Get Reworked Siobhan Fagan

The number and variety of tools in our workplaces have steadily grown over the last 10 or so years, but their ranks exploded during the pandemic. With that explosion came confusion over which tool to use when, with the default often being using all of them for everything. 
In this episode of Get Reworked, Designing Collaboration director Andrew Pope discusses why asynchronous work can help us claw back some of our focus time and shares how to get started.
Listen: Get Reworked Full Episode List
Highlights of the conversation include: 
Why we need to be more deliberate in choosing which collaboration tools to use when. Why team charters can change how you collaborate and communicate for the better. How you can convince people to change their habits. Where to get started with asynchronous collaboration. How working out loud supports asynchronous work. Plus, hosts Nidhi Madhavan and Siobhan Fagan talk with Andrew about how asynchronous collaboration can help democratize idea sharing, when it's important to work in sync and why building up capabilities like asynchronous work sometimes beats big transformation projects. Listen in for more.

Normalizing the conversation around employee well-being is one positive outcome that came out of the pandemic. Businesses now understand the role they have in supporting employee well-being and the bottom line cost of ignoring this area.
In this episode of Get Reworked, AWS global head of HR Prudence Pitter discusses what AWS is doing to support employee well-being. 
Listen: Get Reworked Full Episode List
"A leader who can share, 'I had this deliverable that I missed, because I got to this location, my luggage was not there. It caused a whole ripple effect where I was not able to be productive for two days. And so this is how I bounce back.' It's important for leaders to share some of the personal things that they're OK with sharing that help others recognize that it's normal, not only some of the ways that professionally they have fallen, if you will, but also importantly, how they bounce back. What are the ways that they redeem themselves. And I think that's a very powerful story to tell," said Prudence.
Highlights of the conversation include: 
Why it's important to build accountability around well-being initiatives. Why well-being accounts for the whole person, both in and out of work. How well-being initiatives will not go anywhere if they ignore the ways the workplace is impacting well-being. Why leaders need to model the behavior they're promoting. How to normalize the conversation around well-being to remove any lingering stigma. Plus, hosts Siobhan Fagan and Nidhi Madhavan talk with Prudence about identifying where to focus well-being efforts, why some leaders may need coaching to have difficult conversations, and if discussing well-being without following through does more harm than good. Listen in for more.

Middle management has been the butt of jokes for years — and often bear the brunt of layoffs, as was the case in 2023. But in the right hands, middle management can act as the glue that helps employees see their role in a company's broader success. 
In this episode of Get Reworked, Ryppl Effect founder Joe Makston shares how his experience as an employee experience leader and head of learning and development shaped his approach to some hard leadership conversations. 
"When you start to understand, oh, the customer implementation process that I just took somebody through, contributes to the department goal of whatever and contributes to that line of business and ultimately rolls up to we're supposed to book $500 million in this specific category, if I can understand that by closing that implementation, that work contributes to actually getting to the $500,000 — that is gold for an employee,  they see the broader picture. It's leaders understanding when you're writing goals, when you're talking about performance, how to tie it to, frankly, the strategy and that breakdown between strategy and the tactical piece," said Joe.
Highlights of the conversation include: 
Why now's the time to discuss how leadership is struggling. How shortcomings in leadership development led to the ongoing management boom—bust cycles. How management impacts culture, engagement and productivity.   Why he thinks being a manager and an individual contributor at the same time isn't a good idea. How managers can give leadership a view into the day-to-day operations. Plus, hosts Nidhi Madhavan and Siobhan Fagan talk with Joe about how organizations can identify who is right for management roles, why some people may need to be pushed to grow and the parallels he sees between being a pastor and being a leader. Listen in for more.
Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.

