Ahead of DisruptHR Louisville, we got a chance to interview one of the speakers, Cara Silletto. As Founder & President of Crescendo Strategies, Cara has built an incredible team of generational and turnover experts to provide relevant keynote speeches, specialized training programs and coaching.
Q: What does an average work week look like for you?
A: Having conducted over 100 speaking engagements and training programs in 2016, you can imagine how much I travel! When I’m home, it’s daytime at my laptop, then time with my hubby and two-year-old most nights and weekends. I’m a delegate-aholic, which is why I have five part-time virtual assistants who take all the busy work off my plate so I can focus on family!
Since we can’t be at every company meeting and conference throughout the year, we are videotaping some of our programs and building online learning courses to reach more managers and supervisors in more locations on their own time.
Q: What does your company do?
A: Talent retention keeps lots of business owners and managers up at night, so Crescendo Strategies works with these clients across the country to reduce unnecessary employee turnover. We bridge today’s widening generational gaps and provide development opportunities to make managers more effective in their roles.
What do a childhood family band, teaching English in Germany and an MBA have in common? They’re all part of my preparation to become a professional speaker today! The stage is home to me; I love developing people’s skills and knowledge; and I can calculate the true costs of business issues like employee turnover with executives.
Q: What made you decide to be a speaker at DisruptHR Louisville?
A: Business is changing and if we don’t start changing the conversation about HR, some businesses won’t survive. It’s time to break the ice with new ideas, speak about the unspoken and get out of our comfort zone if we want to succeed, and for some…survive!
Q: What will you be speaking about at DisruptHR Louisville?
A: My five minutes will cover how do deal with the revolving door of employee turnover. It’s a huge issue most companies are struggling with today.
Q: What are the major learnings that attendees will take away from your session?
A: The workforce has evolved over time and many companies don’t understand why people are walking away, or how to keep them longer. I’ll quickly explain primary reasons people leave most organizations and a few strategies to improve retention.
Q: You only have 5 minutes to present at DisruptHR Louisville. What unique challenges and opportunities does this format offer?
A: I’m used to speaking for hours, or even days, on the topic of turnover, so it’s definitely a challenge! Picking just one specific message was difficult, but I think being succinct and having each speaker provide quick takeaways will be very valuable for the attendees.
Q: Why does Louisville need an event like DisruptHR?
Q: Business has changed dramatically in the last 20 years and managers who still use the same old-school leadership approach aren’t as successful anymore. If business owners and leaders don’t put their people at the top of the priority list, no one will want to work for them in five years. We need to start these innovative, and sometimes difficult, conversations now to get the results we need!
Q: Are you attending/speaking at any other HR-related events in the next 6-12 months? If so which ones and why?
A: My calendar’s already booked for more than 30 speaking engagements this year, including the Association for Talent Development (ATD) International Conference & Expo in May. Even though not all these conferences are HR-related, I’m speaking about workforce issues at every one, because that’s what leaders are focusing on in nearly every industry, since it’s now impacting the bottom line in a huge way!