Foster Empathy: SHRM24 Offers Sessions, Strategies for All Career Levels
The importance of culture, empathy, and finding a healthy work/life integration is much talked about, but how should you go about it at your organization? Early-career, midlevel, and senior HR professionals can all explore the topic in an array of concurrent sessions, a special workshop, and 20-minute stage presentations at the SHRM Annual Conference & Expo 2024 (SHRM24).
Read on for a list of some of these sessions; all times are Central time.
Saturday, June 22; Sunday, June 23; and Friday, June 28
Inclusive Workplace Culture: Leading and Sustaining a Culture Transformation
This is a two-day in-person program in Chicago (8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. June 22 and 8 a.m.-1:30 p.m. June 23), followed by a final virtual session on Zoom (8 a.m.-11 a.m. June 28). Additional registration and fee is required.
Intended audience: All career levels
Presenter: Rita Fields, SHRM-SCP, founder and co-owner of 313 Industries Inc. and Copper Phoenix Consulting LLC and chief talent and strategy officer for Lighthouse Michigan
Explore techniques for creating, maintaining, and measuring an inclusive workplace—including hiring practices, mentorship, data reporting, training, and executive-level support—and write a plan that identifies next steps for creating an inclusive culture.
Securing the Oxygen Mask: Developing Our Own Cultural Competence First
In person
1:45 p.m.-2:05 p.m.
Intended audience: midlevel
Presenter: Sara Taylor, CEO DeepSEE Consulting
This session helps you identify preferred cultural styles of communication and engages you in competence-developing activities to help you understand your own cultural competence and how to develop it in others. You’ll receive a guide of activities to continue developing cultural competence.
Monday, June 24
In person and virtual
7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m.
Intended audience: senior level
Presenter: Jodi Glickman, CEO and founder of Great On The Job
This program uses the GIFT framework (Generosity, Initiative, Forward Momentum, and Transparency) to help senior leaders become more empathetic and understand why empathy is important.
How Core Values Drive Change in Toxic Workplaces
In person and virtual
11 a.m.-noon
Intended audience: senior level
Presenter: Catherine Mattice, SHRM-SCP, founder and CEO of Civility Partners
Senior leaders will become acquainted with the impact of toxic workplace cultures, create core values aligned with their organization’s culture, develop strategies for aligning core values and workplace culture, and learn how to make those core values part of their organization’s performance system.
Wellness Session: Leading with Empathy for Workforce Well-Being
In person
2:15-2:45 p.m.
Intended audience: senior level
Presenter: Jeremy York, SHRM-SCP, lead consultant and president of InvigorateHR LLC
Today’s workplaces are composed of individuals from diverse backgrounds juggling work and family responsibilities, mental health challenges, and changing societal landscapes in addition to their professional duties. This session explores empathy’s impact on wellness and how to demonstrate it and integrate it to foster a more compassionate workplace culture.
Empathy as a Recruitment Superpower: The Key to Perfecting Candidate Personas
In person and virtual
3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
Intended audience: midlevel
Presenter: Jodi Brandstetter, founder and lead facilitator at By Design Brainery
This session looks at real-world examples and case studies to help you discover strategies for using an empathetic recruitment approach and foster a more inclusive and harmonious workplace culture. Learn to be a better listener to uncover job candidates’ motivations, values, and cultural alignment and, in the process, make more informed hiring decisions.
Detox Your Culture and Level Up Your Teams!
In person
4:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Intended audience: all levels
Presenter: Darla Shaw, CEO and organizational psychologist at Talent Masters
Explore every facet of your organization—including operations, processes, and communication and work styles—and discover the secrets to developing a thriving, dynamic, and positive work environment. Revolutionize your company culture.
Tuesday, June 25
Empathy: The New Work Culture Norm
In person and virtual
12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
Intended audience: midlevel
Presenter: Jeremy York, SHRM-SCP, lead Consultant and president, InvigorateHR LLC
This session defines empathy and its various types. Midlevel HR professionals will explore the importance of empathy in the workplace, discuss how to strengthen empathic skills and remove roadblocks, and develop a plan for creating a more empathic culture at their organization.
In person and virtual
12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
Intended audience: midlevel and senior level
Presenter: Kenston Henderson Sr., founder and CEO of Live With Lyfe LLC
Midlevel and senior-leader attendees will learn a step-by-step framework for transforming organizational processes that impede the achievement of strategic objectives into those that cultivate a workplace that is inclusive, nondiscriminatory, and racially equitable.
ALIVE Leaders: How to Ignite Wellness, Productivity, and Inclusivity at Work and Life
In person and virtual
3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
Intended audience: midlevel, senior level, and executive level
Presenter: Miguel Joey Aviles, chief belonging officer at MJA & CO LLC
Attendees will learn how to create and implement effective wellness strategies that support mental and emotional health and acquire the skills needed to build personal and team resilience to handle change and uncertainty in the workplace.
Wednesday, June 26
The Loneliness Epidemic: Why Employee Engagement Is Critical in a Virtual Workplace
In person and virtual
10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Intended audience: midlevel
Presenter: Sonia Aranza, CEO and principal consultant at Aranza Communications
The World Health Organization has declared loneliness to be a global health threat, and the U.S. surgeon general has declared it an epidemic. Work and loneliness are intertwined because we spend much of our lives at work. For remote workers, inadequate social connections and isolation can contribute to loneliness. By understanding the connection between loneliness and work and applying best practices, HR professionals can help their organizations build inclusive virtual workplaces where employees engage and thrive.
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