Shownotes
Episode Intro:
Most organizations are struggling with skill shortages and retention of talent. A lack of social connection at work is a widespread problem – made worse by remote and hybrid work.
Did you know that:
- 57% of employees feel invisible at work.
- 20% of new hires will quit their job in the first 45 days. Many don’t even show up on day one (particularly when the gap between offer and start date is long).
According to a 2021 research study by McKinsey, a lack of connection and appreciation is the number one driver for attrition! In fact, people are nearly three times more likely to quit because they don’t feel like they belong at work than because of poor compensation.
It is Dr. Aliaa Remtilla’s mission to help companies foster stronger, more authentic human connections amongst their employees. She is the Chief Scientist and Co-Founder of StoryTiling: a platform that uses anthropology and tech to bring more authenticity to workplace relationships; a simple, automated way to create impactful, personalised films that show employees they matter.
Join us to learn more!
About Dr. Aliaa Remtilla:
Dr. Aliaa Remtilla is an anthropologist and filmmaker, whose mission is to improve understandings of the human experience. Originally trained as a filmmaker at Harvard University, Aliaa takes complex ideas and communicates them to the general public through emotive storytelling in the visual medium.
Aliaa is also a professional researcher, with an MA and PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Manchester (UK). She has worked as a researcher at both the Institute of Ismaili Studies (UK) and at Simon Fraser University (Canada). Together, she has conducted research in over 20 countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Portugal, Tajikistan, and Tanzania examining the confluence of religion, economics and politics.
Aliaa has also served extensively with the Shi’a Ismaili Muslim community through the Aga Khan Councils in Australia, New Zealand, and the USA. Aliaa is skilled at shaping the strategic direction of community organisations at all levels: for example, at a grass roots level, supporting youth to navigate their Muslim identity while living in a Western context; or at an institutional level, establishing strategic partnerships with government and civic entities.
Aliaa is currently the Chief Scientist and Co-Founder of StoryTiling, a platform that uses anthropology and tech to bring more authenticity to workplace relationships by offering a simple, automated way to create impactful, personalised films that show employees they matter.
Specifically, for new graduate hires, StoryTiling reduces the risk of reneges and speeds up the time to productivity with automated & personalised keep warm videos.
Aliaa has recently posted a YouTube video - Gen Z Engagement: Beyond Myths to HR Innovation – where she very nicely explains how these videos and narratives can enhance a number of organizational initiatives, positively not only Gen Z but all other generations of our work colleagues’ employment experiences.
Connect with Aliaa:
Email: aliaa@storytiling.com
LinkedIn: 9) Aliaa Remtilla, PhD | LinkedIn
Subscribe to Aliaa’s Monthly Newsletter, AntHRo Insights: https://storytiling.com/anthroinsights
Book: https://www.iis.ac.uk/publications-listing/2023/experiences-of-the-jamatkhana/
The Human Touch in AI-Driven HR – Finding the Right Balance: https://storytiling.com/anthroinsights/human-touch-in-ai-driven-hr
Aliaa Remtilla's Story — StoryTiling
The Power of Authenticity in Employee Onboarding — StoryTiling
About the Host:
Susan has worked with people all her life. As a human resource professional, she has specialized in all aspects of employment, from hiring to retirement. She got her start as a national representative for a large Canadian union. After pursuing an undergrad degree in business administration, Susan transitioned to HR management, where she aspired to bring
both employee and management perspectives to her work. Susan holds a Master of Arts degree in Leadership and Training. She retired from her multi-decade career in HR to pursue writing and consulting, and to be able, in her words, to “colour outside the lines.” She promises some fun and lots of learning through this podcast series.
Susan is also the author of the book Leadership Inside Out: Effecting Change from
Within available on Amazon – click below.
Leadership Inside Out: Effecting Change from Within: Ney, Susan G: 9781777030162: Books - Amazon.ca
If you wish to contact Susan, she can be reached through any of the following:
Website: Home - Effecting Change from Within
Email: susangney@gmail.com
Linked In: www.linkedin.com/in/susan-ney-197494
Facebook: www.facebook.com/susan.ney.5/
Phone: (604) 341-5643
Thanks for listening!
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Transcripts
Hi, welcome to the podcast HR inside out. I'm your
Susan Ney:host Susan day and I am absolutely thrilled to welcome
Susan Ney:Dr. Alia REM Tila to today's podcast.
Susan Ney:Dr. Aliaa Remtilla: Hi. It's great to be here with you.
Susan Ney:Thanks for having me.
Susan Ney:And thank you so much for saying yes. Now first a
Susan Ney:little bit about you know, Dr. Alia Rotella is an
Susan Ney:anthropologist and a filmmaker whose mission is to improve
Susan Ney:understandings of the human experience. originally trained
Susan Ney:as a filmmaker at Harvard University, Alia it takes
Susan Ney:complex ideas and communicates them to the general public
Susan Ney:through emotive storytelling in the visual medium. Allie is also
Susan Ney:a professional researcher with an MA and a PhD in Social
Susan Ney:Anthropology from the University of Manchester in the UK. She's
Susan Ney:worked as a researcher at both the Institute of Ismaili Studies
Susan Ney:in the UK, and at Simon Fraser University here in Canada.
