3Sixty Insights

Welcome to Podcast 6 of The Five Talents that Really Matter. Over the last 5 podcasts, I have wondered -- "What happens if you do not possess the talents that really matter?" It goes without saying that there are people in leadership positions today that do not possess those talents. So, we arrive at the Four harsh Truths: 1. Not everyone is or can be a leader. If you go into any organization, you can quickly see those that are leaders versus those in leadership positions that do not have the natural talents to effectively lead. In earlier podcasts, we talked about the fact that talents are innate. They are consistent over time and resistant to change. They are pervasive—present in our daily work and personal lives. In a world of nature versus nurture—innate talents are nature. Barry makes the point in this episode that organizations must stop lying to their employees and telling them that everyone can be a leader. Everyone has their level – and people can still make significant contributions to their organization without occupying a leadership role that doesn't suit their natural dispositions. 2. We might never solve the lack of workplace diversity. Organizations have disproportionately hired in favor of a privileged group. We know that the biases that cause discriminatory hiring do not change through training programs. Your organization does not need a Chief Diversity Officer to take the right actions, but you should be well-versed in psychometric assessment as an important step toward mitigating unchecked biases that disadvantage talented candidates. 3. Leadership characteristics are hard to develop. Leadership cannot be taught to those who do not possess the natural talents to succeed. Barry and Sarah remind us that if everyone could learn leadership, we would not see such a dearth of Talent at the top of companies. 4. Personalities and Talents aren't the same thing. Here is the takeaway that is significant—If you want to use assessments that matter, predictability is the key—results should be stable over time, and they should be valid predictors of performance. Talent assessments are not the same thing as a personality inventory. Talent assessments that are built to measure potential and predict success are more reliable, valid, and fair. Join Barry Conchie and Sarah Dalton for the discussion on the Four Harsh Truths—and learn about how you can be brilliant and contribute even if you do not possess the Five Talents that Matter.

James Griffin is a Principal Consultant at the UK-based Skills Collective. His work focuses on skills, enterprise SaaS (Software as a Service), talent transformation, and consulting, all of which revolve around the customer. His deep expertise lies in reimagining talent transformation strategies and understanding how to begin implementing skills-based approaches within organizations. He has positively impacted several SaaS organizations, including Degreed and Elevate Direct. With Principal Analyst Dylan Teggart, they discuss the shift from traditional job-based hiring to skills-based hiring, driven by the need for more tailored employee selection. James highlights the growing confusion in the software market, urging organizations to focus on tools that demonstrate clear value and align with corporate strategies.

In this podcast, our authors, Barry Conchie and Sarah Dalton, take us through the last three Talents in this series. Our conversation is organic moving between Harnessing Energy, Exerting Pressure, and Increasing Connectivity. Here are high level ideas around these talents: Harnessing energy: Every organization needs energy to function. Leaders need energy to power themselves, as well as power others. The authors offer a great metaphor, that of being the manager of a power plant. Without energy, things do not get done. Energy drives performance and commitment. People are drawn to high energy organizations and high energy leaders. Exerting Pressure: What I love about this discussion in the book is that we learn the nuance of how inspiring others to action and effective influencing helps leaders meet the expectations they have set. Increasing connectivity: It would be impossible to move an organization forward without focusing on relationships. Here are three critical issues for leaders that help build relationships that matter. High performing leaders display elevated self-awareness and the ability to read others. The best leaders build close relationships and invest in their high performers. High Performing leaders are accountable for the overall integrity of the organizational network. They hold themselves and others to the highest ethical standards. Join in listening to this podcast to gain the insights that shape how these Talents drive personal and organizational success. Learn what Barry and Sarah discovered in their research, and why these Talents drive leadership success.

Rémi Champeix is a global payroll transformation lead with over 15 years of experience in payroll strategy, process design, and system implementations. In this HRTechChat with Dylan Teggart, Rémi discusses his passion for enabling people, simplification, and inclusive leadership. He also addresses EU tax compliance challenges, emerging payroll models, and the limitations of AI in the European market.

Welcome to the fourth podcast in The Five Talents that Really Matter series.  In this podcast we begin to introduce the five talents, beginning with Setting Direction and Controlling Traffic.   There is a familiar phrase: “If you don't know where you are going, you'll probably end up somewhere else."  While setting direction is where all great strategies begin, in our conversation with Barry Conchie and Sarah Dalton, the authors of The Five Talents, we learn that it might be one of the rarest talents. Successfully setting direction requires: 1. The destination has to be a place worth going to—a destination where people want to come along. 2. Getting people to come along is not just a matter of telling people your direction, you have to engage them—it requires listening, connection, and the ability to articulate a compelling picture around why you are going there. 3. It is important to connect each person to the destination and the work they are doing;  people have to know how they create value and how their contribution to work matters. Many times, however, leaders can propose a direction, and it is met with skepticism because the direction was formulated in a vacuum, or it was the result of consultants formulating a direction that is not authentic to where the organization needs to go to be a success in the marketplace.  What we know is that it is difficult to inspire people and build a shared commitment to the future state.   What we learn from Barry and Sarah is that you need to pay attention to the terrain.  Having a map is the beginning, but understanding the terrain is essential, and that is where controlling traffic is important.  It requires agility, adjusting to market conditions, recognizing opportunities that lie ahead, making sure that the organization is positioned for success.   What I love about this conversation is that Barry and Sarah give us notable examples of how the best leaders can control traffic.  Execution capability is essential—the ability to effectively execute and orchestrate action. Join the conversation on Setting Direction and Controlling Traffic to learn more. The Five Talent that Really Matter is available on August 27th.

As part of researching The Five Talents that Really Matter, Barry Conchie and Sarah Dalton, the co-authors, conducted and reviewed 58,000 talent assessments. Their research was global in nature, and they studied leaders at every organization level. Their findings challenge the status quo and call out for leaders, at times, things they may not have wanted to know. The key learnings offer us insight into how we have been making decisions, unaware of their impact. Understanding these insights can help us make better choices and deliver better business performance. Let ‘s look at just a few of the learnings here...and then listen to the podcast to get the whole story. For example, when we are selecting candidates, we think of ourselves as objective—looking for whom we think would be the best candidate for a given role. If you ask leaders if they intentionally select people like themselves, they generally disagree. They think of themselves as seeking talent diversity. In fact, just the opposite was true, leaders had succeeded in “self-replication.” Even though it has been known for decades that “talent diversity predicts stronger collective performance advantages.” Have you ever heard leaders profess that they welcome all points of view and love to be challenged? Well, the reality is that dissention is often not welcomed. How do you know if this is going on in your team? If your team is discussing a complicated issue and no one is speaking up—then disagreement is not welcomed—yet leaders perceive themselves as welcoming dissent. If team members are having a meeting after the meeting to talk about the real issues—the leader does not welcome dissent and may not even see it. Do organizations have a bias for action-oriented leadership versus those with a keen eye for strategy? Would you ever hire someone you personally dislike even if they were highly talented? How often do you hire for likeability and are not even aware of it? Why does it take some leaders a longer time to terminate poor performers? In this podcast we will discuss the 18 insights and how you can use these findings to make better talent decisions—both in how you select and develop leaders.

