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    Get Reworked

    Forget the status quo — Get Reworked. Join the editors of Reworked, your guide to the r/evolution of work, as they interview business leaders transforming the way work gets done today. Have a question, comment, idea or guest suggestion? Drop us a line at editors@simplermedia.com.
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    Episodes (62)

    AWS's Prudence Pitter on Normalizing the Conversation Around Employee Well-Being

    AWS's Prudence Pitter on Normalizing the Conversation Around Employee Well-Being

    Normalizing the conversation around employee well-being is one positive outcome that came out of the pandemic. Businesses now understand the role they have in supporting employee well-being and the bottom line cost of ignoring this area.

    In this episode of Get Reworked, AWS global head of HR Prudence Pitter discusses what AWS is doing to support employee well-being. 

    Listen: Get Reworked Full Episode List

    "A leader who can share, 'I had this deliverable that I missed, because I got to this location, my luggage was not there. It caused a whole ripple effect where I was not able to be productive for two days. And so this is how I bounce back.' It's important for leaders to share some of the personal things that they're OK with sharing that help others recognize that it's normal, not only some of the ways that professionally they have fallen, if you will, but also importantly, how they bounce back. What are the ways that they redeem themselves. And I think that's a very powerful story to tell," said Prudence.

    Highlights of the conversation include: 

    • Why it's important to build accountability around well-being initiatives.
    • Why well-being accounts for the whole person, both in and out of work.
    • How well-being initiatives will not go anywhere if they ignore the ways the workplace is impacting well-being.
    • Why leaders need to model the behavior they're promoting.
    • How to normalize the conversation around well-being to remove any lingering stigma.

    Plus, hosts Siobhan Fagan and Nidhi Madhavan talk with Prudence about identifying where to focus well-being efforts, why some leaders may need coaching to have difficult conversations, and if discussing well-being without following through does more harm than good. Listen in for more.

    Joe Makston on Breaking the Middle Management Boom-Bust Cycle

    Joe Makston on Breaking the Middle Management Boom-Bust Cycle

    Middle management has been the butt of jokes for years — and often bear the brunt of layoffs, as was the case in 2023. But in the right hands, middle management can act as the glue that helps employees see their role in a company's broader success. 

    In this episode of Get Reworked, Ryppl Effect founder Joe Makston shares how his experience as an employee experience leader and head of learning and development shaped his approach to some hard leadership conversations. 

    "When you start to understand, oh, the customer implementation process that I just took somebody through, contributes to the department goal of whatever and contributes to that line of business and ultimately rolls up to we're supposed to book $500 million in this specific category, if I can understand that by closing that implementation, that work contributes to actually getting to the $500,000 — that is gold for an employee,  they see the broader picture. It's leaders understanding when you're writing goals, when you're talking about performance, how to tie it to, frankly, the strategy and that breakdown between strategy and the tactical piece," said Joe.

    Highlights of the conversation include: 

    • Why now's the time to discuss how leadership is struggling.
    • How shortcomings in leadership development led to the ongoing management boom—bust cycles.
    • How management impacts culture, engagement and productivity.  
    • Why he thinks being a manager and an individual contributor at the same time isn't a good idea.
    • How managers can give leadership a view into the day-to-day operations.

    Plus, hosts Nidhi Madhavan and Siobhan Fagan talk with Joe about how organizations can identify who is right for management roles, why some people may need to be pushed to grow and the parallels he sees between being a pastor and being a leader. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.

    The U.S. Air Force's Heather Knuffke on Making Change Stick

    The U.S. Air Force's Heather Knuffke on Making Change Stick

    Managing change is tough. Now imagine managing a change initiative that involves overhauling 118 legacy systems for 750,000 stakeholders under the watchful eye of Congress. 

    In this episode of Get Reworked, Air Force enterprise change manager Heather Knuffke gives an inside look at what it takes to make change stick at the over 75-year-old institution.

    "When you have an organization that's this big, and you have commanders in charge of units across the Air Force, and each commander wants to manage their own organization in their own way, it's not so easy just to say turn around and march, right? .... So we believe strongly in delegating responsibility down. And so we try to give our commanders at bases and commanders of units as much authority over how they run their organization so that they can effectively lead when it comes to HR policy, and when it comes to talent management and promotions, and awards, and things like that. That's within the commander's purview," said Heather.

