¡Feliz Navidad!

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Naira is pleased to welcome the following 13 new
members Chelsea Cosgrove fromPaychex, victoria Plays from Ray
Magnetwire, kurt Breiner fromthe Indiana Air National Guard,
christine Johnson from IndianaAuto Auctions, michael Williams

(00:23):
and Greg Davis from Paycore,taylor Fisher and Lysia
Francisco from Bright Point,adam Surface, steve Weinland,
namartha Hattu, tesla Flores andKaya so from Master Spaws.
Welcome new members.

(00:45):
We're excited that you can joinus.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
How do reindeer apply to fly Santa's sleigh?
They submit a resume.

Speaker 4 (00:58):
Today we're speaking with Ed San Innocencio, our
outgoing Naira president from2022 and 2023.
Ed, I wanted to ask you toshare with our listeners any
parting thoughts that you hadregarding the changes in Naira
over the past couple of years,as well as where you see us

(01:22):
headed into the future.

Speaker 5 (01:24):
Absolutely.
Thanks for having me on, mike.
I think it's almost safe to saythat, speaking of me and my
presidency in past terms,because we're only now a couple
of weeks until the end of theyear.
I look at these last two yearsand frankly, can't believe how

(01:44):
fast time has gone.
I want to say I can't believeof the changes that has happened
within our chapter.
But when you look at the makeupof who we are as a board and as
an organization really comes asno surprise because of just the
sheer passion that all of ourboard members have for this.

(02:06):
I will tell you I'm just verythankful and blessed to be able
to serve the last two years withsuch a great group of HR
professionals on the board.
We've done some great things inNortheast Indiana, specifically
here in Fort Wayne.
We've grown our membership.
We've grown the impact thatwe've had locally in Northeast

(02:27):
Indiana with programming.
We've surveyed and we've triedto really identify why are our
members?
And it always comes back to theeducation.
We've just heavily investedinto the high quality of
education that we're providingto our members.

(02:47):
I hope it's evident and thechanges that we've seen here in
Fort Wayne over the last twoyears have been nothing short of
remarkable.
I want to thank our members fortheir continued support, their
continued passion and engagementfor HR in Fort Wayne.
I want to thank our boardmembers.

(03:08):
This has been such a tremendousexperience.
Of course I'm not going to begoing anywhere anytime soon.
I'll be officially serving asthe past president for another
two years.
I'll be the now moving on tothe more the HR State Council as
the membership director,serving alongside you, mike.
You'll be the State TechnologyDirector, so it'll be really

(03:32):
nice time serving along you onceagain.
When I look at the future ofNIRA, I couldn't be more
confident in the hands that itwill be under, with Carly
Buchanan and Julie Hess, twovery passionate people.
Carly has done such a great jobin the last two years, really
enveloping herself in all thingsNIRA and really learning the

(03:55):
role as president.
So it's kind of a new take tohave a president elect in that
role, learning and growing fortwo years.
Carly had won.
Julie will not have the fulltwo years and it's going to do
nothing but great things for ourchapter.
But when I look at the futureof our chapter.
It really starts with ourmembers and what's important to

(04:20):
them.
There are so many changeshappening right now in HR and
there have been changeshappening in HR.
Nancy Stegmeier did a tremendousjob leading us through the
COVID era with all of thechanging laws and regulations,
different work from homepolicies that we knew nothing
about and try to navigate thosewaters.

(04:41):
And here we are and we're in adifferent point as an HR
community and I think you canlook to us, as you're hopefully
the HR authority in NortheastIndiana, when it comes to
education and really learningthe what's what, and we really
try to do a tremendous job ofputting the most important

(05:05):
topics that affects your day today world, whether you're an HR
or whether you have any stake inemployee management or employee
engagement or supervision, andif you have any stake in the
human asset, we hope to be theavenue you turn to to just learn

(05:25):
and connect with other people.
We've grown our membership to alevel that it's never been
before.
We have nearly 480 members incounting, so we're breaching
that 500 mark, which has neverhappened in the history of Nira.
We're averaging well over 200members at every single monthly
luncheon If you, if you're not amember and you're listening to

(05:49):
this for the first time.
We hold monthly luncheons wehave nine of those year along
with ancillary events outside ofthose monthly luncheons.
Those ancillary events could bea conversation with the
workforce attorney talking aboutemployee handbooks or

(06:09):
harassment in the workplace ortopics that you need guidance on
, and so when I look at thefuture of Nira, I see really an
investment back into whatmatters most, and that's giving
you the tools and the resourcesand the knowledge in the
education to navigate thischanging landscape.

Speaker 1 (06:30):
And oh by the way.

Speaker 5 (06:31):
There's almost 500 other members that are going
through the exact same thing asyou, and our hope is to connect
one another, is to learn fromone another because, boy, we
just have so much knowledge andinformation within our chapter
and if we can just we can justtap into that a little bit, I
think we'll all be in a bettersituation, and so that's our

(06:54):
hope is to continue learningtogether and growing.
Our chapter will continue togrow and will continue to evolve
.
We have a hard time stayingstill.
We have a hard time with statusquo, so we always like to push
the envelope and do new things.
We're releasing a tremendouspartnership program where we

(07:18):
want to include those, thoseservices that help us in our day
to day world.
We know that without the rightvendors and partners and
companies to help with the toolsand the resources for HR, our
jobs would be much moredifficult tools like benefits

(07:41):
and technology and recruiting,and, and all of these things
that help you become the betterversion of the HR person you'd
like to be.
We, we realize that we needthose people as true partners as
a part of nirin, so we'recompletely changing the
landscape of how that works,bringing in highly valued

(08:05):
partners and and and teaming upwith them.
So it's it's going to.
It's going to allow us tofurther the reach and further
the impact that we're making inour community and specifically
northeast indiana, as wecontinue to grow.
So I couldn't be more moreexcited and more grateful for

(08:27):
the opportunity.
I'll I'll be here if if youneed anything you can, you can
call carly or email carly oranyone from our board.
They'd be more than happy tohelp in any way possible.
But, mike, I just want to thankyou as well.
You led the charge indeveloping this innovative

(08:48):
approach to putting forth amessage to our members in a
different way, and that's thispodcast, and you've done such a
great job.
You're still going to be herein four way and and, of course,
we'll see at the monthlymeetings from time to time.
I'll see you on a regular basis, but you've done such a great

(09:11):
job, really helping youtransform what technology used
to be to what it will be here,moving forward.
So just couldn't be moregrateful and just want to thank
everyone for the opportunity.

Speaker 4 (09:23):
Thank you, ed.
It's been a pleasure doing thiswith you.
It's been.
It's been a lot of fun and Ihope our our listeners have
benefited from just another wayof communicating directly with
them, and I look forward to thegreat things that Brittany and
team are going to be doing withthe podcast moving forward.
So thank you for your serviceto our members and we have a

(09:46):
passion for the HR world and thefolks in it, and I think you've
done a fantastic job ofbringing everyone together and
moving us towards the goal of500 plus members.
So thank you, ed.
Thanks Mike.
Welcome to the program.
Today I have Carly Buchanan,future Naira president, starting

(10:10):
in 2024, and Julie Hess,president elect on the program.
Welcome.

Speaker 8 (10:19):
Thanks for having us.

Speaker 4 (10:21):
So, carly, can you tell us about your vision for
the organization in 2024.

Speaker 8 (10:28):
Well, absolutely.
We are so excited to be comingoff of a strong 2023.
But as we turn the corner into2024, naira is excited.
We are basically takingeverything we've been doing over
50 years and we're, mike, we'retaking it to the next level.
And to speak to our chapter andour members about exactly what

(10:50):
we're taking to the next level,and it's it's the conference,
you know the Naira conference,which is coming up May 16.
I mean, it's going to be nextlevel, with attendance, speakers
, breakouts.
Also, our programming, you knownine monthly luncheons, over 20
webinars.
We're programming on a new andbigger level than we've ever

(11:14):
seen partnerships and groupssponsoring and partnering and
collaborating with the chapter.
We're amping that up.
Our marketing for those thatfollow us on LinkedIn and
Facebook, our branding, ourmembership, mike, we I think
we're in the upper 400s, we'repushing 500 chapter members.

(11:37):
It's, it's just beenunbelievable.
So I think what we're sayinghere at Naira is jump on this
bandwagon, because we're we'reforging ahead into 2024 and
beyond and just takingeverything that we've done in
Northeast Indiana to advance andserve the HR profession, but
doing it on a next level andjust putting our, our heart and

(12:01):
soul into the chapter, themembers and the whole HR
profession in Northeast Indiana.

Speaker 4 (12:08):
Great.
Thank you for that, carly.
Julie, can you tell us what wehave in store for programming in
2024.

Speaker 6 (12:14):
Carly mentioned a few of the things and highlights
Definitely, absolutely, ourconference is.
Our conference is always really, really good.
Our team does a great job,cassie and her team organizing
it.
They do a fantastic job with itand it's even going to be
better.
I mean, we've heard little bitsand pieces about what's to come
in 2024 and it's it's pretty,pretty cool.

(12:35):
It's going to be pretty great.
Our programming for ourluncheons and our webinars, our
goal is just like, like Carlysaid, just to step it up, to
take it to the next level.
We've got John Balgino comingback, we've got Lindsay Bacarta,
we've got Kara Salletto youname it.
We've got them coming.
And then we we heard ourmembers are.

(12:56):
Members said we like morewebinars.
It adds that value to themembership and we want to bring
that value to the members.
So, in addition to our legalease, which we are increasing
the number of legal easewebinars we have we're also
doing HR power talks this yearand that'll be just general HR
topics in a webinar format thatcan be interactive and engaging,

(13:19):
and we we just hope to giveback to our members that way as
well.

Speaker 4 (13:25):
Great Thank you for that, julie.
Anything either Carly or Juliewould like to share in closing?

