Forging a human connection

With HR Connect imminently looming large in the HR community, Jess Moore is keenly aware of the importance of this year’s event. As Head of Strategy at SAP SuccessFactors, she freely acknowledges that it’s been a challenging year on a number of fronts – not least of them a literal pandemic – but notes that there are still core HR challenges that need to be addressed across industries.

“Obviously there will be a lot of discussion around the challenges specific COVID-19, but I think that those challenges have really highlighted some of the existing undercurrents when it comes to the definition of flexibility and technology readiness for organisations,” says Moore.  

Diversity, in particular has also remained an important topic for businesses across the country. Moore notes that it faces something of a paradox in Australia. With the ongoing majority of men in corporate leadership it means that they are the ones who should be most responsible for leaning into the conversation around how organisations create greater levels of diversity and women in leadership.

“Starting a conversation is just the beginning – challenging the barriers and following through with action is what we need to start seeing,” explains Moore. “We need to look more closely at why senior roles are not sustainable for women. Is it due to women being included in a tokenistic way rather than empowered tokenisation within organisations? Is it because of a lack of widely available childcare options? Is it because of outmoded productivity measures that value workplace presence over actual outcomes? Or is it a combination of all these factors and others?” 

Moore is aware that this isn’t the only challenge organisations have when it comes to diversity and inclusion. There’s a strong moral case alone for diversity in organisations, but in purely economic terms Moore points to organisations like Boston Consulting Group. A 2018 study noted that companies who reported above-average diversity on their management teams also benefitted economically. Innovation revenue was 19 percentage points higher than companies who reported  below-average leadership diversity – 45% of total revenue versus just 26%. It’s a significant difference, and clearly demonstrative of why companies who aren’t already having this conversation should be.

“It would be short-sighted to not have a broader conversation around D&I,” says Moore. “It would be great to see a bigger emphasis on building inclusive leaders and enabling our managers and leaders with the skills to ensure they live and breathe the right behaviours.”

It’s an issue that David Thodey one of the founding members of Male Champions for Change, and this year’s keynote speakers at HR Connect, looks to raise. Speaking on the attributes that make up an inclusive leader, encouraging diversity of thought and challenging biases that influence workplace decisions, Thodey will discuss the influence such traits can have on overall workplace culture – and most importantly, how it can be changed for the better both now and into the future.

Being “future fit” is also likely to be a hot topic this year.

“How can leaders stay relevant in the workplace?” says Moore. “If you’re a workplace leader, you need to be willing to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and be okay with a level of uncertainty in order to progress.” 

Holly Ransom, Founder and CEO of Emergent, will also be one of the keynote speakers, discussing how leaders in the workplace can leverage disruption to their advantage and expand their leadership skills in the process.

“When you listen to Holly, she naturally appeals to people who are comfortable with risk and have a growth mindset,” says Moore. “But I like the fact that she brings to light the thought that there will still be those who find comfort in conserving process and that not everyone has to be an innovator, but they just can’t be a blocker. If you see change is occurring and it’s going to be for the better, you need to learn how to not stand in its way.”

Being vulnerable during periods of change isn’t a problem, nor do you need to have all the answers, stresses Moore. Rather, it’s about looking at how your individual behavioural changes and responsibility link up with wider organizational change.

“I think a key takeaway we want for attendees this year is that your place matters, and your point of view can add to the success of the wider workplace,” says Moore. “We want people to come away inspired, and look for ways that they as individuals can drive their organisations into the future for the better. It’s critical as HR leaders for us to do that – but everyone has their own part to play.”

Every year the ANZ HR community gathers at HR Connect to share their stories and inspire each other. This year join us on 1-2 July in a new exciting digital forum. Join live to hear from business luminaries and disruption strategist Holly Ransom and David Thodey. You will also hear from some of our amazing customers and partners who will be sharing their stories on how they took charge of change, and why HR and Human Experience Management plays a pivotal role in rising above any challenges and disruptions we may face in the future.

To secure your spot at HR Connect, click here.