June 3, 2025 • 22 mins
What does it take to create a unified culture when your team spans 50 countries and includes thousands of employees? Sue Quackenbush, Chief People Officer at Dynatrace, reveals the secret sauce behind their "real vibes, real people" approach that keeps their global workforce connected.
With 33% of Dynatrace's 4,000+ employees working fully remotely and the rest following a hybrid model, Sue explains how they've turned geographical dispersion into a strength. Their innovative Remote Connect Club creates virtual communities for those without nearby offices, while employee resource groups foster belonging regardless of location. Sue's passion for "making a difference" drives her people-first approach that balances flexibility with connection.
The conversation dives into talent attraction and development strategies that have proven successful in the competitive tech sector. When Sue joined Dynatrace nearly three years ago, she discovered they were "consistently inconsistent" in leadership approaches – prompting her to create the comprehensive "Dynatrace Elements of Leadership" framework that now guides development at all levels. She shares why continuous growth opportunities create both stability and innovation, benefiting both employees and the organization.
Perhaps most fascinating is Sue's perspective on balancing data-driven HR with human connection. "Data is critically important and I would say that it is as important as the humanistic elements," she explains, offering insights into how modern people leaders must leverage analytics while preserving the relationships that ultimately drive engagement. As AI reshapes workplace tools and practices, Sue considers both the exciting possibilities and important guardrails needed to maintain what makes work meaningful.
Whether you're navigating hybrid work challenges, building leadership pipelines, or seeking ways to create belonging across borders, this conversation offers practical wisdom from one of tech's most thoughtful people leaders.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the HR Chat Show, one of the world's
most downloaded and sharedpodcasts designed for HR pros,
talent execs, tech enthusiastsand business leaders.
For hundreds more episodes andwhat's new in the world of work,
subscribe to the show, followus on social media and visit
hrgazettecom and visithrgazettecom.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Welcome to another episode of the HR Chat Show.
Hello listeners, this is yourhost today, bill Bannum, and
joining me on the show for thevery first time is the amazing
Sue Quackenbush, chief PeopleOfficer over at Dynatrace.
Sue shapes the Dynatraceculture by establishing a
unified one company mindset andproviding a consistent employee
experience across their diverseteam of over 4,000 Dynatracers.
(00:52):
Hey, sue, welcome to the showtoday.
How are you doing?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I'm doing great.
Thanks, Bill, to have me.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
And, before we go any further, a ginormous shout out
to our mutual friend, Jeff Wald,who did this introduction and
brought us here today.
Hey, Jeff, we love you.
Let's catch up soon.
Sue, beyond my very briefintroduction just a moment ago,
why don't you take a minute ortwo and tell us a bit more about
yourself, your role and whatgets you up in the morning?
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Okay, great, so about myself.
Okay, great, so about myself.
I've been in the HR space forprobably the past 25 plus years,
and the last 13 years as chiefpeople officer at several
(01:41):
different companies.
Now at Dynatrace, what gets meup in the morning is really the
ability to make a difference.
Right, make a difference notonly across all of the
Dynatracers, but just across allour candidates and anyone who
can come across my path.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the HR Chat
Podcast.
If you enjoy the audio contentwe produce, you'll love our
articles on the HR Gazette.
Learn more at hrgazettecom.
And now back to the show.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Okay, thank you very much, Love it.
For those folks who haven'theard of Dynatrace, can you just
take a minute and tell them abit about the company?
Speaker 3 (02:24):
Sure Dynatrace.
Can you just take a minute andtell them a bit about the
company?
Sure Dynatrace is a softwarecompany and we are an AI-powered
platform that helpsorganizations analyze, automate
and innovate faster.
We really help customers todrive their businesses forward
(02:44):
by providing those insights intotheir business.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Okay, I think you've done that before.
Very well done, okay.
So here's a question for youhow do you attract great talents
, top talents, in a prettycompetitive technology sector?
What are your tips there?
Speaker 3 (03:04):
So it's multifaceted right.
Number one we have a reallystrong employer brand that
really speaks to the type ofculture, the type of experience
for all of our Dynatracers.
So we do a lot of externalevents where we bring great
(03:26):
talent into the organization tosee what Dynatrace is all about.
We have a very strong referralprogram so we get great talent
through other Dynatracers.
So we're always out in themarket and, you know, it's that
combination of showcasing theexperience that someone can have
in the market and it's thatcombination of showcasing the
experience that someone can havein the organization.
