It's time to re-imagine what work looks like and how it should function. This year's HR Technology Conference & Exposition, taking place Sept. 13-16 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, will highlight the leading voices and technology vendors helping to shape the new reality of work. Don't miss this opportunity to network with peers, glean from their experiences and learn new ways you can help your organization chart a new course into the work world future. Register today! Our early bird discount ends Aug. 15.

Steve Boese, conference chair, talks about what attendees can expect to see and learn about at this year's event, including the latest workplace technologies for today's distributed workforces; ideas for nurturing healthy workplace cultures; ways to re-skill work teams; and strategies for hiring and retaining talent. Boese also highlights keynote speakers Cynthia Marshall, CEO of the Dallas Mavericks, and HR industry analyst Josh Bersin.

Clear, consistent and empathetic communication about expectations, business results and other issues can help establish a culture of transparency at your company, writes Brad Hillier, CEO of Re-Bath. "In turn, this will lead to a future-focused team set to deliver forward-thinking, creative work," Hillier writes.

Get help from diverse groups to develop and promote a diversity, equity and inclusion policy, make wellness part of the effort, use inclusive language and offer DEI learning programs, writes Rand policy researcher Rhianna Rogers, who offers seven strategies for creating an equitable DEI program. "Adding ongoing checks and balances on all levels of the DEI organizational process can hold everyone accountable, from the C-suite to entry-level employees," Rogers writes.

Companies can intentionally design their culture by making sure it reflects their core values and co-creating it with employees to ensure diversity and inclusion, says Melissa Daimler, chief learning officer of Udemy. "We have such a huge opportunity in front of us, now that the facade of happy hours and Ping-Pong tables has been somewhat taken away," Daimler says.

Mentors can avoid burning out in their role by acknowledging the risk factors of taking on too many mentees, talking with others about the warning signs and focusing on the aspects of the role that are inspiring and fulfilling, write Ruth Gotian, Christine Pfund, Chaveso Cook and W. Brad Johnson. "Mentoring is value-alignment work, and it is deeply fulfilling -- it is not just energy draining, it is energy generating," they write.

Companies that recognize the opportunities in what Larry Robertson calls the "thin places" created by economic and social shifts will be best suited to practice collaborative leadership that creates innovation. "The treasured thinness comes when all of us accept and embrace that leadership, rather than something gifted only to those with the title leader, is instead acknowledged as our shared human capacity," Robertson writes.

Change initiatives can feel like a threat to employees' identities, but leaders can ease those fears by creating a sense of belonging, learning what needs to be preserved, having difficult conversations and handling their own emotions, write researchers Deborah Rowland, Nicole Brauckmann and Michael Thorley. "Look beyond what seems like resistance to or an inability to change and perceive what people treasure and protect," they write.

Two new studies, one by Gallup and Workhuman and the other by the Achievers Workforce Institute, have found that using technology to recognize employee achievement can help increase their well-being and reduce turnover. "Technology can be used to remind managers to look for opportunities to recognize employees and also to illustrate what effective recognition looks like," said Chris French, executive vice president of customer strategy at Workhuman.

HR professionals will increasingly use decision-intelligence technology in the months and years to come to make more sound decisions around employee experiences. Experts expect the market for decision-intelligence technology to grow substantially in the next decade, and they assert that the tech can help companies adjust extended disruptions like those at the onset of the pandemic.

Many companies are far behind the eight ball in advancing employee training to keep up with technology, and 2.1 million manufacturing jobs may go unfilled by 2030, per Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute data. ExpertusONE CEO Ramesh Ramani explains how to use artificial intelligence and learning management systems to help, and recommends focusing on certification and compliance.