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From Listening to Legacy: Elena Davis on the Role of HR in Modern Business
14 Plays28 days ago
In this insightful conversation, Curtis Forbes sits down with Elena Davis, the longtime HR leader at Bader Rutter, to explore what it truly takes to build a culture that lasts. With over two decades of experience, Elena shares her take on leading through generational divides, trauma-fatigued workforces, and the rise of AI, all while keeping humanity and empathy at the heart of it all. From employee listening strategies to shaping culture without ego, this chat is packed with grounded wisdom and practical takeaways for any people-first organization.
About Elena:
Elena Davis is the Director of HR at Bader Rutter, where she’s spent over two decades helping shape a people-first culture. She is a modern HR leader with deep expertise in benefits, relationship dynamics, and employee development. Elena brings a rare blend of big-picture thinking, objectivity, and practical empathy to her work, with a belief that what’s good for employees is almost always good for the business.
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Transcript
Introduction to Fireside Chat
00:00:06
Speaker
Welcome to today's Fireside Chat, Mustard Hub Voices Behind the Build. Here we talk with people building, backing, and running better workplaces. I'm your host, Curtis Forbes.
Meet Elena Davis: HR Expertise
00:00:18
Speaker
Today's guest is Elena Davis. Elena is the director of hr at Beta Rudder, where she spent over two decades helping shape a people-first culture.
00:00:30
Speaker
She's a modern HR leader with deep expertise in benefits, relationship dynamics, and and employee development. Elena brings a rare blend of big picture thinking, objectivity, and practical empathy to her work with the belief that what's good for employees is almost always good for the business.
00:00:50
Speaker
Welcome. Thanks for being here, Elena. Hi, Curtis. Thanks so much for having me. So you are in Wisconsin, and I'm dying to know, how did you just be how did you even become passionate about the HR space?
00:01:06
Speaker
Well, yeah know that goes back forever. I believe it was my kindergarten or first grade report card um where I got good grades on most things, but I got a very low grade on citizenship, not because I was antisocial, but the exact quote from my teacher, and I think I still have the report card someplace, called me a social butterfly.
00:01:31
Speaker
Even back then, it was always one of my joys to get to know people and to understand where they were coming from, what made them tick. I also have an analytical mind. So that kind of led me on an interesting journey educationally. But I was able to figure out fairly early that HR was the perfect blend of that people and numbers, interests that are so compelling to me.
00:02:00
Speaker
That's a that's um amazing that you remember that and it made such an impact, first of all. um Well, honestly, I think ah my mom and my grandparents found so much glee in it that they've reminded me amply over the years. Yeah.
About Beta Rudder: A Leading Agency
00:02:20
Speaker
So before we go any further, you are the Human Resources Director for Beta Rudder. So tell tell us, what does Beta Rudder do? What kind of clients does the agency work with?
00:02:32
Speaker
Sure. So beta Rudder is a full-service B2B marketing communications agency. We offer advertising, design, performance marketing, data, analytics,
00:02:45
Speaker
ah PR and social media, experiential and trade shows, media buying and planning, end-to-end digital solutions in addition to in-house print, video, and audio production.
00:02:59
Speaker
And that is a whole lot of stuff, but the combination of all of those different services and our offerings have allowed us to be the number one B2B agency in North America for three of the last five years.
00:03:13
Speaker
Wow. I love that. And that is a lot of stuff. it's our How many folks work for the agency and are they all Wisconsin based? So we have, if you're looking at our entire workforce of contingent workers and actual staff, we're probably right around 200 employees.
00:03:32
Speaker
And we have about two thirds in Wisconsin here in the Milwaukee area. And then the rest are divided between our Chicago office and then home offices across the country.
00:03:44
Speaker
So a lot that aren't local, very distributed team, right? That's ah quite a lot of people for you and your HR team to ah ah to manage, I
Managing a Distributed Team
00:03:56
Speaker
should say. Do you feel like there's extra challenges managing you and and shaping your own culture with such a distributed workforce? Yeah.