Susan Ney:Together she has conducted research in over 20 countries
Susan Ney:including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Portugal, 10, chica Stan, and
Susan Ney:Tanzania, examining the confluence of religion,
Susan Ney:economics and politics. Alia has also served extensively with the
Susan Ney:she Ismaili Muslim community through the Agha Khan councils
Susan Ney:in Australia, New Zealand and in the United States of America.
Susan Ney:Alia is skilled at shaping the strategic direction of community
Susan Ney:organizations at all levels. For example, at a grassroots level,
Susan Ney:supporting youth to navigate their Muslim identity while
Susan Ney:living in a western context. at an institutional level,
Susan Ney:establishing strategic partnerships with government and
Susan Ney:civic entities. Ellie is currently the Chief Scientist
Susan Ney:and the co founder of storytelling, a platform that
Susan Ney:uses anthropology and tech to bring more authenticity to
Susan Ney:workplace relationships. Love it by offering a simple automated
Susan Ney:way to create impactful, personalized films to show
Susan Ney:employees that they matter. Specifically for new graduate
Susan Ney:hires, storytelling reduces the risk of reneges and it speeds up
Susan Ney:the time to productivity with automated and personalized what
Susan Ney:Aaliyah calls keep warm videos. Elena has actually recently
Susan Ney:posted a YouTube video titled Gen Zed engagement, beyond
Susan Ney:myths, the HR innovation, where she very nicely explains how
Susan Ney:these videos and narratives work, and how they can enhance a
Susan Ney:number of organizational initiatives, not only for Gen
Susan Ney:Zed, but for all other generations of our work
Susan Ney:colleagues, employment experiences. God love that. Oh,
Susan Ney:yeah, I love that you started with a personal passion to be
Susan Ney:different. And that sure caught my attention. There's got to be
Susan Ney:a story there. Can we can I get you to jump in? With a little
Susan Ney:bit about
Susan Ney:Dr. Aliaa Remtilla: you? Yeah, I mean, it's interesting, because
Susan Ney:as you described my background, you know, we talked about dei
Susan Ney:EDI, all of this and there's a lot of that in who I am, right?
Susan Ney:You know, we're talking about me being Muslim working with Muslim
Susan Ney:communities and actually 911 took place the night before my
Susan Ney:first day of classes at Harvard was a very interesting, you
Susan Ney:know, like, and then I'm physically, I mean, our
Susan Ney:listeners can't can't hear that as can see me, but I have brown
Susan Ney:skin, I'm of Indian origin. But I was born and raised in
Susan Ney:Vancouver. And for me, it was how can I just be Canadian? And
Susan Ney:it felt like you know, growing up well, I visibly was not what
Susan Ney:the you know, external, potentially general perception
Susan Ney:of what a Canadian might be, which did not include being
Susan Ney:Muslim and having brown skin. So I think that was part of, of
Susan Ney:just being different to begin with, outside of any choice of
Susan Ney:my own. And then also, I was female, and I was a massive
Susan Ney:hockey fan. And this is another way that we talked about being
Susan Ney:underrepresented and this is changing today with PW HL but at
Susan Ney:the time well, like if I wanted to be a professional hockey
Susan Ney:player, was that even possible as a woman, you know, and what
Susan Ney:it led to was this process of self discovery where this is, I
Susan Ney:guess, the story of at one point, going from wearing my
Susan Ney:female cousins hand me downs to my male cousins hand me downs,
Susan Ney:cutting my hair off into a boycott and saying, Well, you
Susan Ney:know, what, if to be my dream of being a professional hockey
Susan Ney:player, I need to be a man. Well, let me start dressing like
Susan Ney:one right and I remember the sort of pride and ROI of, you
Susan Ney:know, skateboarding after my parents on a bicycle, who were
Susan Ney:driving away on a bike their bicycles, and having someone
Susan Ney:chase after them and telling them your son is trying to catch
Susan Ney:you. And it this wasn't a gender exploration it was, how can I be
Susan Ney:what I need to be in order to achieve what I want to achieve,
Susan Ney:because I didn't see people like me doing the things that I
Susan Ney:wanted to do. And as I went through this journey, I think
Susan Ney:part of what I realized was that, you know, I mean, he went
Susan Ney:back to wearing clothes that are traditionally defined as being
Susan Ney:female, I grew my hair out. But that these very things that may
Susan Ney:need different could actually become assets. And I could lean
Susan Ney:into the difference instead of trying to cut the hair off and
Susan Ney:change my clothes to the norm, if that makes sense. And so it
Susan Ney:was very much a journey of, of how do I, if I'm going to be
Susan Ney:different, do something with that difference that, you know,
Susan Ney:can be what I need it to be even as to still enable me to go in
Susan Ney:the places that I want it to go. And I think that this is very
Susan Ney:much the journey of authenticity, right? And, you
Susan Ney:know, preteen, it's it's quite different from that journey as
Susan Ney:an adult. But I think it's very, like the having gone through
Susan Ney:that experience as a child is very formative in how I continue
Susan Ney:today, to really want to value authenticity in all aspects of
Susan Ney:our lives, and create spaces where difference really can be
Susan Ney:embraced.
