As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, each workplace faced its own unique situation. Some essential workplaces remained open, some organizations and services went completely remote, some closed operations temporarily (or permanently), and many navigated a combination of these experiences.

While the experiences have been different, most organizations are united by common challenges: to keep employees safe, supported, engaged, and productive; and by a common goal: to share what we are learning—especially as more and more remote employees return to the workplace.

At the Return to the Workplace Conference, you will be able to benchmark your plans through

• Exclusive research from The Conference Board
• Insights from industry leaders across diverse sectors
• Collaborating and sharing experiences virtually with peers

Register Now

The Benefits to You

By attending this conference, you will

• Learn best practices for creating a successful re-opening plan.
• Discover how to prepare the workspace for the “new normal.”
• Explore innovations for measuring health, density, and proximity in real time.
• Examine ways to provide well-being and childcare support.
• Better understand how to harness the agility and resilience of 2020 for challenges ahead.

Topics We Will Cover

Time

• Best practices for timing return to the workplace; planning stages of return and the triggers for those stages; adapting to regional differences and COVID spikes.
• Shifting the amount of time, and the time of day, employees spend in the workplace.

Space

• Redesigning the workspace for safety and engagement.
• Rethinking what matters most in the “new normal” office space.
• Insights from “white collar” and “blue collar” workplace adaptions.

Data

• Innovations for measuring health, density, and proximity in real time.
• Best practices and innovations in contact tracing.
• Measuring productivity in different environments.

Human-Centered Change

• Listening to employees and other key stakeholders on return-to-workplace plans.
• The biggest challenges when safety guidelines meet human psychology.
• Engaging a hybrid workforce without undue favoring of physical presence.
• Providing well-being and childcare support.

Coordination

• Engaging across functions, locations, and stakeholders in developing RTW plans.
• Planning for rapid re-adjustments as circumstances change.

Emerging Stronger

• Learning from and retaining productivity increases.
• Building/retaining new flexibility to support individuals and families.
• Harnessing the agility and resilience of 2020 for the challenges ahead.

Who Should Attend

This conference is designed exclusively for senior executives charged with delivering innovation within their discipline, business unit, or across multiple disciplines. Expected titles include Chief Officers, Vice Presidents, Directors, Managers, and Leaders of:

• Human Resources
• Employee Engagement
• Employee Experience
• Talent Management
• Benefits
• Total Rewards
• Wellness
• Strategic Workforce Planning
• Governance
• Health and Wellness
• Risk Management
• Finance
• Operations
• Business Continuity

Two Things to Do Now

1. Register

This event is FREE for The Conference Board members, and $495 for non-members. Register now to join us live or to watch later on-demand.

2. Get Involved

If you would like to get more involved in this conference, please contact us.

• Speaking Opportunities: joan.greco@conferenceboard.org
• Sponsorship Opportunities: michael.felden@conferenceboard.org
• Marketing Partnerships: allison.nilsen@conferenceboard.org
• Group Registrations: ulei.kou@conferenceboard.org

DAY ONE | Thursday, December 10, 2020

Part One: Planning Returns – Risks, Stages, and Stakeholders

11:00 – 11:15 am

Welcome and Introduction

Joan Greco, Program Director, The Conference Board

11:15 am – 12:00 pm

Looking for Emerging Risks, Listening across Functions and Stakeholders

Whether a workforce remained primarily onsite or primarily remote; whether return-to-workplace plans are already in progress or continue to evolve, a planning framework that accounts for emerging risks and listens to diverse functions and stakeholders is crucial.

In this panel conversation, leaders across sectors and functions share experiences and insights on issues including:

• Understanding and planning for emerging risks during and post-COVID
• Involving key roles and functions in creating return-to-workplace plans
• Hearing from employees
• Choosing triggers and stages, and handling differences between regions 

Tim Mathews, Executive Director of Enterprise Resiliency, Educational Testing Services

Lisa Reshaur, General Manager of  Governance, Risk, Continuity, Compliance and Security Risk, Microsoft

Karl Schmidt, Professor of Practice, Villanova University, College of Engineering

Moderator:

Michele Turner, Head of Global Business Resiliency, Amazon

12:00 – 12:30 pm

Communications: The Essential Partner

Amidst multiple crises creating near-unprecedented uncertainty and global scrutiny of responses, Communications has been the essential partner in every step of response and return-to-the-workplace plans. In this panel conversation, Communications leaders discuss the elements of effective partnerships across functions, and share experiences and insights from the challenges met so far and the ones on the horizon for 2021. 

