In a World of AI - Tend Your Flock

Speakeasy, unstoppable. Um Yeah, so my use of AI has evolved 300% over the past few years. Um I remember quite a few years ago sitting in a podcast and the question was or sorry, sitting at RecFest raised, "Who uses AI? " And I sat there quietly, my hand did not go up and the stubborn part of me said or in my mind thought, "That's not for me. That is just for the people that I hire. " And oh my goodness, was I ever wrong in that statement. Um so, a little bit about me. This picture is of me in true and pure joy. The things around it are just simple additions to my life. I've spent the past 15 plus years in recruiting, training, human resources, employee experience. Born and raised in Ohio, clearly that's me on the Ohio State football field with the players and Brutus. My husband spent 21 years in the military, so we did um have a chance to see the every corner of the United States. Love gardening, outdoors. Um not met a scotch, bourbon, whiskey, wine, mezcal that I don't like. And my 15-second um claim to fame is being on Wheel of Fortune, so I'm always happy to talk about that. But we are here to talk about your candidates, um your employees, your connections. Since I began in recruiting, recruiting's changed and it's changing at a rate at this point in time that we're just not used to. And this is why we have to put ourselves in the shoes of our flock. Our flock is made up of those people around you. You might call it a tribe, team, they might be your people, your gaggle, your pack. But it is those who are supporting you, what you do, who you do it for, and more importantly, they are who you support. Think about them and then the rest of this AI talk comes a little easier. I've broken down our flock for this into connections, candidates, employees, advocates, and then those how everyone just become becomes a recruiter. So our connections become candidates, candidates become employees, employees are becoming advocates, and everyone is a member of our recruiting team in the end. Candidates today are entering the workforce with excitement, curiosity, and anxiety, all simultaneously. They are just this big ball of emotion. And they start for us as those connections. AI has created incredible access, but such a tremendous uncertainty for those connections and those candidates. And in that uncertainty, we have a choice. We can either automate the relationships or we can strengthen them strengthen them. — [clears throat] — And in a world of where there are applications are going to be AI assisted, resumes generated, and communication has been become increasingly automated, your authenticity becomes the differentiator. We have to go back to normalizing continuous learning and reinforcing that learning is now a part of everyone's role. When I talk about learning, it's really on that AI side. We have to create those safe opportunities for allowing those candidates and those employees to upskill and then celebrate their ability just to adapt. I mean, you know, 3 years ago, I was like, "Nope, not doing AI. " And now here I am doing all the things plus more after today. Uh it in just in AI and ChatGPT and Claude and all the things. We have to communicate before the rumor mill does it for us and addressing those AI initiatives openly. So how we as recruiters, us and talent acquisition and employee experience are using AI and the forms that we're using it and clarify what it is and what it is not replacing and it's not replacing you as the human. And then creating that space for questions without judgment. People are curious. They want to know is there really a great app there that I can put my resume through and it'll tell me if it's going to get through an AI or a chatbot. Talking to them about that. I get that question. I can't tell you how many times a week. And during [clears throat] that time we have to lead with presence and we're leading with presence during the time of change. Increasing visibility during those transformations, holding intentional check-ins with those candidates, with the potential employees and listening to what they have to say before trying to solve their problems. This is what is going to help employees navigate, not just perform.

