HRchat Podcast
Listen to the HRchat Podcast by HR Gazette to get insights and tips from HR leaders, influencers and tech experts. Topics covered include HR Tech, HR, AI, Leadership, Talent, Recruitment, Employee Engagement, Recognition, Wellness, DEI, and Company Culture.
Hosted by Bill Banham, Bob Goodwin, Pauline James, and other HR enthusiasts, the HRchat show publishes interviews with influencers, leaders, analysts, and those in the HR trenches 2-4 times each week.
The show is approaching 1000 episodes and past guests are from organizations including ADP, SAP, Ceridian, IBM, UPS, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Simon Sinek Inc, NASA, Gartner, SHRM, Government of Canada, Hacking HR, McLean & Company, UPS, Microsoft, Shopify, DisruptHR, McKinsey and Co, Virgin Pulse, Salesforce, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Coca-Cola Beverages Company.
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Podcast Music Credit"Funky One"Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
HRchat Podcast
2024 in Review with Bill Banham and Chris Bjorling
In this episode, Bill Banham and Chris Bjorling reflect on the world of work in 2024.
Join us for an engaging discussion on the shifting paradigms within the HR industry and beyond. We'll explore the significance of recent professional gatherings, like the Disrupt HR event in Buffalo and the ATD conference in New Orleans, and what they reveal about the future of work. From the role of civility in workplace dynamics to the transformative potential of AI and tech in HR processes, this conversation with Chris Biorling is packed with valuable insights. Plus, we dive into the complexities of hybrid work and the bespoke approaches necessary for global organizations to thrive.
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Speaker 2:Chris, it's my pleasure to welcome you back to the HR Chat Show. How are you doing, my friend?
Speaker 3:Bill, I am doing well. Thank you so much for not only your friendship but the opportunity to be invited in today and have a moment with you, so I appreciate this time.
Speaker 2:And I appreciate you too, particularly because we're recording this right at the end of the working year, the very last day before most people go off for the holidays and have far more important things to do, I'm sure. So it's good to get a bit of your time, Chris, before we all wrap up for the holidays. Why don't you start, sir, by reintroducing yourself to our audience?
Speaker 3:Excellent. I'm Chris Biorling. I am the president and CEO of Fidelo Inc. We've been around since 1987. I started the company back then and during that span we've enjoyed a wonderful organizational career, including tons of different clients and having the opportunity to work in a full spectrum of the HR space over those years, and we're excited to continue moving forward with the lessons we learn Each and every year. We focus on new things, things and for me, it's always a bright new day when I come to work, because there's always some challenge that I've either seen before or there's a twist to it that's new. That gives me an opportunity to think and be creative, and I really like to do that.
Speaker 2:Chris, how was 2024 for you? What were some highlights? Can you share a few highlights with us?
Speaker 3:Great. Yeah, 2024 was a good, a good year. We picked up several new clients. We're a smaller organization, but we picked up several new clients and that was fun because they're on different pieces, so sometimes we come into the world of HR and choose something very specific like succession planning Our client chooses that with us.
Speaker 3:Planning, uh, our client chooses that with us um, but this year we had the opportunity to work with with one of our groups that we're doing the the full spectrum of hr for them, from a cradle to grave standpoint, and it's fun to be able to work with them and and set vision with them and to provide opportunities for them to expand and grow and and you know, basically create a people program for their organization, as they're looking to triple in size that they've never had before.
Speaker 3:And so that's one of the premier highlights for me was just that opportunity to get into a ground level with an organization and role that you know love the other ones too where we come in and handle a specific request and need, but that, from the ground up, gives you the opportunity to really take a moment and to have a lasting impact for an organization, not only from the people perspective but also the financial perspective because, when properly done, our tools and processes can really really drive a bottom line forward, and that's that's a great thing.
Speaker 3:But we also won this year something that we kind of like it was kind of a surprise to us but we won a gold in the Stevie's classifications for American Business Awards and that was basically for being a management consulting group and it kind of gave credibility to our whole career as being consultants in this field career as being consultants in this field and not just giving a cookie cutter approach to our clients but giving them a bespoke model that we address the needs of the organization specifically and focus on solutions for them in a way that leverages their culture, strengthens their bottom line position for their financial area as well as what their you know environmental maturity model is. So it's been a great year and it was, that was a great award for us and we were very pleased with that. So thank you, thank you for asking for me I've had many highlights.
