Geeks, Geezers, and Googlization Show

With labor markets in freefall, there is no other business function that requires as much reimagination as recruitment and hiring. Can design thinking solve your organizations' hiring woes and help companies fill their talent pipeline? Jodi Brandstetter, an ardent and passionate fan of design thinking, thinks so. In this week's episode, you'll learn what design thinking is and why Jodi feels it might just be the catalyst to transform your talent acquisition strategies. Before starting her own company Lean Effective Talent Strategies, Jodi worked as a Director of Talent Acquisition and is the author of the book Hire by Design.

With labor markets in freefall, there is no other business function that requires as much reimagination as recruitment and hiring. Can design thinking solve your organizations' hiring woes and help companies fill their talent pipeline? Jodi Brandstetter, an ardent and passionate fan of design thinking, thinks so. In this week's episode, you'll learn what design thinking is and why Jodi feels it might just be the catalyst to transform your talent acquisition strategies. Before starting her own company Lean Effective Talent Strategies, Jodi worked as a Director of Talent Acquisition and is the author of the book Hire by Design.

Can your company culture survive when your workforce works remotely? Is it possible to create that spur-of-the-moment water-cooler or passing-in-the-hallway moments on Zoom? "Where do you work" took on a whole new meaning and importance beginning March 2020. Prior to that, people went to work and the hybrid work model was almost taboo. Today where, when, and how people work is evolving on an hour-to-hour basis. Organizations and businesses of all types and sizes are being forced to create the post-pandemic workplace on-the-fly. What do owners and executives need to consider? What remote work lessons did we learn over the last 18 months? How should managers personalize employee health and safety concerns? For answers, Farissa Know, founder and CEO of RLM Media, joins us for this Geeks Geezers Googlization episode. Farissa embraced the hybrid work model for her large team of employees and will share lessons she learned and offer tips for CEOs and owners who are in the midst of reimagining their workplace. Farissa Knox is the Founder and CEO of RLM Media, a holding company and advertising agency dedicated to expanding how advertisers look at and talk to today's "actual" consumer; the Founder and Creative Director of WhatRUWearing Productions, the production house behind the reality series, PRGirl (streaming on Plex and Amazon Prime Video) showing the professional and personal lives of ladies running the worlds of fashion, beauty and lifestyle Public Relations; the Author of Love, Sex and Friendship: In No Particular Order, her memoir describing her journey around career, love, self-discovery, and dating during her mid 20's in New York City; and a wife and a mother.

Trust is deteriorating all around us. We have lost trust in our government, military, police, public health officials, business leaders, and even neighbors and family members. And who hasn't done something to break trust? To make sense of what's happened to trust, we're excited to welcome Dr. Yoram Solomon to this episode of Geeks Geezers Googlization. Yoram will explain why trust is not what most of us think it is and shares a few of his 8 laws of trust. You don't want to miss his tips on how to build trust in a team, what you can do to be more trusted, and even regain the trust we lost. And as a bonus, we took a detour and explored the relationship between Yoram's other passion - innovation - and trust. Dr. Yoram Solomon is the founder of the Innovation Culture Institute, Author of The Book of Trust, the book series Can I Trust You?, and host of The Trust Show solo podcast. Published a total of 15 books and more than 300 articles on Trust, Innovation Culture, and Entrepreneurship. Holds a Ph.D. in organization and management, an MBA, a law degree and an engineering degree. Adjunct professor of entrepreneurship. Former executive, elected official, pilot, and member of the Israeli 35th airborne brigade.

No job candidate should be left behind. In a labor market when overall jobs are up 96% compared to pre-pandemic norms and job openings significantly exceed available workers, no company can afford to lose a candidate due to a friction-filled FCDD*up candidate experience. But in just a few weeks (October 2021) Google in its Google for Jobs search engine is going to throw another wrench into your recruitment and hiring efforts when it shines its massive spotlight on the job seeker apply experience. JobSync CEO Alex Murphy joins Geeks Geezers Googlization today to explain how this will impact your candidate traffic, what changes you must make, and who will win and lose the race for talent as the latest Google for Jobs update rolls out. (*Frustrating-Confusing-Disappointing-Distracting) New to Google for Jobs? Check out this free online course. Alex Murphy is CEO and co-founder of JobSync, the Workflow Automation Platform for Talent Acquisition. Alex has successfully started, grown and turned companies around in and out of the Talent Acquisition space. Alex's experiences in TA include launching and running Job.com, and scaling Traffic, User Acquisition and running Business Development for Beyond. Alex is very active in the local DC entrepreneurial community as an Investor, Advisor and Mentor. Free Resources: Are your Career Site, Job Posting, and Application mobile-ready? Click here. Is your Career Site, Job Posting, and Application fast enough? Click here.

Recruiting and retention woes are wreaking havoc on businesses as a result of the collision of the Perfect Labor Storm and the Great Resignation. One reason why may be due to the "largest unheard conversation in history!" For starters, 68 million conversations happened in the last year around the candidate experience. To put that in perspective, that's 2.5 X more than the 2020 Olympics! So why aren't employers listening? What do you need to do to pump the brakes on unfilled jobs and quit rates going through the roof? During this episode, we're going to take a deep dive with Employment Brand and Candidate Experience evangelist Tracey Parsons (Worqdrive) on the disconnect between job seekers and employers, the rising importance of recruitment marketing, candidate experience, and employment brand. Tracey doesn't just hype ideas or toot her own horn. She brings the data to back up her recruiting solutions. If you are struggling to access, hire, or retain talent, click to listen now.

