Going Remote with DaCodes’ Mauricio Moreno
This episode, DaCodes’ co-founder and CEO, Mauricio Moreno, talks about how he grew a company to over 50 employees, how staff responded to moving to remote working, and the benefits of hiring junior positions remotely.Mauricio Moreno is one of the Co-Founders at DaCodes, a software boutique specialized in App & Web Development, UX/UI Design, and Digital Transformation for Enterprises and Start-Ups. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of People Analytics:Building a mobile app development company for third-party clients in Mexico.Growing a company to 50 employees working in a physical office.The challenges of working remotely and how to overcome them.The benefits of remote hiring.How artificial intelligence will revolutionize HR practices.How generative AI tools can be used to create titles, summaries, and timestamps for podcast episodes.Resources:DaCodesStaffGeekConnect with Mauricio Moreno:LinkedInConnect with the host:Lindsay Patton on LinkedInLindsay Patton by EmailQuotables:13:00 – “We started experimenting, bringing experts from outside the company to give meet ups, to give talks, to give presentations. We started doing a fitness challenge for the company remotely. So we started exploring a lot of activities, virtual activities to engage the people and the, the, the coders that were working with us before Covid, before, like when we were working in an office already had the codes culture on their, on their mind, on their heart. The challenge was to put that same culture on the new people that we were onboarding virtually, that people that never met or knew the office space that never worked in person with everyone. So that was a challenge.”14:30 - "A lot of people is more productive working from home. So we just need to make a system, to have a fast evaluations of the productivity, of the attitude of the people of their ways of working from home and, to keep the ones that are great and the ones that aren't. They can work in a physical office in other company. Right. But, it's a challenge you lose some things, but you win some new things if you are open to do the switch.”15:49 - "I have not one interview, but have five interviews with different people. Maybe the first one is with the HR department or, or with the recruiter then with the manager, then with another manager and maybe with the CEO and the traditional ways to do that in person, right? Of, in a physical office in a physical space. And we were doing in person interviews. So we were spending maybe two hours from the time that the candidate came to the office or got to the office and then make the coffee and make the desk beautiful. And make everything perfect for the interview. And then make, have some chatting, have some gossip before the formal interview, then do the interview then I think in average, you have between one and two hours for candidate. And when you do virtual interviews or remote hiring, you can do interviews. You can do the first screening of maybe 25 minutes. Right. And also you can see that if the during the first 10 minutes, the candidate is not what you were looking for, you can go a little bit faster. You can tell the candidate that he's lacking some of the skills that you need or some of the experience that you need. And you can end the interview quickly if, when you're in person, you cannot do that. “21:17 - "But then when you open up to different cultures, to different countries, even to different cities, inside Mexico people is very different. So when we open up to different talent from different countries, you start getting a bowl of fruits with not only with apples, but with bananas and with maybe a watermelon over there, maybe oranges, so you start getting this diversity, this mix that it's great for the company people, software engineers mainly, they like to meet new people from other countries to see what they talk about. 33:18 - "Having generative AI on your Google Drive, you can just tell the Google AI bot, Hey, give me the report of, I don't know, something with all these documents I have in here. Or give me the, I've been exploring a tool this, you will like this one for the podcast, which is you can, you just upload the MP3 file or the MP4 file to the program, and it gives you instantly. It gives you the transcript. Okay it selects it, it knows which speaker is who, who is who. And so it segments the transcript by speaker. And then you can, you just push a button that says AI generate AI, and it generates like 20 blocks of content from the options for the podcast name or podcast title for this episode to the description or the summary of the episode to the bio of the speaker, to the time, the timestamps of the podcast with all the topics that were talked during the timestamp questions and answers that were talked during the episode. So it is crazy what is happening. And I think in the next three months, we will have a lot of good tools.”
18 Maj 202338min
Low-budget HR Ideas for Startups with Pinnacle Advertising’s Mary Williams
In this episode, Pinnacle Advertising’s Head of People Mary Williams talks about how leaders can show their team gratitude, how to keep staff engaged in a hybrid work model, and ways you can show your staff they’re valued without spending a lot of money.Mary Wiliams is the Head of People at Pinnacle Advertising and has been working in HR for over a decade.Mary has a proven track record in working with startups and setting others up for success; and developing and motivating cohesive, goal-oriented, and high-performing teams. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of People Analytics:The benefits of showing gratitude in the workplace.How leaders can show their team gratitude.The value of active listening.How to find a job you find fulfilling.How to be creative with a limited budget.Low-budget ideas to lift up your staff.How to keep staff engaged in a hybrid work model.Resources:Pinnacle AdvertisingThe Philosophy of IkigaiStaffGeekConnect with Mary Williams:LinkedInTwitterConnect with the host:Lindsay Patton on LinkedInLindsay Patton by EmailQuotables3:33 - “Another really important component of active listening is that you want to acknowledge what the other person’s saying, pay good close attention but don’t interrupt.”8:45 - “So hearing great job is less effective than great job in leading that meeting this morning I could tell everyone was more involved and engaged because you took time to hear them out and were more active in that contribution so using that specificity in the verbal compliments went a really long way.”13:00 - “One day I came to work and there was the big stuffed animal Bunny on my desk and it said ‘some-bunny appreciates you’ and it was a note from our CEO and I was tickled by that and I thought well that’s super cute thank you so much let’s take it a step further and so we recreated that appreciation bunny to be a traveling trophy.”14:14 - “Tangible items in this increasingly digital world we’re living in they’re becoming valuable I see it with teenagers leaning toward polaroid cameras and those awful point-and-shoot cameras that we used to hate, there’s something valuable about tangibility in a digital landscape.”