Speaker 2:A couple of my highlights included getting to hang out with you a couple of times. So first off, we hung out in Buffalo, New York, as you and I are co-organizers of Disrupt HR in Buffalo, we relaunched that and that was lots of fun and we had loads of people there and you did a Disrupt talk your first Disrupt talk and you rocked it, so that was fun. And then we got to hang out in New Orleans because we both covered ATD back in May I guess it was May, so that was nice. Chris, Just wanted to add that to today's conversation.
Speaker 3:Well, thank you, I did not short that. I was thinking you were going to ask that later. So yes that it was a great time for us to be together and I did enjoy the disrupt. I enjoyed that more than I thought I would. I you know, I've seen the things and it, but being there and the energy in the room, it was a blast and I encourage anybody who listens to this if you have a disrupt in your area, go to it. If you want to travel to Buffalo the next time we do it and see us in person, that'd be great.
Speaker 3:Bill does these all around the globe, but they are fun. It's just a great chance for people to get out and express things and you hear a lot of great segments in a short bit of time. It's kind of like Micro learning on overload. It's a wonderful thing and yeah. So, and going to being able to attend atd with you this past summer, as I was, or past spring as I was recovering from a broken ankle, was great. I think it swelled like five times too large at times as I was walking around the floor down there, but it was a. It was a blast. We saw a lot of great people. We talked to a lot of great individuals. It was a wonderful moment for us and, uh, just spending time with you was great too my only regrets, I think, was my recommendation for the restaurant in new orleans chris.
Speaker 2:So listeners. On the last night, chris and I went out for a bike trip and uh, I said, oh, I found this place. It looks pretty good and the food wasn't great, was it? So thank you for bearing with me you know what I had?
Speaker 3:oysters. You can't really screw up an oyster, okay, let's just. Let's just put it that way. I I really enjoyed it still. So maybe you didn't like your fried plate, but I like the fresh oysters, so those are good.
Speaker 2:So okay, all right, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Um chris 2024 famously infamously saw shRMs move away from the E in DEI, of course, and instead there's more focus put on the diversity, the inclusion and civility. What does civility, chris, particularly civility in the workplace, mean to you?
Speaker 3:Well, you know, there are a lot of different things that are associated with civility, but one of the biggest things in this from something you know somebody else being promoted versus you being promoted the civility that we need is really just, you know, we all need to get along and it's all going to be okay, and we need to focus in that area and be able to work with our coworkers to produce, but not just produce, but to support each other in our own personal growth.
Speaker 3:And I think that's one of the things that we miss a lot and have missed over the years is that if I support you in your career pathing, that only enhances me as I move forward in my career pathing too, because it's an opportunity for me to help you develop and for me to help you in developing. I learned how to develop somebody else and maybe in that reflective moment can produce better results for myself as I continue to grow and advance in the organization. So there's a lot of opportunity out there for us in the civility marks. I think it puts us up more on an equal playing field and we can't do us versus them anymore.
Speaker 4:Once in a while, an event series is born that shakes things up, it makes you think differently and it leaves you inspired. That event is Disrupt HR. The format is 14 speakers, five minutes each and slides rotate every 15 seconds. If you're an HR professional, a CEO, a technologist or a community leader and you've got something to say about talent, culture or technology, disrupt is the place. It's coming soon to a city near you. Learn more at disrupthrco.
Speaker 2:Okay, thank you very much. Okay, I'm going to take a people and performance podcast approach to the next couple of questions, in that I'm going to challenge you. I'm going to challenge you to answer in 60 seconds or less for the next two answers. Here we go. First question Reflecting on 2024, chris, what are some of the most significant trends or challenges you've observed in human performance improvement, and how has Fidelio helped organizations address them?
Speaker 3:Go, Thank you. So first, we've seen a huge advancement in artificial intelligence into everything and anything, and that's been big. We focused on. We're seeing a focus on the well-being of the employees in the workplace. That's huge. We're seeing, you know, a continued focus on diversity and inclusion and equity in a lot of organizations, even though SHRM's given it up. But we're also seeing a pushback on that in a lot of organizations too. So how do you handle the reeling from that? And so that's part of what we have to do. And then you know, what we've seen in addition to that is just more organizations using technology in their HR space, because it becomes a better tool for them to move people and to manage the resources that they have, versus I'm just doing a headcount and I'm just making sure everybody's paid. So, inside of that space for us at Fidel, we've been addressing every one of those issues.
