Smiley Poswolsky

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How Leaders Can Increase Retention, Drive Human Performance, Build High-Value Relationships, and Create Belonging at Work

In this timely, interactive, and highly actionable presentation, Smiley makes the case that the future of work is human connection. In the age of AI, 43% employees don’t feel a sense of connection to their coworkers, 38% don’t trust their coworkers, and 22% don’t even have one friend at work. 70% of employees are disengaged from their jobs—with disengagement at a record high. Employee disconnection leads to lower productivity and lower rates of retention. Meanwhile, creating high levels of workplace belonging is good for your people and good for your business. Employees who experience high levels of belonging at work have greater resilience, well-being, personal and professional growth. They experience a 56% increase in job performance and 170% increase in employer promotor score, and better-connected employees save large organizations up to $52 million a year.

What is workplace belonging and what are the key factors for creating more belonging for yourself, your team, within your organization, and for your customers and clients? Smiley will share an interactive exercise for fostering team engagement and psychological safety, and practical tools and actionable habits to foster more human connection in every stage of the employee experience; from recruitment and hiring, to onboarding and training, mentorship and coaching initiatives, learning and development programs, customer and client relationships, sales systems and growth strategy, team building exercises, and even weekly 1-on-1s and check-ins. At the end of this presentation, your team will have an easy-to-use action-based toolkit to create a culture of human connection for your people, your customers, and your company. 

Key Audience Takeaways:

• Learn 5 ways to increase human connection at work.
• Understand the definition of psychological safety and how to foster higher levels of psychological safety on your team, including a simple exercise to try at your next team meeting.
• How to deepen trust and build high-value relationships with coworkers, customers, and clients. 
• A concrete example of how one company built higher levels of human connection among their employees. 
• A practical action-based toolkit every leader, manager, and individual employee can use to build a more connected, collaborative, and engaged culture of belonging at work.

Creating Human Connection and Community in the Era of Hybrid, AI, and Overwhelm

In a lonely, nonstop, overwhelmed workplace; as time spent face- to-face has been replaced with wall-to-wall Zoom meetings, 24/7 Teams messages, and the rapid rise of AI and ChatGPT; workplace connection has withered. 40% employees don’t feel a sense of connection to their coworkers, 40% don’t trust their coworkers, and 20% don’t even have one friend at work. 70% of employees are disengaged from their jobs—with disengagement at a record high. Lonely employees are less productive and cost U.S. employers $4000 per employee and $150 billion a year. Meanwhile, high levels of belonging can save a company $52 million a year and provide employees with greater resilience, well- being, personal and professional growth.

As the war for skilled talent grows more competitive and employees spend less time face-to-face than ever before, workplace belonging expert Smiley Poswolsky makes the case that the future of work is human connection. In this timely, inspiring, data-driven, and highly actionable presentation, Smiley will share how we can attract and retain top talent across generations, reignite human connection, and increase team engagement, by creating a culture of belonging for ourselves, our employees, and our clients. Smiley will share actionable tools for fostering employee engagement, building psychological safety, and supporting our teams with the challenges of the new world of work including generational differences, a hybrid workforce, burnout, and the impact of AI and automation. At the end of this presentation, your team will have an easy-to-use toolkit to reimagine a collaborative, engaged, people-first culture, and become an industry leader in the future of work.

Key Audience Takeaways:

• Learn 5 ways to increase workplace belonging and workplace connection.
• Understand the definition of psychological safety and how to foster higher levels of psychological safety on your team, including a simple exercise to try at your next team meeting.
• Discover the key to becoming a future- ready organization and making the workplace work for all teams; whether in-person, hybrid, or remote.
• Actionable (and no-cost!) team habits and rituals to best support your teams with the challenges of burnout, disconnection, low morale, and overwhelm.
• A practical toolkit every leader, manager, and individual employee can use to drive culture transformation and build a more connected, collaborative, and engaged culture of belonging at work.

How to Be a Future-Ready Organization and Attract, Retain, and Engage Top Talent Across Generations

In the age of AI and automation, as the war for skilled talent grows more competitive and the labor market tightens, six generations are meeting together in an ever-evolving hybrid workplace for the first time in history. To move past intergenerational tension and common misunderstandings, leaders must empower talent across generations by creating a culture of trust and belonging for all. In this timely, entertaining, and highly actionable presentation, workplace belonging expert Smiley Poswolsky will help you attract, retain, and engage the talent of the future by leading with purpose, flexibility, well- being, and human connection. 

Smiley will breakthrough common stereotypes about next gen talent; discuss the surprising similarities between what Gen Alpha, Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers want in the workplace, and share case studies for attracting top talent and increasing employee engagement and communication across generations in the future of work. Smiley will share proven strategies how we can attract and retain top talent of all ages, increase team engagement, and create more belonging, by building human connection and community in a hybrid workplace. Smiley offers practical tools and simple, actionable habits to foster multigenerational collaboration and engagement, which will help you become an industry leader in the future of work. 

Key Audience Takeaways:

• Learn 5 keys to engaging the multigenerational workforce and communicating across generations. 
• Understand what Gen Z wants in the workplace and the similarities between what all generations want in the workplace.
• A simple exercise any leader or manager can use to foster collaboration and trust across generations.
• Insights on the future of work, recruitment and retention strategies that appeal to both Gen Z and Gen X, tools to engage hybrid teams, creating a culture of learning and personal growth, and prioritizing well-being and mental health in the era of burnout and overwhelm. 
• Actionable (and no-cost!) team habits and rituals every leader, manager, and individual employee can use to build a more connected and engaged culture of belonging at work. 

Building High-Performing Teams to Embrace Change, Transform Culture and Drive Human-Centered Growth in the Future of Work 

New workplace culture research suggests that employees don’t just leave poor managers, they leave poor leaders: they leave leaders that don’t build a people-first culture of change, transformation, and belonging for all. Too much of the conversation on workplace culture focuses on what days employees are working in the office and what days they are working from home. Workplace belonging expert Smiley Poswolsky believes that more important question is why; why are people coming together in the first place? Hybrid isn’t just where we work, it’s how we connect in the future of work. How do we build a culture of transformation, wherever and however people are working? How do we embrace change, drive human- centered growth, and create lasting impact in the era of AI, automation, and a rapidly evolving world of work? 

In this timely and highly actionable presentation, Smiley will help you shift from a culture fit strategy to a culture transformation strategy, designed to welcome all perspectives, attract and retain top talent, test innovative ideas, invest in social and emotional well-being, experiment with learning & development programs, and evolve your culture. Smiley will address key questions like: How do we create high levels of psychological safety, trust, and belonging for all our employees, across different time zones, geographic locations, and levels of seniority? How do we foster a culture of human connection, collaboration and team engagement wherever people are working from? How do we take care of our people, and prioritize employee well-being in the age of AI and overwhelm? Smiley will help you make the workplace a place where every employee can thrive and do their best work. At the end of this presentation, your team will have an easy- to-use toolkit to reimagine a collaborative culture that puts your people first, attracts next gen talent, drives human-centered growth, and is your competitive advantage of the future. 

Key Audience Takeaways:

• Learn 5 ways to build a transformational workplace culture.
• Understand how to foster higher levels of psychological safety for in-person hybrid and remote teams, and how to build trust in every environment.
•  A concrete example of how one company's culture transformation was used to create more engagement, deeper alignment, and higher retention among their employees.
• Why Thrive Interviews are important for engaging high-performing teams, and how to have a Thrive Interview with your team. 
• Simple habits and actions for leaders and managers to make onboardings, trainings meetings and 1-on-1’s more connected, enjoyable, and effective.