I attended From Day One Conference in Philadelphia, at the Union League. The conference featured a single day of keynotes, panels, and fire-side chats with executives who are driving discussions on corporate values. Here is a recap of the conference.
Digital Transformation and Business Support
The conference started with a fireside chat emphasizing the importance of digital transformation and effective business support.
This included discussions on developing strategies to meet current and future business needs, optimizing HR operations for maximum impact, and equipping leaders with the tools necessary to manage remote workers and enhance performance management.
Leadership’s Role in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
This panel discussion focused on the critical role of leadership in advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) within organizations. It begins by emphasizing the importance of leaders assessing their current DEI efforts, establishing a baseline, and monitoring the candidate pipeline’s diversity. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are essential to identify where employees drop out of DEI initiatives, and inclusion indices provide insights into the workplace’s inclusivity. Holding leaders accountable and using qualitative data are key strategies in this endeavor.
DEI efforts must have a clear focus and purpose, with leaders actively involved in leading by example rather than simply advocating from the top. Documentation of DEI guidelines and strategies is encouraged to translate good intentions into actionable practices. Middle managers are recognized for their pivotal role in operationalizing DEI initiatives and co-creating inclusive experiences for employees, aligning these efforts with the organization’s broader business purpose.
Lastly, the importance of pulse surveys, disaggregated by demographic factors, to collect employee feedback and the need to provide DEI leaders with the necessary resources while emphasizing the business case for DEI initiatives.
In essence, leadership’s commitment and engagement in DEI efforts, supported by data and active involvement at all levels, are pivotal in fostering inclusive workplaces and driving meaningful change.
The Role of ERG’s
Recognition and Engagement: Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) were recognized as a key component of diversity and inclusion strategies. The conference advocated for involving everyone in ERGs and investing in learning and development (L&D) programs to support them. The critical role of managers in fostering recognition and engagement was also stressed, along with methods for measuring these aspects.
Developing Talent and Reskilling
This session addressed the pressing issue of the tech skills gap, highlighting the importance of reskilling. Currently, the need for IT professionals is growing at a 25% clip while the number of computer science professionals fills about 10% of the total need for jobs.
Tech Elevator provides coding training for those who don’t have a computer background. They focus on a person’s aptitude which is a predictor of success. A notable initiative discussed was the “Career Choice Amazon Program,” which seeks to empower individuals with new skills and career opportunities.
Creating a Culture of Feedback: Embracing the Discomfort
Feedback continues to be a big topic for HR professionals. I was surprised at the number of people who seem to struggle with the basics.
Training in this area is a must for any organization that is looking for top performance. Here are a few areas that were discussed with feedback:
- Feedback feels personal especially if it is always negative.
- Feedback should be focused on improving performance.
- Felt, Liked, Improved, Feedback (FLIF) was an acronym that was discussed.
Overall, the Day One Conference provided valuable insights into a wide array of topics crucial to modern business operations, with a strong emphasis on adaptability, inclusivity, and the strategic use of technology. Stay tuned for part two of this recap.