HR, We have a Problem - Special episode with the Sapient Insights Group team

[00:00:01] Welcome to the HR Huddle Podcast, presented by Sapient Insights Group, the ultimate resource for all things HR. It's time to get in the huddle.

[00:00:14] Welcome back to the HR Huddle. I'm your host, Terri Zipper, CEO and Managing Partner at Sapient Insights Group, and I've got a very special episode of HR, We Have a Problem today. This is the show where we break down the big and most relevant HR issues of the day.

[00:00:40] We help you make sense of what they mean for you, and we talk about things that you might do about those problems. Today, I've got the cast and crew of Sapient Insights Group with me. Susan, Stacey, Cliff, Summer, Tammy, Allison, and Cindy. What a treat! Hi guys! Hello! Hey everybody! So this has been a little bit of a planning in the making, although there's no script for this episode.

[00:01:08] We're going to be...it's that time of year, you know, where we start talking about, you know, the things we've done this year. Like, did they make a difference? Do we feel good about what happened this year? If not, what are we going to do differently? What's the new year going to look like? Especially coming out of a very interesting presidential election year.

[00:01:30] So, I wanted to just spend the next 45 minutes and get real and talk with the team about what's going on in their world and give our audience a better understanding of who we are. We work with a lot of you out there in the audience and wanted to just give you that personal touch, the personal side of Safety and Insights Group. Does that sound like a good plan to you? Sounds great to me. Me too. Sounds great. Then let's get into the huddle.

[00:02:00] So, my favorite thing to say on this show, I think I had one episode where somebody continued to talk about the show, I think, in almost two years. Feels like an eternity. But I really do enjoy the show. Love doing it. I've had a lot of great, interesting guests on.

[00:02:29] So, I'm super excited to have you guys on just to see what it's all about, be part of it. I know some of you have done podcasts, some of you haven't. So, that's going to be fun. But I really just wanted us to have a conversation and, you know, maybe to hear more about you. There's probably things that each of us doesn't know about the other. So, I thought this might be a good opportunity for us to do some learning as well.

[00:02:55] So, I did decide kind of an order that I was going to go in, starting with somebody who I know has not done this before. And I can tell she already knows that I'm going to call on her. I see the lip on her face. So, what I wanted to do was just start, you know, Summer, I want to start with you. You've got a little bit of a taste of podcasting. Yeah, I forgot.

[00:03:23] You did, you were on screen at HR Tech. It does count. It does count. You filmed a few and then you joined for a few minutes. So, you're not completely inexperienced. Actually, you did quite well. So, the first question I wanted to ask you is tell us a little bit about, tell the audience what you do at Safety and Insights Group and how you support our clients. Well, hello, audience.

[00:03:52] My name is Summer Oreano. I am the operations manager here at Safety and Insights Group. I work all of our procurement, our AP, and I work directly with clients to fulfill deliverables and coordinating the team. And tell one more thing before we move on.

[00:04:12] Tell them something about you that, something interesting, something that maybe we don't know about you or something that you don't normally tell people about yourself when you meet them. You know, I'm an open book so I think the team knows everything about me at this point. But something the world might not know is my name is Summer and my daughters are winter and spring. I love that. And they look just like summers.

[00:04:42] They do. They're little mini-me's. Yeah. They're little gorgeous mini-me's. Cliff, you know the game. You've done this before. Tell us what you do. Tell the audience what you do for Sapient and really how you're out there working with clients and the kind of support that you give them. Yeah. Yeah. And hi, everyone.

[00:05:07] My Nomi and my wonderful co-host Stacy Harris from, I was about to say HR we have a problem, but that's actually this one. Part of the HR huddle. And this is a true HR huddle today, isn't it? Right? But spilling the tea on HR tech is the other half as we call them sister podcasts. But besides that, I'm the director of research here at Sapient Insights Group.

[00:05:31] I've been in the analyst game for a while, but before that, proud to have been a member of HR. And as a lot of my primary work is in developing the main HR systems report that you would know every year now. I'm coming into our 28th year. I'm working with everyone to do that and resting it away from Stacy, who's been the creator and champion of this wonderful project.

[00:06:01] Taking that and then also adapting whether it's that data or if we need to have sort of new and bespoke data for clients and then helping them use that data to make better business decisions. That's a lot of what we do. So very much working directly with that. Of course, that means going to conferences and talking to them and staying abreast of all the news, which again kind of ties into the podcast a while too.