00:04:06
Speaker
Yeah, you know, having people everywhere, it has its lovely silver linings and it has its challenges. It is harder from a compliance standpoint. Absolutely.
00:04:17
Speaker
um It's harder for when you're trying to plan things where you want everybody to be together in person to form those relationships, because obviously it's a lot harder to coordinate getting people to travel in, not to mention it's ah more expensive.
00:04:33
Speaker
Right. Because then you're paying for travel and hotels and such. Right. Right. Right. On the other side, having people from different areas that allows us to have people with more different backgrounds, different life experiences.
00:04:46
Speaker
And it helps us have a really nice, diverse culture with people who are able to come together from different angles to solve problems very effectively.
00:04:56
Speaker
Right. I love that. I love that. um So you know you you you had this sort of watershed moment in in kindergarten, right? that's sort of but That sort of took you into this HR space. um you know maybe maybe Maybe first grade, second grade is when you really you know penetrated the field.
00:05:19
Speaker
um So I love that. What has made you want to stick with it? You know, is it the culture that you've helped build at Beta Rudder? Is it some of the customers or clients that you've worked with that you've helped them sort of build their own?
00:05:34
Speaker
i'm kind of curious.
Elena's Passion and Impact
00:05:35
Speaker
So for me, it's all about having the opportunity to help people be better tomorrow than they are today. um I love being able to help solve problems. And even more than that, I love being able to help people and teams and managers solve their own problems, because that's really where you're teaching somebody to fish instead of just fishing for them.
00:06:00
Speaker
And it's an area that I feel ah have a lot to offer. And I'm able to make lasting impact. So being able to innovate and do different things and always have that mindset of, okay, what can we what can we tweak? What can we change?
00:06:18
Speaker
There's never a shortage of things to look at and think about. So my mind stays very active and I feel like I'm building a lasting legacy.
00:06:29
Speaker
Beta Rudder is wonderful because we always encourage people to come forward with ideas. We're a very idea first culture. And that plays in really nicely to allowing me to make that ah long-term impact.
00:06:43
Speaker
I love that. So how would you describe the culture at Beta Rudder? So we are a a culture, we're very innovative. We are passionate about what we do. We have some of the brightest minds around.
00:06:56
Speaker
and We have a very good team environment. theres It's interesting because within state interviews, one of the things are ah people frequently mention, unprompted,
00:07:07
Speaker
is that there's a lack of individual egos at Beta Rudder compared to most agencies. but We really are selfless and all about the work and all about the client's success rather than looking at our individual success.
00:07:22
Speaker
And that's a culture we've had for my entire tenure at Beta Rudder, 20 years plus, and we continue to bring in the right people to make that culture even stronger.
00:07:36
Speaker
So, you know, a lot of organizations have people problems. i'm not I'm not saying these things happen at Beta Rudder ever. But overall, you know, I'm kind of curious what you see. What kinds of people problems, you know, do you see in businesses?
Communication Challenges in Organizations
00:07:53
Speaker
You've worked with a lot of leaders, right? Beta Rudder works with tons of organizations, right? As that top B2B marketing team.
00:08:02
Speaker
you know, agency. And so I'd love to hear a little bit, you know, kind of in your own words, how you might describe some of these things that you see a lot of businesses suffer from. Yeah. So I think one of the biggest challenges overall is a lack of communications and understanding.
00:08:20
Speaker
um It seems like a lot of the struggles companies have are based on a disconnect between leadership and employees. I don't think there's enough employee listening happening at a lot of places.
00:08:34
Speaker
And I don't think there's a lot of open, transparent conversations to build those relationships and really deeply understand what each other um are looking for and what each other needs to need to succeed and to continue growing.
00:08:51
Speaker
More recently, think it's, there's a whole lot going on if you just look at where the world is today.
Impact of Global Events on Employees
00:09:00
Speaker
i mean, very broadly, I think, across the world, at least in the US, people are so tired.
00:09:09
Speaker
um We have experienced five years now of just compounding traumas, right? I mean, we had a global pandemic. We had all of the societal change that happened very, very rapidly as the result of that.
