Past Event Information:

 

Yamaha’s Journey to Business Transformation
On March 15, 2012, we welcomed senior leaders Brian Jemelian, SVP, and Tracy Bargielski General Manager HR from Yamaha Corporation of America, a leader in the music & audio products industry employing 20,000 globally. Brian Wilkerson, past RMHRPS President, and Managing Director of Revolution Advisors, led an interactive discussion regarding the transformative journey of change that Yamaha has experienced over the last nine years.   The team shared their experience of how by undergoing a comprehensive business processes analysis, they were able to launch and implement a plan which led to company-wide success in measurable and robust growth as well as enhanced operating efficiencies. 

Brian Jemelian Click here to download biography		Brian Wilkerson Click here to download biography		Tracy Bargielski Click here to download biography

 

Though many senior leaders in the audience were familiar with going through similar processes, one of the key differences shared by the Yamaha team was their ability to continue to sustain the initiatives over a significant time period (it began in 2003 and is still going), as well as through the leadership change of at least three company Presidents (the company is on a 3-year rotation for key leaders).    The ability to strategically leverage HR’s role in the process was also a primary goal and outcome of the process.

The shared “Keys to Success” for this transformative journey shared were as follows:

• Consistently demonstrating ROI
• Approaching changes incrementally by making many small organizational  changes rather than the ‘big bang’ approach
• Providing ongoing leadership support and alignment
• Focusing on culture change rather than just initiatives
• Involving key influences at all levels
• Providing ongoing skill building and education for all levels in the organization (from the bottom up)
• Addressing priorities for each division as well as the corporation overall
• Appropriately using outside resources and capacity building.

While process improvement and organizational change can be formidable, Yamaha provided a real-life study of how they have done it successfully and how others can do the same.  Yamaha continues to drive change and improvement through this innovative process.

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What you missed February 23
How are employers and HR leaders using social media to attract, retain, and engage talent and foster more collaboration and innovation in their organizations?
with Adam Wootton of Towers Watson, and local panelists
  
The new world of communication:  New media leads to new expectations.

On February 23, Adam Wootton, senior consultant and thought leader for Towers Watson, presented research on how employers are using social media around the globe to attract, retain and engage the changing global workforce. The research focused on the essentials of building connections in the heads, hearts, and hands of employees with a specific focus on motivating and enabling desired behavior by utilizing social norms and networking and through the use of entertainment, games and game mechanics --- the essentials of social media that connect people to people, connects people to teams, connects people to ideas, and promotes a two way dialogue. Not surprisingly, but confirmed by Towers Watson research, organizations with both highly effective communication and change management practices are more than twice as likely to significantly outperform their peers as organizations that are not highly effective in either of these areas.

The presenting research helped attendees understand best practices and identified the barriers to success. Adam moderated a panelist of local employers to present their social media experiences. We learned large and small employers alike are at varying stages of deploying and supporting social media. Experiences were more common than the audience predicted which helped focus the discussion on the commonalities which included: how to present the business case to senior management to invest in a social media strategy and plan; how to or how not to develop a social media policy; and how to respond when there is an undesirable post or contribution to a social media site. In addition to branding and recruiting, panelists were also using social media to support the performance evaluation process, drive collaboration, and create social communities exclusive to their organizations. New media does lead to new expectations.

To view Adam's presentation, click here
  
Thank you to the following local panel members who shared their specific experience with social media:

Denver/Morning Program Panelists:
Vicki Steere, Director Talent Acquisition Marketing, TeleTech
Lisa Collings, Director Talent Acquisition, Arrow Electronics

Westminster/Afternoon Program Panelists:
Rebecca (Becca) Borden, Director Talent Acquisition, Vail Resorts
Brittany Sever, Director of Marketing, Zayo Group
Fred Holt, VP Human Resources, Photobucket

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Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch, with Curt Coffman

On December 8, 2011 we welcomed best-selling author and management scientist Curt Coffman.  Following the session, RMHRPS President Lauren Choate sat down for a brief chat.  Listen in….

