The Get Reworked Podcast
Forget the status quo — Get Reworked. Join the editors of Reworked, your guide to the r/evolution of work, as they interview business leaders transforming the way work gets done today.
Have a question, comment, idea or guest suggestion? Drop us a line at [email protected].
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About the Hosts
Siobhan Fagan is editor in chief at Reworked. Based in New York City, Siobhan leads Reworked editorial content strategy and production and SMG's modern workplace information services. She’d like to remind everyone who's working to stop, save what they’re doing and stretch. Then drink a glass of water.
Nidhi Madhavan is an editor at Reworked. Based in Chicago, she oversees Reworked’s thriving contributor community of expert practitioners and supports the website’s editorial efforts. On any given day, her cat Missy is likely just a few feet from her laptop.
Recent Episodes
Managing change is tough. Now imagine managing a change initiative that involves overhauling 118 legacy systems for 750,000 stakeholders under the watchful eye of Congress. Air Force enterprise change manager Heather Knuffke joins the podcast to provide an inside look at what it takes to make change stick at the over 75-year-old institution.
Highlights of the conversation include: why you can't just order people to change, how change management is as much about emotions as it is systems, how the role acts as a translator between IT and HR and how she prioritizes across a long list of competing demands.
Plus host Siobhan Fagan talks with Heather about training a cadre of change managers throughout the Air Force, how she approaches the multiple stakeholders involved in the change initiatives and what it's like getting a PhD in change management while working in change management every day. Listen in for more.
What does commitment mean in the context of work? From an employee's point of view, it can mean a reduction in stress, increased meaning, as well as the capacity to do their best work. From the employer's side, it can translate into increased productivity and higher employee engagement — which directly impacts their bottom line. Andre Martin, former CLO and author of "Wrong Fit, Right Fit: Why How We Work Matters More Than Ever," joins the podcast to share why it's so important to discuss how work gets done in our workplaces so employees — and employers — can find the right fit for them.
Highlights of the conversation include: what's causing the crisis of commitment today, why Andre wants to see a return of the 20-year career in one workplace, the difference between boredom and comfort in a job, why honesty is the best policy in hiring and how Andre differentiates between the "right fit" and "fitting in."
Plus, hosts Nidhi Madhavan and Siobhan Fagan talk with Andre about why companies often do more harm than good in their aspirational descriptions of their culture, why he believes there's a company for everyone and why he thinks companies should re-recruit their employees on a regular basis. Listen in for more.
Human resources — and the role of the chief HR officer with it — has been seeking a proverbial "seat at the table" for years now. The difference now is, more of them are not only gaining that seat, they are as our guest puts it, "helping design the table." Northwestern Mutual's CHRO Don Robertson joins us to discuss his approach to employee experience and how his previous experience on the business side informs how he operates — namely, with a business-first mindset.
Highlights of the conversation include: why data is a modern CHRO's best friend, how Northwestern went from employee engagement in the low 40s to over 80%, the role HR business partners play in Don's work and how Northwestern approaches the employee expectation-business need balancing act.
Plus, hosts Siobhan Fagan and Nidhi Madhavan talk with Don about why he thinks rolling back EX efforts is a mistake, how he's developing the skills of his potential successor and why he thinks anyone working in HR would benefit from spending time on the business side. Listen in for more.
Collaboration can be taught and learned. Yet few organizations are actively teaching employees how to master this critical skill. Deb Mashek, founder of Myco Consulting joins Get Reworked to discuss how companies can move collaboration from a platitude on their office walls to a capability found throughout the organization.
Highlights of the conversation include: why organizations aren't teaching collaboration, how to hire for collaborative mindset, the five questions to establish if your organization is equipped to collaborate and the broader collaborative ecosystem businesses should keep in mind.
Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Deb about about how she came to specialize in collaboration, why helicopter parenting stunts collaborative skills growth and how to avoid running your business like a filthy dive bar. Listen in for more.
Low-code tools promise to put the power of easy process fixes into the hands of employees. But beyond individual productivity improvements, citizen development offers employees a chance to improve collaboration skills, increase their technical know-how and gain visibility for work outside of their typical workplace roles. Shaelyn Otikor-Miller, SVP and head of global digital workplace strategy at Northern Trust Asset Servicing joins the podcast to discuss Northern Trust's thriving citizen developer program and her long-term vision for the program.
Highlights of the conversation include: why citizen development requires a change in mindset, the hub and spoke model the program is based on and how citizen development feeds upskilling and reskilling efforts.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Kate Cox talk with Shaelyn about generative AI, why citizen development is nothing new and how generational differences help feed the demand for low-code platforms. Listen in for more.
