Trevor Noah, Adam Grant, and Why Workhuman Live Should Be on Your Calendar with Jackye Clayton

What makes an HR conference truly exceptional? According to veteran attendee Jackye Clayton, it's the willingness to tackle tough issues while maintaining a human-centered approach - precisely what sets Workhuman Live apart from the crowd.

In this conversation with HRchat host Bill Banham, Jackye shares her enthusiasm for the upcoming Workhuman Live 2025 in Colorado. As a frequent attendee who ranks it among her top five HR conferences, Clayton offers unique insights into what makes this event special. Unlike conferences that create an artificial bubble of positivity, WorkHuman has consistently addressed challenging social movements like Me Too and responded to societal traumas such as the George Floyd murder. This authenticity reflects the event's commitment to making workplace practices genuinely human-centric.

The 2025 lineup promises exceptional content from thought leaders across critical areas. Adam Grant will explore psychological safety and hidden potential—essential for organizations looking to maximize internal talent development. Kelly Jones and Carrie Driver tackle the timely topic of navigating uncertainty with clarity, while Trevor Noah brings his unique global perspective to a discussion about AI and social responsibility. This blend of practical frameworks, inspiring ideas, and real-world applications creates an unmatched learning opportunity for HR professionals, talent executives, and business leaders who believe in the power of human-centered workplaces.

Whether you're focused on talent management, recognition programs, or inclusive leadership, WorkHuman Live offers insights that bridge theory and practice. 

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Episode Transcript

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.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Hey, listeners, this is Billannum, your host today,
and joining me back on the showis the awesome, amazing Jackie
Clayton.
Hey, jackie, how are you doing?

Speaker 3 (00:35):
I'm doing great.
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
This is kind of part two of a look at two different
upcoming events.
In the previous conversationthat Jackie and I had, we talked
about Unleash America, which ishappening in early May.
I'm pretty upset that I can'tmake it, but Jackie's going to
be there, so please collect withher at Unleash.

(01:00):
And today we're going to betalking about WorkHuman
WorkHuman Live 2025.
It's in beautiful Colorado.
Again, I can't be there, butJackie can, and so we're going
to get Jackie's take on whatmakes WorkHuman a unique event
and one worth putting in youryearly calendar.

(01:24):
Thanks for listening to thisepisode 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.
Jackie, why don't you start bygiving us a bit of an overview
of the event?
You've attended a few timesbefore, I think right.

(01:45):
Give us a bit of an overview ofthe event You've attended a few
times before, I think right.
Give us a bit of an overview ofthe event and what folks you
see there, what folks you meetthere and what makes it a fun
event.

Speaker 3 (01:55):
Thank you.
Yes, I've been there severaltimes.
It's actually in my top fivebest HR conferences of all time
top five best HR conferences ofall time.
It elevates the human side ofHR, of course, but it has got so
popular WorkHuman that used tobe just the conference that they
changed the whole company to goaround that WorkHuman and now

(02:17):
they have WorkHuman Live.
It's really for people in thecore of HR.
But what I've always loved aboutthis particular event is that
it's never hidden itself awayfrom what difficult things that
we were going on.
Since I've been going to workhuman, I've been there while we

(02:38):
were going over the Me Toomovement in the United States.
We had to deal with GeorgeFloyd and murders that were
going on.
That happened in Rochester, newYork, and when you go to these
places you have a feeling thatyou're supposed to ignore it and
everyone's supposed to put on ahappy face.
But WorkHuman always deals witheven the most difficult events

(03:01):
and really sticks to theircompany mission in putting that
to make practices human centricand you have a real sense of
community and a real sense thatwe can get through this and get
those pieces together.
And I'm also excited this yearin particular, because we know
that inclusive leadership anddoing that, giving recognition

(03:27):
for people in top talentmanagement has always been core
to who WorkHuman is, and so it'sjust great to see it live, and,
like you said, in beautifulColorado.

Speaker 4 (03:39):
Hi everybody.
This is Bob Goodwin, presidentat Career Club.
Imagine with me for a minute aworkplace where leaders and
employees are energized, engagedand operating at their very
best.
At Career Club, we work withboth individuals and
organizations to help combatstress and burnout that lead to
attrition, disengagement andhigher health care costs.

