People as Force Multipliers with Ken Finneran

“Are we learning as fast as the business is changing?”
- Ken Finneran

Do you see yourself as a MULTIPLIER?  As a Talent leader, you should.  Consider the impact your work has on all the people in your organization.  It’s why I produce this podcast week in and week out - to provide you with learning and inspiration so that you can be the best multiplier possible - lifting people up and helping them live into their potential!    Today’s guest gussies up the term a little and shares with us his view of all people in an organization being “force multipliers” without whom major growth and achievements simply would not happen.

My guest is Ken Finneran, who is VP of HR at eMed Digital Healthcare, a leading digital healthtech company on a mission to democratize healthcare. 

Ken is a strategic HR and talent executive, thought leader, and community builder. Prior to joining eMed, he served as VP, Global HR at Kaseya and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at National Beverage Corp. (Nasdaq: FIZZ), driving their respective hyper-growth talent & HR strategies as both organizations developed into multi-billion dollar enterprises (400%+ growth at each company).  He is also a proud father of two and champion for the HR function.   

In this episode of Talent Management Truths, you’ll discover:

• A philosophy around how HR must deliver at the pace of business
• An example of rapidly adjusting to big changes in your team size
• Insights into the importance of people as a force multiplier in an organization that has experienced 500% growth

Links

• Ken Finneran on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-finneran/

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Transcript

LM Ep 113

 [00:00:00] 

Do you see yourself as a multiplier, as a talent leader? You should consider the impact your work has on all of the people in your organization. It's why I produce this podcast week in and week out to [00:01:00] provide you with learning and inspiration so that you can be the best multiplier possible, lifting people up and helping them live into their potential.

Today's guest gussy up the term a little and shares with us his view of all people in an organization being force multipliers, without whom major growth and achievements simply would not happen. My guest is Ken Finan, who is VP of HR at Emed Digital Healthcare, which is a leading digital health tech company on a mission to democratize healthcare.

He's also a proud father of two and a champion for the HR function. In this episode of Talent Management Truths, you'll discover a philosophy around how HR must deliver at the pace of business. An example of rapidly adjusting to big changes in your team size and insights into the importance of people as a force multiplier in an organization that has experienced 500% growth.

Enjoy. [00:02:00] 

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: Hello and welcome back to Talent Management Truth. I'm your host, Lisa Mitchell, and today I'm joined by Ken Finan. Ken is the Vice President of HR for Emed Digital Healthcare. Welcome to the show, Ken.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: Thank you, Lisa. Thank you for having me here.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: My absolute pleasure. So let's start off with hearing a little bit about your career journey.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: So I've been leading the strategic global HR function since November of 2021 for Emed which is a leading digital health company on a mission to democratize healthcare. And then prior to that I served as VP of Global HR at Kaseya and Chief Human Resources Officer at National Beverage Corp, which is a NASDAQ listed company.

Driving both of those companies hyper growth phases as both organizations developed into multi-billion dollar enterprises by growing over 500% [00:03:00] respectively during my tenure there. Prior to that, I had worked internationally as well as for a, a leading third party logistics company in the supply chain area, all in senior HR roles.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: Yeah. Interesting. No, I was joking 'cause you said 500% growth. I'm like, oh, is that,

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: It, you know.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: But just no blinking. You got it. Okay. Wonderful. So tell us a bit about what Emed does. 'cause it's really fascinating kind of niche area, and I know it's quite a young startup company.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: Yeah, absolutely. And thanks for the opportunity. Immed may not yet be a household name for many of you. Imed is a technology driven digital health company and the test to treat Pioneer, which we like to say, offers peace of mind to individuals through telehealth. By helping them take control of their healthcare and wellness from the comfort and convenience of their homes, we've to do so.

We've developed a growing collection of telehealth kits [00:04:00] during Covid. Many of you likely used a telehealth kit that allow people to screen, and then if they test positive received telehealth visits, and even RX treatment for common ailments from anywhere.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: So Rx being prescription for listeners? Yeah. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Interesting. So, so, I'm in Canada, so lots of listeners are from Canada, but we have European and many US listeners too. So for us, I think they, they probably relate a little more to, to this. But it's, it's fascinating because, you talked about too, that there's don't you have partnerships as well that that with Right, with, with those telehealth companies?

