Event category: Breakout

Nearly 90% of job seekers and employees alike value “workplace culture” as vital. At the same time, decentralized hybrid and remote work setups are increasingly becoming the norm in the future of work. But one does not have to cancel the other out. If your teams predominantly interact with each other virtually, then your virtual culture IS your company’s culture. Once we understand this, we can do what’s necessary to make that culture great. We all want vibrant organizational cultures where our people have good relationships, are engaged, and feel their work matters. When hybrid and remote workplaces are done well, these things can happen along with a boost in productivity and wellbeing. But how do we translate our offline values and culture to an online world? How do we foster collaboration and relationship-building when people don’t see each other anymore? How do we make these tools work FOR us? In this interactive session, Bailey Parnell combines her years of experience advising workplaces on culture (and the skills needed to do it well) with her background in online communications to truly provide you with a holistic take on creating a good culture in your organization. She will explore strategies for working effectively when remote and hybrid, key differences in online culture-building, action-oriented strategies for improving this yourself, and consider other changing elements such as generative AI and generational differences.

By the end of this talk, you will be able to:

• Recognize how organizational culture is built in remote and hybrid environments.
• Understand the strategies to seamlessly transfer an organization’s core values and culture from traditional settings to virtual settings.
• Implement practical techniques to enhance collaboration, communication, and camaraderie within remote and hybrid teams.
• Understand the link between a robust digital culture and its direct impact on productivity, employee satisfaction, and overall well-being.
• Consider how changing tech (like generative AI) and different generations may relate to this.

 To get the most from your people, you need to use data where it counts.

Your organization is currently in possession of an enormous wealth of data. From turnover to retention to scheduling trends, there’s a massive amount of information just below the surface that, interpreted and employed properly, can make a huge difference in the lives of your employees and the health of your business. By leading with data, you can inspire action at every level and help your workforce operate with trust and transparency, embrace proactive change, and focus on the right tasks at the right time.

Takeaways:

• Tactical ways to understand and utilize data to unleash the power of people in your tech organization
• Achieving a holistic view of your data from all angles
• How to present the right facts to the right audience to make the biggest impact and effect change
• Demonstrating the benefits of data-driven decision making

First came the great resignation, then came the quiet quitting and then layoffs. Are you ready for the great re-shuffle? Your low attrition numbers aren’t low because employee satisfaction is at an all time high – the economy, tech layoffs and interest rates are playing a major part. Tech employees are anxiously waiting for the economy and hiring to kick-start again and when it does, a great re-shuffle of talent will happen across every major player in tech. What will this mean for retention of top performers? What will this mean for your onboarding? The current lull gives smart HR teams an opportunity to look at people practices and hone in on what’s needed to welcome a new batch of talent, arm leaders with change management skills to navigate flux and prep the organization for knowledge loss.

Attendees will leave with practical approaches to start discussions with business leaders on how to properly prepare every part of the employee offering including perks/benefits, talent attraction, leader development and onboarding for the swift in and out of talent that will take place over the next 18-24 months.

Since the start of 2023, over 300 tech companies have laid off 100,000+ workers. These decisions to layoff or furlough employees are not easy for the employers, laid-off workers, or the staff that remains. Maintaining and enhancing company culture after personnel cutbacks may be as challenging to a business as operational downsizing. The ‘new normal’ after layoffs are often littered with feelings of mistrust, burnout, ‘workplace survivors’ guilt, employee disengagement, and high staff turnover.  This session will explore tactical tips on what employers can do to reinforce their commitment to their remaining employees, boost morale, and capitalize the opportunity as a catalyst to improve company culture.

Takeaways:

• Boosting employee morale, trust and persuading your remaining employees to emotionally reinvest in your company after making workforce cuts
• Strategies to reduce employee turnover and retaining top employees during restructuring
• The importance of transparency, open communication, and commitment to your corporate values and purpose during restructuring

The Future of Work is here, we’re told. We can take Zoom calls from the beach, with flip flops and board shorts on the bottom and a blazer and button down on top. Our talent pool is bigger. Our salary spreadsheet is more complicated. And all our teams are fighting.

On the heels of one impossible ask after another, people teams are now asked to solve everything from isolation to misalignment to the org-wide sense that something’s amiss.

This session is about that something. That nagging sense that for all the advancement, we haven’t quite cracked it (yet). World experts on management, Melissa and Johnathan Nightingale, have worked with thousands of leaders in every configuration of organization. They’ll share practical tips for building sustainable, engaged orgs, wherever you are. And they’ll talk about the unlikely allies who can lighten your workload.

Takeaways:

• Understand why so many teams are experiencing high levels of org-wide interpersonal strife right now and the surprising solution.
• Learn how to build a remote, hybrid, or in-office culture that actually sets your teams up to thrive, and why it won’t work to copy someone else’s.
• Identify the allies and co-conspirators you will need to usher in a better present of work for your entire org.

In an era where the tech industry plays a pivotal role in shaping the global landscape, the imperative for fostering truth, reconciliation, and decolonization has never been more profound. Join us for a transformative session as we delve into the heart of a critical conversation – and explore what organizations can do to deliver on the TRC’s 94 calls to action and what it means to decolonize our work.

This session aims to bridge the gap between intent and action by delving into how tech organizations can authentically address the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) 94 Calls to Action. The TRC’s mission to address the historical injustices against Indigenous peoples resonates beyond national borders, extending into industries that wield substantial influence, such as technology.

Learn how to challenge the status quo by examining what it truly means to decolonize work within the tech sector. Participants will critically evaluate current practices, structures, and biases that may perpetuate systemic imbalances, and will collaboratively envision pathways toward decolonized, inclusive, and equitable workplaces. Join us in this vital conversation that has the power to reshape the trajectory of the tech industry and its impact on society. Be part of the movement that leverages innovation, compassion, and social responsibility to create a future where truth, reconciliation, and decolonization are not just ideals, but lived realities.

Key Takeaways:

• Insightful understanding of the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action and their relevance to the tech industry.
• Practical strategies for tech organizations to integrate reconciliation efforts within their corporate frameworks.
• Exploration of decolonization principles and their application to tech workplaces.
• Real-world case studies showcasing successful integration of reconciliation and decolonization efforts.
• Empowerment to initiate important dialogues within your organization about fostering meaningful change.