We're removing hopefully barriers to that adoption. Offering that coaching and that mentorship, supporting them when they give it a try. I have a team and I have two people on that team that are just they are nails or line in the sand. Nope, not going to use it, it. So we've kind of taken that back and asked the why, peeled back the onion and then helped them do small tasks to start embracing it and learning what it can do to make their jobs and their weeks more efficient. Through that then we began to reinforce that human value. We're recognizing creativity. We're taking empathy. We're collaborating. They're collaborating together because they're learning something and they want to show that. Critical thinking and continuing continuously reminding employees what AI cannot replace and then continuing of course to celebrate those unique human strengths that they're able to bring. As we move forward, what we're doing is we're allowing those employees to become advocates, not necessarily just for the AI, but for the for the company. AI has amplified um employee voices more than ever before. And every employee interaction through LinkedIn posts, Glassdoor reviews, conversations, Facebook posts contributes to employer branding for the company. And in that environment, authenticity becomes even more critical. Because employees don't become advocates because of technology, they trust, belonging, and a human connection. By doing this, we are leading authentically. We're using AI to support our communication, but you're not using it to replace your voice. You're helping to make your leadership visible, humans within your company visible, their roles visible through the sharing of real stories, challenges, lessons learned. Um I loved Michelle's example on the onboarding on onboarding page and we get to meet the leadership and then the those testimonials. I love that. And you're creating meaningful dialogue through those public spaces. You're making a space internally for honest conversations. Hopefully, you are at a point where you can begin to ask for fee feedback. But if you're going to ask for feedback, make sure you can act on it or are prepared to act on it. And ensure employees are feeling heard and not managed. I think there there's a stigma that, you know, the bots are going to take over and we're all just going to be walking around with gloomy faces and doing the same thing as everyone else because that's what we're going to be trained to do. That's not the case. And [clears throat] as we move through that, it's recognizing that human contribution. And you're doing that publicly. You're celebrating the innovation, the collaboration, the mentorship, the adaptability. Highlighting employee achievements consistent consistently in order to reinforce and strengthen your culture outside of AI. And you can do those in such I I meaningful, but even very, very small ways. Um we on our team, we recently not recently, about 2 years ago, we started the unicorn award internally within the recruiting team and you nominate a team member. And that went really well. Well, we extended it over to our hiring managers and now we have a monthly hiring manager unicorn award. And they get a card, they're nominated by people in the on the team on the recruiting team and then they used to get a little unicorn squishy that I found on Amazon that by the way, I can't find them anymore and if anybody sends me a link, I'll send you some swag because I can't find them. They get a sticker now and they miss the squishies. But nonetheless, what we didn't see coming from that recognition is now our contracts or our hiring managers have competitions within their business units and their business areas to see which business area or business unit is going to get the most unicorns in a year. And it is I'm glad we're not in person cuz I think there'd be some knockdown, drag-out fights. — [clears throat] — But what we're doing in those cases is we're we're investing in that employee visibility and that growth. We're encouraging that thought leadership. We're supporting the actions that they do positively that not only affect the recruiting team, their contracts, but also that candidate experience. Internally, — [clears throat] — um with your experiences, supporting certifications, supporting them to do

speaking opportunities, mentorship, helping employees just build their professional brand internally and externally to stop that uh that rumor mill and get them excited about the adaptability of AI and how the company is using it or how we're using it in our own candidate experience. — [clears throat] — And through that you're protecting that human connection as that technology expands. You're maintaining a relations relationship-centered leadership style. You're preserving collaboration, mentorship opportunities, and you're ensuring the technology enhances the culture instead of replacing it. As your employees have become those advocates, now we're seeing that employees and everyone else becomes a recruiter. And through that, we get to get rid of the fears. rumor mill and really focus on what the AI is creating and then the excitement that's wrapped around it. Um in AI, every employee interaction shapes that reputation. Every LinkedIn post, every conversation, every Glassdoor review, every recommendation, it contributes not only to the culture and can be a reflection of the culture, but it reflects back to us in recruiting and it can make our networking so much easier when there's a positive vibe from our own employees out there. And that means that culture is no longer in just internal. It becomes a very visible thing for other candidates and for other connections. The organizations that attract and retain talent won't simply have the best technology. They won't. They're going to have the strongest human connections. We're building environments where employees generally want to share their experiences. They want to focus on trust, belonging, development, and they're giving us an opportunity to do so. And of course as a company we can recognize