PCTY Talks: HR, People and Culture

Disrupt Your Thinking: Innovation in HR with Jason Averbook

The business world moves fast. The only way to stay ahead of the competition is to constantly think about new ways to disrupt your industry. But even if you're always coming up with new ideas, there's a good chance you'll eventually hit a wall. That's because your competitors are probably doing the same thing. How can you keep breaking through and staying ahead? Listen in as Jason Averbook and host Shari Simpson talk about disrupting your thinking as an HR leader and why it's crucial to stay ahead of the competition.

Guest: Jason Averbook, Co-founder and CEO, Leapgen

Jason Averbook is a leading analyst, thought leader and consultant in the area of human resources, the future of work and the impact technology have on that future. He is the Co-founder and CEO of Leapgen, a digital transformation company helping organizations shape their future workplace by broadening executive mindset to rethink how to better design and deliver employee services that meet the expectations of the workforce and the needs of the business.

Prior to founding Leapgen, Jason served as the CEO of The Marcus Buckingham Company (TMBC). In 2005, he co-founded Knowledge Infusion LLC and served as its CEO until 2012, when the company was sold to Appirio. He has also held senior leadership roles at PeopleSoft and Ceridian Corporation. Jason has more than 20 years of experience in the HR and technology industries and has collaborated with industry-leading companies in transforming their HR organizations into strategic partners.

Jason has been recognized globally as one of the top 3 thought leaders around HR technology and the future of work.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS:

Human Resource Executive | Named top 100 HR Tech Influencers

People Hum | Top 70 HR Tech Thought Leaders

Mentioned in the episode:

• Leapgen: https://www.leapgen.com/

 

 

Data Driven Recruitment Strategy with Lance Sapera

As a business leader, you know that data is power. You use analytics to make strategic decisions about where to allocate your resources, how to grow your business, and what new products or services to offer. So why wouldn't you use data to drive your recruiting strategy? Listen in as Lance Sapera and host Shari Simpson discuss how using data to drive your recruiting efforts can make your recruiting more efficient.

Guest: Lance Sapera , Vice President of Talent Acquisition, Talend

Lance shares the work of transforming the data space for talent acquisition to streamline processes and make it easier for businesses to find the people they need. He is purpose-driven and passionate about working with great people. An innovator and developer of high-performance teams and people in technology, cyber security, fitness, and the military, He knows how to engage and hire talent that drives enduring growth and productivity. He has a strong reputation for collaborative problem-solving and completing tough challenges. Purpose-driven and passionate about working with great people, Lance’s “Mission first. People always.” mindset drives difference-making results for team members and the company.

An innovator and developer of high-performance teams and people in technology, cyber security, fitness and the military, he knows how to engage and hire talent that drives enduring growth and productivity. Collectively, leaders and peers agree that he has a strong reputation for collaborative problem-solving and completing tough challenges.

Lance is also passionate about supporting veterans and military spouses transitioning to the private sector.

Mentioned in the episode:

• Talend: https://www.talend.com/

 

Fostering Engaged, Connected Employees with Technology with Nicole Sloane

There's no doubt that technology has changed the way HR works. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself how it's changed how employees work? According to a study by PwC, 84 percent of global executives say that their organization is either "very" or "somewhat" digitized, and 49 percent say that they've seen an increase in employee productivity due to digital tools. Listen in as Nicole Sloane and host Shari Simpson discuss using technology to create a more engaged and connected workforce.

Guest: Nicole Sloane, CEP, Employee Experience Leader, Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Nicole Sloane is the Employee Experience Leader on the Global HR Operations Team for Kimberly-Clark Corporation, whose trusted brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries and locations. Nicole is a frequent speaker at events and on podcasts related to HR technology and employee experience. She was HR Transformation Project Lead during Kimberly-Clark’s global HR transformation and led the digital experience workstream to implement key foundational technology to support the HR service delivery model. Prior to that, she was the Global Stock Plan Manager with responsibility for the overall management of the global equity plan, which delivers awards to employees in over 50 countries.

During her 25 years with Kimberly-Clark Corporation, and prior to managing the global equity plan, Nicole held positions in Corporate Compensation, Domestic & Global Mobility, North American Payroll, and Benefits Finance. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Carson-Newman University and earned the Certified Equity Professional designation. She previously served on the Global Equity Organization Board of Directors for 7 years and chaired that board for 2 years.

Mentioned in the episode:

• Kimberly-Clark Corporation: https://www.kimberly-clark.com/en-us/

 

Creating Employee Personas with Mary Kaplan

Do you know what your employees want? You should if you want them to stick around. Research shows that creating employee personas can help you understand what makes your people happy in their jobs. Listen in as Mary Kaplan and host Shari Simpson discuss the how and why behind creating employee personas.