This episode is a masterclass on what your company must do to recruit and retain Gen Z in a Tik-Tok World. Gen Z is the newest cohort to join the working ranks. Knowing how to attract Generation Z employees starts with understanding who they are and their job search habits. Meeting them on their own terms could be the difference between filling open jobs quickly and prolonged vacancies and high quit rates. What must your company do to recruit and retain Gen Z? That is the question we asked two incredible Gen Zs - Danielle Farage and Rosa Beltran. what's important to them, what's not, and what turns them off? What do they want out of a job and employer? How important are a company's culture and employment brand? How do they use social media and which channels do they prefer? Should you be using Tik Tok to recruit? You surely don't want to miss this episode! Part of our conversation focused on the importance of the employment brand. Check out this free webinar to learn more, hosted by Ira S Wolfe with special guest Al Cini.

Early in May, the Workforce Investment Disclosure Act was introduced in Congress. Also referred to as Human Capital Management Disclosure, it will require public companies to disclose information about their workforce management policies. If the act is passed, these companies will need to include specific HR metrics in their public filing. What does this mean for your business? Many claim this act will be a game-changer and finally make companies to walk-the-talk when it comes to touting "people are our most important asset." To help cut through all the noise, we reached out to Jeff Higgins, Founder and CEO of Human Capital Management Institute (HCMI). Jeff advised Rep. Cindy Axne and Sen. Mark Warner on this legislation. Jeff discussed: What your need to know about human capital disclosure requirements What prompted the SEC to mandate human capital disclosure requirements What this trend has to do with the recent push for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) The consequences for businesses that fail to properly report human capital metrics or don't report at all During our second segment, Jennifer McClure, CEO of DisruptHR, introduced the Geeks Geezers Googlization audience to DisruptHR and updated us to its post-pandemic future. GGG host is a past presenter on the DisruptHR stage. Watch his appearance here.

Engagedly recently announced the "Top 100 HR Influencers of 2021" and Geeks Geezers Googlization host Ira S Wolfe was one of them! During the show, Wolfe interviews Engagedly's President and Co-Founder, Srikant Chellappa, to discuss the origins of the the Top 100 Influencers List, how the honorees are selected, trends over the last 5 years, and how the 2021 list differed from prior years. This annual list recognizes Human Resources and People Services disruptors and leaders from across all domains who are making tremendous strides in innovation, growth, and technology to impact the people practice. Chellappa explained the intention behind this recognition: "Honor the champions of people practice. The last year has challenged people leaders like never before, with a rapid transition to remote work environments while maintaining a positive culture." This year's honorees are special as they led us through these challenging times and we thank them for their leadership." In addition to Wolfe, other honorees included notable HR leaders such as Adam Grant, Angela Duckworth, and Josh Bersin.

The quit rate of U.S. employees is at a record-breaking pace. In June 2021 alone, nearly 1 million workers left their jobs. This couldn't come at a worse time with job openings reaching record highs and labor participation rates falling to WWII levels. Employee Turnover expert Dick Finnegan sums up this new work reality in two words: doom loop. The HR doom loop occurs when new employees don't show up, ghost the employer, or quickly quit restarting the repeating churn of recruit, hire, quit, recruit, hire, quit. Finnegan has a solution that helps companies increase retention and cut turnover by 30 percent. On this week's Geeks Geezers Googlization. Finnegan will reveal his "secret employee retention sauce" and share the 5 questions he asks every employee. Finnegan is the author of SHRM's best-selling book, "The Power of Stay Interviews" and will be a speaker at the 2021 SHRM Annual Conference.

In March 2020, the physical workplace went dark for millions of businesses including a company called Puzzle Break. The multi-million dollar business went to $0 in one day. His entire business depended on teams of people going to his physical locations. So he asked "how can we create a similar experience when people can't leave their house?" Millions of workers and employers were scrambling to figure out the same thing: how to make remote work work! Zoom just wasn't cutting it for many organizations and "team-building events are terrible. They are just the least events you can have….if you get people to really want to be there, you've already won." In order to save his business (and help others save theirs), Puzzle Break CEO Nate Martin, "the Founding Father of Escape Rooms," designed and developed a virtual experience that took off. He has helped teams from Microsoft, Starbucks, and Deloitte. He's had the two top revenue days in the history of his company and is growing at a rocketship pace. Join us on this episode of Geeks Geezers Googlization when Nate Martin, @GuyfromTomorrow, shares how he helps inject fun into work, build strong remote teams, create a virtual environment that connects people, and excites employees to show up to work every day.

Where have all the workers gone? That is the question nearly every employer is asking. So I invited Futurist David Houle to tell us! Houle believes the 2020s will be the most disruptive and transformative decade in history. Never-normal will be the norm and our perception of reality will be challenged. Making sense of life's unpredictable, fast-changing, and often incompatible events will make keeping up with the "shift" difficult. Millions of people are at risk of being left behind in what Houle describes as a "Decade of Cognitive Dissonance" (which also just happens to be the title of his newest book.) In the book, Houle suggests that we need to adopt the mindset "be like water" and why the metaphor "light at the end of the tunnel" is a dangerous one. Tune in to find out why living with cognitive dissonance will be our normal, and why COVID19 was just training wheels for the decade ahead. In the 2nd segment, host Ira S Wolfe continues the conversation about adaptability and introduces 3 new webinars: July 23: Taming the Turnover Tsunami, Local Talent Pipelines. Noon EDT. Watch Here. July 29: Grow and Thrive in an FCDDup World. 1:00 PM EDT. Watch Here. August 12: Your Playbook for Recruiting in the Age of Googlization. 1:00 PM EDT. Watch Here.

