Western Insights: Managing Remote Workers and Remote Work Environments | The Foundation for WWU & Alumni

Check out this video to watch the Western Insights - Remote Management

Brought to you by the College of Business and Economics
in partnership with the WWU Alumni Association

There was an expectation that we would see a much stronger return to normal work patterns by this Fall. Summer brought us a season of variants that is expected to run well into this Fall causing many employers to continue remote work and hybrid work environments.

While many of these plans were put quickly into place in March 2020, they are becoming more likely to create a lasting change in many organizations. But what are the best practices? How do you manage a remote or hybrid workforce effectively?

The topic is complex and we invite you to join with us in the next Western Insights to explore the topic with our panel!

• Cindy Klein, Chief Human Resources Officer, WECU
• Bernhard Kohlmeier, Partner Group Manager, Microsoft

This session will be moderated by
• Jason Kanov, Professor, College of Business & Economics, Management department, Western Washington University

Western Insights is an online panel series created to provide the broader region, Western alumni, friends, and students with access to information on current events drawing from the University’s nationally respected experts. This free series is offered entirely online and is open to everyone.

Watch previous Western Insight sessions online at https://alumni.wwu.edu/past-events.

Cindy Klein

Panelist

Cindy’s passion is in the development and implementation of talent strategy, helping WECU meet its performance goals and onboard the best of the best in the banking and finance industry. Serving as WECU’s Chief Human Resources Officer since 2016, she oversees talent acquisition, staff development, employee engagement and performance development. She works toward curating a company culture that aligns with WECU’s values and community-based mission.

Bernhard Kohlmeier

Panelist

Bernhard is a Partner Group Program Manager in Microsoft Office working on Microsoft Search across Microsoft. Bernhard is passionate about Information Retrieval, connecting users with the Knowledge of the enterprise and the world as well as applying AI to real world productivity scenarios. Bernhard's portfolio includes Microsoft Search in the Office applications, including several knowledge and content reuse features. He is also the lead champion for Responsible AI in Office and is extremely excited about the impact RAI has on the future of software. Educating others about mental health in the workplace and supporting neurodiverse employees and their managers, especially in a hybrid work environment is one of his passions. Bernhard has been with Microsoft for almost 20 years.

Jason Kanov

Moderator

Dr. Kanov has been with the CBE since 2007. He earned his PhD in organizational psychology from the University of Michigan. His research broadly focuses on relationships and everyday interactions in organizations. In particular, he studies the dynamics of suffering and compassion in the workplace, and he is also interested in experiences of relational disconnection. He is also a certified mediator, he focuses his applied work on helping people build and maintain high-quality work relationships, and he is a happily married father of two amazing young children.

Questions and Accommodations

Contact James McCafferty for this event. Feel free to email at James.McCafferty@wwu.edu or call (360) 650-2414 if you have any questions or comments.

There will be auto-captions available for this event. To request closed captions, please mark the request on the registration form. Advance notice of three days to one week is appreciated.