NOW of Work

With every period of innovation, throughout all of human history, the global workforce expands. In other words, new innovation creates new industries. Fact! Does that seem counter-intuitive? Shifting of jobs to new industries, we understand. But we might also expect contraction of the global workforce when technology drives efficiency and new ways to create value. Shouldn't we need fewer peopl...

Could AI be like the Olympics? 🌐 Similarly, AI has various disciplines, lots of winners, even more losers, international collaboration, and strict governance. Success is measured by multiple metrics and there is no single finish line. Or is it a zero sum game? You either win or lose, game over. While some aspects are still unfolding, we can already identify clear winners in this tech race. Compan...

Meet David Gloss, Head of Team Effectiveness at AIIR Consulting! As most of us may know, burnout has become more prevalent than ever before. And the solution isn't to avoid it, but rather it's about finding ways to mitigate its impact since it's something that everyone will experience. Teams, whether they are intact or cross-functional, play a vital role in shaping a company's cult...

Meet Will Sealy, Co-Founder & CEO, and Daniel Macklin, President of Summer! Summer is a  certified B Corporation  combining  innovative technology  and  policy expertise  to serve student loan borrowers across the country. Built by borrowers, for borrowers, Summer provides an end-to-end workplace student loan solution that is proven to reduce employee turnover and guaranteed to save employees...

John Land , a Partner at Mercer, is an experienced HR & Workforce Transformation and Global Rewards & Recognition Practice Leader/Consultant with a demonstrated history of building and leading transformative HR functions; including program/process/organization design, technology enablement, upskilling, and performance improvement. He is skilled in mergers and acquisitions (due diligence th...

Michael Kannisto runs a think tank called MindemicLab , which utilizes scenario planning, wargame simulation, and predictive modeling to help organizations develop strategies that will be effective across multiple possible futures. Michael began his career as a research chemist, but quickly realized that while molecules always act predictably and consistently, people rarely do. He has spent much o...

Dr. Amy Dufrane, SPHR, CAE, is the CEO of HRCI, and the founder of HRCI’s sister organization, the HR Standards Institute (HRSI). Amy has spent her career helping businesses maximize their human capital and HR professionals maximize their careers. As HRCI’s top steward, she leads an organization dedicated to assisting more than 500,000 business-leader members around the world who want to enhance t...

Brian Sommer , Founder and President of TechVentive, is an award-winning IT industry analyst who covers the ERP, Finance and HR sectors. For over 30 years, Brian has been advising the world’s largest firms on strategy, change, process and technology initiatives. Brian assisted over 100 of the Fortune 500 on financial software selections and continues to advise a wide array of high technology firms...

Summer Davies, Founder of LeaderShop, is an accomplished leadership expert with over 15 years of experience in transforming aspiring leaders' lives. Summer specializes in fostering thriving work environments and empowering emerging leaders to lead with impact and confidence. With her extensive background in coaching and teaching leaders globally, Summer brings a wealth of knowledge on essentia...

JESS VON BANK , and  Jason Averbook  are joined by special guests: Sarah Mink, Principal Consultant & Advisor, Mercer;  Traci Tenkely , IT Project Manager at City of Chandler, Arizona;  Kristen Poe , IT Project Manager at City of Chandler, Arizona. On this episode of the Digital Meetup, we discussed how the City of Chandler has successfully built and maintained a strong organizational culture,...

Please join us in welcoming Andrew Hartman, Founder Time Boss! Burnout, stress, and anxiety are omnipresent in the modern workplace. But it doesn't have to be this way for business leaders looking to make an impact while balancing their professional and personal lives. Andrew Hartman is the Founder of Time Boss, an organization that helps leaders and their teams reinvent their relationships wi...

After a decade as the Founder/CEO of Jibe and then serving as an executive at iCIMS, Joe Essenfeld is embarking on a new entrepreneurial adventure as Founder & CEO of Fora, an innovative executive relationship management (ERM) platform poised to transform C-suite decision-making through cutting-edge AI technology. In today’s corporate environment, there’s a relentless influx of data which plac...

Please join us in welcoming Skai Dalziel and Joe Facciolo, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Guusto! Today's discussion will delve into Guusto's history of building a culture of recognition from the head office to the frontlines. Old pals, Skai Dalziel and Joe Facciolo, go all the way back to 1988 when they grew up together in a small town just north of Toronto. They both attended the University...