So it's, it's quite interesting. Like there's the product and then there's the partnerships.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: That's right. So we, we have the products themselves, which are the actual telehealth kits. Many of the, the partnerships are with our telehealth partners. And just recently we made a major acquisition Within what is now Immed uk, we have a major partnership [00:05:00] with the National Health System and essentially can have on demand doctor's visits available to all of our end patient customers even internationally.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: Yeah, it's terrific. It's so interesting and just the, the, you know, how, how telehealth and that whole concept has progressed. Right. Covid really accelerated that. Like it's, it's interesting. We were, I think it was probably about 2021 and we were in eastern Quebec with my in-laws, and we had gone for a hike, well, it was up on a mountain where you, it was called, but we were all in these bikes.

So velo means flying bikes. So you're on these so-called bikes that are, that are suspended from wires going through the treetops. You're actually peddling and it's moving you along these cables. Fascinating. But anyways. My husband had sustained a dog bite just before and he thought it was nothing and shook it off.

Initially it was my mother-in-law's dog. We get up to the top of the mountain and it's, it's looking nasty. It's looking infected, [00:06:00] and so I remembered that. CAA or a a, a in the State's Automobile Association, I. Has this new telehealth benefit when you're a member. And so I'm on this mountain with, you know, kind of crappy service and somehow was able to log in and get an appointment for him right then and there so that we did our vedova and we came down the mountain and we went to the pharmacy and picked up his prescription for antibiotics.

It was crazy.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: I, I love that. And that's the, the new world we live in, where both technology is able to accelerate and, and a lot of the care that we receive, and we've capitalized on that by having. All FDA regulated diagnostic tools that are now able to be delivered as is the care and the interpretation of those tests all in an electronic method.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: Yeah, it's just wild. I mean, who, who'd have thought right when we were coming up? Like it was like, go to the doctor. Wait in the waiting room. So beautiful. Okay, well [00:07:00] thank you for sharing that insight. 'cause it's a really interesting business and business model. So I'm sure listeners are, are are intrigued.

So let's discuss a bit around. So as a startup, you know, many, many people can relate to having been in a startup per se or in a culture that is quite startup-Like, I've had that experience a couple times myself and when you and I first met and got acquainted, you were talking about this need as head of HR to be able to grow and deliver at the pace of the business.

And that, that term, that quote, pace of the business is so important in, you know, helping HR and talent leaders be more effective. Could you tell us a little bit about what it means to you? 

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: Absolutely. And thank you for the question 'cause it's, it's something that I have actually over my desk. Our, for our HR team constantly to be able to think about are we putting initiatives in place, technologies in place tools [00:08:00] in place that help us affect the business at the pace of business change?

And that's one of the questions that we oftentimes ask even of senior leaders when we talk about things like learning and development. Are we learning as fast as our market is changing? Are we implementing products at the pace? Of the business, meaning the pace that the market would allow in order for us to grow effectively.

So it drives business development. It drives team growth, it drives learning and development. It drives diversity and inclusion. What do our markets look like and is our team reflective of that? And how are we approaching that from a DEI perspective to. With the business. From a tactical perspective, there are also ways to do that.

I think all of us as HR perspectives professionals are [00:09:00] currently dealing in one way or another with either four or five generations in the workplace. And so when we, when we look at that. Say, what does the business require? Are we changing at the pace of the business? How are you integrating the newer generations into the business?

Now as a tech enterprise, our average age is mu much younger than in some of the manufacturing environments that I've worked in in the past, and so it's more of a natural flow, and yet there are a number of ways to do that. Such as partnering with universities, implementing internship, apprenticeship programs reverse mentoring programs where some of those younger generations are teaching some of our experienced leaders, not only how to better utilize things like generative ai.

Or social media, but also just to understand what [00:10:00] are the expectations of the younger generation so that they, the more experienced leaders, don't automatically just assume they're this entitled generation. But really having that dialogue and helping gain a better understanding there.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: Yeah, so interesting. Okay, so you covered a lot of ground here. So this, you know, are we learning as fast as the business is changing? How are we kind of adapting on the fly? So, and that you kind of moved into the generational piece, so I love this concept of reverse mentoring. Have you put that into place?

Is that something that you've formalized in some way?

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: We have, and it's, it's not it, it's, I'm gonna say formal, but a more of an informal practice is probably a better way to, to term it. We, we encourage it and many of our experienced leaders have taken us up on that. And absolutely love that and have become our biggest champions for it. And yet it, it was a concept we floated and wanted to [00:11:00] see, like many concepts here at Emed.