    Highlights of the conversation include: 

    • Why you can't just order people to change.
    • The emotional component that's part of any change management initiative.
    • Why her role is as much about being a translator between IT and HR.  
    • How she prioritizes across a variety of competing demands.
    • The two skills she thinks every change manager should possess.

    Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Heather about training a cadre of change managers throughout the Air Force, how she approaches the multiple stakeholders involved in the change initiatives and what it's like getting a PhD in change management while working in change management every day. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.

    Andre Martin on Why Everybody Loses When a Job’s the Wrong Fit

    Andre Martin on Why Everybody Loses When a Job’s the Wrong Fit

    What does commitment mean in the context of work? From an employee's point of view, it can mean a reduction in stress, increased meaning, as well as the capacity to do their best work. From the employer's side, it can translate into increased productivity and higher employee engagement — which directly impacts their bottom line. 

    In this episode, we speak with Andre Martin, author of "Wrong Fit, Right Fit: Why How We Work Matters More Than Ever," about why it's so important to discuss how work gets done in our workplaces so employees — and employers — can find the right fit for them.

    Listen: Get Reworked Full Episode List

    "Hiring managers have got to be more transparent. We have to be comfortable in being able to talk about the madness behind the method. Talk about the places where it's kind of hard to do work here because of these factors and talk about them in terms of we're always trying to get better — but that transparency is going to pay off," said Andre. "... We know that people more and more are looking for transparency, they're looking for vulnerability. They're looking for a place that is human and imperfect. And so my hope is that hiring managers will give talent a little bit more of a view into the company, because then they will find the right person and the people that opt out should have probably opted out."

    Highlights of the conversation include:

    • What's causing the crisis of commitment today.
    • Why Andre wants to see a return to the 20-year career in one workplace.
    • The difference between boredom and comfort in a job.
    • Why a frank discussion of how a company works should be a critical part of any job interview — for the interviewer and the interviewee. 
    • How Andre differentiates between being the 'right fit' and 'fitting in.'

    Plus, hosts Nidhi Madhavan and Siobhan Fagan talk with Andre about why the aspirational language companies use to describe themselves often do more harm than good, why he believes there's a company for everyone and why he thinks companies should re-recruit their employees on a regular basis. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.

    Northwestern Mutual's Don Robertson on Taking a Business-First Approach to Being a CHRO

    Northwestern Mutual's Don Robertson on Taking a Business-First Approach to Being a CHRO

    Human resources — and the role of the chief HR officer with it — has been seeking a proverbial "seat at the table" for years now. The difference now is, more of them are not only gaining that seat, they are "helping design the table."

    In this episode of Get Reworked, we speak with Don Robertson, EVP and CHRO of Northwestern Mutual about his approach to employee experience and how his previous experience on the business side informs how he operates — namely, with a business-first mindset. 

    "Many of the things that we have to do require you to put together business cases to look at the financials, to look at budgets, all these things and if you don't have strong financial skills, if you don't have strong ability to really put together business cases, just like you would if you're the investments team, and you're putting together a business case, to go do an investment to buy a building or do something, you have to have those kinds of skill sets. I can't just go in there and say, hey, we should invest $10 million in a new HR system, because our people will like it better and will have better engagement," said Don.

    "No, I have to be able to show: if we do this, we'll get more adoption. If we get more adoption, then people leaders will do what we need them to do. And they'll ultimately develop their people better. And therefore you'll have the talent you need. And these are the kinds of investments you need to make so that you know our engagement goes up or attrition goes down or we get better adoption. And you just start talking about the actual attribution things that you benefit from by doing these things. And I can tell you in a zero sum game and the world we live in with budgets and everything else, you have to be able to make those cases."

    Highlights of the conversation include:

    • Why data is a modern CHRO's best friend. 
    • How Northwestern went from employee engagement in the low 40s to over 80%.
    • The role HR business partners play in Don's work.
    • How Northwestern approaches the employee expectation-business need balancing act.
    • The role he sees HR playing with AI adoption.