When it comes to filling open jobs these days, almost nothing should be off the table...and it's about time. The current labor shortage has finally forced companies to reimagine recruitment and think about HR in new and innovative ways. Elisa Garn, who calls herself a Human Experience Evangelist, came up with what she calls a crazy idea - Monetize HR. She says "the craziest thing, it worked" and she has the proof. Elisa is this week's Geeks Geezers and Googlization Show guest and she shares how she earned the attention and respect of the senior executive team. Elisa also described the 3 primary HR personas - traffic cop, city planner, and mayor - and the importance of every HR department to create its own P&L. Elisa is currently Vice President of Thought Leadership & Brand Marketing at GBS Benefits.

For years, virtual reality (VR) has been synonymous with gaming. Matt Burns, founder of Bento HR and Global HR Summit, is betting VR will be the technology that helps HR transform the way businesses recruit, train, and develop their workforce. Confronted with historic HR challenges from recruitment and retention to reskilling and upskilling, conventional and traditional HR approaches just aren't working. The problem is that many HR professionals don't have a clue how VR can be used and the power and the potential it can unlock. I'm excited to welcome Matt Burns to Geeks Geezers Googlization to discuss the future of work, hybrid workplaces, and of course, how your company can make VR work to solve the #1 business challenge for the rest of this decade: skilled labor shortages. My 2nd guest is Dick Finnegan, Founder of C-Suite Analytics. Dick and Ira S Wolfe will be joining SHRM's July Tune-In-Tuesday show to discuss recruitment, labor shortages, employee retention, and stay interviews. Dick offered a preview of what he'll be presenting at SHRM21 - stay interviews. Both Dick and Ira will be presenting at the SHRM21 Annual Conference. Ira also will be presenting at the 2021 SHRM Talent Conference.

Microaggressions are a workplace reality. Nearly 50 percent of Americans have experienced some type of microaggression at work. Over time, microaggressions, even unintentional, can accumulate and build into out-and-out discrimination. What can leaders do to recognize microaggressions? How can leaders make sure their employees feel safe, included, and comfortable? Heather R Younger, founder of employee engagement and leadership development firm Employee Fanatix, will share 5 steps leaders can take to mitigate and prevent microaggressions in the workplace and how to create safe spaces, aka judgment-free workplaces. With the "great resignation" and labor shortages in full swing, companies can ill afford any friction between candidates applying and employees showing up for work. Mitigating microaggressions in the workplace is key to both attracting more top talent and employee retention. Heather was recently selected to deliver her 2nd TEDx talk and is the author of the new book, The Art of Caring Leadership: How Leading with Heart Uplifts Teams and Organizations.

Rishon Blumberg isn't just any other game-changer in the world of talent acquisition and talent management. Rishon sources "rockstar" quality talent on demand, or what he calls 10X. His recent book is appropriately titled Game Changer: How To Be 10x in the Talent Economy which reveals the strategies companies and individuals can take to become 10X. What's 10X and what does it take to acquire 10X talent? (You'll have to listen for that tip!) Rishon is, first and foremost, an entrepreneur. It's what he studied, graduating from the Wharton School of Business with a degree in entrepreneurial management in 1994. From concert promotion to co-founding Brick Wall Management, 10x Management and 10x Ascend, he has imbued his entrepreneurial passions with purpose. 10x has rocketed to the forefront of its industry, helping its clients acquire "rock star" talent on demand. In doing so, he's carved out a place as a trusted and exclusive resource for companies seeking the best and most coveted freelance tech experts. Rishon joins Geeks Geezers Googlization Show this week to share how companies must reimagine top talent acquisition, how to best manage 10X talent, and the biggest trends in the future of work. During the 2nd segment, host Ira S Wolfe shares the 3 recruitment reports he believes should be on the top of every recruiter's dashboard.

Before February 2020, recruiting college students and recent graduates was a recurring annual tradition. Employers camped out on campus to secure the best and brightest for internships and jobs. Then COVID-19 hit and college campus activity came to a screeching halt. Now that the pandemic is basically behind us, how will college recruiting change? How did the pandemic impact internships? What is Amazon's impact on recruitment and the labor market? Where are wages headed? For answers, Steven Rothberg, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of College Recruiter, joins this week's episode of Geeks Geezers Googlization Show. If you're not familiar with Collegerecruiter.com, it connects high-quality students and recent graduates at scale to great part-time, seasonal, internship, and entry-level career opportunities. During the second segment host, Ira S Wolfe discusses the importance of validity, reliability, and job relevance when selecting and using pre-employment testing. Wolfe shares his easy-to-implement tip for customizing assessments to each position instead of using the same questions and criteria for every job.

Before February 2020, recruiting college students and recent graduates was a recurring annual tradition. Employers camped out on campus to secure the best and brightest for internships and jobs. Then COVID-19 hit and college campus activity came to a screeching halt. Now that the pandemic is basically behind us, how will college recruiting change? How did the pandemic impact internships? What is Amazon's impact on recruitment and the labor market? Where are wages headed? For answers, Steven Rothberg, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of College Recruiter, joins this week's episode of Geeks Geezers Googlization Show. If you're not familiar with Collegerecruiter.com, it connects high-quality students and recent graduates at scale to great part-time, seasonal, internship, and entry-level career opportunities. During the second segment host, Ira S Wolfe discusses the importance of validity, reliability, and job relevance when selecting and using pre-employment testing. Wolfe shares his easy-to-implement tip for customizing assessments to each position instead of using the same questions and criteria for every job.