We are very experimental, I guess is, is a way that I would call it, which as a startup that is, is I would say pretty normal. You tend to be very nimble, very agile, open to new ideas, and yet. It's the, these type of, the reverse mentoring has really benefited both the younger generations from having more access to some of those senior leaders but also giving them the ability to develop some of their skills and have that personal relationship while also teaching and, and raising the skill bar for some of our more senior executives as well.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: Yeah, it makes me think about, you know, my last. Company before I went on my own. We had a, it was in place when I got there and then we re revamped it completely. But it was a more formalized mentoring program with a whole matching process. It was a year [00:12:00] long. There were a lot of good things about it, and one of the things that I'm really proud of was how we really did training, both for the mentors and the mentees and for the mentors that training included.

Being open to what you'll learn from your mentee,

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: Oh,

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: right? How can you from them and bring out their greatness to our benefit? So it wasn't just a one way show. So I, I appreciate that. That term, that view of rev reverse mentoring. And I, I'm, I'm sure some listeners are nodding in agreement and are, are there, others are thinking, oh, that's good.

I gotta bring that in here. So, alright, so, so another thing that I'd like to chat a bit about is you've had a really interesting experience, particularly recently because, you know, it's about two, two and a half years, I think you said you, you're there three years or so and you've moved from a, you know, you had a team of two scale up to.

Four. This is just within hr, back down to two. As you know, market forces [00:13:00] happen and then this massive acquisition and all of a sudden you're up to 14 and it's a global team. Tell us a bit about what that's been like and how do you, how do you make it work? How do you kind of go with the flow of those massive scale changes?

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: I, I mentioned early on a little bit about the hypergrowth companies I was a part of, and so I, I have had that experience of leading large global teams. But here at immed, you're exactly right. We started with two, grew to four, and then like many companies at. In the fourth quarter of 2022 and first quarter of 2023, we were all analyzing as technology companies, what's the market, what are they gonna do this year, what's it look like?

And we needed to do our part. And so we cut back to, to two as well. Realizing that there would be less hiring, at least initially in 2023. And so. [00:14:00] Then to grow through acquisition and add another 12 individuals across talent acquisition, hr, business partners, and payroll e employee relations, et cetera, gets you back to a large global team that is about a one to 100 HR support to employee base.

Ratio. Now there can be a lot of debate about what falls into HR and what is that right ratio. But I think when, when I look at what that's meant for US here, it's like the rest of the organization as well. We too are. Really in the midst of bringing the teams together, understanding the teams, understanding the capabilities as, and then deciding what's the best way to structure this for the [00:15:00] future.

And those are the, the conversations we're having with each of the functional. Team. So if you think about engineering or you think about marketing or you think about sales, what is the right size? What are the right capabilities of the new global team? Where can we drive synergies? The, the magic buzzword of m and a and, and yet.

For hr, that's an important concept as well, because we had dual HR systems, we have dual ATSs, and a lot of these things are now, we're, we're looking not just at the systems, but also at the people to say how can we build on those skill sets? And that's an interesting piece, especially now where large corporations, like the one that we acquired are oftentimes more product centric, and I'll use the word siloed, whereas when as a startup as you know, you wear a million hats, just that by the very nature of [00:16:00] being a startup, and so that.

That opportunity to say you may have been in talent acquisition, but to be a more well-rounded HR professional. The expectation is that you can have the opportunity now to expand into employee relations or understand more about what it takes to be an HR business partner. And that helps us. Develop, of course, the succession plans, but also just the necessary capabilities should individuals be out of the office as well as grow our skillset internally.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: Yeah, it's, it is interesting. So, so you've got quite the job ahead of you, I think, to try to just figure out, you know, especially with the dual systems and, and and the opportunity for people to potentially move around a little bit and, and learn new skills and so on, just makes, makes people stronger ultimately.

Right? There's a lot of opportunity there. All right, so, [00:17:00] so let's. Move our focus a little bit to, you know, something else that you've done some really great work around, which is building out what you call a culture of building out rather culture and communication. So you've got quite a few communication tools up your sleeve that you actively use as an HR leader in the organization.

Could you walk us through those? 

