From Day One Conference

04/21/2021

At Tax Time, a Few Helpful Tips for Your Employees - From Day One

With a later filing deadline giving taxpayers more time to adjust to the disruptions of the pandemic, as well as consider the impact of changes in the tax laws, what should they be thinking about? For some tax tips, From Day One consulted with Moses Balian, HR Consulting Manager for Justworks, the payroll and benefits platform. #FD1Conference

Taxpayers got good news last month when the Internal Revenue Service announced that the deadline for filing their 2020 returns would be pushed back a month, to May 17. While estimated taxes are still due on April 15, the later filing deadline gives taxpayers more time to adjust to the disruptions of...

04/21/2021

Two Workplace Qualities for Our Time: Resilience and Courage - From Day One

Resilience and courage: these two qualities gained new importance in the world of work over the past year as employees navigated layer upon layer of crisis–the pandemic, recession, and racial-justice movement after the death of George Floyd. So it’s fitting that these virtues were the focus of two mini-masterclass sessions presented this week during Harvard Business Review's virtual event on Leaders Who Make a Difference.

Marcus Buckingham, the author and business consultant who leads research at the ADP Research Institute®, talked about the importance of building resilient teams. And Vernā Myers, VP of inclusion strategy at Netflix, spoke on having the courage to fight for a more inclusive workplace.

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Resilience and courage: these two qualities gained new importance in the world of work over the past year as employees navigated layer upon layer of crisis–the pandemic, recession, and racial-justice movement after the death of George Floyd. So it’s fitting that these virtues were the focus of t...

04/20/2021

Reserve Your Desk for the Hybrid Office - From Day One

For both workers and companies, hybrid work may seem like the perfect solution, but it will require a fundamental rethinking of what an office is actually for. In the future, office spaces may be less for doing all work than for doing specific work, and it will fall to managers to make those lines clear.

Bryan Walsh of Axios writes on how the experiences of the pandemic have changed our expectations of what office work is and how it can be done. #FD1Conference

A year into the pandemic, office buildings remain one of the last parts of pre-Covid-19 life to reopen. As of April 7, an average of only 24% of office workers in major cities like San Francisco, Dallas and New York had returned to the office, according to data from the building-security company Kas...

04/19/2021

Does Your Team Have a Healthy Climate? Here's How to Tell - From Day One

Businesses today focus a lot of attention on their overall corporate culture, yet research has shown that the most influential environment in a workplace is at the team level. #FD1Conference spoke with Stephanie Tran of SSCA, Inc. on the concept of climate, the behavioral science behind it, and the practical ways in which leaders can promote a healthy workplace.

Businesses today focus a lot of attention on their overall corporate culture, yet research has shown that the most influential environment in a workplace is at the team level. SSCA, an executive-leadership consulting firm, puts a particular emphasis on what it calls the “climate” among workplace...

04/19/2021

One year in, the experiences of the pandemic have fundamentally changed our expectations of what office work is and how it can be done. Thanks in part to new technologies like easy videoconferencing and message apps like Slack, we now know it is entirely possible for most white-collar knowledge work to be done remotely with little loss of productivity–and possibly even a gain by some measurements.

Read this month's #FD1Conference newsletter for insights from contributor Bryan Walsh of Axios, plus takeaways from our March virtual conference and recent news highlights. Featuring sponsor spotlights on Achievers, SSCA, Inc., and Justworks.

https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=4aea066c9edbe6f40b9b1a95f&id=4400262f5b

One year in, the experiences of the pandemic have fundamentally changed our expectations of what office work is and how it can be done. Thanks in part to new technologies like easy videoconferencing and message apps like Slack, we now know it is entirely possible for most white-collar knowledge work to be done remotely with little loss of productivity–and possibly even a gain by some measurements.

Read this month's #FD1Conference newsletter for insights from contributor Bryan Walsh of Axios, plus takeaways from our March virtual conference and recent news highlights. Featuring sponsor spotlights on Achievers, SSCA, Inc., and Justworks.

https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=4aea066c9edbe6f40b9b1a95f&id=4400262f5b

04/07/2021

How We Can Develop More Authentic Leaders - From Day One

“Somewhere along the way in Corporate America, we took a wrong turn in thinking that being buttoned up and polished, being prepared, having notes and always being on top of your game was the way to win,” said Teresa Hopke of Talking Talent. “That’s something we coach people around a lot–get rid of their perfectionism, get rid of their imposter syndrome.”

Hopke was one of five experts in a conversation led by Myla Skinner, founder and managing partner of consulting firm Quarter Five, about how to promote authentic leadership in the workplace. The panel was a part of From Day One’s March conference on how to develop authentic leaders and the role of HR in the process.

Huge thanks to additional speakers Kimberly Newkirk of Liberty Mutual Insurance , Alexa Teare of Lingo Live, Simone Martins of Alcon, and Patrick Donahue of Danaher Corporation.

