Meghan M. Biro, Author at TalentCulture

AI and Chatbots: Getting Their Sensitivity Training

Earlier this year, Microsoft dipped a toe into the Artificial Intelligence space with an AI-powered chatbot that it set loose on Twitter. Designed to pass for a conversational teenager, responding to queries and mimicking casual, playful speech patterns familiar to Millennial and Gen Z users, it was supposed to be cool. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Tay, the Microsoft-labeled “AI fam from the internet that’s got zero chill” devolved into a racial slur spewing monster. Of course, the curious case of Tay was somewhat of a fluke, a science experiment gone rogue, hijacked by internet trolls bent on exploiting the software

Can Machine Learning Make HR Better?

Are you familiar with deep learning? Deep learning describes the ability for artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to learn from our behavior using brain-like structures called neural networks, and it’s changing the field of human resources in significant ways. AI programs can predict outcomes based on past experiences fed into the program. Because AI can recognize patterns and analyze data at light speed, it can help HR directors make decisions with greater confidence. From finding and recruiting prospects to streamlining employee assessment processes, machine learning and AI can make it easier for HR executives to do their jobs better—and today’s technology is

#WorkTrends Preview: Mentoring: Women Elevating Women

Mentorship, whether it occurs in or out of the workplace, has numerous personal benefits, especially for women. Our guest, Valerie Martinelli, previously of the Center for Economic & Policy Development, Inc., will be discussing the pros of mentorship and how women in the workplace can develop a support system for elevating the cause of women in the workplace. Ms. Martinelli will also discuss the widespread benefits of mentoring programs and how these are important programs for employers to institute into their culture. She will discuss her experience and how utilizing mentorship, sponsorship, and coaching can help us learn to turn our

#WorkTrends Recap: 2017: The Year of Selling Yourself

This week on #WorkTrends we went beyond selling products and services and looked at how 2017 can be the year of selling yourself. We are all salespeople whether you realize it or not. Host Meghan M. Biro was joined by best-selling author and expert salesman Anthony Iannarino to discuss what people need to do to rise above the crowd at work and be a standout employee. Anthony shared tips and ideas that you will be able to use during 2017 and beyond. Here are a few key points he shared: Selling is not a bad word. It is all about relationship

Why Social Media Is Shaping The Future Of Work

Lists of social media disasters are like new versions of worst-dressed lists. And there’s no such thing as not being on social media. If you’re not actively pursuing your brand on social, someone else is, and probably not the way you want to be. And being the butt of a joke you never intended to make has staying power: things do not disappear on the Internet. The bottom line is that you’re a brand whether you have no control over it (bad) or you control it (good). This isn’t just about consumers, either: it’s about your workforce. Social media has helped erase the wall between

#WorkTrends Preview: 2017: The Year of Selling Yourself

We’re very excited to kick off our very first TalentCulture #WorkTrends of 2017! We have a very big show lined up that everyone will benefit from. The Year of Selling Yourself. This goes beyond selling products and services, on Wednesday, January 4, 2017, we’re going to be discussing how YOU can better sell yourself. This means focusing on what you need to do to rise above the crowd at work and be a standout employee. It also, means what each and everyone of us needs to do to find success and happiness in life. Please join host Meghan M. Biro and

Employer Brand vs. Consumer Brand: What’s the Difference?

Branding has been a buzzword for a while now—a hot one—but employer branding as a concept? That’s still relatively new. Many companies know they should be doing more of it to recruit talent and increase employee engagement—but they don’t have the budget or resources to follow through. Others might simply confuse it with consumer branding, which is understandable since there is some overlap. If employer branding is part of your 2017 planning, here are reasons it’s important and also different from consumer branding. And, here are some ways to you can make employer branding work for your company. The Case for

New Employee Benefits That Could Be Your Secret Weapon

Healthcare and 401(k)? Boring. Today’s employees crave benefits that are as innovative as they are. Providing the perks employees really want—in addition to the medical coverage they need, of course—can help you attract and retain top talent. Fortunately, employee benefits don’t have to be expensive to be appealing. Don’t feel pressure to build a Google-worthy game room or turn your headquarters into a jungle terrarium like Amazon. These five ideas for employee benefits will please your staff without the need to re-decorate your office digs. Loan Payback Assistance Millennials have an average of $41,286.60 in student debt, more than $10,000 higher

Slack for Recruiting? You Betcha!