With consistent churn in leadership roles at all organization levels, we have to step back and ask the question: - What are we missing in our selection process? - How do we continually make poor selection decisions? - And why aren't we doing better? Let us start with how we can get caught in the “likeability trap.” Barry Conchie and Sarah Dalton, in The Five Talents that Really Matter, found that likeability factors have a significant impact on how a candidate is perceived. The problem is that likeability will not correlate with whether the candidate can perform in a specific role. Throughout my career I have seen organizations select highly likeable candidates that go on to fail in the job, often within the first 6-12 months. In the selection discussions, likeability is often defended as the criteria and can often win out over the discussion on potential performance. In this podcast, join the conversation to learn more about: 1. How we can mislead candidates. Do you think it is possible to mislead candidates in face-to-face interviews? I have seen this multiple times—candidates feel they had great interviews, and then are shocked when they do not get the role. Misleading candidates can not only create negative experiences for them, it can also damage a company's brand. 2. How 360 Assessments are subjective at best and biased at worst. 3. How misaligned incentives with search firms can advocate for candidates that may not be the best choice. In this session, Barry and Sarah offer a path forward for how to audit and evaluate your selection process. “Their strategy is to introduce tools and processes that guide the hiring, selection, succession, and promotion decisions toward a defined structure that has measurable outcomes.” With each leadership selection decision, company performance is on the line—we can improve selection and have an enormous positive impact.

In today's workforce landscape, Ray Walker stands out as a leading expert in contingent workforce compliance. A seasoned professional who ensures compliance with both general and immigration laws, Walker's primary focus is maintaining business integrity while adhering to complex regulations. Contingent workers, defined as non-standard, off-payroll employees engaged on a project basis, have become a significant part of the labor market, constituting one-fifth of the UK labor market. Walker categorizes contemporary workers into three main types: traditional full-time employees, gig workers, and professional service providers. Each group faces unique legislative challenges, especially in a globalized economy where misclassification and multi-jurisdictional issues are common. Walker's expertise is precious in navigating these complexities, ensuring businesses remain compliant without hindering operational efficiency. His insights into the future of work emphasize the need for companies and workers to adapt to decentralized, technology-driven models, ensuring success in this dynamic environment.

Every now and then a book comes along that challenges the status quo.  A book that has the capacity to help us look at what we are doing today and see that we can do better.  The Five Talents that Really Matter is such a book.  Barry Conchie and Sarah Dalton, through scientific research, have identified the talents that really matter.  They cut through all the noise surrounding what leaders do and how the absolute best achieve success. Talents are different from what we see in the market today—they are not a product of competency models or building lists of experiences or capabilities—they are not the output of 360 assessments from leaders or peers that can often suggest room for improvement.  “Talents cannot be learned or taught.   They are the natural characteristics we are all born with.” Talents are a part of who we are and how we think (innate), consistent over time and resistant to change (enduring), and present in our daily work and in our lives (pervasive). So, what are the Talents that really matter? Setting Direction Harnessing Energy Exerting Pressure Increasing Connectivity Controlling Traffic In this first podcast in the 5 Talents that Really Matter Series, we meet Barry and Sarah, learn about how they arrived at the five talents, and receive an overview of how the current way we evaluate and hire talent is flawed, and what can be done moving forward to select and develop talent with a high probability of success. At a time when several studies have shown between 50-70% of new CEOs fail within the first 18 months (CEB), and 50% of externally hired executives and 35% of internally promoted leaders fall short of performance expectations (DDI), isn't it time for a new approach?

#HRTechChat: Connecting Technology and Employee Experience with Kamal Pradhan by 3Sixty Insights

Tiffani L. Gray brings over 20 years of experience to this #HRTechChat, where she speaks to Dylan Teggart about lessons learned, collaborative teams, and conversational AI. Currently, she holds the position of Payroll Manager at Riverside Health Systems, overseeing payroll for 11,000 employees. Tiffani's impressive career includes working in payroll for the state of Virginia and serving as the Director of Membership of the Hampton Roads Chapter of PAYO (2020-2021 Past President) and Secretary of the Virginia Statewide Payroll Conference Board. Her outstanding contributions were recognized in 2022 when she was awarded the prestigious Payroll Professional of the Year by the VA Statewide Conference. In May of the same year, she was inducted into PAYO's National Speaker Bureau and accepted as a Contributing Writer for PAYTECH magazine.

Lucia Valerio, the head of HR at Lexar since 2023, boasts a remarkable 20-year journey in the HR world. Her expertise lies in HR strategy, where she has been instrumental in driving organizational growth and revolutionizing employee engagement through transformative HR strategies. In a conversation with Dylan Teggart, Lucia delves into her principles on revisiting the fundamentals, its implications for HR leaders and businesses, and the transformative impact of new trends and technology on the future of work.

AI is set to empower HR leaders and optimize time with functionalities like timekeeping and attendance. In our latest #HRTechChat, Dylan Teggart is joined by Ayden Hodgins of New Entity HCM to speak about the future of AI in HCM and how large language models will improve the future of work.

Lilith Christiansen is the founder and lead consultant with HumanGenuity and co-author of the best-selling book Success Onboarding. She focuses on programs and processes that help people thrive in organizations. In this HRTechChat, Lilith discusses her approach to successful onboarding, first impressions, employee experience, and manager enablement, while touching on how new technology can play a role in these.

3Sixty Insight's Principal Analyst, Dylan Teggart, speaks with Geoffrey Roche of Siemens Healthineers. Geoffrey currently serves as the Director of Workforce Development at Siemens Healthineers, and is a leading thinker in the healthcare space with a focus on diversity, education, and health equity.

#HRTechChat: Meeting Workers Where They Are With Christine Nichlos & Jessica Oberto by 3Sixty Insights

In this HR Tech Chat, Dylan Teggart sits down with Keirsten Greggs of TRAP Recruiter. Keirsten has over two decades of experience in talent acquisition, onboarding, and training. Pulling from her experience in multiple sectors, including government, defense, and fintech, Keirsten walks us through the trends she's seeing in recruitment and hiring, the need for talented HR professionals, and how companies are finding the best people.

