We're Only Human

"We map the employee journey and experiences that an employee has. We do things where we can really hear, learn, and better understand the employee sentiment, directly from employees. We have feedback mechanisms built in that allow us to continually evolve, and we really look at that feedback that we get on our experiences as a gift. We welcome it. We want to hear 'what did we do' and 'how did it...

"So you're about to go into a meeting physically or remotely, you click on the team on the calendar invite and it'll pull up the culture of that meeting. Imagine EQ everywhere, and you're delivering emotional intelligence insights where every person can communicate, collaborate, and connect." Juan Betancourt, Humantelligence We're Only Human -- Episode 99  One of the issues with the tools, the tec...

"Human resources is ripe for innovation right now. Innovation is definitely a place of great opportunity within human capital. We should be constantly looking out for how we can leverage what others have done in other areas and apply it to human resources functions." Karin Wagner, Senior Director of Talent Transformation at UnitedHealth Group We're Only Human -- Episode 98 If you've ever wondered...

"My company is going remote because of COVID. How do I transition our culture over?"  We're Only Human -- Episode 97 In today's episode, Ben takes three audience questions:  How do we move to a remote work culture? What payroll technology works for a smaller organization?  How do I leave a toxic workplace?  We are trying out this Q&A series and would love to hear your feedback! Let us know if you...

"I think you can't make the mistake of designing an optimal, or academically perfect HR operating model in a vacuum. It really must be aligned with your fundamental business strategy and the overall operating model." Lauren Duprey, Takeda Pharmaceuticals   This is the first in a fascinating new series of episodes where we interview talent and HR leaders from a select set of IBM Talent and Transfor...

"And to me, just hands down learning is the future of work. Let's just put a period on that. That's how I feel about this.  We've entered this era of where there's continuous, rapid change. It just keeps coming for us. Every day we're faced with a new change. And the only way that we can sort of ride those changes or rise to them is through continuous learning." Shelley Osborne We're Only Human -...

"One of the things that I find most fascinating about using neuroscience in the [change management] work that I do is that there's a lot of really common misconceptions about neuroscience." Travis Hahler, Google We're Only Human - Episode 94 What is neuroscience and why should we be thinking about it as HR and business leaders? Neuroscience is the study of how the brain works, how we make decision...

"What we're telling customers is that we can help make work more human. First is really putting empathy at the forefront of the employee experience. It's up to HR to work with leadership and create this human experience." Munjal Munshi, Oracle   We're Only Human - Episode 93 Organizational agility is a critical part of adapting to and overcoming change. What does this mean in the context of the wo...

"At the beginning of my career, HR was looked at as a necessary evil. Now it's completely flipped to where HR is the driving force for how companies grow and expand." Eric Storm, Starmind We're Only Human - Episode 92 Skills are the currency of business. Research shows that in the 1980s, 85%+ of organizational value was in tangible assets (property, facilities, equipment, etc.) Today, that has shr...

"We as an industry are driving toward the cliff and the HCM [technology] vendors are competing over who offers better tire pressure." Dror Gurevich, Velocity Network Foundation We're Only Human Podcast Episode 91 How are organizations gathering skill data inside the business? Our research shows that the most common method is also one of the most biased: manager observations. However, Velocity Netw...

"We need help communicating the benefits we pour our hearts and souls into and making them successful for our employees." Jesse Albro, Flimp Communications We're Only Human Episode 90 Heads up: open enrollment will happen this year. While this seems like the strangest year in, well, forever, it also has some predictable elements to it. That said, how do you plan for a virtual approach to open enro...

"For me it's always been about focusing on how we can use technology to transform the way we develop, grow, and care for our employees." Christopher Lind, learning technology leader at GE Healthcare and founder of Learning Sharks We're Only Human episode 89 In today's discussion, host Ben Eubanks digs in with Christopher Lind on how to use technology as a piece of the bigger picture of supporting...

