HRPA Welcomes Tim Richmond, Thanks Pam Kimmet, and Prepares for the Future
“This is not an easy time to be in HR, but is a pivotal time, and a great time, given the opportunities CHROs have to help shape their companies,” Tim Richmond, EVP and CHRO of AbbVie, commented as he was welcomed as the new Chair of HR Policy Association. He explained that his priorities were to help the Association grow and evolve strategically, and expanded on these in a new HR Executive Magazine video interview this week.
Outgoing Chair Pam Kimmet, CHRO of Manulife, was lauded for her service as Board Chair, guiding the association through Covid and important program additions. In brief remarks, she reflected on the Association’s importance throughout her career, and on the power of the CHRO community. She urged newer members to get involved, closing by quoting Winston Churchill, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”
Fireside Chat: Election Insights from The Honorable Kevin McCarthy and Jim Messina
Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Jim Messina, former Obama Campaign Manager and Political Advisor for campaigns worldwide, sat down with HR Policy Association’s President and CEO Tim Bartl for a lively discussion on what’s ahead for American politics.
Held hours before the Presidential debate between former President Trump and Vice-President Harris, panelists provided their unvarnished thoughts on today’s politics and whether we can create engagement that leads to understanding.
- Speaker McCarthy noted that our government is designed for compromise, but today we think we must destroy the other side.
- Mr. Messina commented that in the biggest year in history for democracy worldwide, other countries must build broad political coalitions to govern, but the U.S., with its two-party system, is undeniably the hardest system to get anything done.
Discussing the candidates’ chances, Speaker McCarthy said that it comes down to two states, Pennsylvania and Georgia, and “if Trump has these, Harris has to play defense.” Mr. Messina noted that while Trump’s poll numbers haven’t moved, Harris’s support has room to grow.
On the role of media, both panelists cited social media as a key factor feeding divisiveness in the United States and that media, in general, “rewards the loud.” Speaker McCarthy noted that “If you haven’t heard of a member of congress, it means they are just doing their job.” Mr. Messina observed that none of the 5% of undecided voters were likely to watch the debate and would, instead, get their information from TikTok.
Both agreed that the House and Senate would be closely divided post-election with Republicans taking the Senate and Democrats likely taking the House. “It would be malpractice if Republicans don’t win the Senate,” said McCarthy. “It will be really close in both the House and the Senate and that’s good. Close margins make the parties work together,” concluded Mr. Messina.
Ending on a note of optimism, Mr. Messina stated, “If you were playing world poker with the hand of the United States of America, everyone would want to trade hands. Long-term, the U.S. is better positioned than anyone else to succeed.”
CHRO Insights: Key Takeaways and Practical Applications
Moderating a panel of CHROs, EVP and CHRO at Prudential Financial Lucien Alziari opened the discussion by recognizing that while the fundamental core of the CHRO role has not changed – making sure the company has the talent and capabilities to win – the environment and expectations in which they operate have changed. The panel provided insights on their top focuses for the workplace.
- Melissa Anderson, EVP and Chief People Officer at Albemarle Corporation, shared that 52% of workers in the U.S. feel their workplace is uncivil. She emphasized the need for CHROs to hold the senior leadership team accountable for creating a positive employee experience. She highlighted the importance of creating a framework, training leaders in alignment with company values, and acting when issues arise. Ms. Anderson also emphasized that showing up as a united team or company around a single culture is the strongest driver of performance.
- Sam Hammock, EVP and CHRO of Verizon Communications, observed, “culture in its simplest form is the best behavior we reward and the worst behavior we tolerate.” Connecting employee voice and engagement, Verizon went through a rebrand that involved regular surveys of employees, leadership restructuring, and the creation of an organization-wide one page framework and impactful purpose statement.
- Natalie Rothman, Chief People Officer at Inspire Brands, shared advice to maximize employee wellbeing with formal and informal tools. Provide workers that meet performance goals flexibility and act with humanity. At Inspire Brands corporate offices, they encourage workers to block off 3-5pm on Fridays for non-meeting focused work and offer perks in office like a restaurant, spaces for physical activity, and Friday bring your dog to work day (an optional work-from-home day for those that are dog averse).
