Dartmouth Partners’ Post

🌟 Big thank you to everyone who joined us for our HR Roundtable with Sitka Recruitment Ltd this morning! It was fantastic connecting with a diverse group of HR Professionals and learning about the issues they face. Dr. Sian Edwards explored compassionate leadership and how that could look within organisations. Together, we discussed both the positive and negative challenges through a lens of compassion. Key takeaways included the challenges around learned leadership behaviours such as rewarding working long hours and the importance of understanding generational differences in work styles and expectations. In addressing these barriers, support plays a crucial role. From managing staff in a hybrid work world and nurturing those communication channels for anyone struggling. Moreover, the benefits of compassionate leadership could be seen as part of a long term approach to employee wellbeing. By providing tools and support, organisations can help employees navigate uncertainties and thrive in their roles. 👀 Keep an eye out for our key finding coming soon

On Tuesday, I took part in this brilliant HR roundtable event, hosted by Platfform Wellbeing and Sitka Recruitment Ltd (thanks again to Ita McNeil-Jones for the invite!). You might wonder what place we, a branding agency, have in the HR world – it’s something I often feel the need to explain, given the common assumption that branding falls squarely in the hands of Marketing. But here's the thing: we're firm believers that branding is about more than just making a business look good on the outside. Of course, the way your brand looks matters, but it's pointless if it doesn’t also feel good on the inside. We believe that it’s the attitudes and actions of people within a company that can truly make or break a brand. That's why much of our work starts and ends with internal engagement. It’s why we support our clients with employer branding and EVP. And it’s why we build strategies for both internal and external brand activation. Collaboration with both HR and Marketing teams (as well as others) is key to getting this right. Tuesday’s discussion explored compassionate leadership, and it was great to hear different perspectives on what compassion really means in a business context, and the effect it can have on employee wellbeing and productivity. We’d love to see more organisations cultivating and celebrating behaviours that are values-driven, fostering healthy, motivated, and productive cultures. So, a few questions to leave you with: - Do your people really understand your values and how they can personally bring them to life? - Do they feel connected to and inspired by your organisational purpose? - Are values-driven behaviours rewarded and celebrated in your organisation? If the answer is no to any of the above, we’d love to help 😊 It was also lovely to chat with you Sam Carter Louise Mumford Lucy Clementson-Mills, Ffion Meijer, Rachel Owen, Helen Jones and Rachel Mackichan Cathryn Sims

Yesterday was a whirlwind (and yes, a little rainy!), but absolutely fantastic! Here's a quick recap of two amazing events: 1. BHRC Spring Gala: This yearly tradition never disappoints! Huge thanks to the phenomenal panel for sharing such valuable insights (James Slaughter, Debra Vasques Bruneau, Amanda Bailey, Angela Cheng-Cimini 鄭婷婷, Elizabeth Ward, MHRM, SHRM-SCP, Evan P., Alison Burgett, MBA). A couple of takeaways that resonated with me: Debra Vasques Bruneau: Businesses are run by businesses, and HR is there to support them, not take over. HR's role is to empower leaders by helping them identify and solve key problems. Evan P.: Building a "coaches culture" fosters an ecosystem for growth within leadership teams, leading to incredible team retention. It was also fantastic catching up with familiar faces like Allison Mairena (Sproul) Mitchell Schneir Jay Schaufeld Kelley Morse Stacey Richey Sean Glavin B. Hunter Brown Paul Allen Roberts Jen Feenstra Lauren A. Hunter-Dyson, M.M., SPHR, SHRM-SCP and many more! 2. Visier Boston User Group: Samantha Kalsow and Jillian Feldman absolutely blew us away with their incredible approaches to using Visier for stakeholder engagement. Here are some key learnings: Samantha Kalsow: Co-creation is a recipe for success! It leads to amazing content and passionate champions for your initiatives. Jillian Feldman: Clearly defined "user" roles are crucial. Business leaders need to own the application of HR insights, not HRBPs. Jillian brilliantly positions HRBPs as "tier 1 support." Beyond the presentations, the real magic happened reconnecting with old and new friends like Janeen Rabinowitz Peng Shen James W. Evans Armando Staley, John Gates Caroline Keith Eve Yekelchik Karter Donahue Elizabeth Albano Jackson Clayton Michael Salva Melissa Shore Dawson Yates John Adam The only photo I snagged was of the hilarious caricatures at the BHRC Gala! (Who can spot theirs?)