Speaker 8 (13:33):
Well, I do always like to promote a shirm we're an
affiliate chapter of.
This is a big year because theshirm National Conference Mike
is actually in the windy city,chicago, so for any of our
members that can make the driveto Chicago for the shirm
National Conference I do want tomention that's June 24 through

(13:54):
26 and it only makes it to ourMidwest neck of the woods every
five or six years, so it's oneof those things to maybe
consider.
I know we have our NairaConference every May and there's
the HR Indiana down inIndianapolis every August, but
the June shirm National comeregister.

(14:15):
It's on the shirms website.
There's a group of Nairamembers going to be there.
I'm going to be there, sodefinitely check that out and
see what shirms doing there inChicago in June.

Speaker 4 (14:27):
Great.
Well, thank you for your timetoday, carly and Julie.

Speaker 6 (14:30):
Thank you, thanks Mike.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
To get us all in the spirit, we have 12 interesting
Christmas facts from GoodHousekeeping.
Hanging stockings started byaccident.
Legend has it.
We hang stockings by thechimney with care because one
year a poor widowed man didn'thave enough money for his three
daughters dowries, making itdifficult for them to marry.

(14:54):
Generous old St Nick dropped abag of gold down their chimney
one night and into the freshlywashed stockings the girl had
hung by the fire to dry.
After that, the tradition stuck.
Christmas wreaths are religioussymbols.
The custom of bringingevergreens into the home began
in the 16th century amongnorthern and eastern Europeans,

(15:18):
primarily Germans, as a means ofcleaning up the Christmas tree
and making it more uniform.
Instead of throwing out, cutoff greens, people wove the
excess into wreaths.
However, the religioussignificance is that the
circular shape and evergreenmaterial of the wreath represent
eternal life.
The circle, which has nobeginning or end, symbolizes the

(15:40):
eternity of God, theimmortality of the soul and the
everlasting life we find inChrist.
Did you know Americans spendnearly $1000 a year on gifts?
According to the NationalRetail Federation's most recent
data, consumers spend an averageof $967.13 on the holidays.

(16:03):
Here's a few interesting factsabout two popular Christmas
songs.
Jingle Bells was originally aThanksgiving song, turns out, we
first started dashing throughthe snow for an entirely
different holiday.
James Lord Pierpont wrote thesong called One Horse Open
Sleigh for his church'sThanksgiving concert in the mid

(16:24):
19th century.
Then in 1857, the song wasre-released under the title we
All Know and Love, and it'sstill among the most popular
Christmas songs today.
Astronauts broadcast JingleBells from space.
Nine days before Christmas in1965, astronauts Wally Sheraw

(16:46):
and Tom Stafford aboard theGemini-6 told Mission Control
that they saw an unidentifiedflying object about to enter
Earth's atmosphere, traveling inthe polar orbit from north to
south.
Just as things got tense, theyinterrupted the broadcast with
Jingle Bells as Wally played asmall harmonica, accompanied by

(17:06):
Tom shaking a handful of smallsleigh bells.
Silent Night is the mostrecorded song.
We all know the same fewhandfuls of Christmas songs play
at stores and on the radio in aloop all season long, but one
of them has been adapted morethan others.
Silent Night is actually themost recorded Christmas song in

(17:29):
history.
It's had more than 733different versions copyrighted
since 1978.
This one should come as nosurprise to many of us.
We ship a ton of packages atthe holidays.
Last year, the US PostalService processed more than 11.7

(17:54):
billion pieces of mail inpackages during the holiday
season.
That includes gifts for lovedones, holiday cards, christmas
letters to Santa and, of course,those dreaded credit card bills
from all the gift shopping.
The term X-MIS dates back to the1500s.
Contrary to popular belief,x-mis is not a trendy attempt to

(18:19):
take Christ out of Christmas.
Christianity was spelledXianity as far back as 1100.
X or Chi is the Greek firstletter of Christ and back in the
4th century Constantine theGreat often referenced the
shorthand version.
Candy Canes originated inGermany.

(18:40):
The National ConfectionersAssociation says a choir master
originally gave the red andwhite striped candies to young
children to keep them quietduring marathon church services
back in 1670.
It wasn't until a GermanSwedish immigrant decorated his
tree with candy canes in 1847that they became popular as a

(19:03):
Christmas candy.
Nowadays they're available in awide variety of colors and
flavors, like cherry, green,apple and watermelon.
The enormous RockefellerChristmas tree started small.
The first Christmas tree atRockefeller Center looked more

(19:24):
like Charlie Brown's than theresplendent one today.
The iconic tree dates back tothe Depression era.
Construction workers firstplaced a small undecorated tree
while working there in 1931.
Two years later another treeappeared in its place, this time
draped in lights.
It just kept getting biggerevery year.

(19:45):
Today, the majestic tree bearsmore than 25,000 twinkling
lights and sees millions ofselfie takers each season.
This Christmas gift held alife-saving secret.
During World War II, the UnitedStates playing card company
joined forces with American andBritish intelligence agencies to

(20:08):
create a very special deck ofcards.
They distributed them asChristmas gifts to soldiers, but
they also helped alliedprisoners of war escape from
German POW camps when wetindividual cards peeled apart to
reveal maps of escape routes.
And finally, tinsel has astoried history.

(20:30):
Tinsel was invented in 1610 inGermany.
It was spun from real silverand then hammered out, and was
more of a luxury decoration thanthe cheap tree trimming it is
today.
The US government once bannedtinsel because it used to
contain poisonous lead, but noneed to worry, now it's just

(20:51):
plastic.
Merry Christmas.

Speaker 9 (20:54):
Hi everyone.
This is Anne with Naira, yourboard member at large.
Today for the member spotlight,I have with me Barry Bender,
who is the HR director atCenturion Industries in Garret,
Indiana.
Welcome, Barry.

Speaker 10 (21:13):
Yes, hi, glad to be with you.

Speaker 9 (21:16):
I'm glad that you were willing to join and share
with our members a little bitabout yourself.
So, barry, tell us, how longhave you been a Naira member?

Speaker 10 (21:30):
Yeah, so everyone's heard of Nozark, I'm sure, but
no, I'm just kidding.
I've been in HR for oh gosh,going on 28 years.
So, yeah, been around the HRblock a little while.
So, yeah, early in my career Ihad an HR mentor that I looked

(21:50):
up to that suggested that I getinvolved with Sherm and Naira, I
think was part of that.
So those were great investments.
Got involved early on and thatwas a good thing to get plugged
into.

Speaker 9 (22:07):
Okay, and you, if you're willing to share with
everyone you, your journey didtake you on kind of a wave of
being a member and then steppingaway from that, and is there
anything that you'd like toshare about you rejoining the

(22:27):
Niagara community?

Speaker 10 (22:29):
Yeah, you bet.
So I did step away from it fora while.
It seemed like back then itsort of went through a season
where the topics, for me atleast, got a little stale.
I'm a real practical typeperson, so I'm always looking

(22:49):
for things to, you know, toreally apply right away, and so
it seemed like some of thetopics got a little stale, a
little esoteric, and you know,and there's also a lot of things
nowadays you can get withoutleaving your desk, you know,
obviously on the web, and so Istepped away from it for a while
.
And then, more recently, youknow you've got, I know the

(23:11):
board has gone through a lot ofchanges, a lot of new, fresh
ideas, fresh board members andcreativity, and I noticed that,
so thought the topics have beenmore on point and more practical
.
And just, you know, you guysare doing a great job of you
know just really marketingyourselves to the members better

(23:33):
and you know different touchpoints besides just the monthly
lunches, you know the webinars Ithink are great.
So, yeah, I've really enjoyed.
You know, plugging back in Beengood.

Speaker 9 (23:45):
Great, great.
I'm glad.
Thank you for sharing that.
I'm in your transparency, Imean.
I'm glad that you observed thatand you reconsidered, and I, of
course, am biased.
I couldn't agree with you more.
I'm very even humbled to besurrounded by some really great

(24:05):
leaders on the board and be ableto learn and grow from them as
well.
So that's great.
We're really glad to have youpart and hopefully you look
forward to some of the things wehave coming up as well.
So, barry, are you also a suremember currently and if you are,

(24:26):
how long have you been a suremember?

Speaker 10 (24:29):
I am yes.
So yeah, like I said, I kind ofplugged into that early on in
my career, based, you know,based on my mentor's suggestion
there.
So that's been a good value and, you know, great resource,
obviously for lots, of, lots ofthings.
So, yeah, got my certificationthere some years ago and that,

(24:52):
you know, that also wassomething that kind of instilled
some confidence and something Irecommend for my staff too and
to do, you know, to pursue that.

Speaker 9 (25:04):
Okay, that's so.
You had that direction early onto become a sure member.
It sounds like yeah, yeah, I'mgonna ask the mentor.

Speaker 10 (25:15):
You know what are some things I can do to kind of
ramp up, because I really didn'tcome from a traditional, you
know, I had zero HR background.
So Sherm was one of the youknow first things he said to get
plugged into.

Speaker 9 (25:25):
So great, great.
What do you enjoy the mostabout being in human resources?
And also, if you can share, whydid you choose the human
resources?
Would you you kind of answeredthat for us a little bit, but if

(25:46):
you'd like to enlighten on thatas well, Sure, yeah, well, I
was always kind of in the publicsector.

Speaker 10 (25:55):
I was a pretty extension educator for a number
of years and some other publicservice roles, and you know.
So I was always kind of workingwith people and developing
people programs.
But I was kind of ready to, youknow, spread my wings, if you
will, into the private sector,and so it was kind of a natural

(26:17):
transition when I had theopportunity to dive into HR.
You know, obviously it's a Ialways think of it as a unique
blend between people and taskand I felt like I kind of had at
least the aptitude for that andthankfully someone was willing
to take a chance on me and andyou know, between Sherm and

(26:38):
other resources, was able to,you know, follow that path.

Speaker 9 (26:45):
Okay, and you?

Speaker 10 (26:47):
you mentioned things that I enjoyed doing.
If you want that, I think it'sreally gratifying to invest in
people.
It's hard to carve out time forthat sometimes with you know
and busy HR folks, but if youget a chance to you know, invest

(27:10):
in people and help them developand be be their best, you know
that's really gratifying and youknow to have the opportunity to
help shape a company's cultureis is a pretty fun thing.