Discussing the CHRO’s role in leading HR Transformation, Mr. Alziari emphasized the critical importance of talent in driving organizational success, noting that “no model can compensate for average performers, while exceptional talent can elevate any model.”
Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace: A Look Ahead
EEOC Democratic Chair Charlotte Burrows and Republican Commissioner Andrea Lucas discussed the latest legal developments impacting corporate diversity initiatives, moderated by David Fortney, Co-Founder of Fortney Scott, and former acting solicitor at U.S. DOL.
Mr. Fortney set the stage by discussing the rapidly changing DEI landscape and noting the number of companies recently in the news announcing changes to their DEI programs. He emphasized the significant cross-pressures that companies face – legal, shareholder, employee, potential employee, and public reputation – and highlighted company reevaluation of their programs in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Harvard decision.
- Chair Burrows noted that traditional hiring practices often left people on the sidelines, but “companies have pulled back because of confusion resulting from the Harvard decision even though it didn’t actually change the law.”
- Commissioner Lucas cited the Harvard case as shining “a big spotlight on what the law actually is – civil rights protections in the workplace apply to everyone, not just historically underrepresented groups.”
Equity as a flashpoint: The commissioners agreed on the goal of equality but not necessarily on how to get there.
- Commissioner Lucas suggested that although rules or processes may have a different impact on different groups of employees, it does not justify different treatment. She noted that if employees are similarly situated you shouldn’t treat groups of employees differently or you risk a “constant cycle of grievance in your workplace.”
- Chair Burrows warned that not every employee is similarly situated, which is tied to inclusion. She gave the example of holding meetings at the end of the day when those with childcare responsibility can’t make it. “Simply saying that the timing of the meeting is equal for all is not practical if part of your workforce can’t attend.”
Compensation incentives: Both commissioners agreed that financial incentives for meeting DEI goals are high risk. Chair Burrows supported setting goals, “it’s important and OK to have goals but not quotas.” Commissioner Lucas added the need to set realistic goals noting, “Taking illegal actions to achieve goals skyrockets when they are not realistically achievable.”
Unpacking the Domestic Policy Agenda and Implications for Employer Strategies
Neera Tanden, opened her remarks by recognizing the crucial role that CHROs and the businesses they represent “play in our economic growth and competitiveness.” She discussed that 80% of jobs do not require a college degree but do require training, stating “this area is crucial for public-private partnerships.” While emphasizing that the most effective training models have employer input and direction, she said that many individuals “cannot risk participating in training unless they see economic security at the end of the training.”
- Importance of guaranteed jobs: When asked how we can better connect talent and labor where it’s needed most, Director Tanden acknowledged that the United States has a very disaggregated training policy. The best programs, she said, “are where people have built a connection between what training is needed and what training is provided with a guaranteed job at the end.”
- Role of unions: Asked about the Biden administration as the most pro-labor in history, Director Tanden reiterated that Biden believes it is critical that workers have a strong voice through unions and that unions drive productivity and good jobs.
Jonathan Berry outlined the likely policy agenda in the Trump administration. He began by describing the small but growing faction of conservative and labor-friendly Republicans.
- Conservative populism: Mr. Berry remarked that Republicans took for granted that what was good for business was good for America. The tide shifted, according to Mr. Berry, when corporations veered from conservative views on DEI and other policies.
- Policy priorities: Restricting the flow of both illegal and legal immigrants, continued crack-down on DEI policies, and getting rid of degree-based hiring (an issue where Trump and Biden have aligned), are likely priorities in a second Trump administration.
- Tectonic shifts: Mr. Berry emphasized that the Republican party trend he is describing may not be imminent in this election. “I am describing tectonic shifts,” he said, “the question is when the earthquake will come.”
Reshaping Workforce Policy in the Age of AI
Moderated by HRPA CEO Tim Bartl, the panel featured insights from Kim Cockrell, Chief Human Resources Officer at Toyota Motor North America, Sarah Franklin, Chief Executive Officer at Lattice and Brandon Roberts, Group Vice President, People Analytics and AI, on leading their teams through the first phase of integrating AI to transform their organizations.