00:09:25
Speaker
We have had social unrest. We've had just regardless of which side of the fence you're on, a political friction. um There has been so much happening, economic uncertainty.
00:09:38
Speaker
ah all of these things that just keep happening without giving people an opportunity to reflect and to recover and to grieve for things we've lost and things that have changed.
00:09:53
Speaker
So I think that makes it really hard for employees or people in general to continue contributing at their max potential. It's not that things aren't happening.
00:10:04
Speaker
It's not that innovations aren't happening and people aren't ah bringing brilliant ideas forward and doing great work, but it might be at 80% 90%. It's certainly in lot of cases, not at the 120% we'd all love to see coming up. Yeah.
00:10:19
Speaker
we'd all love to see coming up yeah That's interesting.
Generational Differences in the Workplace
00:10:24
Speaker
It's a really powerful observation, I think, right? so There's so many things that have happened. And a lot of times we're not seeing leaders recognize it, accept it, have a conversation about it and give people space to just digest it all. We just simply expect, you know, that we're all the Energizer bunny and we keep going and going and going and going and going and going without, you know, paying attention to some of these other things that are happening personally.
00:10:51
Speaker
Well, and also, this isn't just an employee thing. Leaders are affected the same way. So leaders, we haven't had time to do that grieving and that recovering, but yet we are kind of the same way employees are. We're tasked with continuing to lead the charge forward.
00:11:11
Speaker
How much of this do you think might be related to some of the generational gap? That is a great question. Generational gap, I think, especially right now, is ah more pronounced than it might be in other circumstances. And that's partially because the way so many of us have started working has evolved so drastically.
00:11:34
Speaker
oh And there's some areas that I think there is a big disconnect and just understanding where each other are coming from, particularly when you're looking at, you know, the boomers and Gen X, especially older Gen X compared to millennials and Gen Z.
00:11:51
Speaker
And it's all based on life experiences. You know, you frequently hear all of these things about, um so let's go through some of the big things. If we're talking about how we're working and some of that friction, um the different, the remote versus in-person working.
00:12:07
Speaker
but ah In general, when you're looking, the younger generations are a lot more interested in having the flexibility that ah remote work provides, whereas a lot of your older generations are more like, no, you know this is so much better face-to-face instead of being in front of a camera screen.
00:12:27
Speaker
And it's true. Both sides are true. right that there's There isn't necessarily a wrong or right answer.
AI as a Solution to Talent Gaps
00:12:33
Speaker
But when you're looking at the millennials and Gen z you have to remember, they were already operating in a digital first mindset.
00:12:43
Speaker
yeah thanks to the internet and evolutions and even the way fun works. You know, playing video games when I was a kid, it was me and my friends in front of an Atari or a Nintendo and, you know, casting the controller. too. Yep. That ages us a little bit, but you're right. But now they're using Xbox Live and they're online gaming and they're already building social circles that are based on digital interactions.
00:13:08
Speaker
Yeah. Social media. I mean, they're liking things and responding there and um it's a typing first instead of a conversation first. So that's what they're used to. That's what they're accustomed to.
00:13:20
Speaker
And they found a way to make it work. And by the way, that has also allowed them to make connections much broader than we probably could have with the friends that are in our neighborhood.
00:13:32
Speaker
But it's also true that being together in person allows you just a different level of relationship. And there's so much learning that happens by osmosis.
00:13:44
Speaker
Even if you aren't involved in a conversation, you're hearing it, right? And you're probably getting little bits and pieces of that in. And you're able to see overall how your entire organization operates and all the humming and worrying that this is what we do and who we are.
00:14:01
Speaker
that's I think that friction is challenging and the generational difference in just ah what the priorities are contributes to that a lot.
00:14:13
Speaker
um The other side of that is you often hear you know that Gen Z and millennials, they're so demanding. They're so entitled. you know They want, it's all about, tell me how my career is going. Tell me all this, give me this, give me that.