Speaker 9 (27:23):
Yeah, Do you feel, Barry, that, because many of us
and many, many members that haveshared also, they didn't really
start in HR.
They kind of had, like you said, you shared the wheelhouse of
it and they kind of evolved intoa role?
Do you do you feel that manypeople do kind of start their

(27:46):
career that way, or what is yourthought on that?

Speaker 10 (27:51):
Well, I don't know the statistics behind it, I
think historically that wascertainly true.
It.
Is it better to have someformal training?
You know a degree probably, butyou know certainly not a an
obstacle.
You know probably depends onwhat company you try to get into
.
Some would be more demanding inthat way than others, but I

(28:13):
think for a lot of folks, youknow, it's definitely a
knowledge base that you canlearn if you're willing to put
the work in, and you knowcertainly a lot of resources out
there that can help you alongthat way.

Speaker 9 (28:26):
So Absolutely Guide you.
Guide you toward that direction.
What do you consider to be themost beneficial experience about
being a NIRA member?

Speaker 10 (28:40):
Yeah, I mean the topics are always great and
helpful, but I, you know, always, like just again, like I said,
I'm a practical guy, so I likethe opportunity to network and
talk to other folks around thetable If it's a luncheon.
You know things that they'redoing, solutions to different

(29:03):
things.
So anytime there's, you know,kind of that opportunity to the
network, I think is superhelpful.

Speaker 9 (29:12):
Okay, kind of the takeaways that are taken to
action, yep.

Speaker 10 (29:17):
Yep.

Speaker 9 (29:18):
Yeah, okay.
Do you have a favorite or mostmemorable speaker at one of our
monthly luncheons?
It could be past or present.
Who and why?

Speaker 10 (29:32):
I can't think of a specific topic.
I would say it would probably,again be a topic that would be,
you know, practical andsomething that you can take some
things away and apply prettyreadily, and you know somebody
that puts the cookies on thelower shelf, if you will, so
that you can, you know, put themin practice.

Speaker 9 (29:54):
Okay, yeah, yeah, kind of kind of what you said as
far as, like that, take thataction and take away and apply
and how?
Yeah, that makes sense.
I'm with you.
I do agree.
It's the good things that youcan have the opportunity to
apply it or put it into action,I agree.

(30:17):
So, barry, I have a fewquestions that are a little more
fun based and just kind ofshare a little personality with
us.
If you could choose one yeah,if you could choose one song to
play every time you walked intoa room for the rest of your life

(30:38):
, what song would you choose andwhy?

Speaker 10 (30:43):
Yeah, I wrestled with that one.
I'll tell you what my wifeplays on her ringtone.
I'm an outdoorsy, adventuretype guy, so you know she has
the Indiana Jones theme song.
But that's not what I wouldpick probably oh, I don't know
I'd probably pick somethinginspiring, like the Rocky theme

(31:07):
song or something like that.
I don't know.
I could think of lots of things.
I think that's a classic one.

Speaker 9 (31:14):
Yeah, I mean you get kind of pumped when you hear the
Rocky theme song, so yeah,something from my workout
playlist or something so Rockycame to mind.
Okay, okay.
If you could choose anysuperpower, what power would you
choose and why?

Speaker 10 (31:36):
Well, I like a lot of the comic Marvel superheroes.
I mean, it's hard to beat Ironman, right?
So I don't know, I'll go withIron man.

Speaker 9 (31:46):
Okay, yeah, that one's a hard one to argue with,
you know, with those powers.
So have you seen all of Ironman movies then?

Speaker 10 (31:58):
I think so.
Yeah, I usually try to keep upwith all that stuff.

Speaker 9 (32:03):
Okay, so we know who to come to if we need someone.
Iron man for Naira no.

Speaker 10 (32:10):
I'm just kidding, that might be a question.

Speaker 9 (32:16):
Also, Barry, you know , if you'd like to share with
our members in our community.
What do you like to do in yourfree time or any hobbies, when
you are certainly, of course,taking a break from all the work
of HR?
What do you like to?

Speaker 10 (32:32):
do, yeah.
So my wife says I have too manyinterests, and that's probably
true, so I need to focus alittle better.
But you know we aregrandparents and so that part
you know we spend a lot of timewith, with grandkids, which is a
huge blessing.
And but beyond that you knowfishing, hunting, anything

(32:54):
outdoors, really camping, hiking.
I'm a big Purdue fan and alumso you know boiler up to the
Purdue fans out there, I guess.

Speaker 7 (33:04):
Okay.

Speaker 10 (33:04):
So yeah, kind of kind of some of my interests.

Speaker 9 (33:09):
Yeah, that's great.
You sound like you have, quitelike you said, quite a few
interests and versatile, and youstay quite busy, I sounds like,
so that that's great that youshared that.
Do you have any lastencouraging words for someone

(33:31):
out there listening or isconsidering to?

Speaker 10 (33:36):
join Naira.
Yeah, sure, I mean kind of likewe discussed earlier.
I mean like it was in my career, I think you know, an
investment in Naira and Shermare.
You know, those are definitelygreat investments of your time,
especially when you're new to HR.
But you know, even for theveteran there's always things to

(34:01):
be learned and to stay in touchwith.
So I think those would be thetop two things that would
suggest any new HR person getplugged into.

Speaker 9 (34:10):
Excellent, Yep.
Thank you for sharing thatagain.
Well, Barry, our time is up.
I want to again thank you forparticipating in the member
spotlight.
It's been really neat to talkwith you and learn more about
your journey and I just thankyou again.

Speaker 10 (34:29):
Yeah, likewise Thanks a lot.

Speaker 4 (34:31):
Today I have Denise Mills.
Denise, introduce yourself toour listeners.

Speaker 11 (34:39):
Hi there, I'm Denise Mills.
I am the Senior Managing BranchDirector at Creative Financial
Staffing in Portway.

Speaker 4 (34:47):
Great Denise, you have been with the Naira board
for quite some time.
Can you tell us about yourexperiences?

Speaker 11 (34:56):
Yeah, I've actually been a member of Naira for about
20 years through a coupledifferent positions and as I got
into Naira and got you know alittle more involved by
attending the meetings and such,I wanted to get more involved.
I wanted to help grow andpromote the organization.
So I decided to join themembership committee and worked
on that committee, justcontacting people, reaching out,

(35:17):
trying to make people awaremore than anything and two
directors later I was elected tothe board and asked if I would
be the director of themembership committee and so I
did that for about five years.
Biggest compliment, or I guessour biggest contribution there,
was that the team was able togrow the membership to over 400
members, which was kind of bigat that time that was in 2019,

(35:40):
before everything happened, butreally in a growth mode.
At that point I decided to moveinto community engagement and
so I've done that for the lasttwo years.
I really feel that the FortWayne area is all about
connection and my primary role,or what I've tried to do for
Naira, is just get the word out.
It's not hard to interestpeople in membership when they

(36:01):
find out about the organization.
We really offer education,networking opportunities and I'm
learning really not only forpeople in HR, but also for
business owners.
Many businesses in the FortWayne area don't have an HR
person and I feel like we canreally help them with education
and resources.
So trying to do that in my roleas community engagement.

Speaker 4 (36:23):
Great.
Do you have any, I guess,parting words for the group as
you exit your service as a boardmember and continue on as a
member of Naira?

Speaker 11 (36:37):
Thanks, mike.
I think the biggest partingwords would be you get what you
give, and so if you want to getmore out of Naira, make sure you
go to all the meetings, getinvolved on a committee, learn
what it's about, because thereare so many great opportunities,
so many different programs.
I mean just the programmingalone has grown, even over the

(36:58):
last couple of years with thevarious webinars and legal
e-seminars.
So, whether it's someoneconsidering board tenure or
board membership or even justconsidering membership, get
involved.
That's the way you get more outof it.
You learn and you meet peopleand, in my opinion, that's what
it's all about.
It's been a great experienceand I look forward to being a

(37:19):
member of Naira for a long timeto come.

Speaker 4 (37:22):
Thank you for your time today, Denise.

Speaker 11 (37:25):
Thank you.

Speaker 4 (37:30):
I have Latanya Ackerson fromour board of, recently elected
from our board of directors andshe will be serving in 2024.
Latanya, introduce yourself toour listeners Good morning
listeners.

Speaker 15 (37:48):
I'm Latanya Ackerson .
I will be stepping into therole of your diversity, equity
and inclusion position for Nairaboard 2024.

Speaker 4 (37:59):
Great.
Tell us why you decided toserve on the Naira board.

Speaker 15 (38:04):
Yes, so from my decision to serve on the Naira
board, I have been a Nairamember since 2015.
I have been a Sherman membersince 2016.
I love everything HR.
The diversity, equity andinclusion, and even belonging is
a very big, strong passion ofmine and I am what you would
call a community volunteer,professional volunteer.

(38:27):
So now that I've kind of likedelegated some of those roles in
my personal life from otherboards and things of that nature
that I've sat on, I decidedthat it was my time to throw in
my name for the Naira board andyou all decided that it was my
time to shine as well and haveselected me for this role and
I'm really excited to take thison.

Speaker 4 (38:49):
But Tanya what do you have in store for 2024?

Speaker 15 (38:53):
Yeah, so for 2024, I hope to bring more diversity
and inclusion, webinars andtrainings, support things to all
of our members of the Nairacommittee so that they can take
those to their teams anddiversify their communities and
their organizations and helpgrow those avenues with their

(39:14):
leadership skills and theleaders that they all serve in
their capacities as well.

Speaker 4 (39:21):
Well, thank you for your time today, latanya.

Speaker 15 (39:24):
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 4 (39:27):
Welcome to the program, shiloh Leppie.
She has recently been electedto the board of directors.
Shiloh, tell us about yourself.

Speaker 3 (39:38):
Well, thanks for having me on, mike.
Yes, my name is Shiloh Shiloh.
I am an HRIS coordinator atLutheran Life Villages currently
.
I have been involved with Nairasince last year.
I kind of love everything HRand they're passionate about all

(40:01):
the different facets of HR andthe future of HR, and so that's
why I wanted to kind of getinvolved with, get more involved
with Naira, and I got electedto the treasurer position for
the 2024-2025 term.

