VISION 2023: Essentials Conference Recap Day 2

May 3, 2023

Next-Gen Workforce Management and Frontline Worker Employee Experience Technology Are High Priorities: 2022 Gartner<sup>®️</sup> Hype Cycle<sup>™️</sup>

After a first day fueled with excitement, VISION 2023: Essentials attendees assembled for a fresh line-up of keynotes and sessions showcasing a broad range of customer, partner, and WorkForce Software presenters. It was a day filled with activity and elation as departing attendees looked ahead to VISION 2024.

Here’s a peak into what we discovered on day two:

Be an Agent of Change – Tips from Other Trailblazers 

In this engaging breakfast session, Sandra Moran, Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer and Nicole Neumarker, Chief Technology Officer at WorkForce Software were joined by Paula Robinson, Delivery Manager at GroupeX Solutions and Mark Bryner, Product Director, HR and Payroll at CONA (Coke One North America) to empower attendees to become a change agent within their organization. Our dynamic panelists shared insights on building momentum for change, finding and cultivating allies, and why it’s essential to leverage diverse thinking and teams to make lasting, meaningful impact. We equipped attendees with plans to advocate for their organization’s future of work, inspired by the experience and strategies shared by our panelists.

Sandra led the discussion highlighting key attributes that define change agents. “Someone’s skill is not as valuable as their ability to learn. Adaptability is one of the most important characteristics in today’s environment.” The panelists also emphasized the importance of connecting and empathizing with key stakeholders and understanding how desired change may affect their processes.

We discussed why it’s time to act and create profound change in the workplace using the resources that are available today.

“There are always people in your organization who are ready to lead change. Tap into the 20% that are ready to go and most of the remaining 80% will follow along.”

Nicole Neumarker, Chief Technology Officer at WorkForce Software

Keynote Speech – Engagement Is the Key to Achievement

Rusty Lindquist, CEO and Founder of Life Engineering, declared that we are in the most competitive economic landscape in history. Amidst other waves of disruption, the commoditization and competitive abundance of innovation means that an organization can no longer sustainably differentiate themselves based on what they do. “Success is more about who you are,” Rusty stated. In this climate, how organizations manage people and culture directly impacts the performance they can achieve. “Businesses don’t create value, people do.” Rusty identified strategies to unleash the value of an organization’s workforce noting that most efforts to improve performance focused on time and talent.

“Scheduling flexibility will increasingly become the norm. The question is whether that will be your competitive advantage.”

Sandra Moran, Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer at WorkForce Software

Oracle Session: The Essentials Convergence

Matt Gale, VP of Strategic Solutions at Oracle, highlighted the essential nature of prioritizing employee well-being. He emphasized the importance of leadership putting aside their preconceived notions of what the workplace should look like and zeroing in on what matters to employees.

“I’ve always said it’s a mirror—how your employees experience their day-to-day work life will be reflected in the marketplace with your customers.”

Matt Gale, VP of Strategic Solutions at Oracle

Matt further explained that creating meaningful improvements to employee well-being demands an action-bias. “You are empowering decisions that can lead to change. You have to do it fast.”

Panel Discussion – Modern Workforce Management Implementation Best Practices: Strategies For A Successful Implementation And Maximized ROI

Alyssa Scalia, VP, Global System Integrators at WorkForce Software served as the moderator for a panel discussion for our Experts’ Guide to Implement SAP Time and Attendance by WorkForce Software, featuring Dewald La Grange, Associate Partner at EPI-USE, and Joel Werndorfer, WorkForce Software SAP Practice Lead at Accenture, and Managing Director, HR & Workforce Management Transformation at Deloitte. Together, we discussed keys to successful governance in workforce management, strategies for setting realistic implementation timelines, and techniques for achieving best practices and successful communication strategies.

Session Highlights

Campfire Chat with IBM – Securing Buy-in and Funding for Your Workforce Transformation

We joined Deniz Demirel, Parner and Yanis Seheb, Business Development Manager of IBM for an interactive session and open dialogue on preparing for and securing buy-in for workforce transformation. We engaged with experts and peers as we discussed how to conduct a business value assessment that can self-fund transformation programs. While sharing strategies to quickly enable ROI on initial implementations, we discovered key value drivers behind workforce transformation and how to communicate them effectively to leadership. With these strategies, we gained insights on initial steps to win approval and secure the necessary budget for a successful transformation journey.

“Put together, these benefits can produce 1-2% savings of payroll costs per year. Think about how quickly you can pay back that investment for initial implementation.”

Yanis Seheb, Business Development Manager at IBM

Revolutionizing Employee Experience: Central Group’s HR Digital Transformation Journey

We joined Central Group’s CPO (Chief People Officer) Pascal Billaud for an insightful discussion on their HR digital transformation journey, focusing on the value of the WorkForce Software Time & Attendance solution for complex employee management. We learned about people-first strategies to enhance engagement and experience while discovering how digital transformation streamlines administration for an efficient, employee-centric work environment.

“Today we have 45k employees who are frontline people using WorkForce – 1.5 million time and attendance transactions in a month and next year we expect it to be double.”

Pascal Billaud, Chief People Officer at Central Group

WestRock’s Implementation Journey: Complex Unionized Environment, 300+ Sites & Data-Driven Wins

In this session, Taryn Emerson, Director, HR Strategy and Technology Portfolio, and Jonathan Neff, Senior Program Manager Human Resources at WestRock shared how they embarked on an implementation journey, navigating a highly unionized environment and converging legacy systems. Jonathan stated, “Consolidating into the WorkForce Software solution was critical for our organization.” Together with Dave Melody, Director, Services at WorkForce Software, we learned about WestRock process standardization, site engagement across 300+ locations, and essential insights on testing, data-driven decision-making, and program leadership. Their transformational success provided valuable wisdom applicable to other organizational challenges and opportunities.

“Making sure that the Vendor, IT and HR are all aligned is critical to your implementation. Their transformational success provided valuable wisdom applicable to other organizational challenges and opportunities.”

Taryn Emerson, Director, HR Strategy and Technology Portfolio at WestRock

Closing Session – Essentials Conference Takeaways

WorkForce Software’s Mike Morini, Chief Executive Officer, Sandra Moran, Chief Marketing and Employee Experience Officer, Jeff Moses, Chief Revenue Officer, Bill Razzino, Chief Revenue Officer, and Nicole Neumarker, Chief Technology Officer, came together to reflect on the memorable highlights of VISION 2023. After two days with packed sessions and an array of thrilling activities (from line dancing to puppy yoga, not to mention the donut wall) we reflected on the essentials of retaining talent through outstanding employee experience and strategies for organizations to maximize investments into their people. While VISION 2023 had reached a poignant conclusion, the closing session ended with the announcement of the location for VISION 2024—sunny Miami, Florida!

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