Gartner ReimagineHR Conference, North America: Day 3 Highlights

We are bringing you news and highlights from the Gartner ReimagineHR Conference, concluding today, in Orlando, Florida. Below is a collection of the key announcements and insights coming out of the conference. Here’s a summary of happenings from Day 1 and Day 2.

On Day 3 from the conference, we are highlighting how to create a globally relevant DEI strategy, enhancing employee trust, transforming talent reviews to strengthen the leadership bench, and developing inclusive leaders. 

Be sure to check this page throughout the day for updates.

• Gartner Opening Keynote: Gartner HR Research Finds Organizations Are in the Midst of a Reset; Most Are Not Prepared
• HR Leaders Should Evaluate Three Foundational Building Blocks Before Implementing AI in Performance Management: Q&A with Laura Gardiner
• Gartner Survey Shows 85% of Business Leaders Agree There Will Be a Surge in Skills Development Needs Due to AI and Digital Trends in Next 3 Years
• Gartner HR Research Finds Only 30% of Managers Who Participate in Talent Reviews Believe Their Leadership Bench is Strong

Presented by Caroline Walsh, Managing Vice President, Gartner

Organizations face challenges in creating DEI strategies across their global operations. Advancing DEI further will require a new approach that places greater emphasis on tailoring initiatives for diverse global contexts. In this session, Caroline Walsh, Managing Vice President, Gartner, explained how to create a globally relevant and sustainable DEI strategy.

• “In 2024, only 58% of organizations operating in multiple regions have region-based DEI goals.”

• “Being too U.S.-centric is very risky for DEI as it can lead to alienating employees, wasting resources on misaligned programs or missing the opportunity to make an impact.”

• “Organizations report they are lacking three main things needed to localize their DEI strategy:

  • High-quality diversity data 

  • Local context

  • Staff support”

• “To address these barriers and drive global DEI impact, DEI leaders need to:

  • Identify key partners and remove barriers to expand local employee data collection 

  • Tap into local networks and create profiles to contextualize DEI efforts based on the needs and priorities of diverse locations and employees

  • Offer tools, incentives and expertise to better equip local leaders”

Journalists can receive additional information and/or request an interview with the Gartner expert by contacting Mary Baker at mary.baker@gartner.com or Gerri Weinberger at gerri.weinberger@gartner.com.

Presented by Dominique Waters, Director, Advisory, Gartner

The absence of trust between employees and their managers is having real implications on workplace performance. In this session, Dominique Waters, Director, Advisory, Gartner, explored the top drivers for building employee trust.

• “Only 51% of employees trust their manager, yet 71% of managers say that they believe they are effective at building an environment of trust.”  

• “Compared to low-trust teams, high-trust teams are: 

  • Eight times more likely to have team members report they feel included 

  • 5.2 times more likely to have higher engagement

  • Three times more likely to demonstrate higher performance” 

• “Managers can create trust by focusing on three drivers: 

  • 1. Prioritizing well-being

  • 2. Enabling professional and personal development

  • 3. Promoting and enabling innovation” 

• “To help managers build trust, HR leaders should: 

  • Equip managers to support well-being, sustainably

  • Provide managers tools to match growth opportunities to talent

  • Promote innovation by reframing failures”

Journalists can receive additional information and/or request an interview with the Gartner expert by contacting Mary Baker at mary.baker@gartner.com or Gerri Weinberger at gerri.weinberger@gartner.com.

Presented by Benjamin Loring, Director, Gartner

Ninety-six percent of organizations conduct talent reviews, yet only 30% of managers who participate in them have confidence in their leadership bench. In this session, Benjamin Loring, Director, Gartner, explored how leading organizations are embedding development throughout the process, which strengthens the bench and drives the growth that future leaders need.

• “Only three in 10 leaders who participate in talent reviews have confidence in their leadership bench strength.”

• “At most organizations, future development planning happens at the end of the process after leaders have set the criteria, done the assessment and segmented employees.”

• “However, this approach does not support development plans.” 

• “The solution is to embed development across the talent review process; managers are eight times more likely to rate leadership bench strength highly when there is follow through on development plans.”

• “There are three steps organizations can take to shift their talent review process to ensure development is at the forefront:

  • Ground talent segments in development paths

  • Build development and mobility into calibration

  • Include talent discussions in workflows”

Learn more in the Gartner press release Gartner HR Research Finds Only 30% of Managers Who Participate in Talent Reviews Believe Their Leadership Bench is Strong. 

Presented by Oreoluwa George-Taylor, Director, Advisory, Gartner

Investing in inclusive leadership is essential for creating a culture of inclusion. In this session, Oreoluwa George-Taylor, Director, Advisory, Gartner, discussed practical ways HR can empower leaders to overcome inclusion barriers.

• “Inclusive leadership is the ability of leaders to create a work environment where all team members feel valued, respected, and included.”
• “HR’s typical approach to enabling inclusive leadership relies almost exclusively on extrinsic motivation – training to build skills, engagement data to set goals, and accountability to ensure compliance.”
• “Progress on inclusive leadership has been slow: only 43% of employees feel that their immediate teams have an inclusive culture.”
• “Inclusive leadership is intrinsically motivated; there are three things HR can do to amplify intrinsic motivation and encourage inclusive leadership:
  • Self-diagnosis: Build self-awareness of inclusive leadership gaps and opportunities through self-diagnosis
  • Diverse perspectives: Expose leaders to diverse perspectives to build empathy and connection
  • Peer calibration: Create opportunities for leaders to engage in peer calibration activities to promote coordinated action plans that change behavior”

Journalists can receive additional information and/or request an interview with the Gartner expert by contacting Mary Baker at mary.baker@gartner.com or Gerri Weinberger at gerri.weinberger@gartner.com.