Before February 2020, recruiting college students and recent graduates was a recurring annual tradition. Employers camped out on campus to secure the best and brightest for internships and jobs. Then COVID-19 hit and college campus activity came to a screeching halt. Now that the pandemic is basically behind us, how will college recruiting change? How did the pandemic impact internships? What is Amazon's impact on recruitment and the labor market? Where are wages headed? For answers, Steven Rothberg, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of College Recruiter, joins this week's episode of Geeks Geezers Googlization Show. If you're not familiar with Collegerecruiter.com, it connects high-quality students and recent graduates at scale to great part-time, seasonal, internship, and entry-level career opportunities. During the second segment host, Ira S Wolfe discusses the importance of validity, reliability, and job relevance when selecting and using pre-employment testing. Wolfe shares his easy-to-implement tip for customizing assessments to each position instead of using the same questions and criteria for every job.

Struggling to attract great candidates fast? Open positions suffocating your company's growth plans? What trends are shaping the future of recruitment and talent acquisition? There is definitely no one size fits all and making the best choices can be confusing. From job postings to virtual career fairs, video is part of any effective solution. Why video? Because according to this week's guest Lindsay Stanton, President of Digi-Me, video attracts more talent to your job postings, engages them longer, and converts more job seekers to job applicants. Video isn't just for job postings and career sites either. The virtual career fair arrived just in time for the pandemic but is sure to be a popular sourcing strategy moving forward. To help make sense of what's next for HR Tech, video, digital recruiting, and the future of talent acquisition, listen or watch no! My second guest, futurist David Houle, ironically experienced a few video technology glitches. Consequently, we had an abbreviated interview and it's audio-only. But he'll be back on July 21 again to discuss his most recent book, The 2020s: A Decade of Cognitive Dissonance. For a sneak peek of things to come, David explained what cognitive dissonance is and why COVID19 was just training wheels for the decade ahead.

Nine out of 10 companies will be embracing the hybrid workplace model according to a new McKinsey report. But 68 percent of them have no detailed plan. A recent Wall Street Journal described the emerging era of hybrid work "might be even more messy" than the work from home transition millions of workers experienced in 2020. What does the future of hybrid work mean for employees, talent acquisition, employee engagement, diversity & inclusion, and productivity? What must managers and leaders do to become a remote-first or remote-friendly company? IBM Vice-President and North American Talent & Transformation Leader Victoria Pelletier joins me for this episode of Geeks Geezers and Googlization. My second guest will focus on how many organizations are recognizing and addressing misconduct (discrimination, sexual harassment, bullying) while employees work completely remotely or in a hybrid model. This segment's expert is Kia Roberts, the Founder, and Principal of Triangle Investigations. Kia is the former NFL Director of Investigations. We'll be exploring what misconduct reporting processes managers should be implementing to ensure employees feel safe whether working in a virtual, hybrid, or physical workspace.

With job openings at an all-time high, it's crunch time for companies to get diversity hiring right. Women dropped out of the workforce in droves during the pandemic (almost twice the rate of men) but many won't be coming back unless companies start treating them fairly, equitably, and as equals. The change goes beyond policies. According to the FairyGodBoss survey on diversity recruiting, 98 percent of organizations say it's a priority, but only a fraction have made significant changes. Only 1 in 4 of those same companies even has a requirement for a diverse slate of candidates. Women of color were particularly hit hard. It's also notable that some progress has been made at senior executive levels but much more work needs to be done at the front lines and even mid-management. Joining me for this Geeks Geezers Googlization Show is Georgene Huang, CEO, and co-founder of FairyGodBoss.com, the largest career community and job board for women.

Can you imagine leading an organization where employees from all generations respond to "What's it like to work here?" with "I love it here!" Instead of making Millennials and Gen Z scapegoats and labeling 100 Million people as lazy, disloyal, and work-ethic deficient, treat them as people. That's what Clint Pulver, as the Undercover Millennial, discovered after interviewing 10,000+ employees - that loyalty and engagement aren't innate to different generations, but dependent on how managers and leaders treat all people. His research has discovered 4 types of managers and during this interview, he'll share the impact that Mentor Managers have on building loyalty that lasts. Clint's book "I Love It Here: How Great Leaders Create Organizations Their People Never Want to Leave" was published in April 2021. Our 2nd segment features Tova Sherman, CEO of the Reachability Association with more than 25 years of experience in diversity and inclusion and author of the Win, Win, Win. Tova's message is crystal clear: diversity without inclusion is like a house without a foundation. She talks about why ramps and handrails aren't enough, why inclusion is different but not difficult, and offers 5 simple steps you can take to create a more inclusive workplace for people with disabilities.

Companies have promoted very proudly that "people are their most important asset." But behind closed doors, they managed human capital as an expense. Recent changes, however, at The Securities and Exchange Commission now say "put up or be shut up!" Public companies are now required to disclose information about "human capital resources." The lines between old-school workforce management and bottom-line growth are merging. While this new requirement currently only applies to public companies, it is not a stretch to say this will affect businesses large and small, public and private. What metrics should human resources start tracking today to comply with the demands of the modern marketplace? This week we reached out to Solange Charas, PhD., Founder and CEO of HCMoneyball and Distinguished Principal Research Fellow at The Conference Board, will share what this means for the future of Human Capital Management. Our second segment features a favorite passion topic of Geeks Geezers Googlization - candidate and employee experience. There is no better resource than UX and CX strategist Debbie Levitt, "the Mary Poppins of CX/UX" and Chief Experience Officer at Delta CX. She recently shared that "hiring for UX and CX jobs is a freaking disaster." Descriptions are ambiguous, expectations are unrealistic, and screening is often not aligned with the skill requirements of the job. Debbie's solution? She recently wrote an 8+ hour training with 50 videos (Attracting and Retaining CX and UX Talent) to help HR and Recruiters learn more about UX and CX and how they can attract and retain great talent to their companies.

