It is a leader’s responsibility to create the best possible environment for their team and there’s no better way to get insight into how to do that than leveraging employee engagement. Tuning in to this episode of Talk Talent to Me, you’ll hear all about our guest, CPO of Gentrack, Fran Caldwell, why she has such a positive attitude towards her work, the responsibilities she has at her company, and the impact she has made at Gentrack. We delve into the critical nature of employee engagement before discussing the importance of building trust among employees in order to gain these insights from employee engagement. Our guest goes on to talk about key motivators for an engaged workforce and how that varies between generations. Fran even shares the metrics she uses at Gentrack to measure the success of employee engagement and how to evaluate them. Finally, hear how you can handle negative engagement survey results and get some incredible advice about creating a career as a CPO.

Key Points From This Episode:

• The importance of being proud of your role in HR

• Fran shares how she sees her responsibility at Gentrack

• How Fran makes sure employees trust the organization

• The key motivators for an engaged workforce

• How messaging needs to be adjusted for different generations

• Fran shares her strategy for measuring employee engagement success

• Fran tells us how she handles negative results from surveys

• Our guest gives advice for listeners wanting to forge a career like her own

Quotes:

“If you work in the people space, every day is an opportunity. And if you focus on it being challenging and in a negative way, well then frankly, how do you get out of bed every day?” — Fran Caldwell [0:02:31]

“When you come into a new business or when you’re in these roles, you absolutely need to be led by insights and the only way you’re going to get these insights is by asking a lot of questions but importantly, listening to the answers.” — Fran Caldwell [0:10:00]

“Engagement and productivity metrics are intrinsically linked.” — Fran Caldwell [0:17:15]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Frances Caldwell

Gentrack

Anastasia Pshegodskaya is the Director of Talent Acquisition at Remote—a global employment platform that eliminates barriers to international hiring so that great companies can work with great people—and she begins our conversation by explaining why she’s always been more susceptible to working from home. We unpack Amazon’s recent back-to-the-office mandate, why many other companies are trying to get their employees back into the office space, how trust is essential to creating successful remote work environments, and remote work limitations to be aware of. We also discover how Anastasia and her team onboard talent remotely, the talent-specific process that keeps changing as a company evolves, the role of AI at Remote, and why “changing lives” is one of the main reasons for Anastasia’s joy at work.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Anastasia Pshegodskaya details her work-from-home lifestyle even before joining Remote.

• Her thoughts on Amazon’s back-to-office mandate, and why many others are doing the same.

• The importance of trust in building a successful remote work environment.

• Exploring the limitations of remote work and when it’s more beneficial to be in the office.

• How Anastasia onboards talent remotely and still makes them feel like part of the team.

• Her journey to joining Remote, what her role entails, and some notable successes so far.

• How talent-specific processes change and evolve in line with a company’s growth.

• A closer look at Anastasia’s candidate application review process.

• The role of AI, and how the Remote team ensures they’re using AI responsibility.

• Why HR and other people-focused teams are happy to adopt evolving AI tools.

• Anastasia explains what she loves most about her job.

Quotes:

“For great talent; for candidates; job seekers, remote work remains a thing. This is something that inspires them and what they want to have in their lives, and I think that it really comes down to flexibility and having the ability to choose where you work and how you work.” — Anastasia Pshegodskaya [0:04:22]

“There is a common misconception, in my opinion, that remote teams lose productivity – the customers that we’ve been serving don’t see any productivity loss. On the opposite, they see that the switch to remote work enables more efficient collaboration and communication.” — Anastasia Pshegodskaya [0:05:29]

“It comes down to the fact that you just need to trust the people that you hire.” — Anastasia Pshegodskaya [0:06:08]

“Every day, my team is changing someone’s life, and I do think that we’re doing this in a good way.” — Anastasia Pshegodskaya [0:31:18]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Anastasia Pshegodskaya on LinkedIn

Remote

Cobie AI

Endorsed

LHH

The mental wellbeing of employees is a crucial part of the overall success of any organization. Today on Talk Talent To Me, we’re joined by the CHRO of Harvard Business Publishing, Angela Cheng-Cimini to discuss self-advocacy, career development, and most importantly, mental health. Angela shares how her father encouraged her to get into HR, why you (and your boss) need to advocate for yourself without being braggadocious, the importance of elevator pitches, ways to enhance your sphere of influence, be more visible at work, and so much more! We delve into the Mental Health First Aid Program and her current focus on mental health at Harvard Business Publishing. We even talk about how to measure success in mental health programs and what to do when a company doesn’t prioritize the mental wellbeing of its employees. Finally, our guest shares some pearls of wisdom about reflecting on your career, finding motivation, and knowing when it’s time to move on.

Key Points From This Episode:

• How Angela’s dad inspired her career path to become CHRO of Harvard Business Publishing.

• The importance of self-advocacy and the line between advocacy and braggadocious-ness.

• Angela encourages everyone to practice their elevator pitches.

• How to enhance your sphere of influence in your organization.

• Why making the case for your value is a shared responsibility between you and your boss.

• What Angela is busy with right now: the mental health of her employees!

• How to handle working in organizations that do not prioritize mental health.

• Angela explains what mental health first aiders are and what they do.

• The three business units in Harvard Business Publishing and her role in each unit.

• Angela tells us about the role they are recruiting for at the moment.

• How to measure the success of employee mental health programs.

• Angela shares how she reflects on her own career motivations.

Quotes:

“Know what’s important to your boss.” — Angela Cheng-Cimini [0:10:17]

“The bigger you enlarge your sphere of influence, the more likely you are to have allies in the organization and people who will think of you when there’s a piece of work that you can easily slot into.” — Angela Cheng-Cimini [0:10:25]

“Showing up for work is not just about your success, but how you make others successful.” — Angela Cheng-Cimini [0:12:11]

“[There’s no] single indicator. It’s a whole host of things that feed into whether or not employees can show up and be their best every day.” — Angela Cheng-Cimini [0:26:29]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Angela Cheng-Cimini on LinkedIn

Harvard Business Publishing

‘How to Become More Visible at Work’

Mental Health First Aid Program