Susan Ney:I love that. And you know, it's vulnerability, right?
Susan Ney:But I love that you modeled it, because when we model it, we
Susan Ney:make it easier for others to to follow suit. You talk a lot
Susan Ney:about the power of authenticity and the work that you do. And
Susan Ney:with regard to this podcast, specifically and employee
Susan Ney:onboarding, can, can we start there? And just what have you
Susan Ney:learned from your research? With specific regard to the
Susan Ney:onboarding experience? Let's start there. Yeah,
Susan Ney:Dr. Aliaa Remtilla: I mean, there's, there's a real problem
Susan Ney:here, right? I was shocked when I learned 20% of new hires will
Susan Ney:quit their job in their first 45 days on the job. Oh, really
Susan Ney:high, right? That's like one in five people. Some people don't
Susan Ney:even show up on day one. So this is like that Rena egg rate that
Susan Ney:we were you're talking about, right. And I think it gets
Susan Ney:worse, especially in the early career space, or potentially, in
Susan Ney:some context, there's like up to an eight month gap between job
Susan Ney:offer and start date. So it becomes hard to keep that
Susan Ney:interest. And that's where I talk about keep warm. I think
Susan Ney:that that the challenge that we face in HR is that there's so
Susan Ney:much practical stuff we have to deal with. Right? There's the
Susan Ney:paperwork, compliance, like, and then there are legal
Susan Ney:restrictions, I think it's California, where you like,
Susan Ney:there's certain things that you can and cannot do with someone
Susan Ney:before they get there, like officially on payroll, right,
Susan Ney:like so there's, there's even legally a limitation on how much
Susan Ney:engagement we can do. And essentially, I think with all of
Susan Ney:this, what gets lost is the stuff that matters most to the
Susan Ney:new hire. And I think if I'm starting a new job, that's as
Susan Ney:much as the social aspects of things that I'm really, really
Susan Ney:keen to figure out, you know, who's going to be the people
Susan Ney:that I'm going to be working with? Am I going to like them
Susan Ney:like a boss? Are they gonna like me? Are we going to have, you
Susan Ney:know, stuff to relate about relate together around. And I
Susan Ney:think that this the social emotional connection to
Susan Ney:colleagues, managers, direct reports, and a company right to
Susan Ney:feel like this is a company I'm excited to be working for. I
Susan Ney:think that's the stuff that really, really matters. And that
Susan Ney:sometimes right now is falling through the cracks.
Susan Ney:I've certainly seen, not so much the people quitting
Susan Ney:in that short timeframe that you've expressed and supported
Susan Ney:by the research but where there are lag between offering and
Susan Ney:somebody's first start date, especially if you're hiring from
Susan Ney:outside the country. And you're right, all the paperwork and
Susan Ney:stuff that's that's involved. of, yeah, people accepting
Susan Ney:something else in the interim, and not showing up. And which is
Susan Ney:really tough, not only on the organization in general, but on
Susan Ney:the colleagues that are waiting for, you know, help with with
Susan Ney:the work that that individual is going to help with. Totally. I
Susan Ney:want to take us actually, as we talk about this to a research
Susan Ney:article that you referenced on your website, it was titled,
Susan Ney:breaking the manor eliciting their best reframing
Susan Ney:socialization around newcomers have authentic self expression.
Susan Ney:And in that article, I learned that companies that emphasize
Susan Ney:personal identity during the onboarding process experience a
Susan Ney:250% increase in employee retention after just seven
Susan Ney:months, given the cost of losing an employee, which, you know,
Susan Ney:you can use up to sometimes two or three times their annual
Susan Ney:salary. That's a pretty exciting statistic. What are you finding
Susan Ney:in the other research that you've, you've been doing? Oh,
Susan Ney:Dr. Aliaa Remtilla: it's so good that you bring this up. And
Susan Ney:especially because I think it's bringing together everything
Susan Ney:we've discussed so far, right? So from everything from my own,
Susan Ney:need to figure out in my own personal journey, who I am, and
Susan Ney:find that authenticity. And I think that's connecting my own
Susan Ney:personal journey to what we were just discussing in terms of new
Susan Ney:hire, onboarding, and, and creating space for authenticity
Susan Ney:in the workplace. And I think that this the need for for
Susan Ney:individuals in the work context, to feel that they have a place
Susan Ney:to be themselves, emphasize that personal identity, and have that
Susan Ney:be connected to employee retention. Almost seems logical,
Susan Ney:right? Once you think about all of that, and, and I think so if
Susan Ney:you're asking about the other research, I think McKinsey did a
Susan Ney:study in 2021, and said that exactly like this, this lack of
Susan Ney:connection and appreciation is the number one driver for
Susan Ney:attrition for people quitting, and people are three times more
Susan Ney:likely to quit, because they don't feel like they belong at
Susan Ney:work, then because they feel like they're poorly compensated.
