauge their own engagement levels by the means of a provided survey tool.
• Recognize and reward other employees to boost morale, as well as how to gauge their own engagement levels by taking a self-assessment survey.
• Learn best practices on how to attract and retain top talent, as well as the benefits of re-casting.

In this groundbreaking session, we'll highlight the pivotal role that Child Care Benefits play in shaping the future of work. As organizations strive to create environments conducive to employee diversity, well-being, and productivity, the spotlight has shifted to comprehensive support systems. Join us to explore how investing in Child Care Benefits isn't just an ethical choice but a strategic imperative for businesses navigating the complexities of the modern workplace. This session promises a fresh perspective, backed by data-driven insights, on why Child Care Benefits are the key to unlocking the absolute potential of the workforce.   In a world where the boundaries between work and life continue to blur, providing robust Child Care Benefits has emerged as a game-changer for businesses aiming to attract, retain, and unleash the full productive power of their workforce. This session will dissect the symbiotic relationship between quality Child Care support and organizational success. Drawing from real-world case studies and industry best practices, we will navigate the strategic landscape, offering actionable insights that transcend traditional HR practices. Attendees can expect a dynamic discussion that transcends rhetoric, providing tangible takeaways for immediate implementation.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand why child care benefits are not just a perk but a strategic imperative for organizations seeking sustained success in the ever-evolving landscape of work.
• Explore the direct correlation between child care benefits and employee well-being, mental health, and Job satisfaction, and Learn how this impacts overall productivity.
• Gain insights into how organizations leveraging robust child care benefits gain a competitive edge in attracting top talent and retaining valuable employees.
• Delve into the broader economic implications of investing in child care support, from reducing turnover costs to fostering a more inclusive and diverse workforce.
• Acquire actionable strategies and best practices for implementing and optimizing child care benefits programs within your organization, ensuring they align with both employee needs and business goals.

Revolutions happen when current systems break down and no longer serve their purpose. Our challenges to find, recruit, and retain talent using traditional approaches clearly show the need for a workforce revolution. This session will show how to find and develop talent from multiple sources to meet employer needs.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize where traditional recruiting approaches fall short in today's workplace.
• Understand the need to re-evaluate employee strategies that include automation, internal development, and recruitment from non-traditional candidate pools.
• Learn best practices using a competency-based model to build in-house development programs that acclimate, up-skill, and promote employees.
• Create a roadmap to revolutionize in-house recruitment efforts.
• Engage strategic partners to help find and grow the best talent.

Everyone is talking about using AI in recruiting, but how do you use the same tools as everyone else and still stand out? How can you add a human touch in the age of AI? What bias should you be looking for in the process of embracing technology in the hiring process? If embracing AI ethically in your recruiting and HR process has been on your to-do list, this session is for you. Learn from job post writing expert Katrina Kibben how to use AI to humanize recruiting while eliminating bias to create a future of work your team can be proud of. Attendees will leave this session knowing how to query AI, measure results, and address biases with hiring managers.

Learning Objectives:

• What's In It For You.
• See why AI won't be taking your job any time soon.
• Understand why it's harder than ever to stand out to candidates, Measure success and get the results you actually want.
• Learn to address bias with hiring managers and technology,  And more!

Repeated from Monday at 3:30pm

The presentation offers an in-depth exploration of how contemporary social trends, many of which started before COVID-19, significantly reshape HR practices, particularly in the realms of recruitment and retention strategies. Exploring transformative shifts catalyzed by the intersection of social trends aligned with the rise and redefinition of the gig economy, technological advancements, social media impact, work-life balance, environmental and social responsibility, data-driven decision-making, and federal funding the indispensable need to create holistic employee experiences.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain a profound understanding of various contemporary social trends and their direct influence on HR strategies, particularly in recruitment and retention.
• Explore trends such as remote work, DEI initiatives, generational diversity, mental health emphasis, and technological advancements, grasping how each factor shapes HR functions.
• Learn actionable strategies to attract and retain talent in dynamic work environments influenced by trends like remote work and the gig economy.
• Acquire insights into tailoring recruitment approaches for remote talent and leveraging flexible work arrangements to bolster retention rates.
• Delve into the significance of DEI initiatives beyond just attracting diverse talent.
• Understand how these initiatives foster inclusive cultures essential for improving retention rates and promoting a positive work environment.

