This past week, Fuel50 had the pleasure of attending the Learning and Development Executive Summit in Dallas, TX hosted by the Opal Group. The invitation-only event spanned from Sept 12-14th and allowed attendees the opportunity to not only create new work relationships but participate in informative business challenge discussions among a group of high qualified peers.
Below is a summary of the event from the eyes of Fuel50 team member Tom Boyle (RVP of Sales Mid Atlantic), as he outlines his experiences at the Summit…
The past three days were spent among a collection of amazing presenters and content, at this year’s Learning and Development Executive Summit. Going into the event, many weren’t sure how comfortable attendees would be with live interactions, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that not only were attendees comfortable, they were eager to be back with their peers sharing and learning. After 18 months of virtual events, we all agreed that nothing can truly replace a great face-to-face interaction.
The event kicked off on Sunday with an amazing opening keynote by Erby Foster, Chief Diversity Officer at Clorox. Learning how such an iconic brand is injecting diversity, equity, and inclusion into its entire talent lifecycle was fascinating. I walked away with what can only be called a renewed understanding, as well as a sense of urgency about why organizations need to continue delivering a truly diverse and inclusive experience across all aspects of their talent management. I think all too often organizations take the reactive approach, and it was wonderful to learn about the more proactive ways organizations can address DEI needs.
The action continued on Sunday afternoon with a truly inspirational panel of HR leaders discussing how they are preventing becoming a casualty of The Great Resignation. To which all I could utter was, wow! Hearing first-hand what Whole Foods and AT&T are doing to prevent the Great Resignation was inspiring, especially considering that each of these organizations attracts very unique talent. There were so many key points raised at the panel, but I think one of my biggest takeaways was that, while technology plays a huge role in retention, it also takes a mindset shift to really enact that change.
Tom Boyle, Fuel50 Regional Vice President of Sales Mid-Atlantic, speaking at the 2021 Learning and Development Executive Summit
When it was my turn to face the podium, I was reminded of how nice it was to get out from behind a webcam and interact with my peers face-to-face. In my session “Creating Transparency and Certainty in the New Workspace”, I shared some of the big trends impacting our workspace today and what organizations are doing to tackle some of the challenges arising from those trends. I was met with an engaging audience who asked insightful questions and from whom I received informative and positive feedback.
Overall, there were lots of other great sessions and networking events, in particular a tour of the AT&T discovery district that was astonishing. However, to round out my experience at the summit, I chose to attend “Cultivating a Sense of Wellbeing: The Secret Ingredients for a Fully Engaged Workforce”. It was an interactive panel session that really opened my eyes, and was filled with panelists from a wide range of organizations including PIMCO, UAB Health Systems, KPMG, and Engie. In my opinion, the most notable takeaway from this session was that in order to create a sense of wellbeing in your organization, you must consider that employees are mainly focused on two primary things. The first being financial wellbeing, and the second, career development. Interestingly, this really hit home with me, as I agree money isn’t everything. In the current global workspace, it is clear that employees are equally as interested in financial gain as they are in access to fair and equitable opportunity across their organizations.
On the whole, the Learning and Development Executive Summit was an incredible opportunity for knowledge building, and I look forward to the day when we can attend and participate in more live events, but until then… see you on the webcam.
