The WFH Show

Nikki's guest is David Zinger, a leading employee engagement speaker, educator, and community builder. David has over 24,000 hours' experience working in employee engagement in over eight countries and has taught education and counselling at the University of Manitoba for over 20 years. Among many topics, David talks about how to make well-being and employee engagement programs authentic. And, drawing on his background in psychology, he discusses workplace place anxiety and the complexity and ambiguity facing leaders striving to create safe workplaces during the current climate. If you want to hear from one of the industry's best, this is the episode for you! Check out the video podcast here: https://youtu.be/C0bc6r5z_jM (https://youtu.be/C0bc6r5z_jM)

Nikki's guest is Mark Simpson, Vice President of Legendary People at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant chain, which has 56,00 employees at 563 locations, plus their support center (HQ). Stressing the importance of flexibility and communication, Mark has helped his team achieve some incredible things since the start of COVID, like handling a 600% increase in takeout business. And there have been no layoffs or pay cuts (except some executives taking voluntary cuts) - so you know they're doing something right!  Mark also talks about the importance of transparency and how recognition and appreciation are more important than ever. If you're in the food service industry you'll definitely want to hear Mark's many great insights and tips! Watch the video podcast: https://youtu.be/KG89f3LFUCU

Nikki's guest is Jackie Kindall, CEO of Kindall Evolve Consulting, which provides, executive coaching, leadership development programs, and organizational consulting. Jackie tells us that we need to realize that we are experiencing massive change and that we should be aware of the accompanying emotions and be gentle with ourselves and others. She says that appreciation and recognition are especially important at this time, adding that it is important to understand how your team members like to be recognized (publicly or privately for example). Looking ahead to returning to “normal,” Jackie says we must realize that some people will be fearful so we must take that into account and acknowledge that it's okay to not be okay. Listen to the podcast for the rest of Jackie's great insights and tips. 

Nikki's guest is Angie Duong, Manager, People and Culture at Avanti Software Inc., makers of cloud-based, HR solutions that help to recruit manage and retain employees. During COVID-19, Angie has been busy facilitating ways to be sure her team stays connected. These include increasing the cadence of CEO-led “all hands on deck” meetings (often focusing on gratitude), and innovative activities like “5 in 5,” a cool activity where people use five slides and talk about themselves for five minutes. Great idea! Angie and her team have been pleased to see the viability of hiring people virtually (Avanti hasn't stopped hiring in the WFH era) as well as conducting successful virtual training sessions. Angie says Avanti plans to carry over many of these new practices and activities once things get back to “normal.” Listen to the podcast to get more great tips from Angie.      Watch the video podcast: https://youtu.be/nj8ZsjYXd-Q

Nikki's guest is Kevin Kruse, author of several books and a contributor to Business Week, Fast Company, Business Insider and Forbes. He is also the founder and CEO of LEADx.org, a next generation AI-powered leadership development and management training company. Kevin tells us how AI can help us – and our managers – be aware of our personality type which in turn can guide us to better, customized WFH strategies. He notes that managers should be less concerned that people are working too little at home, but rather too much – which can lead to burn out. He also tells us how important recognition is, and suggests that since we are missing physical interactions around the office, companies should use systems (like Kudos, for example

Nikki's guest is Marisol Hughes, EVP and general counsel at WilsonHCG, which aims to be the premier global talent solutions provider, and talent firm. Marisol has helped to implement an excellent range of engagement and collaboration events. There are the expected activities like virtual coffee chats, but also some intriguing ones, like painting with a twist, Top Chef, WHCG Cribs, and a popular one called “What's in your fridge right now?” They have also designated a mental wellness month with weekly areas of focus, including sessions with a team member who is a certified “Happiness at Work” coach. It's for real! Listen the podcast to learn more.    

Nikki's guest is Gabby Hughes, People Program Manager at Gong, makers of “Revenue Intelligence” software.  Gabby has helped to establish a range of virtual events for Gong, from workouts with trainers to mediation sessions to events for kids of parents working at home to virtual happy hour with activities.  Gabby and her team also look for ways to give back, including volunteering to send letters to people and inviting out-of-work people to Gong activities. Tech-wise, Gabby recommends Donut, which enables random coffee dates with team members you might not know very well (yet), and Guru which is like an internal wiki with all kinds of information about Gong, including WFH resources.   Watch the Video Podcast: https://youtu.be/27lGpoSxp1s

Nikki's guest is Cornell Verdeja-Woodson, Diversity Business Partner for Google Cloud. Cornell tells us that the new WFH era can be an eye opening moment for people of privilege, because restricted lifestyles can let them feel how others may feel when their choices are restricted by race, gender or socioeconomic class. Cornell also advises leaders to be mindful of team members who might not feel comfortable advocating for themselves regarding difficulties they may have working from home – from childcare issues to mental health concerns. He encourage managers to be be patient, kind and, most importantly, to ask questions.

