In today's chronic state of disruption, even some of the most successful organizations find it hard to facilitate changes required to deliver results. The good news is that HR is in a unique position to help organizations, and their people, ride out this turbulence and transform the way work is done. This requires HR to take a hard look at the way it operates, as well as to identify and develop organizational behaviors that support agility and foster resilience.

In this session, we will discuss:

• The opposing pressures HR feels from the shifting demands of the business and employees
• Why HR needs to apply agility to our own practices
• How to cut through the noise and focus on the big picture – aligning talent programs to the behaviors required for the future

An engaged workforce is essential for successful change implementation, but is it possible for organizations to maintain employee engagement through times of rapid change? We think so - and neuroscience backs us up. Brain- friendly business practices have been shown to positively impact workplace culture and change management. Applying findings from neuroscience to identify the drivers of engagement that are particularly important to monitor and act on during times of change can help maintain and increase engagement, not to mention have a positive impact on the bottom line.

In this session, we will discuss:

• What current employee engagement data tells us about the state of engagement in today’s workforce.
• The key drivers of employee engagement, and how they are impacted during times of change.
• How to link findings from neuroscience to employee engagement in order to increase likelihood of success of change initiatives.

VUCA. The four-letter word that could be crippling your business. Learn how HR can operate in this VUCA world; the answer may be simpler than you think.

In a world where technology is changing the way organizations operate and how people work, keeping pace with the transformation can be challenging for organizations and people alike, especially when VUCA makes it exponentially more challenging. It’s a time for people to answer the question "Is it all about you?".

Caroline Stephens, Chief Human Resources Officer, Interac Corp., shares her experience with helping organizations move through transformational journeys and what it means to shift skills and mindsets to succeed in an increasingly competitive industry. Also hear about her current work at Interac and the complete transformation of the culture, through a drastically different operating model, mindset, and behaviours as they transition from an association to a corporation.

Option 1: Use Network Analysis to Address Complexity Through Collaboration
Option 2: Identify Key Tactics to Shift Leadership for a VUCA World

We have experienced our own movement, #HRToo – and sadly, some of the headlines are true. Passive HR leaders worried about a seat at the table failed to look around the rest of the room. Let’s talk about what we can do to reclaim both employee and public trust.

With so much change taking place in organizations, employees are struggling to adapt and are looking for support from their employers. This has led to a realization that organizations need to help employees develop their resilience. Work resilience is not just something people are born with, it has to be built by practicing resilient behaviors and through support from the organization. HR needs to help build resilience both within themselves and their organization by implementing resilience techniques.

In this session we will explore:

• Understanding resilience and that it can look different to everyone.
• Learning about the three behaviours connected to resilience: activate networks, learn to learn and be flexible.
• Using resilience to combat change fatigue.
• How HR can help themselves before helping others.

Winning! It’s what football teams must do to reach their goal of being Super Bowl Champions. But football is not unique. To be successful, businesses in all industries need to "win," and it takes engaged employees to do so. The game plan for engagement is not easy, but it is possible.

Employees want to be part of something big, and it’s the organizations responsibility to create an employee experience that provides purpose and takes an employee on a meaningful journey. The good news is that HR is in a unique position to help organizations set the direction toward full engagement by creating a winning employee experience.

In this session, we will discuss:

• The role of HR in articulating an employee experience strategy
• The importance of executive-level leadership in executing the strategy
• Aligning HR programs for impact

• Using L&D Principles to Stay Nimble in a VUCA World
• The Workforce of the Future
• HR's Role in Data Protection
• Practical Ways to Future-Proof Your Workforce by Enabling Employee-Driven Career Paths
• The Hard Facts on HR Software: Using Data to Improve HR Technology Decisions

While all leaders are aware of the importance of motivation when it comes to high levels of performance, there remains an unspoken and pervasive leader fantasy that ideal employees have no needs of their own and are eager to do everything asked of them. Yet research shows that work environment has a tremendous effect on brain function and the desire to work.

In this session, we will talk about how these misconceptions are formed, showing how the "smarter" someone is, the more they defend their incorrect beliefs. We introduce the core of what makes up high quality motivation versus the version that has people feeling constrained and pressured. Through interactive activities, we provide participants with tools to change destructive patterns in their organizations, replacing them with new methods that stimulate creativity, effort, and passion.

In this presentation we will:

• Increase awareness of the destructive power of long held misconceptions about employee motivation; namely how leaders overestimate the importance of external factors such as money on employee motivation while devaluing intrinsic factors, such as autonomy, creativity and a sense of purpose.
• Understand the most common motivation misconceptions, identifying where they originate from and to learning how they impact brain function and productivity.
• Be provided with practical tools for HR and Training professionals to apply to address these common motivation misconceptions and replace them with practices that will improve the quality of motivation within your organization.

The combined stresses of technological change, competitive pressure and customer demand have a curious effect on some companies. Some become rigid and authoritarian, intent on achieving control in the face of what seems like an uncontrollable environment. Challenged by outside forces, they respond by squelching challenge from within. Nigel Travis, who has successfully led or played a major executive role in some of the world’s largest companies, argues that reacting to change in this manner will ultimately doom any organization. He strongly believes the most effective companies are those that become more flexible and more egalitarian – and, as a result, more able to adapt. A culture of challenge in your organization—business, not-for-profit, governmental, academic— is essential to survival and sustainability in today’s raucous, ever-changing world. Travis points to his personal experiences and triumphs with cultures of challenge, from Papa John’s to Dunkin’ Brands and Leyton Orient Football Club. In this presentation, he discusses the keys – education, communication, listening and information- sharing – to making challenge culture work in any environment. He also shares his insights, real world examples and amusing anecdotes for not only succeeding, but thriving in a global marketplace.