(03:48):
We also have created veryspecific employee value
propositions for our salesprofessionals, for our tech
professionals, and these areguiding resources that help us
explain and articulate whatsomeone can expect when they
come to Dynatrace.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
So, ahead of this call today, I was doing my
homework and on your LinkedInprofile, on the company LinkedIn
profile, it seems like you'vegot employees all around the
world.
Are they all office-based?
Do you guys have a hybrid model?
Are you pro-remote employees?
What's your take on that?
Speaker 3 (04:30):
So we have a hybrid model.
We've had it in place now for awhile and we will continue to
support that hybrid model.
We have about 22 operatedfacilities across the globe, as
well as other facilities that welease, but we basically have
Dynatraces in over 50 countries,so we have distributed teams.
We do have in our operatedfacilities populations that come
(04:52):
into the offices.
We have a hybrid model withAnchor Days, and so we really
support flexibility but supportDynatracers all over the globe.
Speaker 5 (05:20):
The Exploring Workplace Mental Health Show
considers issues relating tocapacity building.
Tune in as Dr Bill delves intothe why, what and how of
fostering a mentally healthywork environment.
Each episode provides employersand decision makers with
actionable insights andstrategies to create a
supportive culture that empowersemployees.
Subscribe to the podcast now toaccess the latest episodes now
(05:51):
to access the latest episodes.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Okay, so primarily a hybrid model.
Do you have a proportion ofemployees that are entirely
remote as well?
Speaker 3 (05:55):
We do.
About 33% of our employee baseare fully remote, and how we
stay connected with everyone iswe do have a remote connect club
that hosts a number of eventsacross the year to really create
that community for individualsthat are not in an office or
(06:16):
located near one of our offices.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
You must have a crystal ball under your desk,
because that's where I was goingwith those leading questions is
around that you know.
How do you, how do you ensure,with new hires, for example,
that they feel part of thecompany culture if they are
entirely remote or only comingto the office sometimes?
It sounds like you're going theextra mile by ensuring that
(06:40):
there are in-personopportunities as well for your
employees.
Do you think that's absolutelykey, that there are some
opportunities that employers canget together and they?
They can I don't know um learnfrom each other's vibes, so to
speak?
Or or can someone still buyinto the company culture and
contribute to that culture ifthey never do any of that stuff
(07:02):
and they're always entirelyremote?
Speaker 3 (07:05):
um, the answer is yes , you can.
And it's funny you use the wordvibe, so our employer brand is
real vibes, real people, andthat really resonates and
encapsulates the feeling whenyou meet another Dynatracer.
And to your point, we haveopportunities where we can bring
teams together and meet inperson, using our offices for
(07:30):
collaboration.
So we do support that.
But to your point about someonewho's remote and never gets to
go into an office or meetsomeone physical, there's the
opportunity through our remoteconnect club.
We have many differentcommunities that we champion.
(07:51):
We have employee resourcegroups, so individuals can still
feel the Dynatrace culture andexperience it through their
daily interactions, be itvirtual, experience it through
their daily interactions, be itvirtual, and so we definitely
(08:12):
are always monitoring.
How do we ensure the experienceresonates for in-office, hybrid
and fully remote dynatracers?
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Wonderful.
Thank you very much.
Obviously, a large proportionof our listeners are HR leaders
and people leaders.
For those sorts ofprofessionals professionals like
yourself is it actually quiteimportant that you're in the
office sometimes having thoseconversations with the C-level,
as well as with live managersand other employees, as opposed
(08:40):
to other employees it soundslike at Dynatrace, where they
can afford to be fully remote.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
So, look, an experience is always important,
be it virtual or in person, andI am actually a full-time remote
individual so I travel a lot.
So, yes, I do have that inperson.
From an executive teamperspective, our CEOs sponsors
and supports the executive teamgetting together on a regular
(09:08):
basis.
But I would have to say eachexperience, virtual or
non-virtual, they're all veryimportant, and how one prepares
for them and how one approachesthem, you know, may be different
, but the the ability to connectwith an individual, regardless
(09:30):
of where you're connecting orhow you're connecting, should be
something that is donestrategically.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Great answer, and regular listeners of the show
will know that I'm personally ahuge proponent for giving people
the right to work remotely allthe time if they want to, or be
hybrid, or go to the office ifthey want to, as long as they
get the job done and theycontribute to the company
culture.
My take is what does it matteranyway?
Who cares about what I say?
I'm just the interviewer.