"This year has really redefined what compassion means to me. The need to have compassion for others, whether it's wearing a mask for those at high risk when I'm going into a store or what role I can personally play in social injustice, it really is all just coming back to compassion." Lesley Lyons, PeopleStrategy We're Only Human - Episode 88 In this conversation Ben interviews Lesley Lyons, a mar...

"That hiring maanger still has a view of the candidate's abilities and skills without being exposed to their race, gender, or ethnicity." Scot Sessions, Talvista   Did you know that there are nearly 200 cognitive biases that affect our decisions every day? While a decision about where to eat or what to wear is unlikely to have negative consequences, making a biased choice in hiring can lead to neg...

"What really excites someone to join a company? Why do they stay at the company? Every person you talk to has a different story." Amit Pamar, HR executive at Unisys This conversation happened at IAMPHENOM, one of the last live events prior to the COVID-19 shutdown.  In today's episode, Ben interviews Amit Parmar, an HR executive at Unisys, a technology firm with 20,000+ employees. Ben and Amit tal...

"We need to own what we do. We've been apologizing and apologetic for being in HR instead of owning what we do. Every other profession says, I'm a salesperson, I'm a finance person. I'm a marketer. We go, I'm sorry. I'm in HR." Steve Browne In this conversation, a replay from the most popular session at HR Summer School 2020, Ben talks with Steve Browne, the most connected person in HR, about how...

"And then the other piece of it was just the fear of losing a job increased dramatically... So the top line headline was one of anxiety in the marketplace." Jeff Rohrs, Jobvite In recent months things have turned upside down not just for many employers but for job seekers as well. In this episode Ben talks with Jeff Rohrs of Jobvite to discuss the company's annual Job Seeker Nation study and the k...

"The assessment traditionally has seemed a bit disconnected from the job role. This can come across as friction. You've worked hard to find a candidate and you want them to join--this can seem disjointed." Jora Gill, SHL Hiring is a balancing act. We want to drive candidates into the funnel, create positive experiences, and bring the best candidates into the organization, but we also need data to...

"We are wasting talent. We can't afford as a nation, as a society, to waste talent."   Brenda Weitzberg, Founder and Executive Director of Aspiritech When we talk about diversity in the workplace, we often overlook the concept of neurodiversity, which encompasses the broad range of intellectual capabilities that individuals have. In today's episode, Ben interviews Brenda Weitzberg about her compan...

"People don't want flexibility. they want complete control over their time." Today, we keep hearing that flexible work is the way to go. People want it. They crave it.  Yet in today's episode of We're Only Human, Ben talks with Jody Thompson, creator of the ROWE movement. ROWE stands for "results only work environment," and it has been around for some time (the first book, Why Work Sucks, was publ...

In recent weeks the podcast has covered critical topics like the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and how HR technology providers are supporting businesses during this time. Today, we're going to take a step toward engaging those workers that are working remotely, many of them doing so for the first time.  In this solo episode, Ben covers 11+ ways HR leaders and line managers can support an...

"As the head of HR, I'm now suddenly expected to be a doctor, virologist, and epidemiologist."  That quote came from a discussion with an HR leader in the last few days, and it clearly outlines what many companies are going through right now. In today's conversation, Ben talks with Brett Meager of Paycor to learn how employers are responding to the dynamic situations happening across the country a...

"Here's my general advice for businesses--don't be afraid to get help." In recent weeks a flurry of legislative activity has led to numerous laws to help employers and businesses dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak, and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act is a big part of the activity. What does this law mean for employers, and how does it benefit them? What other considerations should empl...

Agile talent acquisition? What's that?  Many of the talent leaders we encounter have heard of agile as it pertains to the software development industry, but what lessons does this methodology have for today's talent leaders?  Agile, at its core, is about prioritizing (ruthlessly) on the things that need to get done. In agile talent acquisition, managers hold more power to set priorities. At the sa...

"HR is representing the people at your organization that deliver the results of whatever mission you have... There is no greater voice for the people than HR." We hear so much about large employers and enterprise firms in the news. These organizations are a key part of the global economy, but did you know that over 99% of employers in the US have fewer than 1,000 employees? Yes, really! This marke...