[00:06:28] I will also, I'm going to add on to Summers because Summers, your house is beautiful. She just gave us the virtual tour. That was really amazing. Loved that. Especially in this year of, you mentioned Terry, the disruption from the elections. We also down in Florida where I live, I'm in St. Petersburg. Hello to anyone from the region. We know we had some hurricanes come through.

[00:06:51] So thinking about how this has been top of mind and security and how we work during disruptive times, which we were able to do, which was amazing. Wow. One thing that kind of ties in both professionally and personally that I've been kind of getting into the last few years is I've for a long time had some Spanish, but I really have been making a concerted effort to work with that horrible duolingual owl and suffer through. Anyone who's done it knows.

[00:07:21] Suffer through the shame of whenever I don't make my lessons, but really doubling down. And as I've gotten pretty far advanced into that, I've actually started Japanese now too. So, you know, obviously it has some professional implications, but it's also just personal goals. I love languages. I do a lot of writing, so I guess that goes with it. So that's been really neat to do this year.

[00:07:44] And it kind of ties into a theme that we've been looking at, which is really expanding our, as a whole, company's international presence. We have enough data that it's meaningful, and now it's just sort of applying that. So I'm very excited for this coming year and for the past year. We'll have to attempt to have a conversation. You know, I lived in Japan for three years. Oh. Hi. I don't know that much. That's as far as I've gotten. Yeah.

[00:08:14] That's awesome. And so besides the fact that you and I on every podcast dress alike, what else is something interesting about you? Is it, was that your interesting component as I'm studying languages or is there anything else you want to add? Yeah. I, I, I, Stacy will be mad if I don't mention that besides the background in HR, I did start as a professional soccer player or footballer for those of you in England who will get mad if I call it soccer.

[00:08:43] I, I did that for a while, I, I, straight out of university, went overseas and played at Portsmouth and then in Paris and Sontfort in the Netherlands and then Southern California before finally realizing that I'm not just not good enough to do that and I should probably get a real grown-up job. Uh, there's still lessons to be learned. Um, even when we do big career 180s, I think we can take things from that. Uh, I love working as a team. That's something we did.

[00:09:11] I think all of us will probably end up talking about us. We worked so much more this year, uh, as a group, I learned so much more about everyone professionally and personally, uh, what they're into.

[00:09:23] You mentioned the podcast, Terry, uh, Summer and, uh, I've been, especially Summer, have been handling a lot more of the technical aspects, whether it's the sound and video recording, uh, Allison as well doing editing, all these kinds of things that, you know, I didn't really expect, but are really interesting to learn and together as a group, because I think we all kind of came in with the same level of knowledge. Uh, so, uh, I would say not too much, uh, and, uh, go from there. Uh, so, uh, that's just been really neat as well.

[00:09:53] Yeah. Awesome. All right. Next up, I think I'm going to go with Cindy, because Cindy, I don't think, has done, uh, a podcast in the past. I want to get her into the, uh, into this, uh, swing. And Cindy's our Connecticut contingent. So, as you guys know, we're kind of all over the place. We don't have a, a single home.

[00:10:17] Um, there are a couple people on the call that live close together, but Cindy's our Northeast contingent up there in Connecticut. So, Cindy, tell us a little bit about what you do at Sapien Insights Group and how you work with, with our clients. Sure. Hi, everyone. Greetings from New England. Uh, it's just almost Thanksgiving, so it's a little cold up here, and it's stick season. All the beautiful foliage has fallen onto the ground.

[00:10:46] So, a little sad right now, but excited for the upcoming holidays. And I am a senior consultant on the consulting team.

[00:10:55] So, working with our clients on various projects to help solve, um, a variety of opportunities within their organization, whether it's in the change management space, the HR transformation space, or leadership and culture space.

[00:11:16] Um, and similarly to Cliff, I also have an HR practitioner background, uh, probably split more 40-60, um, before Doreen Sapien was an internal practitioner within, uh, financial services and insurance. Very cool. Very cool. And what's, what's something that, uh, that we don't, we don't know about you or something interesting that you're, that you're working on or doing? Oh, wow. Okay. Both questions are really good.

[00:11:46] Uh, so something probably the Sapien team doesn't know and the general public will now know is, um, in a past life, early career, um, lived in Boston. And while I was building my HR career out, also became a certified bar instructor.

