Lauren Newton, VP of People at Sanity, joins the podcast to discuss how approaching talent management as a continuous experiment can drive innovation, engagement, and meaningful improvements within organizations. Lauren shares practical strategies for identifying areas to experiment, defining clear outcomes, and effectively managing stakeholder buy-in.
Key Takeaways:
Treat Talent Initiatives as Experiments: Encourage innovation by testing new approaches to people management, recognizing that traditional HR processes can evolve.
Clearly Define Outcomes: Always establish the desired business impact and define success criteria to keep initiatives aligned and measurable.
Prioritize Ruthlessly: Focus on fewer, impactful projects to ensure meaningful progress and space for experimentation.
Incremental Implementation: Roll out new initiatives to smaller groups first, allowing time for feedback, adjustments, and validation before broader implementation.
Stakeholder Engagement: Foster stakeholder buy-in by inviting input early in the process, creating shared ownership and commitment.
Timestamped Highlights:
[00:00] Introduction: Lauren Newton on treating talent management as an experiment.
[02:00] Why flexibility and innovation are critical in modern HR.
[05:00] How to determine where experimentation is possible within compliance boundaries.
[08:00] Defining the problem statement and ideal outcomes clearly.
[11:00] Real-world example: Automating the onboarding process.
[13:30] How to evaluate success before wider implementation.
[17:00] Helping your team embrace changes and new processes.
[21:00] Balancing daily responsibilities and strategic initiatives.
[25:00] Effective stakeholder communication and gaining commitment.
Featured Quote:
“Approach every conversation with stakeholders as sharing an idea and asking for input. Their buy-in happens when they feel they've genuinely contributed.” – Lauren Newton
Connect with Lauren Newton:
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