From Day One Conference

08/13/2020

The Future of Work After 'a Vast Economic Experiment' - From Day One

As the new world of work moves from crisis mode to the longer haul, where are we in the process? Kausik Rajgopal, managing partner of the West Coast office for McKinsey & Company, breaks down his pandemic work life into two categories: “unsustainable sprint,” followed by a “sustainable marathon.”
Rajgopal is keeping the values of a marathon in mind while considering new ways we’ll be working in a post-pandemic world, he said in a From Day One webinar last week. In a conversation Bryan Walsh, the future correspondent for Axios, Rajgopal laid out the need and opportunities to rethink the basic elements of how and where people do their work, as well as ways to maintain healthy workplaces in an increasingly digital world.
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The Future of Work After 'a Vast Economic Experiment'

08/12/2020

Financial Wellness: a Benefit Employees Need Right Now - From Day One

In the midst of the pandemic, even working-class families with jobs are now facing new headwinds in the form of reduced wages, depleted savings, health-care bills, and increased child-care burdens. A Pew Research Center survey found that “the impact is falling more heavily on lower-income adults, a group that was feeling significant financial pressure well before the current crisis.”
In a recent From Day One webinar, “Pay With a Shared Purpose,” several experts in the field of benefits explored ways for employers to provide better financial security for workers. Read some of the notable takeaways here.
Special thanks to our speakers Jon Schlossberg, Marina Vassilev, Suzanne Usaj, Kilolo Kijakazi, Maria Reis, and moderator Lydia Dishman. #FD1Conference

Financial Wellness: a Benefit Employees Need Right Now

08/10/2020

Corporate America, Your Employees Want a Word With You - From Day One

From Day One's recent webinar 'Bridging the Voice Gap: How Diverse Points of View Can Help a Company Thrive,' offered a frank conversation that examined the benefits of an open and honest workplace, while addressing why employees are often thwarted for speaking–and how employers can provide productive listening space for those who challenge the status quo.
The speakers all acknowledged that at the intersection of a pandemic and racial-justice movement, employers can no longer expect workers to simply show up and do their jobs as if their lives aren’t affected by the world outside. Managers have to take into account the needs and vulnerabilities of employees as they evolve, while creating the outlets for their opinions to be aired.

Many companies are making new efforts to embrace a more vocal workforce.

07/30/2020

How Empathy Can Lead to Equity in the Workplace - From Day One

The phrase often repeated during the protests over racial injustice, energized by the police killing of George Floyd, is that this time “feels different.” Amplifying that feeling was the response of Corporate America, which rushed to answer the bell.
Yet to prove they’re not just “woke-washing” their reputations, these organizations will need to take concrete steps toward real change. How they might do that was the topic of a panel discussion at From Day One’s July virtual conference, The New Push for Workplace Equity. In a conversation moderated by Lydia Dishman, an editor and writer for Fast Company, five leaders in the field of diversity and inclusion offered suggestions to corporate leaders who are eager to enact change.
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The phrase often repeated during the protests over racial injustice, energized by the police killing of George Floyd, is that this time “feels different.” In one of many media commentaries offering hope for lasting change, CNN’s John Blake, who covered riots sparked by the Rodney King police-b...

07/29/2020

Corporate America needs to move away from “diversity” as a catchphrase and move into real action that fosters more intersectional workplaces, said Tsedale M. Melaku, sociologist and author.
“Name what the problem is in the organization–racial equity, gender equity–and make it a core value of your organization, and properly fund these values so people of color aren’t doing that work within.”
July's virtual event offered insight on workplace equity and an emphasis on concrete action. Read takeaways, news, and what's next in this month's #FD1Conference newsletter.

https://mailchi.mp/fromdayone/corporate-america-wakes-up-to-systemic-racism-7989849

07/29/2020

Old Is New: a Compelling Case for Age Diversity in the Workplace - From Day One

When it comes to building better diversity and inclusion across a company, age is one element that corporate leaders often disregard or place lower on their priority list, according to Heather Tinsley-Fix, senior advisor of financial resilience at AARP. She spoke last week at From Day One’s July virtual conference, The New Push for Workplace Equity, offering a data-rich presentation on the impact of longevity on how we view talent. In it, she pointed out that limiting work opportunities for the growing older population–as has been the case, to a degree, in recent years–can have dire consequences, starting at the individual level.
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By the year 2024, nearly one quarter of the labor force is projected to be age 55 or older, double what it was in 1994, when the figure was just under 12%. This trend has dramatic implications for how we view the workforce. Age discrimination in the workplace is illegal, but nonetheless a widespread...

