E4: Dr. Serena Huang
The Future of Wellbeing Podcast:
Join us as we delve into the world of workplace wellbeing with a focus on where we are headed in the years to come. We will explore the relationship between wellbeing, performance, and commitment to the organisation, as well as the significance of measuring wellbeing.
Episode 4 Guest:
Serena H. Huang, Ph.D., Founder of DwS and ABE work Chief Data Officer
Dr. Serena Huang is an accomplished thought leader and professional keynote speaker with 100+ speaking engagements in the past 3 years covering topics including people analytics, HR technology, future of work, ethical AI, employee experience, and mental health. She brings deep analytics expertise and HR strategy experience spanning large multinationals including PayPal, GE, Kraft Heinz, Koch Industries, and Deloitte.
She is a LinkedIn Learning instructor of the newly released course “The Data Science of Using People Analytics” and a LinkedIn influencer in the highly-selective LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program focused on Innovation and Technology.
Featured in Profile Magazine as one of the Women in Tech Code Breakers, Dr. Huang is passionate about helping business leaders see data as an asset in large organizations and optimize talent decisions.
Topics:
00:00 Connecting Employee Wellbeing to Business Continuity: The Rise of People Analytics
4:08 Covid-19 has presented a unique opportunity to collect data and link employee wellbeing with a company's ability to fulfill its purpose
6:28 Soft metrics like productivity and engagement, and their direct impact on hard metrics like revenue, profit, and savings
7:17 Work-life boundaries, loneliness, and the preference for remote work are critical factors to consider when measuring employee wellbeing
8:55 Wellbeing surveys can be a valuable tool, but it's essential to avoid asking irrelevant questions
11:07 Good practice in preparing wellbeing surveys involves considering the "so-what?" and "now-what?" phases and involving both the leadership team and employees in the process
17:36 Utilising Data to Ensure Business Continuity: A Proactive Approach to Employee Wellbeing, Company Purpose, and Performance
20:55 How analysing wellbeing data alongside other relevant data points can lead to valuable insights and meaningful conclusions
21:25 Performance management revolution and delayed response to Covid-related burnout
24:05 Moving from measuring productivity based on Outcomes instead of Hours can lead to a more accurate representation of employee performance. [Reference to the BT study]
27:27 How to avoid data overwhelm through data storytelling. [Serena’s course: The Data Science of Using People Analytics]
30:44 FormScore for Managers
31:39 How are you today?
33:18 FormScore for Teams and measuring what affects / drives our wellbeing
33:56 Did you know that for nearly 70% of individuals, their manager has a greater impact on their mental health than their therapist or even their doctor? Surprisingly, this is equal to the impact of their partner (UKG, 2023) And a word of caution about relying solely on publications.
37:46 The importance of staying open-minded and curious and how they correlate to our sense of belonging. A case on investing in training the management and leaders.
42:00 We are unstoppable! (By Cia)
45:09 If the Future of Wellbeing were…
51:00 Important Advice for Wellbeing Professionals Seeking to Enhance Workplace Wellness
52:29 Managers should be held accountable for the mental health of their employees: why trauma-informed leadership is a valuable skill to cultivate [Serena’s workshops]
56:27 Read: compassionate leadership, HBR