COMPLIMENTARY WEBINAR! Join Leading NOW CEO, Kelly Lockwood Primus, and our partners, Daniel Stane of Inclusion Partners and Perry Sholes of Progressive HR Strategies as they present The Importance of Belonging in the Workplace™.  Wednesday, April 10th at 12:00PM ET IN THIS WEBINAR YOU’LL LEARN: ~The difference between belonging and engagement ~An understanding of your organization’s culture (type) and its impact on belonging and engagement ~The barriers to creating a culture of belonging and why the mindsets of leaders must evolve ~An understanding of the skills & behaviors of the 5 leadership styles and how they impact belonging @ work Register ⤵️

Hey, North Carolina! 🌳 Join Ramblin Jackson CEO Jack Jostes this Thursday for a presentation on "Beyond Team Performance Reviews: Helping Employees Win The First 90 Days." Many landscape companies think recruiting stops once someone accepts a job offer, but the key to successfully retaining employees and growing them into long-time team members is helping them win the first 90 days. In this interactive workshop, NCNLA member, author, and speaker Jack Jostes will share his personal experience in recruiting, retaining, and leading his employees as the CEO of Ramblin Jackson. He’ll also reveal what’s working for his top landscape clients around the country. 🌎 Attend this presentation to learn immediately actionable leadership tips AND see real case studies of successful landscape companies, including video clips from landscape employees sharing why they choose to stay. 🎥 Bring your leadership, HR, and management team to learn: 🏆 How to create 30, 60, 90-day onboarding plans that set employees up for immediate and long-term success. 🎉 How to infuse company culture into daily work life to keep employees motivated. 🚀 How to help employees set goals & quarterly "rocks" (no, not actual rocks) to keep them focused on high-quality performance and advancement. 💬 How to create open communication BEFORE people start thinking about quitting, so you can address issues directly and retain top employees. 🗣️ The management secrets of highly successful landscape companies and direct feedback from actual landscape employees. Register on the NC Nursery & Landscape Association website or get a quick link from https://lnkd.in/gyuwytyD. See you there!

Learning how to have constructive challenging conversations, and not avoid them, is key to creating a workplace where everyone feels safe and heard. This video is part of our leadership training series, which provides an opportunity to grow safety culture and employee involvement across your organization. Learn more at saif.com/learntolead.

Sample of the 4th addition of Leadership and Self-deception has landed. Let me know if you want me to send you a taster? Inclusions; A broader cast of characters who resonate with a wide and diverse audience. An individual and group discussion guide to facilitate personal and team discoveries. updated stories and examples that help readers immediately apply these timeless concepts to the modern workplace. Practical guides to apply the tools on a personal, and team, and organisational-wide level.

Ever thought about what your desk might reveal about you? It's more than just a place to work; it’s a reflection of your personality, your habits, and what you value. For me, my desk is a blend of: *Fuel for the Day: My trusty Hilton coffee tumbler is never far away, keeping me energized and ready for anything. *Focus and Fun: The colorful fidget spinner & stickers are a reminder to keep things light, even on the busiest days. *Professional Pride: The SHRM volunteer leader coaster isn’t just functional, it represents my dedication to continuous learning and growth in the HR field. (Texas SHRM swag is on the other side of my desk!) Your desk is like a personal brand statement. It tells the world how you approach your work and what’s important to you. What’s on your desk? And what does it say about you? #WorkplaceCulture #PersonalBranding #HRLife #Leadership #Productivity

Making panels more powerful – a recent approach   Have you had great experiences of event panels, or found them underwhelming, even when they comprise great panellists? I’ve been studying a lot of them recently, both as an observer and as a moderator of them. Even within a panel, they can sometimes hit great heights and sometimes be a bit ‘meh’. With this in mind, I had a great opportunity to experiment at our most recent Bendelta breakfast event. Beyond the usual panel considerations, the key choice was to eschew any conversation of broad theories or discursive descriptions of the organisations or their projects, and focus specifically on key decision points on highly successful major initiatives, drilling deeply into the options and how the decisions were made. This included retrospective analysis of what decisions were more important than the decision-makers realised at the time and why those particular decisions were so formative. This proved a very fruitful approach. It took us away from simply having an interesting discussion, into one that focused on ‘the differences that made the difference’ that all attendees could translate into their context. Of course, none of that approach would have been a hit without the thoughtful preparation and forensic insights from the leaders joining us from our clients CBA, Lion and NSW Public Service Commission. For that, I’d like to offer my deep gratitude to Margherita Maini, Chris Lamb and Denise Gribben. You were brilliant.

"In our two-day executive team meetings, we spent an equal amount of minutes on the what - which is sales, results, business strategy - as we spent on the how - on culture - every single meeting." That is my favorite quote from an insight filled discussion I hosted with three incredible leaders from Schwan's Company: Former CEO Dimitrios Smyrnios, Former CHRO Scott Peterson, and Chief Talent Officer and VP of HR Kari Ziemer. If you want to see three authentic leaders in action discussing the impact #culture had on their business #transformation and #growth strategy set aside some time to watch this webinar - it is worth it!