Employees Want ‘Radical Flexibility’ & Purpose, Says CEO Kate Duchene

In this wide-ranging conversation, Kate told host Robert Brill that business needs to adopt “radical flexibility” to thrive in this changed environment. This includes building and deploying digital platforms to deliver more services to clients and automating repetitive processes, as well as improving the worker experience for better engagement, efficiency and speed. Reskilling and ongoing training will also be key in a world where the shelf life of technical skills today is five years—and getting shorter.

Success, however, ultimately comes down to the human element. “People are looking for more than money in their employer-employee relationships right now,” Kate says. “They’re looking for purpose. They’re looking for their employer to be a force for good in the community. Not only how we are treating our employees, but how we treat the rest of their family, especially in COVID when work has invaded home life.”

The LA Business Podcast—a weekly program focusing on businesses in southern California—is a part of Brill Media, ranked #50 in the Financial Times’ 500 Americas 2021 list. Host Robert Brill also writes about advertising for Forbes, Inc. magazine and Social Media Examiner.