Organizations are struggling with how to better engage their people. If you want better results, people have to be connected to work. Research shows us that 77% of people in organizations today are just doing the bare minimum. Getting beyond the bare minimum to better productivity, connection with team members, a better business performance is about making a personal connection to the work and creating Indvidual pathways to development and career growth. Retention, team performance, innovation, belonging, and passion for the work, all improve when people can see the connection between what they do and what the business delivers in the marketplace.

This #HRTechChat between Workforce Software's CMO Sandra Moran, and 3Sixty Insights' Distinguished Advisor, Steve Goldberg, delves into many aspects of the employee experience for desk-less workers. Findings are shared from the WFM Tech vendor's annual Global EX Study, and the two experts talk about implications as well as intersecting topics that would be of interest to most HR professionals and leaders. The commitment to a better worker experience is evident from the leading software vendor's executive, and the genuine passion for improving outcomes for both employees and employers comes through quite clearly from the participants.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of HR technology, the future of learning is being reshaped by the transformative power of AI. In our latest HR Tech Chat episode, we sit down with Larry McAlister and Josh Irmler, CEO and founder of Landdai, to explore how AI is revolutionizing the way we approach learning and development. Together, we delve into the exciting possibilities of generative AI, the fears surrounding AI's impact on jobs, and the game-changing concept of personalization. Join us on this journey as we uncover the key insights and strategies to thrive in the golden age of HR technology.

#HRTechChat: Navigating the Talent Shortage: A Creative Approach to Skills-Based Hiring by 3Sixty Insights

At the very tail end of May 2023, the enterprise artificial intelligence software and services vendor Veritone announced the acquisition of Broadbean, a global recruitment technology company. Given that PandoLogic joined the family of Veritone companies in mid-summer 2021, we invited an expert each from PandoLogic and Broadbean to appear on the #HRTechChat video podcast and discuss synergies between the two now-Veritone companies. Joining us for this episode were Faisel Samseer, director of partnerships, development and growth for Broadbean, and Nikos Livadas, vice president of partner development for PandoLogic. Viewers (and listeners at the many audio podcast platforms where #HRTechChat syndicates) know we typically have in-depth discussions and communication with our guests in the "virtual greenroom" in the run-up to each episode. This episode is no different. Over a couple meetings and several detailed email exchanges, Nikos, Faisel and I discussed how the two vendors' shared circumstances under the aegis of Veritone ownership afford them the same kind of benefits normally found in any business partnership of this magnitude and scale. The joining of these two companies is natural in many ways. PandoLogic started out as an AI-based programmatic advertising solution for recruiting and quickly and significantly grew its capabilities from there, delighting customers along the way. As for Broadbean, "Today, we're the world's leader in job distribution technology," said Faisel. "We enable our clients to blast out their jobs to multiple platforms at the same time." He elaborated on Broadbean's large global footprint: "We say we're global. We have offices throughout the world," and Broadbean supports around 7,000 job board integrations. So, just how, exactly, do Broadbean and PandoLogic complement each other? "I think we all can agree that the bedrock of a successful AI platform is the amount of data that it has on the back end to fuel its algorithms and engines," said Nikos, pointing to the the "immense reach that Faisal was talking about earlier in data and combining it with the power of what PandoLogic has done in the AI space." This is true. No matter the type of AI, it always evolves better the more data it has access to. We see this in AI-based scheduling software and AI-predicated self-evolving skills ontologies. Outside human capital management -- and inherent in their very name -- "large" language models thrive most when as much data as possible (i.e., from human input) feeds them. It only stands to reason that this same fundamental rule of AI applies when it comes to AI and talent acquisition. As Nikos shared in a note to me ahead of the recording, "As our resellers and referral partners embrace the new Veritone HR Solutions set, they will be able to leverage our new expanded global footprint to expose our combined offering in more geo-locations than ever before possible. This will allow our partners to focus on their core competencies while relying on Broadbean/PandoLogic to handle the logistics and distribution aspects." Veritone's history in the AI space is long, "and they're a formidable player in AI when it comes to media advertising and voice technologies," said Nikos. Leveraging all that newfound data in a creative way will help the companies' customers find and engage with the best candidates for their open roles. "This is phenomenal for our partners as well," Nikos continued, "and we're looking forward to working with our partners under this new umbrella.

Welcome back to another episode of HRTechChat, where we dive into the latest trends and strategies in human resources and workplace technology. In this podcast episode, our host, Jennifer, is joined by HR expert Pamela Stroko to discuss a pressing topic - the staggering 59% of the workforce who are quietly quitting their jobs. Pamela sheds light on the concept of the ""Dead Zone,"" the time of day when remote or hybrid workers are not available to their managers. This lack of trust and connection to work has contributed to the decline in productivity and engagement among employees. Pamela introduces a concept called the ""Ambition Recession,"" a term coined by Gad Levanon, which points to the decline in employee ambition and engagement since the pandemic. She highlights that we need to shift our focus from where people work (in-office, remote, hybrid) to the quality of the work and the experiences employees have within the organization. The key is to activate employees and connect them deeply to their work to foster greater engagement and productivity. One solution Pamela suggests is using technology like the People Activation Platform offered by Pro Habits. This platform helps employees connect with their work by guiding them through daily tasks, setting goals, and providing feedback. It brings visibility to the work employees are doing and helps build trust between managers and their teams. Another tool discussed in the podcast is BlueBoard, which provides recognition experiences as rewards. Instead of traditional gifts or events, employees can choose an experience that is meaningful to them, such as a vacation with family, attending a sports event, or going on a hike. These experiences create positive intent, energize employees, and increase their commitment to the organization. The podcast emphasizes that organizations should focus on connecting employees to their work and creating meaningful experiences rather than just solving for the physical location of work. By activating employees and igniting their passion for their jobs, companies can boost productivity, engagement, and overall organizational success. In conclusion, Pamela and Jennifer leave us with the reminder that within each individual lies the potential to be fully engaged and energized by their work. As leaders, it is our responsibility to find that spark and encourage it to shine, fostering a culture of productivity and enthusiasm.

This episode of the #HRTechChat video podcast welcomes Playvox Chief Marketing Officer Michelle Randall. The sole focus of Playvox's cloud software for human capital management for is the call center industry. When it comes to workforce management, especially scheduling, call centers are complex, challenging. Plus, everything we hear about the importance of the employee experiences is magnified at call centers. And everything we know about the impact of a positive employee experience on the customer experience is amplified at call centers. Deploy technology capable of improving agents' quality of work-life balance, their employee wellbeing, and customers will have those positive experiences when they need it the most: when they get in touch with the call center. Michelle dives into the particulars, and I highly recommend tuning in.