Speaker 4 (40:18):
Do you have anything special in mind for 2024?

Speaker 3 (40:21):
Yeah, I know, with the treasurer position kind of
being more behind the scenes,I'm just looking to get my feet
wet in the role and learn asmuch as I can from the exiting
treasurer, sherry Giddo, andlearn from all of the other
board members as to how we canbest serve the Naira members and
improve for 2024-2025.

Speaker 4 (40:44):
Well, thank you for your time today, shiloh.
Thank you.
Today I have Rachel Howell withme.
Rachel, introduce yourself toour listeners.

Speaker 16 (40:54):
Yeah hi.
My name is Rachel Howell.
I am a Fort Wayne native branchdirector for our Fort Wayne
Robert Hap office and will beserving in the programming
portion of our board 2024-2025.

Speaker 4 (41:10):
Tell us why you decided to serve on the Naira
board.

Speaker 16 (41:13):
Sure, I became a member of Naira recently.
I found every meeting to beincredibly important and I loved
the topics.
It's something that I hear fromdifferent clients or job
seekers in the area.
I thought I could probably be areally great resource for the

(41:36):
folks in the community.
I want us to be a great placeto work, or northeast Indiana in
total.
That is where I am going to befocusing.

Speaker 4 (41:49):
So what do you have in store for 2024?

Speaker 16 (41:54):
I'm very lucky 2024 will be a lot of shadowing.
It's a big role, it's superimportant and Julie has taken
the lead on quite a few thingsalready, so I will be learning
from her.
But tons of ideas for 2025.
I've got a few folks in mindthat I wanted to reach out to,
making sure that we're attackingthe issues that HR managers are

(42:16):
facing the managers at thefacility.
I want to make sure everybody'skind of on board and ready to
get us where we need to be.

Speaker 4 (42:27):
Well, thank you for your time today, Rachel.

Speaker 16 (42:30):
Thanks, Mike.

Speaker 4 (42:31):
Today I have Brittany Briscoe.
Brittany, introduce yourself toour listeners.

Speaker 7 (42:37):
Hi.
Yes, my name is Brittany.
I am the HR manager here atMaster's Spaws.
I've been here about three anda half years and I have been a
part of NIRIS since 2021 and I'mabout to be on the board as of
2024.

Speaker 4 (42:52):
Tell us why you decided to serve on the NERVA
board.

Speaker 7 (42:56):
I decided to be on the NIRRA board basically
because before I joined NIRRA, Ididn't know what NIRRA was, and
coming to a group oflike-minded HR professionals was
very refreshing.
So I wanted to serve on theboard to give the members what

(43:18):
they need.
I've been a part of theretention committee previously
part of the marketing committeeas well, helping out Morgan, and
we've implemented quite a fewthings on these committees, and
so I just wanted to continue toserve the members.

Speaker 4 (43:35):
What do you have in store for 2024?

Speaker 7 (43:38):
On 2024, I will be in charge of technology, so taking
over this lovely podcast andoverseeing the website.
With that, I have some newideas to bring, not only to the
website but for the podcast aswell.
I'm really looking to steppingin and just hitting things head

(44:01):
on.

Speaker 4 (44:03):
Thank you for your time today, Brittany.

Speaker 7 (44:07):
Thank you.

Speaker 4 (44:10):
Today I have Olivia Comfort.
Olivia, introduce yourself toour listeners.

Speaker 17 (44:17):
Hi, mike.
Well, thank you for having meon today.
I appreciate it.
So I'm Olivia Comfort and I amthe regional sales manager for
leader staffing, and I'm veryblessed to be a part of NIRRA.
I've been a member.
Actually, denise Nilsa was onthe membership board committee
at the time that I had joined,which it was such a privilege,

(44:40):
and that was back in 2018.
So I'm just thrilled to be herewith you guys.

Speaker 4 (44:47):
Olivia, tell us why you decided to serve on the
board.

Speaker 17 (44:52):
With the NIRRA board .
I do a lot of engagement in thecommunity through my daughter's
girl scouts, through juniorachievement, and I've always
been very passionate about NIRRAsince I joined as a member and
before I felt that maybe youknow, oh, I'm not quite
qualified.
I'm learning, you know, as I'mgetting into more things

(45:13):
recruitment and HR and at thisstage in my life I was just
excited to, you know, be a partof something that's bigger than
myself and really do somethingfor me that I'm passionate about
with NIRRA and with ourcommunity.
So I was really excited,instead of serving for a
direction that was more gearedtoward my kids, to serve in a

(45:34):
way that positively impactedmyself and something that I
personally am passionate about.

Speaker 4 (45:39):
Olivia, tell us what you might have in store for 2024
.

Speaker 17 (45:45):
So for 2024, really, I just kind of want to see
where Denise has really grownour significance with Greater
Fort Wayne, with otherprofessional organizations, and
really kind of go from there asfar as taking the lead to
engaging in with more communitypartners to build that awareness
of what NIRRA has to offer andalso see how we as a NIRRA

(46:07):
Association can partner back andgive back to the community in
that way also and really tie itall together because Fort Wayne
really is it's a wonderful placeto work, live and play, and
that's something where I thinkthat we really do all look out
for each other as a communityand as an organization, and this
is something that can reallyhelp our team.

Speaker 4 (46:28):
Well, thank you for your time today, Olivia.

Speaker 17 (46:32):
Yeah, thanks for having me, Mike, I appreciate it
.

Speaker 2 (46:37):
What kind of HR portal do they have at Santa's
Workshop?

Speaker 1 (46:42):
Elf Service.

Speaker 14 (46:53):
Hi, this is Elizabeth Hoffman.
I'm the Director of WorkforceReadiness with NIRRA.
Today, I am joined with JohnMessinger.
John is the CEO of Fort WayneCityLink and we wanted to chat
with you today about publictransportation and what that
could mean for employers.
Well, welcome John.

Speaker 12 (47:09):
Hi, elizabeth, nice to be with you.

Speaker 14 (47:11):
Nice to be with you too.
So how does publictransportation benefit our
community?

Speaker 12 (47:17):
Yeah, you know it's important to think about public
transit, maybe with a shift inmindset, considering that not
everybody drives in cars and Iknow here in Northeast Indiana
we don't always think in thoseterms certainly the way that
cities are developed andsometimes how employers develop
their locations.

(47:38):
So we're there to connectemployers with workforce and to
help people get access to jobs,and so people move in different
ways, including those who don'tdrive, riding on public transit.
One thing to consider here inFort Wayne there are some 8,000
households that don't haveaccess to a car, and when you

(48:00):
consider the annual cost of carownership is somewhere around
$12,000, not everybody canafford to drive.
And then there are those whocan't drive because of
disabilities or because of age,and so public transit can be
there to help folks in thosecategories be active members of

(48:21):
a community.

Speaker 14 (48:22):
Great.
So can you tell me a little bitabout CityLink's travel
training program?

Speaker 12 (48:29):
Yeah, this is a new program that we developed about
a year ago, and it really camefrom recognizing that there's a
need.
People in our community may seethe buses driving around but not
realize that it could be forthem, or may have difficulty
understanding how bus systemsoperate.

(48:50):
Where are the bus stops?
Where does the routes go?
How do you read a bus timetable?
Those are sometimes barriersfor people in terms of accessing
public transportation, so wecreated a program that will help
overcome those barriers.
We have a travel trainer onstaff who is very familiar with

(49:10):
our system and she's there tohelp new people plan transit
trips, and she'll even go outand ride the bus with them as
many times as it takes for folksto feel comfortable with
accessing public transit.
Another part of the programthat's important for your
audience is she's more thanwilling to go out and meet with

(49:33):
employers to help HR staff learnthe system, to be able to
communicate with their employeesso that they can access public
transit.
So her name is Pakola Trice andher job is really to show folks
how easy and convenient it canbe to use public transportation.

Speaker 14 (49:54):
And I know from previous conversations that
we're going to send our traveltrainer out to train the trainer
.
Yeah, there's some majoremployers in town to teach their
HR department how to train touse the bus system, so we're
really looking forward to thatin 2024.

Speaker 12 (50:10):
Yeah, it's important to know that this is not only
is it available, it's free, it'sa service that we provide, and
so, if anyone's interested, theycan hop on our website and
there's a page dedicated totravel training, which can get
you connected.

Speaker 14 (50:23):
Yeah, and our website at CityLink is
SWCityLink, with an I soC-I-P-I-L-I-N-K dot com.
So how can employers, or whatcan employers do to support
public transit riders?

Speaker 12 (50:36):
Yeah, you know, I think it starts with listening
to the needs of employees.
As you're onboarding newemployees or working with
existing staff, you may hearsometimes about mobility
challenges with access totransportation to get to work,
and so hearing from folks onyour own teams is a good place

(50:58):
to start, but there are lots ofother ways, as employers are
citing new employment centers.
Consider the accessibility forpublic transit.
The challenge with a growingmarket like the Fort Wayne area
is many jobs are being locatedbeyond the reach of public

(51:20):
transportation today, and that'sa challenge for sure.
When developing work centers,it's important to consider bus
infrastructure, so can apedestrian get from a bus stop
nearby into the workplace, andis it accessible for people with
disabilities?
So those are all things toconsider.

(51:43):
One thing we hear from employersis that they are adapting shift
start and end times to beadjacent to the public transit
schedule, and so that'ssomething we can help with.
If you have an employee whodepends upon public
transportation, how can youadapt to create a start time

(52:07):
that will be more convenient forthe employee?
There are other ideas as well.
Last year, citylink beganoperating a new program, a new
van pool program, and this is aservice that could be of
interest to HR directors whowould like to set up van pools.

(52:27):
Van pools are very similar tocar pools in that groups of
employees come together to sharea ride to and from work with
one of the employees driving.
The difference with our programis that we will provide the van
and we'll make sure it'sinsured and maintained, and

(52:47):
that's paid for through asubsidy provided from CityLink
in partnership with the employer.
So if there's interest, give usa call and we can help
employers and employees getstarted in launching van pool
programs.

