“Congratulations on hosting a fantastic Summit. While I had hopes for what I would learn and take away, this surpassed my expectations.”
Bill Langner, Becton Dickinson
LDP SUMMIT AGENDA - 2021
May 11th - 13th, 2021
Day 1: Tuesday, May 11th, 2021
7:45 am
Breakfast & Networking
8:15 am
Welcome & Introductions
8:30 am
Opening Keynote
Professor of Management at Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College
Dr. Keith Rollag
Engaging and Motivating New Early Talent in Hybrid Work Environments
How do you keep newly hired, young professionals connected and motivated, especially in a hybrid environment? In this highly interactive session, we will explore what new hires want most from their jobs and how to meet their needs in a hybrid work environment. We’ll share best practices and the latest research on new employee engagement and give you strategies for on-boarding and developing new talent in our “new normal.”
Keith Rollag is a Professor of Management and former Dean of the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. His research focuses on newcomer on-boarding and leadership development, and his book What to Do When You’re New: How to Be Comfortable, Confident and Successful in New Situations was heralded as one of the “Best Books of 2015” by Success Magazine.
9:30 am
Networking Break
9:45 am
Concurrent Session 1A
Early Talent Programs Manager at Discover Financial
Jese Caple
When it’s Time to Re-direct: Pivoting a program with grace
Your program was originally well-conceived and successful for the function it was intended to serve. But over the years, your business’s needs have changed and your participants have started to lean in a direction not quite consistent with the original plan. Is it time to re-conceive the program so that it better fits the new reality? How can you transition a program so that it can continue its success in a new direction with a minimum of disruption? Join Jese Caple, Early Talent Programs Manager at Discover for a look at the challenges and tactics of transforming a program, and their recent successful switch of a marketing program into a general management program.
Concurrent Session 1B
Founder at McCool Leadership Development
Ryan McCool
When it’s Time to Re-direct: Pivoting a program with grace
Your program was originally well-conceived and successful for the function it was intended to serve. But over the years, your business’s needs have changed and your participants have started to lean in a direction not quite consistent with the original plan. Is it time to re-conceive the program so that it better fits the new reality? How can you transition a program so that it can continue its success in a new direction with a minimum of disruption? Join Jese Caple, Early Talent Programs Manager at Discover for a look at the challenges and tactics of transforming a program, and their recent successful switch of a marketing program into a general management program.
10:45 am
Networking Break
11:00 am
Concurrent Session 2A
Behavioral Psychologist
Dr. Leslie Braksick
Chief Medical Officer at WebMD
Dr. John Whyte
Smoothing Early Career Talent Transitions through Good Mental Health
Early talent development programs are loaded with challenging transitions: from campus to work, from assignment to assignment, and from program to full-time role. Managing these transitions successfully impacts the success of our participants and our programs, overall. Unfortunately, our trials with COVID and the remote workplace have made transitions even more complicated. Young professionals have been particularly stressed as they have had to navigate transitions outside of traditional frameworks. In this important session, Dr. John Whyte, Chief Medical Officer of WebMD, and Dr. Leslie Braksick, behavioral psychologist and expert on transforming performance by focusing on behavior and leading through change, will address how program leaders can get a pulse on the mental health of their participants, and help smooth the stresses that can lead to tough transitions, poor performance and attrition.
Concurrent Session 2B
Assistant Vice President & Senior Director, Learning & Talent Services at Liberty Mutual
Alex Hall
When it’s Time to Re-direct: Pivoting a program with grace
Your program was originally well-conceived and successful for the function it was intended to serve. But over the years, your business’s needs have changed and your participants have started to lean in a direction not quite consistent with the original plan. Is it time to re-conceive the program so that it better fits the new reality? How can you transition a program so that it can continue its success in a new direction with a minimum of disruption? Join Jese Caple, Early Talent Programs Manager at Discover for a look at the challenges and tactics of transforming a program, and their recent successful switch of a marketing program into a general management program.
