9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

The Illusion of Performance Management, It's time to Break the Status Quo
Erika McGrath

If at first you don’t succeed, try again. That saying became Erika McGrath’s mantra as she battled against the myths and tyranny of old-style performance management reviews. Erika, who is VP of Human Resources at The Channel Company, understood that the status quo around performance reviews needed to be disrupted. During this session, Erika will share her journey of discovery around one-size-fits-all performance reviews and the pushback she received from both managers and employees alike. She will discuss the research and data gathered to understand what worked and what didn’t. Finally, Erika will provide three clear takeaways based on her success with individualizing performance management.

9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Onboarding, A Foundation for Retention - More than Meets the Eye
Corey Berkey

A successful, well-oiled onboarding program can drastically improve turnover rates and drive business growth. Corey Berkey, Director of HR at JazzHR, will walk through best practices for building a strong foundation for employee success early on through each stage of the onboarding process. He will demonstrate how to increase employee retention and productivity by focusing on new hire engagement practices. During this session you’ll get practical, real-life steps on how to empower hiring managers to participate in the onboarding process.

9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Acting Like an Owner - A Culture Everyone Owns
Seth Brown

Creating a culture of accountability is something every leader should strive to foster within their organization. Rather than a system of checks and balances to monitor employees empower them to lead and monitor themselves just like an owner would. When employees feel ownership of their work, they will approach the job with a different mindset and higher level of engagement. Seth Brown, CFO, at Excel, will discuss the results his company has achieved along with the increase in employee accountability. Seth will explore the importance of a company’s greatest resource, its people. He will share three key ways to create and foster employees acting like owners.

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

The Anatomy of the Successful HR Project
Laurie Ruettimann

Whether you're planning for a successful systems implementation or an initiative rollout, creating a successful project plan is a chore that many of us dislike. Preparing for success doesn’t have to be such a pain. Laurie Ruettimann, CEO and HR Evangelist, will lay out a clear path to help you beat failure. She will walk you through a premortem, a tool that allows teams to walk backward through a project and plan for success. She will demonstrate how this can be applied to open enrollment, software implementations, recruiting, performance management, and even wellness programs.

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

The New Onboarding, The Reverse 80/20 Rule
Veronica Blum

Gone are the days of the typical onboarding process, or at least they should be. Documentation is necessary for compliance, and new employees want to get setup with the benefits administrator right away, onboarding shouldn’t be 80% paperwork and 20% people engagement. Veronica Blum, will walk you through easy steps to ensure that the process is >80% on people and engagement and 20% on paperwork and process. She will also share the positive impact and how she’s seen an increase in productivity in an employee’s first days.

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Pay vs. Benefits, the Tail Wagging the Dog
Jeff Rosenberger

According to a study from Glassdoor, 57% of employees report that benefits and perks are a major factor in considering whether to accept a job offer. Another 80% would choose additional benefits over a pay raise. When it comes to the happiness of your employees, it’s no secret that benefits are high on the list of what matters. During this session Jeff Rosenberger, Chief Operating Officer at Guideline, will share how to use employee benefits to retain a winning team and build a strong workplace culture. Jeff isn’t just talking about ping pong, a dog-friendly office, or free lunch on Fridays. He will share the depth of the employees understanding of the importance of meaningful benefits and programs to their future. He will share three important factors for setting up benefits and programs that are essential for attracting and retaining top talent.

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

HR Gets Security! Protect Your Employees From Hackers!
Laura Kreitler and Justin Berman

Information is king and if we don’t protect it we may find ourselves in the dungeon. This year there have already been over thirty data breeches, including the likes of major financial reporting companies, telecom companies, and healthcare companies. If you think you’re immune or too small to suffer a data breech, think again. During this session you’ll sit in on a candid conversation between Zenefits vice president of partnerships, Laura Kreitler and Zenefits chief information security officer, Justin Berman about Information Security. Together they will explore the role of HR and employees in keeping company information safe and some of the basics to doing so. Whether you’re a seasoned business or HR manager or you’re new to the game—information security must be taken seriously. You just might be the catalyst within your organization to keep it safe!

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Employee Adoption of HR Tech: Elevating the User Experience
Sam Crumley

Successful implementation of HR technology is all about depth and breadth of user adoption. Keeping your managers and employees engaged will make or break your employee experience. Whether you are doing an upgrade or a full-scale system implementation, engaging users at the right time with the right information is critical for them to embrace change. During this session, Sam Crumley, VP Employee Experience, at Panopto, will explore successful ways to manage the change process in order to realize the benefits of your investment in technology and achieve high user adoption. Sam will give you guidance and three clear “to-do’s” on how to leverage video to help drive adoption from the early stages of awareness through to full productivity.