How does the world's largest professional network help its own employees build connections? Laurel Dzneladze, employee communications, digital platforms leader at LinkedIn, joins the podcast to talk about the company's community-based approach to employee communications and how it feeds into the broader employee experience.
Highlights of the conversation include: how Laurel and her team work to amplify employee voices, the tools and channels they use to do so and how she measures the success of their efforts.
Plus, co-hosts Kate Cox and Siobhan Fagan talk with Laurel about why she's on team 'no newsletter,' how LinkedIn still sees itself as a scrappy start-up, and how to reuse, repurpose and recycle content. Listen in for more.
Applications of quantum computing in the workplace may still sound like a theoretical future, but the need for workers capable of working with quantum is immediate and real. Bradley Holt, program director of workforce development at IBM Quantum, joins the podcast to discuss what the company is doing to close the quantum skills gap and why it's focused on getting younger generations interested in quantum computing now.
Highlights of the conversation include: how to get started exploring quantum in your organization, how colleges are responding to the demand for quantum skills and why policymakers should be part of the learning cohort.
Plus, co-hosts Kate Cox and Siobhan Fagan talk with Bradley about his quantum computing pitch for an 8-year-old, why IBM is partnering with HBCUs on quantum education and quantum scientists' popular pet names. Listen in for more.
Delivering a digital workplace that works for multiple teams, in multiple locations, all with different end goals is challenging to say the least. But sometimes it comes down to communications and training as much as it does to the tools themselves. In this special episode of Get Reworked, recorded live at the J.W. Marriot in Austin, Texas during the Reworked CONNECT conference, Dante Ragazzo, senior director, digital workplace at luxury fashion company Tapestry discusses the work he's doing to simplify and remove friction from Tapestry's digital workplace.
Highlights of the conversation include: the many causes of digital friction, how Dante approaches shadow IT, how to balance diverse team needs and the digital workplace discovery tour he started at Tapestry.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Kate Cox talk with Dante about about the differences between customer experience and employee experience and why sometimes you have to accept that good enough is good enough. Listen in for more.
Generative AI is the latest shiny toy in the workplace technology toolbox. The difference is the bar to use it is very low. ChatGPT and the like are freely available to anyone with access to a web browser and an internet connection. Employment attorney Peter Rahbar joins Get Reworked to discuss the potential risks of generative AI to the workplace and why organizations need to create guardrails around employee use.
Highlights of the conversation include: the risks and rewards of generative AI use in the workplace, the ongoing employee fears of being replaced and why we need a debate around the use of AI in HR.
Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Peter about the importance of transparency around AI use, the different effects of internal vs. external use, and whether or not he is indeed Peter Rahbar.
The word erosion typically brings to mind scenes from nature: water erosion, soil erosion, wind erosion. But much like the natural elements, daily stressors can also wear down people. Karen Dillon and Rob Cross, co-authors of the book "The Microstress Effect: How Little Things Pile Up and Create Big Problems — and What to Do about It," join Get Reworked to discuss how the incremental stresses we absorb every day are impacting our performance at work, our relationships and our lives.
Highlights of the conversation include: how high performers manage and mitigate microstress, the workplace habits creating microstress and how managers can minimize microstress for themselves and their teams.
Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Rob and Karen about how our networks are part of the solution and how sometimes you just have to rise above. Listen in for more.
What makes a company irresistible? That's the question behind Josh Bersin's most recent book, "Irresistible: The 7 Secrets to the World's Most Enduring, Employee Focused Organizations" And what it comes down to is a singular focus on their employees. At a time when some companies are rolling back improvements made to employee experience, Bersin joins Get Reworked to explain why an investment in employee experience is an investment in the long-term health and success of an organization.
Highlights of the conversation include: what sets employee-centric organizations apart from others, why leaders need to change from controllers to coaches and why team-centric work sets thriving companies apart.
Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Josh about a memorable performance review, why becoming an irresistible organization is challenging for leaders and employees alike, and why the long-term success of a company rests on its ability to unleash human potential. Listen in for more.
Between 10% and 20% of the world's population is considered neurodivergent, according to Deloitte. Yet companies still default to one-size-fits-all approaches to management, which rarely suit anyone. John Abel, technical director, Office of the CTO at Google Cloud, joins Get Reworked to discuss what businesses can do to support and help neurodivergent employees flourish.
Highlights of the conversation include: how technology advances have improved daily work for neurodivergent people, what being a flexible leader means, how leaders can help employees through listening and self discovery, and how neurodivergent employees can help their managers manage them.
Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with John about the connection between neurodiversity and creativity, how to help everyone use their full skillset and why fail fast is an inadequate term. Listen in for more.
Although employee experience is a relatively new term, the concept behind it isn't: support your employees to do their best work and they will support your business in turn.