    Plus, hosts Nidhi Madhavan and Siobhan Fagan talk with Don about why he thinks rolling back on EX efforts is a mistake, how he's consciously developing the skills of his potential successor and why he thinks anyone working in HR would benefit by spending time on the business side. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.

    Deb Mashek on What It Takes to Build a Collaborative Organization

    Deb Mashek on What It Takes to Build a Collaborative Organization

    Collaboration can be taught and learned. Yet few organizations are actively teaching employees how to master this critical skill. 

    In this episode of Get Reworked, we speak with Deb Mashek, founder of Myco Consulting, LLC to learn how companies can move collaboration from a platitude on their office walls to a capability found throughout the organization. 

    "if you want to see a lot of collaboration, if you want to have a collaborative culture, first of all, you need to make collaboration possible. That sounds so obvious, but it means that you can't create weird infrastructures where people can't actually contact each other, which we saw when in 2020, a lot of us migrated very quickly from being fully in person to being fully remote, where there weren't a list of people's email addresses or phone numbers and so it wasn't clear even how to contact people. We didn't have a lot of us access to videoconferencing yet," said Deb. "So the modalities the infrastructure wasn't there to actually collaborate. And thankfully we a lot of us were able to onboard that fairly quickly."

    Highlights of the conversation include:
    • Why organizations aren't teaching collaboration.
    • Whether collaborative efforts are ever a waste of time.
    • How to hire for collaborative mindset.
    • The broader collaborative ecosystem businesses should keep in mind.
    • The five questions to establish if your organization is equipped to collaborate.

    Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Deb about how she came to specialize in collaboration, why helicopter parenting stunts collaborative skills growth and how to avoid running your business like a filthy dive bar. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Drop us a line at editors@reworked.co.

    Northern Trust's Shaelyn Otikor-Miller on Helping Employees Help Themselves Through Citizen Development

    Northern Trust's Shaelyn Otikor-Miller on Helping Employees Help Themselves Through Citizen Development

    Low-code tools promise to put the power of easy process fixes into the hands of employees. But beyond individual productivity improvements, citizen development offers employees a chance to improve collaboration skills, increase their technical know-how and gain visibility for work outside of their typical workplace roles. 

    In this episode of Get Reworked, we talk to Shaelyn Otikor-Miller, SVP and head of global digital workplace strategy at Northern Trust Asset Servicing to discuss its thriving citizen developer program and her long-term vision for the program.

    "I think that's the one thing in the citizen development community, I probably struggle with is the mindset shift. Right? In the past, we had the formal training, we had the communications and newsletters, everything got pushed out to someone, you're required to take training, or you get locked out of your system or something," said Shaelyn.

    "With these tools. It is all about the individual. And that's what I love, right? So it doesn't matter. It helps diversity, it helps equality. It helps just reskilling, upskilling staff want to shine and get more exposure and visibility, the only thing driving it is their own willingness to learn and dig in and be self starters."

    Highlights of the conversation include:

    • How the citizen developer program first came into being.
    • Why citizen development requires a change in mindset.
    • How she's built the program using a hub and spoke model.
    • How citizen development feeds upskilling and reskilling efforts.
    • Where employees find value in citizen development, beyond low-code process fixes.

    Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Kate Cox talk with Shaelyn about generative AI, why citizen development is nothing new and how generational differences help feed the demand for low-code platforms. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Drop us a line at editors@reworked.co.

    LinkedIn's Laurel Dzneladze on Community-Based Employee Communications

    LinkedIn's Laurel Dzneladze on Community-Based Employee Communications

    How does the world's largest professional network help its own employees build connections?

    In this episode of Get Reworked, we talk to Laurel Dzneladze, employee communications, digital platforms leader at LinkedIn about the community-based approach to employee communications at the company and how it feeds into the broader employee experience.  

    "Some of our work focus has been on that — how can we make this flexible work, work?" said Laurel. "We're creating a virtual experience for our remote employees. But we're also creating these in-person experiences, or even driving the desire to go to an office by surfacing community-based content that would make somebody go to an office or attend a virtual event."

