Join us for Business Bites - Integrated Innovation | Why Investing in Employee Development Pays Off
Employee development is increasingly viewed as an instrumental aspect of company performance. According to SHRM, "Employee development is almost universally recognized as a strategic tool for an organization's continuing growth, productivity and employee retention." Innovation experts consistently agree that an organization's workforce is the single greatest indicator of innovation opportunity and a key predictor of innovation success.
However, in spite of the consistency of agreement about each of these factors separately, few connections have been made about the integrated relationship between employee development, team retention and innovation performance.
In this month's Business Bites we’ll look at the interconnection between organizational innovation capacity and investment in employee development with industry experts Brendan Baltierra, Isabelle Bart, and Noah Warder.
Noah Warder - Head of People | Guusto
Noah is Head of People at Guusto, where he is responsible for all things People related. He has a passion for building out the processes and frameworks that ensure that his team members have everything they need to feel a true sense of belonging every day at work.
Previously to Guusto, Noah was COO/Cofounder of Battlesnake and Director of People Operations at Dyspatch. Throughout his career, he has focused on creating transparent and equitable employment practices. He strongly believes in the importance of community-focused and socially responsible companies and that every organization has a responsibility to give back to the community that it is serving.
You can catch him in his off time enjoying time with his family, running after his kids, or experimenting in the kitchen. He might even go for a run once in a while.
Isabelle Bart - Executive Director | ReHubOC
Isabelle Bart is the executive director of RevHubOC, a committed community of social investors and entrepreneurs who believe in the power of social enterprise to solve local and global challenges where she oversees the operations of the incubator program and manages RevHubOC’s partnerships and network.
Her professional experience includes more than 20 years in healthcare and nonprofit sectors, working in leadership, business planning, and marketing strategy for companies such as Abbott and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses where she led digital transformation initiatives, resulting in unprecedented growth in membership and revenue.
Isabelle has been a strong supporter of entrepreneurs as an innovation advisor at UCI Beall Applied Innovation, a board member of the Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and an advisor for the OCTANE nonprofit accelerator. Isabelle has been an advocate and volunteer for many local nonprofit organizations, serving on the board of Child Creativity Lab and Cancer Kinship. She holds a Master’s in Business Administration from ESSEC Business School in Paris, France.
Brendan Baltierra - Manager, Process Improvement | Esri
With over 10 years of experience in technology services, Brendan is the Process Improvement Manager for Esri’s Professional Services Division. In this role, he leads a team of business analysts that provide thought leadership and direct application of process improvement methodologies to align people, process, and technology with Esri’s strategic vision. During his career at Esri, Brendan has played key leadership roles in the deployment of several enterprise-wide systems of record, coordinating between technical and business teams to assure project objectives are met.
Prior to joining Esri, Brendan started his career as a Business Administrator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California where he supported the financial and business management of several engineering test centers. From there, Brendan worked as a Contracts Analyst with 3M Cogent Systems, where he went through 3M’s Lean Six Sigma training program and implemented several operational improvement projects.
Brendan is a Southern California native, growing up in Rancho Cucamonga and graduating from California Polytechnic University, Pomona with a Bachelor of Science in Market Research. He also holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Redlands.
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About Business Bites:
An original webinar series brought to you by HanaHaus in close collaboration with ON ITS AXIS. Enjoy 1-hour livestream episodes featuring renowned thought leaders and notable speakers from various industries. Join us for thoughtful conversations every month where our guests share insights on innovation, leadership, business development, and other relevant topics!
About ON ITS AXIS:
ON ITS AXIS is an award-winning innovation consultancy helping enterprises accelerate faster and at scale. Since 2009 we've partnered with some of the brightest, most forward-thinking companies to spark change, enhance agility, and optimize growth. Over the years we've had the honor to work with companies like Samsung, Google, Amazon, Yahoo, IBM, and BICS. Together, we’ve created business models, taken products from concept to commercialization, and created cultures of excellence.
About HanaHaus:
HanaHaus is a community workspace that combines the best aspects of café and coworking culture and cultivates a dynamic atmosphere for innovation. The concept of HanaHaus is rooted in the philosophy that great ideas spring from anywhere, and more often when people come together. HanaHaus brings people together and offers a space where they can connect, explore new ideas, and bring them to life.