[00:12:03] So, B-A-R-R-E, um, and so really applicable to being an HR professional, facilitating people through a session, through a classroom, helping them meet their goals, but also, um, applying a little bit of pressure so they feel a little pain, um, as well. Uh, so very, very applicable as well.

[00:12:27] Um, and something, had a great opportunity with Sapien to work on this year was an HR technology strategy program, um, client project, which was really great and fun to work on. So. Awesome. All right. Let's go down in the corner to Susan. Miss Richards. Uh. Tell everybody what you do at Sapien and how you work with customers. Oh, my goodness.

[00:12:55] Um, so I, I generally do anything that Terry and Stacey tell me to do. Um, and if anybody says it can't be done, I, I, that's a great challenge. And I'm like, yes, we'll figure that out. Um, so as the founder of the firm, I, I carry the history of the organization. Um, I lead the advisory and consulting team at Sapien.

[00:13:25] And, um, I am, uh, I, I play a lot of different roles, whether that's solution architect or, um, you know, creator of projects or, um, problem solver, obstacle remover. Um, and, um, and resource locator. Um, so that's, you know, anything that can happen on a project, uh, usually lands on my plate.

[00:13:52] And I absolutely love coming up with creative solutions for our clients, whether those are technology or, um, change or transformation or, uh, leadership and culture. So, um, all kinds of, all kinds of, uh, fun stuff in my world. She's very good at those things.

[00:14:16] So, um, I, I'm always ringing her up when I need to find somebody, find a resource to do something or solve a problem or just commiserate. Um, you know, she's, that's something you're really good at. Thank you. So what don't we, what does this group and in our audience not know about Susan? And I'm conscious that I've copied this question from my friend, David, but I like it a lot.

[00:14:45] And I think it's good for people to get to know stuff that we don't know about them. So I won't tell you about my spirit animal because I told David about that on, on the, um, on the other podcast. But, um, what, what people probably don't know about me is, um, that I'm an accidental entrepreneur. Um, I had a very dear friend. Her name was Nancy Gallo.

[00:15:10] And she and I crossed paths, um, in 2009, 2010. And, um, she started to talk to me about creating this consortium of really smart people who could solve any kind of problem that came along in HR. And from that vision, Sapient Insights was born.

[00:15:37] Uh, it took me a couple of years and I resisted the, the call and, uh, and finally decided that it was time to, to step out and, and make a move. And I don't think I even realized that it was Nancy who was the, the true inspiration for this organization. But she, she is the inspiration. She passed away a couple of years ago, was one of the dearest friends that I've ever had.

[00:16:06] Um, but, uh, I hope that she is smiling down on Sapient Insights from, from, uh, wherever she is. I'm sure she is. No doubt. All right. Well, let's go with another, another one in pink. So, Tammy. Tammy's new to the podcast world. Um, so, Tammy, tell us, tell the audience what you do at Sapient Insights Group and how you're working with our, our clients. Sure. Hi, everyone. Tammy Smith.

[00:16:35] Um, I've been with Sapient for, uh, since 2021, I guess. And I'm the, uh, manager of data science here. So that just means I spend a lot of time, um, in spreadsheets, data, programming. Um, yeah, I spend time with my numbers. Um, I'm not so much a words person. Um, although like Summer, I'm a bit of an open book. So I don't know that there's much that y'all don't know about me. But, um, uh, this past year I spent a lot of time building relationship with our distributors.

[00:17:05] Um, and, um, really, um, massaging those relationships so that we have, um, a great, uh, two-way street with, um, supporting them as well as them supporting us. Um, that's been really fun for me to just kind of get to know more about our, our distributors. So that's what I spend most of my time doing. Writing, gathering, cleaning data. We, we know where to find Tammy. She's not home cleaning data. She's camping. Keep calm.

[00:17:34] I have a story for that. Uh, I, I, so what do we not know about you? And I, I can think of one thing if you, if you think you're an helper. You can think of something you don't know about me. I can think of something that maybe a lot of people don't know about you, but. Interesting. Um, well, now you've got me puzzled, so I'm going to need to know what that is at some point. But, um. I guess. What better time? Yeah.

[00:18:04] Well, actually, that's not true. People probably do know about it because you post about it on Facebook. But I was just thinking about your, um, and I'm going to get this wrong, but your iguana? Is the iguana? Oh, my bearded dragon. Your bearded dragon. Yeah. Um, so beautiful. And I know he passed away recently, but that was like the coolest. Um. Yeah. Maybe that fits in the category of cool. Not that people don't know about it.