    Highlights of the conversation include:

    • Why Laurel and her team focus on amplifying employee and leader voices.  
    • How community building is central to their approach.
    • What channels and tools she uses to get the messages out.
    • How to help people participate in community, whether in person or working remotely.
    • How she measures the success of these efforts.

    Plus, co-hosts Kate Cox and Siobhan Fagan talk with Laurel about why she's on team 'no newsletter,' how LinkedIn still sees itself as a scrappy start-up, and how to reuse, repurpose and recycle content. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Drop us a line at editors@simplermedia.com.

    IBM Quantum's Bradley Holt on Closing the Quantum Skills Gap

    IBM Quantum's Bradley Holt on Closing the Quantum Skills Gap

    Applications of quantum computing in the workplace may still sound like a theoretical future, but the need for workers capable of working with quantum is immediate and real.

    In this episode of Get Reworked, we talk to Bradley Holt, program director of workforce development at IBM Quantum, about what the company is doing to close the quantum skills gap and why it's focused on getting younger generations interested in quantum computing now.

    "There are an estimated 27 million classical software developers in the world today," Bradley said. "So that's a very, very different workforce, right, 3,000 people actually applying their skills in the field of quantum compared to say, 27 million classical developers. So we're getting there .... I don't think we need to go and really trained tens of millions of quantum developers overnight. But over the next decade or two, we're likely going to see a really significant increase in demand for quantum developers."

    Highlights of the conversation include:

    • How to get started exploring quantum in your organization.
    • Whether widespread access to quantum computers is realistic in the near-term.
    • How colleges are responding to the demand for quantum skills. 
    • The different roles preparing for the quantum future.
    • Why policymakers should be part of the learning cohort. 

    Plus, co-hosts Kate Cox and Siobhan Fagan talk with Bradley about his quantum computing pitch for an 8-year-old, why IBM is partnering with HBCUs on quantum education and quantum scientists' popular pet names. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Drop us a line at editors@simplermedia.com.

    Tapestry's Dante Ragazzo on Reducing Friction in the Digital Workplace

    Tapestry's Dante Ragazzo on Reducing Friction in the Digital Workplace

    Delivering a digital workplace that works for multiple teams, in multiple locations, all with different end goals is challenging to say the least. But sometimes it comes down to communications and training as much as it does to the tools themselves.  

    In this special episode of Get Reworked, recorded live at the J.W. Marriot in Austin, Texas during the Reworked CONNECT conference, Dante Ragazzo, senior director, digital workplace at Tapestry discusses the work he's doing to simplify and remove friction from the digital workplace at Tapestry. 

    "So I think that if you are not only improving your experience, but showing that you're improving your experience, I think it goes a long way toward employees. I think employees are actually really forgiving, and they understand what's different when you're a consumer. 'Well, you want to get my money. So you should do everything you can to impress me.'

    "When you're the employee, it's like, 'Well, the more money you spend on other niceties to make me feel good is less money that we have to invest in our business, bonuses and everything else.' So I think employees have a certain understanding like they don't want to just see the coffers wide open and spending frivolously," said Dante.

    Highlights of the conversation include:

    • What causes some of the digital friction
    • The many definitions of the digital workplace
    • How he approaches shadow IT
    • How to balance diverse team needs with the desire to create a cohesive digital workplace
    • The digital workplace discovery tour he now runs at Tapestry 

    Plus, co-hosts Kate Cox and Siobhan Fagan talk with Dante about the differences between customer experience and employee experience, how we can't live in a magic kingdom, and why sometimes you have to accept that good enough is good enough. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.

    Employment Attorney Peter Rahbar on Why Your Workplace Needs a Generative AI Use Policy

    Employment Attorney Peter Rahbar on Why Your Workplace Needs a Generative AI Use Policy

    Generative AI is the latest shiny toy in the workplace technology toolbox. The difference in this case is the bar to use it is very low. Anyone with an internet connection and a computer can access it.

    In this episode of Get Reworked, employment attorney Peter Rahbar discusses the potential risks of generative AI to the workplace and why organizations need to create guardrails around employee use. 

    Listen: Get Reworked Full Episode List

    "I think it's very important in this moment, where we have a potential transformative technology, for the company to really take the lead on how it's introduced and used in the workplace. So I think an effective policy would not only describe what platforms and technologies are being governed here, but what type of information should and shouldn't be used with these platforms," said Peter.

