Transform 2023: Key themes and takeaways

For three days 2000+ people leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors gathered at the MGM hotel in Las Vegas, NV to attend Transform 2023. An annual conference that sits at the intersection of technology and people who are transforming the workplace.

5 themes and big ideas emerged throughout conference as we look towards what’s ahead in people & tech:

1.    We can’t stop talking about ChatGPT and generative AI.

It was like the person who somehow managed to appear at every single party, invited or not. ChatGPT showed up everywhere throughout the conference. Expect generative AI to write job descriptions at scale, create content for employees to consume, and tell stories about our employer brand in the future.

2.     HR will have a new job description and set of skills.

Regardless of the function you serve within HR | People | Talent | Human Capital Management, expect your future scope of work to focus on human-centric design, enabling a sustainable workforce, contributing to the company’s public-facing narrative, and leading the people tech stack strategy.

3.    The workforce will continue to become more complex and distributed.

From how we work (full-time, gig economy), to where we work (remote, hybrid, on-site), to who we’re working with (5 generations present in the workplace at the same time), to how we become qualified for the work we perform (micro-credentials and skills replacing the traditional degree), the workforce is transforming and will create more complexity for people leaders.

4.    HR has people tech fatigue.

The global HR technology market size is projected to reach 39.90 billion USD in 2029 (Fortune Business Insights) and innovators are racing to get their share of that pie. There is a new tech solution for just about everything HR touches and they’re experiencing fatigue by constantly being sold to. To effectively sell to your buyers, tell the story using language we understand and explain how your solution can make them a hero in their story.

5.     Remote? Hybrid? In-Person? We’re still trying to figure out what’s better.

Covid forced us to move everything to remote and there’s been plenty of learning from it. Now there’s a shift driven by leaders who are arguing that remote work is hurting productivity. And hybrid is still trying to find its footing. Without looking at how these options address equity, inclusion, and availability of tools that enable people to be productive (no matter where they work), there is still no concrete answer to these questions.

For additional insights, here are my 3 key takeaways from each of the sessions I attended.

Interview with a Modern Elder: Demystifying Wisdom at Work

Cher Murphy, Managing Director @ CRA/Admired Leadership

Chip Conley, Founder @ Modern Elder Academy

• By 2025 the average American will have a younger manager and there are 5 generations in the workplace today. There’s an opportunity to bring intergenerational people together through mutual mentorship. People across generations can play the role of mentor and mentee at the same time.

• Instead of offering an abrupt retirement, offer a phased retirement plan instead. It provides a transition plan for the employee to ease into retirement and helps the company preserve institutional wisdom.

• Wisdom management is coming and cannot be replaced by AI. Companies can create wisdom heat maps, a way to track who people go to for different types of information.

Funding the Future of Work: The Venture Capital Perspective

Allison Baum Gates, General Partner @ SemperVirens Venture Capital

Jomayra Herrrera, Partner @ Reach Capital

Annie Case, Partner @ Kleiner Perkins

Kyle Lui, General Partner @ Bling Capital

• Future of Work is about creating an ecosystem where people have access to work that enables them to thrive. (Jomayra Herrera)

• Remote work became the norm during COVID and now it’s starting to swing the other way because of the argument about productivity. However, remote work solutions haven’t fully addressed productivity needs while being remote. (Kyle Lui)

• Fad or Future?

  • DEI budgets – Regardless of how the panel answered this question, everyone agreed that DEI should be embedded throughout the company. Not as a separate budget.

  • Chat GPT – Although ChatGPT itself may be a fad, but the panel agreed that generative AI is the future. However, it will open up some unanswered questions. Such as… what is the right business model and who owns the data?

  • TikTok – TikTok itself may be a fad but the way consumers are entertained is forever changed because of it.

  • Term “future of work” – Fad. It means nothing and everything at the same time. We need to retire it.

Reimagining the Workplace with Generative AI

Abhay Parasnis, Founder & CEO @ Typeface

• AI is shifting from automation to content & storytelling.

• Generative AI can help address speed and scale needs with various HR practices. Use Case: Sequoia + Typeface demonstrates how generative AI can write job descriptions at scale and create templates for employee handbooks and internal communication to save time.