7 Mars 202326min
Making the Hiring Process More Efficient and Effective with HireReach’s Marlene Brostrom
In this episode, HireReach’s Project Manager Marlene Brostrom talks about the benefits of the skills-based hiring model, the ways employers make hiring decisions, and how to reduce bias in the hiring process.Marlene Brostrom is a Project Manager at West Michigan Works! where she oversees, plans and directs various aspects of the HireReach program including program design.Marlene is a Certified Business Solutions Professional with over 10 years of experience managing and delivering programs in workforce and community development.. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of People Analytics:How to make the hiring process more efficient and effective.What a skills-based hiring model looks like.What’s been causing changes in the labor market.The ways employers make hiring decisions.The importance of qualifications when getting hired.How skills-based hiring helps reduce bias.Interviewing techniques to avoid bad hires.The partnership between HR and talent acquisition.How to leverage your organizational culture.Resources:HireReachWest Michigan Works!Opportunity@WorkStaffGeekConnect with Marlene Brostrom:LinkedInConnect with the host:Lindsay Patton on LinkedInLindsay Patton by EmailQuotables:1:08 - “Skills-based hiring is a good quick high-level term to explain what it is but it’s essentially helping employees with the decision of selecting talent using skills as a way to assess and measure people and really help the organization understand what makes a good fit for their workforce, for their jobs.”07:50 - “Harvard Business Review shared that 60 percent of the US workforce does not have a 4-year degree, 76 percent of black workers do not have a degree, 83 percent of Latin Ex workers do not have a 4-year degree, and 81 percent of rural workers do not have a degree and that’s really important to say there’s all these people that have different backgrounds, different learning experience that may still have the skills needed to do the job but by employers not fully looking at their job description and keeping that college degree on there because that’s what they’ve done, you’re eliminating a huge pool of people.”13:05 - “People can get overwhelmed, I always use the analogy for weight loss I don’t know why it fascinates me but we all know there are certain things you need to do to lose weight, you’ve got to work out, you should track your food, drink water, sleep but sometimes that can feel overwhelming so even any baby steps you can take so we always say with the hiring process a couple of things is to go it doesn’t have to happen overnight continuous improvement is a journey maybe make some baby steps.”
21 Feb 202328min
HR Skeptic - Deconstructing HR Norms with Mach49’s Kim Chaumillon
This episode, SVP of People at Mach49 Kim Chaumillon talks about why she is skeptical of HR, the negative impacts of annual performance reviews, and how to utilize surveys to support data and analytics.Kim Chaumillon has worked in HR for over 2 decades and is now the SVP of People at Mach49. Kim is recognized as a successful HR leader that is pragmatic and execution-oriented, with an ability to build and lead a motivated and high-performing global HR organization. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of People Analytics:Where HR skepticism comes from.What the deconstruction of HR looks like.Why there’s a pushback to changing the way people work.The extra challenges women have in the workplace.How to bring more women into work.What the ‘school hours workforce’ includes.How analytics supports the deconstruction of work norms.The benefits and drawbacks of working at a startup.The negatives of annual performance reviews.How to utilize surveys to support data and analytics.Resources:Mach49Dr. Ellen Joan NelsonPredictions for 2023: Redefining Work, The Workforce, And HRCollabworksHumanCentric LabsLead the Work: Navigating a World Beyond EmploymentChatGPTTrimbleStaffGeekConnect with Kim Chaumillon:LinkedInEmailConnect with the host:Lindsay Patton on LinkedInLindsay Patton by EmailQuotables8:32 - “They don’t realize why the current industrial revolution model was put in place which was at a time when inputs largely equaled outputs so if you wanted to increase output you just increased more hours into a factory or whatever it wasn’t necessarily knowledge work and it was a mechanism to deliver predictable returns, so if we could standardize jobs if we could clearly clarify the work that was meant to be done, the workers could do the work and management would have a predictable outcome.”9:35 - “In order for me as a leader to feel comfortable that the work’s getting done I need to see the workers doing the work and I do believe some of this rush back to the office in the name of culture and collaboration is really just leaders don’t have the tools to understand what's going on in their organization, there’s a lack of trust and quite frankly they might not like that their Zoom square is the same size as everybody else's.”13:10 - “The idea of school hours is basically a 9-3 type of job so a work schedule that allows people to drop kids off and pick them back up and have that be the nature of the job so it’s basically a 9-3, call it 5 or 6 hours a day if we could have somebody productively employed for 25 to 30 hours a week there’s work that needs to be done we just have to think differently about how we structure the work.”
