Moving to a better normal. Applying what we've learned from Covid-19 to our work cultures

COVID-19 caught the world and business by surprise and unprepared, forcing overnight changes in the workplace. If our goal is to just to “return to normal” then we will miss key learnings and opportunities COVID-19 has presented to change how we do things and make businesses more sustainable.  Let us capitalize by creating and nurturing the path to more innovative and flexible work environments – now and for the future.

• Highlight and discuss the definition and roles of culture, values, and behaviors in a company’s success.
• Discuss the impact of COVID-19 on businesses and people, and the importance of addressing both.
• Review successes and challenges of COVID-19 and changes they forced overnight.
• Overview learnings from COVID-19 and their impact on future workforce, workplace, and organizations.
• Identify and discuss key leadership skills for successful future leaders.
• Creating cultural transition plans – key steps and who needs to be engaged and lead transformation.
• Recognize the importance of the employee’s role in cultural transformation and their impact on the future success of business.
• Differentiating the past culture from future cultural needs to identify gaps and plan for change.
• Define what’s needed to lead change in the organization – who, what, when, where, how, and why?

• Definitions of culture, pandemic, cultural transformation, “better normal”.
• What we learned from COVID-19 and how we use it to “make a better normal”.
• There’s no going back – employees speak out on the future workplace and what cultures need to be.
• Organizational values and behaviors and their roles in cultural transformation.
• Building sustainability for the future through leader and employee engagement.
• Leaders role in a “better normal” and impacts of the messages they send.
• Key leadership skills for the future; what needs to change and why.
• Preparing for the unexpected - creating plans for change – a simple process to see quick results.
• Review of sample cultural transformation plans and how to apply them.

Be a driver of change and build a culture focused on talent development, retention, innovation, and collaboration.  Examine key leader skills differentiating future leaders from current or past leaders.  Learn to plan key concepts for cultural transformation and successful employee engagement. 

• Leaders of all levels 
• HR specialists 
• Executives

An award-winning leader in the areas of culture and people strategy, Donna has guided her career to achieving a diverse business background by holding key, strategic, leadership roles in a variety of business functions and industries.  Possessing a passion for business, Donna builds strong trust and partnerships with leaders across a large variety of companies. Her broad business background enables her to see new opportunities, and to help leaders “connect the dots” on new areas of growth and development.  Donna’s openness and respect for everyone quickly engages people in all areas of the organization. Her recognition of, and by, people allows her to quickly build relationships and align employees for the future. Her passion for people has driven Donna to work extensively in assisting both for profit and non-profit organizations, as well as government agencies, to transform and align cultures needed for business performance. 

Donna has worked with many industry leading companies throughout her career, including Amtrak, Hess Refineries, NJ State Legislature and Police, The Vitamin Shoppe, and W. W. Grainger to name just a few. She has held senior level positions in the Human Resources, Operations, Sales, Marketing, Technology, Supply Chain, and Customer Experience functions. Her industry experience includes passenger railroad, transportation, retail, wholesale distribution, manufacturing, technology, government, education, and healthcare.  Throughout her career, Donna has created high performing teams and departments focused on cultural transformation and people strategy. Her work has created new opportunities for people and business growth through utilizing key performance improvement strategies.  Recognizing the potential of frontline employees in unionized and non-unionized companies, Donna initiated targeted programs for employees to develop new skills required of the future workforce, and potential leadership roles.  Donna has developed leaders by continuously building and improving leadership behaviors and performance through learning and coaching.  She has worked relentlessly with people to create unity for future business performance, and to assure talent was retained to lead future programs and opportunities. Additionally, Donna’s broad business experience has led to her successful leadership of key business initiatives focused on future product development, delivery and implementation, aligning departments and responsibilities for organizational effectiveness and operational efficiency, defining and delivering a customer focused experience, and creating an inclusive workforce with a sense of belonging.

Leveraging her business experience during economic downturns, Donna has worked with threatened businesses to regain control over their results. As a consultant, Donna helped businesses achieve much needed funding to avoid bankruptcy, develop plans for future success, analyze processes for improvement and efficiency, and train people in new skillsets. As a volunteer, Donna coached business leaders on business improvement opportunities.

Donna is a professional speaker in the areas of leadership, cultural transformation, and people development strategies.  Audiences find her talks authentic, relative, encouraging, and helpful to their personal, professional, and organization’s development. Donna continues to participate also participates on several advisory boards and associations focused on business and workforce needs for the present and future. 

Donna currently works independently with companies and leaders to build united cultures focused on achieving company strategy and results. An expert in her field, her broad business background and experience enable her to assess business performance with executive and senior leaders at the macro level. Through engagement with the workforce (micro level), Donna determines gaps, identifies improvement opportunities, and designs integrated plans for success.