Speaker 14 (53:02):
Great.
And how do employers findinformation on bus services?

Speaker 12 (53:07):
Our website, which we mentioned earlier, is a good
place to start, or feel free togive us a call and we'll help.
We're always more than willingto go out and make presentations
to employers to help them getaccess to public transportation.
We have a really great customerservice operation.
So there are folks here atCityLink that you can call and

(53:30):
they're more than happy to getinto the details of helping plan
a trip Where's the bus stop?
What time do you need to bethere to schedule the trip?
And then for folks withdisabilities, we operate the
access para transit service,which is a curve to curve
service scheduled in advancethat can get people to and from

(53:53):
jobs.

Speaker 14 (53:55):
Great, and our phone number here at CityLink is
260-432-4546.
If you're interested in gettingin contact with any of our
customer service representatives, what other information do you
want to get out to the HRcommunity?
Jeff?

Speaker 12 (54:10):
Yeah, it's a good question.
We are I think again it comesback to a shift in mindset
Rethinking about mobility needsbeyond driving and cars.
What would happen if HR leaderscould begin to think about
mobility needs as an element ofinclusion and equity strategies?

(54:33):
I know we're all challenged toattract and retain workforce One
of the biggest issues today inHR.
So thinking about mobility as apart of equity and inclusion can
create opportunities foremployers to attract people with
disabilities, black and brownemployees, people who have lower

(54:53):
incomes, and maybe these arefolks that HR has not gone after
before to bring into theworkplace.
So considering the implicationsfor the potential workforce
that could be attracted,retained by partnering with
public transit is a reallyexciting opportunity.
And another factor foremployers to think about is it's

(55:18):
expensive to build and maintainparking lots.
I know, even here at CityLink,as we have a growing workforce,
we have a parking constraint,and so, rather than thinking
about just building more parking, one solution is to mitigate
the demand for parking byproviding alternative mobility

(55:39):
options.
And then another thought is tothink about public transit and
human mobility through the lensof environmental sustainability
strategies that companies have.
How can we consider reducingcarbon through the transport of
workforce and publictransportation can be a solution

(56:02):
for all of these areas.

Speaker 17 (56:05):
Wonderful.

Speaker 14 (56:06):
So, being born and raised in Fort Wayne and now
working for CityLink with you,john, I have noticed that the
perception of public transit inFort Wayne is a little bit
different than other largecities.
So can you tell me what are thecurrent challenges facing
CityLink and how are weaddressing them?
I know that's a major concernfor employers, as they're

(56:28):
looking to embrace CityLink astheir public transit provider.

Speaker 12 (56:32):
Yeah, absolutely, and let me first say how happy
we are that you're on our teamto help guide and lead our HR
strategy.
We're glad you're here.
Yeah, it is true I amrelatively new to Fort Wayne,
moved here two and a half yearsago for this position.
But I've worked in othermarkets where public transit is

(56:52):
more broadly embraced by thecommunity and what I've noticed
here is part of our history ishow the community has developed.
But there are sometimes there'sa stigma potentially attached
to public transit and that comesfrom car-centric community
development that identifiesfreedom of mobility with car

(57:14):
ownership.
But that's a value that's notheld in other vital communities.
So here's Fort Wayne.
One of our challenges thatimpacts CityLink is the rapid
economic growth of this area.
Locating employment centersbeyond the reach of public
transportation or even outsideof our transit district is a

(57:38):
challenge.
I'm very happy and excited bythe community development plans
Allen County they're all inAllen plan greater, fort Wayne's
economic development strategyand many others have all
identified expansion of publictransportation as a key priority

(57:59):
for the community, as a keyeconomic development tool.
So as people are talking aboutthe need and recognizing it, you
know that's really a good startfor us to address the
challenges, but there are.
The challenges are great.
Funding for public transit hasbeen flat in Indiana for more

(58:19):
than a decade and while thedemand is growing, with our
costs also increasing, we'refinding it difficult.
Our budget forecast shows adeficit position.
So while there's a lot ofdiscussion about expansion of
public transportation, thechallenges that we're facing is

(58:41):
that we may be in the positionwhere we have to reduce service.
Certainly, we're looking forways to operate more cost
effectively and efficiently.
So at the same time that we'reenvisioning a future when
expansion can be possible, we'rehaving to both scale down and
plan for future growth.

(59:02):
What really needs to happen isfor the community to put legs to
their interest in expansion ofpublic transit by beginning to
advocate for additional funding.
Transit funding in Indianahaven't grown in more than a
decade and lags surroundingstates, and that puts our state

(59:25):
at a competitive disadvantage.
So we're working now to build acoalition of supporters who will
be willing to share theirstories about their needs with
elected leaders, so that transitfunding can grow.

Speaker 14 (59:44):
And how does CityLink contribute to the
community's overall well-beingand development?
How are we finding and gettingpeople engaged?

Speaker 12 (59:51):
Yeah, you know, really what we're in the
business of doing is providingand improving human mobility.
Is that essential ease ofgetting around?
You know, you think about howwe move about a community and
the impact that it has onquality of life and opportunity.
That's what CityLink does.

(01:00:12):
We help improve access toopportunity and improve quality
of life for our customers.
But public transit, you know,is part of that mobility picture
.
It can be a measure ofcommunity's judgments about its
priorities.
Here in Fort Wayne, developmenthas prioritized driving in cars

(01:00:33):
and there's been less emphasison bicycle, pedestrian and
transit infrastructure.
So again, that shift in mindsetis going to be important.
But the good news is is thatthis is changing and CityLink is
leading the way.
So we're a vital partner inbuilding, developing economic

(01:00:57):
development, enhancing workforcemobility and making our
community a great place to liveand work.

Speaker 14 (01:01:04):
Great.
Is there anything else that youwould want Any resource
professionals in NortheastIndiana to know about?
Citylink or?

Speaker 12 (01:01:11):
public transit.
Sure, yeah, you know, we areenvisioning a future with more
services available to helppeople move about the community.
That's going to includeexpansion of public transit in
terms of our footprint beyondour existing district.
We envision expanded late nightand weekend services, in

(01:01:32):
addition to services that aremore on demand and flexible
compared to just the fixed routebus.
Another part of our futuremight be expansion into regional
transportation, recognizingthat we're working in a regional
economy.
Today's limitations upon publictransit are statutory, so the

(01:01:53):
state who established ussometimes sets up artificial
boundaries which create barriersin human mobility.
So those are some things weneed to overcome.
But, yeah, we're just hopingthat the community will come
around us and help us realizethis vision.

(01:02:13):
Hr leaders need to know thathuman needs in your organization
, including mobility needs, canbe addressed through public
transportation.
So, if there's interest, hoponto our website and learn more
about how you can partner withus in telling your stories so
that we can impact electedleaders to help improve public

(01:02:37):
transit in this area.

Speaker 14 (01:02:39):
Great Well, thank you so much for talking to me
today, john, and, as I stated,if you'd like to get in contact
with CityLink, you can call ourmain number at 260-432-4546 or
check out our website atwwwfwcitylinkcom.
Or, if you'd like a direct link, you can always send me an

(01:03:00):
email at mehoffman atfwcitylinkcom.
Thank you for your time, john.

Speaker 12 (01:03:05):
Glad to be with you, thanks.

Speaker 4 (01:03:10):
Today we're speaking with Jim Skoggin, Senior Vice
President with Marsh McClellanAgency.
He has 42 years experience inthe health and welfare industry
with a wide variety of clientsranging in size from 100 to
several thousand employees.
Jim has expertise in virtuallyall aspects of the health and
welfare plan management andoperates totally independent,

(01:03:34):
not aligned with any serviceprovider.
Welcome to the program, Jim.

Speaker 18 (01:03:39):
Thank you, Mike.
I appreciate you inviting me.

Speaker 4 (01:03:41):
You have any hobbies that you do outside of the
business?

Speaker 18 (01:03:47):
Yes, I've got three kids, two grandkids, and my wife
and I my bride of 41 yearsspent a lot of time with family.
I play a little bit of golf andwe're also involved with horses
.
My wife is an equine debauteand shows American saddle breads

(01:04:09):
and hackney ponies.
Although we live in Michigan,we're in Kentucky a lot showing
horses and hanging out at thebarn.
That would be our primary hobbyoutside of work.

Speaker 4 (01:04:22):
That sounds really exciting.
It's got to be a lot of fun.

Speaker 18 (01:04:27):
It's a lot of fun.
We do a lot of traveling.
My daughter, elizabeth, alsoshows and it's been a family for
many years.
We very much enjoy it.
Horse people are wonderfulpeople to hang out with, lots of
fun.

Speaker 4 (01:04:41):
Well, thanks for sharing that, Jim.
Let's get on to it.
What are some of the mostsignificant issues your clients
are facing in today'smarketplace?

Speaker 18 (01:04:53):
We always deal with the day in, day out, blocking
and tackling running a welfareplan, a large medical plan
especially, is alwayschallenging.
It's tough to find serviceproviders that are providing
adequate service more or lessgood service.
There's all sorts of regulatorychallenges.

(01:05:14):
It's a difficult business andhas been for many, many years.
As you alluded to, I've beendoing it for quite some time.
Currently, though, I'm seeingtrends that we've not seen
before that do stand out as amajor concern.
If I had to reduce it to just asimple statement, it's a

(01:05:36):
dramatic increase incatastrophic claim activity,
both the volume of catastrophicclaims and the dollar amount
associated with those claims.
Back in the day, it was rare tosee a claim exceed a half
million dollars a year, more orless a million dollars.

(01:05:57):
Now it's become commonplace.
In fact, there was just asurvey I read a few weeks back,
conducted by the SunLifeInsurance Company.
Sunlife is a major player inthe stop-loss business,
stop-loss for self-fundedmedical plans.
In the SunLife survey, they sawroughly a 50% increase in

(01:06:23):
catastrophic claims of over amillion dollars per year from
2018 to 2021.
These are the types of claimsthat can really undo a medical
plan.
For a small, fully insured plansponsor, million dollar claims
can completely disrupt therelationship with the carrier.