Ann Marr, executive vice president of global human resources at World Wide Technology, shares lessons learned delivering award-winning employee experiences over her 25-year career with the company. Ann was the recipient of Reworked's 2022 Employee Experience of the Year award.
Highlights of the conversation include: how to create consistent employee experience across 15 locations around the world, the role onboarding plays in EX, how to keep employees engaged well into their tenure with an organization and why supporting caregivers benefits everyone.
Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Ann about career development, how employees can gauge if an employer is right for them and how it feels hitting 25 years at the same company. Listen in for more.
Back to office advocates have used corporate culture as an argument for why employees need to return to a central location. But corporate culture isn't defined by a physical place. Ideally, it's a combination of behaviors, practices and processes.
In this episode, Melissa Daimler, chief learning officer at Udemy and author of "ReCulturing: Design Your Company Culture to Connect With Strategy and Purpose for Lasting Success" shares what an intentional approach to building culture looks like and why it benefits organizations — and employees — in the long-run.
Highlights of the conversation include: how to make culture work in a hybrid work environment, what it takes to turn a toxic culture around and why you need to reassess culture on an ongoing basis.
Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Melissa about Twitter now vs. Twitter 10 years ago, what employees can do to help shape culture and why vibes alone aren't enough to create a corporate culture. Listen in for more.
At a time when the number of available workplace tools is exploding, how can a company meet employee demands for technology while not overwhelming them with choice?
In this episode, Tope Sadiku, global head of digital employee experience at The Kraft Heinz Company discusses how she takes a human-centric approach to delivering personalized digital experiences to the multinational food company's employees.
Highlights of the conversation include: what delightful digital employee experience looks like at Kraft Heinz, how the company ties ESG into DEX, balancing technology choice with decision overload, and where organizational tool audits fit into the technology acquisition process.
Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Tope about how to reduce friction in workplace technology, how pizza toppings relate to digital personalization, and whether hot dog flavored popsicles are a good or bad idea. Listen in for more.
How can a company communicate with employees who are distributed across multiple locations, roles and time zones? More importantly, how can companies ensure these communications are two-way and not a top-down broadcast?
In this episode, Maren Waggoner, VP of People, End-to-End Operations, U.S. at Walmart gives us an inside look at how the company communicates with — and hears from — the 1.2 million associates working in U.S. operations.
Highlights of the conversation include: how employee listening scales from the local to the corporate level, what it means for Walmart to be tech-enabled, people-led and how Maren and her team use tools like natural language processing to establish employee sentiment.
Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Maren about creating feedback loops for employee suggestions, how the company balances technology and in-person channels for communications and where she plans to focus her efforts in the year ahead. Listen in for more.
Our workplaces hit a milestone in recent years: it was the first time on record that five generations shared the workplace. While there's been no shortage of articles on the needs and desires of individual generations, not as much time has been spent on the benefits the mix of generations produces — both for individuals and organizations.
In this episode, Ramsey Alwin, CEO and president of the National Council on Aging, discusses the many benefits of an age-diverse workplace and the high cost of letting ageism go unchecked.
Highlights of the conversation include: lessons from New Zealand and Iceland on building age-inclusive workplaces, what HR can do to encourage age diversity in hiring and retention, the outsized impacts layoffs have on older workers and why we need to rethink the traditional career as longevity increases.
Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Ramsey about speaking in front of Congress, what retirement means if we live until 150 and AARP marketing practices. Listen in for more.
Diversity efforts typically fall under HR's remit, and for good reason. But talking about people and culture will only take a company so far. To move the needle on DEI efforts, organizations need to follow the money.
Eloiza Domingo, Allstate's VP, Chief Inclusive Diversity & Equity Officer, Human Resources explains how the American insurance mainstay incorporates diversity into every facet of the organization. And it all starts with how it spends its money.
Highlights of the conversation include: what a diversity identity means, how organizations can hold themselves accountable to DEI goals and how DEI practitioners — and the organizations they work for — can navigate a complicated political landscape.
Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Eloiza about rebranding employee resource groups, the part they play in DEI efforts at Allstate and how DEI has changed over the course of Eloiza's career. Listen in for more.
Burnout is an indication of a misalignment between people and their jobs. By identifying where these misalignments occur, organizations can make adjustments which improve employees' relationships with their jobs.
Christina Maslach, pioneer of research on workplace burnout, creator of the Maslach Burnout Inventory standard assessment tool and author of "The Burnout Challenge," shares the key factors that influence whether we have positive or negative relationships with our jobs. Christina has studied the relationships people have with their work and what organizations can do to improve those relationships for over four decades.
Highlights of the conversation include: why burnout and stress aren't synonymous, why vacations and self-care will only help in the short-term and why community is so important to alleviating burnout.
Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Christina about hustle culture, the pros and cons of a daily commute and why chardonnay burnout is a scam. Listen in for more.
The ongoing debate between return to office or work from home misses the point. The question isn't where we work, but how.
In the kickoff episode of Season 3, Sheela Submramanian, co-founder of Future Forum and VP at Slack, and co-author of "How The Future Works" shares why leaders need to move past the debate around physical location of work to embrace a much more flexible approach to how work gets done.
Highlights of the conversation include: the dangers of confusing presenteeism for performance, kicking outdated ideas around professionalism to the curb and why working from home increased a sense of belonging in employees of color.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with Sheela about why we should all be in touch with our inner two-year-olds, why we need alternate career paths outside of management and where to find the best bagel in Oakland. Listen in for more.
Editor's note: Episode 41 marks Mike's final episode of Get Reworked. Fair thee well, Mike!
How do you stay positive in the middle of a tragedy?
It's a question that became all too real for Howard Prager, who found himself at the scene of the mass shooting at an Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Ill. that left seven people dead and scores wounded. Howard, an executive coach and author of "Make Someone's Day" shares how times of trouble are exactly when we need to focus on the needs of others and what exactly we can do at work to make each others' lives better.
Highlights of the conversation include: how to stay upbeat amidst tragedy and bad news, how to practice gratitude and recognition at work and how leaders can make time to make others' days.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with Howard about bringing your whole self to work, if nice people do indeed finish last and why the tuba is the most underrated musical instrument. Listen in for more.
The word friction typically carries negative connotations, seen as an abrasive or discordant force. Yet the right kind of friction can also promote feelings of belonging, engagement and meaning. Soon Yu, author and international speaker, shares how introducing good friction in your workplace can inspire employees, give them a greater sense of purpose and motivate them to experiment. What it's not about is doing less.
Highlights of the conversation include the difference between good and bad friction, why sometimes the best thing to do is to ask employees for more effort, how hybrid workforces can introduce good friction and why thriving brands introduce good friction to promote loyalty, belonging and more.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with Soon about boxed cake mixes, the seven virtues of good friction, and why he thinks working retail is harder than any white collar job. Listen in for more.
Mention LEGO and most people will immediately picture building and playing with the company's famous multicolored bricks. But there's another level of play that goes into building an office where employees can't wait to come to work.Tim Ahrensbach, head of workplace experience at The LEGO Group, shares how the Danish company completely redesigned the corporate office to be a place that is more than just a place to get work done. It's about encouraging play and building the connections that bring people together.
Highlights of the conversation include LEGO's outlook on the hybrid workplace, lessons learned from the April opening of Lego's new 600,000 square-foot campus, what employers can learn from the hotel and hospitality industry and what makes an office worth coming to.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with Tim about go-to karaoke songs, what makes co-working spaces good, and Tim's all-time favorite LEGO set. Listen in for more.
Human resources has come a long way since its days as the personnel department. Yet tensions remain between organizations that view HR as a strategic partner and those that still see HR people as paper pushers and party planners. Dr. Marie Harper, Dean, Dr. Wallace E. Boston School of Business, American Public University System believes HR professionals who don't view themselves as change agents will "be destroyed."
Highlights of the conversation include how HR moved beyond administrative work, the risk of burnout among HR professionals and why some organizations still aren't addressing it, why people should think in terms of personal growth and not careers and what gives Marie hope about the next generation of HR leaders.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with Marie about why she hates the word 'career,' how a Philadelphia mayor's election loss spurred her into HR and if Mickey Mouse can cure burnout. Listen in for more.
In any ecosystem, it's the balance that is important. Too much of one thing can lead to negative consequences for the whole. Aaron Kim, senior director and head, digital workplace solutions, at Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) says when it comes to the tools for a healthy digital workplace, it's important to not get too comfortable with the status quo. A healthy workplace ecosystem depends on balancing that with innovation and experimentation.
Highlights of the conversation include how Aaron thinks about the organization as a multiverse with multiple realities, how to focus on the big picture while ensuring local teams have the tools they need and the enduring legacy of Web 2.0 in today's enterprises.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with Aaron about Web3 hype, Elon Musk's bid to takeover Twitter, hockey vs. soccer, and the enduring appeal of vintage 1960s Batman. Listen in for more.
There's no single recipe when it comes to internal communications. But one thing that's consistent is the importance of employee feedback. Judy Whitcomb, senior vice president of organizational strategy and effectiveness at Vi, a Chicago-based operator of luxury senior living communities, shares how Vi adapted employee communications to the challenges of the last two-plus years.
"One thing we learned early on was that we had to be thoughtful and we had to be intentional about our communication strategy," Judy said.