"Everything I do, I believe in challenging the status quo... I believe in thinking differently." Chris Long is an experienced and forward-thinking leader in human resources and people strategy, with over 20 years of expertise. Recognized for his innovative strategies in improving company performance, Chris provides specialized consulting, advisory, content, and research services through...

The Founder & CEO of Raven Intelligence, Bonnie Tinder, along with Mercer Senior Principal, Jim Holincheck, join Jess Von Bank and Jason Averbook for this special epeisode of the Now of Work Digital Meetup! They talk about all things Enterprise Software Implementation, Projects & more! Raven Intelligence is a free online community that helps customers select the best consulting partner for...

Tune in for a lively discussion about the changing nature of the employment relationship. Why and how is trust eroding, anger increasing, and apathy apparent everywhere? This is the hard reality, but we have to talk about it to make  #work  better for employees and employers. Susan LaMotte is the Founder & CEO of exaqueo (ex-ACK-wee-o), an employer brand and experience consulting firm. At exaq...

Lara Jones is a powerhouse speaker, award-winning Grit Performance Expert, and the creator of the groundbreaking Global G.R.I.T. System™. As the founder, and CEO of Be a Legend, Inc., and GritGlobal™, Lara has propelled companies into multimillion-dollar empires with her unparalleled expertise. With prestigious accolades like the WORLDWIDE STEVIE® Awards, Lara has transformed the performance of le...

In the latest episode of the Now of Work Digital Meetup, Jason Averbook and Jess Von Bank welcomed Donald Knight, Chief People Officer of Greenhouse. Donald is a high energy innovator with a reputation for moving businesses into the future through organizational transformation. He connects with people at all levels of the organization, and is a firm believer in people analytics and cross-functiona...

Introducing the latest episode of our Now of Work Digital Meetup Podcast, Jess Von Bank and Jason Averbook kick off this episode diving into the power of vulnerability and authenticity by sharing personal anecdotes from the perspective of their kids on evolving world of technology. They explore the challenges faced by solution providers in a market driven by specific use cases, and share insights...

Compa just announced $10M in Series A funding to make compensation fair and competitive for everyone. In other words, it's SEXY to PAY people.  We couldn't agree more. In fact, Mercer's latest Global Talent Trends report confirms human-centered productivity MUST be anchored in trust and equity. Put plainly, people want to feel valued. And when people say valued, they really mean they w...

Meet two founders of Arist, a global pioneer in message-based learning. Ryan Laverty, Co-founder & President and Michael Ioffe, Co-founder & CEO, along with their incredible team, help companies like Amazon and WHO make learning accessible by meeting people where they are: on tools like Slack, Teams, and SMS. Since 2018, they've delivered millions of courses and behavioral pathways to...

In the latest episode of the Now of Work Digital meetup, hosts Jason Averbook and Jess Von Bank lead a captivating conversation that explores various aspects of work and personal growth. As always, they kick off with the beloved community check-ins, one of which is for everyone to share their "one big thing" from the week. Jess shared that her One Big Thing that she learned while volunte...

Anita Lettink, Founder of Strategic Management Centre, joined Jason Averbook and Jess Von Bank to talk about Anita's brand new 2023 HR Tech Investment report! Are you curious how the startup market performed last year? Tune in to learn: how tough was the market really? were companies able to secure new investments? And if so, who? what were the most active service categories? how are HR Tech s...

We're kickstarting 2024 with special guest Kate Bravery, Advisory, Knowledge, and Insights Global Leader at Mercer. She joins Jess Von Bank and Jason Averbook to get into the details of global trends as we move into 2024. Together they address topics such as: Key findings from Mercer's Global Talent Trend Study, Preventing fear by gaining trust and building psychological safety in the work...

Our Now of Work Digital Meetup hosts Jason Averbook and Jess Von Bank, closed out our last digital meetup of 2023 with our NOW Community. Along with our active community members in the chat, Jess and Jason held an overview of 2023 regarding HR and HR Tech industry shifts, buzz words like Gen AI, and where they think (or hope) the ball will continue rolling in 2024.