This two-part event will start with peer-led, face-to-face dialogues over breakfast where YOUR mental first aid is the focus.  Share experiences and gain practical tools to reset together with fellow people and culture leaders who can relate to the uniquely challenging road you have travelled.   Part two dives into a tactical presentation evaluating and caring for the ever changing physical and mental wellness and expectations of you and your teams.    7:30 – 8:10 Breakfast & Peer Connections. A time to assess ‘How are YOU doing? As leaders it is critical that you take care of your own mental and physical health. Unpack some of the challenges you have been through with other delegates and participate in an optional mental health check-in to assess your own stress and well being.  Stepping back to assess your own wellness may be the best way to help others in both your private and professional life.  8:10 – 8:30 Tackling Employee Wellness Head On – Building Organizational Health in a Changing Workforce   As workforce expectations shift, employers need to adapt to provide holistic support for the wellbeing of their employees to build a more resilient workforce.  This session will explore the new definition of employee wellness and challenge HR leaders to re-think their workforce support to build organizational health for an unpredictable future. Attendees will learn: 

• How the definition of employee wellness has changed 
• Considerations for building organizational health and fostering a culture of wellbeing 
• The role of leadership in supporting employee health & wellness 
• Where to invest resources to improve the quality of life and work for employees 

Limited capacity. Pre-registration required. REGISTER NOW

Amidst the great resignation, massive change fatigue and pandemic related weariness, it has become crucial for HR professionals to create a motivating workplace culture. In this session, you will learn:

• Why you might be motiving your tech talent the wrong way
• How your unconscious bias towards motivation might need a shift
• 5 specific strategies that you can implement to create a highly engaged and motivated tech culture

Track: Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness 

Creating a psychologically safe and supportive workplace is not merely a culture and retention strategy, it should be a top initiative from a business, legal and health perspective – and the right of all employees.

Disability claims related to mental health issues and loss of productivity due to PTSD, depression or anxiety have risen substantially in Canada since the pandemic.  Over half of Canadian workers say emotional, mental and physical fatigue is the top issue that is affecting them negatively. However, 37 per cent feel unsafe to talk about mental health at work, according to a report from Sun Life. Healthy organizations with proactive mental health strategies tend to experience lower staff turnover, fewer workplace injuries, less absenteeism and reduced employee burnout.

This session will explore tactical ways to support mental health in the workplace and create a sustainable culture where employees feel comfortable approaching HR with their mental health challenges.

Track: Engagement & Culture

“But… can they work well remotely?”  The stakes are high. You’ve worked hard to attract great, qualified candidates and yet versions of this question linger. What are the competencies of effective remote workers and how do you assess and develop them in remote and hybrid organizations?  In this interactive session, participants will learn about the competencies and capabilities identified for successful remote workers and explore the implications for HR & PeopleOps professionals in promoting high-performing hybrid organizations. 

Track: Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness

The HR function is moving beyond compliance and employee lifecycle management to business leadership that adds measurable business value.  Along with a seat at the leadership table comes expectations; CEOs look for data, metrics, business acumen and quantifiable results from HR leaders in addition to other departments such as finance, engineering and marketing.
The ability to understand and navigate the language and priorities important to business leaders means that HR will be better able to create successful initiatives aligned to and positively impact, business goals based on the human capital and talent development initiatives of a business.
Learn tactical tips on getting the attention and respect of your CEO and other key stakeholders in a move to the front end of strategic business decision-making.
Key take-aways:
1.       Improving your communication style and credibility as a senior leader by eliminating HR jargon, embracing business language that speaks and learning tips from the boardroom table
2.       Increase HR’s influence and engagement with the CEO, BOD and other key stakeholders
3.       Data and metrics that matter most to the C-suite and how to approach less quantifiable people topics
4.       What the CEO wants to see and hear in updates and meetings, especially when making your case for funds or resources

Track: Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness

In the “Great Resignation” headlines, the primary focus is on the employees leaving their companies in record-breaking numbers. But what about the supervisors, team-mates and mentors they leave behind?  What work needs to be done on the retention front and promote feelings of connection to leaders and organizations.  In addition to changes in policies and benefits, a winning retention strategy comes down to leadership.

Track: Competing for Talent

As leaders, we know how important it is to BE the change as we navigate and lead change within our teams and organizations. Within the context of our rapidly changing and increasingly divided teams, organizations and world, this can be particularly challenging. When we realize all change starts from the inside, our approach becomes so much simpler creating more impact with less effort.
In this session, Jessie Sutherland will share insights and practical strategies to: * Build a culture of belonging from the inside out – starting with yourself, as a leader facilitating change. * Focus your efforts so you can address your priority people and culture challenges more effectively and with greater ease. * Navigate the challenges that get in the way of increasing belonging in the workplace * Attendees will learn about Jessie’s proven award-winning Belonging Matters framework and receive her Culture of Belonging Temperature Check which has led many of her clients to focus their efforts and receive innovation awards for the impact of their social change efforts, that create greater impact with less effort.

