HR leaders share insights on pressing industry issues at Dayforce Discover

At Dayforce, we're driven to make work life better for our thousands of customers around the globe. Our customers are at the center of everything we do - and that includes our flagship annual event, Dayforce Discover. At this year's event, we hosted panel discussions with several customers who candidly shared valuable stories and takeaways with the audience.

Dayforce's Chief Customer Officer Chris Armstrong kicked things off onstage with a panel discussion featuring two inspiring customers: Danna Szwed, Chief Human Resources Officer at Sevita, the leading provider of home and community-based specialty healthcare and Yvonne Freeman, Senior Vice President of Total Rewards, People Systems and Operations at Builders FirstSource, the largest supplier of building products, components, and services.

Let's look at some highlights from their conversation where they dug deep into some of the most challenging parts of their roles in today's complex and ever-changing world of work.

Overcoming complexity

Compliance has grown increasingly more complicated in recent years, making it part of the overall complexity crisis organizations face today. Following opening remarks and introductions, Chris Armstrong kicked off the customer panel with, "What are some of the complexities you face as an HR leader that keep you up at night?"

Freeman spoke of the HR challenges she's faced in a fast-growing company where many employees don't work at a desk. As they aim to build scalable, relevant, and meaningful HR programs for their employees, their rapid growth has magnified the complexity they experience. As for what keeps her up at night, Freeman said she often thinks, "We all know what good looks like. Are we making things good enough for what our employees deserve?"

"When it comes to compliance, the key for me has been that you don't have to know it all - but you have to know how to build a team with experts and agility." - Yvonne Freeman, Builders FirstSource

Building culture

Today's employers are caught in a balancing act between business and employee priorities. But the importance of company culture for organizations and their people means it can't be ignored.

Our customer keynote panelists reflected on how they retain and enhance company culture. Szwed spoke about how working in human care attracts people who are intrinsically connected to the company's mission, which has a positive impact on culture. But despite this shared mission, she emphasized the importance of seeing employees as unique individuals and how that requires personalization in the employee experience.

"Part of how we drive business growth is a consistent, predictable, and equitable employee experience. Technology is a big part of that, helping us create unique experiences for our employees." - Danna Szwed, Sevita

Following that conversation, DeAndra Jean-Louis, Dayforce's Senior Vice President of Customer Success led a second customer panel discussion with three HR experts:

• Linda Layne, Chief People and Culture Officer at Burton, a leading designer and manufacturer of products for snowboarding and other outdoor sports

• Sianneh Mulbah, Chief People and Inclusion Officer at the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA's Minnesota Lynx

• Dr. Anat Hassner, Chief People and Strategy Officer at Uniting NSW.ACT, an organization dedicated to lifting up the vulnerable people of Australia

Here are the key takeaways from their discussion on the challenges of building an engaged workforce that drives their organizations forward.

Improving customer experience

Customers most often engage with a business not through an organization's leadership but through their employees lower in the org chart. That means employee experience can't be separated from customer experience - if one is suffering, the other is too.

Hassner shared the challenges of building a positive employee experience in a highly regulated industry. She and her team know that to best serve their customers, they need to ensure their employees are focused on the people they serve, not the regulations and complexities of their industry. But after discovering that some employees were spending up to 70% of their time on admin-related tasks, Hassner said they adopted Dayforce in large part to reduce the administrative burden on their employees and shift to a stronger customer focus.

"Spending too much time on administrative tasks is counterproductive to our mission. We want our employees to hold a hand, not a pen." - Dr. Anat Hassan, Uniting NSW.ACT

Ensuring people feel seen

Gone are the days of workers being okay with being just a number at work. Today's employees want work experiences that feel more personal, but that requires employers to understand their workers on more than just a surface level.

At Burton Snowboards, Layne and her team know their employees want to feel seen and heard. That's why they conduct employee engagement surveys every six months, and they welcome the insights that their 88% participation rate in these surveys brings. But they're still looking for ways to go deeper to better understand and serve their people.

"When it comes to authenticity and people feeling seen and valued, our commitment to DEI is deep and touches everything. We have a culture where everyone can be included in whatever way they choose to show up." - Linda Layne, Burton

Inspiring change

The world of work has changed dramatically in recent years and continues to rapidly evolve. And during this transformation, DeAndra Jean-Louis pointed out, HR is often tasked with inspiring change and bringing people along for the ride.

Mulbah confirmed that the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx are seeing this change too and they are in the middle of a big culture shift. As part of this shift, they want to recognize wins both on and off the court, so they're focusing on holistically engaging employees and celebrating achievements. Recognizing that change can be challenging, Mulbah wants to ensure employees feel appreciated.

"To support change, we want to make sure we take care of people's basic needs first. Then we add all the fun extra stuff that makes our culture unique." - Sianneh Mulbah, Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx

The power of bringing people together

There's so much to love about Dayforce Discover, but customers sharing their insights and experience is one of our favorites. The power of bringing people together and connecting as a community is unmatched.

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