00:14:29
Speaker
Well, Yeah, I mean, that's true to an extent. But if you think about it, most millennials and most Gen Z have never experienced a truly soft labor market.
00:14:44
Speaker
They have always been to some extent in the driver's seat. They've been able to ask for things that we as an older generation just we we couldn't have.
00:14:57
Speaker
If you walked in and asked for some of those things, and you know, some leaders are were always wonderful and would have done it. But in general, it would have been, well, you know what, we're going to find somebody who isn't so demanding. So yeah I think instead of looking at it as they're demanding, and they're asking for all of these things that they shouldn't be asking for, because we're giving them a paycheck.
00:15:17
Speaker
To some extent, the question is more, well, maybe we should have always been asking for these things too. And how can you blame them for wanting to have a fulfilling and enriching career experience that means something.
00:15:30
Speaker
That's a really great, that's a great perspective. definitely so Definitely something to take away from from this. You mentioned, you know you talked a little bit about growing up in this digital first world, right?
00:15:47
Speaker
Tell me what you see on the horizon about embracing AI and shaping that narrative with with people to yeah to to to stay competitive, right? I mean, you talking about people problems, you know, and and talking about a soft labor market, you know, we're sort of on the precipice of this new technology reap replacing or augmenting a lot of human work.
00:16:13
Speaker
okay What do you see coming down the pipe? So one thing I'll say that's very interesting to me that I don't feel like is being discussed enough in media and thought leadership, ah this AI trend and the AI revolution and the idea that some work may be replaced or augmented by ai it's generally looked at as something to be feared, right? Particularly when you're coming at it from an employee standpoint. And I'm gonna, I'll go into that a little bit more in a minute, but broadly the other factor that's in front of us is the talent cliff, right? When we're looking long-term and this is something that it it was talked about for quite a while and then it was, it just went quiet, but it's still looming.
00:17:04
Speaker
Our working population is shrinking and is continuing to shrink as baby boomers retire, as ah the population growth has slowed a little bit.
00:17:17
Speaker
ah There is a difference there that instead of looking at it as, well, what's going to happen with all these jobs? AI has the potential to help reduce the impact of that talent gap.
00:17:30
Speaker
And that's I think that's really important ah to look at it as an opportunity instead of something that's to be scared of, because um I believe it's something like I think Forbes said last year that by 2030, the global talent shortage could reach 85 plus million people.
00:17:53
Speaker
That's the difference between jobs that companies are looking to fill and employees that are there to fill it. Now, some of that is absolutely going to be a skill mismatch. But if the AI can reduce that gap, then that allows us to have a much more comfortable balance of talent.
00:18:13
Speaker
So I think the conversation really has to be, how do we as individuals use AI to make us more efficient, more effective.
00:18:24
Speaker
In fact, I'll say effective over efficient because it's not necessarily about doing more work than you did today. It's about how do you take that work to the next level? How do you continue growing and developing and ah being smarter and giving more depth to your work?
00:18:44
Speaker
So as leaders, that's the challenge. But the other challenge is to help employees to see that as um the future. And it's AI it probably isn't going to take your job, but someone who is able to use AI more effectively than you will.
00:19:02
Speaker
So be able to produce and deliver something more impactful potentially. Yes, absolutely. and But the other area that I think will be critical is proud probably starts in education, right? And not even just secondary education, but in elementary school and high school is really being forward thinking and make sure that the skills we are teaching our youth and the college curriculums or vocational programs or certificates we're creating are going to support the skills we don't even
The Role of Feedback in Culture
00:19:35
Speaker
know we need yet, but more importantly, the learning mindset to be able to develop whatever those blank unknown skills are.
00:19:46
Speaker
you know This is great. I mean, the the the take on on on trauma, um obviously this generational gap, you know, and i think the advent of AI and how it's going to play a role in all of these things.
00:20:06
Speaker
These all, I think, have um real potential to ah disrupt a lot of working environments. That's what we'll call it for right now. So.
