MISHRM 2025 is Here!

Welcome to The Recognition. My name is Neely. I'm here with an all-star team of folks from recognition. Trisha Heisinger.

Hello. Good morning. Andrew Bishop. Well, hello.

Hi. Lisa Montalvo. Good morning. Hey, hey.

Wow. We are gathered here as we normally do in the middle of October to talk about really our favorite event of the year, Michigan SHRM, this week. Sorry for the delayed release of this. We're obviously getting ready to head downtown to Grand Rapids right in our backyard.

But first, before we jump into all things Michigan SHRM, let's check in. Let's check in. Lisa, how are you? I'm doing great.

Love fall. It's my birthday month. Is it finally falling? It's falling.

Okay. I'm feeling it. Loving the brisk air. It's perfect.

I agree. Fall, I've just come to understand in the last year is my favorite season. There you go. Because if you think of like, what are your favorite months of the year?

Like it's not January. It's not June, July, hot. I don't love that it gets dark. September, October, November, yeah.

Anyway, fall, fall. I get it. I like fall too. Yeah.

How are you doing? I'm good. All things considering. For those that have never survived or navigated an ERP migration.

Oh, boy. It's real. It's real. Give me a call before you think about taking on that project.

That's right. Probably do a whole session. We could do a whole session on ERP migrations and change management. So we're in it right now.

But all things considering, I'm great and grateful for the team. I think my favorite slash most horrifying quote out of this whole experience, one of our board members had this great inspirational speech about, hey, everybody loves saying that they climbed Mount Everest. 80% of deaths happen on the way down. So like we get it out the door.

We're like, yeah. And he's like, hold on. Yeah, you still have a lot, a long way to go. So well, and it was in our last board update where they were asking, okay, where are you guys at in our journey?

And they asked Shane, our CFO, how are we doing? He's like, we're still alive. We're just north of death. And it's like, okay, that's fitting.

Way to come rising? Yes. We're in it. One breath for every step is what they say.

But. And then trust your Sherpa. We have a great team. Yeah.

It's awesome. Tricia, how about you? Well, I have two words for today. Okay.

Open enrollment. Oh, geez. Yeah, you're right. You are right.

So that's what I'm doing. But first of It's Kind, I've paired this with bringing in puppies to work today. Goodness gracious. We're offering a new pet benefit, which we've never done before.

Okay. We're pairing that with bringing some puppies into work, which, mind I ask you, tell you, I'm doing a little bit of ask forgiveness and not permission. So this has been a top secret for some time. So I'm excited for those puppies to come in and then obviously roll out.

Nobody knew about this. Okay. So it makes, because I just shouted out puppies yesterday, not even knowing. But, man, that is awesome.

I've been pushing for a dog day at work for a long time. And it's always about the cleanup. And I'm like, you know what? I would pay for the cleanup if I can have my puppy in my office.

I was just going to ask Trisha who's in charge of cleanup duty. Well, we're keeping them in Club Baudville, which is all, you know, concrete. So whereas the rest of the building has a lot of carpet Yeah Okay They staying in an easy cleanup area for today It always one of the most gathered around booths at SHRM is the nationwide pet insurance thing when they have little puppies. So I cannot wait to see how the team reacts.

Speaking of SHRM, we are at the end of our event season. Typically folks might get out of the office once or twice a year to go and visit events. We actually went to quite a few this year. So talk a little bit about this season of events, some good memories, some good learnings that you've had, maybe some trends in what people are talking about, some issues and pain points that people are trying to overcome this season.

Well, I'll go. So, you know, I know a lot of what's going to be talked about at my SHRM is going to be a couple of things, obviously leading with authenticity, which is part of the theme this year, but also AI. I mean, AI is a nonstop part of the communication, and it's very much part of our lives as HR leaders right now and how we transform and kind of going back to the ERP. How do we help with change management of our workplaces and integrate AI and be more ahead of the curve instead of waiting for it to happen to us?