Marta Weinstock, my guest for this episode of the #HRTechChat video podcast, is senior director of operations at California-based Rutherford Investment Company. Part of her charter at Rutherford Investments is to get human capital management as efficient as possible. Under the aegis of her leadership and the help of isolved, the employer's journey along the road to HCM maturity has been sweeping and inspiring. With isolved, Marta has brought order to a previously dysfunctional, disorganized HR ecosystem. Leading the charge for digital transformation from the inside, Marta has witnessed first-hand not only the excellent capabilities found in isolved's software-as-a-service People Cloud™, but also the highly attentive approach of isolved's HR services team.

The talent acquisition of today is nonlinear. By this, we mean it's all one thing, not a siloed process with many activities taking place in an orderly fashion or readily apparent, repeatable sequence. James Galvin should know. Our guest for this episode of the #HRTechChat video podcast, James is CEO and co-founder of Starcircle, a Cork, Ireland–headquartered vendor of cloud software and services designed to result in truly effective talent acquisition campaigns by looking at these as holistic efforts and considering sourcing first, and not last — an idea embodied in a term Starcircle uses: long-tail talent. Take artificial intelligence, for example. It's difficult to discuss modern talent acquisition without mentioning AI. This is because AI has entered the fray of talent acquisition for good. This is not hype. At the same time, however, “there's a lack of understanding around how AI is going to fit into talent acquisition,” said James during the podcast. “And one thing's for sure is: it's not going to do your work for you. ” The issue goes back to the tried-and-true old adage about relying on computers: garbage in, garbage out. Known perhaps even better for its acronym, GIGO is the idea that it doesn't matter how powerful a computer is: if the data going in is bad (i.e., garbage), the computer will spit out something of very little value (i.e., again, garbage). AI is the result of highly advanced, sophisticated computing, which of course means that GIGO applies to AI, too. Say you're an employer. Say there's an open role. Not that it necessarily matters for the example, but say it's an executive role that you're trying to fill. You're certain of the qualities and characteristics you want or believe you need in new candidates for an open role. But who's to say your certainty is warranted? Very few ask the question, and once you inform the AI in your talent acquisition technology with whatever ideas you have, you'll get the candidates you requested. The problem is, your idea of what you want or need is probably a little or way off the mark when it comes to what you actually need or should want. Apply the AI without any thought to this deep consideration, and never mind the disservice to diversity: you risk perpetuating deep-seated organizational dysfunction. Talent acquisition is no longer a clean chain of neatly defined in-tandem events or occurrences culminating in a hire. Just as there is an emerging new talent acquisition suite for the future of work, in other words, so there is an emerging new process to go about finding and acquiring new talent. As the one who is planning talent acquisition for your organization, you could take this holistic view of talent acquisition and think of yourself as being at the center of a circle. A circle is a nice visual for the idea of something being nonlinear, after all. On this episode of the podcast, James and I went on what you might characterize as a walkabout. AI was just one topic. Our discussion touched on talent acquisition in a deep way: how approaching recruiting as if it were a sales funnel is a mistake, James believes — precisely because talent acquisition has become so nonlinear why sourcing is anything but transactional and should be the first (instead of last) thing employers rethink in their approach to recruiting what friction in hiring is and how lessening this friction helps employers engage with their talent pipelines and avert candidate abandonment down the line

Some may appreciate the play on the title of a mid-1970s philosophical novel, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” others the Eastern twist on Western theology. Regardless, original Zen and the art of integration strategy is the absolutely essential and crucial understanding that cloud-to-cloud integration is a process and a way of life, never something that eventually ends because it will ever finally be perfect. Vendors in HCM that acknowledge and embrace this universal truth will save money, increase sales, and improve their customer retention — all major competitive advantages. This episode of the video podcast is something we call the #HRTechChat Showcase, a version of #HRTechChat wherein our guests not only chat with us, but also share slide decks or other visual cues to help convey their ideas. So, if you're listening to us on one of the audio platforms where we syndicate, this time you may want to look for us on YouTube so you can view the video. My guests were all-around experts in the granularities of cloud integration: Chief Technology Officer Jeff Tremblay and President Pierre Rousseau of The Cloud Connectors, an integration platform-as-a-service (iPaaS) where they and their fellow co-founders invented and use Clouddata™, a native-to-cloud-integrations computer language. Listening to vendors of software-as-a-service (SaaS) for human capital management (or any other domain of the enterprise, for that matter), a buyer might be forgiven to believe solution providers have solved cloud-to-cloud integration once and for all with application programming interfaces (APIs). But they haven't — far from it. An HCM technology stack chockful of countless APIs hanging together via no more than a slew of corresponding point-to-point integrations is, as the cliché goes, a recipe for disaster. Vendors experience what TCC calls the Wall Effect, a hockey-stick graph where the cost of integration (TCoI) for maintaining everything suddenly increases exponentially to sap resources and siphon talent away from innovating. The challenges comprise far more than what appears above the waterline of the Integration Iceberg, an apt metaphor TCC invokes. To use another cliché, Clouddata is a game-changer. To pull from the related research note that we recently published, “Clouddata does for integrations what SQL has done for relational databases. Much like SQL delivered relational database coding from the very complex language CODASYL, Clouddata fulfills the same role for integrations. Clouddata makes it easy to build complex integrations that enable businesses to scale.” There's more, of course. Critical as Clouddata is, it takes more than a breakthrough in computer language to make cloud-to-cloud integration better, more manageable and affordable over the long term. And there's even more, and at this point, I really should just let Pierre and Jeff do the explaining. I happen to like the concept of #HRTechChat Showcase, by the way. Perhaps you've wondered at times what a briefing with an industry analyst is like, for example. Or, you just like seeing slide decks or other props when learning something new. Some don't like PowerPoint, but we've all seen their impact and effectiveness elevate immeasurably when the caliber of presenter is really good. And, in Jeff and Pierre, we have really good, high-caliber presenters for this episode, indeed.

