For the People community, attending Transform is one of the highlights of the year. It’s a chance to learn from the innovators and thought leaders who are driving the conversations around the workplace, the workforce, and the future of work.
But for the People Builders team from Oyster, being there was extra special because it was while attending Transform last year that Kim Rohrer, Oyster’s Principal People Partner, and Rhys Black, Head of Workplace Design, came up with the idea for People Builders. They recognized the need for a community dedicated to People leaders, especially of distributed workplaces, who want to engage in hands-on, creative problem-solving to create the tools and solutions they need to lead their organizations.
In the intervening year, People Builders has gone from an idea to a reality. We welcomed Marie Bosseur Dit Toby as our Director of Community Enablement, launched People Builders, hosted half a dozen events, built an actively solutions-focused community for People leaders, and finally came full circle by having a booth and IRL community event at this year’s Transform!
What is People Builders?
The People function is vital to the health and well-being of an organization. People leaders are the unsung heroes who build company culture and make the workplace an environment where people can develop and flourish. And yet, People leaders often don’t have a seat at the table when it comes to influencing an organization’s strategy or roadmap.
At People Builders, our goal is to elevate People leaders by creating a community where they can ideate, brainstorm, and co-create the tools, resources, and solutions they need to build thriving distributed organizations. We host events and workshops where experts share their stories and learnings, and where participants can actively engage with each other to build solutions together. By providing a space for creative thinking and problem-solving, we hope to support People leaders in becoming strategic leaders within their organizations.
Insights from Transform
Being at Transform was a chance for us to connect and engage with the People leaders community we serve. Through our presence at the Oyster booth and our community-building event, we got to meet community members (as well as potential members) in person, and gather insights that will help inform future People Builders events.
As people stopped by the booth, we had engaging and insightful conversations about return-to-office trends, employee disillusionment, total rewards, and how to best support people in times of economic uncertainty. We also had a screen projecting a Miro board where we asked people what employee-centricity means to them, and what challenges they face in being an employee-centric organization.
Our “Build Yourself Up” event was a great success, too. Overlooking the Las Vegas skyline, this intimate gathering of People leaders was a space to reflect, build relationships, and share ideas and perspectives with one’s peers. People were able to connect not just professionally, but also emotionally and intellectually, which is necessary for a profession that can often be lonely and challenging. Our attendees appreciated this opportunity for meaningful interaction and deep conversation, and it confirmed the need for the kind of community we’re creating through People Builders.
What’s ahead for People Builders?
Looking ahead, we’re actively planning events for the rest of the year—always with the most pressing needs of our community in mind. Since our approach is to build for and with our community, we will plan our upcoming events based on the feedback and insights gathered at Transform, as well as during the first few months of People Builders’ existence. We hope our interactive events and workshops will give you ideas, tools, and talking points that you can use to influence people, get buy-in from leadership, and steer the strategic direction of your organization.
We’re also excited about launching a People Builders Ambassadors program so that our most committed community members can be actively involved in shaping the People Builders community and influencing our strategic direction. Our ambassadors will help us connect more deeply with the community and keep a pulse on current topics and challenges that they’d love help with. This will help us plan events and initiatives that will be the most meaningful and impactful for our community members.
Please check out the People Builders website and to learn more, and sign up for our Building Blocks newsletter to hear from fellow People leaders, receive community-generated tools and resources, and stay in the loop on all things People Builders. We hope to see you at one of our community events soon!
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