Highlights of the conversation include the keys to effective internal communications, whether in a crisis or normal times, the role of HR in employee communications and how to ensure that all voices are heard as part of an employee listening program.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with Judy about learning management systems, how useful it is for HR to think like marketing and whether it's better to be an HR generalist or specialist. Listen in for more.
For many companies, remote work was just a stopgap measure to address a temporary disruption to business as usual. For others, it's a way of life. Betsy Bula, all-remote evangelist at GitLab, shares how her company came to embrace all remote all the time, and what others can learn from their example. GitLab has collected lessons learned in a publicly available guide to remote work that runs to the thousands of pages. Despite that experience and documentation, it remains a work in progress.
Highlights of the conversation include how remote work is a constantly evolving set of practices, how GitLab overcame objections to its all remote policy and whether or not a company should hire a head of remote work.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with Betsy about North Carolina basketball, the legacy of Duke's Coach K and why hybrid work as a model is overrated. Listen in for more.
For many people, talking about pay is one of the most difficult conversations they have at work. David Turetsky, vice president of consulting at Salary.com and host of the HR Data Labs podcast, believes companies should be more open about what workers get paid. More often than not, secrets lead to deals that are ultimately bad for business.
Highlights of the conversation include how pay transparency can lead to greater pay equity, why opening up with employees about pay won't lead to bad results for business and why basing pay on location is short-sighted in today's market.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with David about universal basic income, the importance of a realistic minimum wage, and what it will take for them to open up about their own salaries. Listen in for more.
The reason why employees decide to quit is often not very complicated. But that doesn't mean the solutions are easy, particularly as the Great Resignation has legions of workers looking for the door. Beverly Kaye, career expert and author of multiple books on employee engagement, talent development and performance management says retaining your best people during times like this starts with knowing what employees are feeling, and then taking targeted actions based on that understanding.
Highlights of the conversation include how to respond in situations where employees have the leverage and why you don't need AI and advanced technology to boost employee retention.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with Beverly about the power of stay interviews, what it means to be "loose in the saddle," and whether bonuses and incentives are effective retention tools. Listen in for more.
In many ways, the leaders organizations need today are exactly the ones they're most likely to overlook. Jennifer Kahnweiler, leadership expert and author of "The Introverted Leader," sees the strengths that introverts bring to the workplace and shares how organizations can tap into them during this particular moment at work. What's needed is a closer look at how we communicate and collaborate.
Highlights of the conversation include the difference between shyness and introversion, why work structures are biased toward extroverts and what organizations should do differently as they head back to the office.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak out themselves as introverts, talk with Jennifer about the viability of workplace personality assessments and engage in some introvert-friendly awkward silence. Listen in for more.
The future of the metaverse may be the topic of the day for many tech pundits, but the reality is that it's already here. The virtual reality, that is. Derek Belch, CEO of virtual reality training firm Strivr, explains how VR is being used to train employees right now and what potential it holds for the future. We've entered a new era of VR technology, he said, and the recent buzz around the metaverse is only going to accelerate its use in the enterprise.
Highlights of the conversation include a discussion of how Walmart used VR training to prepare employees for Black Friday, why Derek is bullish on its use for soft skills and why organizations that don't invest in emerging technologies like VR and the metaverse will be left behind.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with Derek about his career as a college football player at Stanford, how the end of his coaching career was just the beginning he needed, and why he's both a tech optimist and realist. Listen in for more.
The current moment is a powerful opportunity to reshape and remake work. But getting it right is both relatively straightforward and fiendishly complex. Alan Pelz-Sharpe, information management expert and founder of advisory firm Deep Analysis talks about the road ahead. Organizations are poised to make giant leaps forward, he says, with powerful and useful tools to manage information and deliver better customer and employee experiences. But it's going to take a lot more than writing a check.
Highlights of the conversation include the problem with information management today, why it's long past time to clean out the digital junk in your data closet and why you should approach customer experience and employee experience as one challenge.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with Alan about the metaverse and web3, his side career as a DJ and what his photography background teaches him about digital transformation. Listen in for more.
Many organizations have been serious about diversity and inclusion work for decades, so why has so little progress been made? Cynthia Owyoung, vice president of inclusion, equity and belonging at Robinhood and author of the new book "All Are Welcome: How to Build a Real Workplace Culture of Inclusion That Delivers Results" shares insights and practical advice from her two decades of experience in a wide range of companies. The bottom line: If you're just making it an HR initiative, you're missing the point.
Highlights of the conversation include why the Great Resignation is an opportunity to make a difference, the future of DEIB work in the hybrid world of work and what leaders need to do to move their efforts forward.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with Cynthia about diversity quotas, algorithmic bias and why businesses should stop hiring for culture fit. Listen in for more.
Could your TV be the answer to the challenges of the Great Resignation? It just might be, in part at least.