12:00 am
Lunch
1:00 pm
Community Interactive Session
Topic Tables: ‘Idea Snack” discussions
The landscape of managing early talent pipeline programs has changed dramatically over the past twelve months. The best help we get is from each other. What is your most pressing challenge as you navigate the new environment? Where do you need ideas, guidance or validation from your peers? Choose from several “topic tables” for open group discussion in this interactive community session. Stay with the same group, or pop in and out of these moderated intimate chats. Leave with ideas and confidence.
2:15 pm
Networking Break
2:30 pm
Concurrent Session 3A
Sr. Talent Program Manager at Highmark Health
Malissa Seman
Bringing Diversity “Straight to Business”
Recent LDP Survey data shows early talent programs are 37% diverse on average. In addition to higher-than-normal rates of unemployment, diverse youth face significant challenges in accessing affordable education. It’s time to address the root of the problem and explore programs less traditional than a college campus recruitment event. What if you created an environment where diverse students can earn a degree AND gain valuable work experience? That’s what Highmark Health has done with “Straight to Business” – a first-of-its-kind initiative that sets young talent on a path to debt-free education and a bright future as dynamic leaders. Malissa Seman shares how the program was built, challenges faced along the way, and takeaways that can help your organization start something similar.
Concurrent Session 3B
Associate Director, Early Career Programs at Abbvie
Christine Ipema
“LeaderStart” Curriculum: A Foundation of Development among Multiple Programs
Clearly, programs in different functions will require different developmental pathways. But aren’t there some core skills and competencies that all our future leaders need regardless of function? You may have considered delivering some of the common training elements of your programs as “core curriculum” for all programs – it helps you scale delivery of training as budgets tighten, and it gets your program associates connected to each other across functions. But creating a core curriculum isn’t without challenges. Join Christine Ipema, Associate Director, Early Career Programs at Abbvie, for a look at the firm’s “LeaderStart” program. Discover why implementing a core curriculum can make sense, what it might include, and ideas on how to navigate making it a reality at your organization.
3:30 pm
Networking Break
3:45 pm
Rapid Fire Session
Program Management Topics
A popular LDP Summit tradition. Participant volunteers share a best practice, learning or challenge with the audience in 7 minutes or less. A quick exchange of actionable ideas on program management to take home.
Rapid Fire Session
Recruiting Topics
A popular LDP Summit tradition. Participant volunteers share a best practice, learning or challenge with the audience in 7 minutes or less. A quick exchange of actionable ideas on recruiting to take home.
5:00 pm
Evening Reception
Main Conference, Day 2: Thursday, May 12th, 2022
8:00 am
Breakfast & Networking
8:30 am
Opening Plenary
President at RJ Wronski Associates
Stephen Wronski
Building Program Loyalty and Confidence through Coaching?
Now that attrition is challenging us all, our relationship with our associates is more important than ever. Could coaching be the answer? The benefits of coaching have been highlighted time and time again over the past decade. In fact, coaching has become an essential component of many mid-career and executive leadership programs. Yet our most recent LDP Connect survey data reveals only 14% of Early Career leadership programs are implementing it. Why is this?
Today’s early talent program associates are struggling with the usual big-picture questions of young professionals, but many of them are also finding themselves struggling alone in the increasingly remote workplace. Could coaching be the way we guide them, and build the bond that retains them?
Join Steve Wronski for an exploration of various approaches to coaching in an early talent development program; when coaching makes sense; and when it may not.
9:30 am
Networking Break
9:45 am
Concurrent Session 4A
Senior Manager, Finance Development at Abbott
Rebecca Stewart
Senior Specialist Finance Development at Abbott
Christine Burton
Managing Global Assignments in a Post-Pandemic World
Global assignments can be a rewarding component of an early talent program: cross-cultural professional development, global business perspective and exciting adventure for participants. If you’ve thought about instituting them, but were scared off by COVID, you need to join this session. Abbott’s early talent programs have a long legacy of offering global assignments, and demand for them among participants remains as strong as ever. But there are challenges to making them work in our new world. Apart from navigating the mesh of immigration and travel restrictions, how do you keep participants engaged? Join Becky Stewart and Christine Burton, program managers at Abbott, for a look at their journey through the challenges and rewards of steering a global program through the pandemic.
