Top five twitter takeaways: Reminiscing on Namely HR redefined 2018

4 mins, 51 secs read time

Namely’s HR Redefined 2018 Conference was an action-packed Talent industry event, held at The Metropolitan Pavilion in NYC this month. For those of you that couldn’t make it in person (or who just want to relive it), here’s a final recap as told through Tweets. It is 2018 after all.

1. Differentiate between givers and takers in your organization.

Keynote speaker Adam Grant was one of the most energizing speakers I have ever seen live. The crowd was incredibly engaged as he provided several points that made us all rethink everything we knew about the world of Talent. In his session, “How Non-Conformists Move the World,” he focused on the theme of “givers” and “takers.” Givers are looking for ways to help others, while takers only look for ways to help themselves. Grant claims that takers can hinder a productive work environment.

We need to improve our initial assessments of “takers” early on, so that we don’t even “let them on the bus,” says Grant. You can take the candidate out to lunch while conducting the interview, but pay close attention to how they treat the staff. Their behavior - positive or negative - can be very telling of their character and how they will behave and work with team members in your organization. With a team of “givers,” everyone is willing to lift each other up, rather than climb over each other to get ahead - and that’s key to a collaborative and healthy organization.

2. Your people are your secret weapons.

Namely’s Chief Client Officer, Debra Squyres knows that people are the key to success in any organization. This theme resurfaced throughout both days of the conference as well. Other speakers on the “What is the Future of HR?” panel agreed that engaging staff and managers in the work and the product you’re creating is essential. When you utilize the talent that you have to create organizational frameworks, you’re creating a structure that your people inherently believe in. As Cheryl Roubian, Greenhouse Director of Talent called out in the closing of the panel, “The more you can involve your teams, the more impactful your initiatives will be.”

3. Mission driven = high performance.

Kelly Porter, SVP of People Services at Equinox demonstrated the ways that a great mission can elevate your organization. A mission can help instill a sense of purpose in your employees. Purpose is not an additional afterthought. It should be intertwined in your strategic HR plan. “No matter how much the world is changing, our employees want to belong,” he says. “We all want to know ‘I as a human being, matter.’”

We can solidify this sense of purpose by identifying what we’re trying to solve in our organizations and then always looking at our initiatives through that lens. Porter says that “first, we need to get our ‘activities’ right,” which will require a shift in thinking. Recruiting needs to become “strategic sourcing,” onboarding needs to become “welcoming,” communication needs to become “storytelling,” L&D; needs to become “career aspirations,” and compliance needs to become “care and concern.” Once we get these right, and implement them effectively, we’ll see purpose-driven results.

4. Microlearning is crucial.

Summer Salomonsen was another captivating speaker at the conference. She revealed the secret to a strong learning and development strategy in any organization - Microlearning. “When you’re led to insight, there’s an opportunity to change,” she says. In her chat, she pointed out three critical components to the microlearning strategy: 1) real learning takes place in context, 2) multimodal delivery or mixed media increases positive learning emotions, and 3) a single concept approach allows one to actually learn.

In the quote above, she referenced the “mixed media” component - Rather than simply entertaining, we need to ensure we’re being relevant when it comes to learning opportunities if we want these teachings to stick. A microlearning strategy should also be aligned with business goals. That way, you’ll be able to show value to executives while implementing learning programs that have a meaningful call to action for employees.

5. A feeling of psychological safety allows people to unleash their full potential.

Can you tell that Adam Grant was a compelling speaker? The quote above was (in my opinion) one of the most important things that Grant stated, and one of the most memorable quotes from the entire conference. He outlined the difference between a good leader and a bad leader, and claimed that “leaders who are interfering with safety will say something like the all too common, ‘Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions’.” Good leaders will create an environment of psychological safety. This type of environment gives people the ability to be creative, and take risks without being punished. When this happens, people are able to thrive and an organization can truly transform.

Namely’s HR Redefined 2018 brought together Talent industry leaders and practitioners to discuss the most important topics in our world - from psychological safety to the importance of workers - and to speculate on what the future may hold. If you remember one thing from this year’s event, it’s that businesses in every industry are waking up to the increasing importance and value of engaged employees.

If you can’t get enough HR Refined 2018 content, check out this Q&A; with three speakers from the event.