So for sure. Big buzz. Yeah, big buzz. Yeah, I think it's been an amazing trade show season this year, starting with SHRM Talent, followed by then World at Work and National SHRM.

One of the things our team did differently this year is going into every show we hosted, sponsored happy hours and dinners. And so I think that was a great experience for our team in finding different ways to connect with people outside of the show and establish those connections. So I enjoyed that. We went to a new show this year, CultureCon, where I had the opportunity to be the day two keynote.

And I just loved that conference, the layout, the format, and how everybody showed up. I mean, we go to these big shows, right? National SHRM, 20,000 people. And the energy, the amount of conversations, the amount of activity at that show is great.

It's still one of my favorite shows. culture kind of was a little different in that there was only 250 to 300 people. But it was an immersive experience. They had different activities.

They had different events. They challenged you to get outside your comfort zone and really network and connect with people in different ways. And so I really enjoyed that show from an overall connection perspective and the amount of conversations, like in-depth conversations I had with both providers and practitioners there. Probably one of my favorite things from the show that we really got into there is mental health and how to take care of yourself and the difference between perseverance and resilience and how you show up for others and leading authentically.

So I think there's a lot of conversations around one, how do we show up for team members? How do you show up authentically and vulnerably for team members? How do we facilitate cultures where connection and gratitude are great? But then yes, among all of that, we're talking about AI, right?

And how does AI come in and disrupt the workplace and disrupt all those things or enhance those things? So it's been a Great trade show season. Michigan Sherm is always right here in our backyard and one of our faves as well. And so looking forward to capping off very successful year with MI Sherm.

And before we move on, congrats on being recognized by CultureCon as the highest rated speaker. Well, thank you. I think it's been a long time coming. We're like, we just gotta get this guy on stage, right?

And then we throw gummy bears in the mix. It's like, oh, it's just perfect. Like there's no way that people can't dig into this. And you're speaking again.

Speaking again. That's right. CultureCon. We're not done yet.

That's right. There's another CultureCon West. CultureCon wanted us back. Of course.

Why won't they? Right? And we get the opportunity I be the day two keynote again Sweet So bring in the energy and the snacks You got to have snacks We going to bring the snacks for everybody in attendance there But yes, honored to receive the, the distinguished speaker award from culture con. That was a, definitely a surprise and delight moment when I was unboxing that award was not expected, but yeah, that's, we've put a lot of time and effort.

And speaking and getting out there. And this year has been really good from a speaking perspective. And I finally feel like I'm starting to settle and find that voice, find that story. And I'm enjoying it.

Okay, good. We're going to get back to that in a second. That's going to be part of it. So, Lisa, this is your first full year on the road, yeah?

So how has this been? Yeah, so it's actually been really great. I hit the ground running really hard in the beginning of the year. As Andrew mentioned, we had a different experience really focusing on connections and meeting people.

And so I've been at the heart of those conversations and really connecting with so many people. And it's great to see them show after show and having those other, you know, in the backyard. We have a lot of connections in our own backyard and love that. You know, just talking to people, just kind of a lot of them are starting back to the basics.

And I love that, you know, just reevaluating what they need in their organization, what culture looks like. And it's been super proud of Andrew in his speaking engagement. I've seen, you know, working with him over the last 11, 12 years now, 12 years, just the growth in his speaking. And I can't wait to, for others to embrace what he brings to the table.

So really excited about that. And you definitely got to see him this week. Yeah. Love that.

All right. So let's get to it. So Michigan Sherm theme this year is authenticity and action. So we talked about this.

Again, it's funny hearing the topics that you mentioned because it's both like the human element of work, like both in health and unhealth and how are we addressing that and keeping that consistent. And then like the opposite of that, which is AI. It's like artificial intelligence. How do you manage?

And then also humans and their emotions. How do you manage? So like it's almost the entire brain is at work trying to figure out how to make work working this year. So keynote speakers this year, Andre Young and Maggie Palmer.

and then as we kind of hinted at, Andrew is also a breakout speaker. So we'll get into that in a bit. But Tricia, we'll start with you. What are you most looking forward to this year at Michigan Charm?

