The Workspan Podcast

We kick off the new year in podcasting with Bobbi Kloss, director of human capital management services at Benefit Advisors Network, the premier international, credentialed network of independent employee benefit advisory & consulting firms. Bobbi joins us to discuss strategies for investing in employee well-being in 2023. 

We close out the year with one of our all-time favorite guests: John Zissimos, the Chief Marketing Officer at Okta, the leading independent identity provider, who joins the prestigious three-timers club. He previously spoke with us about his experiences with Google and Salesforce, and in this conversation discusses his role with Okta, his influence on the company culture, the evolution of his lead...

A timely conversation with Cheryl Brown Merriwether, Co-Founder, Vice President, Executive Director, International Center for Addiction & Recovery Education™  (ICARE).  Many people struggle during the holiday season as it can give rise to – or heighten - addictions and mental health issues. Cheryl discusses how you, and/or those close to you, can  prepare mentally and emotionally to avoid/mini...

WorldatWork is about to publish findings showing that employers continue to struggle with communicating internally and externally about their pay equity efforts. Nancy Romanyshyn, Director Pay Strategy and Partner Success with Syndio, joins us for a lively, informative discussion on what employers need to understand – and do – to better communicate their pay equity efforts. We also discuss the sho...

We speak with Michael Piker, Global DE&I & Reward Director with Flutter Entertainment, a global sports betting, gaming and entertainment company. Currently based in London, Michael has lived and worked in 9 countries, and brings a broad perspective to a range of important issues: Talent Mobility, DE&I, Total Rewards, Executive Compensation, People Analytics, HR Technology…and more. Mic...

Scott Pechaitis, a principal in the law firm Jackson Lewis P.C.  and a national leader in the world of employment law, discusses pay transparency, specifically the new Pay Transparency laws that are taking effect November 1 in New York City and Westchester County, and will soon be sweeping the nation. What you need to know, how to prepare, the pros and cons. 

Darren Tse, North America Practice Leader Sales Effectiveness and Rewards for WTW, discusses setting caps on sales compensation. What may first sound like a narrowly focused topic turns out to have many fascinating dimensions and implications. Darren expertly takes us through the host of competing interests that need to be balanced: maintaining an equitable compensation framework and keeping top p...

A fascinating conversation with Liz Supinski, Director, Research & Insights at WorldatWork. Liz discusses how her background in I/O psychology and data science informs her research work, her plans to make WorldatWork’s research reports more narrative-driven, helping TR professionals carry the conversation into their organizations…and a sneak preview on the research reports coming out this year...

Co-authors Solange Charas and Stela Lupushor discuss their timely and very insightful new book, Humanizing Human Capital. Topics include: the difference between people analytics and human capital analytics, the value of “purpose audits,” AI and its potential impact on leadership, why HR needs to improve their numeracy and understand how data can actually help “humanize” the workplace.  

Master Corporate Executive Coach Jordan Goldrich on how successful leaders can get better. Jordan discusses how to promote successful leadership in today’s increasing remote business world, his work with “abrasive” leaders and what he means by applying the Navy Seals “ethos” to effective, responsive leadership. 

Cindy Robbins is an independent board director, corporate advisor, and senior executive with 20+ years of experience counseling CEOs and other senior executives. As President and Chief People Officer of Salesforce, she designed and oversaw a global workforce that became a model of innovative corporate culture. Cindy joins us to discuss pay equity:   how/why Salesforce made pay equity a priority, t...

Judy Canavan is Managing Director, Compensation & Benefits, Global Employer Services at BDO, and leader of their Compensation Surveys practice. Judy joins us to discuss BDO’s 2022 Study of CEO and CFO Compensation, which is based on the practices of 600 mid-market public companies. She shares the key takeaways, differences between the 2022 and 2021 studies, and the biggest surprises. To access...