If you're hearing recruitment crickets, this could be why: your hiring process sucks! The economy is showing signs of a boom. The job market is heating up. The labor market is tight. Wages are rising and time-to-fill rates are rising. And yet, the top talent that companies seek, simply walk away and head straight to the competition. Why? HR and managers aren't always on the same page. The values and expectations of hiring managers don't align with the messaging used to attract candidates. Onboarding is more about paperwork and getting acknowledgment that new hires read the employee handbook than welcoming and introducing them into the business and culture. We also do our best to pound the last nail into the annual performance review's coffin! It's time that organizations accept that recruitment is marketing and hiring is sales according to our guest Molly McGrath, founder of Hiring & Empowering Solutions. In this episode, we'll be talking about why HR and your managers may be killing your hiring process and how to fix it.

Working women have made impressive progress. Just 20 years ago, S&P 500 companies claimed only 2 women among the elite CEO club. Today, 41 women are CEOs of companies such as General Motors, Best Buy, Walgreens, The Hershey Company, Oracle, Citigroup, and Clorox. But still, that's only 8 percent of CEOs, while women make up more than half the U.S. population. Women made gains in the C-Suite too but are still outnumbered 17:1. The pandemic took a pronounced toll on women. Some even called it the "shecession." Women left the workforce at 4 times the rate of men. The "mom penalty" added insult to injury. Upon reentry, many professional women over 50 will meet gendered ageism. The United States is facing a reckoning about race, diversity, equality, and inclusion. Ageism and genderism often fall off the radar. What can women over 50 do to overcome the bias in the workplace as well as stop their own internalized bias? What are some of the self-inflicted stereotypes that working women themselves perpetuate? Bonnie Marcus has some advice: Stop Playing Small. Stay Marketable. In her new book "Not Done Yet," Bonnie shows a generation of women how to avoid self-sabotage and go from sadass to badass. Our second segment features Professor M.S.Rao, whose passion and vision is to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. He'll share the importance of soft leadership, from his bestselling book "See the Light in You" for which His Holiness Dalai Lama wrote a foreword and "Strategies to Build Women Leaders Globally."

Have you experienced VirtualReality yet? Are you wondering what the big deal is? Are VR and AR just for gamers? How much different would our jobs and education have been if VR and AR were as common as Zoom? Did the pandemic come too soon for virtual reality? How much better could remote work and education have been if AR and VR had become as popular as Zoom? Video conferencing platforms like Zoom literally saved millions of jobs and probably our economy in 2020. But the 2D experience of staring at Hollywood Square-like screens all day is unnatural. Sharing the same space with co-workers, friends, and family simply offers a more robust and legitimate experience. But what if we had the power to bring places to people; to give us the feeling we're in the same place but thousands of miles away; to immerse ourselves with others using technology. That is exactly what virtual reality can do. Welcome to a future world where the line between science fiction and reality blur to give us the power to make positive changes in the way we live, work, and play. To explore this fascinating future of virtual reality and other immersive technologies like AR and XR, Senior Virtual Reality Research Scientist at Virtual World Society Dr. Angelina Dayton joins us for this episode of Geeks Geezers Googlization. Then stay tuned for the 2nd segment when co-hosts Ira S Wolfe and Joyce Gioia reveal what's ahead for recruitment, hiring, and employee retention for 2021-2022.

Did you know the average W-2 employee is working 13 hours per week from a side hustle? From the extraordinary growth of workers pursuing side hustles to how people think about their homes and employee activism, the pandemic has altered and accelerated consumer trends … and they will have a long-lasting effect on HR. For example, one of the major findings from Clicksuasion's 2021 Marketing Survey was that 49% of the US population has some kind of Side Hustle. Instead of frowning upon and discouraging the pursuit of alternative sources of income, how can HR nurture and support these side hustle projects? Tune in to our podcast and learn more about how side hustles and other consumer trends will shape the future of recruitment, retention, and HR. Our featured guest is Dr. Michael Barbera, Chief Behavioral Officer at Clicksuasion Labs. What's next for networking and conferences? You'll want to stay tuned for our second guest today, Mike Spremulli, who shares his experience using the Hopin networking app and the HyperFair virtual trade show app. And if you're interested in more one-to-one networking, don't miss Ira's discovery and recommendation.

On the brink of normalcy, many organizations are wrestling with what a return to work looks like. Conversations about the future of remote work and the evolution of hybrid workforces populate our news feeds daily. So what happened to the 4-Day work week? Did it die with the pandemic or is it still a viable option? Who benefits the most - workers or employers? Is now a good time to implement it? What are the best practices to follow and pitfalls to avoid? On this episode of Geeks Geezers and Googlization, the Do-Be Associates - Tony Carnesi (Mr. Do) and Brian Gorman (Mr. Be) - join forces to discuss how a 4-Day work week might work for your business and your employees. Our second guest for the day was Kim Bettie, Greater Advantage LLC, exploring the convergence of emotional intelligence and diversity, in what Kim describes as diversity intelligence.

You're probably familiar with the glass ceiling? But have you ever heard about the glass cliff, glass escalator, and sticky floor? Dr. Kate Richmond doesn't believe that all men want to oppress women but masculine norms certainly present a strong argument that it's still a man's world. From birth, boys and men are socialized into a strict code that is difficult to break. The result is a workplace where gender inequity, motherhood wage penalties, sexual harassment, discrimination, and unpaid work persist despite a glaring spotlight shining down on them. Look no further than the impact of the pandemic. Women took a far bigger hit in job loss than men. Women bore the brunt of caregiving and childcare. During this episode of Geeks Geezers and Googlization, we talk about the future of work, gender diversity, women leadership, and what it will take to ensure equity for men, women, LGBTQ. Our 2nd guest for this episode is Thomas Michael Hogg, author of the new book Profitable Growth Strategy: 7 Proven Best Practices from German Companies.