Welcome back to another episode of #HRTechChat, the Podcast where we explore the latest trends, innovations, and strategies in the ever-evolving world of HR technology. I'm your host, Jennifer Dole. And on today's show, we have a very special guest joining us again, someone who has made a significant impact in the HR tech landscape with her expertise and thought leadership. She's a trailblazer, she's an innovator, and she's a true advocate for leveraging technology to drive positive change in the workplace. Welcome back, Pamela. In this episode, we delve into the challenges that HR leaders face. The job market and talent shortage are hot topics in the news, with economic factors and uncertainties impacting companies' hiring strategies. As Pamela points out, the predicted recession seems to be pushed further into the future, and HR leaders must navigate these changing landscapes. One significant shift in the market is the emphasis on skill building. Upskilling, reskilling, and alternative routes to acquiring skills are gaining prominence in talent acquisition. State governments, organizations like STAR, and initiatives like "Grads of Life" are recognizing the value of skills over traditional degrees. This shift opens up opportunities for underserved and diverse populations who may possess the necessary skills but lack formal education credentials. Pamela highlights the importance of tapping into underrepresented groups and using technology to increase visibility and encourage their participation in the job market. However, she also emphasizes that skills cannot be solely assessed based on a list on paper. Real conversations and understanding how individuals acquired and applied their skills are crucial. As technology evolves, HR leaders can leverage advancements to gain more insights into candidates' capabilities and potential fit within the organization. The conversation then transitions to the role of HR leaders as curators of company culture. Pamela explains her choice of the word "curate" and its definition: selecting, organizing, and presenting using professional or expert knowledge. HR leaders are tasked with carefully choosing the elements that shape the company's culture. With a myriad of responsibilities, they must prioritize and focus on areas that need attention, such as candidate experience, talent acquisition, skills development, and internal mobility. To curate the culture effectively, HR leaders must be aware of external factors, such as market trends and talent gaps. By using their professional expertise and knowledge, they can make informed decisions and drive positive change within the organization. The key lies in carefully selecting the right initiatives and strategies that align with the company's goals and values. In conclusion, this episode sheds light on the challenges faced by HR leaders in the talent marketplace and their role as curators of company culture. By embracing skill-based hiring, leveraging technology for inclusivity, and curating the right elements, HR leaders can create a positive and thriving workplace environment. Stay tuned for more insights and discussions on HR tech trends in future episodes of #HRTechChat.

Both my guests for this episode have appeared on the #HRTechChat video podcast previously - and it only made sense to host the two of them this time, at the same time. Why? Betterworks CEO Doug Dennerline and Vice President of HR Transformation Jamie Aitken have co-authored and published a book titled "Make Work Better," and our discussion revolved around it. Let's get something out of the way first. Employers have six ways to Sunday to make work better: make scheduling better for work-life balance, make onboarding better for immediate employee engagement (and faster time-to-productivity), make payroll better so employees get paid incorrectly less often, make on-the-job learning better so staff can build their careers... Have I missed anything? Probably, and we've been talking about how to make work better for years. Over 10 years ago, when I worked with executives at one of the well-known vendors of technology for workforce management, we argued (correctly) in our thought leadership that you could make work better for retail associates by modernizing WFM systems. The list goes on. You could start anywhere to make work better. One of the best places to start to make work better, however, is by upending tired old approaches to measuring and assessing employees' performance. More specifically, the central tenet of Doug and Jamie's book is that you can make work much, much better by dispensing with performance management that revolves around the tedious annual performance review. We've all heard the tongue-in-cheek term, The beatings will continue until morale improves. Well, what are we doing? We can do better than rely on an approach developed by the U.S. military early in the last century and specifically for military scenarios. As for the private sector, "massive research shows that it doesn't change performance," Doug said. "It's a ridiculous thing. Yet people still do it. So, this book was aimed at helping people understand the value of making the change, and giving them a bit of a roadmap on what happens when you do that" and insight into "the profound impact it has on companies that are brave enough to make the change." What kind of organization doesn't want performance to improve? What's great about leaving the traditional annual review behind is that employees' performance finally does improve -- the goal all along. New approaches aided by the state of the art in cloud software for this (like Betterworks) promote regular dialogue between managers and their direct reports, result in greater workforce engagement overall, and elevate the caliber of leadership throughout the organization. Over time, in fact, turning away from the old ways of performance management can be an important precursor to organizational transformation -- and HR transformation, certainly. Traditionally (and tellingly), HR departments have always measured success vis-à-vis performance management in simple terms of completions -- "as opposed to impact, what is it that you're trying to achieve?" Jamie said. "Well, it's not just 'check the box.' We need to have a completely different way of showing up for our employees. We need to be thinking about different ways to get them engaged, and focused." HR departments end up escaping this cost-center-reinforcing mentality and, armed with rich data on workforce performance and engagement, elevate their own standing with organizational leadership. Getting out of the past and into the future of work with their performance management, in other words, is good all around for everyone involved. For an example of how this plays out, watch this episode of #HRTechChat from last summer, when we interviewed Betterworks user Jeff Andes, vice president of talent management at University of Phoenix. And I almost forgot: another member of leadership at Betterworks appeared on the podcast last year. In the meantime, and as always, Doug and Jamie were great guests.

Joining 3Sixty Insights Co-Founder Brent Skinner for this episode of the #HRTechChat video podcast was guest Adam Famularo, CEO of WorkFusion. In monitoring for financial crime, WorkFusion's "AI Digital Workers" may well be more accurate and efficient than any human could ever be. But it's actually good news for real humans in the world of work. In their discussion, Adam and Brent dig into why this is so.

Ready to unlock the secrets of HR success? Tune in to the HR Tech Chat podcast, where we dive deep into the world of human resources and explore the latest trends and innovations in HR technology. In our latest episode, we had the incredible Maria Scarangella sharing her expertise on HR economics and its impact on organizations. From optimizing staffing to leveraging HR technology, Maria's insights will transform the way you approach HR strategy. Don't miss out on this valuable conversation! #HRtechchat #Podcast #HRsuccess

Megan Coen, vice president of HR services at isolved, was a guest on the #HRTechChat video podcast. isolved calls HR outsourcing by a different name, HR augmentation, and this episode provides a glimpse into why. Megan shared war stories from her previous lives in helping to drive change management in HR and did a great job in laying out how isolved combines "the right blend" of technology and services.

In a recent episode of HR Tech Chat, host Jennifer Dole and guest Pamela Stroko delved into the crucial topic of supporting women in the workplace and ensuring equitable promotions and opportunities. Pamela, an HCM practitioner and HR tech expert, provided valuable insights on the impact of HR technology in enabling women to access greater opportunities. Listen in as we will explore the key points discussed in the podcast episode and shed light on the importance of HR technology in empowering women in their careers.

“How do I make a 120,000-person organization data-aware?” asks Amaresh Tripathy, my guest on this episode of the #HRTechChat video podcast. Amaresh is senior vice president and global business leader at Genpact. A General Electric spin-off, Genpact is several billion dollars in size. A publicly traded professional services firm, Genpact mainly focuses on two things. One is all about running various digital operations on behalf of Genpact's clients, which are Fortune 1000 companies around the globe. The other involves data, technology and artificial intelligence, wherein Genpact concerns itself with helping these clients transform some of these same digital operations for the better. Amaresh's role is with this second focus, working to make "our clients more data-intelligent and data-aware," he says. You probably already see the tie-in with Genpact's workforce. Amaresh believes that, at Genpact, he and his team have built the world's largest data awareness program. Solutions such as EdCast, found in the Cornerstone suite, factor largely into the effort. We discussed this. An illustrative example of organizational and digital transformation, the initiative relies, critically, on well-sorted learning technology and modern tools for curating and delivering content just right for the task at hand. Phenomenally, Amaresh is more than halfway to achieving an ambitious goal: so far, somewhere between 65,000 of and 70,000 of the company's own employees have completed the associated certification program, which leaves them highly versed in understanding the tools to extract and blend enterprise data. Graduates then go on to use their newfound knowledge and skills in order to help a client—in the process earning from Genpact what is akin to a black belt in data awareness. During our chat, Amaresh shared the philosophy behind his vision and delved into the thinking that has helped make it a reality at Genpact. This vision is empowering staff with the high-impact upskilling that is an essential ingredient not only for their success individually, but also for Genpact's overall. Indeed, like so many initiatives notable for their positive effects on business, Amaresh's is redolent of the idea that an organization's people are an asset to cultivate and engage. This is the model for success. All at once, Genpact's data awareness program is good for the company, its clients, and its people. If you're looking for an example of how the future of work is happening right now, look no further than this episode of the podcast. It was an absolute pleasure speaking with Amaresh.