    Highlights of the conversation include:

    • The risks — and rewards — generative AI creates for employers and employees alike.
    • How generative AI adds to existing employee fears of being replaced.
    • Why companies should create policies on generative AI use now, not later.
    • Why we need a debate on the use of AI in HR.
    • On where we are and where we need to be with AI regulation.

    Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Peter about the importance of transparency around AI use in the workplace, the different effects of internal vs. external use, and whether or not he is indeed Peter Rahbar. Listen in for more.

    Rob Cross and Karen Dillon on What Microstress Is Doing to Our Work and Our Lives

    Rob Cross and Karen Dillon on What Microstress Is Doing to Our Work and Our Lives

    When we hear the word "erosion" we tend to think of nature: water erosion, soil erosion, wind erosion. But much like the natural elements, daily stressors can wear us humans down too.  

    In this episode of Get Reworked, Karen Dillon and Rob Cross, co-authors of the book, "The Microstress Effect: How Little Things Pile Up and Create Big Problems — and What to Do about It," discuss how the incremental stresses we absorb every day are impacting our performance at work, our relationships and our lives.  

    "It just means that none of us are able to be our best selves. And we accept that we don't even think there's an alternative. That's what Rob's talking about with those interviews. The high-performers were successful from the outside perspective, but a lot of them were hanging on by a thread internally, and that cannot be the best performance," said Karen.

    Highlights of the conversation include:

    • How we're all having our frog in the boiling water moment
    • The three categories of microstresses
    • How our workplace habits are adding to microstress
    • What managers can do to minimize microstress for themselves and their teams
    • What we can all do to reduce the impact of microstresses in our lives.

    Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Rob and Karen about how our networks are part of the solution and how sometimes you just have to rise above. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.

    Josh Bersin on What It Takes to Be an Irresistible Company

    Josh Bersin on What It Takes to Be an Irresistible Company

    What makes a company irresistible?

    That's the question behind Josh Bersin's most recent book, "Irresistible: The 7 Secrets to the World's Most Enduring, Employee Focused Organizations." And what it comes down to is a focus on their employees.

    At a time when some companies are rolling back recent improvements to the employee experience, Bersin joins Get Reworked to explain why an investment in employee experience is an investment in the long-term health and success of an organization.

    "In reality, investors can sell their stock, they're not that committed to the company, they can leave. Customers can leave too, customers will give you all sorts of input, but they can just buy another product. Employees are deeply committed to your company, because they voted with their lives and their families to work for you. And when they have problems and they speak up, you need to listen to them first, not last, and don't sacrifice the employees on behalf of the customers.

    "And that's what the EX thing is all about. It's creating a real focus on what can we do to take this workforce we have and make it really better for them, for our customers, for our product, for our operations, and so forth."

    Highlights of the conversation include:

    • What separates employee-centric organizations from others.
    • The qualities that define an irresistible organization.
    • Why constant learning in part defines successful organizations.
    • How leaders need to change from controllers to coaches.
    • Why team-centric work sets thriving companies apart.

    Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Josh about a memorable performance review, why becoming an irresistible organization is challenging for leaders and employees alike, and why the long-term success of a company rests on its ability to unleash human potential. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.

    Google Cloud's John Abel on How Companies Can Support Neurodivergent Employees

    Google Cloud's John Abel on How Companies Can Support Neurodivergent Employees

    Between 10% and 20% of the world's population is considered neurodivergent, according to Deloitte. Yet companies still default to one-size-fits-all approaches to management, which rarely suits anyone.

    In this episode of Get Reworked, John Abel, technical director, office of the CTO at Google Cloud discusses what businesses can do to support and help neurodivergent employees flourish — from reducing friction via technology, to increasing leader's listening skills, to asking the right questions, to communicating in multiple ways to reach all employees. 

    "Someone said to me the other day, how do I know if I'm doing diversity well as a leader? And I said, the only way I can tell you is from my personal experience. You should feel exhausted. And what I mean by that is, we all are struggling with obtaining the next generation of talent. And for me, the talent starts much younger, well before career. And actually, you've got to make them excited about your industry or your business, before they're well into the employment process. Because inherently, if you don't, you're going to get one type of employee," said John.