00:20:18
Speaker
You know, as an ah hr leader, somebody in your position, somebody who, you know, manages these teams, you know, who ah who have members, right? From from all, i'm I'm making an assumption here, who has members from these different, you know, generations, um who has, you know, members of your team who have had to deal with some of these psychological traumas from all of the things that have been going on over the last decade or two.
00:20:43
Speaker
You know, um and more than likely, there's a lot of team members now using AI to help augment their work, to create things that are more impactful. and I'm curious, how do you see, what are what are signs or symptoms, you know, that that you might see when things are actually becoming issues that need to be addressed? Whether it's the, you know, the trauma that we talk about or when there is this, you know,
00:21:13
Speaker
divide right between, you know, leadership and, uh, you know, non-leadership because of this generational gap. How do you approach that? How do you, as somebody who's, you know, job basically focuses around culture, how do you tackle those things?
00:21:33
Speaker
So I think the most important thing when you're talking about anything related to culture that any organization can do is to invest in and embrace employee listening.
00:21:47
Speaker
ah Just understanding first off at the team level, how people are feeling. and how different elements that are important to your culture are being rated and ranked and feedback and seeking that feedback and delivering um action based on what you're learning from feedback.
00:22:07
Speaker
Do not underestimate that. um That's one thing I'm very proud of at Beta Writer. We spend a lot of time and resources working with employee listening. We have regular internal pulse surveys. We participate in external like best places to work surveys.
00:22:26
Speaker
ah We do stay interviews with not only new hires, but also with our tenured employees. We have a lot going on to make sure we're keeping a good finger on the pulse of how people are feeling.
00:22:41
Speaker
um And then beyond that, it's relationships, right? It's understanding It's managers and employees having those relationships so that they understand how each other are feeling.
00:22:53
Speaker
And there's trust there to be able to have the conversations that need to happen. um You know, being very kind in those relationships and conversations.
00:23:04
Speaker
Notice I don't say nice. I will say Midwest nice is totally a thing. But nice and kind are not at all the same. yeah So I think giving people clarity on what you expect from them, how they're performing, and allowing them to give you that same feedback on how you are supporting them and what they need from you, that they're getting or not getting, just that allows you to make those decisions. when So when situations come up, it's a lot easier to approach.
00:23:38
Speaker
But most things I feel like can be solved through communication. and making sure that everybody is empathetic. When you're talking about any sort of conflict, the best thing you can do is ensure that both sides are coming to the table, assuming the other side has good intent.
00:23:59
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, that that's critical. And these these tactics for for solving a lot of these issues, I love the the listening and all the different things that you do to get that feedback.
00:24:13
Speaker
I mean, they have to be built into the fabric of of the company, right? Deep into those into those values, you know, and... um and that culture the organization that that you're building or that you're in. And so if there's not alignment, right, I could really see that getting in the way of a lot of progress. But how does like how does an organization even begin to define its values and culture? Who's who's responsible for it?
00:24:37
Speaker
How do you know that it's even working? That, you know, this is so interesting because we've internally been having a lot of conversations about culture. And, you know, culture is one of those kind of squishy things because there is a textbook definition.
00:24:53
Speaker
Absolutely. There's the academic what is culture. ah But if you were to ask 10 people just, you know, how do you define culture? You would get 10 different answers.
00:25:05
Speaker
And ah they're probably similar in a lot of areas, but not as similar. So ah to me, I think the important thing is, to understand you know what is your culture and what culture have you created unwittingly.
00:25:19
Speaker
right And culture, in my opinion, and not every everyone agrees with me, right but I don't think that leaders can create culture.
00:25:31
Speaker
You can't say, okay, this is our culture and everybody live this culture. Yeah, because culture is built by our everyday interactions.
00:25:44
Speaker
It's built by how we treat each other. It's built by how we approach problems, um how we interact and what's important and what we are um encouraging or not encouraging. So leaders can shape culture, leaders can help encourage culture to go in the right direction.
00:26:03
Speaker
But you can't just poof, create a culture. So I think the important thing, if you're like just starting on the ah what is culture, what are our values, look at where you are today.