[00:18:30] Because that was just like the coolest pet I've ever experienced. Most people that visit my house are a little put off by the fact that we had a bearded dragon living in our eating area of our house. Oh, I thought he was awesome. I loved that. I thought it was super cool. I remember, um, you know, backstory there is my husband has many allergies and one of them is to basically every animal created, um, except for lizards and fish. So those are the pets we've had.

[00:18:57] And so Mo came to us as this tiny little lizard that fit in the palm of your hand. And 14 years, three months later, he did pass away. But he was amazing. A great pet. And yes, always a good conversation starter. So that is one of the fun things. I guess my other thing would be, um, I'm an armchair genealogist. I was literally about to say that. If you didn't say it for you, I was going to say it. Again, I'm an open book. So most people do know things. But, uh, I just love genealogy.

[00:19:26] I think as I've gotten older, just, uh, I'm definitely our family historian. And I took that from my aunt who's now 87 and had done it when I was a kid. And I just remember hearing all the stories growing up. And so now they matter to me as I'm age. But, uh, yeah, I, I don't know. At some point I hope to retire. And that's my career as I retire because I can't imagine doing nothing. As I sit here with fidget toys. Oh my gosh. I have to have the camera on the whole time. Like, what am I going to do with that?

[00:19:56] I don't know. We're so similar. I have, I was fidgeting too. We're so similar. I'm like, all right, don't spin chair. Don't. Yeah. I'm glad you can't do my legs right now. You know, the restless legs going underneath the desk. You know, yeah. I've got my under desk treadmill going. I'm like, mm-hmm. Okay. Well, no, can't do that. Okay. Never mind. All right. So there's a lot we don't know about Tammy. There's a lot you do. So sorry. Yeah, yeah.

[00:20:27] All right. Allison, oh, you changed your name. Well, I was going to say she was our superstar, but, you know, you added your last name here. She is a superstar. I can still be a superstar. That's fine. She is. I love those glasses. Yeah. If that's not the superstar look, I don't know what it is. They're fake. They're fake. It's fine.

[00:20:57] They're just for looks. They're just for looks. So tell us what you do at Sapient Insights Group and tell us what, you know, how you work with our clients. That's a great question, Terri. It's a little bit of a loaded answer of what I do at Sapient Insights Group. Right now, currently I am supporting our research team and managing sort of our research operations.

[00:21:21] So if our audience can imagine trying to keep Stacey, Cliff, and Tammy going in straight lines and straight directions, that's what I've really spent my time the last few weeks supporting and supporting that team and honestly getting to know our research side of Sapient Insights Group. So historically, my title right now is senior consultant. So I come from the consulting side of the firm, and that's where my background is in change management, implementations,

[00:21:52] HR transformations. So kind of taking a little detour on the career path and supporting our research team. So that's been really fun to kind of dive into that world, learn that world. I've learned more acronyms and shorthand for stuff than I ever thought I could. I thought HR itself had enough shorthand and acronyms. Research side has even more.

[00:22:18] So that's been really fun to get to know and really learn and also really get to know the team as a whole. So I've spent quite a few years with Terri and Susan working with Cindy on the consulting side, but really learning our research team. It has been really fun as well. Awesome. And what don't we know about you? Or what's something exciting that's coming up for you? Yes. I have two.

[00:22:47] Our audience may not know this, but I will say this. I'm the first Sapient Insights Group boomerang. I will claim that title of being a boomerang. So, see, that's the superstar, Terri. That's why I am the only one to exist currently.

[00:23:08] But the other exciting thing that I have coming up in December is that I am getting married on December 7th. So, and, well, very looking forward to that. I'm in the stress mode a little bit currently. But, you know, it's going to work out the way it's supposed to. And then we are going to Italy for our honeymoon. So, I booked all my tours today.

[00:23:35] That's what I've been doing a little bit too. So, if anyone has any recommendations, let me know. And you have a plan for that wedding and that honeymoon, right? You know, y'all would think that I had a project plan apparently that only applies to work. I have yet to translate it into my personal life. As much as I love creating a project plan at work, creating one personally has not come to fruition yet.

[00:24:02] Mainly probably because my fiance would also be like, I have a plan. It's up here. Don't tell me your plan on spreadsheets. You need a spreadsheet. You do. I know. I know. So, spreadsheet makes everything better. All right. Last but not least, Stacy. Yeah. I was going to say, I don't know if there's much that people don't know about me. I'm going to show up. Been around for a while.