that our culture is now publicly visible and we can talk about that. Can go back and share those those thought cases, leadership stories, success stories. We can provide tools and guidance and confidence for employees to represent the organization and we can empower them, not script them. Of course we're always investing in their growth, that visibility, ensuring that leadership sees that growth that those employees are having not only in their teams but in the company. And then going back to those meaningful connections and making advocacy very easy. In making that advocacy very easy for your employees, it's simplifying referral processes, sharing company wins internally, giving employees reasons to feel very proud about what they're doing, about who they're doing it for and the company that they support. And of course it goes back to that celebration and celebrating those who are contributing to recruiting and to the company culture. So how do we do this? Um I've talked before about the five love languages of work and that's kind of what it boils down to. Human needs and human responses become the fabric of our leadership, how you operate and a part of your retention strategy as you navigate AI amongst your flock. Personal touch becomes a very authentic connection. And authentic is the word there. People see through that, so you have to make sure that it's authentic. For example, recognizing a time of high stress for someone on your team. You see it. You You've probably been there before. You can um watch it coming like a like a freight train. But picking up the phone and calling them and saying, "I see you. Let me help you through this. " Your acts of service become that support through change. Assisting with a tight deadline, reviewing a document for um presentation or before they present it, and of course with permission. But supporting them in a project or a task that they have. Providing that quality time, that presence, and listening. Listening to what they want to chat about, what their worries are, what their concerns are, what their goals in the next chapter looks like for them. And you you know the person on your team that needs the quality time. They're probably the talker. They have, you know, vomit of the mouth, or you sit down with them in your one-on-one, and they want to spend the fit first 15, 20 minutes just talking about what they did over the weekend. I have a few of those, and I let it happen because I know that's what they need. And those love languages, your tangible gifts, become that investment in that development. Giving an opportunity for certifications, providing them training, spot bonuses, company rec- recognition, whatever that might look like for, you know, for your individual organizations. And then your words of affirmation

become clarity and encouragement. Telling someone they're on the right track. You're doing a good job. Um hey, you know, might want to change this up the next time. You know, it can be positive and negative. But recognizing them for what they're doing. I would have told you many years ago this was not the the language for me until I worked at a company that you heard nothing. And I found out that this was the language to my heart. Um I worked at a company, no feedback. I'd been there 2 months, didn't know if I was doing a good job, bad job. So I finally just sat down with my supervisor and I was like, "Can we talk about this? " And she goes, "Oh yeah, here we don't give feedback. " And I realized that I needed it. I needed to hear that I was doing a good job or I wasn't doing a good job. And so that opened up a whole different can of worms for for that with that individual and with in that situation. But I wanted clarity and I wanted encouragement because I wanted those words. Oh. Hold on. Did I freeze? Nope, there we go. Fortunately, most of what I've talked about and as you tend to your connections, your candidates, — [clears throat] — it doesn't cost money. However, it takes time and it takes resources. And that time and resources, they may be strapped, they may be nonexistent, or you might receive pushback from your own leadership teams when you say, "Hey, we're going to implement X. " The important thing is to just make it a focus and start small. Starting to recognize those fears, the rumor mill that your candidates are hearing, the things that your employees are looking for. Start with one. Start with something little. Make it a habit. And then pick something else and make that a habit. And over time, you're going to be begin to be able to see the changes and the ROI that comes with that. So just in case you think that you need some metrics for your leadership team to make sure that you can move forward, give them these. Small changes that are consistent and authentic are going to lead to 21% higher profitability. You're going to see potentially up to three times an increase in morale and productivity. 10% higher customer loyalty and up to a two times decrease in your turnover or two times less in your turnover. No increases there, but The thing is tending to our flock is not going to change even with AI. People are going to continue to need to understand assurance that you're not the bot and you're not the robot that's coming to get their job. Employees will continue to strive for purpose and fulfillment in the roles that they have. Candidates still want to belong and I would say and I don't have much data to back this up, but I think candidates want to belong quicker than they ever have within a new organization. They're wanting to to make those connections sooner. And culture simply is something which spreads from person to person internally and externally. And at the forefront of recruitment and talent acquisition, we are in front of that and we can help that change with those connections, those candidates, and those employees. And I'm going to leave you with Pumpkin and Betty who are two Highland coos that one day I hope to have something similar on a ranch and fulfill my purpose which is to have fun. And I appreciate your time.