For me, well, obviously, the connection with all my peers is always a highlight for me. But on top of that, there's a couple different things. We always have a really great legal update that's taking place tomorrow morning. And as part of the pre-conference workshop, there's also an AI practical workshop that I would encourage all my peers to go to as well.

So I think those are very exciting. Obviously, Andrew's going to be speaking. But there's a couple other speakers. I always make sure that I look at the speaker lineup and want to make sure that I hit a couple of those, obviously, being Gracie Harcuma, who is a Grand Rapids resident here.

So she always has a really great session. And Chris Dodson has a really great session that I'm excited to see. And Jason Russell is a former special agent with the United States Secret Service. He gave really good practical tips on how to make sure that your workplace is secure without causing panic and concern and always gives really great practical tips.

So excited to see him. Yes, I remember that session. If you were not awake before going into that meeting, all of a sudden you are snapped awake to reality. So that's always good.

Lisa, we're gonna skip to you, and then we'll end with Andrew. What are you most looking forward to this week? The networking and the connections. Just really understanding where people are, where I can lean in and support, showcase some of our new solutions, our reporting 2.

0 and incentives, things that we've rolled out, and a lot of customers are taking that on That awesome I cannot wait for the company store requests to come rolling in because it holiday and like oh no it October and I have open enrollment I don't have a plan please help me help me Lisa that's awesome all right Andrew so obviously prepping to speak this event means a lot to us so what are you most looking forward to here and then give us a little preview into what you'll be speaking about on Thursday yeah looking forward to Supporting Lisa and obviously, as Trish and Lisa said, furthering all the connections here.

There's so many great relationships and supporters of recognition here in West Michigan. And so the opportunity to network with them and express our gratitude and just connect and catch up is always at the top of the list. When it comes to speaking, yeah, I'm excited to hit the stage to bring the energy. And we've landed on a really strong presentation this year where we're talking about beyond the thank you.

So how do we look at recognition differently, both through a strategic lens and through the lens of it being a manager effectiveness skill? And when you can strategically point recognition at the right activities, values, behaviors, attitudes, and actions within the organization and managers sustain those practices and use it more frequently, that it really does unlock and feel elevated levels of organizational performance and impact. So I can't wait to get into that, to tell lots of fun stories, to hopefully make the audience laugh and smile and enjoy the time that we'll have together there.

Perfect. So if you are attending Michigan, sure. I'll just tell you from experience, try to get to this session a little early. This has been standing room only, and then they literally close the door in people's faces.

So just try to plan ahead. This is probably for most things. Like if there's, you know, one that you've got circled on your agenda, be sure to get there early. Any parting thoughts before we head downtown and start to enjoy the Michigan Shirm events?

I think it's, you know, easy just to get sucked into some of the networking events. There is a networking walk this year, which is new. The Red Carpet Affair is going to be super great, but there's so many great speakers. So being there early for your sessions, like you talked about, is important.

but definitely just investing that time and never feels like we have enough time to invest in ourselves and our education. But times like this are so important to invest in our own, you know, education and growth as leaders. So we just need to make sure that we make time for those sessions as well. Great.

Like anything, you're going to get out of it what you choose to put into it. So be your vulnerable, authentic self, show up, commit, engage, pour yourself into it, And you're going to be really pleasantly surprised and feeling great with what you get out of it. And don't forget to come say hi to Recognition. We'd love to talk to you.

Yeah, of course. Awesome. Well, thank you for joining us. Have a great time at this week's event.

And I cannot wait to hear what we come back with and have learned from this year's Michigan Charm. Thanks, y'all. Let's go. Thanks for joining us today.

And special thanks to The Fracture and Jay Matthews for their original music. Stay tuned for more episodes that touch on the topics that are important to HR and people leaders like you. If you have any recommendations or feedback, or would like to learn more about creating a more effective employee rewards and recognition program, you can contact us at podcast at recognition.com.

And as always, thank you.