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

The Hovering Boss: How Micromanagement Kills a Positive Culture
Chris Bennett

Five years ago 97th Floor, a digital marketing agency, had strict employee policies with a focus on enforcement. Instead of thinking about how to improve productivity and employee experience, the team used policies as a hammer instead of a lever for change. Chris Bennet, president of 97th Floor, and his entire company wanted something better for their team. In this session, Chris will share the journey of their "about face" and how 97th Floor is now a Results Only Work Environment (ROWE). He’ll share the incredible impact it had on their culture, productivity, and employee satisfaction scores. Spoiler alert! Clients have noticed the positive change in their interactions with employees.

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

♪♪Money, Money, Money♪♪ Automate Challenging Expense Reporting
Alex Revelli

When it comes to people’s money, it’s hands off and leave it alone. People want what’s theirs. That’s especially true when it comes to something as simple as expense reporting. It’s time to stop the tangled mess of expense reporting, like a game of Twister and make it as simple as “Go Fish.” Your company culture will be enhanced with a simple and automated ask and receive process. During this session you’ll learn how to keep employees focused on their work rather than navigating the labyrinth of getting reimbursed. Alex Revelli, Director of People Operations at Expensify, will explore best practices for creating a positive experience and culture around expense reporting and returning to employees what rightly belongs to them, their own money!

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

You're Not Old, You Just Don't Understand How To Retain Talent Under 30
William Tincup

Are you trying to recruit talent under 30? Having some difficulty? Seems like they behave differently, ask different questions, expect different things from you and your hiring managers? Um, yeah. The game has changed. During this session, William Tincup, President, Recruiting Daily, will explore this shift in dynamics. Talent under 30 wants to be texted instead of called. They're not weird about social (like you are:-), they stalk recruiters and hiring managers. I know, I know, I said stalk, get over the weirdness of the phrase. They ask questions in the hiring process like (1) what's next, (2) how are you going to develop my skills, (3) how are you going to recognize/praise me? Again, not things other generations would have asked at a typical interview. They also research companies, thanks to the Internet, they Google the company, they Glassdoor the company, they contact former employees via LinkedIn. That's even before they apply for the job. It's so different, one has to wonder, what talent we're missing because we're not playing the game the right way. William will provide three tips for success in connecting with and hiring the best talent.

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

HR of a Different Color
Diana Adamson

Employees come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Shouldn’t their HR services do the same? Human Resources of yesteryear involved vast amounts of paperwork and strict compliance constraints causing the human resource professional to focus on process rather than people. If you’re not serving the people, you will lose them. During this session, Diana Adamson, Executive Director at ScholarMatch, will share the realization of being mired in process and losing sight of the right people making her company great. She’ll walk you through her journey of engagement, benefits, and recognition and the positive impact its had on ScholarMatch’s culture and employee retention.

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Culture, It extends beyond the office
Jeana Colby

A company's culture is created by the executive team and is limited to the actions and feelings of the employees within the company. What about the families of coworkers, though? During this session, Jeana Colby, Director of Administration at Red Rhino Leak Detection, will share how they are taking it a step further and going more in-depth by extending it to the families of employees as well. She will demonstrate how her company's retention rates have increased and how they have one of the highest employee satisfaction rates in the service industry. Finally, she’ll explain how their efforts have resulted in even happier customers.

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Behold the Ever-changing Organizational Landscape
Summer Salomonsen

For companies big and small, the org structure is shifting and moving from formal supervisor/employee relationships to an emphasis on team-focused work. Many companies are reinventing themselves through business model innovation as they pursue what digital transformation will look like for them. For companies of all sizes there is a critical need to upskill employees, emphasizing readiness, competency, and more agile skillsets. During this session Summer Salomonsen, CLO at Grovo, will discuss why learning is not just for the bigs anymore. She’ll explain how companies off all sizes are no longer seeing development as a “nice to do” but rather as a business imperative while satisfying the wants and needs of employees. She will layout three easy steps to implement a personal, timely, and scalable modern development plan that will enhance company culture and more importantly drive revenue to the bottom line.

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Is It Really All About the Benjamins, or About the Benefits?
Betsy Pass

We are constantly told people are a company’s greatest asset; yet often in the same breath, owners ask HR to cut costs, justify expenditures, or reduce employee count. While controlling cost is vital, without the right employees on board, you have no company. To attract and retain the best people, you must offer rich benefits to your employees. Hear Betsy Pass, Human Capital Manager at TrueWealth, share how TrueWealth accomplishes that. Betsy will also explain why the company created TrueWealth University and implemented Teamphoria, an employee engagement software.