(Lauren) – At this session this morning we saw the unveiling of a different title for the upcoming book about organizational culture.    What was the thought process behind the new title – “Uber Culture; The Secret To Extraordinary Results?”

(Curt) – We spent a lot of time testing the title “Culture Eats Strategy for Lunch” and while we found that it resonated with people, it misses one of the key points of our research which is, culture not strategy is the biggest driver of outstanding business results.

(Lauren) – So you’re not saying that strategy is irrelevant; rather that culture is an organization’s competitive advantage.  Is that correct?

(Curt) – Yes.  In fact, I think that over time you’ll start to see the title of SVPs of Human Resources begin to change to SVP of HR and Strategy.

(Lauren) – I’ve been asked this question several times in my career… “Describe your culture,”and I always respond, “it depends,…. which one?”  I’ve seen multiple cultures operating simultaneously in organizations, and it seems that is what you are commenting on when you describe the Three Dimensions of Culture.

(Curt) – Exactly.  In First Break All the Rules, we said – employees leave their supervisor not the organization.  So the focus was all about leadership and what they (the leaders) need to do to you (the employees) to impact business results.  Our new research shows that the top layer of culture, which we call Macro-Culture, accounts for a small percentage of the impact. It is Micro-Culture that has the biggest impact on achieving results, closely followed by Bridge Culture.

(Lauren) – So, what’s the wake-up call you would give to CEOs of under-performing organizations?

(Curt)  - I think I’d tell this CEO - remember how you got to where you are today?  You probably knew your employees as well as your products.  You got in touch with what employees were thinking.   You paid attention to people as much as profits.  You showed interest in the people touching your customers every day and in return you got loyalty and high engagement.   Focusing on the Micro-Culture is the key.

If you are interested in purchasing Curt’s book releasing in Spring 2012, click here http://coffmanorganization.com/

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One Page Talent Management: The Secrets to Building Better Talent Faster with Marc Effron

On November 10, 2011 Marc Effron, President of The Talent Strategy Group, opened our eyes to a paradigm shift away from developing complex talent management programs, instead proposing that the most effective programs are incredibly simple and consequently remove any and all excuses around actually using them. He made a compelling argument that in our desire to achieve precision and academic perfection, we often lose sight of overall accuracy and practical application. In fact, for many of us, Marc's notion of simplicity was a provocative one. Marc framed the information in the context of empirical research that supports the notion that, "Simple works, the facts prove it!" He even provided some very specific applications that we were able to begin using the very next day.

Marc also made an inadvertent reference to one of our upcoming programs, when he mentioned that the field of Neuroscience will become increasingly interesting and provide additional valuable insights as the concepts begin to be supported by empirical data and research. Don't miss an opportunity to learn more about this fascinating topic in our April 27th program with Scott Halford: Using Neuroscience to Improve Employee Performance and Transform your Workplace.

If you are interested in purchasing Marc's book, One Page Talent Management, click here

For Marc’s slide presentation, click here

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Build Your Organization Google Style, with Shannon Deegan

On September 16, 2011 Google's Shannon Deegan, Director of People Operations, shared insights about employee engagement and motivation at our program titled "Build Your Organization Google Style."  

Admittedly, Google has the resources available to offer many out-of-the-ordinary extras for employees, including perks that some companies just do not have the ability to offer. However, Shannon shared some great ideas with our group about innovative ways Google encourages and retains employees that aren't necessarily costly.

Highlights include:

• Though the word might have been overused in recent years, Transparency is real at Google and is a primary motivator. Company leaders have made it a priority to continually be open about the mission, goals and decisions made, also allowing and welcoming feedback from any employee about those decisions. Employees are encouraged to share ideas about how to do things better at Google. 
• Google's employee survey has two primary outcomes: retention & innovation. A lot of energy is spent around what makes people stay, and these areas are constantly being evaluated and studied. 
• Google recognizes that while they've received plenty of accolades from remaining on the Best Places to Work list, employee contributions are truly valued and the culture has been created and maintained to honor those contributions. 
• Mistakes are celebrated, though the idea to 'fail quickly' is encouraged by leaders. 

We are delighted to have kicked-off our 2011/12 program year with such an inspiring and motivating speaker.