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Enhancing the Employment Experience – Onboarding and Retention – With Guest Dr. Aliaa Remtilla | HR 70
Episode 701st April 2024 • HR Inside Out • Susan Ney
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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 StoryStoryTiling


The Power of Authenticity in Employee OnboardingStoryTiling


Breaking Them in or Eliciting Their Best? Reframing Socialization around Newcomers’ Authentic Self-expression - Daniel M. Cable, Francesca Gino, Bradley R. Staats, 2013 (sagepub.com)


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!

It means so much that you listened to this podcast!  If you know of anyone else who might find this series of interest, please share. If you have questions about this episode, please send me an email at susangney@gmail.com


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Transcripts

Susan Ney:

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

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getting married, getting citizenship, or getting your

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permanent residency milestones that are really big, right,

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like, that's huge and a person's life, and recognizing it in a

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way that shows real real value, I think there's a certain

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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

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then in Canada, there's an additional tax burden on the

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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

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gift is the gift that just you know, it's it's emotionally

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valuable. So you can even place $1 value on it. There for that

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middle type of category there, the pre boarding before day one,

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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

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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

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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

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cultural leaders. So companies that are performing really well

Susan Ney:

on already creating a great work environment, they tend to be

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early adopters of any new technology that is arising to

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make things even better for further employers or their

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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

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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

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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

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