Let's continue through.
You guys have an amazingpodcast called real talks.
(09:59):
Tell me about that.
What inspired it?
What themes do you guys explore?
Speaker 3 (10:03):
give us the lowdown so real talks is is a podcast
series that I host, uh, atdynatrace, and the whole purpose
of that is really to showcasedynatracers across the world.
So, from an internalperspective, it's really, how do
, how do we continue to bringthat one company mindset, that
(10:24):
one team showcase individualsfrom all different functions,
from all different parts of theworld and really the focus is on
showcasing their career,showcasing them as leaders, them
as mentors, champions ofdifferent causes.
Individuals who maybe have beenat Dynatrace left Dynatrace
(10:48):
come back to Dynatrace, but it'sreally showcasing the breadth
and depth of our employees.
And you know, back to our lastquestion about hybrid, you know,
and experiences.
At the end of the day, it's howdo you build connection?
Because connection builds senseof belonging.
And so the Real Talks podcastare all of our other events that
(11:13):
we host cultural breakfasts andthings like that, virtual and
in the offices.
It's all about driving thatconnection and really bringing
awareness to the fabric of theorganization.
Speaker 6 (11:28):
Hi, this is Chris Buehrling, host of the People in
Performance podcast.
Each episode featuresconversations Bill Bannum and I
have with leaders andconsultants about ways they've
inspired colleagues to thrive.
Past and performance podcastguests are from such brands as
nasa, ibm, rolls royce andmckinsey and co.
(11:51):
You can find us on your podcastplayer of choice and it's fun
too.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Right doing the doing these podcasts.
It's one of the favorite partsof my job.
You get to build newrelationships, you get to
explore a bit about otherpeople's takes and their
experiences in a short space oftime, but it's a nice way to
then share that with the world.
So personally, I think it'sterribly fun, would you agree?
Speaker 3 (12:17):
I agree, I love it and I always learn something.
It's just amazing to hear froman individual their journey,
their story, their perspectiveon Dynatrace and through the
voice of our employees, that'sgoing to help either retain or
(12:38):
attract other great talent.
So it's just another way ofreally being able to say, hey,
hear from someone who's doingthis job or has had this
experience and learn from them,but also get excited by their
journey, because if they canhave that journey, you can have
that journey.
And this is, you know, this isthe organization that provides
(12:59):
the opportunity or platform forthat experience.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
So so far in this conversation, we have touched
upon talent attraction a coupleof times, but let's let's now
talk about talent development,if that's okay.
What's your approach to talentdevelopment at Dynatrace,
especially in preparing futureleaders for success in high
growth, high tech environments?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
So, great question, love it.
High-tech environments so greatquestion, love it.
Coming to Dynatrace almost threeyears ago, we really had to
establish what good looks likefrom a leadership perspective
and so that journey where wedefine the leadership
expectations and really thebehaviors that we want our
leaders to show up with we'vebeen on a path of really
(13:44):
building that into differentleadership programs so we
advanced leadership to emergingleaders.
We've created an entirecurriculum of really we call it
(14:11):
Dynatrace Elements of Leadershipand it's really how to act and
how to do things withinDynatrace.
And the reason why we had toset it and build it is because
when I came into theorganization, we were
consistently inconsistent.
We didn't have that platformbuilt and so creating the
awareness and understanding andlanguage around good leadership
(14:35):
and really showing up throughour behaviors and living our
values all of that had to berefreshed and put in place and
you know we are very strategicabout reviewing our leaders,
building leadership developmentplans, putting in feedback
mechanisms, putting in mentoringprogram globally and to really
(14:56):
help, guide and provide thoseresources for our leaders to
continue to excel and grow.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Okay, so, in addition to being fantastic at
attracting new additions to thecompany with those cool vibes,
as we discussed earlier on, canyou kind of spell out for us the
importance of retention, ofretaining employees that you are
developing into leadershiproles?
Why is that important?
So, for example, it costs a lotto hire a new person.
(15:30):
Right, and also the knowledgetransfer I'm guessing that's a
key piece as well.
If you can retain your people,they know all about the company,
they know all about the culturealready why on earth wouldn't
you do everything you can todevelop them and keep them
within the company?
Is that fair to say?
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Well, it's fair to say.
But also, as a companycontinues to grow, we want to
ensure all of our Dynatracersare growing.
Right, you don't want to have alarge gap.
You want to make sure thatthere's continuous growth and
innovation and so being able tocreate an ecosystem where
individuals can come in andthrive and grow.