(01:06:46):
In some cases it might lead toa no renewal or renewal
increases that were notsustainable For a self-funded
plan sponsor.
It leads to costs that are notsustainable even with stop-loss
insurance.
Stop-loss carriers are notgoing to stay on and fund a

(01:07:09):
million dollar plus claimswithout massive increases in
premiums.
What's driving a lot of thisit's fortunate and unfortunate
are advances in technology,especially in the pharmacy area
with specialty drugs.
Now we've got genetic therapiesthat are emerging.

(01:07:29):
These are miracle drugs.
If you take the case ofhepatitis Hep C, the Hep C drugs
, while very, very expensive,are drugs that cure Hep C.
They're miracle drugs.
The drugs that are evolving totreat hemophilia are literally

(01:07:51):
saving lives, but thesetherapies come at a significant
cost.
Many of us in the industry,including myself, are seeing a
fork in the road.
I'm a little surprised wehaven't gotten there yet where
we are going to have to maketough decisions on who's going

(01:08:14):
to receive these drugs and who'snot.
No one likes to use the termrationing, but when you don't
have the financial resources topay for a good or service, then
something's got to give.
That concerns me more thananything, mike the spike in

(01:08:36):
these catastrophic claims andhow we're going to manage them
in the next.
This is not a long-term concern.
I'm talking in the next one tofive years.
I think we're all going to bedealing with this issue.

Speaker 4 (01:08:52):
Jim, what can employers do to brace for this
changing market landscape?

Speaker 18 (01:08:57):
That's a really good question.
I represent a number ofcompanies around the country.
I'm very fortunate that many ofmy clients for many, many years
and they're great employers andvery proactive plan managers.
I think that the most andsimplest advice is aggressive
plan management having the rightpeople both internally and

(01:09:23):
externally to manage yourwelfare plan.
Historically, employers,especially in the middle market,
have not placed as much valuein the people they hire to run
their health and welfareprograms.
By health and welfare I'mreferring to anything that's a
traditional employee benefitoutside of pension plans.

(01:09:44):
We're talking medical, dental,vision, life, worksite benefits,
et cetera.
But having the right peopleinternally and then the right
partners externally is critical.
I've also found that thoseemployers that really care I

(01:10:04):
mean really care about theirworkforce, not just talking to
talk, but really care about aculture of well-being, are in a
much better position to dealwith these challenges.
All too often I see in themarketplace employers that want
to win the most recent award fora best place to work in their

(01:10:28):
marketplace.
It's got to a point.
It seems like everybody.
It's like a kid sports thesedays everybody wins a ribbon for
participating.
I'm not referring to that.
I'm getting employers that arereally working hard, looking at
their data, working with theirplan manager, their advisor,
their broker, et cetera, interms of using that data and

(01:10:53):
then trying to plan accordinglywith respect to plan design,
employee communication.
Something as simple as lookingat your data annually to have a
better handle on your chronicdisease issues.
Diabetes is a real, easyexample.
Type 2 diabetes percentages interms of those impacted in our

(01:11:16):
country are exploding, and thedelta between the cost claim
cost of a compliant diabetic,one who is taking care of
themselves, seeing their doctors, staying on their meds, working
on the condition the claim costfor that diabetic versus a
non-compliant diabetic can betens, if not hundreds, of

(01:11:39):
thousands of dollars.
Those plan sponsors that areinvesting the time and money in
those types of initiatives, Ithink, are going to be in far
better shape.
Related to that, though, I alsothink that those plan sponsors
that are aggressively managingtheir service provider to get

(01:12:00):
maximum leverage I don't meanjust low rates, but regardless
of who it is, whether it's BlueCross or Cigna or Atena or
United but are you getting yourmaximum value out of those
service providers in all way,shapes and environment?
I think the insurance industryas a whole I've been watching it
for decades now is underserved.

(01:12:23):
At the moment, I think thecarriers have not done as good a
job as I would like to see themdo in terms of aggressive plan
management, accountability,having a great service team,
great clinical resources, etcetera.
But the squeaky wheel gets thegrease.
So if you're not aggressivelymanaging those service providers

(01:12:46):
, you're probably not gettingmax value.
And to wrap it up on this topic, mike, even that being the case
, you are still vulnerable tothese market conditions.
But you are in far better shapeif you're informed, you're
prepared, you have a businessplan to deal with the problems

(01:13:07):
once they happen.
The employers that don't have aplan and are simply reacting to
these market conditions, Ithink, are going to be in a much
more vulnerable position thanthose that are proactive and
staying ahead of the game.

Speaker 4 (01:13:22):
So, jim, is there a particular area where you would
focus to be more aggressive onyour health and welfare plan
management?

Speaker 18 (01:13:30):
Yeah, if I had to pick one, I would focus on
pharmacy right now.
As I've already alluded to alot of these cost drivers that
we're saying are evolving out ofthe pharmacy world, which has
been a problem for us fordecades, there has historically
been a serious lack oftransparency.

(01:13:53):
People that are listening tothe podcast might know this
they're reading about it everyday but there is still a
tremendous lack of transparencybetween the pharmaceutical
manufacturers and, really, moreimportantly, if I had to
criticize the PBMs, the pharmacybenefit managers it is.
For years it's been a moneygrab and it's like hiding the P

(01:14:21):
under the thimble.
You go at the PBMs to try andattack brand drug costs and all
of a sudden they're making moreprofit on the generic and you
focus on the generic and all ofa sudden they're making more
money on the rebates.
The rebate dollars that arebeing shelled out by the

(01:14:43):
manufacturers now, especiallyfor pharmacy that are specially
drugs, are huge and they havechanged tremendously, even in
the last two to three years, andwe find there is still
significant abuse.
Hopefully I'm not offending anyof our PBM friends, but this is
just my personal opinion.

(01:15:03):
I think there is stillsignificant abuse in the
industry, unless you're holdingthe PBM accountable.
I'll give you a couple ofexamples, historically and by
PBMs, for anybody that might notbe familiar.
I'm referring to the CVSs, theExpress, grips, the Optums.
These are the people, theindustry, the part of the

(01:15:25):
industry that is really managingthe distribution of our
pharmacy to our health andwelfare plans across the country
.
There's a lot of overlap aswell.
A lot of these companiesprovide services to multiple
companies, but for years, thesecompanies have tried to lock
employers into multi-yearagreements with the sales pitch

(01:15:48):
that it's great for you, we'regoing to give you a three-year
guarantee.
I've told people, though, is itover those three to five years,
costs are going down and,potentially, rebates going up
significantly.
That's one specific example.
I'm not a fan at all of amulti-year agreement.
Now, for many of your listeners, though, they're in insured

(01:16:09):
arrangements where they don'thave the flexibility per se, but
these are still questions thatshould be asked.
I'm not at all a fan of amulti-year deal.
We'll take a one-year deal.
We have focused over the yearsand my company Martial and
Clinit Agency, as we have awhole pharmacy team that does
this work for us nationally wehave focused as much on the

(01:16:30):
language in the agreements, aswe have the financial components
of the plan.
Oftentimes we will find aprospective client that's
talking to us where there'stremendous opportunity If your
listeners are not tuned in tothat pharmacy component of their
plan.
I'd say that's step one.

(01:16:52):
In fact, I just wrap up on thispoint to give you a specific
example.
We had a client a few yearsback, a large national account,
a publicly traded company,several thousand employees, and
going back now five years, butthe industry is still very
similar to what we experiencedthen.
They had a planned participantadolescent child out in Arizona,

(01:17:15):
and the claimant was diagnosedwith hemophilia and was in bad
shape.
The hemophilia treatments, as Ialluded to earlier, though,
have just grown leaps and bounds, but the treatments are
therapies that involve extremelyexpensive medications.

(01:17:39):
They're essentially geneticallyengineered plasmas that are
used as therapies.
The cost for these hemophiliadrugs can range from several
hundred thousand dollars a yearto millions of dollars a year.
This adolescent child was usinga very high volume of clotting

(01:18:01):
factors, and the claim went to$500,000 a month, $6 million a
year.
The client in this case wasself-funded, so it was all their
money.
We went on the offensive withour service providers, who I
won't name in this case, but itwas a combination of a medical
plan along with their PBM.

(01:18:23):
We got nowhere.
That's not their interestBringing the cost of that drug
down, looking for alternativestrategies.
That ultimately led into bothlosing the business.
But we went on a two-yearmission to find alternatives.

(01:18:44):
There are, without getting intospecific detail, there are
alternate strategies for thehemophilia drugs, but it's not
in the best interest of a PBM ora drug manufacturer to simply
walk away from profit.
It's something that requiresongoing management.
Sadly, I think that the PBMs Ialluded to earlier are going to

(01:19:06):
continue to look for ways tomake money.
They're for-profit companies.
I'm sure they care about theirclients, but they care about
making money as well.
I think focusing on pharmacywith the right data and the
right resources is a great wayto start, especially for your
listeners that have largerself-funded medical plans, that

(01:19:30):
would be number one for sure.

Speaker 4 (01:19:34):
Jim, if our listeners wanted to find out more
information about what we'vetalked about today or
potentially work with you in thefuture, how would they contact
you?

Speaker 18 (01:19:46):
Yeah, I'd be delighted to take any inquiries.
My email address email is thebest place to reach me.
My email is JimScogginS-C-O-G-G-I-N at M-A-R-S-H-M-M-A

(01:20:07):
no period, just marsh-m-m-acom.
I work out of our regionaloffice in Troy, michigan, which
is a suburb of Detroit, but I'dbe more than happy to take any
questions from any of yourlisteners If you'd be happy to
jump on the phone and take aphone call as well, but if they
can reach me through that emailaddress.

Speaker 4 (01:20:28):
Thanks for your time today, Jim.

Speaker 18 (01:20:30):
Thanks for having me , mike, I appreciate it.
Why did HR bring a snowman toan all-staff meeting?

Speaker 2 (01:20:39):
Announcing a salary freeze.

Speaker 4 (01:20:46):
Today we're speaking with Jody Fosno, former Nira
president.
Jody, please introduce yourselfto our listeners.