    Highlights of the conversation include:

    • What being a flexible leader means.
    • How technology advances have improved daily work for many.  
    • How leaders can help employees learn through listening and self discovery.
    • Why simplifying things, not adding complexity, is the trick to getting things done.
    • How employees can help their managers manage them.

    Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with John about how to help everyone use their full skillset, the connection between neurodiversity and creativity, and why fail fast is an inadequate term. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.

    WWT's Ann Marr on Creating Award-Winning Employee Experiences

    WWT's Ann Marr on Creating Award-Winning Employee Experiences

    Although employee experience is a relatively new term, the concept behind it isn't: support your employees to do their best work and they will support your business in turn.

    In this episode of Get ReworkedWorld Wide Technology's executive vice president of global human resources, Ann Marr shares lessons learned delivering award-winning employee experiences over her 25-year career with the company. Ann was the recipient of Reworked's 2022 Employee Experience of the Year award.

    Listen: Get Reworked Full Episode List

    "I've been such an advocate of parents who work to make sure that there's a balance there. And that pendulum can swing, maybe, you know, if you're working on a really important project, you maybe have to spend a lot more time at the office. But on the same pendulum, maybe you have a sick kid, or maybe you have a kid who's in a sporting event and you want to see them compete in a sporting event, you have to balance that," said Ann.

    Highlights of the conversation include:

    • What it takes to create a consistent employee experience across 15 locations around the world.
    • How WWT approaches onboarding.
    • Where career development fits in WWT's employee experience.
    • What to do to ensure employees remain engaged.
    • How supporting employees who are caregivers pays off for everyone in the long run.

    Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Ann about how employees can gauge if an employer is a good fit for them, where supplier diversity fits into the company's EX strategy and how she feels on her 25th anniversary at the company. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.

    Udemy's Melissa Daimler on How to Intentionally Design Corporate Culture

    Udemy's Melissa Daimler on How to Intentionally Design Corporate Culture

    Back to office advocates have used corporate culture as an argument for why employees need to return to a central location. But corporate culture isn't defined by a physical place. Ideally, it's a combination of behaviors, practices and processes.

    In this episode of Get Reworked, Udemy chief learning officer Melissa Daimler discusses what an intentional approach to building culture looks like and why it benefits organizations — and employees — in the long-run. 

    "So many people that I have talked to throughout my career have said, 'Why are you getting in the way of culture just happening organically?' And my response to that is, it is happening already, whether by design or default, so we might as well design it, and be more explicit about things that we want to see and things that we don't want to have be part of our culture," said Melissa.

    Highlights of the conversation include:

    • How to define culture.
    • The strong relationship between learning and development and culture.
    • Why businesses need to reassess culture on an ongoing basis.
    • What it takes to turn a toxic culture around.
    • How to make culture work in the hybrid workplace.

    Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Melissa about Twitter now vs. Twitter 10 years ago, what employees can do to help shape culture and why vibes alone aren't enough to create a corporate culture. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.

    Kraft Heinz's Tope Sadiku on Taking a Design Thinking Approach to Digital Employee Experience

    Kraft Heinz's Tope Sadiku on Taking a Design Thinking Approach to Digital Employee Experience

    At a time when the number of available workplace tools is exploding, how can a company meet employee demands for technology while not overwhelming them with choice?

    In this episode of Get Reworked, Tope Sadiku, global head of digital employee experience at The Kraft Heinz Company discusses how she takes a human-centric approach to delivering personalized digital experiences to the multinational food company's employees. 

    "Really, for me, it's less of a tools focus .... I don't want to have a conversation really, when I'm trying to scope something out, about tools and capabilities so specifically, where someone's saying, 'OK, I like the visual of this. I'm used to this, I've used this in a previous team, a previous company.' It's less about that. It's more about, what are we actually trying to achieve? And then we can say, OK, what's the best way to achieve that goal?" said Tope.

