Leading the Frontline

In this episode of “Leading the Frontline,” host Traci Chernoff sits down with Cathy Hotka, a renowned retail industry leader. Cathy shares her journey from her early days in retail to her influential role in creating the NRF CIO Council and fostering collaboration among retail leaders. Together, they highlight the importance of listening, knowledge sharing, and servant leadership in shaping the future of frontline work. Key TakeawaysWhy listening to frontline employees is essential to effective leadershipHow the NRF CIO Council was created to foster collaboration among retail leadersThe role of knowledge sharing in driving innovation and growth in the retail industryWhy servant leadership resonated as an effective management styleLessons from Cathy's journey from retail to leadership, showcasing resilience and adaptabilityThe value of cross-company mentorship in providing valuable insights and adviceRetail leaders should focus on empowering frontline workers.How empowering frontline teams improves both engagement and customer experienceCathy’s perspective on how retail leadership has evolvedThe role of technology in transforming the retail experience

In this episode of Leading the Frontline, Traci sits down with Nabil Malouli, SVP of Global E-commerce at DHL, to explore his inspiring journey from his first hourly job as a waiter to as his current role as a leader in the logistics industry. Discover how Nabil leverages innovation and mentorship to drive success and resilience in a rapidly evolving global market. Tune in to learn about the pivotal role of AI in supply chain management and the importance of continuous personal and professional development. Don't miss this insightful conversation on leadership and growth!Connect with Nabil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nabilmalouli/

What does it take to deliver operational excellence and great customer experiences in today’s changing retail landscape? In this episode of Leading the Frontline, host Traci Chernoff sits down with Kevin Ertell, a seasoned retail executive and former VP of Global Operations at Nike, to discuss leadership lessons, why retail produces great leaders, and evolving with AI. Listeners will walk away with actionable insights and leadership strategies to shape culture, empower teams, and stay ahead of workforce trends.

The UK recently concluded their trial of a four day workweek across a number of organizations, so Jon and Traci explore the intricacies and influence that this kind of flexibility has on the workforce. Read more about the trial here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-21/four-day-work-week-uk-study-finds-majority-of-employers-shifting Connect with Traci, Jon, and The Frontline podcast here: https://linktr.ee/thefrontlinepod   Read more about this episode and Legion Technologies at legion.co

Tune in to hear our recap on NRF: Retail's Big Show!   Connect with Traci, Jon, and The Frontline podcast here: https://linktr.ee/thefrontlinepod   Read more about this episode and Legion Technologies at legion.co

Melissa Brown joins the podcast this week, as Chief Operating Officer for Concierge Elite with a Masters in Organizational Design, Melissa has seen and trained it all. Melissa is also the host of the "Understaffed" podcast and focuses on redefining people, processes, and products for the new workforce.   Connect with Melissa here:  https://www.conciergeelite.com/ https://www.conciergeelite.com/podcast https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-brown-462275232/   Connect with Traci, Jon, and The Frontline podcast here: https://linktr.ee/thefrontlinepod Read more about this episode and Legion Technologies at legion.co

Michael Spataro, Chief Customer Officer at Legion Technologies, helps us dive into the ins and outs of holiday staffing and all that businesses can do to focus on driving employee engagement during a busy time like Q4!   Connect with Michael here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-spataro-6788821/ As a reminder, we will pick up Season 2 in January!   If you're headed to NRF in January, come meet us at Booth #6327. Email tchernoff@legion.co to setup a meeting!   Connect with Traci and The Frontline podcast here: https://linktr.ee/thefrontlinepod Read more about this episode and Legion Technologies at legion.co

Anthony Ladd, VP of Product at Legion Technologies, joins the podcast this month to discuss how business results and frontline employee experience improve thanks to demand forecasting.    Connect with Anthony here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyladd/   Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe.   Connect with Traci and The Frontline podcast here: https://linktr.ee/thefrontlinepod   Read more about this episode and Legion Technologies at legion.co

Solo episode to deep dive into the State of the Hourly workforce report that was discussed on our last episode. The survey was commissioned by Legion Technologies, and collected data from over 1500 retail employees and managers, which highlights the state of the workforce this year.   Read the survey here: https://pages.legion.co/2022-state-of-hourly-workforce.html#:~:text=Legion%20recently%20surveyed%20more%20than,to%20improve%20the%20employee%20experience.   Connect with Traci and The Frontline podcast here: https://linktr.ee/thefrontlinepod   Read more about this episode and Legion Technologies at legion.co

Sanish Mondkar, Founder and CEO of Legion Technologies, joins the podcast this week for a discussion on the 2022 State of the Hourly Workforce. We discuss a survey, commissioned by Legion Technologies, that collected data from over 1500 retail employees and managers, which highlights the state of the workforce this year.    Read the survey here: https://pages.legion.co/2022-state-of-hourly-workforce.html#:~:text=Legion%20recently%20surveyed%20more%20than,to%20improve%20the%20employee%20experience.    Connect with Sanish here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanish/   Connect with Traci and The Frontline podcast here: https://linktr.ee/thefrontlinepod Read more about this episode and Legion Technologies at legion.co  