A delicate balance: “What we see is a world of opportunity, particularly for HR,” stated Ms. Franklin, who is enthusiastic about how AI can improve decision making within organizations, but also warned of the careful balance that requires thoughtful governance because AI interacts with customers, employees, and shareholders. She compared the advantages and dangers of AI to the impact of social media platforms, which are now better understood.
The journey: Ms. Cockrell described her organization’s seven-year transformation and the technological advances it has made. She stated, “we are cautious about AI, but continue to move forward as we evolve as a mobility company.” An AI experimentation lab was created, providing an opportunity for employees to test drive AI and improve operational efficiencies – “keeping people and safety top of mind.”
Mr. Roberts, whose role is to transform the remit of HR to leverage AI, outlined four pillars to guide the process for advancing AI initiatives:
- Ask questions to decide which AI use cases should be prioritized, what experts are needed to proceed, and how to effectively balance progress with the appropriate checks and balances throughout the process.
- Make data reliability a top priority. AI is only as good as your underlying technology. HR teams must focus on improving data quality and breaking down silos inside data systems.
- Invest upfront in your AI strategy. Look at the ROI on the AI use case and understand the investment needed.
- Enable your employees to succeed with AI. Reskilling employees is critical for AI deployment.
Each panelist reiterated the importance of accountability and implementing AI from a people perspective. Ms. Cockrell explained how culture and values drive her company’s decision-making process and how it leads with process improvement, rather than workforce reduction, enabling employees to rapidly learn new skills.
Regulations Shaping Human Capital Strategies
Center On Executive Compensation CEO Ani Huang moderated a panel with insights focusing on the constantly changing regulatory landscape for human capital from Former FTC Commissioner and Senior Advisor, Freshfields, Christine Wilson, and Lori Goodman, Partner at Freshfields, as well as Camille Olsen, Partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, and Kari Knight Stevens, Executive Vice President and CHRO, The Cigna Group.
The panel explored the latest federal and state legal and regulatory developments on pay transparency and equity, and on the FTC’s continuing efforts to prohibit the use of non-compete agreements.
Opening the discussion, HRPA’s issue expert Ani Huang delved into how these regulations impact hiring practices, employee retention, and overall strategic planning.
- Ms. Wilson argued that the FTC lacks the authority to regulate competition and has not considered the practical process, which has been supported by a Texas court.
- Ms. Knight Stevens emphasized the necessity of non-compete agreements for senior executives to protect confidential information and maintain business continuity.
- Ms. Goodman displayed concern over the inconsistency between federal and state laws causing employers to comply with a federal baseline and additional and varied state requirements.
- Ms. Olson addressed efforts to restart pay transparency initiatives and EEO-1 Component 2 reporting, noting that the latter was again on the EEOC’s agenda and would be different if reproposed, , with significant implications for company practice. The panel addressed concerns on how effective the data would be and about the confidentiality and the broad job categories used.
What’s next: Attendees asked if there will be further refinement of Human Capital Management (HCM) measures to enhance the value of these efforts. The answer was uncertain, and that companies must stay proactive in complying with evolving regulations and expectations, ensuring their HR practices align with new standards.
Re-Balancing the Scales: The Impact of Supreme Court Rulings on Agency Regulations
With a unique opportunity to hear from two lawyers who formerly clerked for U.S. Supreme Court justices, HR Policy’s Dan Yager probed panelists on how justices approach their jobs, the aftermath of the Harvard decision, potential court reforms, and what impact removal of the “Chevron deference” may have on the future of federal regulation. The panel gave a rare behind the scenes look, with the Court in the public eye.
On how Justices approach their jobs, Erin Murphy said that Justice Roberts tries to explain cases in very practical ways by clarifying “what the Court did decided today and what they didn’t decide today.” Former Solicitor General, Noel Francisco commented that the Court will exercise its discretion on what cases to take to protect that Court as an institution, noting “Many [justices] are reticent to do back-to-back terms with consequential cases,” he said.
On race neutral means to build diversity post-Harvard, both panelists agreed that race neutral mechanisms, such as requiring candidates to describe overcoming a difficulty in life, are valid methods for schools and employers to build diversity. While care must be taken to avoid allegations of pretext, a focus on opening doors to people with the skills and perseverance to overcome adversity may help reach other diversity goals.