In today's fast-paced world of technology and automation, it's easy to assume that human interaction is becoming less relevant. However, when it comes to building meaningful relationships and effective hiring, technology will never fully replace the role of a recruiter. Kim Slowik, a seasoned talent acquisition professional, emphasizes the importance of genuine connections in her conversation with Jennifer Dole on the HR Tech Chat podcast. While technology offers valuable tools for filtering and finding candidates, it's the human interaction that truly makes a difference. When recruiters take the time to engage with candidates on a personal level, asking meaningful questions and actively listening, they gain insights that go beyond a resume. By understanding a candidate's aspirations, values, and career goals, recruiters can identify the perfect fit for both the candidate and the company. Building relationships also extends to the hiring managers. Recruiters who invest in understanding the unique requirements and dynamics of a team can find candidates who not only possess the necessary skills but also align with the team's culture and goals. It's about creating a cohesive unit, just like building a sports team. While technology provides tools like applicant tracking systems and LinkedIn Recruiter, which aid in the recruitment process, it cannot replace the nuanced understanding that comes from personal conversations. Technology may filter candidates on paper, but it often fails to capture the intangible qualities that make a candidate an ideal fit. Technology has undoubtedly sped up the recruitment process, but it is the personal touch that fosters lasting relationships. Recruiters who go the extra mile, provide feedback, and genuinely care about candidates build a reputation that garners trust and loyalty. It's not just about filling a position; it's about nurturing long-term careers. Technology may enhance efficiency and widen reach, but it will never replace the essence of human connection. Recruiters like Kim Slowik understand that building meaningful relationships with candidates and hiring managers is the key to successful recruitment. By combining technological tools with genuine empathy and insightful conversations, recruiters can truly find the perfect fit for both candidates and companies.

In today's rapidly evolving world, the intersection of technology and inclusive leadership is shaping the future of organizations. The qualities of inclusive leaders play a crucial role in fostering a culture of belonging, collaboration, and innovation. In this podcast, we will explore some key attributes of inclusive leaders and discuss how technology can be leveraged to enhance inclusive leadership. Courage: At the heart of inclusive leadership lies courage. Inclusive leaders must have the courage to challenge the status quo, address biases, and create an environment where every individual feels valued and respected. They understand that being a great leader means embracing diversity and making intentional efforts to be inclusive, even if it involves taking risks or stepping out of their comfort zones. Desire to Help People: Inclusive leaders have a genuine desire to help people thrive. They recognize that by fostering a sense of belonging and inclusivity, they can unlock the full potential of their teams. They actively seek opportunities to create conditions that allow everyone to contribute their unique perspectives, skills, and knowledge. By nurturing an environment that encourages collaboration and cooperation, inclusive leaders drive greater team performance and overall success. Embracing Human Qualities: Inclusive leadership involves recognizing and embracing the human qualities that set us apart from machines. While technology can enhance efficiency, it is the human touch that enables true empathy, compassion, and self-awareness. Inclusive leaders listen with empathy, act with compassion, and demonstrate genuine care for their team members. These human qualities foster trust, build stronger relationships, and promote a sense of psychological safety within the organization. Leveraging Technology for Inclusive Leadership: Technology can be a powerful tool for inclusive leadership. It provides leaders with actionable data and insights, enabling them to understand the voice of their employees better. Tools like coaching platforms offer valuable support for managers, helping them navigate conversations around well-being, mental fitness, and career growth. Additionally, technologies that promote diversity and inclusion in the hiring process, such as AI-powered interview analysis, can reduce bias and create fairer opportunities for all candidates. Business Outcomes of Inclusive Leadership: Contrary to the notion that inclusive leadership is just "soft stuff," it has tangible business outcomes. Studies have consistently shown that diverse and inclusive teams outperform homogeneous ones. Inclusive leadership leads to higher employee engagement, increased productivity, and improved retention rates. By quantifying and presenting these outcomes, inclusive leaders can demonstrate the value of their approach to stakeholders, including the CFO. The intersection of technology and inclusive leadership presents an exciting opportunity for organizations to create an inclusive and thriving workplace culture. Inclusive leaders, driven by courage and a desire to help people, are leveraging technology to enhance their leadership practices. By embracing human qualities, using technology as an enabler, and focusing on quantifiable business outcomes, inclusive leaders are shaping the future of work. In this age of technology, it is essential to recognize the power of inclusive leadership in unlocking the full potential of individuals and driving organizational success.

Are you someone who dreams of a fulfilling career, but feels bogged down by challenges and setbacks? Do you feel like you're constantly pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone, without seeing the results you want? If so, you're not alone. But the good news is that there are ways to build resilience and overcome the obstacles that stand in your way. As someone who is passionate about career development, I've seen firsthand how a resilient mindset can help people achieve their goals. It's not just about bouncing back from failures or setbacks, although that's certainly important. It's also about having the right mindset, one that is open to growth, learning, and taking ownership of your career. This is especially important in today's fast-paced and constantly evolving work environment. As technology and automation continue to disrupt industries and change the nature of work, it's more important than ever to be adaptable, flexible, and resilient. This means not only being able to handle challenges and setbacks, but also being proactive about your own career development. So what can you do to build resilience and take ownership of your career? It starts with developing a growth mindset, one that is open to learning, feedback, and continuous improvement. This means being willing to take risks, try new things, and embrace failure as a learning opportunity. It also means being mindful of your own needs and goals, and being willing to speak up and advocate for yourself. This could mean setting boundaries, asking for support or resources, or taking on stretch assignments that challenge you in new ways. But perhaps most importantly, building resilience and taking ownership of your career means cultivating empathy and understanding for yourself and others. This means recognizing that we all have limitations, and that it's okay to ask for help or support when we need it. It also means being mindful of the impact that our actions and decisions have on those around us, and striving to create a supportive and collaborative work environment. In the end, building resilience and taking ownership of your career is about recognizing that we all have the power to shape our own futures. By cultivating the right mindset, being proactive, and staying true to our values and goals, we can overcome challenges and achieve success in all areas of our lives. So why not start today?

