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We’re Recording the next Reify Podcast July 26 – Here’s Your Sneak Peek of the Theme and Guests

Theme: Onboarding

With organizations everywhere talking about work culture, hiring, and employee retention – we are excited to share the theme of our next podcast episode. On July 26th we’re recording ONBOARDING: How Great Cultures Invest in New Members.

We’ll reify the generic onboarding concept, taking the abstract and making it real by talking with experts who work on #onboarding concepts every day. (Get it? “Reify” means to take the abstract and make it real; our podcast is about taking abstract topics, like onboarding, and talking to experts who make it happen every day, so we can learn what it’s really all about, and apply some of their great tips to our work, no matter what our background or profession.)

Meet our Guests:

Joining us for our episode on Onboarding is…

Susan Sanford, Executive Director of Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster

  • Work Impact: As the ED of Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster, Susan works with her team to support the people and companies that make up the growing Cleantech industry.
  • Our Questions: How do you onboard new people or companies into RTCC? How do you help companies who are new to RTP feel connected to this area?
  • Near Raleigh: She went to UNC for undergrad and graduate school, and if you’re local, you might find her jogging in her neighborhood or swimming at Falls Lake.
  • Interests: Her current research interests are blockchain, drone technologies, and energy storage.
  • Motivation: To stay inspired, she switches between books (currently The Last Days of Night, historical fiction about the electrification of America and the wars between Westinghouse, Edison, and Tesla), Netflix shows (right now, all the stand up comedy specials), podcasts (Oprah’s Super Soul, The Moth, Story Corps), and morning meditations.

Jess Porta, Director, HQ Raleigh

  • Work Impact: As the Director of HQ Raleigh, Jess directly impacts our community by helping startups to be successful. She helps new and growing companies to connect with the resources they need to scale their businesses.
  • Our Questions: How do you onboard new people or companies into HQ Raleigh? Has that strategy changes as HQ has grown? What does culture mean to HQ, with so many different companies in one space?
  • Near Raleigh: Jess’ favorite Raleigh spot is any HQ location—and they’ve got some cool ones, thanks to recent expansions to unique spaces like Canon Room. But both Jess and our guest Susan mentioned how they love visiting Raleigh’s first pay-what-you-can cafe, A Place at the Table. She’s also a graduate of NC State’s master’s in international studies program.
  • Interests: Jess is a creative; she’s an artist and children’s book author, and last year, she completed the challenge of creating something new every day for a year. She’s also interested in the Internet of Things (IoT); she’s worked closely with the Executive Director of NC RIoT, the IoT consortium based out of HQ North, and she loves hearing about new IoT products (like a recent idea of earrings with sensors that can help communicate your location and keep you safe).
  • Motivation: Jess is motivated to serve. Her passion for helping others is rooted in her background in human rights. Prior to her role as Director, Jess ran her own consulting company for educational and human rights organizations and was the Training and Education Manager for the Salvation Army’s Anti-Human Trafficking Program, Project FIGHT. She currently serves as a consultant with the North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture.  

Molly Lukes, Principal and Owner of MPowerYourLife, and certified SHRM professional

  • Work Impact: Molly describes herself as a problem solver. She’s a certified PHR and SHRM-CP HR professional with over 18+ years’ experience, and as a consultant, she helps early-stage to established companies develop programs and strategies to unify and connect employee bases.
  • Our Questions: Why is onboarding important for companies and work culture? What have you seen that works, and what mistakes have you seen? What trends should we all be considering?  
  • Near Raleigh: Molly can be found in our areas great independent coffee shops; try Sola Coffee Cafe, Foster’s Market, and Parker and Otis.
  • Interests: Molly has been following new communication tools, like Slack, and new tools from Instagram, like Instagram Stories and IGTV—the new standalone vertical video application launched by Instagram this summer.
  • Motivation: Two of Molly’s go-to books are The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle and The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman; for podcasts, she recommends The Tim Ferris Show, The Ziglar Show, Over it and On With It, The Good Life Project, Oprah’s Super Soul Conversations, and The Look & Sounds of Leadership.

Join Us, or Stay Tuned!

We’ll host an open coffee house before the podcast recording, from 9-10am on July 26th. Drop by for free coffee and a chance to talk with our amazing guests. Recording starts at 10am; feel free to stay and see the podcasting magic happen.

Want to talk more about how we can work together?

Even if you don’t have a project right now, we’d love to connect over coffee and ideas.

Shoot us a note!

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