CAHRS Working Group | HR Challenges in a Polarized World

Download the Working Group Notes

In this working group, led by William J. Conaty Professor of Strategic Human Resource Management and CAHRS Academic Director Brad Bell along with Beth Flynn-Ferry, Executive Director of CAHRS, we will facilitate a discussion about what organizations are facing and how they are responding as they move forward in our current polarized environment. Some of the potential questions we will explore in this session are listed below.

·        How has the growing polarization in society at large manifested itself within your organization? Which societal conflicts and divisions have been most salient or impactful within your organization?

·        Is polarization more prevalent among certain segments of your workforce, perhaps based on level, role, demographics, or geography?

·        What policies and practices has your organization adopted (or are considering adopting) to manage a more polarized workforce? Which approaches have proven to be effective/ineffective?

·        What are some of the unanswered questions that HR will need to tackle moving forward to successfully navigate a more polarized world?

Our virtual working groups are kept small (20-25 participants) to allow for rich discussion and best practice sharing. Given the limited size of each session, we ask that you only register for a session if you will be able to attend for the duration. Prior to the session, attendees should give some thought to the questions included in the description, so they are prepared to share with the group. We also strongly prefer that participants be on camera during the session to allow for more engaging interaction. If for some reason after you sign up for the working group, something comes up last minute (especially while many of us are working from home), it would be great to get even a last-minute e-mail advising us that you cannot attend as we sometimes have a waiting list.