Nikki's guest is Tom Morin, a renowned speaker, writer, coach and consultant through his business, https://workfeelsgood.com/ (Work Feels Good). Tom talks about how leaders have more work than ever since their teams are working remotely. His (possibly counterintuitive) advice that is working for his clients is to cut back on scheduled meetings with team members. Instead, Tom suggests scheduling more informal “open door” times when the leader is available to members. He has other tips, including how to support the new kind of team members we see emerging in the WFH era, the “self-inspired" worker who needs less supervision and guidance. Listen to the podcast to get the whole story.    Watch the Video Podcast: https://youtu.be/06kN8upsdR0

Nikki's guest is Michelle Berg, CEO of Elevated HR. Elevated has been very busy dealing with companies who have had to institute temporary layoffs. Michelle and her team have handled 2,400 layoffs in a two-week period, so she has some very valuable advice for HR pros, including offering to do check ins with laid off personnel (a new service that has been very popular with clients). Michelle also advocates paying close attention to the mental health of employees. At Elevated, Wednesday standups are devoted to mental health with each team member being asked to rate how they are feeling on a scale of one to ten. She notes that, “the only way out of this is by sharing, and that means being vulnerable enough to share.” Listen to the podcast to get the whole story. Watch the Video Podcast: https://youtu.be/cggghClMLtY

Nikki's guest is Robin Corralez, Global Vice President for Human Resources at Pandadoc, makers of document automation software. Robin tells us that while her teams are “testing the limits” of Zoom and Slack, the most valuable tool she encourages during these times is empathy – understanding that most never worked like this before and we are living through a global pandemic. Supporting remote team members at PandaDoc has meant more team meetings, from twice daily standups to 1-on-1s. Plus there are “Breakroom” and “Panda Parent,” and many more new channels on Slack. The results so far? Overall productivity has increased! Hear the podcast to get the whole story. Watch the Video Podcast: https://youtu.be/oLH-HINw-2I

Nikki's guest is Dena Upton, Chief People Officer at Drift, creators of software for conversational marketing. Drift, in part, has built their success around a strong in-office culture centered around getting things done on site. So it has been important to find ways to transition to remote work. One of their tactics is to encourage virtual coffee catch-ups and donut dates to replace those random moments of connection and communication that happen in the office. Dena also tells us that with team members working in a wide variety of physical situations, it is important that managers respect boundaries, empathize, and be flexible about when work gets done. She also tells us why she recently wore a red, white, and blue wig to a meeting. You'll have to listen to find out why.  Watch the video podcast: https://youtu.be/o7gbhwMknqk

Nikki's guest is Jerry Gratton, Founder and CPO of Vancouver-based Trailblaze Partners. His areas of expertise include HR, learning & development, communications and software services. He has held key leadership roles at some of the most successful companies in Vancouver, including O2E Brands, Crystal Decisions, 1-800-GOT-JUNK, and Aritzia. On this podcast, Jerry explains that in the decades that he has been leading remote teams, he has learned they can be even more productive than onsite teams. Some key tips for leaders include, leading your teams with empathy and allowing team members more flexibility in how they work. 

Nikki's guest is Anette Ceraficki, Calgary-based HR manager for Getty Images the world's largest visual media company. Getty has employees – including 70,000 contributing photographers, art directors and web developers – in most major centres around the world. Anette says she is amazed at how quickly Getty has adapted to the new paradigm. She tells us how Getty set up a new Slack channel and a website with tips and tricks for better remote work. She advises leaders to communicate to their teams that the transition may affect productivity – but to also give them tools to stay on track. Other tips include daily stand-ups and more frequent communication between team members. Finally, Anette has a positive message about all of us coming out of this stronger!  Watch the video podcast: https://youtu.be/DPWDRMUb0CU

Hey HR pros and other business leaders! Is your team working remotely? Want to get some strategies on how to smooth out the transition and keep you team connected, productive and happy! Want to learn from and connect with people experts from some of the world's most exciting companies? Then tune in to the WFH Show! Watch the video podcast: https://youtu.be/kmqr550sthA