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: To the organization that was still very much in the startup phase, had had been operational for less than nine months. When I arrived here I, I think the organization was real s still really trying to figure out who it was and who it wanted to be. And so one of, one of the. Core elements that I partnered with the CEO on was, and, and together we, I'm gonna call it jointly own culture is having a, a true and finding true sounding boards [00:18:00] and communication channels with our team members.

And so, one of the things we implemented was a monthly newsletter. This monthly newsletter is an e-newsletter, which highlights the new individuals who have come. It highlights some of the sales that we've done. It highlights any news articles things like that. But we also have a Slack channel that is tied to that newsletter.

Where every day we are active in communicating with the team. We also use polls on that news on that Slack channel to get ideas and then to implement those. So in terms of learning opportunities, one of the things that our team members said they loved were TED Talks. And so we implemented something that we call.

Ted talk Thursdays within the company where any member of the team can come and share on a topic that he or she is [00:19:00] passionate about and receive some feedback from the respective team. Again, this is setting aside 15 minutes of our, our team members time and. Usually we will have anywhere from 20 to 50 people attend those, and they're, they're just very engaging as you can imagine.

If we don't have someone from the outside, then we'll do one of the most popular TED talks and we will just talk about that. But it's been really, really fun. We also have put into place, and for this one, I think there's probably a need. For some background, most companies have a one size fit fits all approach to learning and development and go take all of these courses around standard leadership practices, et cetera, or power skills, soft skills.

However, one refers to them, and yet what we said, we will leverage the, our. [00:20:00] IMED University for the, the basic learning paths around things like communication skills, presentation skills teamwork, team building, all of those things. And yet. What's equally important and where we think the greatest value comes from is having monthly, 30 minute real conversations with leaders and employees.

How does this fit into Emed? How does this fit into our culture? So what does being an effective communicator mean at Emed? What does teamwork mean at Emed? And that's then for the employees. How can I be. A better teammate for leaders. How can I foster and build a, an effective team at Immed that takes it away from just this general pie in the sky kind of theoretical conversation and learning [00:21:00] element to a very pragmatic.

What does that look like within our culture element? And, and based off of that we, we continue to implement new ideas from, from our various team members.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: Yes. So I, I love this example of, of peer learning. So this is something that I'm listeners who've been with me since two years ago, know that I'm a huge advocate. So all of my, I do a lot of team coaching and my, my program, the talent trust is all predicated around peer learning, right? So making meaning of concepts and figuring out how does this apply to me and my reality at my company and, and what do I wanna do about that.

Right. What's the opportunity and is it for now or later, you know, that kind of thing. So it's, it's not just you know, putting in LinkedIn learning, which I see a lot of people do, for instance, or they have Skillsoft or whatever it is, through, through their, their online university and then, and then being dismayed when the utilization is low, right?

So it's giving people form to [00:22:00] actually make sense of it. So I also work with another company where we've done cafes, right? There's peer learning cafes that, but they're actually. Sign up based and so on. And again, it's to talk about certain modules, right? And make meaning of it and figure out, now what do you wanna do about it?

Like what, what's, what's the so what now? That you've actually taken the learning. So it's very much about application.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: I, I love that thought. The concept of the cafe the learning cafe, especially in this new era where a generative AI tool can put together a learning path for an organization of all free and available. YouTube videos, TED Talks, whatever that is, in less than a minute, it's then about having that conversation, making it real, getting pragmatic about it.

That's really going to add that value.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: And the robots can't touch us there. Right. Because ultimately it's about how do we filter this through our own human experience, right? And, and[00:23:00] and understand. 'cause there's, it's, it's nuanced, right? Each person's reality and each culture is, is so, is so different and unique. So really, really great to hear about this particular model.

I'm curious, so if people go through the, the modules and so on in the Emed University is there any kind of. You know, tracking or accountability structure that, that helps encourage them to come and actually do that. Making meaning, peace in, in the, the conversations, the monthly conversations.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: It's interesting you asked that because one of the things that. Has, has been a big failure of many of the, the learning systems that are out there as well as the performance management systems is that they aren't linked. And so, we, I. Actively put being a lifelong learner as one of the core elements that we are rating in our performance management cycle, and we've harken that [00:24:00] back to Have you attended?

The trainings and even if they haven't attended, all of them are recorded so they can still listen to them and have a conversation with their manager about them. So we see who has either attended in person or online, who's had those conversations in regular feedback sessions with their manager who has shown through their own dedication and.