Speaker 13 (01:20:54):
Thanks, mike.
Hi everyone, my name is JodyFosno and I am currently the
training and development managerat Port Financial.

Speaker 4 (01:21:06):
Jody, what would you like to speak to our listeners
about today?

Speaker 13 (01:21:12):
Well, one thing that , mike, you and I talked about,
that is very near and dear to myheart, is this whole huge area
of organizational developmentand what that means for HR
professionals right now and aswe go into the future.

(01:21:35):
And that's kind of where I wantto start today, because we know
we've emerged from the greatresignation.
We still have about half of theworkforce quietly quitting, we
still have disengaged employeesat about 18% based on the Gallup

(01:21:58):
poll and we're in this kind ofturning marketplace where we're
seeing a lot of shifts indifferent industries, a lot of
changes occurring.
We also have a workforce that'scoming out of working from home

(01:22:19):
all the time, so working partof the time doing hybrid.
What's that work looking like?
How is work getting done?
And we all, as the people,leaders in our organization, are
saying what are we going to dowith all of this?

(01:22:39):
And this is where my passion isis how do we develop a workforce
that's going to be prepared forwhat needs to get done in the
future?
And so, taking that huge area,I kind of took a look at two

(01:23:03):
different things and then itreally kind of plays a role in a
lot of different areas withinthe HR function, and that is the
areas of reskilling andupskilling.
So I mean, these tend to bebuzzwords, but they've been

(01:23:24):
around a long time.
Reskilling is absolutelyrelevant in today's marketplace
and to me, what that means andI'm sure you've seen that also,
mike, in the manufacturingindustry is that things are
changing quickly because oftechnology, because of

(01:23:44):
regulations, because of policy,but we still need people to get
the job done.
That has to be completed rightnow.
Would you agree with that?

Speaker 4 (01:23:55):
I would yeah.

Speaker 13 (01:23:58):
And so we want our current workforce to still be
productive and exceedingexpectations in this rapidly
changing environment, and it'srequiring them to reskill,
change the way they do theirwork.

(01:24:22):
There's different technologythat is allowing them to do
their job differently and maybemore efficiently and effectively
.
However, it's different.
So what they did a year agoit's not necessarily the same
thing.
And in the finance industry, wehave regulatory changes and we

(01:24:43):
have market impacts that areoccurring that are changing the
way that we are offering ourproducts and are able to kind of
service them.

(01:25:03):
And so, on one hand, you havean entire workforce that, in
order for them to just keepmeeting expectations, they are
going to have to up their skillsin different areas technology,
knowledge of regulations,knowledge of market impact and

(01:25:24):
then you have this entire areaof upskilling.
What we do know is over half Ithink like 65% of Gen Z jobs
don't even exist yet.
So literally we have an entireworkforce that is going to

(01:25:45):
school and we have always lookedlike.
I bet you could look at any jobdescription out there on Indeed
, on LinkedIn, and it says thiskind of degree and this amount
of experience, right, and youwould say, yeah, yeah, that

(01:26:07):
makes sense.
Absolutely.
We need to have those jobdescriptions.
That helps in our organization.
Well, right now we have peoplethat are graduating with those
four years and four year degreesbut because technology and
everything is moving so quickly,the knowledge that's learned is

(01:26:33):
obsolete by the time theygraduate, and so we have to kind
of relook at what that is goingto look like for our
organizations, because 90% oforganizations anticipate a
meaningful skill gap.
So I know, and so we have totake a look at what exactly are

(01:27:01):
the skills that we need todevelop our organization.
We know the top reason peopleleave their job is lack of
career development.
Mckinsey's Global Report thisyear said that.
We also know Smart Brief did anarticle that 71% of workers
felt job training anddevelopment increase their

(01:27:24):
satisfaction.
So if we as people leaders wantto have an engaged workforce
that stays with us, we have tobe ahead of the curve on how
we're developing our workforce.
So we have this one area wherewe have to kind of keep up by

(01:27:45):
reskilling, and then we have tobe proactively looking at our
industry and how it's shiftingand how it's changing to be able
to upscale for the future.
And here comes us as talentdevelopment and HR leaders
saying how are we going tocontinue productivity for today

(01:28:08):
and what are we going to do toprepare our workforce for
tomorrow, and that, I think, isjust a super exciting place to
be.
And so I mean I'd love to getyour ideas, mike, but I'll just
throw a couple of things outthere and kind of get your input

(01:28:29):
into some of these thoughts.
I think that the way in which soit used to be to reskill
somebody, to retrain somebody,we looked at the three E's of
training.
We looked at education,experience and exposure.

(01:28:49):
But now what I just said youknow, somebody's got a four year
degree that's not necessarilythe education that we need our
workforce to have to beeffective now.
So now what we're looking at atleast what we're looking at is
what does spot training looklike?
Micro learning, you know,simulations and things that we

(01:29:13):
can do right now to be able toreskill what's going on so that
our employees can get up to datequickly and then go service our
members, go create their loans,et cetera.
And experience is looking a lotdifferently too.
We value the experience ofsomebody who has great longevity

(01:29:39):
within our industry, within ourorganization.
That gives us a good, you know,kind of a base for knowledge
transfer.
However, we need to look atdifferent experiences, like what
is your experience servicingmembers and customers in
different environments and whatdoes it look like when you're

(01:30:03):
using a mobile app instead ofcoming into one of our branches?
So that requires differentexperiences than what we've ever
looked at before today.
And then getting exposure to awide variety of you know
different kinds of experience,like it used to be, being an

(01:30:28):
expert in one area is where yourclout was, and that is still.
Those skills are stillimportant, but now you have to
be able to collaborate withother departments to be able to
see the big picture and you haveto be kind of one step ahead of
where your customers are.
So you need different kinds ofexposure just to stay where

(01:30:52):
you're at and reskilling.
Now let me ask you, mike, whereI mean.
Have you seen that in yourindustry?

Speaker 4 (01:31:02):
Yeah, I would agree with that.
I think you know the standardscertainly have changed quite a
bit in terms of what we'relooking for.
Just in manufacturing, therequirement of a GED or high
school diploma has been standardfor years and years.
I think employers are a lotmore flexible regarding that.

(01:31:29):
You know, I think, just becausewe're all fighting for talent,
we've certainly been willing toaccept people without experience
in manufacturing prior, wherewe had kind of the option to, or
, you know, we were a lot moreselective in regards to that in

(01:31:51):
terms of excluding people thatdidn't bring experience to the
table already, and so, you know,it certainly caused employers
to be a lot more flexible andadaptable to the workers that
are present.
And so, you know, we startedsomething out, at least at my

(01:32:17):
company, just in regards topeople who are having attendance
problems.
If they were to the point wherethey were going to be pointing
out or, you know, not basicallyexceeding our attendance points
levels, instead of terminatingthem, we allowed them the option

(01:32:41):
to continue part-time, and thatallowed them the flexibility to
continue working as much asthey could and contributing to
our organization and stillhaving a check or an opportunity
to contribute until either thatmaybe that works for them on a

(01:33:02):
long-term basis and or maybethey get back to a point in time
where they could return tofull-time employment.
So we again, we've had to adaptand become flexible in a lot of
different areas, includingsomething like, you know,
part-time status.

Speaker 17 (01:33:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 13 (01:33:25):
Well, and see, I love what you're saying, because
when you start taking a look atreskilling your workforce, that
absolutely impacts theinfrastructure of what HR is and
kind of blows it up, doesn't it?
Because now, now we're lookingat, okay, from the talent
acquisition perspective, what,okay, what are the skills that

(01:33:50):
are really important to us?
Maybe it's not a GAD, maybe isand I heard you say it a couple
of times maybe it's agility,flexibility, maybe it's
teachability.
Those are different skills anddifferent people that we're
going to be looking for.
And then you get intoperformance.

(01:34:12):
You brought up performance thatbrings up a whole new structure
that we kind of are looking atblowing up right, is it, you
know, always looking at how youperformed in the past, or is it
how are you addressing thechallenges and changes for now

(01:34:33):
to prepare us for the future?
And that really blows up the waywe've always looked at
performance management.
I love what you say is thatyou've taken a look at your
organization just a little bitdifferently to say, okay, all
right, this isn't working outhere, but what can we do and

(01:34:55):
what can we change in ourpolicies to really recognize
still that we've got a talenthere and we need to maybe change
the way we're looking at howthey're performing.
So I love that.
And then the other one theother you know structure that is
scary to blow up is then whatare we compensating for?

(01:35:17):
What are those?
Are we compensating for aposition, or are we compensating
for a collection of skill sets?
And which one, which one ofthose paradigms are going to get
us to where our organizationsare going to be successful?

(01:35:40):
I mean, that's kind of that.
Those are like the core pillarsof HR, right?

Speaker 4 (01:35:47):
Yeah, yeah, they are.

Speaker 16 (01:35:48):
And I want to go ahead.

Speaker 9 (01:35:52):
No, go ahead.

Speaker 4 (01:35:53):
I just I wanted to share something I came across
today on LinkedIn.
It was from HackingHR and itsays don't hire for cultural fit
, hire for cultural growth.
Why would you hire someonetalented if you're not willing
to evolve your team or yourorganization thanks to their

(01:36:13):
talents?
Cultural fit assumes that yourculture is perfect, or at least
optimal.
Cultural growth acknowledgesthat, while your current way of
working may work fine, you arealso open to improving it.

Speaker 13 (01:36:30):
Oh my gosh, I love that.
You will have to send that tome, and I totally agree with
that.
And so the question is so, asyou take a look then, from
re-skilling which you still haveto do to upskilling, the

(01:36:50):
question is, what are the skillsneeded for that?
Cultural fit, cultural growthexperience, and how are we
mentoring and coaching ourexecutive team to say yes and
right, yes, this is a greatculture and it provided us great

(01:37:11):
success, and how are we goingto continue to keep growing and
expanding?
You know, I listened to apodcast by John Maxwell talked
about I don't know what the nameof it was, but it was talking

(01:37:31):
about things that don't needtalent, so things leaders can
have that don't need talent, andthe five areas that they talked
about.
One was we've already talkedabout, which was teachability I
need to be able to be an expertor do my job really well, but I

(01:37:55):
also have to be open to becoached, to be mentored and to
also say, okay, there's maybe abetter way.
Or to listen to, you know, toactively listen to other people.
And then there's takinginitiative to try something new

(01:38:15):
and something different and someenvironments are open to that
and some environments are not,and looking for individuals who
have shown that they can takeinitiative is.
You don't need any talent to dothat.