(16:03):
From a retention perspective,everything you said, right the
cost, the disruption, theknowledge loss if someone leaves
.
But there's a stabilityplatform here that's put in
place too and there's.
You know, when someone isgrowing and developing and they
(16:25):
have that feeling of stability,you're going to get so much more
engagement and, I would say,productivity from an individual,
because they're switched on,they're focused, they're growing
, and so you know, there's thatretention aspect.
But yet you want to make surepeople are continuing to grow,
because you don't want someonejust to be retained and not grow
(16:47):
, and you want to make surethere's alignment between where
the company's going and how thatindividual continues to
contribute to that growth.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Sue.
It's interesting as I reflecton the evolution of the
conversations I've had on thispodcast since back in gosh 2016,
.
That was before I went gray.
Back in the old days, a lot ofthe conversations I had with the
HR and people leaders werearound around the culture,
around mentoring, aroundcoaching.
(17:17):
Often these days I'm chattingwith folks who perhaps got maybe
got a data background, thefinance background, and then
moved, moved into CHRO typeroles.
How important is data today?
What role does people analyticsplay in shaping your people and
culture strategy?
Is it the number one keyelement here or actually is
(17:38):
there still an important placefor those more humanistic
elements?
Speaker 3 (17:44):
So data is critically important and I would say that
it is as important as thehumanistic elements.
I mean you can't have just one.
I mean the role from our as itis today and continues to evolve
(18:05):
, is it?
The scope is very wide, and soyou know data allows you to
unlock value, allows you to gaininsights into your employee
population, into trends of wherethings may be going and you may
be able to make better.
I believe, fundamentally, thedata helps you make better
(18:26):
decisions right.
Database decisions augmenteverything else, and so you know
data is also the key toensuring that.
You know, as we bring in morecapabilities through AI-powered
tools and approaches, you knowhow do we make sure we're
(18:47):
grounded in solid informationand information that's accurate
and to really help us unlockthat value.
I mean, too often in a lot oforganizations you're still
trying it's almost the creationof data right.
We have multiple systems.
Sometimes they're disparate.
Trying to pull sources togetherto really understand what's
(19:11):
going on in your business isquite difficult and time
consuming.
So the more efficient and themore robust and accurate your
data set is.
It's just another key componentto the tools you have to make
better business decisions.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
And you guys are pretty big companies.
I'm interested to get your take.
Do you guys tend to go forpre-built tech stacks or do you
prefer to have in-housetechnology for analyzing your
people?
Speaker 3 (19:44):
From a people perspective, we actually are
buying.
We have different tech stacksthat we bring into the
organization From the peopleanalytics.
It's not proprietary we are aSaaS company and our products
are built in-house.
But from an HR perspective,we're actually in the midst of
(20:05):
deploying a new HCM with all ofthe different modules and this
is what we're bringing into theorganization.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Excellent, thank you.
Two more questions for youbefore I let you go and get on
with your day.
Next one I like to mix thingsup sometimes.
I'm going to do that right now,in 60 seconds or less, and it
might touch upon some of thethings you've mentioned so far.
In 60 seconds or less.
Sue, looking looking ahead,what emerging workplace trends
are you most excited or maybeconcerned about as a people
(20:35):
leader in tech?
Go?
Speaker 3 (20:37):
so most excited is the opportunity that ai brings
to um, the, the function right,and how can we use it to truly
advance some of the um, thewould say, those areas that are
holding us back or are toodifficult to get.
So I'm so excited about what AIcan bring to the HR function
(20:59):
and just from people, analyticsand insights, the art of the
possible is so exciting.
I also am concerned about thehumanistic side right, making
sure that companies and CHROsapproach, identifying the right
principles around how to what ishuman, what is non-human, and
(21:22):
you know, how do we deploy thesenew technologies in a way that
really are balanced, withoutlosing sight of the importance
of relationships and connectionsand communication.
And so how do we balance thatand continue to drive that
forward?
Speaker 2 (21:37):
excellent, which leads me into my final question,
which is about relationshipsand connections.
How can folks connect with you?
Is that through linkedin?
Do you want to show your emailaddress?
Are you super cool and all overt in places?
And, of course, how can ourlisteners learn more about
Dynatrace?
Speaker 3 (21:52):
So check out Dynatracecom.
You can learn a ton about ourofferings and the organization.
For me personally, LinkedIn isa great way.