This session will provide you key tips on how to leverage consultation, time management/organizing, and project management tools to transform yourself into a trusted strategic advisor and shift away from being seen only as transactional.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how the best consultative professionals set and manage expectations of stakeholders to gain control of the recruiting process.
• Explore six time and organizational management techniques as they apply to the work of recruiting and hiring for maximum project management success.
• Discover how to enhance hiring manager and candidate relationships with tools and templates you can use to align strategy to action.

Radical change is here and HR is at the core of successful implementations. The arrival of AI as a disruptive force in modern organizations will require a whole new HR process - new tools and new processes will be needed to achieve the workforce of the future. This session covers both the strategies and tactics needed by HR professionals to drive the changes needed in the short term and support the long-term organizational strategies that will provide sustainability and growth into the future.  This session will start with three possible approached, then move to a departmental review of tactics and risks.

Learning Objectives:

• An understanding of the three main AI implementation strategies.
• A listing of the risks and rewards of each strategy.
• A departmental review of needed HR strategies broken out by department.
• A defined list of the three major KSA categories that applicants must be screened for in the future.
• Two key questions to ask each applicant.

A year-end (2023) Gartner report, 'Top 5 Priorities for HR Leaders in 2024,' found that organizational culture is the number two concern of HR executives. Culture has become a ubiquitous term that has evolved to mean anything to anyone talking about culture. When examining or establishing a culture, one common activity is the expression of the values.    What is often overlooked is the values and culture of the organization already exist. What is also frequently ignored is that every organization has unspoken values or a covert culture.  The covert culture is reflected in the behaviours that are learned through observations and experiences.¯They are the authentic values of the company. Once your values are stated, employees believe they are the right way of acting, and the organization will inherently do good.   So why, for so many leaders, are values a source of pain?   Why do leaders feel the values are limiting?    But what happens when leaders make decisions that counter the values?    There are many situations where the articulation of the values can result in employee stress and cynicism. What actions can you take to avoid expressing your values only to have leaders undermine them? What are ways to embed the values with employees at all levels so there is a common interpretation and application? What is the business case for living the values, especially in difficult times?   What do The Body Shop, Danone, IKEA, Chick-fil-A, Ben & Jerry's, TOMS, REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.), Patagonia and Starbucks all have in common?

Learning Objectives:

• What to do to ensure leaders are aligned with the values.
• What is the difference between authentic values and aspirational values.
• What is the implication if values are aspirational.
• Why do leaders feel the values are limiting?
• What happens when leaders make decisions that counter the values?
• Why are many company value statements a source for employee cynicism.

We want employees who will fit into our culture. A fast-paced go-getter may not 'fit' in an environment characterized by hierarchy and 9-5 schedules. But what if that structured organization aspires to be more agile - to become the workplace that would attract our go-getting friend? In this workshop we address the benefits of hiring for both present and future states, for both culture 'fit' and culture 'add.' As companies evolve to meet shifting external demands, your hiring must evolve with it, with one eye on today and the other on tomorrow.

Learning Objectives:

• Differentiate between 'culture fit' and 'culture add'.
• Identify how your organization wants to evolve.
• Identify a skill or mindset that may not 'fit' today but aligns with cultural aspirations.
• Define an attract-onboard-engage strategy.