    Highlights of the conversation include:

    • What a delightful digital employee experience looks like.
    • Striking the balance between offering employees technology options and decision fatigue. 
    • How Kraft Heinz ties ESG into the digital employee experience.
    • How regular tool audits fit into tool acquisition discussions.
    • How Tope moved from a career in finance to leading digital employee experience.

    Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Tope about how to reduce friction in workplace technology, how pizza toppings relate to digital personalization and whether hot dog flavored popsicles are a good or bad idea. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.

    Walmart's Maren Waggoner on Scaling Voice of the Employee to 1.2M Employees

    Walmart's Maren Waggoner on Scaling Voice of the Employee to 1.2M Employees

    How can a company communicate with employees who are distributed across multiple locations, roles and time zones? More importantly, how can companies ensure these communications are two-way and not a top down broadcast?

    In this episode of Get Reworked, Maren Waggoner, VP of People, End-to-End Operations, U.S. at Walmart gives us an inside look at how the company communicates with — and hears from — the 1.2 million associates working in U.S. operations. 

    "Part of listening isn't just what might not be working, we definitely want to have an eye to that and an ear to it. But also, we want to have an ear to what are the great ideas that our associates are seeing every day in their day-to-day work. And we have an application, or a kind of a channel, that we've established called me@ideas at Walmart. And so any associate at any time can go into this channel and submit an idea of maybe something we should consider doing or a better way of doing things," said Maren.

    Highlights of the conversation include:

    • What the company means by tech-enabled, people-led.
    • How employee listening scales from the local to the corporate level.
    • How Walmart uses tools like natural language processing to establish employee sentiment.

    Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Maren about creating feedback loops for employee suggestions, how the company balances technology and in-person channels for communications and where she plans to focus her efforts in the year ahead. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.

    Please note: The conversation was recorded before the mass shooting at a Walmart store in Chesapeake, Va. in November, so the events of that day do not come up in the discussion.

    National Council on Aging's Ramsey Alwin on the Benefits of a Multi-Generational Workforce

    National Council on Aging's Ramsey Alwin on the Benefits of a Multi-Generational Workforce

    Our workplaces hit a milestone in recent years: it was the first time on record that five generations shared the workplace. While there's been no shortage of articles on the needs and desires of individual generations, not much has been paid to the benefits the mix of generations produces — both for individuals and organizations. 

    In this episode of Get Reworked, Ramsey Alwin, president and CEO of the National Council on Aging, shares how age diversity in the workplace benefits everyone and what we lose when ageism goes unchecked. 

    Highlights of the conversation include:

    • The benefits of having multiple generations in the workplace. 
    • What we can learn from New Zealand and Iceland about building age-inclusive workforces.
    • How HR leaders can best promote age diversity in hiring and retention.
    • The outsized impact layoffs has on older workers.
    • How we should rethink careers as longevity increases.

    Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Ramsey about the differences in advocating for change at the government level rather than the organizational level, what retirement means if we live till 150 and AARP marketing practices. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.

    Allstate's Eloiza Domingo on What It Takes to Move the Needle on DEI

    Allstate's Eloiza Domingo on What It Takes to Move the Needle on DEI

    Diversity efforts typically fall under HR's remit, and for good reason. But talking about people and culture will only take a company so far. To move the needle on DEI efforts, organizations need to follow the money.

    In this episode of Get Reworked, Eloiza Domingo, Allstate's VP, Chief Inclusive Diversity & Equity Officer, Human Resources explains how the American insurance mainstay incorporates diversity into every facet of the organization. And it all starts with how it spends its money. 

    Listen: Get Reworked Full Episode List

    "So I would encourage companies as they think about their diversity efforts, not to just look at the people and culture — that certainly is one thing. But where are you actually putting your money? Where are you investing your money?" said Eloiza. "How are you supporting, again, systemic bias and racism in the United States and kind of helping to reverse that in some way, by the way that you're investing and spending your money."

    Highlights of the conversation include:

    • How DEI has changed over the last 20 years.
    • How companies can hold themselves accountable to DEI goals.
    • What a "diversity identity" means.
    • How companies can navigate a complicated political landscape.
    • How Allstate uses data to ensure its accountability.

    Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Eloiza about the part employee resource groups play in the company and why Allstate rebranded them. Listen in for more.

    Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.