Featuring scholarly and practitioner insights from HR and people leaders, industry experts, and researchers.

In this HCI Webinar, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Erica Keswin about her book, The Retention Revolution. Erica Keswin is a bestselling author, internationally sought after speaker, and workplace strategist. Her first two bestselling books Bring Your Human to Work: 10 Surefire Ways to Design a Workplace That’s Good for People, Great for Business, and Just Might Change the World (McGraw Hill 2018), and Rituals Roadmap: The Human Way to Transform Everyday Routines Into Workplace Magic (McGraw Hill 2021) were widely discussed in media outlets like Good Morning America, MSNBC and Live with Kelly & Ryan, as well as many print articles and reviews. Her forthcoming book is called The Retention Revolution: 7 Surprising (and Very Human!) Ways to Keep Employees Connected to Your Company (September 2023 McGraw-Hill) and will set leaders up for success in this new world of work.

Having a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace has become an important priority for many organizations today, however, diversity alone does not guarantee inclusion or equity as unconscious biases like affinity bias can undermine efforts if left unchecked. Affinity bias refers to the tendency to form stronger connections and have more positive feelings towards others similar in attributes, stemming from cognitive processes that view similarity as trustworthy, commonly impacting opportunities in organizations. It persists due to forces like homophily naturally gravitating towards similarity, unconscious biases operating below awareness, lack of diversity allowing similarity as default, conformity pressures, and more apprehension evaluating dissimilar others. If unaddressed, negative impacts include less diverse pipelines and leadership over time, inequitable experiences and outcomes, lower innovation and problem-solving, and loss of talent. Research shows affinity bias can be overcome through intentional efforts across organizational levels including designing fair structures and systems like instituting consistent talent criteria, unconscious bias training, diverse interview panels and anonymous screening, as well as enhancing diverse social networks through mentoring, sponsorship, and networking programs, providing ongoing DEI learning delivered to all employees on topics related to identity, privilege and inclusion, and modeling inclusive behaviors through KPIs and goals linked to diversity accountability in performance reviews, challenging exclusionary behaviors, and appointing C-level oversight. A case study demonstrates how one firm systematically addressed affinity bias threatening diversity goals through training, anonymous assessments, consultant evaluation, a new sponsorship program, and ongoing learning with leadership commitment and reporting that narrowed representation gaps and improved inclusion within two years. Leaders must recognize affinity bias and commit to fair processes and empowering connections to build truly inclusive cultures reflecting society.

In today’s competitive business environment, developing an organizational culture oriented towards continuous learning and self-improvement, or a “Culture of Mastery,” is essential for sustained growth and success. This video outlines a research-based framework for how leaders can build such a culture. Key components include clarity of vision, commitment to learning, encouragement of risk-taking, and celebration of achievements. A clearly articulated vision that emphasizes continual growth and refinement is crucial for aligning employees and motivating higher performance standards. Leaders must relentlessly communicate the vision through various channels. A commitment to learning involves deliberate practice, growth mindsets, progressive challenges, and formal training opportunities. Encouraging prudent, fast-paced experimentation fosters innovation and breakthroughs by cultivating psychological safety. Calculated risk-taking should be modeled and failures treated as learning experiences. External and intrinsic recognition significantly boosts motivation. Strategies leaders can adopt are highlighting achievements, annual awards, promotions tied to new skills, and mastery milestone celebrations. Regular achievements must be acknowledged to retain urgency around goals. By shaping conditions where mastery and self-improvement are celebrated cultural norms through vision, support, empowerment, and praise, organizations can cultivate identities of continuous growth for sustained competitive advantage in today’s dynamic environment.

In this podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Erica Keswin about her book, The Retention Revolution. Erica Keswin is a bestselling author, internationally sought after speaker, and workplace strategist. Her first two bestselling books Bring Your Human to Work: 10 Surefire Ways to Design a Workplace That’s Good for People, Great for Business, and Just Might Change the World (McGraw Hill 2018), and Rituals Roadmap: The Human Way to Transform Everyday Routines Into Workplace Magic (McGraw Hill 2021) were widely discussed in media outlets like Good Morning America, MSNBC and Live with Kelly & Ryan, as well as many print articles and reviews. Her forthcoming book is called The Retention Revolution: 7 Surprising (and Very Human!) Ways to Keep Employees Connected to Your Company (September 2023 McGraw-Hill) and will set leaders up for success in this new world of work.  Check out all of the podcasts in the HCI Podcast Network (https://www.podbean.com/podcast-network/HCI) !