• AI challenges include content governance, talent displacement, AI bias, and IP ownership. Suggested solutions to address these concerns include talent reskilling, leadership in AI safety conversations, and developing a platform mindset.

Inclusive Design: From People to Product

Kate Kellogg, Chief Operating Officer of EA Studios @ Electronic Arts

Mala Singh, Chief People Officer @ Electronic Arts

• Smartphones created an opportunity to expand the world of gaming and who a gamer is. The video games industry is larger than the movie, TV, and music industry combined.

• Use Case: Employee Resource Groups advised game designers to address inclusion. They look at who is represented in the game, whether there is bias in the character’s behavior, if the character shows authenticity, and if the game is playable.

• Apex Legends is recognized as the most diverse game. It was born out of team’s interest to recruit cultural experts during game design process. It was not driven by the C-Suite.

A Conversation with TIME100 Impact Inductee Jeffrey Katzenberg

S. Mitra Kalita, CEO of URL Media and Publisher @ Epicenter-NYC

Jeffrey Katzenberg, Founder & Managing Partner @WindrCo.

• You can find new ways to acquire knowledge or experience you don’t have. When given the task to fix the animation department without any prior experience in animation himself, Katzenberg decided to go through Walt Disney’s archive and look to him as his teacher.

• Know who your customers are. According to Walt Disney, he makes movies for children and the child within adults.

• The key to success is, strive to exceed people’s expectations.

Employee Engagement 2.0: Driving Connection & Retention in a Distributed World

Shane Kovalsky, Co-Founder & CEO @ Glue

Lexi Clarke, CHRO @ Payscale

Matt McFarlane, Director of People Experience @ Oyster

Sarah Ghessie, Senior HR Director @ Fundrise

• Build trust by creating options for how people gather and give them permission to opt in or opt out. (Sarah Ghessie)

• Dig into data to learn what is driving retention. For example, looking at how communication channels like Slack is creating new networks and communities. (Matt McFarlane)

• Public sharing of information. At Payscale we share compa ratio data publicly. This drives better conversation. (Lexi Clarke)

A New Era of Learning: A Shift from Credentials to Knowledge

Ian Chiu, Managing Director @ Owl Ventures

Janice Burns, Chief People Officer @Degreed

Lily Benjamin, PhD, Head of Talent Management and Org Optimization @ Amazon

Stacey Payne, Chief People Officer @ Daily Harvest

• People are breaking from degrees and gaining employment based on skills. The future is no longer a resume of experience. It’s a taxonomy of skills and proficiency of those skills. (Janice Burns)

• Era of micro credentials and freelancers will become more popular in the future (Lily Benjamin, PhD)

• Employees want to be free agents with their careers. (Janice Burns)

DEI Progress and Pitfalls: Lessons Learned

Amber Madison, Co-Founder @ Peoplism

Donald Knight, Chief People Officer @ Greenhouse

Marcus Sawyerr, Founder & CEO @ EQ Community

Nichelle Grant, Head of DEI @ Siemens

• Be very selective about who you do business with. Look at who you spend money with and whether they align with your goals. For example, look at the representation of their board and leadership team. (Donald Knight)

• DEI should be connected to the entire company. It should not be on an island. This is how progress is made. (Nichelle Grant)

• The biggest DEI mistake you can make is to do nothing. (Marcus Sawyerr)

HR is the New PR

Massella Dukuly, Head of Workplace Strategy & Innovation @ Charter

Arthur Matuszewski, Venture Partner @ Shine Capital

Jennifer Benz, SVP Communications Leader @ Segal Benz

• HR is always wearing the PR hat and will be judged on context. Think about how your actions reverberates to the community – investors, customers, etc. (Arthur Matuszewski)

• Companies are being held accountable for policies and what you put out there (ex. “Show Us Your Leave Campaign” initiated by SKIMS). Show don’t just tell what you’re doing. (Jennifer Benz)

• Figure out what your company’s communication love language is and use it. (Massella Dukuly)

Cultivating a Culture of Inspiration through Impact

Rilwan Meeran, Head of Impact Investing @ American Student Assistance

Jyoti Chopra, Chief People, Inclusion, and Sustainability Officer @ MGM Resorts International

Jolen Anderson, Global Head of HR, Corporate Responsibility and Philanthropy @ BNY Mellon

