Live From CAHR: What’s New and What’s Next in HR

It has been a pleasure connecting with HRCI-certified professionals this week at the California HR Conference 2019 (CAHR) and learning what’s keeping HR professionals up at night. A few key themes that were prominent in today’s sessions: 

• Applying artificial intelligence (AI).

• Managing performance.

• Developing soft skills.

• Encouraging empathy.

• Strengthening workplace security. 

Here are a few other highlights from my second day at the show.

Walking on Sunshine

My favorite pleasant surprise: outdoor sessions. I’m always cold at conferences, so it was great to discover a few “Sunshine Sessions” outside.  I have enjoyed soaking in some Southern California vitamin D!  I felt more energized, attentive and focused and on the subject matter.

Viet Hoang of Pint Size Ideas led one of those “Sunshine Sessions,” called “Five Power Improv Exercises to Strengthen Soft Skills. Some of the skills we can borrow from improv include:

• Developing your listening skills.

• Applying empathy.

• Promoting self-awareness.

The Power of Timing

Today’s keynote speaker, Daniel Pink, shared his insight into how our performance and mood are correlated to certain times of the day. From scheduling meetings, when to share good/bad news and even planning to take breaks throughout the day. A few key takeaways for me:

• Our cognitive abilities don’t remain static throughout the day.

• The daily fluctuations can be more variable than we realize.

• The best time to perform a task can depend on the nature of the task.

Preventing Workplace Violence

Another session that resonated with me was called  “Targeted Workplace Violence and Pre-Attack Indicators Training.”  It seems like everyday the country is faced with another mass shooting, and this session equipped me with some essential guidance that I plan to share with my organization.  

Many of these attacks start with grievances at work, which means that HR can be in a position to notice trouble early on.

David Perez, CEO and Eddie Hernandez, Executive Vice President of Omega International Group shared 7 intervention guidelines to follow if someone is behaving abnormally:

• Reach out. You don’t have to have special training to check on someone.

• Practice empathy.

• Listen.

• Give people a healthy space to share grievances.

• Create and bring in threat mitigation teams as needed.

• Curb erratic and concerning behavior through basic human interaction.

• Offer assistance.

Throughout the entire conference, I have really appreciated the hospitality  shown to me as a participant of this year’s Writer’s Coalition. For all live updates follow the #CAHR19 hashtag on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.