Why HR, Culture, and DEI Leaders Should Attend bbcon 2023
We’re excited to be back in-person!
If you’re not familiar with bbcon, it is Blackbaud’s annual event that convenes thousands of change-makers for a technology conference designed to fuel your impact and help you find your community. After three years of meeting virtually, this conference is back in-person on October 22-24 in Denver, Colorado.
EVERFI joined the Blackbaud family at the start of 2022, adding our workplace culture and community engagement ecosystem to the portfolio of fundraising, nonprofit financial management, digital giving, grantmaking, corporate social responsibility, and education management software tools that support millions of people and organizations who change the world.
This year’s bbcon agenda for companies has a ton of exciting new elements, as we plan to bring together employee engagement, inclusion, and social impact leaders to present sessions around workplace culture strategies for authentic DEI, driving volunteerism, prioritizing employee mental health, and building trust in your communities. If you’re curious whether your role in community impact, HR, People, Culture, DEI or CSR is really a good fit to attend this conference, then look through each of the sessions and descriptions for corporations below. We think you’ll find multiple reasons to attend!
Keynote Speaker
Imagining our Future: Reflections on AI, Equity, and a Better World
By: Brandolon Barnett
Brandolon Barnett is an investor, author, and entrepreneur dedicated to merging technology and social impact to better move resources to those in need. His book, “Dreams Deferred: Recession, Struggle, and the Quest for a Better World,” chronicles his personal journey through poverty and adversity to a career in social impact and tech. Currently, he serves as the Founder of The Regular App and Chief Product Officer for Humanitas.ai. He is also active as a volunteer, having served until recently as an elected ANC Commissioner in Washington, DC and currently as a board member of Spur Local (formerly The Catalogue for Philanthropy) and Giving Compass.
Join us for a session that weaves a personal journey from poverty, loss, and adversity to a career at the intersection of social impact and technology. This will be an honest and authentic conversation about the many obstacles confronted by under-resourced individuals and organizations striving to help drive social change. We’ll delve into both the risks of AI and the potential rewards that could come from leveraging these newly accessible technologies to build a better world through equitable innovations. Together, we’ll explore answers to the question – how might AI make the hard work of impact, and the often difficult paths to that work, easier and more accessible for us all?
Breakout Sessions and Panels
Workplace Culture Strategies for Authentic DEI
By: Elizabeth Bille, EVERFI from Blackbaud; Ariana Moon, Greenhouse Software
Research has clearly shown that companies with a more diverse, inclusive, and engaged workforce perform better. While many organizations are focusing on hiring, data has revealed that many employers seeking DEI progress overlook key steps that can reduce bias and increase diversity and inclusion. This session builds upon the learnings from the “Better Together” session to help companies develop holistic DEI strategies that can lead to increased innovation, retention, and employee satisfaction; better decision-making and profitability; and more. This requires a broader focus across the entire employee experience with initiatives that drive inclusion, employee engagement, purpose, and belonging.
Key Takeaways:
- Delve into learnings, research, and benchmark data on what companies are and aren’t doing to build a holistic DEI strategy that includes recruiting, hiring, onboarding, education, development, leadership involvement, employee resource groups and CSR/employee engagement initiatives.
- Identify where gaps exist in their organizations and provide recommendations across each of these elements for action and accountability.
Inspire Employee Engagement Through Action
By: Andrew Troup, Blackbaud; Seth Braddock, GoodMove
At the heart of every volunteerism program is the goal to increase overall participation and impact; however, the question often becomes how? In this session, we will explore some of the ways to inspire engagement from employees by not only offering compelling volunteer opportunities, but also providing a way for employees to feel a tangible connection to their passions and purpose. We will explore the overall definition of engagement and where volunteerism programs can go beyond events and projects to include health, wellness, and everyday social good acts of kindness.
Key Takeaways:
- Connect increased participation to greater inspiration and purpose.
- Consider engagement beyond participation in traditional volunteering events.
- Harness social good acts of kindness for both engagement and well-being.
- Enable employees to feel their connection to impact through action.
The Critical Role Work Environment and Culture Play in Employee Mental Health
By: Elizabeth Bille, EVERFI from Blackbaud
Employee mental health efforts are critical for your organization to attract and retain top talent, as well as to keep employees healthy, engaged, and productive. The stakes couldn’t be higher – 76% of managers say they are worried about the mental health of a person on their team and 98% say that the mental health of their employees can have a negative effect on their bottom line. While mental health was once viewed as a personal issue or something to be supported through company health plans or EAPs, leading organizations today are taking a more holistic, workplace culture-centered approach, examining how various aspects of the work environment can harm—or help—employee well-being. Join EVERFI’s SVP of Workplace Culture, Elizabeth Bille, as she discusses new research and new strategies your organization can take to create an environment that supports employee mental health.
Key Takeaways:
- Start to identify and address organizational practices, values alignment, and individual behaviors that contribute to a toxic environment.
- Be able to better coordinate your DEIA and CSR strategies with your mental health work.
- Know how to help managers to “manage for wellbeing”.
Better Together: The Nexus Point of HR, DEI, and CSR
By: Wendy Rentschler, BMC; Layla Ramirez, Justworks; Hillary Smith, NBC Universal
Although often siloed organizationally, the work of HR, DEI, and CSR are inextricably connected. Each area has a critical impact on employee engagement and satisfaction, retention, and feelings of purpose and belonging. Join this session to learn how the work of each area can be leveraged, supported, and reinforced for greater success and deeper impact.
Key Takeaways:
- Explore employee engagement at the intersection of HR, DEI, and CSR.
- Implement a more holistic, collaborative approach to connect employee passions and purpose to engagement, satisfaction, and retention.
- Unite the various aspects of hiring, onboarding, benefits, retention, inclusion, engagement, purpose, and philanthropy.
