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At Workhuman Live events, attendees’ appreciation recognition moments result in donations to three charities. (Steven Miller Photography)
For the last five years, thousands of human resource professionals and business leaders from high-profile companies such as Microsoft, LinkedIn, Merck, and Cisco have attended the annual Workhuman Live event. Held March 18-21 in Nashville this year, Workhuman Live is an offshoot of Workhuman, an organization that produces social recognition and performance management solutions that — you guessed it — aim to make the workplace more human-centered. The live event’s mission is to take the education from Workhuman’s platforms and put it into practice.
“Workhuman is focused on the future of work,” said Kevin Mullins, vice president of global communications at Workhuman. “The conference provides attendees with bold ideas and tangible strategies to take home to their companies and instill a more human work culture.”
Spectacular Speakers
Each year, Workhuman Live features a lineup of heavyweight speakers. Past presenters include former First Lady Michelle Obama, human rights attorney Amal Clooney, and author and organizational consultant Simon Sinek. At this year’s event, Brené Brown — best-selling author and research professor at the University of Houston who has spent her career studying vulnerability, courage, shame, and empathy — spoke to the importance of being a daring and courageous leader by learning to have difficult conversations, embracing employees’ fears and feelings, and opening up dialogue around diversity and inclusion. According to Mullins, Brown’s keynote is just one example of how the speakers Workhuman Live recruits reflect the company’s values.
“We look for people who will inspire and provide clear takeaways for our audience,” Mullins said. “This includes believing in treating people with dignity and respect, and a firm belief in equality and human rights for all.”
Why We Like It
In addition to its slate of renowned speakers, Workhuman provides a wide selection of educational tracks for attendees to choose from. The full program enables attendees to customize their experience and pick sessions that are most directly relevant to them. In nine breakout blocks held over three days, attendees were able to select from eight different learning tracks—Elevating Your Employer Brand; Empowering Through Diversity and Equality; Living Your Best Work Life; Merging Humanity and Technology; Applying the Value of Gratitude; Navigating Employee Emotions at Work; Creating a Culture of Community; and Bringing Humanity to Performance Management.
“We take pride in developing numerous sessions for the many different types of people who come to Workhuman Live,” Mullins said. “It’s important for us to make the conference as relevant as possible to those working in the HR and management spaces and to give them a multitude of choices that will impact their role and organization.”
Casey Gale is an associate editor at Convene.