07/28/2020

The Racism of False Assumptions in the Office - From Day One

“You don’t look like a lawyer” was a comment often heard by the black female attorneys interviewed by Tsedale M. Melaku, a sociologist and author. Melaku had originally wanted to go to law school and work for a law firm herself, but was turned off by the unforgiving lifestyle. She also noticed another fact of legal life: There were few black female attorneys and close to zero black female partners. “I wondered–what is it about this space that creates this dynamic? How does race and gender impact their career trajectories?”
Those questions led her to pursue a doctorate in sociology in which she examined the race and gender dynamic of law firms. Melaku spoke about her work last week in a conversation with Kristen Bellstrom, features editor for Fortune, on the broader challenges of race, gender and class equity in the corporate world, offering steps that law firms and other organizations could take to make their workplaces more inclusive. They spoke at From Day One’s July virtual conference, The New Push for Workplace Equity.
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The racism of false assumptions in the office

07/27/2020

Can Employees Feel Unique Yet Included? Why We Need Both - From Day One

“All humans have these two basic needs, and that is we want to belong–we want to be accepted and valued–but we also want to be unique, which means we want to be our full selves,” said Stefanie Johnson, author of the new book Inclusify: The Power of Uniqueness and Belonging to Build Innovative Teams, during a fireside chat during From Day One’s July virtual conference, The New Push for Workplace Equity. “Those core things, that are part of your identity. You don’t want to have to hide or mask at work.”
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The reinvigorated racial-justice movement in America has given new energy to many parallel conversations, notably about cultivating workplace equity more broadly for people from underrepresented and underserved communities. Yet even the most open-minded, conscientious allies might require more insig...

07/04/2020

From Day One Conference's cover photo

07/02/2020

Keeping Employees Engaged When Everything Is Changing - From Day One

In recent months, the rhythms and structures of work life have been, well, deconstructed. Employees fortunate enough to have a job will be working from their kitchen tables for the foreseeable future, adding pressure to working families with children. Career development seems hazy at best for many employees, especially those unsure about how their roles will change in the coming months. At the same time, Corporate America is scrambling to combat systemic racism, asking painful questions about diversity and inclusion.

As these pressures add up, how do we ensure that our employees are engaged in the work they’re doing and that they’re feeling aligned with new corporate directions? Are they feeling included, heard, and valued during this season of change? Are they feeling burned out and in need of a mental health day (or two)?

In a recent webinar, #FD1Conference gathered several HR leaders to consider the factors of vulnerability, inclusion, and the changing nature of keeping employees connected during such tumultuous times. Some highlights from the webinar, which was moderated by Fortune associate editor Emma Hinchliffe:

In recent months, the rhythms and structures of work life have been, well, deconstructed. Employees fortunate enough to have a job will be working from their kitchen tables for the foreseeable future, adding pressure to working families with children. Career development seems hazy at best for many e...

07/01/2020

How Internships Are Being Reinvented During the Pandemic - From Day One

On the path from school to a career, internships are often pivotal experiences. But what happens to internships during a global pandemic, when so many workplaces are closed? How can fresh talent get their feet in the door if that door is temporarily locked?
In a recent From Day One webinar focused on the future of internships, a panel of HR leaders spoke on how they have not only pivoted their internship programs, but enhanced them in some ways as well. #FD1Conference

On the path from school to a career, internships are often pivotal experiences. They give students access to on-the-job experience, networking opportunities, and mentorships that can propel them into their future careers. But what happens to internships during a global pandemic, when so many workpla...

07/01/2020

The Workplace Web: Helping Employees Stay Connected and Involved - From Day One

Especially for remote workers, quality communication is king these days. From Day One talked with Shaun Slattery, director of change management at LumApps, a platform for workplace communication, community, and collaboration. Among our questions for him: how can leaders leverage technology to keep employees both engaged and productive? #FD1Conference

Especially for remote workers, quality communication is king these days. Most of us don’t have the luxury of popping our heads around our computers to ask our coworkers a question or pause at the snack bar to update them on the coming and goings of our lives. Instead, we turn to our screens, and o...

06/30/2020

Is Facebook a Media Company? That's Not Up to Mark Zuckerberg - From Day One

Ultimately, a company that puts viewers in front of advertising to make money is unequivocally a media company. And those advertisers are finally, in this case, telling Facebook that yes, it really is that kind of media company, with the responsibilities that go with it. #FD1Conference

Editor’s note: this story was originally published on Techonomy.com Facebook is facing, finally, the historic moment that many of its critics, including me, have long expected. Its true customers–advertisers–are saying Facebook cannot continue to pretend to be “neutral” about dishonest and...