Susan Ney:And that's crazy, right? Because whenever we think about
Susan Ney:retention, we think about, Okay, how are we going to increase
Susan Ney:salary packages? How are we going to, you know, give them
Susan Ney:more incentives? And we think practically, we think about,
Susan Ney:like, you know, oh, let's, let's give them more gift cards, let's
Susan Ney:give them this. But actually, sometimes, all they need is to
Susan Ney:feel socially connected. And, you know, this is becoming so
Susan Ney:much worse, with remote and hybrid work. So I think that
Susan Ney:this, this, it becomes harder, right? Like, it's, if you're
Susan Ney:connecting over the water cooler, or you just happen to
Susan Ney:have to say hi to someone when you're coming into an office
Susan Ney:that facilitates the sort of informal connection, and you
Susan Ney:almost don't need a formalized program to resolve it. But yeah,
Susan Ney:this is a problem. I think another stat at 57% of employees
Susan Ney:are feeling invisible at work right now. It's high, right? If
Susan Ney:if you're feeling invisible, you don't feel connected, and you
Susan Ney:don't feel like you have your personal identity being seen.
Susan Ney:It is absolutely critical. And something that I
Susan Ney:certainly have worried about with this one thing with this a
Susan Ney:hybrid work environment where individuals at least come in,
Susan Ney:you know, to be working with their colleagues in person
Susan Ney:periodically. But for those who are working completely remotely,
Susan Ney:that's always been a concern of mine from a from a caring about
Susan Ney:people perspective. Yeah. Is that
Susan Ney:Dr. Aliaa Remtilla: sorry, go ahead and done it. You know,
Susan Ney:that this that to the point of of the hybrid, I think there are
Susan Ney:different ways of doing hybrid. And I think that like, there's
Susan Ney:also a question within hybrid of whether folks are coming in on
Susan Ney:the same days, because in the type of hybrid where you know,
Susan Ney:you pick your days, then you may still not be getting that
Susan Ney:connection, if the like if there is no one to connect with on the
Susan Ney:days that you're there.
Susan Ney:Good point. Good point. Now, that for our
Susan Ney:listeners, it's like, yeah, Susan, guy, like, we know about
Susan Ney:all of that. But what can we be doing differently? And that's
Susan Ney:what's so exciting about when you were telling me about your
Susan Ney:business storytelling, where you've talked about how
Susan Ney:storytelling can be used as a follow up to the recruitment
Susan Ney:process, please? Yes, yes, there is a tool list. Over to you
Susan Ney:please to share a little bit about storytelling and how it's
Susan Ney:used in the recruitment process.
Susan Ney:Dr. Aliaa Remtilla: Yeah. So I mean, I think so much of what
Susan Ney:we've been discussing right now is the importance of creating
Susan Ney:human connection and then starting off on that foot. And
Susan Ney:that's what we're doing with storytelling is we're trying to
Susan Ney:say, okay, even if you're working in person, and it's
Susan Ney:fully in person work context, before the first day, everyone's
Susan Ney:remote, because the new hire is not coming in, right? So in that
Susan Ney:fully remote, pre boarding time, like the pre day, one time, we
Susan Ney:facilitate a way to actually start the creation of those
Susan Ney:social connections. And we do that through I mean, I guess the
Susan Ney:fancy word would be asynchronous video, but essentially what we
Susan Ney:do our tech makes it smooth. For easy and quick to collect videos
Susan Ney:from different videos like personalized video recordings
Susan Ney:from different individuals, and then auto edit them together
Susan Ney:into a beautiful gift for the new hire now, we realize this.
Susan Ney:So essentially, let's start like, what would this look like?
Susan Ney:Let's say that we've hired someone there starting in one
Susan Ney:week, two weeks, and we want to give them this amazing warm
Susan Ney:welcome and start as quickly as possible. The creation of the
Susan Ney:relationships between that individual and our future team.