Tomorrow said NO to today sometime in the year 2020. It refused the handoff to carry business-as-usual into the Future, according to our guest Bill Jensen, author of the new book "The Day Tomorrow Said No." Jensen's research suggests that only one in ten of today's employees can achieve their dreams in their current jobs. Worse, dreams are fading fast for millions of people as up to ½ of all jobs will be gone. 375 million people are at risk of being left behind. Everyone has a 3B* responsibility if you want to join Team Future, to land on the right side of the future, to change the course, and get Tomorrow to say YES. [*What's 3B? It's time to listen.] Our 2nd guest is Tom Bradbury, author of the new book, The Culture Project: 30 Days to Reboot Your Organization.

Recruiting top talent is one thing. Getting your best employees to stay is another. But it's not just about keeping people on your payroll. Employees want—and now expect—meaningful work, supportive bosses, regular recognition, and a chance to learn and grow. What can your organization do to create a culture that helps employees feel valued and heard? It could be as simple as the "Stay Interview." Our first guest today is "sage on the stage" Bev Kaye, who likely needs no introduction in the world of HR and ATD. Bev is the author of the Love 'Em or Lose 'Em series. The 6th edition was just released and, with its timely focus on diversity and inclusion, will no doubt add to the nearly 800,000 books she's sold since 1999. Bev was recently honored with the ATD Lifetime Achievement Award and Thought Leader Award from ISA (Association of Learning Providers). Our second guest is Hema Crockett who helps us explore what it takes to design "Exceptional Organizational Cultures" which just happens to be the title of her book. Hema is co-founder of Gig Talent.

The case for gender diversity has never been stronger. An overwhelming 98% of organizations in a recent FairyGodBoss survey say diversity hiring is a focus in 2021. That's a great start but reaching diversity recruiting and hiring goals takes more than good intentions. A Bloomberg revealed how "White and Male Some U.S. Companies Are!" Only 1 company of 100 largest U.S. corporations exceeded the U.S.population in its percentage of Black and Hispanic female executives and managers. Romy Newman, co-founder of the largest online career community for women, is determined to ensure women get a fair shake in the workplace. In this episode of Geeks Geezers and Googlization we're going to be talking with Romy about how women search for jobs differently than men, why employer branding and messaging matters, and how to close the gender diversity data black hole. We continued the conversation with Brian Hershey, Head of Enterprise Strategy at Gloat. They too just released a survey that revealed that opportunity for growth is worth more to employees than money. Their data exposed that more than one-third of American workers feel undervalued at work and that number jumps to 46 percent for Black employees, 38 percent for Latinx, and 43 percent for women. Only 24 percent of men feel underutilized.

As an investor, Marjorie Radlo-Zandi doesn't just pay lip service to diversity and social impact. She literally puts her money on the line. Entrepreneurship is in her blood. After a successful career in growing companies and introducing new technologies used throughout the world, she's turned her attention to expanding entrepreneurial opportunities for women, minorities, and people of color. But that's not all. She primarily focuses on companies that generate a positive social and environmental impact. Whether you're a start-up, aspiring entrepreneur, or experienced CEO, you don't want to miss what Marjorie Radlo-Zandi has to say about opportunities unleashed by investing in diversity and social impact. To learn more about Marjorie, visit her company page or check this excellent interview on ThriveGlobal.

Shhh! Your company culture is speaking. What is it saying? Who is listening? What are they hearing? Is your messaging aligned with the vision of executives working behind their closed doors? Your company culture exists whether you design it or not. Company brand matters. Company culture matters. Aligning the two matters more. How do you get your workforce to walk the talk? To achieve greatness, Al Cini, Managing Partner of BCAT Partners, believes every team and organization has an ideal role that embodies the culture and brand, its vision, values, and best self. If your company could talk, what words would it use to describe itself, the role model that does its best work on its best day, keeping all its promises and achieving all its goals? Tune in to hear what Al has to share.

As companies emerge from the pandemic, the real work of HR is just getting started. Management and workers alike are facing a new era of perpetual uncertainty. What are the most emerging megatrends that will shape Human Resources in 2021 and beyond? How must HR leaders respond? For this episode, Tom Haak, founder and director of The HR Trend Institute, joins us to explore his top 3 HR trends: ethical leadership, anti-fragility, and learning-in-the-flow. Tom is one of the Thinkers360 Top 5 Global Thought Leaders of the Future of Work and HR. Tom Haak is the founder and director of The HR Trend Institute. Prior to founding the HR Trend Institute in 2014, Tom held senior HR positions in companies as Arcadis, Aon, KPMG and Philips. The HR Trend Institute detects, follows and encourages smart and creative use of trends in the field of people and organizations, and also in adjacent areas. You can read more about these 3 Emerging HR Trends (and 8 more) here.

Whether you're a teacher or parent, student or job seeker, this is a must-listen. Imagine you're a professor. You're responsible for teaching 500 students. (Or maybe you're one of those students and paying thousands of dollars each year to learn new skills.) Each student learns just a little bit differently and has different needs and expectations. As an educator, how do you clone yourself 500 times to deliver personalized learning and an optimal learning experience? COVID-19 pandemic has permanently changed higher education. This is a tipping point for education. The need for change is acute and long overdue. The vulnerabilities of mass generic education were ripped open and its fragility was shattered. The need for personalized and adaptive learning is strikingly obvious. Meet ElevateU, a platform that is transforming teacher-led classroom instruction into a dynamic, interactive, engaging experience. Joining us on this episode of Geeks Geezers Googlization is Elliot Grossbard, VP of Growth, who will be discussing personalized learning and how EdTech will transform how teachers teach and students learn.