00:26:16
Speaker
And I ask, we ask in all of our state interviews, who what how would you describe our culture? What words would you use? So get your people to kind of fill in those blanks, figure out where are those common themes.
00:26:30
Speaker
And then are those the themes you want? Are those the themes you should have? What's good? know, the keep or call exercise. And if there's something that isn't showing up enough, what can you do to help encourage those behaviors? How can you, um and we've talked internally about making sure we're celebrating the right behaviors that we want for the culture we'd like to see.
00:26:54
Speaker
That's really my next question about, you know, or at least where where my mind was going is how do you even reinforce these values,
Leadership's Role in Shaping Culture
00:27:03
Speaker
right? This culture that you're, that you're trying to promote.
00:27:06
Speaker
um You see certain things that organizations try to do that, um you know, that, that makes them better. Have you seen things that organizations do that has made things worse? Yeah.
00:27:18
Speaker
So I think the one of the most important things you can do to help reinforce those behaviors is to make sure your a leadership is living the culture you want, because that's where your employees are going to be taking their cues.
00:27:36
Speaker
They're going to be looking at their manager. They're going to be looking at your executive leadership. What are they doing? How are they talking? ah You know, if you're saying, well, my our culture is this, right? This is our value.
00:27:50
Speaker
And your leaders are not acting in accordance with that core value. And the leaders aren't supporting that culture. um It's not going to go anywhere, right? So having your leaders actually live and breathe and embrace the culture is going to be the first step.
00:28:07
Speaker
Because again, leaders can't create culture, in my opinion, but we sure as heck can shape it and we can encourage it. Yeah. There are, other I think, just calling out people who do live the values you're looking to ah reinforce, celebrating them, rewarding them is great.
00:28:28
Speaker
But it needs to be done thoughtfully and intentionally so that it doesn't include like that appearance that, oh, well, you know this is the the star person that, oh, well, you know this is the teacher's pet, basically. Yeah.
00:28:43
Speaker
So make sure that you are using a broad enough lens ah that you are recognizing across levels, across different teams um to really bring that to life.
00:28:57
Speaker
You know, that's ah that's a really great point about managers or some leaders, because effectively managing against core values um and having to try and steer them in the in the right direction.
People Problems vs. Technology Solutions
00:29:12
Speaker
I'm curious, how often do you think problems, you know, that are perceived to be related to, you know, tech or sales or ops or really anything else, um but are...
00:29:28
Speaker
but are really primarily people problems, right? I can i can imagine inconsistent onboarding, subpar training, um you know even frankly, you know hires being poor fits for their roles could seem like something else to leaders.
00:29:43
Speaker
um Absolutely. I think that happens and it depends on your culture and your industry and all those things, but it happens a lot, right? And when we're talking specifically about like the tech side, I think a common trap companies and teams and even individuals get into is trying to rely on software or technology to solve a people problem.
00:30:09
Speaker
um It's like, oh, well, we're struggling with this. So, oh, here's this tool that can do everything. So let's bring that in and it's going to fix all our all our problems. And that's probably not the case.
00:30:20
Speaker
yeah Technology and tools are they can really help you improve on something. They can help you get through it. But if you don't address those underlying issues, it's not going to do anything except add frustration to the mix.
00:30:39
Speaker
They have to be used correctly with intention, you know, very intentionally, um you know, hammers and nails and saws are great. They're not going to build the house by themselves, right? We have to know how to use them and when to use them and, you know, do it in a particular way or else the house isn't going to get built the way it needs to get built.
00:30:56
Speaker
um But in your view, I mean, what what really sets apart companies that build a great culture and a thriving team from day one to those that I think really struggle to follow through?
00:31:12
Speaker
So I think a lot of it does go back to the employee listening, right? I mean, that's a key part. But in general, um I don't really care what industry you're in.
00:31:24
Speaker
If you ask a leader what their most valuable asset is, and they don't say it's their people, I think there's an issue there.
00:31:37
Speaker
I think you're probably going to be struggling on the culture front because i don't care if you're selling an actual physical product um or if you're like us and what you're selling are your ideas and your brilliance and your creativity and um all your smart thinking.