I am not cool on TikTok sothat's not the best way to reach
me, but I would say LinkedIn isawesome.
Or my Dynatrace email atSueQuackenbush at Dynatracecom.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Perfect.
Me too.
I would be lost trying to useTikTok, but I love a bit of
LinkedIn, Sue.
That just leaves me to say fortoday Thank you very much for
being my guest.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Oh, thank you so much for having me.
It was a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
And listeners as always, until next time.
Happy working much for havingme.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
It was a pleasure and listeners as always.
Until next time, happy working.
Thanks for listening to the HRChat Show.
If you enjoyed this episode,why not subscribe and listen to
some of the hundreds of episodespublished by HR Gazette and
remember for what's new in theworld of work?
Subscribe to the show, followus on social media and visit
HRGazettecom.
Welcome to the HR Chat Show, one of the world's
most downloaded and sharedpodcasts designed for HR pros,
talent execs, tech enthusiastsand business leaders.
For hundreds more episodes andwhat's new in the world of work,
subscribe to the show, followus on social media and visit
hrgazettecom and visithrgazettecom.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Welcome to another episode of the HR Chat Show.
Hello listeners, this is yourhost today, bill Bannum, and
joining me on the show for thevery first time is the amazing
Sue Quackenbush, chief PeopleOfficer over at Dynatrace.
Sue shapes the Dynatraceculture by establishing a
unified one company mindset andproviding a consistent employee
experience across their diverseteam of over 4,000 Dynatracers.
(00:52):
Hey, sue, welcome to the showtoday.
How are you doing?
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I'm doing great.
Thanks, Bill, to have me.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
And, before we go any further, a ginormous shout out
to our mutual friend, Jeff Wald,who did this introduction and
brought us here today.
Hey, Jeff, we love you.
Let's catch up soon.
Sue, beyond my very briefintroduction just a moment ago,
why don't you take a minute ortwo and tell us a bit more about
yourself, your role and whatgets you up in the morning?
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Okay, great, so about myself.
Okay, great, so about myself.
I've been in the HR space forprobably the past 25 plus years,
and the last 13 years as chiefpeople officer at several
(01:41):
different companies.
Now at Dynatrace, what gets meup in the morning is really the
ability to make a difference.
Right, make a difference notonly across all of the
Dynatracers, but just across allour candidates and anyone who
can come across my path.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the HR Chat
Podcast.
If you enjoy the audio contentwe produce, you'll love our
articles on the HR Gazette.
Learn more at hrgazettecom.
And now back to the show.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Okay, thank you very much, Love it.
For those folks who haven'theard of Dynatrace, can you just
take a minute and tell them abit about the company?
Speaker 3 (02:24):
Sure Dynatrace.
Can you just take a minute andtell them a bit about the
company?
Sure Dynatrace is a softwarecompany and we are an AI-powered
platform that helpsorganizations analyze, automate
and innovate faster.
We really help customers todrive their businesses forward
(02:44):
by providing those insights intotheir business.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Okay, I think you've done that before.
Very well done, okay.
So here's a question for youhow do you attract great talents
, top talents, in a prettycompetitive technology sector?
What are your tips there?
Speaker 3 (03:04):
So it's multifaceted right.
Number one we have a reallystrong employer brand that
really speaks to the type ofculture, the type of experience
for all of our Dynatracers.
So we do a lot of externalevents where we bring great
(03:26):
talent into the organization tosee what Dynatrace is all about.
We have a very strong referralprogram so we get great talent
through other Dynatracers.
So we're always out in themarket and, you know, it's that
combination of showcasing theexperience that someone can have
in the market and it's thatcombination of showcasing the
experience that someone can havein the organization.
(03:48):
We also have created veryspecific employee value
propositions for our salesprofessionals, for our tech
professionals, and these areguiding resources that help us
explain and articulate whatsomeone can expect when they
come to Dynatrace.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
So, ahead of this call today, I was doing my
homework and on your LinkedInprofile, on the company LinkedIn
profile, it seems like you'vegot employees all around the
world.
Are they all office-based?
Do you guys have a hybrid model?
Are you pro-remote employees?
What's your take on that?
Speaker 3 (04:30):
So we have a hybrid model.
We've had it in place now for awhile and we will continue to
support that hybrid model.
We have about 22 operatedfacilities across the globe, as
well as other facilities that welease, but we basically have
Dynatraces in over 50 countries,so we have distributed teams.
We do have in our operatedfacilities populations that come
(04:52):
into the offices.
