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What has the pandemic meant for Emma Price, a Member Development Executive at The Conference Board? Professional growth—and tennis. When the economic uncertainty of COVID-19 led a lot of companies to limit spending on external memberships, The Conference Board responded. Emma: “The challenge for our sales team was to position membership with The Conference Board as a necessary tool to help companies handle the unique challenges presented by the pandemic.” Isolated and unable to travel, sales reps moved to video calls, which Emma loves. “Video calls enable me to connect more personally with prospective Members.” And tennis? Emma worked remotely from California, where her parents live. “My dad and I were both working east coast hours, so we had our afternoons open to play tennis together.” “I personally never envisioned going into sales,” Emma reflects. But she was drawn to the company values. “Our sales team has established a culture of extreme supportiveness and collaboration. One only needs to see a day’s worth of our email shout outs and congratulations to believe it."
The Conference Board communications team won two Ragan’s PR Daily Awards in December. The team’s first place award went to its campaign for our Building a More Civil & Just Society initiative. This ongoing initiative began in the racial reckoning that followed the George Floyd murder. It includes multiple forums and conversations in which top leaders discuss how they and their companies are helping address various social and economic inequities facing the nation. The communications team also won an honorable mention for its campaign around our C-Suite Challenge 2020™, our annual global survey of business executives. “As with every milestone we achieve, it really does take a village,” said Joe DiBlasi, Associate Director of Communications at The Conference Board. “Communications did great work on these campaigns, and so did other departments in our marketing family. And that includes, especially, Digital Media, as well as Publishing and Event Marketing.”
The Conference Board Spartan Race Participants Give New Meaning to “Teamwork”- After 18 months of pandemic-induced isolation, 14 employees of The Conference Board assembled for some serious together time: an extreme sporting event. Team “You’re Muted” participated in the Spartan Race, a 20-obstacle, three-mile course at a ski mountain with a summit elevation of 1,480 feet. Team members braved barbed wire, mud, rope climbs, spear throwing, and a fire walk. “It was not easy but no person was left behind,” said one teammate. “We made sure to conquer this as a team!” The Spartan team included employees from various departments. They had only positive things to say about the camaraderie and engagement they felt while training for and competing in the event. “The Spartan race was one of the most physically difficult but overall rewarding experiences,” one participant said. “The constant encouragement and support of my TCB teammates was what got me to the finish line. I’m so lucky to have co-workers that lift me up—both literally, over Spartan obstacles, and every day in the office!"
Why Lori Esposito Murray Really Likes Her Job at The Conference Board “I can’t think of a better place to be right now to make a difference,” says Lori Esposito Murray, President of the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board. Murray’s job puts her at the heart of the nation’s most pressing policy issues impacting businesses. Listen to Lori’s conversation with Ray Hoffman, WCBS CEO Radio: https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/whTAt2rTZr (37 seconds)
When The Conference Board offices reopened in early September, team building topped the priority list. Employees returning after 18 months of pandemic-induced remote work needed to be reintroduced to each other—especially the many new hires who had met their colleagues only on Zoom. So a day of fun activities was designed to facilitate those introductions and reintroductions. After a global staff meeting brought the workforce up to date, the games began. A dozen or so people played “Win, Lose, or Draw.” For employee Jeff LaPlante, “Win, Lose, or Draw” was a highlight. “Though drawing isn’t my strong suit, my team members were able to figure out that I drew a platypus!” he said. “Thank you, HR, for organizing an icebreaker event that had us laughing and getting to know our coworkers in a fun and silly environment.”
After serving our Members remotely for 18 months, The Conference Board is back to the office, continuing to provide you with Trusted Insights for What’s Ahead. We’re not all on-site though: We offer a thriving hybrid workplace, with the option to work safely in the office or from the comfort of home. Below are thoughts from a team member who came to the office last week: "I recently read somewhere that, 'The COVID-19 quarantine impacted just about every business in one form or another. As states are opening back up and everyone is getting used to going back to work it can be hard to adjust and stay motivated.' While this statement holds true, I would like to take a moment to share how grateful I am for The Conference Board recognizing this and for making today – my first day back at the office – a memorable one. Familiar and new faces greeted staff in the lobby, a Global Staff Meeting solidified our TCB family bond and showcased our organization’s ability to overcome challenges. Wellness and community activities were also held throughout the day." -TCB Employee
The Conference Board is a place where almost everybody knows your name, because it’s a place where good work and those who produce it are acknowledged. Four awards are given annually to employees who have demonstrated unusual degrees of passion and excellence. Beyond that, at quarterly staff meetings, teams that have gone above and beyond get a moment in the spotlight. At the August global staff meeting, 17 people on the member engagement team and 15 associated with new benchmarking projects were recognized. So were the nine members of the company’s Employee Engagement Committee, which has actively sought and found ways for employees to interact virtually during the pandemic. Finally, the 20 employees who had been hired since May were each introduced in 30-second personal videos. “It was an honor to be recognized,” said Alana Trimmier, a member of the team for eight years. “I enjoy working at The Conference Board and being able to contribute to interaction and fun--and an opportunity for people to be social even though they haven’t seen each other in 18 months.”
June was an exemplary month for internal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives at The Conference Board. Our Employee Engagement Committee (EEC) spearheaded events on LGBTQ Pride (spotlighting the great work of the New York LGBT Community Center) and hosted a “lunch and learn” on the history and significance of Juneteenth with special guest, author, historian, and professor at Hunter College, Dr. D’Weston Haywood. “It is incredibly meaningful to be part of an organization that not only values diversity, equity, and inclusion but allows the EEC to be the driving force for shaping the programs and inviting outside speakers,” said Lindsay Beltzer, EEC Member and DEI lead. “It’s empowering – and rewarding – to produce events outside of my direct ‘day job’ that illuminate issues related to equality and advancing racial, social, and economic opportunity.”
The Conference Board anticipated the gravity of COVID-19 and reacted early. By March 2020, when the World Health Organization declared the virus to be a global pandemic, The Conference Board Covid hub had already produced several podcasts and webcasts on the crisis and its business implications. Since then, The Conference Board COVID-19 hub has produced more than 700 individual offerings and hosted hundreds of thousands of visits. The Conference Board approach, global and enterprise-wide, gave the organization the bandwidth to provide expertise and insights across the full range of the pandemic’s effects: on the economy, society, and every aspect of business. “We provided everything you might want if you’re trying to operate a business during COVID,” said Moira James, Director of Digital Media at The Conference Board. "Members responded in droves. And they continue to rely on the hub. We have addressed each stage of COVID-19 implications, and we are still ahead of the curve.” Current offerings focus on vaccines, the K-shaped recovery, and the return to work.
Meet Luke Tedaldi, Senior Producer at The Conference Board and recipient of the 2021 Employee of the Year Award. Luke is responsible for the organization’s live and taped programs, events, and webcasts. He oversees a team that consistently delivers stylish, high-quality productions. Their work puts The Conference Board at the leading edge of video and digital business communications. Luke received this award for his exemplary achievement and leadership heading the Conferences and Digital Media team’s transition to virtual delivery using a new platform, ON24. They made the complex transition while continuing to ensure a great Member experience across all webcasts and virtual events. “My five years at The Conference Board have been the most dynamic years of my professional career,” Luke says. “The opportunities for personal growth, along with the professionalism, kindness, and intelligence of my colleagues, have made for an unmatched experience that continues to evolve. My co-workers are complete rock stars!”
