Trevor Noah, Adam Grant, and Why Workhuman Live Should Be on Your Calendar with Jackye Clayton

What makes an HR conference truly exceptional? According to veteran attendee Jackye Clayton, it's the willingness to tackle tough issues while maintaining a human-centered approach - precisely what sets Workhuman Live apart from the crowd.

In this conversation with HRchat host Bill Banham, Jackye shares her enthusiasm for the upcoming Workhuman Live 2025 in Colorado. As a frequent attendee who ranks it among her top five HR conferences, Clayton offers unique insights into what makes this event special. Unlike conferences that create an artificial bubble of positivity, WorkHuman has consistently addressed challenging social movements like Me Too and responded to societal traumas such as the George Floyd murder. This authenticity reflects the event's commitment to making workplace practices genuinely human-centric.

The 2025 lineup promises exceptional content from thought leaders across critical areas. Adam Grant will explore psychological safety and hidden potential—essential for organizations looking to maximize internal talent development. Kelly Jones and Carrie Driver tackle the timely topic of navigating uncertainty with clarity, while Trevor Noah brings his unique global perspective to a discussion about AI and social responsibility. This blend of practical frameworks, inspiring ideas, and real-world applications creates an unmatched learning opportunity for HR professionals, talent executives, and business leaders who believe in the power of human-centered workplaces.

Whether you're focused on talent management, recognition programs, or inclusive leadership, WorkHuman Live offers insights that bridge theory and practice. 

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to HR Chat Show

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome to the HR Chat Show, one of the world's most downloaded and shared podcasts designed for HR pros, talent execs, tech enthusiasts and business leaders. For hundreds more episodes and what's new in the world of work, subscribe to the show, follow us on social media and visit hrgazettecom.

Speaker 2: 0:26

Hey, listeners, this is Billannum, your host today, and joining me back on the show is the awesome, amazing Jackie Clayton. Hey, jackie, how are you doing?

Speaker 3: 0:35

I'm doing great. Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2: 0:38

This is kind of part two of a look at two different upcoming events. In the previous conversation that Jackie and I had, we talked about Unleash America, which is happening in early May. I'm pretty upset that I can't make it, but Jackie's going to be there, so please collect with her at Unleash. And today we're going to be talking about WorkHuman WorkHuman Live 2025. It's in beautiful Colorado. Again, I can't be there, but Jackie can, and so we're going to get Jackie's take on what makes WorkHuman a unique event and one worth putting in your yearly calendar.

Speaker 2: 1:24

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 hrgazettecom. And now back to the show. Jackie, why don't you start by giving us a bit of an overview of the event? You've attended a few times before, I think right. Give us a bit of an overview of the event You've attended a few times before, I think right. Give us a bit of an overview of the event and what folks you see there, what folks you meet there and what makes it a fun event.

Speaker 3: 1:55

Thank you. Yes, I've been there several times. It's actually in my top five best HR conferences of all time top five best HR conferences of all time. It elevates the human side of HR, of course, but it has got so popular WorkHuman that used to be just the conference that they changed the whole company to go around that WorkHuman and now they have WorkHuman Live. It's really for people in the core of HR.

Speaker 3: 2:22

But what I've always loved about this particular event is that it's never hidden itself away from what difficult things that we were going on. Since I've been going to work human, I've been there while we were going over the Me Too movement in the United States. We had to deal with George Floyd and murders that were going on. That happened in Rochester, new York, and when you go to these places you have a feeling that you're supposed to ignore it and everyone's supposed to put on a happy face. But WorkHuman always deals with even the most difficult events and really sticks to their company mission in putting that to make practices human centric and you have a real sense of community and a real sense that we can get through this and get those pieces together. And I'm also excited this year in particular, because we know that inclusive leadership and doing that, giving recognition for people in top talent management has always been core to who WorkHuman is, and so it's just great to see it live, and, like you said, in beautiful Colorado.

Speaker 4: 3:39

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Speaker 2: 4:17

I think, with everything going on, it's nice to have events like Work Human, which try and spread a positive message. So and you did a great job there of sharing your experiences in the past and what you're looking forward to this year, because it's a cool brand. Ok, let's talk about folks that you are hoping to see there. Can you suggest a couple of speakers, maybe that you're hoping to see?

Speaker 3: 4:43

Well, I'm always excited about Adam Grant. I'm a real fan of Adam Grant, and I'm excited because he's going to be talking about psychological safety and the topic is called or the title is Hidden Potential, and so I love that Always trying to make sure that we're doing that or the title is Hidden Potential, and so I love that Always trying to make sure that we're doing that making the most or giving people the best opportunity to expand their talent at work. We're always looking at how we can boost our employees internally, and so I'm excited to hear Adam Grant's take on that. I'm also excited, you know, about Kelly Jones and Carrie Driver. They're going to be talking on a topic that is close to my heart uncertainty.

Speaker 3: 5:30

If you've ever seen my uncertainty era, they're going to be talking about navigating uncertainty with clarity and, as you know, in this political climate, especially here in the States, there's a lot of uncertainty and a lot of being nervous, and so a lot of people are going to be looking there, along with other global organizations, of managing uncertainty and how we can bring that to make it human-centered and something that we don't walk away from.

Speaker 3: 5:56

Then, absolutely one of the things that WorkHuman is known for is their absolute most wonderful keynotes. I will tell you a secret my first WorkHuman the keynote speaker was Michelle Obama, and it was the same year that it was Barack's last year as president of the United States. That was my first speaker. I was like you're never going to be able to top this, but this is a close second. Trevor Noah is going to be there, who we all love, know and love, and he's going to be looking at AI from a global perspective, and so I'm excited to hear what his insights are how we can be socially responsible. Of course, he has his own personal lens that he brings to the table, given his history, but he has a way of taking these big, complex issues and making it really easy to understand, and so I am absolutely thrilled to get a chance to see Trevor Noah.

Speaker 5: 7:02

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Speaker 2: 7:36

Okay, amazing, fantastic lineup. Lots of cool panels as well going on at the event, so it sounds like it's going to be a great time. We recorded an interview recently with jesse from work human uh, you should check that one out too, that and within that, we break down some of the data that they're looking at and we include a bit of a bit more of a preview, uh, to to the conference, jackie. More of a preview to the conference, jackie. Thank you very much for joining me again. How can folks connect with you?

Speaker 3: 8:06

Yes, so I spell my name J-A-C-K-Y-E Clayton and I'm at Jackie Clayton on all of your favorite social media sites. But if you need me quickly, you can always find me on LinkedIn. I'm on there at least 25% of my day.

Speaker 2: 8:24

Perfect, Jackie, until next time. Thanks very much for being my guest.

Speaker 3: 8:29

My pleasure.

Speaker 1: 8:33

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.