Our guest Dan Beaudry is the founder of LDP Connect, a community of professionals who lead, manage or support early career talent development programs at some of the world’s largest employers. We discuss what young, high potential employees are looking for and the skills/attributes/support they need to advance and flourish. With a special cameo appearance from friend and benefactor of the pod, Tod...

Awestruck by the images pulled from deep space by the James Webb telescope? We are too! We have the perfect guest to bring it all down to earth: Ann Jenkins, principal science writer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, the science operations center for the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes. We also discuss her fascinating career that began at NASA 25 years ago. 

We are joined by Debbie Gunning, VP of People at Human Interest, a fast-growing fintech firm providing 401(k)s to small and medium businesses.  Debbie’s team runs the company's talent and culture programs.  We discuss geographic pay differentials and the challenges of promoting coherent company culture for a company experiencing exponential growth – Human Interest has grown from  ~50 team members...

Emily Cervino and Ranjan Dutta from Fidelity Investments on pay equity and the complexities/nuances of pay equity assessment. We discuss why companies are considering non-base pay in pay equity assessments and highlights from the WorldatWork/Fidelity Pay Equity Study (the study can be found at: https://worldatwork.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cI0ooLXPrudcaFw? Source=Fidelity).

Our guest is Dr. Stephen Ezeji-Okoye, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Crossover Health, the leader in delivering value-based hybrid care. We discuss Social Determinants of Health and a case study he wrote called Cracking the Code on Referral Management, which shows how an integrated, team-based care model removes cost and improves satisfaction.  

Neena Kovuru is a strategic HR and technologies consultant who creates value for organizations via insightful analysis and data driven solutions.  We discuss the need for HR to become more comfortable and adept with analytics, what HR is doing to meet the challenges of today’s changed business landscape, and emerging technologies that will have the greatest impact on the way we work. 

We're joined by Rob Whalen, co-founder and CEO of PTO Exchange, the first benefits platform that allows employees to self-direct the value of their unused paid time off (PTO) for other needs and causes. We discuss how this will lead to more employee engagement, increased loyalty, reinforce a healthy workplace culture and move the needle on DEI.  

Kristin Pozen, practice leader and senior executive recruiter with the Duffy Group, on boomerang interviews: those you conduct with former employees who are seeking to return. We discuss why they’re on the rise, whether it’s a good or bad thing for employers, and how to make sure the “sequel” is better than the original.  

Mark McGraw, managing editor of both Workspan and #evolve, joins us to discuss the Q2 Workspan, which focuses on wellbeing.  Features include “Family Time, which addresses parental leave and “Do Not Disturb,” which looks at how some companies are expanding their PTO offerings to help workers refresh and recharge. 

Serial entrepreneur Shannon Scott, the  CEO of OnCentive and SyncStream, on lessons learned from starting and growing successful companies, what drives him, why he prefers the term corporate “vision” to corporate “culture” and how it’s factored into his success. He also shares what’s on his entrepreneurial “bucket list” – spoiler alert: a local flavored barbecue joint on the beach. 

Ravin Jesuthasan, a recognized global thought leader, futurist and author on the future of work, automation and human capital. He is the co-author of the just published “Work Without Jobs: How to Reboot Your Organization’s Work Operating System,” about how work is changing in ways that will eventually transform every aspect of society. It debuted at No.3 on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list....

We're joined by Michele Ruiz, co-founder and CEO of BiasSync, a science-based approach to combatting unconscious bias in the workplace. She speaks about her journey from the anchor chair (she was an award-winning broadcast journalist) to serial entrepreneur (BiasSync is her third company) and the ways organizations can systematically identify and address unconscious bias.   

We’re joined by Kimberly Harris, Director of People Operations at Poll Everywhere, a company that turns presentations into a two-way dialog, providing employees with ways of getting involved instead of getting distracted: “2022 will be the year of conquering the new workforce rhythm.” Which begs the question: can we dance to it? This and more on promoting more dynamic employee engagement – check i...