As HR leaders and the employees they oversee enter the third year of a global pandemic, the stakes are high for every working professional today. Vaccine mandates, employee retention amid the Great Resignation and enhancing employee experience continue to challenge even the most seasoned HR veteran.
To address these issues and more, the theme of the 2022 HR Tech Virtual conference is Defining & Driving a Culture of Purpose—and the online event’s keynote speakers will deliver research and experience-based insights that can help HR leaders reach their goals. The free conference is set for March 1-4.
Register here for HR Tech Virtual 2022
The virtual event’s series of keynote presentations starts off with Josh Bersin, global industry analyst, dean of Josh Bersin Academy and HRE columnist, at 11 a.m. March 1 with a talk entitled “Change, Challenges and Opportunities: What’s Ahead for HR and the Technology Market.”
Josh Bersin
Along with an overview of the HR tech market, Bersin’s research-supported perspectives will spotlight HR priorities, upskilling, talent retention and the vital role that internal mobility can play in any organization.
“The huge increase in job openings (more than 10 million as of now) has led to a very difficult recruiting environment. The big fix for this is to radically improve internal mobility, development and career pathways for existing employees,” says Bersin. “We know from our research that the number one reason people leave companies is “lack of growth,” so internal mobility is a vital new way to keep employees engaged and improve retention.”
Bersin also plans to highlight an emerging class of employee—the deskless worker.
“Our research shows that human-centered management practices like recognition, flexibility, empathy and development are as important to people working in a restaurant, manufacturing plant or driving a truck as they are to engineers or customer service reps,” he says, adding that employers will have to increase wages to retain these workers.
Meet the 2022 HR Tech Virtual keynote speakers
“The current job market is pushing hourly wages up so employers should get ready to just pay more per hour or per month while making sure benefits are competitive. But alongside these practices, focusing on creating a culture of trust, belonging and growth will make people happy at work,” says Bersin.
Here’s a look at the other keynote presentations:
- Gianna Driver, CHRO for cybersecurity and compliance provider Exabeam, will deliver insights on how high-performance business cultures thrive when acknowledging “everyone’s humanity.” Creating and sustaining a high-performance culture requires careful planning and execution, thoughtful communication and an employee-centric model that interconnects with all arms of the business, according to Driver. Her keynote is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. March 1.
- On March 2, WorkTech principal analyst and founder George LaRocque will deliver “No Room for Error: HR Tech for 2022 and Beyond” featuring research-validated frameworks for making smart HR tech buying decisions. There’s a new wave of HR technology innovation upon us and it’s bigger than anything we’ve seen before, according to LaRocque, who has analyzed more than 1,000 new HR technologies in the last year. His keynote starts at 4:45 p.m.
- Also on March 2, Dr. Britt Andreatta, CEO of 7th Mind Company, will deliver “Wired to Become: The Neuroscience of Purpose.” HR leaders will learn how to leverage purpose to create a better work environment, engaged employees, effective leaders and a positive culture that attracts and retains top talent. Her keynote starts at 11 a.m. on Day 2 of the virtual event.
- On March 3, Mark Stelzner, founder and managing principal for IA HR, will talk with two HR leaders about how purpose, people and HR technology come together and what that means to the future of work. His keynote address starts at 11 a.m.
- Later that day, Stacia Sherman Garr, co-founder and principal analyst, RedThread Research, will share how Unilever, PepsiCo and Johnson & Johnson are making a difference by integrating purpose into business during her presentation, “Putting Purpose in Your Leadership Pipeline.” Garr will also reveal RedThread’s research on how to sharpen organizational purpose, help leaders lead with purpose and develop new leaders to take on this key responsibility. Her talk begins at 4:45 p.m.