In this special episode, we're recording live at the SHRM Executive Network's 2024 Visionaries Summit in Austin, Texas. Tune in for key takeaways from our Executive Network of CHROs. Learn what's top of mind for HR leaders and which insights they plan to bring back to their organizations.
In this special episode, we're recording live at the SHRM Executive Network's 2024 Visionaries Summit in Austin, Texas. Tune in for key takeaways from our Executive Network of CHROs. Learn what's top of mind for HR leaders and which insights they plan to bring back to their organizations.
Didn't get a chance to attend Visionaries this year? Learn more about the SHRM Executive Network and the 2025 Visionaries Summit.
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Learn more about the SHRM Executive Network.
Mo Fathelbab:
Welcome to today's episode of People and Strategy. I'm your host, Mo Fathelbab, President of International Facilitators Organization. People and Strategy is a podcast from the SHRM Executive Network, the premier network of HR executives in the field of human resources. Each week we bring you in-depth conversations with the country's top HR executives and thought leaders.
Today, we're recording a special episode recapping the 2024 Visionaries Summit in Austin. Keep listening to hear takeaways from our executive network of CHROs.
Melissa Kron:
My biggest takeaway, I was telling some others today that I feel like I've been running away from AI and it's kind of been in our face for so long, and I'm finally learning, like, I got to run towards it. So I'm going to embrace that and run towards that opportunity.
Wendy R. Bradford:
Oh, my biggest takeaway is, I loved the last session that we had with Johnny Taylor, when he was talking about DEI and taking out the E. Years ago when we started talking about D and I, and I always thought about inclusion. Doesn't inclusion include everything? So even as I was thinking about all these acronyms that we are coming up with several years after the other, and it's getting longer and longer, if it is about inclusion, then inclusion would encompass all of this.
And I'm a really big fan of inclusion, hence part of my title has culture in it, and I'm responsible of that for the organization. And in our employee engagement surveys, our staff talk about how wonderful they love our culture. SHRM has helped me to be able to do that, and so I'm glad that Johnny Taylor talked about why they removed the E, because it's really not removing it. It's focusing on everything and inclusion for diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging. Inclusion is the main topic, and that's my takeaway from this conference this year.
Annie Howden Yarmy:
I think a lot on the AI component as well. I liked, in this speech yesterday, the comparison between Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Waters Home and the Winchester Mystery house, and how important it's to have that architecture behind what we're building as we leap into, really more AI within our industry.
Santosh "Tosh" Patel:
Yeah, that's a great question. I think my biggest takeaways are a couple of things. One, obviously continue to leverage AI in our industry and in our company, and continue to move that forward. Be comfortable with the uncomfortable, if you will, was something that I picked up a lot this weekend, or this week. And really just maintaining those relationships and those partnerships that I've established over the last couple of days, and ensuring that I continue to follow up with those individuals and maybe see next year at the Visionary Summit.
Marjorie Powell:
The biggest takeaway that I think that we received, and I think it was from the session that we had from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, was that there are a lot of positive things on the horizon with the workforce. That we just need to be creative and look for it, and look for those untapped areas that we hadn't sought out before, like the individuals in disability community, and use the technology to reach those individuals. Returning citizens, as I call them, those formerly incarcerated that have gained skills and talents, why they have been incarcerated, and now are returning back to the citizenship that they deserve. Tapping into those workforces and bringing them into the fold, and not keeping those barriers up that we had in the past, but also using the technology to do that.
Terry Reed:
This AI, and sometimes it is probably the biggest... It's exciting being here, talking to people, sharing notes. There's a level of excitement about that, but there's also a level of fear. And so, trying to balance doing enough but not going too fast, and then keeping my team engaged in the process. So AI is, by far, not only a visionary, but in Chicago at SHRM, AI is the big takeaway for me. And I have a number of notes of things that, okay, I need to go back and do this and that and change my strategy here and there. So I would say everything associated with AI.
Mo Fathelbab:
And that's where we'll end it for this episode of People and Strategy. Thanks for tuning in. You can follow People and Strategy podcasts wherever you get your podcasts. Also, podcast reviews have a real impact on a podcast's visibility. So if you enjoyed this episode, please give us a review to help others find the show. Finally, you can see all our episodes at SHRM.org/podcasts. Thank you for listening and enjoy your day.