Whether they are hired or not, do your job candidates walk away feeling like they mattered? Are candidates who are not hired motivated to apply again or become customers? Does your candidate experience create loyal enthusiasts or unhappy, resentful customers? For the 3rd consecutive year, Geeks Geezers and Googlization welcomes back The Talent Board's Kevin Grossman to discuss the key candidate experience takeaways from the just-released 2020 Candidate Experience Research Report, a survey from over 152,000 candidates across 133 North American companies. Don't miss this episode to learn what you need to know to attract, engage, and convert job seekers into brand promoters and raving fans (even those applicants not selected!)

Employers have an opportunity to be heroes, not goats! Unfortunately, from pre-hire to departure in most organizations, the employee experience is all FCDD-up! The employee life cycle is filled with Frustration, Confusion, Disappointment, and Distraction. In a VUCA world, employee needs can shift in the blink of an eye. Employee engagement surveys are turning into the much-maligned annual performance review. Our guest Jason Cochran, CEO of iAspire urges employers to be practical, not surgical; to measure the rhythms and beats of employees, to measure what people will do, not what they say they will do. Through 20 years of research, he's identified the "Four Principles of Connection." Jason visits Geeks Geezers and Googlization Show to share how you can transform your company culture and make it your competitive advantage.

The last thing most people would associate with the year 2020 would be laughter. But not Nancy Watt, our guest this week on Geeks Geezers and Googlization. Faced with unprecedented pandemic uncertainty, billions of people worldwide almost overnight in 2020 were forced to improvise, doing things they never planned, using whatever resources they could muster. As a skill, adaptability skyrocketed to the top of the in-demand job and life skills charts, above EQ and IQ. Adaptability quotient (AQ) achieved global momentum and recognition. Unfortunately, the theoretical knowledge of one's AQ doesn't always translate into adaptive behavior unless it's applied. Using the improv skills Nancy learned at Second City Conservatory in Toronto and Chicago, she is able to help people boost AQ and personal and organizational performance. Often called a 'Pracademic', Nancy Watt is the Founder & CEO of NANCY WATT COMMUNICATIONS, a creative agency in Toronto, Canada.

You've likely heard about Match.com and the hundreds of other dating platforms. What if your business could use the same business model and technology to match people-to-people who are in desperate need of help, support, or a shoulder (virtual of course!) to cry on? After a yearlong pandemic, social unrest, and unprecedented uncertainty, the demand for human guidance, wisdom, intimacy, and understanding has never been greater. The collective toll on mental health has been enormous and costly. Add to that the events of an extraordinarily disruptive year to the day to day life challenges we all experience, the impact on employee well-being and productivity exceeds $2 Trillion per year. Our guest today is the CEO of Life Guides, Derek Lundsten, who shares how his company is helping employers of all sizes to take care of their most important asset - people. Derek is an expert on employee stress and how to create a culture of caring.

The headlines suggest that robots and on-demand labor markets like Uber and Lyft are the future of work. Not so fast, says our guest Jeff Wald, best selling author of two books, including, The End of Jobs, The Rise of On-Demand Workers and Agile Corporations, founder of Workmarket, and founder of the $10 Million Future of Work Prize. Based on the last 3 industrial revolutions, Jeff suggests some good news for workers: there will be no NET jobs lost due to robots. The catch: Instead he believes ALL workers will be on-demand workers which will lead to the end of jobs as we know them. So what's the biggest challenge employers and workers face? Tune in for the 1st show of 2021 and the start of our 4th season!

Geeks Geezers and Googlization was selected by Thinkers360 as one of the top 50 podcasts to listen to in 2021! For this 51st and final show of 2020, Ira S Wolfe and co-host Joyce Gioia were joined by 14 thought leader guests of the show to offer their business and/or HR forecast 2021. Guests included Dennis Hill (EXACTA), Kevin Grossman (The Talent Board), George Randle (The Talent War), Elizabeth Lotardo (McLeod & More), Bill Coletti (Kith), Claudia Reuter (Techstars), Gerry Crispin (The Talent Board), Declan Murphy (Allsorter.com), Keith Kitani (GuideSpark), Micole Garatti (FairyGodBoss), Phil Strazzula (Select Software Reviews), Rhamy Alejeal (People Processes), Tim Spiker (The Aperio), and Mike Raven (AQai). Joyce Gioia, Vice Chairman of the Association of Professional Futurists and CEO of The Herman Group, opens the show with her 3 predictions and HR Global Thought Leader Ira Wolfe concludes with his outlook and forecast for 2021.

Cybersecurity thought leader Dennis Hill believes our data privacy vulnerabilities lie in the fact that companies store our data on centralized computers. As proof, you need to look no further than the data breaches at the Departments of Homeland Security, Treasury, and Commerce. Even the software company hired to protect their data was hacked. Every day last year a hospital database was breached. Individual identity theft occurs every 35 seconds. Hill has a plan to not only protect our personal data but protect ownership of our personal information. He suggests that by "simply" decentralizing how we store all our data, the chances of a hacker stealing our information is reduced to 1 in 15 trillion. That's pretty good odds, wouldn't you say? This episode is guaranteed to keep your attention from start to finish! The episode concludes with our Ahead of the Curve: Normal 2.0 segment with Joyce Gioia. Today's topic is Doing Recognition Right in Normal 2.0. You'll want to hear how the bonuses you give bonuses help but the timing of those bonuses is everything.

