TMBS E156: Debby Carreau – Inspired HR,

From the studios of Tucson Business Radio X, recorded in the Stewart Title corporate offices on Broadway, you are now listening to the Marc Bishop Show. And now here's your host, Mark Bishop.

And welcome to another Mark Bishop episode. You know, International Women's Day was March 8th and Women's History Month is in March. Also, I'm fortunate to have a nationally recognized entrepreneur for this episode. With innovative ideas for employers looking to attract and retain women in the workforce, I'd like to welcome Debbie Carew.

Thanks, Mark. Great to be here.

Debbie, you're the founder and CEO of Inspired HR and a YPO member. Tell us about those two briefly, if you would.

Perfect. So my business, Inspired HR is really founded on the premise that HR does not have to be a nasty. We focus on leveraging talent and getting the most out of our people. And as a member of YCO, it's 30,000 CEOs across the world that share ideas together. And we really believe in lifelong learning and education through peer networks and just believing in education with like minded people.

30,000 members, did you say across the world in different countries, but all CEOs. All CEOs and all women?

No, no, we're working on that. We currently have about 10% women and we're working really hard to increase that numbers. And it's just about getting more CEOs, CEOs that are women into the C suite.

Okay, well, you know, more than 2 million women in the U.S. folks, they've left the workforce since the start of the pandemic. Issues such as a lack of daycare and distance learning, they've created an implausible amount of pressure and the necessity to stay home for many working mothers. And as the economy starts to open back up those demands on families, they're still, you know, they have not been alleviated, which leaves many employers concerned that they've not been successful at maintaining diversity on their teams. Debbie, what can employers do to recruit women successfully as well as the best way to structure jobs for, you know, maximum retention?

So in terms of attracting women, I think the first way to do that is to showcase that you are a diverse employer or that you value diversity in the workplace. So when you have job ads, don't just have photos of all Caucasian males or any other kind of diverse group. People want to see people like them enroll so they can associate with it and they can imagine themselves being in that spot. So I think that that's really important. When we look at job ads, we want it to be representative of the employee group. We're trying to Attract in regards to the actual job. The number one thing employers today, both for women and for men, but really attractive to women, is being able to have flexibility. And I recognize not everyone can work remotely. We do have to have some in person. But if we focus on providing flexibility where it makes sense, managing by objectives, not by the amount of minutes that you spend at your office desk, and just really focusing on delivery and diversity, we can really be much more successful as workplaces and employers.

Well, you know, you've touched on a lot of things, but I guess if I was to look at a manual or something you've prepared, I'd say a lot more. What else can employers do to structure jobs to keep women employees?

So there's so many things, but I would first look at benefits, too. I mean, I think that's another one that doesn't have to cost employers a lot. And so whether it's things like flexible time off, investing in coaching and programs like work life balance, time management coaching, things like. One of the things that holds women back more than anything is confidence. There's a crazy statistic out there that shows that when you look at women's success, it's equally correlated by competence and confidence. So often women are really competent and capable, but because they don't speak up and showcase their strengths, it holds them back. So by employers understanding these things and being able to draw the best out of the talents in this workforce, they're going to be miles ahead.

Well, folks, you know Debbie, whom I am speaking with, you've just tuned in. She's an entrepreneur, author and a media contributor. As a matter of fact, JB's been recognized as one of Canada's top 25 human resource professionals and one of Canada's Most Powerful Women four times, marking her entry into the into Canada's Top 100 hall of Fame as their youngest inductee. Congrats on that. But she knows what she's talking about. How can employers support their female employees with innovative benefits, as you say, so.

You don't have to be crazy about them. It's really about understanding the unique needs of every person. So one of the things I always say is if you can ever have flexible benefits for your employees, that means the world. So maybe you and I would actually prefer different benefits. So maybe for me it would be helpful to have paid time off. Maybe you'd prefer an investment in education. So having flexible benefits and some neat ones that sort of don't cost a ton, are on site dry cleaning or discounted on home cleaning services or Meal delivery. Right. So many things don't cost a fortune, but if employers can sort of pull together and get some discounts, they can help people outside of work. It helps them focus and be much more productive in the workplace.

