Andrea Eimers

Scattered to Strategic: Driving Engagement in Distributed Teams

Engagement and wellness struggle to function without each other, yet many organizations manage them in scattered ways across remote, hybrid, and multi-site teams. This fragmented approach leaves employees feeling disconnected and wellness initiatives underutilized. In this session, we’ll explore how to move from ad-hoc activities to a strategic, integrated framework that strengthens engagement while supporting holistic well-being. Participants will leave with practical strategies to unify engagement and wellness efforts, strengthen team connections, and drive outcomes across diverse and dispersed work environments.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Recognize the close connection between engagement and employee wellness in distributed teams.
2. Identify common challenges organizations face when engagement and wellness efforts are fragmented.
3. Apply strategies to unify engagement and wellness initiatives across remote, hybrid, and multi-site employees.
4. Leverage technology and communication best practices to foster connection and support well-being.
5. Build a roadmap to transition from scattered initiatives to a cohesive, strategic plan that drives measurable results.

Danny Rojas

How to Choose, Use, and Measure Recruiting Tech That Works

Everyone’s talking about AI but how do you actually choose the right tool, prove it works, and make sure your hiring team doesn’t get left behind?

In this session, Danny Rojas, Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition at The Container Store, shares his real-world approach to evaluating and scaling AI-based recruiting tools, without a six-figure budget or a dedicated tech team. From pilot testing and adoption to measuring ROI, Danny will walk attendees through practical strategies for bringing innovation into small and midsize TA teams, responsibly and effectively.

Whether you're just starting to explore AI or already knee-deep in vendor demos, attendees will leave this session with a clear-eyed view of what to prioritize, and what to avoid.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how to evaluate AI and recruiting tech tools based on real business needs, not buzzwords.
• Explore methods for measuring ROI in small to midsize talent teams, without needing a data analyst.
• Identify common red flags and roadblocks when choosing or implementing new tech.

Key Takeaways:

• A simple framework for selecting the right AI or recruiting tool
• Metrics that matter: how to prove value and get buy-in from leadership
• Tips to avoid tool overload and make adoption stick with small teams

Dee Maddox

When the Cheese Moves: Leading with Resilience in Times of Change

OJBECTIVES:

1. Apply Adaptive Strategies in Dynamic Work Environments. Identify internal and external forces that drive change and implement practical strategies to manage transitions. Learn communication tools, stakeholder engagement techniques, and resistance management methods to improve adaptability across the organization.

2. Lead Teams with Confidence During Uncertainty

Learn to lead decisively through change by showing resilience, authenticity, and composure. Understand how different people react to change and apply leadership techniques that build trust, motivation, and alignment.

3. Foster a culture of resilience and engagement

Improve interpersonal and communication skills to promote collaboration and engagement during transitions. Discover how to create supportive environments that promote dialogue, empower employees, and build confidence in times of uncertainty.

TAKEAWAYS:

• Recognize and anticipate organizational change before it happens.
• Build resilience and adaptability to thrive through uncertainty.
• Communicate change effectively to gain trust and alignment.

Jasmin Dennis

Identify and Prevent Emotional Burnout

Learning objects:

1. Recognize the early signs of emotional burnout in themselves and their team
2. Understand the eight dimensions of the burnout pie framework, including chronic stress detachment, sleeplessness, and anxiety
3. Practical strategies to reduce exhaustion and enhance resilience.

Takeaways:

1. Self-assessment tool kit to recognize early signs of burnout
2. Clear understanding of the Burnout Pie Framework and how it applies to workplace dynamics
3. Insight into how leaders can create a culture of wellness that reduces turnover

LeAnne Legasse

Becoming a Congruent Leader: How to Align Your Intentions and Impact

Based on insights from her new book, The Congruent Leader, LeAnne Lagasse explores what happens when well-intentioned leaders unintentionally create misalignment in their leadership and how to close that gap. This session offers a powerful framework for aligning what you say, do, and value so your impact matches your intent. Through stories, reflection, and practical tools, participants will leave equipped to lead with greater self-awareness, authenticity, clarity, and trust.

Learning Objectives:

1)Recognize common patterns of incongruence that undermine trust and engagement.