(01:38:35):
And then the other three werepassion and courage and
encouragement, and they talkedabout how encouragement is
actually a deficit right now,which we see, because then we've
even have speakers in Niratalking to us about employee

(01:38:55):
well-being, psychological safety, and part of that is because
there's a lack of encouragementright now and people are looking
for that in their workforce andhaving the courage to be able
to again try new things, to beable to encourage others, to

(01:39:20):
think outside of the box andthen figure out what your
passion is and then find out howyou can use it in your
workforce.
Does that make sense?

Speaker 4 (01:39:31):
It does.
I think I ran across a similarlist that you're talking about.
I saw a posting from TimWilliams and he said 10 things
that take zero talent but willget you 100% respect being on
time, work, ethic, effort, bodylanguage, energy, attitude,

(01:39:53):
passion, being coachable, doingextra and being prepared.

Speaker 13 (01:40:00):
I love that, and wouldn't we all like to have
those individuals in theworkforce?
Yes we would, yeah, and when welike to have those as our
leaders and our teammates.
The hard thing is creating thatvision within talent

(01:40:24):
development to show theexecutive team that we need to
reskill for here and now, andthat's changing at breakneck
pace, right, and we need toupskill for the future, and the

(01:40:44):
future isn't three to five yearsfrom now.
The future is like next month.
Yes, because it's changing andlooking for individuals that
have those portable skill setsagain.
It's going to change the way wewrite our job descriptions.

(01:41:05):
It's going to change who wevalue in our leaders and how
we're going to redefine the wayorganizations grow.
And then the last thing for usin the talent sphere is how are
we going to train these peoplefor that, and that has really

(01:41:33):
blown up as an industry in andof itself.
There are different methods tobring out some of those
transferable skills or portableskills in individuals and then
combine them with some of thosehard skills that we need.
I mean, we still need somebodyto know what a debt to income

(01:41:56):
ratio is and how to decisionloans and how to do some of
these things.
However, the way in which weneed to engage them in the
learning process, that's reallya challenge because we as HR
professionals always have to bea step ahead.

(01:42:19):
So you and I were talking aboutPACS.
Some people are auditorylearners, so hearing this is
very helpful to them if they'reat the gym or on their way into
work.
Micro learnings gettingknowledge to individuals quickly
we have really focused on thathere in our organization is to

(01:42:42):
really break down learning intoits essence.
Skill training can be done insome in micro learning.
Some are in gamification andsimulations, and we've just
started doing different games tobe able to get people engaged,
because their attention is drawnin so many areas and that's

(01:43:06):
part of social media.
They are scrolling through andthey are getting stimulated
through their phone every coupleof seconds, so how are we
capturing their attention inenough time to be able to teach
them a skill that needs to beperfected here.

(01:43:31):
But I think the hardest part Idon't know if you've experienced
this, but the hardest part thatI've observed is the whole area
of collaboration andrelationship skills and coming
out of COVID, we've just kind ofbeen very slow at saying you

(01:43:51):
know, a lot of people areworking a hybrid work
environment or working from homeor working at work, but even
not what I found, even if we'reworking at work, sometimes we
feel more comfortable going inquotes to training in my office

(01:44:14):
I'll just close my door, I'llcatch it online and getting back
that collaborative environmentwhere a lot of those ideas are
generated and where you get tothat cultural aspect that you
were talking about of growth andwell, really, that growth

(01:44:34):
mindset we learn from each otherand we've got to learn how each
other work, and I think that'sa big challenge for
organizations to develop that aswell.
I don't know if you've seenthat, but I've seen that also.

Speaker 4 (01:44:51):
And again, anyone is resistant to change, and how
it's always been, and certainlyCOVID, the younger workforce,
the demand for new employees inlieu of other ones leaving the

(01:45:14):
workforce for retirement orwhatever other reason, have
created the demand for employersto change and we struggle with
that.

Speaker 13 (01:45:29):
Yeah, Well, and it totally changes the way we view
work right.

Speaker 4 (01:45:36):
Yes, again, the concept, at least in
manufacturing, jody, is ifsomeone is not within the four
walls, they're not actuallyworking, and so that COVID, for
a big part, has challenged thatmindset because we figured out

(01:45:56):
we had the technology to do workfrom anywhere.
But you've still got a numberof old school individuals that
believe that unless you'rewithin the four wall structure
of the particular manufacturingenvironment or building, people
are not performing the work asthe ones that are here are.

Speaker 13 (01:46:23):
Well, and we have that in our industry as well and
the bottom line is there aresome jobs you must go to work
for right.
You can't put together a widgetI was in manufacturing.
You can't put it together ifyou aren't there, and we can't
help a member who comes in ourdoors if we're not here.

(01:46:46):
However, we do need to have aworkforce that is really
challenging our paradigms andthe way we think to what are
ways we could do thisdifferently that might generate
the same or different results,and we don't have to have all
the answers, but I think we needto create an environment where

(01:47:11):
those dialogues and discussionsare happening, and I believe
that that's what's going toengage people and retain people
is if they're being sought outto problem solve some of these
very big, big changes and whatthat looks like, and kind of

(01:47:34):
reimagine what the workforce isand how these jobs get done, and
I think that one size fits oneright.

Speaker 4 (01:47:46):
Right.

Speaker 13 (01:47:47):
I can't go, I can't do what another organization
does because they have differentstructures, different people,
different processes and I can'tnecessarily hop over into an
industry and do somethingdifferently.
But I can take a look at bestpractices and challenge.

(01:48:08):
And then I love what youbrought up.
And we have somebody at Niracome and talk about our
unconscious bias and I love thatbecause I've had people tell me
well, you know Gen Z, they wantto all work from home and yet I
am raising Gen Z who are doinginternships and they would only

(01:48:30):
look for internships where theywere on site and the reason is
they are hungry for somebody totell them what are those
cultural norms that really needto be done.
So you know valuing ourinternal mentors, you know
investing heavily in those firstline leaders, leadership

(01:48:54):
development.
We're we're tasking our leadersto do a lot of things that
they've never had to do beforeand getting them prepared for
this workforce of the future.
I think I think we've talkedabout plenty of ways that an org
development can really explodeand really impact our workforce
and also impact the way HR islooking at our current

(01:49:18):
structures and processes andmaybe give pause to reimagine
some of those.

Speaker 4 (01:49:26):
So, as we come to a close, do you have any parting
words for our listeners, jodi?

Speaker 13 (01:49:35):
Well, I think what I would say is lifelong learning
and having a growth mindset isintentional and it requires it
requires that courage to maybecome up with solutions that are

(01:49:58):
not necessarily common, aren'tpopular, but are different.
And I think, the more that weas people leaders and HR and
talent leaders can really shiftthe dialogue that's going on
with our executive teams as tohow we're doing things and

(01:50:23):
breaking down some of thosecurrent structures and
questioning them, I think we'regoing to be doing all of our
workforce a great service.
I think that's where I wouldleave it.

Speaker 4 (01:50:37):
Thank you so much for your time today, Jodi.

Speaker 13 (01:50:42):
Thank you, Mike.

Speaker 2 (01:50:46):
The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clark Moore
.
Twas.
The night before Christmas wentall through the house.
Not a creature was stirring,not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by thechimney with care and hopes that
St Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled allsnug in their beds while visions
of sugar plums danced in theirheads.

(01:51:06):
And Mama and her kerchief and Iand my cap had just settled
down for a long winter's napwhen out of the lawn there arose
such a clatter.
I sprang from the bed to seewhat's the matter.
Away to the window I flew likea flash, tore open the shutters
and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of thenew fallen snow gave the lustry

(01:51:28):
of midday to objects below, whenwhat, to my wondering eyes,
should appear but a miniaturesleigh and eight tiny reindeer
With a little old driver.
So lively and quick, I knew ina moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles, hiscoarsers.
They came and he whistled andshouted and called them by name
Now Dasher, now dancer, nowprancer.

(01:51:49):
And vixen on Comet, on Cupid,on Donder and Blitzen, to the
top of the porch, to the top ofthe wall.
Now, dash away, dash away, dashaway all as dry leaves that
before the wild hurricane, flywhen they meet with an obstacle,
mount to the sky.
So up to the house, the topcoarsers.
They flew with the sleigh fullof toys and St Nicholas too.

(01:52:10):
And then, in a twinkling, Iheard on the roof the prancing
and pawning of each little hoof.
As I drew in my hand and wasturning around down the chimney,
st Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, fromhis head to his foot, and his
clothes were all tarnished withashes and soot.
A bundle of toys he had flowingon his back and he looked like

(01:52:31):
a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes, how they twinkled.
His dimples, how merry.
His cheeks were like roses, hisnose like a cherry.
His drool little mouth wasdrawn up like a bow and his
beard of his chin was as whiteas the snow.
The stump of a pipe he heldtight in his teeth and the smoke
it encircled his head like awreath.

(01:52:52):
He had a broad face and a littleround belly that shook when he
laughed like a bowl full ofjelly.
He was chubby and plump, anight jolly old elf, and I
laughed when I saw him, in spiteof myself.
A wink of his eye and a twistof his head soon gave me to know
I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but wentstraight to his work and filled

(01:53:13):
all the stockings, then turnedwith a jerk and laying his
finger aside of his nose andgiving a nod up the chimney, he
rose, he sprang to his sleigh tohis team, gave a whistle and
away.
They all flew like the dawndown of a thistle, but I heard
him exclaim and he drove out thesite.
Happy Christmas to all and toall.
A good night.

Speaker 4 (01:53:35):
I'd like to thank all of our guests that we had today
.
That's all the time we have.
See you next time on Mic'd.

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