Meaghan Baumwald, Director, HR Communications, Lowe’s 

Elena French, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Lincoln Financial Group

Moderator: Danielle Badler, Program Director, Council on Corporate Communications Strategy II, and Internal Communications Council, The Conference Board

12:30 – 12:45 pm Break

12:45 - 1:15 pm

Exclusive Research on Return-to-Workplace Plans

The Conference Board has conducted multiple surveys and research on organizations' responses to the challenges of 2020 and their plans on returning to the workplace.  The Conference Board Principal Researcher Robin Erickson will share the latest data, trends, and insights on remote work and hiring, productivity and employee well-being, workforce cost reductions, and plans for returning to the workplace.

Robin Erickson, Ph.D., Principal Researcher, The Conference Board 

1:15 – 1:20 pm

Introduction to Networking Discussions

1:20 – 2:05 pm

Networking Discussions: Experiences on Emerging Risks and Return-to-Workplace Plan Development

Led by one of our speakers, attendees will engage in small group discussions with peers, sharing the challenges and learnings they have experienced in identifying emerging risks and developing return-to-the-workplace plans. Attendees will meet each other and share insights "face to face" via Zoom.

2:05 - 2:15 pm Break

Part Two: Data, AI, and Innovating for Safety

2:15 – 3:00 pm

Leveraging Data to Plan for What’s Next

Learn how AI models and applications are helping organizations and employees:

• Decide when to return to the workplace
• Manage facilities and adhere to new protocols
• Answer customer and employee questions on COVID-19
• Connect employer data to entry privileges
• Trace potential exposures and help access employee services
• Stagger entry/exit times to manage density
• Protect healthcare data and securely manage employee opt-in and consent

Stewart Sill, Senior Health Advisor, Health Promotion & Consumer Engagement, IBM Watson Health

Eric Piscini, Vice President, Emerging Business Networks & Payer, IBM Watson Health

Dean Ely, Business Leader, Asset Management, IBM

3:00 – 3:15 pm Break

3:15 - 3:55 pm

Fitbit’s Role in Research, Early Detection of Illness, and Supporting Employees

How can organizations effectively screen for COVID-19 when its victims are asymptomatic and contagious in its early stages or can be symptomatic while not having an elevated temperature, or can be without symptoms for the course of the disease? And how can organizations provide the mental and emotional support needed as daily life and activity are upended for months?

Join Fitbit Medical Director Dr. John Moore to learn about Fitbit's role in scientific research on using wearables to detect early-stage illnesses. And learn how this research,  along with a suite of data-driven tools, empowers employees to make better health decisions and support them through these challenging times.

John Moore, M.D., PhD, Medical Director, Fitbit

4:00 – 4:10 pm

Day One Recap and Introduction to Networking Discussion

Joan Greco, Program Director, The Conference Board

4:10 - 4:50 pm

Networking Discussions: Data, Design, and Safety Innovation

Experts  will lead attendees in small group discussions  to share their experiences using data, smart technology, new digital and physical design, and more to reduce risk. Attendees will meet each other and share insights "face to face" via Zoom. 

DAY TWO | Friday, December 11, 2020

Part Three: The Reimagined Workplace and the New Employee Experience

11:00 – 11:15 am

Welcome and Introduction

Joan Greco, Program Director, The Conference Board

11:15 am – 11:45 am

What Radical Transparency and Powerful Culture Can Bring: A Thriving Workforce More Engaged than Ever, During COVID

In this keynote session, discover how a global industry leader used a crisis as an opportunity, and –  by listening to employees and building on a culture of transparency and flexibility – began a revolution in how work takes place. The result: record-breaking levels of engagement that has seen increases month after month during a pandemic. 