Building a successful career requires the right mindset, skills, and strategies to navigate the changing job market. In this conversation with Swati Jain, a transformational advisor and leadership coach, she shared her experience of building her professional journey, highlighting the importance of building career resilience, self-discovery, and a deep understanding of one's strengths and weaknesses. She emphasized that hard and soft skills are crucial but not the only focus for career success. Rather, she recommended three key strategies to build career agility, take risks, and network effectively. And, that is what we dive into in the podcast. https://www.getreempowered.com/

I wish we could just push a button and have payroll process without a hitch, like everyone thinks we do," joked Robyn Torgius, guest on this episode of #HRTechChat. Instead of just falling into the work, as most have in the past, people are increasingly choosing payroll as a career path. This is a good thing. As global head of payroll at IFS and member of 3Sixty Insights' Global Executive Advisory Council, Robyn shared her considerable insight into how payroll can be elevated into a profession -- and why it should be.

Last week, just before the morning's program commenced at the Boston stop along the 2023 #isolvedRoadShow, this episode's #HRTechChat video podcast guest Geoff Webb and I met for some impromptu "green room" time and joked that it was too bad the camera wasn't rolling. Never fear, however: I plan to build on that very interesting discussion soon with a dedicated blog entry.... Following the conclusion of last Thursday's itinerary at the Courtyard by Marriot, Geoff and I sat down for this episode of the podcast -- recorded "in concert, so to speak," from the Road Show floor. And this may be the right time to explain just what the 2023 isolved Road Show is, because it relates directly to the conversation captured here. A multiple-city trek that executives and others at isolved are making to reach as many of the vendor's customers as possible, the Road Show is isolved's vehicle to deliver an important, timely message to HR leaders and their teams: it's possible to stop spinning your wheels under a mountain of administrative work and become strategic, laser-focused on the all-important employee experience. And you can get there one step at a time. Geoff shared a metaphor for all this, the Red Queen Effect. In Lewis Carroll's 19th century classic Through the Looking Glass, the Red Queen teaches main character Alice the underlying subtext and metaphor of running faster and faster and, yet, staying in one place. "When you think about what that means to an HR organization," Geoff said, "I think it's very, very appropriate. We see HR teams being asked to do more and more and more, to react and respond to changes in employee expectations and to change to the needs of the business. And, of course, there's just a relentless drumbeat of new legislation, new laws, new compliance requirements, new mandates, and so on. So, of course, what they're doing is have to run faster and faster, just to stay in the same place." The gist of the Red Queen's lesson is to work smarter, not faster. Species evolve to evade falling prey to predators. These same predators then evolve to catch these same prey anew. Each draws on the same innate imperative, and HR can evolve, too. HR can stop running faster and faster just to stay in one place. With this deliberate, intentional shift in thinking, HR will see many desirable benefits over time. Their evolution will lead them to more gratifying work that organizational leadership will recognize as strategic. The best part is, just like biological evolution occurs in tiny steps, so does HR evolution. HR presses forward and upward in gradual increments -- easily mastered, effective steps. Geoff is a repeat guest on #HRTechChat, by the way, and you can view a previous episode featuring him. In the midst of doing well over 60 for 2023, isolved is serious about its Road Shows. Those into math will recognize right away that this means at least one city every week this year. Yes, the isolved team is busy, and we at 3Sixty Insights enjoyed the opportunity to join them and host this episode of the podcast.

For this episode of #HRTechChat, Purbita Banerjee, senior client partner and head of product management at Korn Ferry, joined 3Sixty Insights Co-Founder Brent Skinner for a barnburner of a discussion. Their topic? How future-of-work technology is upending long-held notions in #talentacquisition and #talentmanagement. "We're here to create pathways to success for humans at work," said Purbita.

Brandon Dorr, director of people technologies at WPS Health Solutions, guested on this episode of the #HRTechChat video podcast. He and host Brent Skinner discussed how Brandon's training in IT led him into HR. There seems to be a robust career path in HR (and other lines of business) for IT professionals needed for their expertise in sorting the data that SaaS for HCM produces (and in developing custom, tailored functionality). During their conversation, they also touched on the high caliber of attention that UKG pays to customer success.

I'm going to date myself here. My first encounter with Mike Ettling, CEO of Unit4, was over 10 years ago. Technology editor for HRO Today at the time, I was relatively wet behind the ears, as the saying goes, when it comes to human capital management and the technology for it. I attended a briefing for analysts and the industry press with Mike, CEO at the time of what was then NorthgateArinso. The gathering was in real life, a.k.a. IRL (a term that had not even emerged yet). "Well, Brent, that goes back some time," Mike said when I brought it up to open the discussion on this episode of the #HRTechChat video podcast. Much has happened since 2011. NGA became NGA Human Resources and, eventually, a part of Alight, and Mike went on to even greater things. Possibly most notable among his past roles is that of CEO for SAP SuccessFactors, a post he held from 2014 to 2018. To say Mike loves thinking about HCM is evident. He sees how it all blends, and he takes it a step further. "Unit4 focuses on ERP for people-centric businesses," he says, and his philosophy there is, in fact, to treat HCM and Unit4's software for enterprise resource planning and financial planning and analysis (FP&A) as being inextricably linked and having one holistic application for business. Mike's perspective here is refreshing. The idea to integrate these activities closely has been forming bit by bit for years, and, from a messaging standpoint and more, the approach has been just screaming for a go-to-market vehicle. The benefits afforded to an organization that treats these activities as linked are many and go beyond potentially sizable newfound efficiencies. The company that can give its financial people visibility into the organization's people overall, its workforce, will cultivate a greater appreciation among the former for the upside of a positive employee experience. Perhaps it is no accident, then, that one of Mike's first executive decisions, when he took the role to lead Unit4, was to rename the human resources department as People Success, a term that captures the essence and spirit of recently gathering trends in HCM and business leadership overall: the tenet that organizations' profitability and overall perpetuity hinges on their embrace of a new guiding ethos, one that asserts the success of the company's people ultimately translates to success, period. Not for naught, the concept is baked into Unit4's tagline, too: "in business for people," which is what initially drew Mike to Unit4, he says. The saying implicitly intersects with diversity, equity and inclusion, another topic we explored during the podcast. Mike says that he is grateful for his upbringing in South Africa, as it instilled in him what he sees as a second nature for DE&I. "You cannot solve DE&I with a process," he says. "You can solve it with empathy and the right leaders in an organization." It was a wide-ranging conversation. Just before recording began, Mike and I joked that our discussion would probably dip into speculation over artificial intelligence at some point (as does most coffee talk in HCM these days, it seems). Amazingly, it did not, but he says he's interested in returning to #HRTechChat someday to discuss AI specifically. That would be yet another fantastic discussion.