Speaker 3:We're looking at the integration of intelligently focused AI into our tools. Why do I say that? Because sometimes just putting AI in a tool set doesn't make it intelligent. It needs to be there to leverage a moment and still keep the human factor of the individual that's working in the process. But there is a ton to do and enhancements can be made with integration of AI across the board. Well-being you know we're focusing on that as we work with our clients and getting them together as well as the concept of diversity, equity and inclusion. You know the ones that are still proceeding in that area. It is good and there are opportunities for us, and we've used them for our tools and our processes to help people move along in different areas and balance the playing field.
Speaker 3:And then, of course, we do one of our spokes is technology. So we are there putting technology in place and we're adapting it as the culture adapts. And one of the biggest adaptations we're starting with is a further addressment of multiple generations in a workforce. One tool or one approach doesn't always fit every generation. That's there. How do you get a happy medium? And that's where we're focusing. Thanks for listening to this episode of the HR Chat Podcast. If you enjoy the audio content we produce, you'll love our articles on the HR Gazette. Learn more at HRGazettecomcom. And now back to the show.
Speaker 2:Okay, and two other areas are succession planning and career management. They've become critical focus areas for orgs dealing with talent shortages in 2024, brought on by, for example, uh, the onset of ai and what that's meant for real people in the office. Uh, what notable successes or innovations has fidelio's clients and partners introduced in those areas in 2024? In 60 seconds or less go?
Speaker 3:okay, 60 seconds or less, I'll try. You do this just to shut us up, you know. Know that, right, we know, we understand that. We see right through that blend. Anyway, now you're going to start my 60 seconds.
Speaker 3:You know we've been a strong contributor in succession planning and career management since our inception.
Speaker 3:It's been a focus for us over time, and what we've seen in this past year, though, is a number of people looking at succession or career management and they're calling it mobility, and they're saying how do I get mobility in my workforce?
Speaker 3:How do I let them understand that they're not just, you know, jane and Jane's that job, and Jane will never change. So we've helped a lot of organizations this past year focus on that concept of mobility through our succession tools and our career management tools to allow people to put in their own profiles, like where do they want to be when they grow up, which is my favorite statement to them and then also, then how does that match the skills and knowledge requirements of the organization moving forward? And so giving them objective-based tools allows them to the organizations to focus on getting relevant information and making it easier when you have the employee and the manager included in the process, putting data in for you, to mine, as an HR team of administrators that are out there. So in that light, we have been very focused on meeting those needs and addressing that concern that we've been facing Every time we've gone to conferences. Here it's always how do I fix this? So we've been fun at that.
Speaker 2:Okay, so, outside of those companies that you guys service or the partners that you work with, I wonder if there are any brands that have particularly impressed you this year. Perhaps they've been in the news for their efforts to improve company culture, for example, or indeed from conversations that you've had with companies at events like, for example, atd in New Orleans. Maybe you spoke with some companies there that you thought, wow, these guys are doing incredible things to push the needle forward. Any insights around that?
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know that's a great question. We have focused, you know, for you and I, we've had a lot of guests on our People in Performance podcast that have focused on culture and that's, you know, what they focus on. And I have been an advocate of culture as being a key element for any solution in an organization since, basically, our inception as a company, because the culture really dictates what's going on. So, as we look at that, culture in and unto itself has become more relevant for people. It's no longer just well, this is our culture. It's now like this is the culture we want and this is how we can change it and how we can move to something that's new and different. And it's turning a ship. It's turning a big ship in an ice field sometimes, but it's a great opportunity to move forward.
Speaker 3:As far as you know, in meeting with people and stuff at ATD, there were a ton of great things that we saw at the ATD conference this year that inspired me and brought me together, but one of the best things because I've done hundreds of hours of interactive learning, video-based learning, whatever you want to call it Synthasia, the product, synthasia, which allows you to easily put together a video-based module, or Synthasia, I think, is what it's pronounced, but it allows you to put something together in video quickly and you can do it in 100 and some languages, and this creates a great way to do micro learning, learning at the point of need, so you can have pieces that are out there which just provide input to somebody along the way. That gives them a direct focus and it's easier to produce than it ever has been, and I've been overwhelmed by that, that opportunity and you know that's AI based and it's out there, but it is, it is being, it is being a wonderful tool for people.