Following a tragic pandemic, raucous election, devastating economic crisis, and massive social unrest, everyone seems ready to move on. So what can we expect in 2021? How long will it take until the economy and job markets recover? Which sectors will prosper, which businesses are already recovering, and which industries are still heading for a hard landing? Our favorite economist Alan Beaulieu (ITR Economics) joins Geeks Geezers and Googlization Show again to offer his highly anticipated and respected economic outlook for 2021 and 2022. With an astonishing forecast accuracy of 94.7% at one year out since 1985, you don't want to miss this episode. Michael Spremulli joins us for a special episode of Ahead of the Curve. Mike shares his top tech tips on how to look your on-screen best, on a budget. The Geeks, Geezers & Googlization TV Show can be viewed live every Wednesday at 1 PM ET on Facebook, YouTube, Talk 4 TV, and broadcast on W4CY Radio, part of Talk 4 Radio, on the Talk 4 Media Network. Following the broadcast, the replay will be available at the same links for YouTube and Facebook, our podcast website Geeks Geezers Googlization website, and on most podcasts including Apple Podcast, iHeart, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher and more.

Companies have spent billions of dollars on improving employee engagement for more than 30 years. But according to our guest Mark S Babbitt, world-renowned career and leadership mentor, "we've barely moved the needle." Mark decided it was time to do things differently and started WorqIQ, to help companies focus on the human side of business. "Many companies have simply beaten the human right out of Human Resources. I don't want things to go back to the way they used to be. I don't want humankind to miss this opportunity." To help get people to work together to solve the problems organizations face, Mark coined the term workplace intelligence; it's the emotional intelligence of an organization. Most simply companies don't know what they stand for, company cultures suck, Mark told us. They can't look a candidate in the eye and say "here you are safe. Here we respect you as a person. You will grow here as a human being." Mark is on a mission to fix that. He is also founder of YouTern, a social career resource for college students, recent graduates, and young professionals that enables them to use mentoring, internships, and networks to advance their careers. His new book, Good Comes First: How Today's Leaders Build an Uncompromising Company Culture That Doesn't Suck, published by BenBella Books, arrives September 2021. Joyce Gioia joins the show again as co-host and lead contributor on the segment Ahead of the Curve, Normal 2.0. Today's topic was "The Value of Thinking Like a Futurist."

Not be getting the results you expect from your recruitment marketing? Graham Thornton, co-founder of Change State, offers a chilling warning: "recruiters beware." Job aggregators may be doing more harm than good despite many organizations using them to attract top talent. Unfortunately a mismanaged or naive recruitment marketing strategy can be taken advantage of by many job aggregators which puts a black mark on your candidate experience, your employment brand, and drains your recruitment dollars fast. Who are these job aggregators and how and when should you engage with - or avoid - them? Thornton is a treasure trove of recruitment marketing tips and information. This episode is guaranteed to open your eyes to why your best recruitment efforts might not be getting the best results. Our popular Ahead of the Curve: Normal 2.0 segment returns this week with Geeks Geezers Googlization co-host Joyce Gioia talking about "Hotel Hacks" in the time of COVID19 and how the hotel industry is likely to change in Normal 2.0.

We can again send men and women into outer space but we still can't figure out how to bring black men and women, veterans, and disabled people into our workforce? How can we do better? What will it take to embrace inclusion and equity? Our guest, the one-and-only Torin Ellis, sums it up in three words: table our fragility. That's just one of the many inspiring, heartfelt, passionate pleas you'll hear during this unfiltered conversation with one of the most influential D and I leaders today. In what is sure to be an all-time Geeks Geezers Googlization favorite, we talked with Torin about why we must do better, why change isn't about our intent but our impact, how 2020 can be different if we take action, why we must give ourselves permission to make mistakes and then do better. Why we must do better because equity, social justice, and humanity are hanging by a thread.

If you are wondering what a submarine has to do with diversity and inclusion, it's EVERYTHING! On a submarine, inclusion is critical to teamwork, to accomplish the mission, to reduce conflict, and to appreciate the strengths of every individual. Inclusion is so engrained that it is organic. Without exaggeration, my guests Deborah Cake Fortin and Jon Gregory Vincent, authors of The Submarine Way and Up Periscope, believe the survival of mankind depends on this concept. They are on a mission: to change the world, one company, one police department, one city, one university at a time. Today is your time too to make inclusion organic in your organization. We are then joined by celebrity futurist Joyce Gioia, CEO of The Herman Group, for our special series Ahead of the Curve: Normal 2.0. Today's topic is empathy. The Geeks, Geezers & Googlization TV Show can be viewed live every Wednesday at 1 PM ET on Facebook, YouTube, Talk 4 TV, and broadcast on W4CY Radio, part of Talk 4 Radio, on the Talk 4 Media Network. Following the broadcast, the replay will be available at the same links for YouTube and Facebook, our podcast website Geeks Geezers Googlization website, and on most podcasts including Apple Podcast, iHeart, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher and more.

Are you feeling more exhausted at the end of your workday? You're not alone. Zoom fatigue is real. Ever since the unofficial social experiment of working from home was launched in early 2020 due to the pandemic, video calls boomed. While this technology likely saved our economy and jobs market from a total meltdown, Zoom (and all its counterparts like Microsoft Teams and Google Meet) started to take a complicated and unintentional toll on the workforce. Today we meet Josh Little, the founder of four successful tech companies. Josh is on a mission to save the working world from death-by-meetings with his newest venture. During this episode, Josh shares how he plans to help us work remotely without going crazy. Then stay tuned for our 2nd guest, celebrity futurist Joyce Gioia, who co-hosts our special series "Ahead of the Curve: Normal 2.0." This week, our focus is on Leadership in Normal 2.0. The Geeks, Geezers & Googlization TV Show can be viewed live every Wednesday at 1 PM ET on Facebook, YouTube, Talk 4 TV, and broadcast on W4CY Radio, part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com). Following the broadcast, the replay will be available at the same links for YouTube and Facebook, our podcast website Geeks Geezers Googlization website, and on most podcasts including Apple Podcast, iHeart, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher and more.