[00:24:30] So, for those who might not know me, I'm the Chief Research Officer at Saped Insights and with Susan and Terry, Managing Partner at Saped Insights, which is absolutely one of the things I think that I'm most proud of is I've been doing research for a long time, and I've been an industry analyst for a long time. But getting to sort of manage and run a company is something that is exciting and new, and partnering with Susan and Terry has been a really amazing part of that,

[00:24:56] understanding sort of all the ups and downs of doing those things. But it's been really – it's given me an opportunity to expand even my awareness of how important the impact of the work that we're doing is on companies and the organizations that we work with. I've been – like Cliff said, I started out as a practitioner. So, those who know me know that a lot of the work that I do is really focused on what's the impact of HR practices and technology

[00:25:23] and the work that everybody does on a daily basis in HR. So, the HR community is really important to me. But also, the workers, I think that's a big part of – you know, I grew up in a union household where my dad was always a union employee and a teacher and they worked on oil lines before that. And so, it was always really important to think about what the employees needed and what was important to them and what their background.

[00:25:50] So, that's been a big part of the loving what I do on a daily basis is that how many people we have an impact on. Trying to think of something people don't know about me and Terry. I don't know. Well, actually, there's probably one thing. I don't know that everybody here knows this because it was just recently. I don't think this will surprise anybody though. So, recently, I went through the process because I've been trying to sort of get a little bit of know yourself going on personally,

[00:26:17] of getting all the tests and everything for ADHD. And my kids have been telling me for quite some time that I have all the ADHD symptoms. But the doctors finally said, yes, Stacey, you're one of the highest levels of ADHD, whatever that means. I'm still figuring out what that is. Which is one of the reasons why I love having Allison because she helps me prioritize, which is one of the things I'm realizing is a really hard thing for people who have ADHD.

[00:26:46] So, that's been an interesting process to go through the last month is learning how to evaluate some of the things that I often thought of as challenges that I faced, things that were inadequacies and sort of how I ran things or project managed or got things done, realizing a lot of that had to do with how I processed information. And it also is one of the amazing superpowers about why I see all these little connections and I can get really focused on stuff.

[00:27:15] So, that's been an interesting learning path for me. But a more fun thing, and I think most of you guys know this, but I don't know if I've said this. I think I said this on one of the podcasts not too long ago. I started out – my undergraduate was in radio and TV. And so, I was on local radio TV stations in my hometown of Mansfield, Ohio. Y105, if anybody knows that. Still, I think it's out there. W-M-A-R-N.

[00:27:42] And my very favorite thing as we're talking about holidays, and then we can move maybe into holiday conversations, Terry, is the WKRP turkey episode. If there's any next play during this movie, that's Kelly's editing. That is my absolute favorite, favorite. And I will repost it again on Facebook and maybe Instagram and possibly Threads or Blue Sky, wherever we're all at, just because I think it's the best.

[00:28:11] Some of these folks are a little too young. They might not do it. They can learn about it. They're doing their age. If they haven't seen it, they need to see it. But if you've never worked in a radio station, or at least didn't in the 80s and the 90s when I worked, it's just like that. It really is. Yeah. You started talking about – So, we're going to need a leak. We're going to need a leak. You started talking about Mansfield, Ohio and Turkey.

[00:28:39] And my brain initially went to, oh, it's free. Free is for me. How do I sign up for Turkey? So, apparently, we need the video because that's probably way off. Yeah. It will make all the sense in the world once you get the video. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. That's hilarious. Is this where we sing? Yes. Oh, no. I'm just kidding. Let's don't. Let's really don't.

[00:29:10] If I can have a glass of wine, I'll start singing gladly. Next up on HR, we have a problem. HR, we have a happy hour. There you go. That's a good one. Susan's probably the biggest music lover of the group. And if she's saying no, then – Well, I'd like to take a step back. And I'd like to ask Terry the same questions she has asked all of us. Terry, tell us what you do here at Sapient Insights Group.

[00:29:40] All right. Thank you, Summer. So, I am the CEO and one of the managing partners here at Sapient. I also run the podcast of HR, We Have a Problem. I hope – obviously, most of you know that if you're listening to this podcast.

[00:29:57] I work across the organization from sales and delivery to marketing to operations to anything that needs to get done, working across the team and really, frankly, not having to do a lot because people are pretty self-sufficient and run this business without me when I take time off.