Erin Diehl joins The Frontline this week to discuss how improv and levity are the magic and secret sauce to engagement, team building, and connection.   Erin “Big” Diehl is a Business Improv Edutainer, Failfluencer, and Professional Zoombie. Through a series of unrelated dares, Erin created improve it!, a unique professional development company that pushes others to laugh, learn, play, and grow. Among her many accolades, Erin is most proud of successfully coercing over 26,000 professionals to chicken dance.   Erin Diehl is a graduate from Clemson University, and a former experiential marketing and recruiting professional as well as a veteran improviser from the top improvisational training programs in Chicago, including The Second City, i.O. Theater and The Annoyance Theatre. Erin has spoken on stages nationwide for all types of events and associations including Disrupt HR, SHRM, HRMAC, and ATD. She is a member of The Chicago Innovation Awards Women’s Cohort and graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program.   She is also the proud host of The improve it! Podcast, which you can find anywhere you listen to pods!   Connect with Erin here: Insta: @keepinitrealdiehl LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/erindiehl Instagram: @learntoimproveit Facebook: @learntoimproveit Website: www.learntoimproveit.com   Connect with Traci and The Frontline podcast here: https://linktr.ee/thefrontlinepod Read more about this episode and Legion Technologies at legion.co

Karen Mangia joins The Frontline this week to discuss how agency and ownership are critical to empowering and engaging teams.     Karen Mangia is a WSJ Best Selling Author and one of the most sought after thought leaders in the world, sharing her thought leadership with over 10,000 organizations during the course of her career.   She is the author of four books: Success from Anywhere:  Create Your Own Future of Work From the Inside Out (Wiley),  Working from Home: Making the New Normal Work for You (Wiley), Listen Up! How to Tune in to Customers and Turn Down the Noise (Wiley) and also Success With Less (Marie Street Press). A prolific blogger and sought-after media interview, she has been featured in Forbes and regularly contributes to Thrive Global, Authority Magazine and ZDNet.  Thinkers 360 named her as #9 on their List of Global Thought Leaders and Influencers on Health & Wellness, #12 for Mental Health and one of the top 150 B2B Thought Leaders to Follow.      As Vice President of Customer and Market Insights at Salesforce, she engages current and future customers around the world to discover new ways of creating success and growth together. She leads the company’s Work from Home Taskforce and is shaping the strategy for the workplace of the future globally.  Passionate about diversity and inclusion, she also serves on the company’s Racial Equality and Justice Taskforce. Prior to Salesforce, she spearheaded Customer Experience at Cisco Systems.     Connect with Karen here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenmangia/ Read about The Gift of Choice here: https://www.readsuccessfromanywhere.com/post/the-gift-of-choice Connect with Traci and The Frontline podcast here: https://linktr.ee/thefrontlinepod Read more about this episode and Legion Technologies at legion.co

Leighanne Levensaler joins The Frontline podcast for our very first episode to talk all things people and technology and how, when working together, they can drive positive change.    Connect with Leighanne here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leighannelevensaler/   Learn more about Leighanne: Leighanne Levensaler has spent her 25-year career operating at the intersection of people, career development, and technology. Her passion and personal "why" is working with entrepreneurs to create inclusive solutions designed to help people maximize their potential and economic mobility.   Leighanne Levensaler currently serves on the board of directors for Guild Education and Legion Technologies. She also serves as senior advisor for Opportunity@Work and contributes as an advisory board member for Landit, League, and Jobcase.   Previously, Leighanne was executive vice president of corporate strategy at Workday, where she led the organization responsible for developing integrated business strategies. In addition, Leighanne was managing director and co-head for Workday Ventures where she oversaw Workday investments in emerging enterprise technologies. During Leighanne's tenure at Workday, she led product management for Workday applications including Workday Financial Management and Workday Human Capital Management. Prior to joining Workday in 2009, Leighanne was principal analyst and director of talent management research at Bersin & Associates.   Leighanne holds a master’s degree in human resource development from Georgia State University and a bachelor’s degree in education from Clemson University. Leighanne also serves on the board of Clemson University's Arthur M. Spiro Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership and is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute.    Connect with Traci and The Frontline podcast here: https://linktr.ee/thefrontlinepod Read more about this episode and Legion Technologies at legion.co

Tune in this month to hear Mike Robards, Growth Account Executive at Legion Technologies, share his insights about how businesses future proof themselves. Connect with Mike here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikerobards/ Connect with Traci, Jon, and The Frontline podcast here: https://linktr.ee/thefrontlinepod   Read more about this episode and Legion Technologies at legion.co

Tune in this month to hear how Christopher Frey, Director of Workforce Management at Cinemark, is driving employee engagement through workforce management. As a customer of Legion's, Cinemark is dedicated to driving employee engagement and retention through Intelligent Automation. Connect with Christopher here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-frey-ab6a332/ Connect with Traci, Jon, and The Frontline podcast here: https://linktr.ee/thefrontlinepod   Read more about this episode and Legion Technologies at legion.co

Sean Fahey, Founder & CEO of VidCruiter, joins the podcast to highlight the critically important upsides to automating hiring. Speed to hire, flexibility, and removing unconscious bias are all points of discussion that Sean brings to light on this episode.   Connect with Sean and learn more about VidCruiter at https://vidcruiter.com/   Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe.   Connect with Traci and The Frontline podcast here: https://linktr.ee/thefrontlinepod   Read more about this episode and Legion Technologies at legion.co

Hourly employees want and need flexibility and predictability; they desire more connection and belonging with their peers and Companies. And businesses want to maximize productivity while enhancing employee engagement to reduce turnover. Who said we can't have it all? The Frontline podcast is focused on discussing the challenges that come along with having an hourly workforce and shedding light on these important employees who are often overlooked. You'll hear from leaders bringing transformational and innovative change to their organizations and ways you can improve your own experience and the experiences of your employees, no matter where you sit in your organization. This podcast is brought to you by Legion Technologies and is hosted by Traci Chernoff, Director of Employee Engagement at Legion Technologies. Traci is also the host of the podcast "Bringing the Human back to Human Resources".  New episodes every Thursday. Learn more at legion.co