We have a hybrid model withAnchor Days, and so we really
support flexibility but supportDynatracers all over the globe.
Speaker 5 (05:20):
The Exploring Workplace Mental Health Show
considers issues relating tocapacity building.
Tune in as Dr Bill delves intothe why, what and how of
fostering a mentally healthywork environment.
Each episode provides employersand decision makers with
actionable insights andstrategies to create a
supportive culture that empowersemployees.
Subscribe to the podcast now toaccess the latest episodes now
(05:51):
to access the latest episodes.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Okay, so primarily a hybrid model.
Do you have a proportion ofemployees that are entirely
remote as well?
Speaker 3 (05:55):
We do.
About 33% of our employee baseare fully remote, and how we
stay connected with everyone iswe do have a remote connect club
that hosts a number of eventsacross the year to really create
that community for individualsthat are not in an office or
(06:16):
located near one of our offices.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
You must have a crystal ball under your desk,
because that's where I was goingwith those leading questions is
around that you know.
How do you, how do you ensure,with new hires, for example,
that they feel part of thecompany culture if they are
entirely remote or only comingto the office sometimes?
It sounds like you're going theextra mile by ensuring that
(06:40):
there are in-personopportunities as well for your
employees.
Do you think that's absolutelykey, that there are some
opportunities that employers canget together and they?
They can I don't know um learnfrom each other's vibes, so to
speak?
Or or can someone still buyinto the company culture and
contribute to that culture ifthey never do any of that stuff
(07:02):
and they're always entirelyremote?
Speaker 3 (07:05):
um, the answer is yes , you can.
And it's funny you use the wordvibe, so our employer brand is
real vibes, real people, andthat really resonates and
encapsulates the feeling whenyou meet another Dynatracer.
And to your point, we haveopportunities where we can bring
teams together and meet inperson, using our offices for
(07:30):
collaboration.
So we do support that.
But to your point about someonewho's remote and never gets to
go into an office or meetsomeone physical, there's the
opportunity through our remoteconnect club.
We have many differentcommunities that we champion.
(07:51):
We have employee resourcegroups, so individuals can still
feel the Dynatrace culture andexperience it through their
daily interactions, be itvirtual, experience it through
their daily interactions, be itvirtual, and so we definitely
(08:12):
are always monitoring.
How do we ensure the experienceresonates for in-office, hybrid
and fully remote dynatracers?
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Wonderful.
Thank you very much.
Obviously, a large proportionof our listeners are HR leaders
and people leaders.
For those sorts ofprofessionals professionals like
yourself is it actually quiteimportant that you're in the
office sometimes having thoseconversations with the C-level,
as well as with live managersand other employees, as opposed
(08:40):
to other employees it soundslike at Dynatrace, where they
can afford to be fully remote.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
So, look, an experience is always important,
be it virtual or in person, andI am actually a full-time remote
individual so I travel a lot.
So, yes, I do have that inperson.
From an executive teamperspective, our CEOs sponsors
and supports the executive teamgetting together on a regular
(09:08):
basis.
But I would have to say eachexperience, virtual or
non-virtual, they're all veryimportant, and how one prepares
for them and how one approachesthem, you know, may be different
, but the the ability to connectwith an individual, regardless
(09:30):
of where you're connecting orhow you're connecting, should be
something that is donestrategically.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Great answer, and regular listeners of the show
will know that I'm personally ahuge proponent for giving people
the right to work remotely allthe time if they want to, or be
hybrid, or go to the office ifthey want to, as long as they
get the job done and theycontribute to the company
culture.
My take is what does it matteranyway?
Who cares about what I say?
I'm just the interviewer.
Let's continue through.
You guys have an amazingpodcast called real talks.
(09:59):
Tell me about that.
What inspired it?
What themes do you guys explore?
Speaker 3 (10:03):
give us the lowdown so real talks is is a podcast
series that I host, uh, atdynatrace, and the whole purpose
of that is really to showcasedynatracers across the world.
So, from an internalperspective, it's really, how do
, how do we continue to bringthat one company mindset, that
(10:24):
one team showcase individualsfrom all different functions,
from all different parts of theworld and really the focus is on
showcasing their career,showcasing them as leaders, them
as mentors, champions ofdifferent causes.
Individuals who maybe have beenat Dynatrace left Dynatrace
(10:48):
come back to Dynatrace, but it'sreally showcasing the breadth
and depth of our employees.
And you know, back to our lastquestion about hybrid, you know,
and experiences.