Meredith Sadoulet, vice president of talent, strategy and experience at Comcast, shares the story behind the development of Xfinity X1 Career Center, a job search destination launched on the Philadelphia-based company's cable platform in 2021. Meredith led the small entrepreneurial team within Comcast to launch this new voice-enabled, consumer-facing job search tool.
Highlights of the conversation include how Comcast discovered TV was a search destination for job seekers, how companies like Walmart are using the platform to meet recruiting and diversity and inclusion goals, and lessons learned from operating as a startup within a larger company.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with Meredith about whether 5G is overrated or underrated, the enduring allure of business travel and bicycle racing as a form of relaxation. Listen in for more.
Before COVID pushed many workers into remote work, collaboration consumed as much as 85% of people's work time. In the post-pandemic world it's gone even higher, adding five to eight hours to the average work week. We're collaborating more, which is a good thing, but we've entered overload territory. Rob Cross, professor of global leadership at Babson College and author of "Beyond Collaboration Overload," talks about what that means and how companies can make sure they're collaborating in the right ways.
Highlights of the conversation include the role of purpose and intention in building effective collaboration, tips for building high-quality relationships in remote and hybrid workplaces and how to drive better innovation through collaboration.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk to Rob about how actor Kevin Bacon is a model for the kind of networked connections we should be aiming for in our organizations, and pluses and minuses of New Year's resolutions. Listen in for more.
Remote and hybrid work is a golden opportunity to make real progress toward diversity and inclusion goals, but only if companies handle it right. Joan C. Williams, professor at University of California Hastings School of Law and author of "Bias Interrupted: Creating Inclusion for Real and for Good," talks about that and the role organizations can play in interrupting bias at work. Here's a tip: Just having a conversation about it isn't enough.
Highlights of the conversation include why diversity, equity and inclusion programs fail to solve the challenge of bias, how systemic bias organizational systems harms women and people of color, how to design processes to be more equitable, and why change needs to come from the top and the bottom of the organization.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk to Joan about why she made studying and interrupting bias her life's work and their bi-weekly live conversation with audience members on Twitter Spaces. Listen in for more.
Employee experience has become a primary objective for organizations as they look to retain pandemic-fatigued employees and recruit in-demand talent to fuel their growth. But it's an easy thing to get wrong.
"That's what triggered the thinking of starting to look at it in a different way, in a more end-to-end way and bring those different functions together under one single umbrella called employee experience," said Tom Dewaele.
In this episode, Dewaele, global head of employee experience at Unilever, shares how the London-based consumer goods maker creates a unified employee experience for 150,000 workers across 190 countries.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with Tom about Belgian fries vs. their French counterpart and urge listeners to get their award applications ready for the coming year. Listen in for more.
Hybrid work is the order of the day for many companies as they ponder their future. But what does hybrid work actually mean and how do you design it to work for both employees and the organization?
Jim Kalbach, chief evangelist at digital whiteboard company MURAL, talks about how the current moment is an inflection point for designing places where people actually want to work. "I don't think it's a change in work that we've experienced during the pandemic," he said. "It's a change in lifestyle that we've experienced and because of that people kind of got a flavor of a different way of living and working. And I don't think they're ready to give that up."
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk about the oeuvre of Nicolas Cage movies and how the journeyman Hollywood actor just might be the panacea for what ails the digital workplace. Listen in for more.
The past year-plus has been one giant, often unwanted and unanticipated, experiment at work. From emerging collaboration tools and AI-fueled bots to new working models like hybrid and remote work, organizations large and small had to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. New ways of thinking and working are a reality from the frontline to the C-suite.
It's also quite obvious it's still a work in progress. In this kickoff episode to Season 2, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak take a look back at some of what's happened and review their own podcast experiment.
Plus, Siobhan and Mike renew their debate about whether or not raisins in cookies are a good thing. That and more hard-hitting commentary on what's next from the upcoming season of the Get Reworked podcast. Listen in for more.
From established tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams and Google Workspace to emerging whiteboard tools like Mural, we have more ways to collaborate at work than we've ever had before. But that doesn't mean we've got it all figured out.
Angela Ashenden, principal analyst at CCS Insight, shares why the technology is important, but it's the human element that is perhaps the most tricky in the new world of collaboration.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with Angela about her skepticism about the rise of mental wellness apps and reflect on their takeaways from the first season of the podcast. Listen in for more.
In February 2020, Delta Air Lines was celebrating a record year for travel and looking forward to a 2020 that would potentially surpass even that. Thirty days later, nearly all of that business was gone.
Author and executive Brandon Carson talks about living through that moment and how it's opened up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redefine work and learning. Until recently, Brandon was head of learning at Delta, one of the world's largest airlines, and recently took on a new role as vice president of leadership development at Walmart. He's also the author of a new book, "L&D's Playbook in the Digital Age."