#FD1Conference

When Teresa Hopke, CEO of the leadership-coaching consultancy Talking Talent, coached a group of 50 women–all the highest performers in their organization–she found a startling commonality. “They all showed up with confidence issues,” she recalled. “They thought they were the only ones who...

04/05/2021

Why Corporate America Joined the Battle Over Voting Rights - From Day One

Compared with their swift responses to the Black Lives Matter protests last summer and the attack on the U.S. Capitol in January, America’s corporate leaders seemed hesitant at first to take a stand over the growing political fracas over voting rights.
Yet in a remarkable series of events that unfolded in just days, corporations came off the sidelines last week like athletes in a bench-clearing brawl.
From Day One's Steve Koepp writes on what happened. #FD1Conference

Compared with their swift responses to the Black Lives Matter protests last summer and the attack on the U.S. Capitol in January, America’s corporate leaders seemed hesitant at first to take a stand over the growing political fracas over voting rights. Even those who made declarations in favor of ...

03/31/2021

Training the Leaders of Tomorrow? Best to Start Early - From Day One

Effective leadership education can build culture, foster diversity and inclusion, and even influence company reputation.

“One of the things that I did was to create an early-career, leadership-development program to win the hearts and minds of those who are earlier in the workforce, and turn them into internal ambassadors for the company’s future,” said Cheryl Smith of Xerox.

The far-reaching potential of leadership training is what five panelists discussed during From Day One’s conference last week exploring the role of HR in building authentic leaders.

Thank you to additional speakers Melissa Kilby of Girl Up, Laurie Rebholz of Citi, Grace Berman of DaVita, Belinda Anderson of AT&T, and discussion moderator Lydia Dishman of Fast Company.

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Training leaders is not just about moving employees up your ladder. Effective leadership education can build culture, foster diversity and inclusion, and even influence company reputation. The far-reaching potential of such training is what five panelists discussed during From Day One’s conference...

03/30/2021

How Well Do You Know Your Team's Emotional Landscape? - From Day One

“We become less emotionally intelligent when we enter the workplace, because of all of the norms of ‘act professional,’” according to Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks, the William Russell Kelly Professor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business. “In the workplace you’re supposed to just focus on the task and not the people–but that’s no longer an option.”

Sanchez-Burks spoke with Kristen Bellstrom, the features editor of Fortune, about how the pandemic has strained the old playbook for emotional management. He made the argument, during the recent From Day One conference on authentic leadership, that leaders must recognize how employees bring a diversity of moods to work each day–and learn how to respond with understanding and empathy.

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We’ve all heard the saying before: “Act professional.” In fact, it’s such an ingrained ethic in Corporate America that in many pre-pandemic workplaces, we tended to disregard how employees navigate a complex sea of emotions as they come to work each day. “We become less emotionally intelli...

03/29/2021

Parents Under Pressure: How to Ensure Their Well-being - From Day One

The life of working parents is a juggling act in normal times, but the pandemic has made it an unsustainable one. Handling childcare and school, paid work and housework, and in some cases, care for other family members, means something has to give. And for many parents, what gives is their mental health.
Believing it’s not too late to have that conversation, five leaders in human resources and employee care lent their expertise in a From Day One webinar titled “Parents Under Pressure: How to Ensure Their Well-being at a Time of Historic Stress.”
Huge thank you to speakers Kelly Young of KinderCare Education, Diana Geofroy of Colgate-Palmolive, Gina Nebesar of Ovia Health, Emily Stirling of Intermountain Healthcare, Lisa Adukia of Gap Inc., and moderator Caroline Hroncich of Insider.
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The life of working parents is a juggling act in normal times, but the pandemic has made it an unsustainable one. Handling childcare and school, paid work and housework, and in some cases, care for other family members, means something has to give. And for many parents, what gives is their mental he...

03/19/2021

As spring arrives and hope sprouts like daffodils about an end to the pandemic, companies turn their thoughts, naturally, to vaccines.
Right now, questions abound. In December, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) confirmed that companies can require employees to be vaccinated. But should they? If companies instead want to encourage or incentivize vaccination, what could that look like? What components go into a workplace vaccination policy? It will be crucial over the next few months for employers to answer these questions in anticipation of universal vaccine availability.
Read more, including recent news, event recaps, and sponsor spotlights.
https://us14.campaign-archive.com/?u=4aea066c9edbe6f40b9b1a95f&id=aeb7dacf09

03/17/2021

Why Culture Is So Important in Fast-growing Companies - From Day One

“My company is a manifestation of my values,” said David Bessler, CEO of Veterinary Emergency Group. “I’m an emergency veterinarian–I think that's probably the most important thing for me, for our company, and for our employees. As for core values, there’s four of them: togetherness, openness, heroic helping, and meaningful moments."
Bessler spoke about VEG’s unique character at From Day One’s recent conference on creating a culture of purpose amid uncertainty. In a conversation with Ursula Llabres of Facebook, Bessler told how he scaled his community-based culture across hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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“We like to say that emergency is our middle name,” said Dr. David Bessler, CEO of Veterinary Emergency Group (VEG), a network of emergency-only veterinary hospitals. “It’s all we do. So we do it best,” goes the rest of the slogan. Indeed, VEG describes itself as the only company in the U....