At the end of the day, it's howdo you build connection?
Because connection builds senseof belonging.
And so the Real Talks podcastare all of our other events that
(11:13):
we host cultural breakfasts andthings like that, virtual and
in the offices.
It's all about driving thatconnection and really bringing
awareness to the fabric of theorganization.
Speaker 6 (11:28):
Hi, this is Chris Buehrling, host of the People in
Performance podcast.
Each episode featuresconversations Bill Bannum and I
have with leaders andconsultants about ways they've
inspired colleagues to thrive.
Past and performance podcastguests are from such brands as
nasa, ibm, rolls royce andmckinsey and co.
(11:51):
You can find us on your podcastplayer of choice and it's fun
too.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
Right doing the doing these podcasts.
It's one of the favorite partsof my job.
You get to build newrelationships, you get to
explore a bit about otherpeople's takes and their
experiences in a short space oftime, but it's a nice way to
then share that with the world.
So personally, I think it'sterribly fun, would you agree?
Speaker 3 (12:17):
I agree, I love it and I always learn something.
It's just amazing to hear froman individual their journey,
their story, their perspectiveon Dynatrace and through the
voice of our employees, that'sgoing to help either retain or
(12:38):
attract other great talent.
So it's just another way ofreally being able to say, hey,
hear from someone who's doingthis job or has had this
experience and learn from them,but also get excited by their
journey, because if they canhave that journey, you can have
that journey.
And this is, you know, this isthe organization that provides
(12:59):
the opportunity or platform forthat experience.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
So so far in this conversation, we have touched
upon talent attraction a coupleof times, but let's let's now
talk about talent development,if that's okay.
What's your approach to talentdevelopment at Dynatrace,
especially in preparing futureleaders for success in high
growth, high tech environments?
Speaker 3 (13:20):
So, great question, love it.
High-tech environments so greatquestion, love it.
Coming to Dynatrace almost threeyears ago, we really had to
establish what good looks likefrom a leadership perspective
and so that journey where wedefine the leadership
expectations and really thebehaviors that we want our
leaders to show up with we'vebeen on a path of really
(13:44):
building that into differentleadership programs so we
advanced leadership to emergingleaders.
We've created an entirecurriculum of really we call it
(14:11):
Dynatrace Elements of Leadershipand it's really how to act and
how to do things withinDynatrace.
And the reason why we had toset it and build it is because
when I came into theorganization, we were
consistently inconsistent.
We didn't have that platformbuilt and so creating the
awareness and understanding andlanguage around good leadership
(14:35):
and really showing up throughour behaviors and living our
values all of that had to berefreshed and put in place and
you know we are very strategicabout reviewing our leaders,
building leadership developmentplans, putting in feedback
mechanisms, putting in mentoringprogram globally and to really
(14:56):
help, guide and provide thoseresources for our leaders to
continue to excel and grow.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
Okay, so, in addition to being fantastic at
attracting new additions to thecompany with those cool vibes,
as we discussed earlier on, canyou kind of spell out for us the
importance of retention, ofretaining employees that you are
developing into leadershiproles?
Why is that important?
So, for example, it costs a lotto hire a new person.
(15:30):
Right, and also the knowledgetransfer I'm guessing that's a
key piece as well.
If you can retain your people,they know all about the company,
they know all about the culturealready why on earth wouldn't
you do everything you can todevelop them and keep them
within the company?
Is that fair to say?
Speaker 3 (15:41):
Well, it's fair to say.
But also, as a companycontinues to grow, we want to
ensure all of our Dynatracersare growing.
Right, you don't want to have alarge gap.
You want to make sure thatthere's continuous growth and
innovation and so being able tocreate an ecosystem where
individuals can come in andthrive and grow.
(16:03):
From a retention perspective,everything you said, right the
cost, the disruption, theknowledge loss if someone leaves
.
But there's a stabilityplatform here that's put in
place too and there's.
You know, when someone isgrowing and developing and they
(16:25):
have that feeling of stability,you're going to get so much more
engagement and, I would say,productivity from an individual,
because they're switched on,they're focused, they're growing
, and so you know, there's thatretention aspect.
But yet you want to make surepeople are continuing to grow,
because you don't want someonejust to be retained and not grow
(16:47):
, and you want to make surethere's alignment between where
the company's going and how thatindividual continues to
contribute to that growth.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
Sue.
It's interesting as I reflecton the evolution of the
conversations I've had on thispodcast since back in gosh 2016,
.