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Serving Happiness: A Recipe for a Customer-Centric Company Culture?
Tiffany Cosgrove

Today, customer success is a critical component in a company’s growth. Without it, customers will not gain the expected value from your products and services. Companies must infuse positive customer collaborations within company culture. During this session you’ll hear Tiffany Cosgrove, Director of Customer Happiness (customer service) at Calendly, share how keeping customers successful & happy has impacted overall company happiness. She will explore how her servant-leadership keeps Calendly customers’ success at the core of their service and how that fosters a positive and collaborative team and company culture.

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Culture, Is It Really About Diversity Or Is It Just A Fad?
Danny Speros

Diversity and inclusion are increasingly important priorities of company culture. Diversity drives innovation and high performance. On the flip side, corporate mis-steps can result in public condemnation. Creating and sustaining desired aspects of company culture takes much more than buzzwords on a wall, it takes real action on the part of leaders. In this session, Danny Speros, Director of HR Product and Services at Zenefits, will discuss practical steps organizations can take to achieve real diversity and inclusion in the workplace. From the recruiting and selection process to advancement and learning opportunities, learn how you can achieve results through changing your approach.

Betsy Pass
Human Capital Manager
TrueWealth

Betsy Pass, SPHR, is the Human Capital Manager at TrueWealth, a wealth management firm in Atlanta Georgia. She currently lives in Decatur, Georgia, with her husband, Greg, and their two dogs, Lily and Buddy, and sugar glider, Dolly.

Chris Bennett
CEO and Founder
97th Floor

Chris Bennett is Founder/CEO of 97th Floor, a full service digital marketing agency. 97th Floor has been recognized as one of the best places to work in America by Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine and Fortune. Chris lives in Orange County, CA with his wife and twin boys.

Corey Berkey
Director of HR
JazzHR

Corey is the owner of all things “People” at JazzHR. He oversees the recruiting efforts that help JazzHR build a world-class team, employee engagement keep that team happy and all things in between round out the HR offering at JazzHR. He holds a SHRM-SCP and has been in the field for 10 years. His experience spans large and small business and many different industries - but he’s always had a soft spot for tech and early stage companies.

Danny Speros
Director HR Product and Srvcs.
Zenefits

Danny Speros has a passion for making work meaningful and fun. He is the Director of HR Product and Services at Zenefits, where he leads a team of HR Advisors. With 19 years of HR and leadership experience, he's seen a thing or two, loves learning new things, and helping others do the same.

Diana Adamson
Executive Director
ScholarMatch

Diana is a native Californian and a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and The London School of Economics. Experiences in Teach For America, classroom teaching, and working abroad drive her passion for increasing access to higher education for under-resourced students. When she is not analyzing college data or evaluating program outcomes, Diana can be found running around with her three young children in San Francisco.

Erika McGrath
VP Human Resource
The Channel Company

Erika McGrath is a dynamic HR executive with experience in all areas of HR. A strategic collaborator and business partner, with proven success aligning people and culture initiatives to accelerate performance by driving change, teams and culture. After spending over a decade working with a large international business and being part of a multi-function HR team, Erika made the transition to a smaller business where she currently leads all HR initiatives for The Channel Company. Erika holds a BA in Psychology and has a Master’s degree in Occupational Social Work from Columbia University.

Jeana Colby
Director of Administration
Red Rhino Leak Detection

Throughout her career, her titles have included Event Director, Human Resources Manager and Director of Administration. Jeana Colby has blended these expertise wither her joyful and social personality to add a touch of fun to almost everything she does. When not working, she and her husband are making memories as playful parents to their 3 sons.

Jeff Rosenberger
COO
Guideline

Jeff Rosenberger is COO at Guideline, the company transforming retirement savings with the first all-inclusive, fee-free 401(k) platform. Previously, Jeff was the Head of Product Strategy at Earnest and the VP of Research and Customer Development at Wealthfront – dating all the way back to when it began as kaChing. Before moving to the consumer world, Jeff worked in enterprise sales for three years and generated $20 million in bookings with large banks during the financial crisis.

Justin Berman
CISO
Zenefits

Justin is the CISO at Zenefits, where he leads all security and IT efforts. He brings more than a decade of security and technology experience from high-profile organizations. Previously, Justin served as Vice President of Information Security of Flatiron Health. Prior to that he led security architecture at Bridgewater Associates and served as a Principal Security Consultant at Aspect Security.