In this HCI Webinar, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Artem Koren about pioneering the way forward in artificial intelligence at work. Artem Koren (https://www.linkedin.com/in/akoren/) grew up and lived most of his adult life in New York City. He graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Computer Science. He later attended the NYU Stern School of Business where he earned his MBA. Artem is passionate about using AI to enrich humanity and create positive change. He combines his experience as a systems engineer, product manager, IT executive, management consultant, and entrepreneur to create innovative products, bringing to life new ways that technology can help us reach our goals. Sembly AI (https://www.sembly.ai/) which he co-founded with Gil Makleff in 2019, is at the forefront of advancing natural language understanding, paving the way for a symbiotic partnership between humans and technology.

The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a period of significant uncertainty for businesses and their employees, as organizations navigated lockdowns, remote work transitions, and economic volatility, looking to their leaders for stability, direction, and support during this ambiguous and changing time when effective leadership is most critical. While the specific needs of employees in an environment of prolonged uncertainty have not been fully addressed, this video explores key leadership behaviors and practices that can bolster employee morale, engagement, and well-being during turbulent times based on guiding principles of transparency, empathy, and a long-term vision that will best position leaders to weather uncertainty. Specifically, research suggests employees need clarity and communication through frequent, transparent updates; psychological safety and support addressing well-being, resilience, and pressure points; meaningful work and growth connecting responsibilities to purpose and fostering development; and collaboration and teamwork through designated teams solving problems and preventing isolation. The video provides targeted recommendations, such as regular all-hands meetings, central information channels, frequent check-ins, establishing counseling resources, assessing workload priorities, articulating organizational purpose, rotational assignments, cross-functional task forces, and virtual team building. Industry examples illustrate specific strategies like increased communications in tech, manager "walk-arounds" in hospitality, banking course subsidies, retailers' rapid response teams, and appreciation gestures in utilities. In conclusion, effectively guiding employees through prolonged uncertainty depends upon leaders upholding principles of transparency, empathy, and vision while attending to the crucial needs of clarity, safety, purpose, and togetherness to strengthen organizational resilience through challenging times.

This video explores the importance of informal networks, or "hidden teams", that exist within organizations alongside formal hierarchical structures, as research has shown these organic relationship-based networks play a key role in knowledge sharing, innovation, and driving work forward through efficient exchange of ideas and solutions across boundaries in communities of practice and "invisible colleges", while teams that bridge different professional communities are better able to solve complex problems. The video provides recommendations for how leaders can identify, support, and leverage hidden teams to drive business success by mapping networks through analysis and employee surveys to uncover natural collaborations, supporting hidden teams through dedicating time and space for collaboration, cross-pollinating memberships, institutionalizing information flows, and recognizing contributions, as demonstrated through two case studies where a technology company and healthcare system identified existing hidden teams, formalized roles and support, and achieved rapid, grassroots change and meaningful business impacts, suggesting that viewing informal networks as assets that break down silos and strengthen connections across groups can empower change and improve organizational performance.

In this podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Artem Koren about pioneering the way forward in artificial intelligence at work. Artem Koren (https://www.linkedin.com/in/akoren/ (https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.linkedin.com/in/akoren/&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw3ZECtTKFps7_PLunJIeAjA) ) grew up and lived most of his adult life in New York City. He graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Computer Science. He later attended the NYU Stern School of Business where he earned his MBA. Artem is passionate about using AI to enrich humanity and create positive change. He combines his experience as a systems engineer, product manager, IT executive, management consultant, and entrepreneur to create innovative products, bringing to life new ways that technology can help us reach our goals. Sembly AI (https://www.sembly.ai/ (https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.sembly.ai/&sa=D&source=calendar&usd=2&usg=AOvVaw2FTQU9sWOeSbqJ4aJzbFAD) ) which he co-founded with Gil Makleff in 2019, is at the forefront of advancing natural language understanding, paving the way for a symbiotic partnership between humans and technology. Check out all of the podcasts in the HCI Podcast Network (https://www.podbean.com/podcast-network/HCI) !