The days of showing up for work simply to collect a paycheck and receive benefits are seemingly over. COVID-19 exposed the limits of this transactional relationship, forcing companies to take a hard look at the experience they were offering to their employees. In a Gartner study conducted in January 2021, “[…47% of employees reported that their stress was higher than anything they’d previously experienced in their careers, and only 37% agreed that their organization understood what they needed in their personal lives and for their families.]” (hbr.org). Companies face the economic burden of sickness and stress, both in medical expenses and lost productivity. Employees are looking to their companies to ensure they feel cared for financially, physically, and emotionally. Join this panel to hear from HR leaders from several industries on how they are working to improve and redefine the employee experience in 2022 and beyond.

Today’s HR executives are tasked with navigating a potential economic slowdown and simultaneous hot labor market, modernizing the HR function with cutting-edge technology, improving DEI, and developing the critical workforce skills needed for long-term competitive advantage. And they’re asked to do it all while proving the value of each investment to the rest of the C-suite. Building the future of work is no small task. In this peer-to-peer discussion, we’ll explore the role that diverse rising leaders can play in solving each of these pressing HR challenges—paving the way to digital readiness, innovation, and growth.

Questions to answer in this roundtable include:
•By 2030, 30% of the workforce will be made up of people born after 1996, and everyone in the Baby Boomer generation will be 65 or older. What role should early talent play in our companies, now and over the next decade?
•What’s the ROI of investing in the acquisition and development of early talent, and how can HR leaders prove that ROI to build consensus across the C-suite?
•What are the best ways to attract, develop, and retain skilled early talent that will be tomorrow’s leaders?
•As every company becomes a technology company, and the technology skills gap continues to grow, what’s the best way to find and attract early talent with in-demand technical skills?
•How can companies leverage skills-based hiring to improve competitive advantage and DEI simultaneously?
•What can we learn from past recessions to maintain competitive advantage in the face of economic uncertainty, and what role should early talent play?

The past year has revealed that we must confront workforce inequality, among women, persons of different ethnicities and all under-represented communities, if we want to embed lasting resiliency and relevance within our organizations. Before the pandemic, there was growing buy- in to the principles of DEI, from a “we should do this” perspective. Now, many companies are stepping forward and declaring that DEI is no longer something “We should do,” but rather it is something “We must do” to resolve these inequities. We’ve already seen a number of major institutions announce bold changes to the way they serve customers to address systemic racism, and similar action can be taken to enhance internal practices. We must shift the mindset from training individuals about diversity & inclusion, to adjusting our daily processes and practices so they better fit the needs of all.

Questions to answer in this roundtable include:
•What is involved in getting buy- in from your leaders as to the importance of diversity and inclusion within your organization?
•What processes has your organization implemented to nurture DEIB from the start of an employee’s lifecycle, from recruitment, to training, and L&D? what should these processes look like?
•How can you use technology to support a culture of inclusion and diversity? Are there specific technologies or platforms that have been most helpful for you in this area?
•What are some of the future developments we can expect to see in the area of D&I? Can D&I be described as “innovative”?
•What is the link between culture and diversity and inclusion within the organization?
•What would success look like for you in the DEIB space within this new world of work that we are in? Are we far from that goal?

As organizations navigate performance management, a key part of their strategy should be to revise total rewards to reflect changes to both financial and non-financial incentives. Holistic Total Rewards that address the needs of the “whole person”—including their physical, mental, financial, and social well-being—are increasingly important as employers look to create a positive employee experience and attract and retain talent in a tight labor market.
Total rewards should be more about flexibility and inclusivity, and not only about money. Now that employees have had a taste of what real wellness and a more balanced work/life feels like, they’re not going to give it up. Employers must strategically examine what makes sense and differentiates them in reframing Total Rewards to meet the emerging needs in this New World of Work.

Questions to answer in this roundtable include:
•How should organizations personalize their employees’ total rewards packages?
•What rewards do companies need to offer to compete in the current marketplace?
•What can we change with our compensation and benefits offerings to retain current talent and attract new talent, rather than losing employees due to the talent issues of the past 2+ years?
•How can organizations utilize data to make real- time decisions for their workforce?
•What challenges are you facing when it comes to upgrading or improving your total rewards packages?
•How are you integrating wellness into your total rewards packages?
•Are there any technologies you are utilizing that are making your compensation and benefits strategy easier?

A new era of work is here: hybrid. With a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reimagine how, when, and where we work, hybrid has the potential to elevate productivity, increase employee well-being, and boost overall organizational performance. But only if you do it right.
To effectively seize this opportunity, employees, managers, and organizations need to rethink some of the very foundations upon which our notion of work has long been built. They will need to rethink workplace culture, workplace power dynamics, and even workplaces themselves. So, where do you start?
Join Jabra as we explore embracing hybrid work and how technology can play an important role for your future success.

In the past two years, the power dynamics between employees and employers have shifted greatly. A record number of workers have quit their jobs. Workers are historically less engaged and less likely to commit to staying with their employer for two or more years. Most job seekers are averaging three offers, and they are using this as leverage to drive up pay and incentives. Millions of employees who experienced the sudden, seismic shift to remote work are refusing to return to the office. How can employers continue to attract and retain talent during these challenging times?

If 2020 and 2021 were years of unplanned reinvention and innovation, 2022 is about being intentional. Out of all the disruption came something incredible; we learned to work in an entirely different way. It’s been a case of learning as we go, harnesses innovation to create ground-breaking solutions to problems we have never faced before. The world is now in a position where employees don’t want to look back. Companies have found that productivity has increased in hybrid and remote work. Employees want to look into the future, where they have more individuality, where they have more control over their work-life balance, & where they understand their purpose. Join this panel to hear from HR leaders from a variety of industries on their take of what the future of work looks like in 2023 and beyond.

Contrary to popular belief, people don’t learn by looking in the mirror. To truly learn, we need the discipline to balance candor and courage with curiosity and humility. We need to approach conversations with people who see the world differently as opportunities for learning that enables us to think smarter, faster, and together. Join Tony Herrera, SVP, Executive Education & Chief Talent Officer at LPL Financial, as he talks about leading change, learning from differences, and the L&D strategies needed to support better learning outcomes.

The rise of ESG together with the massive effect of the pandemic on the workplace has put huge emphasis on the connections between us as individuals and the impact we have on our key stakeholders. The way that employees bring out the best of their colleagues' talents, together with appreciating how a unifying purpose encourages people to build cooperative relationships, is becoming a key concern for brand, performance and employee engagement. Often called Social Capital, this frequently misunderstood and even diluted term will be unpacked so that people can understand exactly what it means and how it can be incorporated as a key part of your people strategy.

Panel questions
•How do you define social capital?
•What key shifts and trends have made social capital a much more important element of people strategy?
•How do you incorporate social capital as part of your people strategy