Slack has created a name for itself as a tool for communication, collaboration, and file-sharing amongst team members in a business or organization. But did you know tech-savvy HR directors are jumping ahead of the curve to adopt Slack as a recruiting tool? Slack interfaces with a host of other messenger and collaboration apps—including Facebook, Twitter, GDrive and Gmail, and Asana—so you can reach out to people where they already are. It allows recruiters to connect with top talent across a variety of networks. Intrigued? You should be. Let’s start from the beginning—finding candidates via Slack—and then look at some of

5 Keys To Managing A Mobile Workforce

Despite worldwide turmoil, growth is still very much happening on the global front. Companies are expanding into new regions and deepening their presence in existing ones. The challenge is building a workforce rapidly and effectively. It’s never been that simple, but moving your talent where it’s needed the most adds far more complexity — and we’re in an era when competition for talent and skills is at its peak. Add that all up and you’ve got a renewed mandate to focus on mobility as part of your talent strategy. Whether overseas or intra-national, the companies that mandate that mobility is part of

#WorkTrends Recap: Gratitude and Giving Back

One tenant of a positive workplace culture is appreciation. Employees who receive recognition and appreciation are more likely to be engaged and work harder. A little kudos from a manager goes a long way. This week I discussed the importance of leaders showing gratitude and giving back to employees, partners and customers with special guest Elisabeth Vezzani, Co-founder of Sugarwish, a corporate gifting organization. Elisabeth shared why non-cash incentives work best for employee motivation and creating happiness throughout the office. Here are a few other key points Elisabeth shared: 80% of employees are motivated to work hard when employees feel appreciation

Top 3 Best And Worst Ways To Hire Talent

I’m sure many of you remember the dark days the recent past, when we found out that 70% of employees were not engaged at work. Other recent milestones include the foot out the door report that found that most millennials work with what some might label a certain generational ambivalence. Balancing us from the other side has been a rollicking uptick in new jobs since ‘08. Now that’s slowing down too: As of April 2016, only 160,000 new jobs had been created, as the Labor Department reported. While we may not set our hiring targets to statistics, they are revealing. It’s a tight market and it

No is Not a Bad Word

There’s a saying in business: “If you want to get something done, give it to a busy person.” But is that fair to the busy person? It makes sense that organizations would want to give crucial work assignments to their most talented and productive employees. They know these workers will come through, having already proven themselves to be highly competent multi-taskers and the ultimate team players. These employees are great at just about everything—with the possible exception of saying “no.” But, “no” is not necessarily a bad word. Is there a reason employees should be cultivating the fine art of saying

#WorkTrends Preview: Gratitude and Giving Back

On last week’s #WorkTrends, Meghan M. Biro and her special guest Kevin W. Grossman discussed the importance of companies showing respect and professionalism to job candidates. This week Meghan will be discussing the importance of companies showing gratitude and giving back to employees, partners and customers. She’s will be joined by her special guest Elisabeth Vezzani, Co-founder of Sugarwish, a corporate gifting organization. Join Meghan and Elisabeth on Wednesday, December 21 at 1pm EST for a fun and lively discussion around this timely topic. Gratitude and Giving Back Join Elisabeth and me on our LIVE online podcast Wednesday, Dec 21 —

Technology Revolutionizing Workplace Wellness

Wellness in the workplace is a huge and growing trend these days. Makes sense, right? A healthier employee is a happier employee—and also a more productive one. That’s why employers are introducing wellness programs in droves, and at the same time turning to technology as a tool to monitor, promote, and reward their employees’ fitness achievements. Currently, 70 percent of U.S. employers offer a wellness program, an increase from 58 percent in 2008. It’s no secret that investing in employee wellness is worthwhile in the long run. Not only do wellness programs help employers to lower healthcare costs and reduce sick

#WorkTrends Recap: The Candidate Experience

The employee engagement experience. The candidate experience. Both very valid and important topics to be considered in today’s business world. Gone are the days of companies ignoring their employer brand, reputation as an employer of choice and with that conducting interviews and onboarding new employees in a haphazard fashion. With the jobs market leaning more towards the job seeker, now is the time for companies to invest in their reputation management and discover where additional attention is needed. This week, Meghan M Biro was joined by her former co-host Kevin W. Grossman to discuss the importance of why all companies should

#WorkTrends Preview: The Candidate Experience

The employee engagement experience. The candidate experience. Both very valid and important topics to be considered in today’s business world. Gone are the days of companies ignoring their employer brand, reputation as an employer of choice and with that conducting interviews and onboarding new employees in a haphazard fashion. Join Meghan M. Biro and her former co-host Kevin W. Grossman on Wednesday, December 14 at 1pm ET as they discuss the importance of why all companies should conduct discoveries of how they are perceived by job seekers and candidates. With the jobs market leaning more towards the job seeker, now is

The Benefits of Developing a Workplace Culture of Health

Most of us try to live well but fall short of our goals. A recent study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings found less than three percent of us have a “healthy lifestyle”—despite the fact that a vast majority of us are on a quest for personal wellness. But wellness takes a lifestyle change, and time spent at work can either help or hinder. As more companies realize that a happy and healthy employee is better for business, they’re looking for ways to develop a workplace culture of health. Real-world results show there’s value in workplace wellness—both for employees and the bottom