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk with Brandon about AI, digital natives, 70-20-10 and the enduring magic of Whitney Houston. Listen in for more.
Corporate social responsibility gets thrown around a lot in business today. Organizations regularly tout the steps they take to make the world a better place and how they're endeavoring to create a more diverse and inclusive workplace.
How much of that is real? Malia Lazu breaks it down for us. She's a diversity and inclusion strategist, founder of consulting firm The Lazu Group, lecturer on innovation at MIT Sloan School of Management, and a former banker and community organizer. Suffice it to say, she sees the issue from many perspectives.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk about why corporate social responsibility is top of mind for businesses today. Listen in for more.
The shift to remote and hybrid work is just the tip of the transformation iceberg. To make the most of the massive investment in digital workplace technology over the last year-plus, we need to think much more deeply about digital transformation.
Anh Nguyen Phillips, global CEO program research director at Deloitte Consulting and co-author of "The Transformation Myth: Leading Your Organization through Uncertain Times," tells us why people are the linchpin in successful digital transformation.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak compare notes on their underwhelming pandemic lockdown-inspired achievements. Listen in for more.
New technologies and emerging challenges are pushing many organizations to embrace the need to reskill and upskill their workforce. But what exactly does that mean?
Shelley Osborne, corporate learning executive and author of "The Upskilling Imperative," explains and tells us why the ability to learn is the essential skill every organization and every individual needs to succeed.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak share what teachers influenced them the most and come up with a new business idea. Listen in for more.
The past year has been a perfect storm of conditions that have sapped employee mental wellbeing. And the sad reality is that less than a third of employees will come out of the experience stronger and more resilient.
It doesn't have to be that way. Psychologist Andrew Shatté shares why companies need to start having real conversations about mental wellbeing at work.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak wonder just how awkward their face-to-face interactions will be as pandemic restrictions ease. Listen in for more.
Visionary strategy, talented people, management excellence, relentless execution, and innovative products and services are hallmarks of a successful business. But ... curiosity?
Simon Brown, chief learning officer at Novartis, and Garrick Jones of The Ludic Group make the case for curiosity as the competitive edge companies need today, based on their business bestseller "The Curious Advantage."
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk through what they're curious and why this conversation left them hankering for a Big Mac. Listen in for more.
Jobs are being pulled apart into tasks and projects. Degrees and credentials are being boiled down to underlying skills and capabilities.
Professor John Boudreau and futurist Ravin Jesuthasan share the highlights of their forthcoming book, "Work Without Jobs," and how the deconstruction of jobs calls for a new operating system for work.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk through what this vision for the future of work means for individuals and society at large. Listen in for more.
Medical advances are making a 150-year life span a reality, meaning the next generation of workers could have a career that spans a century.
Dr. Michelle Weise, author of "Long Life Learning: Preparing for Jobs That Don't Even Exist Yet," explains what that means for education at work and the role of companies in helping workers reskill and upskill for jobs that haven't even been created yet.
Plus, co-hosts Mike Prokopeak and Siobhan Fagan share how their first jobs quite possibly violated multiple child labor laws, but the lessons learned carry on to this day. Listen in to find out more.
Information overload is a problem for you and it’s a problem for your business. Luckily, there’s something you can do about it.
Tech executive and historian David Lavenda provides some perspective on the topic and how we can better manage the flood of information that comes our way, including the role technology can play.
Plus, host Siobhan Fagan opens up about her Internet browser problem and she and co-host Mike Prokopeak set up a Slack conversation to initiate the Zoom meeting to create the Google Doc to address their channel overload problem. Listen in to find out more.
Many companies have mission and vision statements, but do they have a real purpose?
Stacia Sherman Garr of Red Thread Research talks about her research into organizational purpose, what it is and why it's important to the future of business, and offers tips for weaving purpose into talent management practices.
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak hear the voice of their internal skeptic and discuss whether this moment of corporate vulnerability will last. Listen in to find out more.
One of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, forces in a company is its culture. It's also one of the least understood.
Kevin Oakes, CEO of the Institute for Corporate Productivity, joins us to share what he's learned about what makes good corporate cultures work from his recent book, "Culture Renovation: 18 Leadership Actions to Build an Unshakeable Company."
Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk through why the culture conversation is important right now and narrowly avert their own clash of cultures over the topic of oatmeal raisin vs. chocolate chip cookies. Listen in to find out more.
For nearly a year, many office workers have been holed up at home with a return to the cubicle just a distant prospect. The arrival of COVID-19 vaccines changed that but heading back to the office isn't so simple. Work has changed and so must office design.