Susan Ney:What we enable companies to do is to say, okay, that feature
Susan Ney:team, let's have them all, send a video message, introduce
Susan Ney:themselves, tell them a little bit about why they're excited
Susan Ney:for the new hire to work with them and to start, and we
Susan Ney:collect those videos. First of all, we make it super easy for
Susan Ney:everyone to record those videos, we know that most of us are not
Susan Ney:in Gen Zed, we don't know how to record a video, and it feels
Susan Ney:super awkward. So we've designed a product that has pre written
Susan Ney:scripts teleprompters, making it like just dummy proof, remove
Susan Ney:all the stress from the process. And then we integrate with HR I
Susan Ney:SS ATS is to smooth out that whole administrative part of
Susan Ney:things. And then once the videos are collected, we enhance them
Susan Ney:with music, company branding, title cards, edited it all
Susan Ney:together into this gorgeous website that includes a list of
Susan Ney:all of the people on the team and their photos. So that that
Susan Ney:new hire, basically before they even starts is just like, wowed
Susan Ney:by the fact that they are they're like wait, really, that
Susan Ney:these folks took the time to send me this amazing custom
Susan Ney:video just for me. And what ends up happening is they show up on
Susan Ney:day one, and they already kind of know everyone a little bit,
Susan Ney:right. So you just speed up that entire process of building those
Susan Ney:relationships, which the data tells us our key to retention.
Susan Ney:And this all gets done before day one, and it takes like two
Susan Ney:minutes from each person, which is way quicker than the 30
Susan Ney:minute coffee chat that you would otherwise have to schedule
Susan Ney:after they start. So it's a massive time saver for everyone
Susan Ney:involved. And it wow was the new hire to set off in a really
Susan Ney:great start. And yeah, it's, it's really excited about it.
Susan Ney:Wow, I can't even imagine how wonderful that would
Susan Ney:feel. And I know when we talked, you know, you also the
Susan Ney:encouragement about a little bit something about personal about,
Susan Ney:you know, the fact that you are a dog lover, or you know,
Susan Ney:something that you know, sometimes in the busyness of our
Susan Ney:work, especially when we don't have those water cooler
Susan Ney:conversations, it's really hard to get to know your work
Susan Ney:colleagues. So that would be such it's such an incredible
Susan Ney:gift. And that's not withstanding that those 30
Susan Ney:minute coffee conversations afterwards are still incredibly
Susan Ney:important. But what a marvelous gift. I know that you also have
Susan Ney:used storytelling or not you but the organization's for
Susan Ney:recognizing individuals, or groups of individuals with
Susan Ney:personalized films such as what you've just described, perhaps
Susan Ney:to recognize a milestone like a project that's been completed
Susan Ney:and boy, putting in hrs new systems that deserved at least
Susan Ney:that. Can you provide an example from the work that you do,
Susan Ney:actually telling us a little bit about an organization not
Susan Ney:necessarily identifying who they are, but how that application of
Susan Ney:storytelling has been used? Yeah.
Susan Ney:Dr. Aliaa Remtilla: So we have a number of different I mean, I
Susan Ney:think that the, the way I see it is you essentially have three
Susan Ney:phases in which you can use storytelling. So the first that
Susan Ney:is in the recruitment process, so the ability to use our videos
Susan Ney:for testimonials that can be embedded in Job, Job, adverts
Susan Ney:information about the company that gets crowdsource things
Susan Ney:like that. So that's in the recruiting process. I've also
Susan Ney:seen storytelling used for immediate follow ups. So if you
Susan Ney:want to send like a company branded, you know, with the auto
Susan Ney:editing that we have to offer a quick follow up after an
Susan Ney:interview with a stellar candidate, especially like let's
Susan Ney:say you're going to a job fair. This is like in the early career
Susan Ney:space. I've seen this a lot where there is massive
Susan Ney:competition for the top 10 candidates and every company
Susan Ney:wants that candidate. following it up with an that one of our
Susan Ney:storytelling edited video saying we love talking to you. And this
Susan Ney:is why in a video that has your company branding is pretty cool.
Susan Ney:Oh yeah, definitely a way to company apart. So that's the
Susan Ney:first bit in the recruiting context, I think the second is
Susan Ney:what we've talked about so far in terms of the pre day one. So
Susan Ney:post job offer pre day one. And I'll come back to that, because
Susan Ney:I think there's some good examples there. And then the
Susan Ney:third is in the ongoing engagement. So that's where
Susan Ney:they're what you were talking about just now with work
Susan Ney:anniversaries, birthdays, I've seen a lot of really good uses
Susan Ney:around personal milestone vacations. So having a new baby
Susan Ney:getting married, getting citizenship, or getting your
Susan Ney:permanent residency milestones that are really big, right,
Susan Ney:like, that's huge and a person's life, and recognizing it in a
Susan Ney:way that shows real real value, I think there's a certain
Susan Ney:category of employee that's earning a lot of money already,
Susan Ney:where a $50 gift card or $100 gift card, I mean, really, and
Susan Ney:then in Canada, there's an additional tax burden on the
Susan Ney:gift, you're essentially getting them to pay more out of pocket
