In this episode of the Cohesion Podcast, Miriam Connaughton speaks with Jim O’Gorman, Chief People Officer at Included Health, about designing belonging and connectedness in a distributed healthcare workforce. Jim shares how his team reinvested office savings into ERGs and in-person experiences, how they separate orientation from onboarding, and why psychological safety matters more than ever in a dispersed workforce.
From playlists and Slack channels to leadership development and DEI strategy, this episode offers practical guidance on how to build a people-first culture—with intention.
Episode Segments:
1. Getting to Know Jim
00:00: From Hulu to healthcare—Jim shares career highlights, personal stories, and a favorite show.
2. Rethinking Belonging
04:53: Why employees feel lonelier than ever—and how we’ve misunderstood engagement.
3. Leading a Remote Culture
08:09: How Included Health uses travel, ERGs, and curated moments to foster connection.
4. Generational Diversity in the Workplace
18:06: What really divides (and unites) different generations—and how to focus on what matters.
5. Onboarding with Purpose
21:31: Why onboarding and orientation should be separate—and how to create early connection.
6. Inclusion & Performance
28:04: Beyond checkboxes—how DEI connects to performance, safety, and true belonging.
7. Equipping Leaders
32:00: Why junior managers are under pressure—and how to support them in a remote world.
8. Tech That Connects
35:11: Using tools like Slack, playlists, and walk-on songs to scale human connection.
“We need to stop running from connectedness. Remote work requires more—not less—humanity in how we lead.” – Jim O’Gorman
🔔 Subscribe to the Cohesion Podcast for more expert insights on employee experience, internal communications, and culture.
🌐 Learn more about Simpplr: www.simpplr.com
📎 Connect with Jim: LinkedIn
#EmployeeExperience #BelongingAtWork #RemoteLeadership #HybridWorkforce #HealthcareCulture #InternalComms #PeopleStrategy #LeadershipEnablement
Popular Podcasts
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!