9 Feb 202331min
Implementing Boundaries in the Workplace with TroopHR’s JaNaye Norman-Halligan
JaNaye Norman-Halligan is a TroopHR Member and a Senior People Operations Consultant for Empowered People.JaNaye has over 10 years of success championing a people-first approach to blending strategy with emotional intelligence to craft authentic employee experiences.JaNaye has repeated accomplishments enabling companies to build influential People and Talent strategies, reimagine organizational structures, and prototype innovative employee engagement initiatives. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of People Analytics:How to be mindful and intentional with HR decisions.Using data to inform how you manage people.How to implement healthy boundaries in the workplace.What code-switching is.Ways to learn about HR outside of formal education.How to identify optics within organizations.Ways to build a positive work culture.Resources:TroopHRStaffGeekConnect with JaNaye Norman-Halligan:LinkedInConnect with the host:Lindsay Patton on LinkedInLindsay Patton by EmailQuotables7:55 - “Taking time for my mental health, so having a licensed psychologist that I see when I’m going through these really emotional heavy employee focused ER cases or I’m going through things where the empath in me is like what else can I be doing that may be outside of where I’m supporting my company, and it’s also about technological boundaries, I am a firm believer of setting my do not disturb for 7 pm on my phone, on my computer, it does not matter what it is if it’s after 7 and I have not responded to you it’s because I’m going to see it the next day.”9:18 - “Making those boundaries known, I have my gym workout every morning on my calendar, I have snack breaks, I have lunch breaks, I am taking walking meetings, you will know this is a walking meeting and being upfront about those boundaries so when they are crossed it doesn't come across that my passion is mistaken for anger which is very easy to do for a diverse leader but this is something that we acknowledged and agreed upon.“19:52 - “It’s more around making sure we don’t become obsessed with the idea of tokenism in the workplace, I have turned down job opportunities I’ve left interview processes because I’ve asked the question how do I make sure that I’m not the first and only diverse leader in your organization it’s well you won’t be but we’re really working on it, oh we’ve got people over here, no that wasn’t the question I was asking you are you making sure that you’re advocating for me not only as a diverse leader externally but internally as well.”24:31 - “Making sure that we don't have cultures that are strictly focused around vices, I think the biggest thing is alcohol, happy hours, or hey what are you drinking or we’re going to the bar after work, how can we create new things that don’t tie people to a vice and we’re cooking, we’re meditating, we’re doing yoga, new healthy ways for people to be involved and have fun at work.”28:03 - “It’s very easy to focus on the negative pieces of your career because its hey what could I have done better or improved on but I think you have to gather with a purpose and the more people that are aware that this is happening the more that we are creating a place where people can feel psychologically safe at work.”31:51 - “What I really like about how work is becoming more flexible and I like how especially with remote work there is that opportunity to take an hour and take a nap, or go for a walk or workout or do something that will help that slump that you usually get in the middle of the day and I think as humans we’re very fluid and so we have those moments where its like oh yea we’re productive and then we have those moments where it’s like ah I just feel like I dont have any energy so to be expected to have the same kind of productivity 9 to 5 every single day I think that’s asking a little too much.”