Track: Diversity & Innovation

Integrating diversity, equity and inclusion into processes, culture, and systems for real, measurable change.

Track: Diversity & Innovation

Where are you looking to hire the next generation of innovators to solve your future talent pipeline challenges? Have you considered unlocking the human potential of under-represented groups such as youth, vets, and Indigenous communities? Hear from organizations who are looking beyond the traditional talent pool to grow their competitive advantage with highly engaged individuals and creative thinkers. Expand your scope and start planning today for tomorrow’s needs.

Track: Competing for Talent

Recent events have profoundly raised our awareness of the importance of trust. It has also raised our awareness of how little trust we actually have. While many are talking about trust, few are actually talking about how to build it. This session will focus on what trust is, how it works, and how to build it.

What you will learn

• Trust will be defined
• The trust model will be outlined and explained
• Practical application to HR issues in tech

Track: Engagement & Culture

HR work isn’t easy. Our roles have become the command center to guide our leadership and teams on managing the uncertainty and disruption of world events. And while many of us have found ways to push through the waves of the pandemic, we are still human experiencing the same roller coaster of emotions that our teams are enduring. In this workshop, we’ll learn how compassionate leadership can give us the strength to build a stronger and more resilient post pandemic workplace.

Track: Engagement & Culture 

When an organization is navigating big changes (such as downsizing, M&A, and outsourcing), HR is often at the heart of supporting the team through the complexities of these initiatives. Hear strategies on how to overcome common obstacles and considerations such as communication breakdowns, employee resistance, identifying and mitigating risks, providing emotional support, boosting trust between management and employees and championing change.

Track: Competing for Talent

Going through an interview process can be extremely stressful for candidates. As talent acquisition professionals, one of our key missions is to make that recruitment experience as easy, positive and smooth as possible, so that we can bring out the best in every candidate – their win is our win. In this session, we will discuss 5 low-budget, quick-to-implement steps you can take to enhance your client experience, and leave every candidate that interacts with your organization saying “this is the best hiring process I’ve ever been through!”

Key Takeaways:

• Candidate experience: why should you care?
• Key pain points of a candidate experience
• How to turn each of these pain points into wow opportunities
• Making the candidate experience that you provide truly unique
• Tools to implement and measure your results

Track: Competing for Talent

Leaders fell under the spotlight during the pandemic, and the valuable lessons learned will help drive companies forward in a transition from crisis to growth mode. As leaders were forced to pivot their businesses and upend their workspaces, employees were gifted the opportunity to experience how human-centric, agile, innovative, transparent, and resilient their organizations were. Hear how these leaders used the strategy and experience of the pandemic to shape the future of work in the ever evolving and fast paced world of tech.  

Challenge stereotypes, ask questions, and hear first-hand stories about the good, bad, and exclusive work experiences from our VIP group of storytellers in our connection zone (based on the concept of the ‘Human Library’ experience).  Have authentic 15-minute conversations with diverse individuals representing groups that may otherwise fall outside of your recruiting radar. Our goal is to raise awareness of what it truly takes to create inclusive workspaces and corporate cultures that attract, engage, and retain talent from individuals typically overlooked in the search for tech talent. 

For example hear:

• Common obstacles facing neurodiverse employees and jobseekers, from challenges interviewing and securing work, to hurdles within the workplace.
• While developing your talent pipeline, why not talk to teenagers planning to work in tech and hear within the next 5 years. Ask questions and hear their vision of what they will be looking for in a future employer and workplace.
• Experiences of workplace discrimination for 2SLBGTQQIA+ individuals and how it impacts employees’ health and wellbeing and reduces job commitment and satisfaction.
• For new immigrants, especially Black People and People of Color, the lack of Canadian credentials and experience compounded by preconceived prejudices results in inequalities in job opportunities.  Hear how as a visible minority, the diverse knowledge and international experience can give them a unique edge in their field.

Attendance for this interactive DEI experience is limited (preregistration is required) but our volunteer storytellers will be networking in the happy hour after conference to make more connections.

Note: our storytellers have generously volunteered to join us for this event and will be given an honorarium for their time. They will share individuals stories and experiences that are not meant to be a  representation of any specific group or community. These conversations should not function as a replacement for assessments, data collection and tangible actions towards building equitable and inclusive workplaces.

Limited capacity. Pre-registration required.

Pulling together and engaging your distributed workforce has unique challenges. Whether your team works locally but hybrid, or spread across the globe, companies that offer flexibility face common obstacles related to asynchronous communication, equity, engagement, fostering culture and performance management. Hear what processes, tools, strategies, and expectations are utilized by three HR tech leaders to keep their team aligned and productive no matter where they’re located.

Track: Leadership & Organizational Effectiveness