Laura Kreitler
VP Partnerships
Zenefits

As VP of Partnerships at Zenefits, Laura focuses on building alliances with organizations that complement our platform, and share our focus on supporting small and medium size businesses. Laura joined Zenefits in 2014 to build the Client Support Specialist Teams, later transitioning to lead the Carrier Operations and Relations teams. As a former entrepreneur and Zenefits customer, Laura previously ran a clean-tech company in the agricultural space where she learned firsthand the challenges that face business owners.

Laurie Ruettimann
HR Evangelist
LFR

Laurie Ruettimann is a former Human Resources leader turned influential speaker, writer and entrepreneur. She owns a consultancy that offers a wide array of services to HR departments and technology companies. Ruettimann is also the founder of GlitchPath, an early-stage startup focused on business insights and risk mitigation.

Ruslan Tovbulatov
Director of Corporate Product & Partnerships
Thrive Global

As Thrive Global's Director of Corporate Product & Partnerships, Ruslan is an integral member of Arianna Huffington's leadership team. Since the company's November 2016 launch, Ruslan has managed the development of Thrive's enterprise product strategy and key strategic partnerships. Prior to joining Thrive, Ruslan had a storied career at Google, YouTube, and Kantar Retail. He is also a 30 under 30-recognized creative, a native Russian speaker, and holds a B.A. in Government and Philosophy from Dartmouth College.

Sam Crumley
VP Employee Experience
Panopto

Sam Crumley is Vice President of Employee Experience at Panopto, the fastest-growing provider of video software for training, teaching and presenting. In this role, Sam has broad responsibility for employer branding, talent planning, recruiting, learning, total rewards, HR administration and the physical work environment. Learn more about Panopto at www.panopto.com.

Seth Brown
CFO
Excel Orthopedic PT

Seth Brown is the CFO of Excel Physical Therapy, the premier physical therapy provider in Northern New Jersey. Excel has ten locations and is growing at a rapid pace. In his role, Seth is responsible for the finance, accounting, human resources, and IT functions within the company. Seth is also a member of the executive leadership group within Excel. Seth has a BS in Finance from The Ohio State University and a JD from New York Law School.

Summer Salomonsen
CLO
Grovo

Summer is the CLO for Grovo and winner of Brandon Hall's 2017 Gold Emerging Star award. She is currently pursuing her Ed.D in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California and sits on the Program Advisory Committee for ATD's International Conference & Expo. She is a passionate advocate for the virtual learner's experience and believes Microlearning should be the foundation of every organization's learning strategy.

Tiffany Cosgrove
Dir. of Customer Happiness
Calendly

Tiffany Cosgrove is a Georgia Bar licensed attorney who has found her way into a career of serving customers instead of subpoenas. She's been a part of several high-growth, fast-paced startups and has a passion for finding the right people and processes to get customers and companies to their goals. Currently, she is the Director of Customer Success for the awesome, upbeat, and super smart team at Calendly, a SaaS scheduling solution. Day in, day out her world-class 'Customer Happiness' team is helping thousands of users by providing an effective, efficient (and memorable!) support experience.

Veronica Blum
Director/Founder
Love Is Here NFP

Veronica likes long walks on the beach, rescues squirrels, is a huge space nerd, and... is a HR rockstar! She has a resume that spans across multiple industries from Hollywood films, to healthcare clinics, accounting firms, and restaurants/nightclubs (to name a few). For the past three years, she was a one-woman HR department at a Chicago tech startup that grew from only 20 to over 150 employees while she was there. She recently launched off on a new adventure, as the Director of Love Is Here, a non-profit she founded 5 years ago. Veronica has a passion for people, helping them live their best life possible, and believes those in HR have the awesome opportunity to foster that.

William Tincup
President
RecruitingDaily

William is the President of RecruitingDaily. At the intersection of HR and technology, he’s a Writer, Speaker, Advisor, Consultant, Investor, Storyteller & Teacher. He's been writing about HR related issues for over a decade. William serves on the Board of Advisors / Board of Directors for 20 HR technology startups. William is a graduate of the University of Alabama of Birmingham with a BA in Art History. He also earned an MA in American Indian Studies from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University.

John Hudson
HR Business Partner
Slalom Consulting

John Hudson, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is a Chicago-based Midwest HR Business Partner with Slalom, LLC. With 20 years of experience in the human resources industry, John provides consultation and expertise in the areas of performance management, employee development, employee relations, compensation, and recruiting. John has worked with top brands such as Harpo Studios, Discovery Channel, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, PepsiCo, and CNA Insurance. He is also a speaker and a writer covering a wide range of topics including HR, pancakes, and running.