Guest: Mary Kaplan, Product Marketing Manager, LumApps

Mary helps companies discover more effective ways to communicate and collaborate and improve HR processes and company culture through their employee experience platform. Mary works with HR and Chief Communications Officers, along with other executives and business stakeholders, to help reduce silos of information within their businesses through personalized communications. She focuses on delivering assets and collateral in collaboration with LumApps' leadership team to demonstrate the value of LumApps. She also helps mentor and train new team members in the Austin office.

Mentioned in the episode:

• LumApps: https://www.lumapps.com/

 

Employee Engagement and Why Leaders Need to Be Involved with Jessica Dunyon

Employee engagement isn't just a HR thing. Sure, HR is responsible for developing and implementing strategies to engage employees, but business leaders need to be involved too. After all, employee engagement is linked to business performance. Listen in as Jessica Dunyon and host Shari Simpson talk about engagement initiatives at the leader level. 

Guest: Jessica Dunyon, MBA, PMP, Director of Go To Market Strategy, Infor

For more than a decade, Jessica has sold, marketed, and supported cloud technology solutions for various industries in both the private & public sectors. As an operations leader in process manufacturing for nearly 10 years, she is passionate about the convergence of people, and technology, and doing great work.

Mentioned in the episode:

• Infor: https://www.infor.com/

 

Using Technology to Drive Benefits Utilization with Ellen McCann

There's no doubt that technology has changed the way we live and work. And as technology has evolved, so too have the ways we use it to improve our lives and work. One area where technology has had a significant impact is in the benefits space.  Listen in as Ellen McCann and host Shari Simpson discuss how to best leverage your technology to increase benefit utilization.

Guest: Ellen McCann, Assistant Vice President, Unum Solutions

Ellen is an acclaimed national speaker on leave management issues, including the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). She is also a certified trainer for the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and continuing education (CE) credit. As Assistant Vice President Unum Solutions, she combines more than 30 years of employment law experience with practical knowledge of the complexities of leave and accommodation management to help develop and create solutions that enable employers to address the challenges of leave and accommodations.  Currently, Ellen is helping to create, define and support Total Leave, Unum’s modern, digital leave management solution, and Unum’s Vaccine Verifier, a digital solution that helps track vaccination status, manage exemption requests and oversee testing. Ellen joined Unum’s Solutions organization in August of 2021 after briefly working for the employment law firm of Littler Mendelson. Before working for Littler, Ellen was Assistant Vice President, Legal Counsel of Unum’s Employment Law Group, where she provided legal support to Unum’s Absence Management Center and advised Human Resources on all employment-related legal issues for more than 23 years. She worked for a law firm in Boston for seven years before joining Unum. Ellen graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and the University of Notre Dame Law School. 

Mentioned in the episode:

• Unum

The Future of Training is Virtual Reality with Gita Barry

The future of training is here, and it's in virtual reality.

VR allows trainees to immerse themselves in realistic environments where they can practice skills and gain experience without putting themselves or others at risk. VR is already being used by the military, police, and medical professionals to provide safe, realistic training scenarios. Listen to Gita Barry and host Shari Simpson talk about the benefits of using VR.

Guest: Gita Barry, EVP and General Manager of Immersive Healthcare, Penumbra

Gita is the executive vice president and general manager of immersive healthcare at Penumbra, Inc. With more than 25 years in the medical device industry, Gita leads a diverse team of developers and specialists to bring virtual reality-based immersive technology to a broad range of healthcare settings with an extensive library of activities and experiences to address various health conditions. Before joining Penumbra, Gita worked at Stryker Corporation in product management, strategy, business development and information technology. Gita received a BS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Miami (FL) and an Executive MBA from Santa Clara University.

Mentioned in the episode:

• Penumbra https://www.penumbrainc.com/
• Real Immersive VR System: https://www.realsystem.com/

 

Evolution of HR Tech with Phil Albinus

The evolution of HR technology has been nothing short of amazing. We've gone from data being stored on paper to it being stored in the cloud. We've gone from using spreadsheets to using data analytics. And we've gone from hiring managers making decisions based on their gut to making decisions based on data and analytics. But what does the future hold for HR technology trends? Listen in as Phil Albinus and host Shari Simpson discuss the future of human resources technology.

Guest: Phil Albinus, HR Tech Editor for HRE

Phil has been covering personal and business technology for 25 years and has served as editor and executive editor for several financial services, trading technology and employee benefits titles. He is a graduate of SUNY New Paltz and lives in the Hudson Valley with his audiologist wife and three adult children. He can be reached at palbinus@lrp.com and on social media below.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-albinus/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/philalbinus

Mentioned in the episode:

• Human Resource Executive: https://hrexecutive.com/