Dean Carter, Chief People and Purpose Officer @ Guild

• Measure your output and long-term goals towards achieving sustainability as a company. You can do this by conducting a materiality assessment. (Jyoti Chopra)

• Companies must hold themselves accountable for its impact on the environment and how they help communities they serve. (Jolen Anderson)

• Create a people and learning strategy that helps to create durable jobs and address future labor shortages. (Dean Carter)

From CHRO to CEO: A People-First Perspective

Tanzina Vega, Editor @ Charter

Briana van Strijp, CEO @ Anthemis

Sarah Chavarria, President @ Delta Dental of California

• There’s no perfect playbook for building the culture. Context fit is important. Culture/context fit is like achieving product/market fit. (Briana van Strijp)

• Leading change in a legacy company is playing a long game. (Sarah Chavarria)

• There’s a pendulum shift where there’s now a greater focus on the organization’s transparency. (Briana van Strijp)

Minds Matter: Mental Wellness and the Future of Leave Management

Kait Feeney, Chief Operating Officer @ Tilt

Andrea Morales, VP of People Rewards, Data & Operations @ Affirm

Erin Ogunsanya, Wellness Advocate @ Matterport

Kim Rohrer, Principle People Partner @ Oyster

• Evolution of mental health… people are encouraged to take a break. You don’t have to be sick to take a day off. (Andrea Morales)

• Health care providers provided seminars, post-layoffs, to address survivors guilt. (Kim Rohrer)

• We redefined bereavement leave to include loss of a loved one (whomever that may be), loss of surrogacy, loss of adoption, or a miscarriage. (Andrea Morales)

Should HR Own the Workplace Tech Stack?

RJ Milnor, Founder & CEO @ People Analytics Partner

Kelley Steven-Waiss, Chief Transformation Officer @ ServiceNow

John Boudreau, Senior Research Scientist and Emeritus Professor @ Center for Effective Organizations, USC

George LaRocque, Founder & Principle Analyst @ WorkTech

Carolyn Frey, Chief People Officer @ Hungryroot

• HR should own the workplace tech strategy in partnership with business leaders across the company. (Kelley Steven-Waiss)

• Think about your workplace tech in terms of the consumer experience. (Carolyn Frey)

• When selling workplace tech, lead the conversation with language that your buyer understands and communicate how you can make them a hero. (Kelley Steven-Waiss)

Does Performance Management Need to be on a PIP?

Peter Phelan, Founder & CEO @ ValuesCulture

Hebba Youssef, Chief People Officer @ WorkWeek

Jessica Winder, SVP of People @ RefineLabs

Stacey La Torre, Head of Talent Management & Development @ Nextdoor

Derek Sidebottom, CHRO @ CrowdStreet

• Burn down the Performance Improvement Process (PIP). It takes 6-9 months and a waste of time. Coach the manager to have an adult conversation with the employee. Clear is kind. (Jessica Winder)

• If you have to put someone on a PIP and you’re the manager, it’s your fault. Ask yourself, did you tell the employee what your expectations are? (Hebba Youssef)

• It’s not important what tool you use. Focus on giving feedback to your team instead. (Derek Sidebottom)

Remote, In-Person, Hybrid: What Have We Learned So Far?

Shelby Wolpa, Founder @ Shelby Wolpa Consulting

Jelena Djordjevic, VP of People @ Thumbtack

Dana Wright, MD @ MATH Venture Partners

Alex Kehayias, Founder & CEO @ Mosey

• In a remote environment, you have to be deliberate about everything. Communicate inputs and outputs. What do you expect? (Alex Kehayias)

• Create inclusion and equity in a hybrid environment. For example, all our meetings (unless they’re explicitly in-person) are virtual. Regardless of people being on-site or remote. This creates equity. (Jelena Djordjevic)

• To be successful, there needs to be a full alignment at the executive level on whether you are an office-first or remote-first company. (Shelby Wolpa)

What are your thoughts on these ideas on people & tech? Do you see one emerging that isn’t listed here? I want to hear from you. DM me on LinkedIn.

Are you new to people management or a first-time early-stage founder? Let’s chat about how one-on-one coaching can help.

About the Author

Leang Chung (she/her) is a Career First Coach and Founder of Pelora Stack. She helps people navigate their career first. She works with first time early-stage founders, career changers, people managers, and solopreneurs.