Belle Haroon, Vice President of Talent Strategy and Solutions, Rock Central 

11:45 am – 12:30 pm

The Supported Workforce

Learn how organizations have been and will be supporting employees through the new challenges – or the exacerbations of ever-present challenges – that emerged in 2020.  How have parents with children learning remotely been supported? How have those working from home been supported in retaining balance? How have all employees, on-site and remote, been supported in protecting wellbeing and handling stress? What have organizations learned and what supports do they expect to retain post-COVID?

Amara Nash, Director, Change Management and Transformation, Campbell Soup Company

Melinda Moye, Ph.D., Manager, Employee Engagement Analytics & Innovation, John Deere

Mary Lee Hannell, Chief Human Resources Officer, The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey

Moderator: Rebecca Ray, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Human Capital, The Conference Board

12:30 am – 12:45 pm Break

12:45 – 1:15 pm

Using Neuroscience to Create a Smooth Transition Back to the Office

COVID-19 has imposed sudden, massive changes across the globe, and the period of returning to the office will not simply be a reversion to “normality” but rather yet another change to a new normal. Learn why people naturally resist change, and how you can leverage neuroscience and change management to better understand, and support your employees through, the Return-to-the-Office transition.

This session will be available LIVE only. It will not be recorded.

Travis Hahler, Global Change and Transformation Lead, Google

1:15 - 1:45 pm

Exclusive Research: Remote Work Trends and What to Expect in 2021

What trends are we seeing in organizations’ willingness to hire for 100% remote positions? What do current patterns portend for our transition back to the workplace and the post-COVID environment? Gad Levanon, Ph.D., Vice President, Labor Markets for The Conference Board will share the latest Conference Board research on hiring trends for remote work, and explain what they portend for 2021 and beyond.

Gad Levanon, Ph.D., Vice President, Labor Markets, The Conference Board

1:45 - 2:30 pm

Engaging the Hybrid Workforce

Almost all organizations envision working with a hybrid workforce – some on-site and some remote – as COVID continues to challenge us. Many also envision continuing to work with a hybrid workforce even after the pandemic is behind us, as we embrace the flexibility first adopted by necessity. What are the unique challenges, and opportunities, presented by a hybrid workforce? How can team members remain engaged and their contribution valued wherever they are? How can we measure productivity consistently without reverting to using presence as a measure of performance? Leaders across sectors share experiences, insights and plans.

Laura Jones, Director of Global Talent and Corporate HR Staffs, GM

Brad Hubbard, Executive Director, Learning & Workforce Experience, Bristol-Myers Squibb

Moderator: David Dye, PhD, Program Director, Employee Engagement & Experience Council, The Conference Board

 2:30 - 2:40 Break

2:40 - 3:10 pm

Networking Discussions: The New Employee Experience

Led by a Conference Board expert, attendees will engage in small group discussions with peers, sharing experiences and insights on how to support, engage, and develop a hybrid workforce.  Attendees will meet each other and share insights "face to face" via Zoom.

Part Four: Emerging Stronger

3:15 – 4:00 pm

Embracing Agility, Resilience, and the New Future of Work

2020 has been a time of unprecedented change, a time of trauma and loss. But it has also been a time in which organizations around the globe were able to pivot successfully, at lightning speed, to entirely new ways of working. How are organizations using the learnings of 2020 to reimagine the future of work going forward? How are they planning to reinforce the agility and resilience evidenced this year? In what ways do we expect to emerge stronger from these deeply challenging times?

Wagner Denuzzo, Head of Capabilities for Future of Work, Prudential

Heidi Gerhard, Director, Talent Strategy, BASF 

Bradie Speller, Director, Change Management and Communications, UPS

Moderator: Stela Lupushor, Program Director, Strategic Workforce Planning, Talent Management II and Strategic HR Business Partners Councils, The Conference Board

4:00 pm

Conclusion: Continuing the Conversation

Joan Greco, Program Director, The Conference Board