On ERGs, Ms. Murphy stressed the need to keep membership open to all employees and ensure you are not limiting resources, such as mentoring, to only one group.
On whether the death of the “chevron deference” will lead to more stability or more fluctuation, Ms. Murphy did not hesitate to say “stability – Chevron let two administrations interpret the same statute completely differently and the court would go along,” now the court will decide what the statute means keeping that interpretation consistent.
Mr. Francisco commented that Executive Orders exerting authority over government contractors may be more vulnerable after Chevron saying that the Court’s decision may evidence skepticism of all kinds of robust uses of regulatory power, concluding that “Executive Orders aimed at private industry is one of the greatest risks.”
How Your Company Can Successfully Adapt and Adopt Employee Relations Practices from Both Sides of the Atlantic
A panel of global experts discussed current changes in work, the workforce, and the workplace, and the impact of a shifting global legal and regulatory environment that are happening at a time of social, political, and geographic unrest. The panel included insights from Alan Wild, Senior Advisor, HRPA; the AGCO Corporation’s Ivory Harris, Senior Vice President & CHRO; as well as Gerlind Wisskirchen, Partner, CMS Germany; and Ruud Van Der Wel, Head of Global and Labor Relations, Maersk.
Moderating the panel, Wenchao Dong highlighted elections happening in 64 nations, or over half of the developed world, making the world feel smaller and bringing policy convergences into high relief.
- Mr. Wild commented that “what you want is a global policy, but with national values, and to implement in a way that makes sense.”
- Ms. Harris advised organizations to hire a global labor relations leader, “to enable a strategy, and not just work county by country… you can’t invest somewhere until you understand the labor component as part of your capital investment.”
- Mr. Van Der Wel commented on the importance of providing employees with a voice, “our employees want to be heard, want to be taken seriously, and want to have a voice in how the company does things. If not, they become disgruntled and turn to trade unions. So, first we must be careful how we treat employees.”
Although unions are in decline in Europe, Ms. Wisskirchen observed that under the European system, “union membership is not important because unions are at the table regardless.” Added Mr. Van Der Wel, “I am not against trade unions, but I believe they should be representing someone and not taking over management.”
What’s next: When asked to name the issue they are most concerned about migrating to the U.S., panelists highlighted supply chain issues emanating from the EU supply chain due diligence act which allows lawsuits brought by trade unions, NGOs, and others resulting in increased transnational legal activity.
Concluded Mr. Van Der Wel, “we are not good enough at lobbying and influencing, unions are way better. In the United States we need to use HR Policy Association to influence legislation, and we need to feed them information about our concerns.”
The Data Dilemma: Navigating AI’s Impact on Employment Strategies
Author Hilke Schellmann provided a guided journey through what she learned while writing her book, “The Algorithm: How AI Decides Who Gets Hired, Monitored, Promoted, and Fired and Why We Need to Fight Back Now.”
Ms. Schellmann was inspired to investigate uses of AI in hiring after an Uber driver told her that he had been interviewed by “a robot” for a baggage handler job. Intrigued by her driver’s experience, she interviewed job seekers, employers, and AI developers to gain perspective on the use of AI in hiring. While some of the tools have been updated and improved since her initial investigations, Ms. Schellmann provided several pieces of advice for CHROs looking to incorporate AI into their hiring processes:
- Be aware of “pseudo-science.” When evaluating tools, first assess whether the information that AI collects is meaningful for the job. For example, facial expression and voice analysis may recognize certain characteristics, but whether those characteristics are job relevant requires another level of analysis.
- Do not fall for marketer promises. Ms. Schellmann recommends that employers test the tools themselves using a committee of people to think through reliability and accuracy, especially from the point of view of the job seeker.
- Be aware of the temptation to use data for unintended purposes. Giving the example of tracking employees who have taken advantage of employer-provided upskilling when assessing promotions, Ms. Schellmann warned against the desire to then use data on employees who didn’t take advantage of employer training to determine lay-offs. “Once you generate data,” she said, “it’s really hard not to use it for negative reasons.”
Do a “gut check.” One thing she learned through her investigation is to perform a quick gut check: “think about how you would feel having your son or daughter exposed to the technology.”