Attendance, not only attendance, but discussions and implementation. The application of what they have learned and that then has an impact on the performance score that they are given in terms of their yearly performance and how they are getting better in delivering. Contribution is the word we use in value to the organization.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: Yes. Wonderful. I love the link because I think, again. Offering learning in a vacuum and then just [00:25:00] expecting people there will be uptake. Doesn't make it happen. And it doesn't mean that it's having any kind of impact ultimately in performance, which is why we do it, right? So it's really clear on how do we, how do we ensure there's some return on investment?

And it's an imperfect science, isn't it? It's there's a, there's an art. And, and yeah. And I think there's something else too that is occurring to me here is the need to be nimble and agile and to not get too locked into one way of doing it. That, that everything's got a shelf life. So we need to kind of, you know, it may work for a while that we have it sort of embedded in that way, the lifelong learner in the, in the performance management system.

And then after a while we might need to. To come at it slightly differently, who knows? Or change the language or offer more communication around it, et cetera. Anyways. Okay. Well, let's, let's switch gears a little bit as we travel down the path, because another piece that I know you're super passionate about that I I am as well is, is what's had the biggest [00:26:00] impact on your confidence as a talent leader?

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: Wow. That's, that's such a, a deep question. Simple, yet very deep. And, and when I. Think back to the, the quarter century or more in, in hr in those senior roles, I think the. The biggest thing for me as a talent leader is a certain recognition and namely a recognition that we drive and deliver on the greatest force multiplier in any organization, the people and the talent.

And this honestly gives me the most confidence. I, I think. Every organization and I, I've been particularly close to that, be in, in the PE world where they're constantly talking about multipliers in what they call force multipliers or value multipliers.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: and, and so for listeners, PEs private [00:27:00] equity.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: Thank you. Yes, absolutely. And so in those. In the last three organizations I've been a part of, I mentioned earlier, the 500% plus growth, and that is not solely dependent, of course, on talent initiatives, but I would submit. It could not have been achieved without significant talent and people initiatives.

Any organization, especially in the knowledge worker type of of organization ultimately comes down to its people. And so if you are growing. In a hyper-growth environment, there needs to be a, a strategy around talent acquisition. How are we growing at the pace of the business? To come back to, to that, how are we developing our teams internally?

That's not just the folks that we're bringing in now, but also the folks that have been with [00:28:00] the business for a while who. Probably were the right folks initially, but if you are a hundred million dollar business and now are a billion dollar business valuation wise, you're probably going to need different things from those individuals.

How do you help them, guide them, develop them along with the business? So are they growing at the pace of the business? And then Are you and as an HR professional able to support the actual sales efforts of the business? Not only through finding the top sales talent, perhaps sales trainers, programs, monitoring development, monitoring performance, and setting compensation and reward systems that are adequate for what you're trying to achieve, but also do you have opportunities to directly influence the growth of the business.

[00:29:00] And while not everyone does have that opportunity certainly I've been. Blessed, I'll say, to have had the opportunity to have a direct impact on that, on our business and on our sales here at immed, due to the expansion into another business unit that targeted HR professionals as, as the primary target audience for that product.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: Say a little bit more about that. So what did that. Look like.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: So earlier this year we launched an entirely new business unit within Immed that was called Immed screen, which offers proctored virtual drug screening solutions. So we took the, the technology overlay that we had utilized for things like CO testing, flu testing strep throat and others, and. Partner that with an FDA approved test.

So rather than scheduling an appointment to go to another outside organization, [00:30:00] scheduling it three days

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: in the waiting room.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: Sit in the waiting room and then waiting for another week for the results to come back. This test will give you the results in 20 minutes from start to finish. It's a saliva based test, and so it's all the things that we talk about as an organization around accessibility, affordability.

Convenience, all with a verified solution that will get you in this case, hopefully hired quickly. So a lot of recruitment companies have come to us for this. A lot of companies themselves who are doing a lot of hiring, come and say, we want to have these tests. Right in our in, in our recruiters talent acquisition team, so that as they're sitting with candidates, they can take them so we can hire quickly.

Time is money. And so with that the target audience for these solutions were CHROs benefits and HR service administrators of drug screening services. [00:31:00] And so. Our internal HR team not only served as the business unit's first client, but also the primary source for insider information, if you will, about the frustrations of HR with the traditional drug screening process that then in turn.