00:31:53
Speaker
It might be easier for us to say, yes, our employees are our most valuable resource because that's what we sell. but anything else, you still need people to create the things.
00:32:05
Speaker
You still need people to ask the questions and to innovate and to um dream and to help you get from here to here and figure out what's next, particularly in this modern day and age where things are changing so drastically.
00:32:25
Speaker
And if you aren't thinking three steps ahead, you're already five steps behind. so if you aren't prioritizing your people and making sure that your culture and your benefits and everything you have are set up to help your people be happy, healthy, successful, um you know and supported, you're you are really missing the ball.
HR Technology at Beta Rudder
00:32:51
Speaker
since Since Mustard Hub is ah is a tech company, um you know maybe obligated here to to switch gears a little bit and discuss some some HR tech with you briefly. But tell me about you know the HR-related platforms, software, and systems that you and and your team at BetaRutter use.
00:33:09
Speaker
Sure. ah So technology is very much a part of everything we are doing these days. We use a fully integrated h r HCM partner that handles pretty much the employee, the entire employee relationship from talent acquisition through onboarding, through ah payroll and regular HR management, benefits, learning, ah you name it. And it's probably part of that overall HR experience.
00:33:40
Speaker
it We found that it is very helpful for us from the HR side to be able to streamline everything and um make things a lot more efficient through automation and employee self-service.
00:33:55
Speaker
Also, having some of those extra security measures in place are helpful. for making sure that there is a standard process that requires secure login for key things, like changing anything related to ah direct deposit or benefit elections.
00:34:15
Speaker
So tech has been a game changer in terms of what we're able to do. as a team and the value we're able to spend to provide because we're not spending all our time focusing on those little day-to-day tasks.
00:34:33
Speaker
We're able to do them in a minimum amount of time so that we can use our time for higher value things. Yeah. I also feel like data is a big factor here. and A lot of data can come out of these various systems, right? That you that you're talking about.
00:34:48
Speaker
What kind of insights and infro information are most important to you and the rest of leadership? I mean, and specifically really to to you leading culture, right? yeah are Are there things you wish you could measure and get data on that you just can't?
00:35:05
Speaker
um Well, I mean, yes, there's always things you wish you could measure on and can't. ah Data is super, super helpful and super critical for understanding, right? Because you can get all the anecdotal feedback in the world.
00:35:20
Speaker
And that is 100% valuable, but it doesn't allow you to quantify things, right? And to be able to truly measure things, you have to find a way to quantify them.
00:35:31
Speaker
That's not always easy when you're talking about anything related to people and culture, because we're people, you know, we're not a number of parts produced per minute, or whatever the case may be.
00:35:45
Speaker
So I think one of the challenges with data and measurement particularly at an agency or a company of beta writer size or smaller or um even a little bit larger, it can get hard sometimes to break data down and have it be meaningful at lower like team-based levels.
00:36:06
Speaker
Because once you have smaller teams, when you're actually measuring things and measuring changes, the one small change can make such a percentage change that is just not statistically significant. So if I had a crystal ball, I'd figure out a way to actually make those data insights scalable across all sizes.
00:36:29
Speaker
That's not really possible. So when we're talking about culture, um, We measure at Beta Redder on a bunch of different statements, basically, that we ask in our pulse surveys. I'm just going to focus there.
00:36:43
Speaker
And we get scores on that. That's very helpful. That allows us to understand different elements. But I think the closest to ah magic number that exists today that we have access to is probably that employee net promoter score or ENPS.
00:37:01
Speaker
Yeah. And that's, for those who don't know, that is basically asking, how likely your employees would be to recommend you as ah an employer to a friend or family member to somebody else.
00:37:15
Speaker
Yeah. um I love that. And that is, i think that is a really, really strong ah indicator.
Exploring AI for Creative Enhancement
00:37:22
Speaker
um So I know, and and we talked about it a little bit before, you know, AI is sort of the topic everywhere. um You know, I think in the in in the world of business, we touched on it briefly.