Susan Ney:to get something they may not even want. Whereas this type of
Susan Ney:gift is the gift that just you know, it's it's emotionally
Susan Ney:valuable. So you can even place $1 value on it. There for that
Susan Ney:middle type of category there, the pre boarding before day one,
Susan Ney:I've seen two different types of companies really lean into this
Susan Ney:that have a specific need. One is in a context of really high
Susan Ney:high frequency turnover, high volume of hires, customer
Susan Ney:service matters in the space, right, like, if you're talking
Susan Ney:about retail, you need that new hire to be really excited to get
Susan Ney:going. So wowing them before day one makes a big difference. And
Susan Ney:because turnover is so frequent, you kinda want to do every
Susan Ney:little extra bit that you can, with out paying them a ton more,
Susan Ney:because that's actually, you know, probably go against what's
Susan Ney:best for the company. So that's where a video helps. And then
Susan Ney:the second is, is that that sort of grayed hierarchy form problem
Susan Ney:that we were talking about. So I think those are two of the like,
Susan Ney:niches that I've seen, multiple companies really, really need
Susan Ney:it. And then of course, the other type of company that tends
Susan Ney:to really gravitate towards using storytelling are your
Susan Ney:cultural leaders. So companies that are performing really well
Susan Ney:on already creating a great work environment, they tend to be
Susan Ney:early adopters of any new technology that is arising to
Susan Ney:make things even better for further employers or their
Susan Ney:employees. So I think those are maybe three different categories
Susan Ney:of companies that use us,
Susan Ney:as I was listening to, I was just thinking of a
Susan Ney:situation where somebody was just being honored with their 20
Susan Ney:years with the company. And their boss took the time to
Susan Ney:basically list out in an email, every accomplishment that you
Susan Ney:know, every promotion that that individual had experienced
Susan Ney:through their career with the organization, and how much that
Susan Ney:meant. And I can't even imagine how that would be just made so
Susan Ney:much, even more impactful if it had been the video with the boss
Susan Ney:talking about those and just, you know, again, just so much
Susan Ney:more personal. Yeah, well, I could see this would be huge,
Susan Ney:and making a really significant difference. For anybody. I can't
Susan Ney:imagine anyone not being Oh, just blown away by receiving a
Susan Ney:storytime.
Susan Ney:Dr. Aliaa Remtilla: Absolutely. And you know, it never gets old.
Susan Ney:Like, every time it can be the exact same thing over and over.
Susan Ney:And as a giver, you're like, Oh, this is going to be boring. It's
Susan Ney:going to be the same thing again, for the recipient never.
Susan Ney:It's, they just keep them coming. Right. And it is it's in
Susan Ney:the nonverbal you're right that there's something very very
Susan Ney:unique about video. It's it's the the facial expressions, and
Susan Ney:you know, the things that aren't spoken but are seen. That
Susan Ney:indicates a lot.
Susan Ney:Well, it's that authenticity that comes through.
Susan Ney:So I know when we were talking and I'm thinking oh my goodness,
Susan Ney:this would be very expensive. And I worked primarily in
Susan Ney:nonprofit and public sector through my career. And there was
Susan Ney:very little money If that, you know, unfortunately was able to
Susan Ney:be budgeted for these kinds of initiatives, what can an
Susan Ney:organization expect? Working with you and your colleagues? If
Susan Ney:they're interested in using storytelling and in their
Susan Ney:recruitment retention? Initiatives? What kind of costs?
Susan Ney:How would it work? ballpark?
Susan Ney:Dr. Aliaa Remtilla: Yeah, great question. I'll start by saying
Susan Ney:that there's a lot of personalization. So we're not
Susan Ney:one of you know, we believe in in the value of authenticity,
Susan Ney:and we work really directly with our company. So what can you
Susan Ney:expect you can expect to have a call with me directly? And, you
Susan Ney:know, not just with some sort of salesperson who's trying to turn
Susan Ney:out monthly quotas, so and that personalization goes to pricing
Susan Ney:as well. So we work with companies based on how we can
Susan Ney:for us, it's it's a question of how can we have impact on that
Susan Ney:company? I think in terms of like the formally listed prices,
Susan Ney:packages still are very cheap. So ballpark, starting as low
Susan Ney:from as $300 a month, Canadian dollars. So but but you know,
Susan Ney:we're always really keen to explore new use cases. And our
Susan Ney:our vision is to improve authenticity and that human
Susan Ney:relationship in as many workplaces as possible. So we're
Susan Ney:really keen to work with companies to design solutions
Susan Ney:that match their specific budgets, we never want pricing
Susan Ney:to be a bet barrier.
Susan Ney:You did mention per month? Yeah. Oh, is that
Susan Ney:something that you need to sign a contract that it's specific
Susan Ney:months? Or again, you really work with the client and find
Susan Ney:out? What would work for that client? That sounds like you're
Susan Ney:pretty flexible. But yes.
Susan Ney:Dr. Aliaa Remtilla: The landline? Should we just let it
Susan Ney:ring and make a note to just delete this? Yeah. off, wait for
Susan Ney:it to finish ringing? Forget they my parents set up a
Susan Ney:landline. Okay. Do you want to repeat the question? Or do you
Susan Ney:share that?