[00:30:24] So, probably not as needed as I think I am, but I like to feel needed. You are needed, Terry. You are needed. I just spend as much time as soon as I can. Go ahead. Quick question. That's my favorite – my famous saying to you, Terry, is, oh, I don't need anything else. And then five minutes later, quick question. And I'd just like to say, Terry, you are 100% our company balance.

[00:30:53] Like when you're not on a call, we're all like chaos kind of. It keeps us all behaved. I don't know. Oh, that's sweet. I have to challenge my inner Terry at some point, you know, when you're not around. Yeah. As far as something that people don't know about me or something interesting, I go back to the one – some of you have probably heard this, though.

[00:31:23] I feel like I use this all the time. I used to work at a cemetery. And I actually had two – I don't know that I heard this. I had two jobs there. We had this little house. It was like a three-bedroom ranch house, and that's where we kept all the deeds and did all the work. And there was probably six or seven of us that worked in there. And my job was the funeral directors would call and say, you know, hey, I've got Miss Smith,

[00:31:53] and she needs to be buried on Saturday, and he's got a plot there. Sorry about that, Tammy. I mean, I was – generic names. Jane Doe. Jane Doe. And so we need to bury her on Saturday. So what I would do is I'd get out the great big deed book, like this gigantic thing, all handwritten, literally. This is like old time. Pull out this big deed book. I find her spot.

[00:32:21] And then me, I had to draw for the guys who were going to dig the grave, the grave diggers, the space where she needed to be. So I don't know if any of you have ever seen my drawing. But mostly it was just drawing squares and, like, what was next to them to make sure they got the right spot. And then I also dealt with their headstones and things like that.

[00:32:51] But that was a really interesting, fun job. The other thing I did there because I needed to work was at night I cleaned. And this place had a basement. And remember I said this was sitting in a cemetery. So I'm there by myself at night after dark cleaning the little house that we worked in, including the basement downstairs where the refrigerator was.

[00:33:17] So, yeah, I did not watch a lot of scary movies. No need. Is this a film episode? Yeah. Yeah, I was like, this is taking a turn. I have so many questions, Terry. So many questions. We can talk later. Yeah, I think R.L. Stein is going to write her biography. Yeah. So fun times. I'm sure we've all got weird and fun, interesting jobs we've had in the past.

[00:33:45] But I am more interested at this point in – so I won't pick on anybody at this point. I'll let you self-select. But what's – somebody tell me what their big goals or aspirations are for 2025, personal or professional. They don't have to be work-related. What's on your mind and what are you thinking you want to do in 2025 that's maybe different than what you've done in the past?

[00:34:14] Yeah, well, I sort of jumped in during mine in anticipation of this question. And just as a whole, sort of expanding our international reach. And as part of that, I'd like to continue, you know, with languages and traveling and that sort of thing, which we have been doing. But really a concerted effort to really bring all of our expertise and our knowledge and our insights to a more global group than we have now. We know that we look at the stats.

[00:34:42] We can see that Australia has got a lot of love for us. So I'm sending that love back and really delve into some of what's unique to that area and some of the companies that are there. I see, Cliff. You're just trying to get a trip to New Zealand. I've been – I was – thank you. You want a trip to Asia. Somewhere on that continent over there. Asia, Australia, New Zealand. Cool.

[00:35:08] I will do a shameless plug here because I kind of did forget to mention it when I was explaining what I do for Sapient Insights Group. But we also have our cohort education series programs. So we have a change leadership cohort along with our HR system strategy cohort. I actually am sort of the director of that.

[00:35:32] More on the system side, you know, Susan and Cindy are leading our change leadership cohort.

[00:35:38] But really looking forward to launching our second HR system strategy cohort next year and also launching the change leadership one as we, you know, really growing that part of our business and really seeing how many HR practitioners we can impact, not only through work that we do directly with the clients, but kind of sharing our knowledge in our spaces of change leadership and HR technology.

[00:36:07] It is very cool to see that our cohorts come together this year. Yeah. That is exciting. Yeah. Well, I'll say – oh, sorry. Go ahead, Tammy.

[00:36:18] I'll just say that one of the things I'm looking forward to for personal growth within the company would be really dialing into AI and data management and data storage and just how we gather and just being more efficient when it comes to how we're doing some things and just understanding better. So, you know, I've started looking at classes to take and that kind of stuff. So, that's one of the things I'm looking forward to in Q1 of 2025.