Participants will learn the 'GANA Framework' for engaging Latinx talent: Gather Insights, Adapt Approaches, Nurture Culture, and Advance Inclusion. Learn to Gather insights from Latinx cultural trends, Adapt recruitment strategies to reflect these insights, Nurture an inclusive organizational culture, and Advance inclusion through targeted DEI initiatives. Learn practical strategies for resonating with the diverse Latinx community through interactive discussions and real-world examples, helping you to attract and retain Latinx talent effectively.

Learning Objectives:

• Examine how Bad Bunny's approach to authenticity and representation can be mirrored in recruitment practices.
• Identify ways to enhance diversity in talent pipelines by incorporating elements from pop culture that appeal to Latinx candidates.
• Gain insights into the cultural nuances and values of the Latinx workforce and how to align them with organizational goals.
• Explore successful case studies where companies have effectively engaged Latinx talent through innovative strategies.
• Learn how to create an inclusive interview and onboarding process that reflects the dynamism and diversity of Latinx culture.

Often new leaders are brought in with a mandate to drive change, change that is long overdue. Or by the time capital expenditures are finally funded, the level of pain has reached a fever pitch and business stakeholders have little patience remaining. In Change Management that Wins Hearts and Minds: Leading Your Organization through Transformation and Turbulence we will unpack the organizational archetypes (the early-adopters, detractors, distractors, and fair-weather fans) and equip you with real-world tools to successfully navigate whatever surprise comes your way.

Learning Objectives:

• Be able to assess your organization's tolerance for change.
• Identify key stakeholder archetypes and their 'so-what' relative to the change.
• Testing the waters, and gauging when and how to course-correct, leveraging macro-external factors as social proof.
• Positioning the organizational change as relief from pain versus taking our collective vitamins.
• Managing organizational risk and professional credibility.

Effective communication is the crucial foundation for strong relationships, career growth, and organizational success. Alongside effective communication in the workplace, diversity in the workplace has proven to lead organizations to greater success. Despite increased efforts for hiring and supporting a diverse workforce, organizations often overlook training in diverse communication practices. This session helps attendees assess their individual and workplace communication practices, appreciate cultural influences, and develop executive skills for engaging diverse stakeholders, fostering impactful outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe how effective communication is imperative for success in a diversely evolving environment.
• Classify components of and types of effective workplace communication.
• Describe the role of cultural influences on communication.
• List at least two strategies for more impactful active listening.
• List at least one strategy for improved leadership communication with diverse stakeholders.

Repeated from Tuesday at 2:00pm

To become the best in the business, it is essential to employ the best people. But how do employers build a staff that is ready and able to take an organization to its next level? Inspired by the best-selling book, this dynamic session focuses on how to attract talented employees to the workplace, empower them, and sustain an environment in which they are more likely to stay.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn best practices and new strategies on how to restructure their workplace as a more productive and engaging environment, as well as learning how to gauge their own engagement levels by the means of a provided survey tool.
• Recognize and reward other employees to boost morale, as well as how to gauge their own engagement levels by taking a self-assessment survey.
• Learn best practices on how to attract and retain top talent, as well as the benefits of re-casting.

As organizations seek to diversify their employee population, they need to accept that talent attraction processes, as we know them, are rife with potential for bias and exclusion. A study from Harvard found that, even when an employer uses pro-diversity language in their job postings, they are just as likely to exclude candidates of color as those employers that don't have a stated commitment to diversity and inclusion. To attract a broader range of diversity in candidates, we have to be willing to change our talent attraction processes to make them more inclusive and equitable.   Becoming an Attraction Magnet presents the case for the 'gold standard' of inclusive talent attraction processes. Based on his book Birds of All Feathers: Doing Diversity and Inclusion Right and his extensive experience in inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility, Michael Bach shares ideas of how to eliminate bias from talent attraction and make the process more inclusive, with the goal of diversifying the people you hire.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand areas where the talent attraction process is exclusive, including areas where bias may be at play.
• Discover leading practices in how to improve the talent attraction process to make it more inclusive.
• Hear ideas to successfully implement the change.