Susan Ney:You mentioned that it's a per month cost. So, but
Susan Ney:you've also talked about being really flexible with regard to
Susan Ney:an organization's specific needs. So I'm assuming you would
Susan Ney:be flexible, but perhaps you could speak to that? Yeah,
Susan Ney:Dr. Aliaa Remtilla: for sure. So there are there are companies
Susan Ney:that want to pay just for one video. And that's always a
Susan Ney:possibility, we find that the majority of use cases are
Susan Ney:actually repeat use cases where companies want to do you know,
Susan Ney:let's say a video for every new hire, and hiring is ongoing. So
Susan Ney:it works out more economically friendly to our customers to
Susan Ney:just sort of do a one off set up and then have a monthly
Susan Ney:subscription, that just sort of enables them to keep using the
Susan Ney:product and use the software as as much as they want. And so
Susan Ney:that's why we've gone to instead of buying a package of a certain
Susan Ney:number of videos to actually say, You know what, let's solve
Susan Ney:solve the issue, just keep using it. Once we've done the setup
Susan Ney:and the customization. Just just just pay and we actually don't
Susan Ney:charge for the setup and customization. So our general
Susan Ney:approach is to have a monthly subscription paid annually. And
Susan Ney:that enables us to sort of invest in that upfront cost to
Susan Ney:customize algorithm for that company with their branding.
Susan Ney:And, you know, all the video editing algorithms, all the
Susan Ney:integrations with ATS as hrs is all of that stuff that enables
Susan Ney:it to be really seamless. And by the way, it's really quick,
Susan Ney:right? So if a company decides to use it today, I mean, within
Susan Ney:a day or two, they're they're off and running like it's yeah,
Susan Ney:it's really not heavy on the setup. But yeah, to your point,
Susan Ney:if if that type of pricing is a major barrier, we can we can
Susan Ney:discuss other things I just I haven't seen for the use cases
Susan Ney:that I think we thrive on that seems to be the best pricing
Susan Ney:model at this stage.
Susan Ney:Okay, what I'm hearing you say is that call me?
Susan Ney:Oh, wait, let's leave it at that. As we bring this podcast
Susan Ney:to a close, is there anything that I haven't thought to ask
Susan Ney:you that our listeners might find helpful regarding this
Susan Ney:very, very important topic?
Susan Ney:Dr. Aliaa Remtilla: You know? I just don't think anything beats
Susan Ney:face to face interaction. Like we're talking about
Susan Ney:authenticity, we're talking about creating real
Susan Ney:relationships. We're talking about the the need For, you
Susan Ney:know, creating space for personal identity in the
Susan Ney:workplace, I'd love it if we were put out of business because
Susan Ney:every single person in the office actually took the time
Susan Ney:out individually, to have those real face to face conversations
Susan Ney:to, to take the time to develop those real human relationships
Susan Ney:in their workplace. I also realized this is impractical,
Susan Ney:which is why we exist. I know that it takes a lot of time to
Susan Ney:do that, I know that we are in a world where we're remote is here
Susan Ney:to stay. And I know that that companies grow, right, so what
Susan Ney:may be possible for a smaller company for a smaller team. As
Susan Ney:you know, I remember talking to this one company where the CEO
Susan Ney:personally cooks a barbecue lunch for his team once a
Susan Ney:quarter. And, you know, you can't like don't replace that
Susan Ney:with a storytelling video. But I also we were talking why because
Susan Ney:the company was getting too large for it to be feasible for
Susan Ney:the CEO to cook that up that much. But you know, for Yeah, so
Susan Ney:I think it's essentially that's that would be my my sort of
Susan Ney:final point, I think, like at that point where it becomes too
Susan Ney:difficult to do, at that sort of individual level. Reach out this
Susan Ney:is this is, you know, if you're recognizing the problem, need
Susan Ney:help solving it. And even if you don't know that storytelling is
Susan Ney:right for you, that's fine. I'm always happy to chat, discuss
Susan Ney:options, I have been working in this space for a while, I've
Susan Ney:been doing a lot of research in this space. And ultimately, I
Susan Ney:want to be helping companies foster stronger and authentic,
Susan Ney:more authentic human connections amongst their employees in any
Susan Ney:way possible. So really, really happy to connect with folks who
Susan Ney:who are, you know, exploring this for their own companies.
Susan Ney:It really is the core of who you are. And it's
Susan Ney:interesting, because, you know, even if companies were to use it
Susan Ney:for those key positions that, you know, tend to go through a
Susan Ney:number of interview processes. And I'm just, I could see even
Susan Ney:through those interview processes of using this from and
Susan Ney:I think you and I talked about, with the recruiters, you know,
Susan Ney:because often there are multiperson recruitment teams,
Susan Ney:saying a little bit about who they are, you know, or just
Susan Ney:encouraging someone along the process so that you don't end up
Susan Ney:losing good candidates, I could see a whole bunch of different
Susan Ney:uses. And that brings me to you also have been very interested
Susan Ney:in in. And I think you talked about it in the giveth and nudge
Susan Ney:YouTube video, keeping family stories alive. So before we
Susan Ney:before we come to a close, little bit about that I think
Susan Ney:your grandma was was What took you on that journey? Yeah,
Susan Ney:Dr. Aliaa Remtilla: I think so. My grandma turned 90, nearly 10
Susan Ney:years ago. She's turning 99 This year, and she's still with us.