06/25/2020

Corporate America Wakes Up to Systemic Racism. But What Happens Next? - From Day One

The Black Lives Matter movement strongly suggests that corporations need to get used to a new dynamic of social activism.
What measures should companies pursue, beyond words of good intent? "Social statements mean nothing without real actions and investments," Elizabeth A. Morrison, VP of diversity & belonging for Live Nation, told From Day One. "I’m speaking specifically of commitments to increasing workforce diversity, tactics to drive equality and inclusion with clients, donations to social-justice organizations, and supporting legislation for equal justice.
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The NFL takes a knee. Juneteenth becomes a corporate holiday. NASCAR bans the confederate flag. The stereotypical product mascots Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben and Mrs. Butterworth are suddenly retired. The Oscars promise to be not-so-white anymore. Band-Aid says it will start making bandages in darker sha...

06/24/2020

Why Juneteenth Swiftly Became a Corporate Holiday - From Day One

Spring 2020 will be remembered in corporate circles as a whirlwind of change, with exhausting and exciting pivots by big business. Difficult conversations connected to brand identity and race were being held in the boardrooms of many corporations as weeks of Black Lives Matter protests unfolded.
One of the most intriguing outcomes from those conversations is the embracing of Juneteenth, which commemorates a unique moment in American history that many citizens may not have heard about before.
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Spring 2020 will be remembered in corporate circles as a whirlwind of change, with exhausting and exciting pivots by big business. Difficult conversations connected to brand identity and race were being held in the boardrooms of many corporations as weeks of Black Lives Matter protests unfolded. One...

06/16/2020

Giving Employees a Hand When They Need it Most - From Day One

When disaster strikes, will your employees be able to handle the unexpected expenses, even relatively small ones? Many probably cannot, as research by the Federal Reserve has shown. In light of this, employers who don’t want their workers’ lives to be upended by natural disasters and other emergencies have increasingly turned to a relatively new kind of employee benefit: employee relief funds, which give out cash grants to help workers get through their crises.
#FD1Conference panelists Lynette Bell of the Truist Foundation and Holly Welch Stubbing of E4E Relief discuss their experience in creating relief fund programs.

When disaster strikes, will your employees be able to handle the unexpected expenses, even relatively small ones? Many probably cannot, as research by the Federal Reserve has shown. In light of this, employers who don’t want their workers’ lives to be upended by natural disasters and other emerg...

06/12/2020

The Power of Uniqueness and Belonging to Build Innovative Teams - From Day One

Humans have two basic desires: to stand out and to fit in. Companies respond by creating groups that tend to the extreme―where everyone fits in and no one stands out, or where everyone stands out and no one fits in, according to author and management expert Stefanie Johnson. How do we find that happy medium where workers can demonstrate their individuality while also feeling they belong? The answer, according to Johnson, is to “inclusify,” which is the title of her new book, Inclusify: the Power of Uniqueness and Belonging to Build Innovative Teams.
Read an #FD1Conference excerpt here.

Humans have two basic desires: to stand out and to fit in. Companies respond by creating groups that tend to the extreme―where everyone fits in and no one stands out, or where everyone stands out and no one fits in, according to author and management expert Stefanie Johnson. How do we find that ha...

06/09/2020

Collaborating for Inclusion: the Influence of Employee Resource Groups - From Day One

The three crises that America is undergoing simultaneously–health, economic, and social–have a major element in common: they’ve exposed the painful consequences of inequality and bias. While the debate over cause-and-effect is highly politicized, in Corporate America the response has been an unprecedented amount of earnest public statements about striving to be part of the solution.
How is this translating into action?
At a recent #FD1Conference webinar, panelists D.L. Morriss, David Alfini, Jo Anne Hill, and Kerri-Lyn Kelly discussed utilizing employee resource groups as a tool to facilitate equity, diversity, and inclusion.

The three crises that America is undergoing simultaneously–health, economic, and social–have a major element in common: they’ve exposed the painful consequences of inequality and bias. The COVID-19 pandemic, racial injustice and massive layoffs have disproportionately affected people of color,...

06/02/2020

#BlackOutTuesday

05/26/2020

Amid a Childcare Crisis, These Founders Offer a Solution - From Day One

When we started Winnie, it was very important to us that we started a company with a really different kind of culture. We wanted this to be a place where parents could work, where people of all backgrounds would feel comfortable, and most importantly, where we had work-life balance for not just us, but also our employees.
We made it a priority from day one, and it's just been really helpful in a number of ways. Recently, it's also made us pretty adaptable to this pandemic, because we already have a remote-friendly culture that enables people to work from home when they want to.

Read the latest in From Day One's #SheLeads series.
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Welcome to She Leads, a series digging into the good, the bad, and the ugly of being a woman in business. In each piece, we chat with a different founder about her experiences, the issues women face in business, and how they’re powering through in the face of adversity. Sara Mauskopf didn’t know...