#WorkTrends Recap: Workplace Democracy

As U.S. voters exercised their democratic right in last month’s Presidential election, the practice of democracy in rapidly spreading to all areas of life, most notably in the workplace. Companies are beginning to offer employees the power to vote on various workplace amenities such as snacks in the breakroom, or even the location of the next company outing… but what if employees had the power to make more significant and impactful decisions like voting to keep or fire their CEO? This week, Meghan M Biro was joined by Haufe CEO Kelly Max to discuss what a workplace looks like where the

Why Deleting Your Facebook History Might Be a Good Idea

If you’re like me and about 1.79 billion of my closest friends, you have a Facebook account—yes, that’s billion (with a b), and growing. In fact, it’s a 16 percent increase from the 2015 figure, according to Facebook’s 2016 Q3 Earnings Report. Of those 1.79 billion, 1.18 billion log into Facebook daily, and 1.09 billion do so on a mobile device. That’s a lot of numbers, so let me put it to you another way: Facebook is big. It’s so big, in fact, that Facebook’s community of users now tops the population of China. Seriously. That’s big. And we, Facebook are nothing if

5 Great Ways To Hack Your Leadership Style

Our world is run by leadership decisions, good or bad. We learn that the FBI spent about 1.3 million to hack an iPhone, when director James Comey finally divulges just enough information. A top talk show host steps off the set in a legitimate huff and the network is caught short. Google the word “leader” and you’ll get, on a given day, some 1,070,000,000 results — partially because someone made decisions in what we’d see. Leading is a hot seat and some of us embrace it and some of us don’t. And there are always ways to do it better. But whatever you do, it’s

#WorkTrends Preview: Workplace Democracy

As U.S. voters exercised their democratic right in last month’s Presidential election, the practice of democracy in rapidly spreading to all areas of life, most notably in the workplace. Companies are beginning to offer employees the power to vote on various workplace amenities such as snacks in the breakroom, or even the location of the next company outing… but what if employees had the power to make more significant and impactful decisions like voting to keep or fire their CEO? Join Meghan M. Biro and Mr. Kelly Max, CEO of Haufe on Wednesday, December 7 at 1pm EST, as they discuss

#WorkTrends Recap: How Academia and Business Support STEM

The world of education and business are at a precipice in relation to what we need to keep our economy chugging along without slowing down the advancements needed to remain an economic leader. This week Meghan M. Biro was joined by guest Rachael Mann to discuss the intricacies around how academia and business can and should work collaboratively in supporting our growing need for more technically trained people. They also talked about why the STEM initiative was developed and more importantly, how we can encourage female students to pursue STEM careers. Here are a few key points that Rachael shared: We

4 Signs You’re Dealing With A Toxic Workplace

Now that we’re all paying attention to workplace culture, here’s the unfortunate news: It’s not always pretty. A workplace can be just as broken and dysfunctional as a rotten relationship. Like the couple in counseling, you don’t really know how bad it is until you’re focusing on it. As a leader, you’re in a uniquely powerful position. You can turn it into a total win. But that’s only if you’re willing to do the work. First, you have to drill into your organization’s core values, and you may not like what you find. When the truth looks ugly, do you stop

Purpose or Engagement? Is One Better Than the Other?

When you ask HR executives what it takes to succeed, many will stress the importance of employee engagement. They refer to a company’s need for employees who are excited about their work, who are motivated to do well, and whose goals are in sync with the objectives of the organization. Employee engagement relates to employee happiness, job satisfaction, and much more. But even if employees enjoy their work and find it compelling, is that going to be enough to keep them working at your company for the long haul? Your team may share common goals, but that doesn’t necessarily speak to

Stay up-to-date with HR, tech and the future of work. Get our weekly newsletter!

Meghan M. Biro

Meghan M. Biro

AI and Chatbots: Getting Their Sensitivity Training

Can Machine Learning Make HR Better?

#WorkTrends Preview: Mentoring: Women Elevating Women

#WorkTrends Recap: 2017: The Year of Selling Yourself

#WorkTrends Preview: 2017: The Year of Selling Yourself

Employer Brand vs. Consumer Brand: What’s the Difference?

New Employee Benefits That Could Be Your Secret Weapon

Slack for Recruiting? You Betcha!

5 Keys To Managing A Mobile Workforce

#WorkTrends Recap: Gratitude and Giving Back

Top 3 Best And Worst Ways To Hire Talent

No is Not a Bad Word

#WorkTrends Preview: Gratitude and Giving Back

#WorkTrends Recap: The Candidate Experience

#WorkTrends Preview: The Candidate Experience

The Benefits of Developing a Workplace Culture of Health

#WorkTrends Recap: Workplace Democracy

5 Great Ways To Hack Your Leadership Style

#WorkTrends Preview: Workplace Democracy

#WorkTrends Recap: How Academia and Business Support STEM

4 Signs You’re Dealing With A Toxic Workplace

Purpose or Engagement? Is One Better Than the Other?

Quick Links

Topics

Newsletter Signup

Meghan M. Biro

Meghan M. Biro

Subscribing to Ho-Hum Newsletters? We have the fix!