Led to me inviting dozens of HR colleagues with whom I had developed a professional relationship over the, the, the decades to, to multiple networking and product showcase events, to be quite honest, which I then coordinated with the help of marketing and then to actually sell or present. The, the business case, the new solution to those customers, and of course create sales and drive sales for the organization.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: Yeah, so it's, it's such a, an interesting example. I appreciate you pulling back the curtains for us on that because, and congratulations on your success with it. Because it's, it's, [00:32:00] it's more rare, right? Than common. Certainly I have, I. Spoken. I run into so many people right? Through the podcast, through my clients and so on.

So, so I have met some HR leaders who have directly driven revenue in a similar way, but some of it's product dependent, like the what, what is the what? But I, I encourage listeners like, just to, to, to be listening to this and thinking about, huh, how does our company perhaps. Serve, you know, a subset, a niche of, of other people like me, right?

And, and how might I contribute? You know, it's not always gonna be the case, but how might I contribute in terms of being the voice, being that trusted advocate who gets what these people we might be selling to go through what they're up against. Like in this case, I need to have like a quick access way to, to do drug screening, right?

so it's kind of interesting, right? Like what, what, how could you apply that here? You know, I think about. An example where I didn't, I didn't drive revenue. I, I would [00:33:00] never go as far to say that, but when I was an HR business partner years ago, I supported sales. So I supported the, the executive of sales and his management team, and part of the way I supported them, so I couldn't drive the revenue.

These were wholesalers selling mutual funds to financial advisors. What I did do was I went on the road with them frequently with this wholesaler that wholesaler. Two, develop relationships to get a sense of performance and also to understand their business and their challenges really well so that I could partner with them more effectively.

And so that takes us back to, you know, was I responsible for sales indirectly because I know had an impact on performance, on how some of these folks were doing discovery and, and so on, and how they were building relationships with these advisors. And I like to think that I was a force multiplier through people in that case.

You know, you were talking about that's, that's a core part of, of what you do, [00:34:00] right? The biggest force multiplier and it's such an interesting concept. Yes. Big in venture capitalist, private equity world. But you know that that force multiplier people are the most expensive resource in any company. Almost.

Off the, I mean, we're going more digital in some cases, but right now that is typically the case. And so as HR and talent professionals, my God, we have such an opportunity and, and a responsibility to ensure that we're doing as much that as we can to help that force multiplier see its potential.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: If I can just touch on one item you just mentioned that really resonated when you were talking about going out on the road with your, with that team. Because it, you spoke also about the digital age and, and, and how prevalent that is. It's an interesting dichotomy. I, or. Contrast that we live in, we, we are in this digital age.

We're living in the most connected [00:35:00] era in the sense of the number of devices we have connected to routers and things like that, that the world's ever seen. And yet at the same time, we are the least connected. Individuals. At this time there's a, an absolute pandemic, if you will, of loneliness an epidemic of mental health issues and our ability as HR professionals also hear through low tech.

Solutions, meaning that conversation with our colleagues to, to ask the question and then actively listen and hear, ask the question of how are you doing? whAt are you concerned about? How is it going? And then to really listen and then to apply solutions is. The most valuable thing we can likely be doing these days as HR professionals.

So while all [00:36:00] the talk is about systems and integration and generative AI and things like that, sometimes when we, I. Peel the onion back to what's adding the most value. It gets to the heart of human resources, which is the human component in developing those human connections. So, I love the example you shared because that really gets to the heart of those human connections.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: And what we do, and this is, this is what you know, the robots will never be able to. To do is, is, is that human connection, right? That that cannot be replaced. That sense of empathy, that ability to acknowledge and really see people and, and, and show them that they've been seen and heard, so, yeah. Yeah. I think it's interesting that you, you and I could, could talk for hours on this particular point.

I, I appreciate that you kind of pulled out. Yes, there's the, the high tech stuff, and that's all great and we wanna be at the forefront of it, certainly, and leverage it to the degree that we can in our own realities. And [00:37:00] let's not forget about the low tech stuff that, that makes us stand out. That really matters and will always matter.

I.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: Absolutely.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: Yeah. Well, we've come to the end of our time together. Ken, this has been really illuminating. You've shared so much interesting information here and from your world and, and, and I can't thank you enough.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate2: Thank you, Lisa, and thank you to all of your listeners as well for this opportunity to share a bit with you.

Ken Finneran GMT20231101-151543_Recording_separate1: Absolutely. Thanks again. I.

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