That was before I went gray.
Back in the old days, a lot ofthe conversations I had with the
HR and people leaders werearound around the culture,
around mentoring, aroundcoaching.
(17:17):
Often these days I'm chattingwith folks who perhaps got maybe
got a data background, thefinance background, and then
moved, moved into CHRO typeroles.
How important is data today?
What role does people analyticsplay in shaping your people and
culture strategy?
Is it the number one keyelement here or actually is
(17:38):
there still an important placefor those more humanistic
elements?
Speaker 3 (17:44):
So data is critically important and I would say that
it is as important as thehumanistic elements.
I mean you can't have just one.
I mean the role from our as itis today and continues to evolve
(18:05):
, is it?
The scope is very wide, and soyou know data allows you to
unlock value, allows you to gaininsights into your employee
population, into trends of wherethings may be going and you may
be able to make better.
I believe, fundamentally, thedata helps you make better
(18:26):
decisions right.
Database decisions augmenteverything else, and so you know
data is also the key toensuring that.
You know, as we bring in morecapabilities through AI-powered
tools and approaches, you knowhow do we make sure we're
(18:47):
grounded in solid informationand information that's accurate
and to really help us unlockthat value.
I mean, too often in a lot oforganizations you're still
trying it's almost the creationof data right.
We have multiple systems.
Sometimes they're disparate.
Trying to pull sources togetherto really understand what's
(19:11):
going on in your business isquite difficult and time
consuming.
So the more efficient and themore robust and accurate your
data set is.
It's just another key componentto the tools you have to make
better business decisions.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
And you guys are pretty big companies.
I'm interested to get your take.
Do you guys tend to go forpre-built tech stacks or do you
prefer to have in-housetechnology for analyzing your
people?
Speaker 3 (19:44):
From a people perspective, we actually are
buying.
We have different tech stacksthat we bring into the
organization From the peopleanalytics.
It's not proprietary we are aSaaS company and our products
are built in-house.
But from an HR perspective,we're actually in the midst of
(20:05):
deploying a new HCM with all ofthe different modules and this
is what we're bringing into theorganization.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
Excellent, thank you.
Two more questions for youbefore I let you go and get on
with your day.
Next one I like to mix thingsup sometimes.
I'm going to do that right now,in 60 seconds or less, and it
might touch upon some of thethings you've mentioned so far.
In 60 seconds or less.
Sue, looking looking ahead,what emerging workplace trends
are you most excited or maybeconcerned about as a people
(20:35):
leader in tech?
Go?
Speaker 3 (20:37):
so most excited is the opportunity that ai brings
to um, the, the function right,and how can we use it to truly
advance some of the um, thewould say, those areas that are
holding us back or are toodifficult to get.
So I'm so excited about what AIcan bring to the HR function
(20:59):
and just from people, analyticsand insights, the art of the
possible is so exciting.
I also am concerned about thehumanistic side right, making
sure that companies and CHROsapproach, identifying the right
principles around how to what ishuman, what is non-human, and
(21:22):
you know, how do we deploy thesenew technologies in a way that
really are balanced, withoutlosing sight of the importance
of relationships and connectionsand communication.
And so how do we balance thatand continue to drive that
forward?
Speaker 2 (21:37):
excellent, which leads me into my final question,
which is about relationshipsand connections.
How can folks connect with you?
Is that through linkedin?
Do you want to show your emailaddress?
Are you super cool and all overt in places?
And, of course, how can ourlisteners learn more about
Dynatrace?
Speaker 3 (21:52):
So check out Dynatracecom.
You can learn a ton about ourofferings and the organization.
For me personally, LinkedIn isa great way.
I am not cool on TikTok sothat's not the best way to reach
me, but I would say LinkedIn isawesome.
Or my Dynatrace email atSueQuackenbush at Dynatracecom.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Perfect.
Me too.
I would be lost trying to useTikTok, but I love a bit of
LinkedIn, Sue.
That just leaves me to say fortoday Thank you very much for
being my guest.
Speaker 3 (22:23):
Oh, thank you so much for having me.
It was a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
And listeners as always, until next time.
Happy working much for havingme.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
It was a pleasure and listeners as always.
Until next time, happy working.
Thanks for listening to the HRChat Show.
If you enjoyed this episode,why not subscribe and listen to
some of the hundreds of episodespublished by HR Gazette and
remember for what's new in theworld of work?
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HRGazettecom.
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