2024 HR Professionals Conference

Presenter: Lori Taylor & Amy Grubbs, LSS committee

In today’s dynamic business landscape, HR plays a pivotal role in driving organizational success. However, many HR departments grapple with inefficiencies and operational challenges that hinder their ability to maximize their impact.  By integrating Lean principles of waste reduction and Six Sigma’s data-driven approach to process improvement, HR Professionals can streamline HR processes, enhance employee experiences, increase customer satisfaction, and achieve significant cost savings. Join us as we explore how Lean Six Sigma methodologies can enhance HR operations to drive organizational success and pursue continuous improvement.

Presenter: Employee Relations and Office of General Council

This session is designed to help prepare HR professionals to address potentially tricky issues and sticky situations surrounding the upcoming election season and thereafter.  Through a non-ideological lens, topics for discussion will include a high-level overview of laws and policies relating to political activity and their application at NC State, employees’ rights of freedom of expression inside and outside of the workplace and more.  The session will include guided interactive participation, putting your knowledge and skills to the test.

Presenter: Stephanie Davis & Alexa DeFalco, L&OD

Today, the typical workforce includes predominately four distinct generations, each with their own unique set of work values, communication styles, and views about life in general. Join Stephanie (Gen X) and Alexa (Gen Z) to learn how to leverage the talents and strengths of all generations in order to improve collaboration, retention, and engagement. Plus, get a sneak peak at Generation Alpha trends and receive tips on how to prepare the workplace for the next generation.

Presenters: Beth Buck, DASA

Human Resources professionals have been particularly impacted by burnout in recent years with many teams feeling the weight of a wide range of workplace challenges.  During this session, we will review the four domains of CliftonStrengths and learn how the coping strategies we lean towards may NOT be the best way to manage stress and burnout.  Participants will learn about self care and coping strategies that are more likely to be successful based on their related domains. Participants are not required to have completed the CliftonStrengths assessment, but may find it helpful.  To learn more about CliftonStrengths, view this short 2 minute video on YouTube.

Presenters: Dr. Jai Jackson and Melissa Edwards Smith, OEO

In today’s diverse workplaces, fostering an environment where every employee feels included and valued is paramount for organizational success. “Cultivating Inclusion and Belonging: Strategies for Employee Success and Retention” is a dynamic workshop designed to equip participants with the knowledge, skills, and strategies to promote a workplace culture of inclusion and belonging.

Through interactive activities, insightful discussions, and practical case studies, participants will explore the fundamental concepts of inclusion and belonging, understand their importance in driving employee engagement and retention, and learn actionable strategies to implement within their organizations. From identifying common barriers to inclusion to sharing best practices for creating supportive work environments, this workshop provides a comprehensive approach to enhancing workplace culture.

Presenters: David Perryman, Talent Acquisition and Employment, and Rebecca Zuvich, CALS HR and members of NC State’s EVP team

Join us for an in-depth exploration of NC State’s unique employee value proposition (EVP), “You Belong Here.” Crafted by a cross-functional team with valuable community insights, NC State’s EVP serves as a powerful tool for all. In this session, we’ll cover the fundamentals of EVPs and their significance, backed by data illustrating their positive effects. We’ll hear from team members involved in the creation of our EVP about practical strategies you can use for integrating the EVP seamlessly throughout the employee journey, including attraction, recruitment, onboarding, retention, stay interviews, and engagement. Plus, we’ll provide actionable takeaways on incorporating the EVP into your daily tasks, such as signature lines, job postings, and QR codes. Together, let’s work towards our shared goal of enabling everyone “to reach their fullest potential at work”.

Presenter: Makeba Jackson Corey, Wolf Speed

While succession planning is viewed as futile to some, creating a viable succession plan is a pivotal component to ensure organizational success. The “Great Reshuffle” has left many well-crafted succession plans void of top talent and highlighted organizations underdevelopment talent pipeline. Now we must redefine how we assess readiness, build future-forward succession plans, and communicate intent to talent. This session will discuss the importance of building future-focused succession plans along with development plans to close experience gaps. In addition, we will discuss succession metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of organizational succession plans in addition to readiness progression.

In this session, you will…

• Recognize the future state of position(s) to identify successors’ required experiences
• Evaluate candidate readiness and experience gap(s) to aid in the creation of a development plan
• Evaluate effectiveness of succession strategy based on identified metrics.

Presenters: The Data Science Academy – Dr. Ding

Artificial Intelligence has transformed how HR technologies are deployed and how hiring is done today, with HR tools ranging from automated job-resume matching to automated video interviews and algorithmic social profiling. How are AI applications such as natural language processing, image recognition, and voice recognition used in making hiring decisions? What training data are used and what biases are introduced to the AI tools? How can large language models (LLMs) change the landscape of algorithmic hiring? This talk will provide an overview of AI applications in job-resume matching, video interviews, and social profiling before exploring the ethical concerns introduced by such AI tools. It ends with some preliminary observations of LLMs’ impacts on automated hiring and the implications of this latest development.

Presenters: Nancy Astrike, Director of Diversity and Workforce Service, NC Office of State Human Resources

This session will discuss top 3-5 trends regarded as most influential in the NC state workforce today such as shifting demographics and generational intersections in hybrid/remote work, and the impacts of thoughtful performance management programs in the workplace.