Ryan Anderson, vice president of global research and insights at furniture maker Herman Miller, shares a bit of the history of office design and why and how to embrace this as a pivotal moment in the way we think about work.
Plus, co-host Siobhan Fagan reveals that she lives in a kind of Herman Miller museum and Mike Prokopeak shares why West Michigan is one of the best kept-secrets in the U.S. Listen in to find out more.
While 2020 was a challenge, 2021 hasn't exactly gotten off to a great start either. Despite that, there are signs of spring amidst our winter of discontent.
The pressures of the past year pushed companies to adapt in ways that have the potential to create positive change in how work gets done, says Jennifer Dennard, co-founder and COO at Range.co, a collaboration software company.
In this episode, Jen breaks down the state of teamwork at work and why she's optimistic about the future. Plus, co-host Mike Prokopeak asks why work teams seem to be working while teamwork in politics is so dysfunctional, and Siobhan Fagan works in a choice "I Love Lucy" reference. Listen in to find out more.
While the last year has been hard on many organizations and individuals, it’s important to take the long view.
The crisis we're living through is actually an opportunity to re-imagine what work can be, says Mary Slaughter, managing director of people advisory services at EY. It's given us a chance to reconnect with one another and be more purposeful in our relationships at home and at work. And for leaders, it's a chance to step back and think about how to be better.
In this episode, Mary breaks down the state of our psychology at work and what it means for how we manage. Plus co-hosts Mike Prokopeak and Siobhan Fagan break down their takeaways for leadership during this great transformation. Listen in to find out more.
Organizations are stuck. Far too often, they think about work in a mechanical way that limits their ability to adapt and rapidly innovate.
Work is an ever-evolving experience that requires an organization that can evolve alongside it, say Paul Miller and Shimrit Janes of Digital Workplace Group. Digital transformation is only part of the solution. We’re moving into a “living age” that calls for companies to think of themselves as living and breathing organisms.
The journey is a gradual one but the past year has shown organizations how to plant the seeds of the future. Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak talk about what exactly the Wood Wide Web is and use an embarrassing number of puns to set up the episode. Curious? Well, don’t make like a tree and leave just yet. Listen in to find out more.
When it comes to employee experience, everything changed in 2020.
In the past, separate departments would have different approaches to employee experience. To IT, it was about technology. To HR, it was about people and culture. Everyone now is on the same page. We're at the turning point, says Dion Hinchcliffe of Constellation Research.
There's no set answer to the questions of the time but lots of opportunity, Dion says. Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak wonder when they’ll get the new COVID-19 vaccine. Spoiler alert: Not soon, but that’s just fine. Listen in to find out more.
For many workers the digital workplace is the new office, said Sam Marshall of ClearBox Consulting. "They don't get the benefit of going to that major edifice that you've erected with the nice polished tiles and so on," Sam said. "They engage with you through digital channels so you better make that good because it's maybe 80% of the opinion that they form about your organization."
Sam has seen a lot in his 20-plus years in the digital workplace. In this episode, he brings some much-needed clarity to our messy reality and unpacks what it all means as we head into the uncharted territory ahead.
The bottom line? It’s the dawn of a new era. Don’t squander this opportunity to remake work. Plus, co-hosts Siobhan Fagan and Mike Prokopeak explore why we’re not all that different from baboons when it comes to our work behavior.
Employee motivation traditionally took one form: You do X and I pay you Y. This kind of approach worked pretty well, up to a point. But as organizations grow in complexity so too does the work, and what is asked of the workforce. That makes such transactional incentives less effective.
"There needs to be … a reason why people participate in that work other than payment,” said Rachel Happe, co-founder of The Community Roundtable. Rachel believes communities create the kind of commitment that goes beyond the salary or the benefits package to inspire employees to “willingly engage rather than get forced to engage.”
In this podcast conversation, Rachel explains why communities are not only central to management but also the organizational operating model of the future. Plus, she makes the case that joy and work are not mutually exclusive. Podcast co-hosts Mike Prokopeak and Siobhan Fagan ask if this is blasphemy or a fresh approach to the 9-to-5. Listen to find out.
In March 2020, legions of workers walked out the office doors, trekked home and set up shop at the kitchen table to begin working from home. What we didn’t know then, but do now, is that abrupt departure from the office was actually our entrance into a profoundly different era of work.
In this podcast conversation, Sarah Kimmel, vice president of research at Simpler Media Group, unpacks the results of her research into the state of the digital workplace pre- and post-COVID, and the tools and technologies that are making this new era of work a reality.
Plus, podcast co-hosts Mike Prokopeak and Siobhan Fagan talk about how Reworked was started and what exactly we mean when we talk about the digital workplace. Our new reality of remote work fueled the acceleration of the digital workplace and it's not done yet.