March 8th marks International Women's Day and a special opportunity for organizations to celebrate the contributions of their female employees. This is an especially important day to me because it is about empowering women in the workplace. So this year on International Women's Day, let's take some time to recognize our hardworking women and find new ways to challenge the status quo. Celebrating with me today is Maji Tharpe from University of Illinois' Discovery Partners Institute, and she is doing everything she can to diversify the tech ecosystem in the state of Illinois by disrupting the internship model. We met at the virtual HR Tech Conference, and instantly hit it off! We both operate in the cross section of HR Tech, succession planning, upskilling and pipeline diversity. We are both committed to challenging the status quo to create a better workplace for our daughters. “It is important that we address these issues systemically and conscientiously so that we can actually make a difference,” said Maji, “because if we just say we want to do good, that's not solving anything, we've got to create solutions. We have got to push ourselves to the point of being uncomfortable if we are going to make a difference that is actually going to affect and make our system more equitable across the board.” International Women's Day is just a great opportunity to put this message out there with a solution of what can be done. Reach out to Maji at immersion@uIllinois.edu to learn more.

#HRTechChat: Jamie Aitken, Vice President of HR Transformation at Betterworks by 3Sixty Insights

#HRTechChat with James Brogan CEO and Co-Founder of PepTalk by 3Sixty Insights

#HRTechChat: Geoff Webb, Vice President of Solutions, Product, and Marketing Strategy at isolved by 3Sixty Insights

#HRTechChat: Organizational Psychologist Caitlin Collins, Program Strategy Director at Betterworks by 3Sixty Insights

This edition of #HRTechChat features Alex Furman, founder and CEO of Performica and 3Sixty Insight's Jennifer Dole. In this episode we share why founder's story matter. Prospective customers want to understand the story behind a company's founding- why it exists, what inspired its leaders, and how it will make their lives better. Founders' stories can offer inspiration, give them insight into the values at play in the organization they're thinking of using, and even persuade them that they have made the right decision when considering an investment with a particular company. In this blog post we explore why Alex's stories should matter when you're investing in technology. There was so much to unpack in a short time during the recording, take a listen!

My guest for this episode of #HRTechChat was Steve Goldberg, well-known HR industry analyst, advisor and thought leader. Steve and I were having so many interesting conversations of late, that we decided we'd better lay one of these tracks down on vinyl, so to speak. Steve shared a few ideas around the theme of "opportunities where HR technology can make a difference today and over the next several years," and here we are.... True to form, Steve got me to thinking about something in a way I'd never considered. It's loosely related to a concept I encountered many years ago. The idea "is really the byproduct of mashing together the vendor perspective and the customer perspective," Steve said. From vendors, there's a standardization of functionality for this or that need and area of practice in human capital management. And, at the employers that use this software, there's a fit for this standardization, but also a uniqueness that standardized solutions won't address. And, Steve asks, "I'm now thinking, can machine learning help? How do you bridge that gap with machine learning?" That is a fascinating possibility. Another area of interest in HCM today "is what I call line manager enablement," Steve said. "It's a phrase that I started using when I was at PeopleSoft. Even fast forward to today. It's not getting anything close to the attention that I think it needs." His point is sage. Essential stakeholders when it comes to HCM technology, line managers need attention. And what's intriguing is that the dam seems to be breaking, and vendors of technology for HCM are beginning to gear their solutions for the line manager — a welcome development. "The HR department typically only comprises about one percent of the organization," Steve said. "How can HR possibly scale and have a finger on the pulse of the needs, interests, goals, potential issues, and challenges of every employee in an organization, every worker? So line managers have to be viewed as critical in listening to employees' needs, interests, and goals and in balancing these with the needs, interests, and goals of the enterprise." Our chat covered a country mile's worth of ground. We discussed Steve's three P's for artificial intelligence. We threw a bone to Generation X and Baby Boomers by talking about the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island as a parable for the pitfalls in crisis communication at the intersection of internal and external brand (link included for the edification of Millennials and Generation Y). Even the topic of mergers and acquisitions came up, including the cruciality of managing cultural friction successfully during these events. This conversation was truly wide-ranging. A friend of mine and member of our Global Executive Advisory Council, Steve is always a deep fount of knowledge and wisdom on all things HCM. Much of it comes from his decades in the business as a practitioner in HR, an HCM technology vendor executive, and an industry analyst and consultant. (He recently became a board advisor for Azilen Technologies, for example.) Anyone who likes to think deeply on technology, leadership and more in HCM will want to give this episode a view.

Anita Lettink was the guest for this episode of #HRTechChat. Many viewers of this video podcast may know Anita from her nearly 20 years in positions of increasing seniority at NGA Human Resources (acquired in 2019 by Alight). Following nearly three years as a senior vice president there, she finally left NGAHR in mid-2020 to found HR Tech Radar and write and publish her book, "How to Select Your Next Payroll: The Ultimate Guide." Anita is a payroll expert by any calculus, and it was a real pleasure to reconnect and discuss the subject matter of her book in detail. Having fallen out of touch in recent years, Anita and I actually go way back, originally meeting when she was about midway through her tour of duty at NGAHR. This was back when NGAHR was known as NorthgateArinso, and the chief executive was Mike Ettling (who's now CEO of Unit4). As for little ol' me, I was technology editor for HRO Today. My, how time flies.... Much as nobody has ever complimented or thanked the power company for the electricity working, no employee (or company executive, for that matter) has ever spoken up to give the payroll department a thumbs up for getting payroll right again. When the power goes out or payroll goes wrong, however, watch the emails, text messages and phone calls roll in. "It is the expectation of employees that payroll will be correct," Anita said during the episode. "You cannot overperform payroll. But the moment it is wrong, even for a small group of people, I'd say all hell breaks loose. And all the trust you've built, the reputation that you had, is gone overnight." Payroll is one of those things employees are entitled to, no questions asked. They know this to the point that they don't even think about it, when payroll is right. There's an unspoken understanding. Get payroll wrong, however, and the employer brand suffers. This is why payroll absolutely must be correct. When it is, employee sentiment remains unaffected; when it isn't, employee sentiment tanks. Having been a close observer and actor in the payroll selection process for so long, Anita has — interestingly — identified what she believes to be a specific stage in the process that, left unaddressed, can botch or derail the implementation and subsequent deployment of a payroll solution. What is this stage in the process? Consider viewing this episode of the podcast, where we discuss the answer. Payroll is among my very favorite topics, and Anita brought deep insight to the conversation.