[00:36:47] Professional development. That's great. Well, I'm a very personal person. It comes from my generation and being, you know, in this age. But I would say do more, see more, and say more. And that goes professional and personal life. I want to do more with my kids this year and do more within safety and insights. It's always important for me to kind of beat the next day or beat the day before. See more.

[00:37:17] I want to travel. You know, I just want to see the world. And that's kind of been on my goals for the last couple of years. And I'm really putting that into fruition, you know, into 2025. I already have a couple things planned. And then say more. Speak up, whether that's to my kids or to my team, you know, and really kind of immerse myself in all of that and everything happening. Yeah, that's great. We got you to Vegas this year, so that was your – You did. You did. That was the first. Yeah.

[00:37:48] I would say – Increase your swag, right? Increase your swag. Oh, I didn't have a whole conversation. Yeah. I said next year we're going to include in the survey we're going to have a who had the best swag contest. And Summer's going to – Summer and maybe somebody else will judge this. And we'll do an award for that. Yeah. You do it on social media, which is tied to my book. Yeah. Nice, Sylvie.

[00:38:16] I currently sit on a SHRM affiliate local board here in Connecticut. And I'd love to bring some of the things that I've learned in that space to Sapient next year to continue to bring awareness and engagement with our friends and family out in social media. So, yeah, let's have a best swag contest. We did.

[00:38:46] My kids loved the swag. My friend brought me a suitcase, and I filled it all the way up with swag at the end of the trip. It was completely full when I left. I still have a Yeti coffee cup that I drink out of when I went to HR Tech. And I only remember what company is on it, but I still use that thing almost every week. Well, there was a company called Summer, which I feel like was just them pandering directly.

[00:39:16] They must have known. That was one of the odds. Listen, I grabbed it. That is a good vacuum, Tammy. A little guest vacuum. Love it. Yes. Yeah, where's mine? Oh, and I've got the wrist. Oh, yes. For the mouse. I think they're giving accolades for all the swag we've done here. Oh, yes. We've done some pretty good swag. Unfortunately, we can't win our own giveaway.

[00:39:45] Yeah, we're not. We're not going to worry about. You know, if anybody else needs a idea. The researchers would say that is not allowed. Yeah. So something that I'm really proud of that we started this year and is on my growth list for 2025 is our leadership and culture practice.

[00:40:06] So we partnered up with some of our good friends from Latos, and we launched a leadership and culture practice this year in response to what you, our clients, are telling us that you need. And something that I'm really excited about for 2025 is growing that practice, you know, getting out in the market. And a personal goal for me is to speak more.

[00:40:34] So, you know, Summer, when you said speak up, that's one of my goals for 2025 is to expand our presence in the market by speaking at more events and being more present. In the world of HR and the things that we care about. So got a lot going on for 2025. Yeah, I almost played the song.

[00:41:03] I got a little carried away. I was like, oh, we could do the song in the year 2025. And I was like, oh, wait, it's only 2025, not 2025. Like, scratch that. Yeah, we've got 500 more years there, Terry. You're getting way ahead of my talker. Yeah. I'll add to Susan's conversation because I think that we definitely, we want to get out in the audience more. So we're definitely going to do a lot more speaking.

[00:41:30] I'm really interested in speaking at industry and events with more finance leaders and IT leaders. Because I think part of what we found in a lot of conversations with our HR community is that they're like, we know this. Now we need our partners in the businesses to understand better what this data is saying and what the market is saying about HR.

[00:41:53] And so we've had a lot of conversations about how do we reach beyond the HR community so that we can help them make those business cases, get that conversation out there. So I agree with you, Susan. We're definitely going to be at more things. I think people are going to see us more around. The other thing that I know I'm very excited about, although it is always scary when you go down this road for us because it's always – we've had the same research center for about four years now.

[00:42:22] We are really looking at updating our research center next year, making the data more accessible. So if anybody's interested in working with us, beta testing some of that with us, that is a move where we've been talking about for quite some time that people want to just have more access to the data. In some ways, that's a lot of what Tammy was talking about, working with different formats and tools. So watch this space. We'll be doing more of that.

[00:42:49] But on the personal note, I just want to have a very happy and healthy year. As many people know, I had – my mom is doing much better for those who are aware that she was dealing with breast cancer this year. She got through her final – all of her final treatments. And we are looking forward to some trips in January to celebrate her life and our whole family sort of just moving forward with a bit more health. So that's an exciting thing.