03/16/2021

Vaccines and the Workplace: What Employers Need to Know - From Day One

As hope sprouts like daffodils about an end to the pandemic, employers around the U.S. are beginning to make decisions about vaccines and their role in bringing employees back to offices and other workplaces.
Right now, questions abound. It will be crucial over the next few months for employers to answer these questions in anticipation of wide-scale vaccine availability. “Companies should absolutely be preparing,” Ashley Hirano, senior associate in the law firm Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, told From Day One. “If companies want to make it mandatory, want to strongly encourage it, or make it easy to get–companies should be thinking through where they’re leaning.” From Day One compiled answers to workplace vaccination questions growing in urgency and importance. #FD1Conference

In President Biden’s first prime-time address to the nation last week, he promised all adults would be eligible for Covid-19 vaccines by May 1, with a semblance of normalcy possible by July 4th. As hope sprouts like daffodils about an end to the pandemic, employers around the U.S. are beginning to...

03/16/2021

Two Qualities Will Help Workers Face the Future: Agility and Resilience - From Day One

"Organizations are taking a hard look at what things will look like once we get out of the pandemic, making sure they have people in the right places to progress their businesses forward. That's a very high-level response, but I think it rings true in every industry."
Marinus van Driel of Aon spoke with #FD1Conference about fostering agility and resilience, in theory and in practice.

As the economy emerges from the pandemic, a workforce wracked by layoffs, job stress and digital transformation will need to have a second wind. What can employers do to help? Industrial and organizational psychologist Marinus van Driel, Ph.D., associate partner in the Human Capital Solutions practi...

03/15/2021

How to Be Anti-racist in Your Tech Hiring - From Day One

A company’s credibility when it comes to anti-racism is only as strong as its results. In the second half of 2020, myriad companies in the U.S. made public pledges against racism... But for companies to make good on these promises within their organizations, the commitments need to be backed by concrete and measurable changes.
Tech companies have long failed to increase Black and Latinx representation in their workforces. In 2020, economics scholar Bhaskar Chakravorti wrote in Harvard Business Review, “Tech companies have made similar promises before, but have had little success in following through.”
What can be done to bring better outcomes? In a From Day One webinar, “How to Be Anti-racist in Your Tech Hiring,” five leaders in tech-talent acquisition discussed how they’re battling racism in their hiring practices, from recruitment to interviewing to employee retention.
Huge thanks to: Ivori Johnson of Better.com, Portia Kibble Smith of Karat, Catherine Miller of Flatiron Health, Stephanie Alofoje of Twilio Inc., and moderator Lydia Dishman of Fast Company.
#FD1Conference

A company’s credibility when it comes to anti-racism is really only as strong as its results. In the second half of 2020, myriad companies in the U.S. made public pledges against racism, among them the most recognizable names in tech: Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Google, and YouTube. But for compani...

03/11/2021

A Year of Crisis–and Reinvention - From Day One

The theme here is reinvention amid the crisis. In a pandemic year of death, suffering and economic devastation, it was also a time of transformation in the way we work, raise our kids, and think about the roles of government and business. We had no way of seeing last March 11, when the global pandemic was officially upon us, how many old ideas would be turned upside down. But lots of thoughtful people are striving to help put the pandemic year into perspective, including how we frame its place in the trajectory of our lives.
Stephen Koepp shares a note on #FD1Conference and our colleagues.

Do you remember what you were doing a year ago, when the world changed? I remember vividly. Our team at From Day One had just returned from our conference in Atlanta, where we hosted hundreds of business leaders at the Georgia Aquarium. Everyone was far more transfixed by a whale shark swimming lazi...

03/09/2021

How Microsoft Built an Employee Culture of Giving - From Day One

Microsoft is now considered perhaps the most benign of the giant tech companies and one of the most admired in any industry. What happened? While new leadership at the top is surely a factor, Akhtar Badshah believes that the less-recognized element is a strong sense of purpose and charitable giving that runs through all levels of the company, he told the audience at From Day One’s recent virtual conference on corporate culture in challenging times. Badshah spoke with Techonomy Media's David Kirkpatrick on his book: The Purpose Mindset: How Microsoft Inspires Employees & Alumni to Change the World. “I feel that this was the untold story of Microsoft, Bill Gates, and their leadership,” he said. “Yes, they continue to change the world with technology, but they also unleash thousands of people who go out and make a difference, because they got inculcated with purpose through the employee-giving program.”
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When Akhtar Badshah joined Microsoft as head of its philanthropic efforts back in 2004, the company’s reputation was not exactly warm and fuzzy. Only two years earlier, the company had reached a legal settlement with the U.S. government, which had accused Microsoft of abusing its monopoly position...