My word, they might sound, you know, tiny things, but I tell you what, in the overall scheme of things, they help a lot, don't they?

Absolutely. They show during the pandemic that the average female has added three hours to every day in non paid work that they do. That's a lot of time. If you can get some of that time back and have people focused on their work and their job, it's ultimately going to help the business be so much more productive.

Well, I know you care about, in fact, your mission, you know, in life is to create a better working world for everyone. Very nice of you. What, what are you, you know, what is inspired HR doing to celebrate and empower women in the workplace?

So it's having conversations like these, right? It's helping people understand how do we leverage all of our talents, not just the people that look like us, act like us and that we want to hang out with after work. It's sort of how do we understand these little differences that can really go a long way and help us not just be diverse in the workforce but also be inclusive to make sure that everyone feels comfortable and they want to stay working there. Because right now one third of, of women, sorry, 25% of women, but one third of mothers are seriously considering either leaving the workforce or taking a step back in their career. That's not going to serve anyone. It's not going to serve employers, it's not going to serve, it's not going to serve our economy and it's certainly not the right thing to do.

Well, not after all these years as well. With all the, you know, breaking through glass ceilings and all the effort and all the work done to bring women into the correctness where they should be both money wise and in positions, you know, it's a shame, isn't it? So let me ask you this. How can networking and joining supportive communities benefit employers and employees?

Do you think this one's so important? And I'll take myself as a, as an entrepreneur is one of the things when I look around at my social network is I have amazing friends that are women, but they're not necessarily in the same position as me. So some may be stay at home moms, some may have sort of side businesses or they may work in a different level of job than I do. So finding a peer network. Whether you're male or female, the people that are working at a level or in an industry like you. It just gives you access to best practice, sharing, empathy and support and people that understand exactly your particular lot in life. And what are the challenges that come across your desk. And knowing that you're not going at these things alone or having someone that has innovative ideas that could relate to specifically what your needs and challenges are can make all the difference in the world. Often you can avoid making mistakes by learning lessons from other people that have made the mistakes so you don't have.

To can my listeners go to a specific address and learn more? Read a bit more about this is www.inspire or inspiredhr ca. Is that the web address?

Yeah, absolutely. And the other place is social media. You can find me Debbie with a Y Karoo on all the main social medias and I usually share all kinds of innovative tips, articles and just best practices on how we can all get better at doing this to be more productive.

So just to be clear with that listeners, it's www. I often use you know, www but www.inspired hr all1word.ca. When I first looked at that, I thought it was California until I realized it was. So you're also a premier partner with Sheryl Sandberg's Lean in foundation and you sit on numerous boards including ypo, Elevation Group and Women's Executive Network Advisory Board. How do you find the time to do all of this? Debbie?

That's a very good question. I think that's one of the things is being a mother and a busy parent is we don't realize what we're capable of doing until we actually do it. And I think sometimes we always we grasp opportunities because we think it's once in a lifetime opportunity and that's kind of how you end up with as much on your plate as I do. So not always the best role model in that area.

Well, you are very busy and of course your extensive media work includes regular appearances as the workplace expert for Canadian TV and City tv, regular contributions for CNBC and Entrepreneur Magazine. So you live a great life. Well, look, good luck with this. It's a wonderful thing. You know, we're coming out of the pandemic and we're trying to rebuild again. And I think you've got some very positive messages there. And I have some of my listeners get some, you know, power within them today from, you know, you sharing. So thank you for giving us the time. I know you're very busy.

No, thanks for having me, Mark. Always a pleasure.

Yes, you're most welcome. So there we go. What a lovely lady. Debbie Carew, ladies and gentlemen. An entrepreneur, author, media contributor, founder of an hr, you know, organization, and doing all of this work. It's terrific. And good luck to her, and I hope it does well. But I hope you got something out of that. So join me again soon for another Mark Bishop show.