Speaker 2:And just quickly, one other thing that we noticed in 2024 from our conversations with folks on the People in Performance podcast. I've had other conversations on the HR chat show, for example. Is this big move back to the office, getting folks physically back in the office, perhaps moving away from hiring folks who are in different time zones, away from hiring folks who are in different time zones, the onus being placed back on having real people in real environments? Do you think that's been a positive thing for company cultures and helping to identify any gaps and improve the organizational-wide performance, or is it actually a step backwards and we are now losing one of the big lessons that we had taken from the pandemic?
Speaker 3:well, what a, what a, what a loaded question. Um, yes, so, um, yeah, you know, we're seeing, we're having it and I have a daughter that was that had a transition change as she moved across country and getting a new job. And you know, just hearing her go through all the interviews and what does this company do? And how are they hybrid? How are they not hybrid? You know how many days in the office, fully, you know fully, remote, and all these things both models have.
Speaker 3:Um, well, all three models have have advantage you know, uh, everybody in the workplace you know coming into the office as an advantage. Everybody, you know, in a hybrid model has an advantage. Um, in some ways as well, does you know? People working remotely? One of the biggest things is that we kind of got used to this hybrid model and so it's hard sometimes when you just tell everybody, like some organizations are doing, you got to be back in work every five days a week or four days a week, we'll give you one day to be someplace else. Those are hard models now, but there are advantages to everybody being together, rubbing shoulders, versus having to, you know, have a meeting, connect someplace, but you lose people. You lose people who don't want to give up that freedom. And so I think you know, since we opened this can of hybrid workforces or standalone workforces, I think we're going to have this mix for forever, going to have this mix for forever. That's out there. And, like I say, you know there are advantages to each and every one of them, some of them you know.
Speaker 3:You lose top producers if you tell everybody that they have to be in the office and they've moved during this pandemic because it's cheaper for them to live in one part of the country or world than it is in another, and they're still producing, and they're still productive. You know it kind of goes back into. You know it kind of goes back into. You know, one of our mottos is that there isn't a silver bullet. One size doesn't fit all, you know, um.
Speaker 3:So, in light of this, is that there there are opportunities to to go together and you know and I see specifically organizations that are global in nature I don't necessarily always see the need for them to be back in the same room, you know, like a room in new york and a room in l, you know, so they can communicate. I think the flexibility for them to be hybrid at their local or even remote, and then still connect globally gives them a better work-life experience, the employees a better work-life experience and most likely, will produce better results over time. Now, having said that, there are people who need to be in an office. They won't focus until they're in there and doing it, and, you know, maybe it comes down to what's your work style. Let's get a new hybrid model that allows people to be either A or B or C.
Speaker 2:Okay, thank you, chris. That is clear as mud. Very good it is it?
Speaker 3:it is mud. That's the point. It is mud. It's harder. It's harder to stuff everything back into a can once you take the lid off, you know, and there are good things and bad things everywhere.
Speaker 2:So it is mud and that's why I said no at the beginning just finally for this particular conversation, as we look to wrap up our 2024 in review episode. But don't worry listeners, chris is going to be back very, very soon with a 2025 preview episode. But before we wrap up for today, how can our listeners connect with you?
Speaker 3:excellent, uh, so my organization is at wwwfidelolocom, so you can go there and learn more about the organization. If you want to connect with me, come to LinkedIn and I'm Christopher B Orling and I'm out there and tap into me, send a request. We'll become friends and then we'll share things over time. I look forward to anybody who wants to connect with me, because this is the best way to get to know people and to get to hear new ideas and new thoughts.
Speaker 2:Excellent. Well, that just leads me to say Chris, my friend, as always, it's a lovely pleasure. Thank you very much for being on the show. Thank you sir.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to the HR Chat Show. If you enjoyed this episode, why not subscribe and listen to some of the hundreds of episodes published by HR Gazette and remember for what's new in the world of work? Subscribe to the show, follow us on social media and visit hrgazettecom.