13 Dec 202236min
Introducing Low-cost Benefits that Create Big Impacts with Deli Star’s Lisa Whealon
Lisa Whealon is the VP of People and Culture at Deli Star and has over 15 years of experience working in HR, People, and Culture. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of People Analytics:How to see the opportunity in setbacks.What it’s like creating person-centered programs.Why having creative benefits are more effective than traditional ones.Different innovative benefits that increase employee engagement and well-being.Challenges for parents in the workplace.The issues with flexible time off policies.How to offer low-cost benefits that have big impacts on employees.The benefits of offering employees sabbaticals.Resources:Deli StarStaffGeekConnect with Lisa Whealon:LinkedInEmailConnect with the host:Lindsay Patton on LinkedInLindsay Patton by EmailQuotables3:34 - “Their attitudes really was the key ingredient for our success because I think many would have wallowed in that grief and seen that as an opportunity to slow down and perhaps stop and the team here did quite the opposite they said gosh that is really sad but what can we do to continue on what can we do to make better.”7:18 - “The standard boilerplate benefits especially in the market today, you kind of just make an assumption that an employer’s going to have those things, they’re going to have 41K, they’re going to have health benefits, that’s a given at this point so I like to think about benefits from this wow perspective.”11:46 - “Parents were so motivated and inspired by a company giving back in that way that we saw that from a productivity lense we didn't lose any productivity, people would be sure to make up the work in other ways in other times because they valued having the baby there in such a strong way.”15:49 - “When we think about these wow benefits, not every single employee can participate in every single benefit so it’s really more of an al a carte menu, that our goal is to create a wow benefit that you can find a wow benefit that you can participate in that is meaningful to you and that is really impactful to your particular personal situation in your life.”29:30 - “Start where you can start, not everything has to happen all at the same time so think of those little intentional ways that you can show employees that you care outside of your standard benefit offerings and just build upon them from there.”
22 Nov 202231min
Putting the Human into HR with YWCA’s Sheila Holman
Sheila Holman is the VP of Human Resources at the YWCA Nashville and Middle Tennesee and has almost 10 years of experience of working in HR roles.Sheila is passionate about HR bringing out the best in people by matching them with roles that allow them to thrive, and serving as a safe place to process workplace struggles. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of People Analytics:The best parts of managing a team.Transitioning into the non-profit space.The difference between internal and external clients.The importance of giving everyone in an organization a voice.How to approach situations where employees are underperforming.The value of getting to know each one of your employees.The different desires different generations have.The accessibility of communication.How to adjust training based on what people need.Resources:YWCA Nashville & Middle TennesseeNecessary EndingsStaffGeekConnect with Sheila Holman:LinkedInConnect with the host:Lindsay Patton on LinkedInLindsay Patton by EmailQuotables7:21 - “It really became more than a job it became this life fulfilling thing that I do that not only makes money, makes sure I can eat and take care of my child but it’s also something that I can feel good about everyda. I get to hear the stories of these ladies having brand new lives, I get to see these youth grow, I get to participate in all of the wonderful programmes that the YW does, so I’m really happy to blend into that.”10:16 - “You need to know the receptionist, you need to know the assistant, you need to know the janitor, those people have the inside scoop you know nothing about, and their thoughts and their ideas and their messages are just as important as the ones in the department heads as the CEO the COO as they see and know things that maybe the rest of us don’t, so I feel like HR sometimes is the bridge.”15:44 - “It’s scary to admit that I’m not happy, you’re worried that you’re going to offend your boss, your collegues, you’re afraid criticism is going to come back in the form of retalation so I think that being an employer that not only accepts these open conversations but encourages them, like you said the shoulders relax it helps people have less fear in their day to day life too.”24:46 - “Looking at my population that I’m working with what is my biggest struggle? Is it going to be that we have alot of this is their first job and they don’t understand the terminology at all, is my biggest struggle going to be these folks are really busy and they need the quick and dirty. So I think it’s looking at every group and breaking down what are my biggest struggles for this group, if I’m sitting in their seat what do I need to know and why do I need to know it?”
8 Nov 202230min
Workplace Community and Communication with North One’s Sarah Livnat
Sarah Livnat is the Head of People at North One and has over 20 years of experience in creating sustainable solutions for customers and communities, with a focus on inclusion and social and economic justice for those left out of the mainstream.Sarah is an open-minded and adaptive leader and specializes in bringing together communities and building culture. Here are a few of the topics we’ll discuss on this episode of People Analytics:How to make connections and build community.Ways to improve employee engagement.How to build a community in a global team.The importance of mental health in the workplace.How to have a strategic approach in your communication.Having mindful strategic communication when going through layoffs.Why transparency is important in the workplace.How to utilize surveys to get the best employee feedback possible.Resources:North OneStaffGeekConnect with Sarah Livnat:LinkedInConnect with the host:Lindsay Patton on LinkedInLindsay Patton by EmailQuotables:1:19 “I really believe in the power of community to do hard things, together we can always accomplish more than we can alone.”14:43 - “Communication must be very intentional, first of all, communication is very important, you can have the best program that you create in people and culture and you can make it perfect it can be a fantastic benefit that you are providing, you’ve really thought through all the details but if you have not thought through your go to market plan, and I’m borrowing a product management term in terms of taking a new product or service to your clientele if you haven't thought through your marketing plan and delivery on that then you are shooting yourself in the foot, you are handicapping yourself you’ve got to be able to get out in front of people and talk to them about and explain what the benefits of what you’re doing and why you’re doing it and why it’s going to be helpful for them.”25:56 - “Be very focused on who you’re serving and the why behind that and to really think about your employees as your customer.”
1 Nov 202226min