Susan Ney:Oh, yes, amazing. And for her 90th birthday, we wrote a book
Susan Ney:about her life. And it was not the most fun to put that book
Susan Ney:together because the technology wasn't great. And, you know, my,
Susan Ney:we tried to solve that problem, actually, by, you know, we're
Susan Ney:pretty good at helping people open up a video for them. And we
Susan Ney:we built a tech product that enabled families to capture
Susan Ney:their life stories we actually are about to have. We've
Susan Ney:submitted, we had a university in Australia, the University of
Susan Ney:Canberra, who worked together with an aged care facility to
Susan Ney:assess the efficacy of that tech product that we built in
Susan Ney:improving the quality of dementia care by having the
Susan Ney:caregivers talk to the dementia of the folks with dementia and
Susan Ney:capture their stories with their tech in video form. And so
Susan Ney:hopefully that publication will come out soon to valid and it
Susan Ney:does that the publication that we that the paper that we wrote
Susan Ney:does validate the efficacy that our tech is very good at doing
Susan Ney:this. So yeah, it's something that's a bit of a side project
Susan Ney:for us and you know, something that we yeah, we really care
Susan Ney:about in terms of this, this mission to capture stories and I
Susan Ney:think it goes back to honestly where we started right, which is
Susan Ney:about our identity and about creating I think that if if we
Susan Ney:want to build communities, that and and future leaders really
Susan Ney:that are confident in the entirety of who they are, with
Susan Ney:all of the diversity that comes As with an all the diversity,
Susan Ney:right, because there are many layers of different types of
Susan Ney:diversity, a lot of that is feeling comfortable and rooted
Susan Ney:in our stories and our heritage in our family traditions, in our
Susan Ney:community traditions, however, community is defined in
Susan Ney:understanding those legacies that we inherit and how they
Susan Ney:have shaped us and come to be. So I think this is actually
Susan Ney:quite critical. And I know, you know, yeah, on the side have
Susan Ney:also written a book that specifically about my own
Susan Ney:community, my the Ismaili, Muslims, her history from East
Susan Ney:Africa, and this has also been part of that own journey for me
Susan Ney:right as understanding my own heritage. So I think it's really
Susan Ney:shaped so much of who I am. And I do believe that you know,
Susan Ney:whether or not you're capturing it in a video forum, I think
Susan Ney:that going home and talking to our parents and our grandparents
Susan Ney:and our aunts and our uncles, and just, you know, asking the
Susan Ney:questions beyond the mundane, you know, so not like, what did
Susan Ney:you have for lunch today? But, you know, questions about your
Susan Ney:childhood? What were your you know, what was school? Like for
Susan Ney:you? What were some of the challenges that you've overcome,
Susan Ney:and understanding that and, and being, when stories repeat
Susan Ney:themselves, because that's part of the process, but only
Susan Ney:continues to ask those questions and to learn? Again,
Susan Ney:what a gift and a legacy individuals within
Susan Ney:organizations? Yeah, wouldn't it be wonderful to capture those,
Susan Ney:you know, as part of an organization's branding? Yeah,
Susan Ney:you know, well, I can just see so many uses of storytelling,
Susan Ney:and it's, it's so exciting what you're doing. And just, I so
Susan Ney:appreciate the you're saying yes, to coming and sharing a
Susan Ney:little bit about your journey, your personal journey, and the
Susan Ney:work that you're doing with storytelling. And, and, and
Susan Ney:others, like this book that you've just referenced, how do
Susan Ney:people contact you, and I will put not only your contact
Susan Ney:information, but also a link to the book, if that's okay. And to
Susan Ney:some of the articles that that we've referenced in the show
Susan Ney:notes to the podcast. So how do you how do people contact you?
Susan Ney:Dr. Aliaa Remtilla: Yeah, reach out to me on LinkedIn, I'm
Susan Ney:always on it. Always tricky messages. So me, I will respond.
Susan Ney:Excellent. Thank you. And I do encourage that reach
Susan Ney:out to at least learn a little bit more. I just, I think this
Susan Ney:is just a phenomenal idea, and one that really could be helping
Susan Ney:us with recruitment and retaining those employees within
Susan Ney:our organizations. Thank you. Thank you for being here. And
Susan Ney:making the time it is time for us to say goodbye. And for our
Susan Ney:listeners. Thank you for connecting with us and
Susan Ney:supporting HR inside out. Remember, dare to soar? Because
Susan Ney:we believe you can. It is Elia and Susan signing out. Have a
Susan Ney:great rest of your day everybody. Bye. Take care. Bye
Susan Ney:bye
