DisruptHR: The Innovative, The Inspiring and The Disruptive

The first inaugural DisruptHR Victoria was a fantastic evening of thought-provoking, idea-generating presentations and conversation. We’re already getting excited for an even more disruptive event next year! The Legacy Art Gallery downtown provided the perfect venue for mingling and lively discussion, with the added bonus of some great artwork on display.

Each of our speakers shared their unique spin on important topics related to people practices and “talent whispering”, and there were some common themes and threads that emerged.

Inspiring Innovation. 

“Sometimes the regular structure needs to be hacked to get the results you want. Make it educational, make it different, make it fun.” – Noah Warder, Sendwithus

A common concept that popped up throughout the evening was the value of inspiring innovation and ditching tired old practices. Disruptive speakers showed us how our old systems and ways of “doing” people management are broken, and new, creative, and innovative ways of approaching HR topics are emerging. The night saw exciting ideas from Disruptors on innovative topics including the power of “hacking” our communities for growth during recruitment, the importance of reframing performance management as aspirations and expectations, and the value of getting on board with non-binary ways of thinking by actively building more diverse teams.

Cultivating Kindness.

“Kindness is badass. Kindness is baller. Kindness isn’t always easy, but it’s always right.” – Crysta Walksi, WCG

It came up again and again throughout the evening—as it turns out, HR folks think that kindness is pretty key to building successful working relationships…go figure! But using kindness effectively as a people management tool doesn’t just mean being nice. Our presenters shared how employing conscious kindness means nurturing connection by going beyond the surface and our impulse to “play nice”, and digging deeper to create more meaningful and effective working relationships. The takeaway? Treat employees as human beings first and foremost—engage, empower, motivate, lead, and influence.

Giving a Sh*t.

“No one wakes up and says ‘I’m going to suck at my job and love it!’”. – Denise Lloyd, Engaged

How many times can an HR professional use a four-letter word in a five-minute talk without it being gratuitous? When you’re talking active engagement, it turns out the answer is quite a few. The importance of actively engaging both employees and employers in the employment relationship for optimal outcomes was touched on by several of our speakers.

To sum it up? Employment relationships must be reciprocal, and everyone needs to give a shi*t—relationships that are a 50/50 split just don’t work. To get 100% results and build significance, both parties have to be ALL IN to reap the rewards!

 “To give a sh*t you have to do 3 very important things simultaneously—you have to be empathetic, driven, and consistent.”  – Will Fraser, Referral SaaSquatch

There were so many fresh ideas shared by our speakers, and it was truly amazing how much valuable content each Disruptor managed to pack into their five minutes on stage. If you’re eager for more, watch the full videos of the talks here!

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