(04:01):
We can help your organizationand your workforce thrive,
boosting both productivity andmorale across the board.
To learn more about how wemight help you and your company,
visit us at careerclub.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
I think, with everything going on, it's nice
to have events like Work Human,which try and spread a positive
message.
So and you did a great jobthere of sharing your
experiences in the past and whatyou're looking forward to this
year, because it's a cool brand.
Ok, let's talk about folks thatyou are hoping to see there.

(04:38):
Can you suggest a couple ofspeakers, maybe that you're
hoping to see?

Speaker 3 (04:43):
Well, I'm always excited about Adam Grant.
I'm a real fan of Adam Grant,and I'm excited because he's
going to be talking aboutpsychological safety and the
topic is called or the title isHidden Potential, and so I love
that Always trying to make surethat we're doing that or the

(05:04):
title is Hidden Potential, andso I love that Always trying to
make sure that we're doing thatmaking the most or giving people
the best opportunity to expandtheir talent at work.
We're always looking at how wecan boost our employees
internally, and so I'm excitedto hear Adam Grant's take on
that.
I'm also excited, you know,about Kelly Jones and Carrie
Driver.
They're going to be talking ona topic that is close to my

(05:29):
heart uncertainty.
If you've ever seen myuncertainty era, they're going
to be talking about navigatinguncertainty with clarity and, as
you know, in this politicalclimate, especially here in the
States, there's a lot ofuncertainty and a lot of being
nervous, and so a lot of peopleare going to be looking there,
along with other globalorganizations, of managing
uncertainty and how we can bringthat to make it human-centered

(05:54):
and something that we don't walkaway from.
Then, absolutely one of thethings that WorkHuman is known
for is their absolute mostwonderful keynotes.
I will tell you a secret myfirst WorkHuman the keynote
speaker was Michelle Obama, andit was the same year that it was

(06:17):
Barack's last year as presidentof the United States.
That was my first speaker.
I was like you're never goingto be able to top this, but this
is a close second.
Trevor Noah is going to bethere, who we all love, know and
love, and he's going to belooking at AI from a global
perspective, and so I'm excitedto hear what his insights are

(06:41):
how we can be sociallyresponsible.
Of course, he has his ownpersonal lens that he brings to
the table, given his history,but he has a way of taking these
big, complex issues and makingit really easy to understand,
and so I am absolutely thrilledto get a chance to see Trevor
Noah.

Speaker 5 (07:02):
Once in a while, an event series is born that shakes
things up, it makes you thinkdifferently and it leaves you
inspired.
That event is Disrupt HR.
The format is 14 speakers, fiveminutes each and slides rotate
every 15 seconds.
If you're an HR professional, aCEO, a technologist or a
community leader and you've gotsomething to say about talent,

(07:23):
culture or technology, disruptis the place.
It's coming soon to a city nearyou.
Learn more at disrupthrco.

Speaker 2 (07:36):
Okay, amazing, fantastic lineup.
Lots of cool panels as wellgoing on at the event, so it
sounds like it's going to be agreat time.
We recorded an interviewrecently with jesse from work
human uh, you should check thatone out too, that and within
that, we break down some of thedata that they're looking at and
we include a bit of a bit moreof a preview, uh, to to the

(07:59):
conference, jackie.
More of a preview to theconference, jackie.
Thank you very much for joiningme again.
How can folks connect with you?

Speaker 3 (08:06):
Yes, so I spell my name J-A-C-K-Y-E Clayton and I'm
at Jackie Clayton on all ofyour favorite social media sites
.
But if you need me quickly, youcan always find me on LinkedIn.
I'm on there at least 25% of myday.

Speaker 2 (08:24):
Perfect, Jackie, until next time.
Thanks very much for being myguest.

Speaker 3 (08:29):
My pleasure.

Speaker 1 (08:33):
Thanks for listening to the HR Chat Show.
If you enjoyed this episode,why not subscribe and listen to
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