Managing change is tough. Now imagine managing a change initiative that involves overhauling 118 legacy systems for 750,000 stakeholders under the watchful eye of Congress. 
In this episode of Get Reworked, Air Force enterprise change manager Heather Knuffke gives an inside look at what it takes to make change stick at the over 75-year-old institution.
"When you have an organization that's this big, and you have commanders in charge of units across the Air Force, and each commander wants to manage their own organization in their own way, it's not so easy just to say turn around and march, right? .... So we believe strongly in delegating responsibility down. And so we try to give our commanders at bases and commanders of units as much authority over how they run their organization so that they can effectively lead when it comes to HR policy, and when it comes to talent management and promotions, and awards, and things like that. That's within the commander's purview," said Heather.
Highlights of the conversation include: 
Why you can't just order people to change. The emotional component that's part of any change management initiative. Why her role is as much about being a translator between IT and HR.   How she prioritizes across a variety of competing demands. The two skills she thinks every change manager should possess. Plus, host Siobhan Fagan talks with Heather about training a cadre of change managers throughout the Air Force, how she approaches the multiple stakeholders involved in the change initiatives and what it's like getting a PhD in change management while working in change management every day. Listen in for more.
Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.

What does commitment mean in the context of work? From an employee's point of view, it can mean a reduction in stress, increased meaning, as well as the capacity to do their best work. From the employer's side, it can translate into increased productivity and higher employee engagement — which directly impacts their bottom line. 
In this episode, we speak with Andre Martin, author of "Wrong Fit, Right Fit: Why How We Work Matters More Than Ever," about why it's so important to discuss how work gets done in our workplaces so employees — and employers — can find the right fit for them.
Listen: Get Reworked Full Episode List
"Hiring managers have got to be more transparent. We have to be comfortable in being able to talk about the madness behind the method. Talk about the places where it's kind of hard to do work here because of these factors and talk about them in terms of we're always trying to get better — but that transparency is going to pay off," said Andre. "... We know that people more and more are looking for transparency, they're looking for vulnerability. They're looking for a place that is human and imperfect. And so my hope is that hiring managers will give talent a little bit more of a view into the company, because then they will find the right person and the people that opt out should have probably opted out."
Highlights of the conversation include:
What's causing the crisis of commitment today. Why Andre wants to see a return to the 20-year career in one workplace. The difference between boredom and comfort in a job. Why a frank discussion of how a company works should be a critical part of any job interview — for the interviewer and the interviewee.  How Andre differentiates between being the 'right fit' and 'fitting in.' Plus, hosts Nidhi Madhavan and Siobhan Fagan talk with Andre about why the aspirational language companies use to describe themselves often do more harm than good, why he believes there's a company for everyone and why he thinks companies should re-recruit their employees on a regular basis. Listen in for more.
Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.

Human resources — and the role of the chief HR officer with it — has been seeking a proverbial "seat at the table" for years now. The difference now is, more of them are not only gaining that seat, they are "helping design the table."
In this episode of Get Reworked, we speak with Don Robertson, EVP and CHRO of Northwestern Mutual about his approach to employee experience and how his previous experience on the business side informs how he operates — namely, with a business-first mindset. 
"Many of the things that we have to do require you to put together business cases to look at the financials, to look at budgets, all these things and if you don't have strong financial skills, if you don't have strong ability to really put together business cases, just like you would if you're the investments team, and you're putting together a business case, to go do an investment to buy a building or do something, you have to have those kinds of skill sets. I can't just go in there and say, hey, we should invest $10 million in a new HR system, because our people will like it better and will have better engagement," said Don.
"No, I have to be able to show: if we do this, we'll get more adoption. If we get more adoption, then people leaders will do what we need them to do. And they'll ultimately develop their people better. And therefore you'll have the talent you need. And these are the kinds of investments you need to make so that you know our engagement goes up or attrition goes down or we get better adoption. And you just start talking about the actual attribution things that you benefit from by doing these things. And I can tell you in a zero sum game and the world we live in with budgets and everything else, you have to be able to make those cases."
Highlights of the conversation include:
Why data is a modern CHRO's best friend.  How Northwestern went from employee engagement in the low 40s to over 80%. The role HR business partners play in Don's work. How Northwestern approaches the employee expectation-business need balancing act. The role he sees HR playing with AI adoption. Plus, hosts Nidhi Madhavan and Siobhan Fagan talk with Don about why he thinks rolling back on EX efforts is a mistake, how he's consciously developing the skills of his potential successor and why he thinks anyone working in HR would benefit by spending time on the business side. Listen in for more.
Have a suggestion, comment or topic for a future episode? Send it to editors@reworked.co.