Concurrent Session 4B
Senior Global Diversity and Inclusion Manager at Nielsen IQ
Michaela Bradshaw
Analytics, Early Talent Diversity and Happy Clients: An approach to marrying all three
Deepening your diversity pipeline for your early talent program is a challenge. Developing analytics capabilities among program participants is often another. As diverse candidates and program analytics skills become more important and sought after, organizations have struggled. And imagine, what if your company was ALL ABOUT analytics? Join Michaela Bradshaw, Global Diversity & Inclusion Program Manager at Nielsen IQ for a trek through NielsenIQ University – a partnership initiative introducing diverse young professionals to analytics, big brand CPG companies, and the power of NielsenIQ tools. Learn how NielsenIQ actually builds analytics capability pre-development program through delivering value to its clients. Explore how you might leverage your own organization’s strengths to develop a pipeline of program candidates who are more diverse and more program-ready.
10:45 am
Networking Break
11:00 am
Concurrent Session 5A
Accounting Professor, Fraud Researcher, Tedx Speaker
Dr. Kelly Richmond Pope
Embracing the Truth: The Necessity of Business Ethics in Building Future Leaders
Transparency. Scrutiny. Compliance. These are words that all future leaders will need to embrace as they assume increasing responsibility for our organizations’ performance, reputation, and employees. As our young professionals strive for results, are we preparing them for the difficult ethical questions they may need to ask themselves? Are we instilling the courage it will often take to choose the right answer to those questions? LDP Connect and the IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) are delighted to welcome Dr. Kelly Richmond Pope, Accounting Professor, Fraud Researcher, Tedx Speaker, and documentary filmmaker for an interactive discussion on business ethics using real-life case studies and stories from the headlines. How can your early talent teams design a culture to confront the challenges of misconduct, ethics and fraud? How do we empower our future leaders to do right by all those they serve? How do we do it in a way that is fun and enabling, instead of restrictive and dampening?
Concurrent Session 5B
Manager, Member Experience at Veris Insights
Jordan Blair-Paladino
Student Perceptions of Rotational Programs: What the data say…
One of the key value elements of early career talent development programs is the “high touch” appeal they are assumed to have with quality recruits. Are our assumptions correct? Veris Insights surveyed current undergraduate students across the US to determine how familiar they are with rotational, early identification, and leadership development programs, how appealing they are as opportunities, and what factors drive their decision to pursue and participate in these engagements as interns or entry-level hires. Join Jordan Blair-Paladino for a dive into the most recent findings on this important topic.
12:00 am
Lunch
1:00 pm
Breakout Session 5A
Facilitated Small Group Discussion
Senior Practitioners’ Meeting – Moving Forward Together
If you have oversight over multiple development programs at your organization, join your peers at this facilitated forum on big-picture strategic issues in early career development and programming. Participants will spend most of their time examining select topics in small groups and then briefly share conclusions/observations with the larger group. Topics will include early career talent management in the workforce of the future, proper program calibration and alignment with strategy, and other topics determined by participants in advance. The objective is to connect senior practitioners and generate useful strategic ideas.
1:00 pm
Breakout Session 5B
Facilitated Small Group Discussion
Functional “Club” Roundtables
LDP Connect often get requests from our members for more opportunities to meet and speak with people managing programs similar to thier own. Functional “Club” Roundtables are the live equivalent of the virtual “Club” calls we’ve been holding since the Fall of 2021. Bring your questions and expertise to a group of your peers on running development programs like yours. Our best ideas, solutions and relationships come from these informal conversations.
2:00 pm
Networking Break
2:15 pm
Closing Plenary
Director at LDP Connect
Dan Beaudry
Key Findings from the 2022 LDP Survey of Early Talent Program Practices
Every two years, the LDP Connect community participates in the LDP Survey – a unique study of practices related to the positioning, management and evaluation of early career talent development programs. The 2022 data includes information collected from 145 development programs across the country. In this session, we’ll explore what the data tell us. What is a “good” post-program retention rate?What activities are correlated with “success?” How diverse is the typical program? And many other insights. Join us!