00:37:33
Speaker
um How have you been able to embrace AI at Beta Rudder? Are there new ways that you want to tap into this tech that you've not really gotten to try? are there other trends in AI that you're excited or curious or or even, frankly, cautious about um or just in technology overall?
00:37:55
Speaker
Oh, my goodness. um Yes. So Beta Rudder is super invested in AI explorations. We actually have a director of AI and a and emerging technology who helps guide us on our AI journey.
00:38:13
Speaker
ah We have done several AI-based trainings for all of our employees to help them understand what tools are out there, um how to use them, and more importantly for us, what the guardrails are, ah what we're working on, what's acceptable, what's not.
00:38:31
Speaker
how they should move forward to make sure that we are using AI in an appropriate and responsible way. um So I think for any company who's looking into ai looking at where are the opportunities and where are the risks, understanding that and creating a POV and make sure that people understand that.
00:38:53
Speaker
yeah um is probably the one of the most important steps. But for us, it's been great to help supplement the work we're doing and mainly in like exploration and inspiration and using it to spark creativity and just say, okay, well,
00:39:12
Speaker
um Give me something for this. And that's something we can riff off of. Right. yeah We're not using it to replace people in people's roles. It's all about augmenting and helping us kind of just get to that next level.
00:39:29
Speaker
so So putting tech aside, what do you think tomorrow's leaders need to really
Preparing Future Leaders
00:39:35
Speaker
grasp about people and culture that I think a lot of maybe today today's leaders are missing?
00:39:40
Speaker
you know Are there misconceptions that business leaders need to shake off when it comes to people dynamics? So if we're thinking about current leaders and what the misconceptions are, I think a few things that come to mind for me,
00:39:56
Speaker
one really understanding and unpacking those generational differences and looking at it from the other side of the fence, you know having that empathy and trying to understand um the why behind the what.
00:40:11
Speaker
That's going to be really helpful, particularly as we continue to um evolve the blend of generations more. Again, tools and technology,
00:40:23
Speaker
aren't going to fix people problems you have. So make sure that you are understanding problems and addressing the root and using tools and technology technology to help supplement that.
00:40:37
Speaker
Another thing, silence isn't always good, right? Just because employees aren't speaking up about something, just because you're not hearing a piece of feedback from your team, that doesn't mean everything is going well.
00:40:52
Speaker
So you need to ask. That's a great, great, great um piece of advice there. You know a lot of times they may feel ah fearful to come forward. Right. and And if your teams are feeling that way, then certainly something might be wrong with that culture.
00:41:09
Speaker
Yes, absolutely. But and and then in general, ah make sure you are focusing on change management. And helping people understand how to navigate things, getting your leaders to be good at helping to lead teams through change because spoiler alert, we're going to have more of it, not less of it moving forward. Oh, man.
00:41:32
Speaker
You're absolutely right about that. So one question I love to ask, um and I always love to wrap up with, if a business leader came to you for advice on how to truly get it right, when it comes to growing, retaining their team and their culture, you have one opportunity in just a minute.
00:41:52
Speaker
What's the one thing that you tell them? So, i mean, really what I would tell them, and it kind of goes back to what I've said several times about employee listening Don't talk to me.
00:42:03
Speaker
Talk to your team. right i mean Talk to truly understand your people and their needs and ah figure out what you're doing really, really well and do more of that and what you're maybe not doing so well and figure out how to improve that.
00:42:21
Speaker
ah You need to start from bottom. Start from within and figure out what's working and what's not. ah So talk to your people. I love that. that's ah Thank you you know so much for for for talking with me today, Elena. I think you've given everyone watching or or listening some some good food for thought.
00:42:43
Speaker
Well, i it's been wonderful to chat with you. So thank you for inviting me.
Conclusion and Engagement
00:42:48
Speaker
And everyone who's watching or listening, thank you all for tuning in to Mustard Hub Voices Behind the Build.
00:42:55
Speaker
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00:43:09
Speaker
Until next time, thank you.