Have you heard of DisruptHR?

The Villanova HRD program had the pleasure to sponsor the DisruptHR: Philadelphia event on November 3rd at World Cafe Live. DisruptHR is "a night of short focused talks from professionals who want to share their ideas on how we can move our talent thinking forward." Each speaker has 5 minutes to blow your mind! The goal is to inform & empower those in the HR field to bring meaningful change to their organizations. Check out clips from other DisruptHR events here!

Several Villanova HRD faculty and students were able to attend the event. Here are some of their thoughts and takeaways from DisruptHR Philadelphia!

Dr. Larry Cozzens, VUHRD Assistant Director & Assistant Professor

"Julie Cohen had the greatest impact on me because she was talking about how to change Training and Development: no more multi-day classroom based events that don’t stick and have little impact. She spoke of what is called “micro-learning," which breaks down the learning objectives into small sessions, spread over time and reinforced by the employee’s manager. The manager acts as a coach and is involved in selecting what is to be learned. Learning spread over time is much more effective, as we’ve known and used in studying for major exams, and also less costly because it does not take employees off the job or incur any other expenses such as travel. DisrputHR was fast paced, fun and definitely challenged the typical HR thinking."

Hannah Parker Carver, VUHRD Graduate Assistant

"I went into this event with little understanding of how it would be different from other networking events I’d been to. I figured networking is networking, right? I’d eat a few hors d’oeuvres, hear a few speakers and hopefully meet some interesting people I could stay connected with. While I did all those things at the DisruptHR Philadelphia event, it was a totally different experience than any networking events I’d been to before! The fast paced format made presenters jam-pack every minute with interesting and entertaining information. In one hour we were able to hear so many presentations with all different perspectives on how to change and innovate HR for the better! It was impossible to get bored or disinterested. I left full of ideas and with a strong sense of the awesome possibilities there are for disrupting HR. Overall I would definitely recommend anyone interested in HR check out this event next time it's in your area! As the women sitting next to me warned, 'If this is your first time at a DisruptHR event get ready to get addicted!'"

Rita Snell, VUHRD Graduate Assistant

"What a unique event! This was my first time attending DisruptHR. The vibe felt more like a concert than a professional networking event--certainly different from what I was expecting. People were cheering and actively engaged with the speakers during their presentations. The event left me feeling inspired and wanting to continue the conversation with my friends and colleagues. Here are just a few of my takeaways from the event:

Embrace diversity. Don't just put out one type of appetizer.
Treat your employees like your customers because your employees are the customers of a product called a job.
If you are comfortable, you are not learning. Push yourself to do something different.
Meet people where they are and ask what motivates them. "What makes you excited to come to work?"
Re-frame mindfulness. Empower your employees to be their best selves.
Be authentic. If you don't know something, ask and learn about it. Business acumen is key.
Seat at the table? Just sit down. Defend your position by saying you are in charge of the company's biggest liability: people.