[00:43:16] And I think you've heard that from quite a few people this year. So, yeah. Yeah. So I'll just build a little bit on what Stacey said because we do so much work around – I mean, if you know the data and the research that we do, you know we look heavily at the voice of the customer for HR technology. And one of the things that I want to focus on in 2025 is I want to hear the voice of our customer.

[00:43:45] And so right up the alley of the research center, like, you know, what do you need from the research center? What can we do better? How can we enhance this capability for you or the information that we're providing? Like, how can we be better partners to you as our customers? And that's something that I really want to focus on for 2025.

[00:44:15] Well, so I'm excited about the holidays coming up. I know we're running out of time here. So what I want to do maybe as one final thing before we go, and the way that I'll do this is I'll start up in the corner, kind of like we did with the cohorts. So, Stacey, I'll start with you and just go around the block.

[00:44:37] What's one word that describes how you feel coming into the end of this year, the end of 2024 and going into 2025? What's your descriptor? Going into it, it's healthier. I think healthier for my family and healthier for me. So I'm happy about that. Awesome. Cliff? Pink. And I swear this is not just pandering.

[00:45:06] Before we got started in the green room, I was saying, I want to buy more pink. But then I was like, oh, but it also is like a baby. It's like fresh. It's like the warmth in your cheeks. It's sort of the skies back out after the hurricane, you know. We're back. Pink is all about being, you know, new and full of warmth. I love it. So I swear it was like I really gave this one some thought. Love it. I'm not just saying what I see on screen. The first word that comes to your head.

[00:45:38] Terry started off this podcast talking about change and what's going on in the world. And so I want to take that and be resilient in resilience going into 2025. Love that. Summer? Oh, sorry. I'm doing a Z. You're zigging. You're zagging. You're zipping your zipper. It's all good. Sorry about that, Tammy. So who's going? Me or Tammy?

[00:46:09] You, Summer, you. Oh, okay. My word would be motivated. I have more motivation now in my life than I ever have before. So that is my word. My word is joyful. There's just a lot of things I think we should be happy about and we want to be excited about and going into the new year. I want to feel more joy. Tammy?

[00:46:37] I think my word kind of comes off of Cindy's and that's adaptable. Like I just, as we're in this, in all phases of my personal life and my work life, just adaptable and just be open to all that comes. Excellent. Susan? Two words. Growth mindset. This year has been all about growth for me.

[00:47:05] Everything from, you know, really stretching myself to become an executive coach with all the training and all the time that goes into that to launching the leadership and culture practice to growing our team. You know, our team has never been this large, comprehensive, and expansive.

[00:47:29] So, you know, finishing that 2024 and going into 2025 is all about keeping that growth mindset and seeing where it takes us next. Awesome. Allison? I think if I could summarize my 2024 where to be changed, there's a lot of changes. It's happening across the board personally for me in 2024.

[00:47:55] But taking that into 2025, I will sort of piggyback a little bit off of Susan's word, but it's growth, especially kind of in the role that I'm now playing at Sapient Insights Group. It's growing in that and really seeing where that can take me. Awesome. Wonderful. Well, I want to thank you all for doing this today. I know a lot of people are preparing for Thanksgiving and the holidays, but I really wanted us to come together as a team

[00:48:25] and just have a conversation. So this was fun. I hope you enjoyed this session. As a reminder, I want to make sure everybody remembers the annual HR System Survey is out and available as well as the segment reports. And as Allison mentioned, we're also kicking off two new cohorts in 2025, Change Leadership and HR System Strategy.

[00:48:50] So if you haven't signed up or you're interested in learning more about it, go to the website or reach out to one of us to learn more about that. And last but not least, I want to remind everybody to make sure they spill some tea with Stacy and Cliff on their episodes, which air the opposite weeks of mine. So thanks, everybody. Great conversation. I want to thank our producers, Brand Method Media Group and our marketing team.

[00:49:18] And I want to thank you for tuning in. That's all the time we have this week for this episode of HR We Have a Problem. If you enjoyed the episode, leave us a review. You can subscribe to it on your favorite podcast app. You can also drop us a line or schedule a chat on the website. We will be back in two weeks with another episode of HR We Have a Problem. Thanks, everybody. Bye, everybody. Can we sing now? Can we start singing? Can we sing now? We are the world. Hallelujah.

[00:49:50] Joy to the world.