2)Apply communication strategies that help align words, actions, and values in everyday leadership.

3)Create a personal plan for leading with congruence to strengthen culture, accountability, and team connection.

Mallory Herrin

Confessions of an HR Consultant

Pull back the curtain on real consulting experiences to uncover the unspoken expectations leaders have for HR, and the critical ways we often fall short. In this candid, high-impact session, HR consultant Mallory Herrin shares the most common patterns, missteps, and missed opportunities she sees when organizations call for help. From performance management disasters to dangerous culture gaps and avoidable legal risks, attendees will gain hard-earned insights, actionable strategies, and the clarity needed to elevate their HR practice. This is not another compliance checklist - a wake-up call, a reset, and a roadmap for becoming the HR partner your organization actually needs.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the most common HR pitfalls that quietly erode culture, increase risk, and reduce leadership trust.
• Apply practical strategies to improve influence, accountability, and proactive risk mitigation in complex HR scenarios.
• Reframe your HR approach to align with what today’s leaders value most—strategic insight, courageous counsel, and cultural clarity.

Mary Baird

Squash the Sunday Scaries: Reignite your Workforce with Better Employee Experience

If your employees dread Mondays, you don’t have a performance problem—you have an experience problem.

In this energizing and no-fluff keynote, Employee Experience Strategist Mary Baird, PHR tackles the hard truth: work is broken. After round after round of layoffs, reorganizations, and burnout, company cultures have taken a beating. The time to fix it is now—and she’ll show you how.

Mary reveals how to squash the Sunday Scaries by redesigning the employee experience from the inside out—using her Employee Experience Flywheel™ to reignite your workforce, rebuild trust, and make work meaningful again. You’ll also learn how to use AI as your ally—to listen at scale, personalize employee experiences, and bring your EX strategy to life faster (and smarter).

Through real-world stories, practical frameworks, and her signature humor, you’ll leave energized and equipped with tangible tools to rebuild culture—one experience at a time.

(NOTE: This session is perfect for an opening or closing keynote presentation.)

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the core elements of the Employee Experience Flywheel™ and how they drive measurable gains in engagement, retention, and rebuild trust in senior leadership.
2. Diagnose where the “Sunday Scaries” originate inside your organization—and how recurring layoffs, poor communication, and broken processes erode employee confidence.
3. Apply simple, practical tools and AI-powered strategies that help HR teams design, implement, and measure better employee experiences.
4. Design a 30-day action plan to strengthen one part of your employee experience—starting the shift from burnout to belonging.

Key Takeaways:

• A clear understanding of why traditional engagement tactics fail when trust has been shaken.
• A practical roadmap (the EX Flywheel™) for rebuilding culture after layoffs or major change—the simple, sustainable way.
• Smart, actionable ways to integrate AI to support listening, personalization, and execution in EX work.
• Renewed conviction that fixing work isn’t just possible—it’s essential, and it starts with you.

Randy Anderson

Are They "ALL IN?" - The Essential Elements of Employee Engagement

How many of your team members are fully engaged in their work? National studies indicate that as much 70% of the American workforce is disengaged or actively disengaged in their job. What are some of the costs of disengagement? Productivity, safety, customer satisfaction, and profitability all go down, while absenteeism, conflict, stress, and turnover all go up. If any of these challenges sound familiar, this seminar can help.

When people are disengaged, more technical, policy, or hard-skill training isn’t going to make much difference. They need to be reengaged before you can better equip them to do their job. This presentation will show you how to rekindle your people’s passion and commitment in the workplace. You’ll gain a new perspective on how much disengagement is actually costing your company, the contributors that lead to disengagement, and how you can combat those. You’ll learn the three key factors leaders must be aware of in order to have greater influence with disengaged employees. And you’ll leave with ideas for changing the culture within your organization to one that will actually keep people engaged. These strategies are simple to grasp and apply, and they will ensure your employees are ALL IN.

Learning Objectives

• Learn how to identify and eliminate the 3 main causes of employee disengagement.
• Discover 6 specific steps you can initiate to reengage your team members.
• Tap into each person’s Core Values, Primary Motivators, and Personal Aspirations to maximize productivity and results.