We kicked off our first IGC Toronto Chapter event on July 28th, bringing together HR and HR-adjacent professionals to discuss HR's new seat at the table.
Huge thanks to Kara Wilson Oliver and Joshua Parente for leading such a candid and interactive conversation. The audience questions and perspectives made the session just as valuable as the panel itself.
A big thank you as well to my chapter co-lead, Jill Harrington, Megan Colombo from HiBob, Joy Fajardo from LineZero who was also our co-host for the event, and Caitlin Carter and Josh Taras from Highline Beta for all of your help coordinating the event. It truly takes a team to bring these kinds of communities together.
A few points that really stood out to me:
• The tools are commodity now. Everyone has access to the same AI. What separates a seat at the table from a seat in the back row is judgment.
• Employee listening is shifting from annual surveys to continuous signals. But faster listening only builds trust if it's followed by action. Otherwise, it starts to feel like surveillance.
• When it comes to compensation, walking into Finance with a 12-month retention cost model is a much stronger conversation than asking for budget after someone already has another offer.
• One line that really resonated: The apocalypse got cancelled. The ladder still needs fixing. As AI continues to evolve, our role isn't just adopting new technology. It's making sure people still have a path to grow.
Great conversations. Great people. Exactly what I hoped this community would become.
We will be announcing the next one shortly - most likely October or November!
#HR #FutureOfWork #PeopleAnalytics #HRCommunityBuilding