Exclusive Interview with Amy Clark, Chief People Officer, D2L

 

In an exclusive interview with HR.com, Amy reveals key milestones from her transformative HR career. From modernizing HR tech and leading global culture shifts to pioneering employee experience during COVID-19, Clark’s insights offer a glimpse into how today’s top HR leaders drive innovation and foster exceptional workplace cultures.

Amy: Reflecting on my HR journey, several pivotal moments have significantly influenced my career. Many of which catapulted me into situations I never had to navigate before. My wise mentor once told me the biggest growth comes from feeling uncomfortable and through my HR journey I have stretched outside of my comfort zone many times. I’ve had several major career milestones. I updated a legacy HRIS system and rebuilt the digital employee experience. I also introduced a fully modernized HR tech program at a large enterprise, driving significant change management. At a Fortune 500 company, I spearheaded a culture transformation, resetting the mission, values, and core change practices. Leading the global employee experience during COVID-19 and the return to work was another defining moment in my career.

Some other large stretch learning came from helping drive merger and acquisition work, witnessing double-digit improvements in employee engagement scores across a previously disengaged workforce, and knowing my team was instrumental in driving those results was highly rewarding. Moving into my first Head of HR role (CPO) and rebuilding the entire talent acquisition team during the Great Resignation was a defining moment, and transitioning into my dream role as CPO at D2L has been another significant milestone in my career. Having strong mentors and leaders to seek advice and learning from has been invaluable throughout my entire career.

Amy: Organizations must continue investing in employee upskilling and reskilling to match the rapid pace of technological advancements and change we are seeing in the marketplace. This investment is essential to both organizational success and employee career development. 

A recent D2L report shows that 83% of employees recognize that ongoing skills development is crucial for their overall job performance and show a strong interest in continuous upskilling opportunities. Alongside career growth, employee mental health and the overall well-being of employees continue to be critical to employee satisfaction and productivity. Organizations should continue to embrace employee mental health strategies, and overall well-being as a strategic focus area and encourage a work-life balance culture by actively promoting the importance of disconnecting and time off.
 

Additional Details

Name: Amy Clark
Designation: Chief People Officer
Company: D2L
The total number of employees: D2L has more than 1,000 employees worldwide.
When did you join the current company: January 2024.
Total experience in HR: 10+ years
Hobbies: My hobbies include running, cooking, traveling and spending time with friends and family.
What book are you reading currently: The Rose Bird by Helen Davies – A book a dear friend of mine and peer CPO published on her real-life experience of loving and losing her daughter to Fentanyl.

Alternatively, organizations should reconsider rigid organizational structures, such as hierarchical frameworks, which can stifle innovation and agility. To improve, organizations could reduce centralization, minimize layers, empower employees to drive decision-making, increase autonomy, and simplify processes and approval matrices. Organizations should also consider how their employee listening strategy allows ongoing and in-the-moment access to employee feedback versus relying on a one-time annual survey to help support a continuous culture of feedback. 

Frequent and short-pulse surveys, stay interviews and exit interviews help organizations adapt to a rapidly evolving environment and ensure clearer and more timely responses to feedback. Lastly, organizations should reevaluate traditional total rewards as employees want more flexibility and choice in benefits, time off, flexible working arrangements and even compensation schemes. It is time to consider compensation and benefits plans that drive the results aligned with your company strategy.

Amy: D2L provides various resources and benefits to help working parents balance their jobs and family commitments. Flexible work arrangements and parental leave provide employees the support they need to succeed personally and professionally. In addition, D2L’s vacation and PTO policy includes increased flexibility around using personal days to ensure employees are supported.

Amy: Reading articles from my favorite HR thought leaders, such as Adam Grant, Brené Brown, Josh Bersin and others, helps me stay informed about the latest HR trends and best practices. I belong to several HR thought leadership groups, including one focused solely on generative AI. I also attend conferences, seek guidance from my mentors by asking questions and conduct ongoing research, all of which help me stay updated on HR trends.

Amy: Generative AI will be transformative, especially in the recruiting, operations and analytics spaces across HR. By leveraging AI, repeatable tasks can be augmented, advanced algorithms can support candidate screening, with some parameters considered around bias, and the future performance of potential candidates can even be predicted. Some agents can be leveraged to streamline efficiencies such as supporting and building improved workflows and taking the administrative burden off employees, such as note-taking or distilling large amounts of data into salient points for presentations so HR can focus on more value-add work.

People analytics and predictive analysis is another area with potential and we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible so far. This technology will provide us with deep employee insights that can be used to help create a better employee experience overall and support more effective workforce planning.

The evolution of the HRIS/HXM or employee experience platform is ripe for change and the opportunity here is exciting. There are a lot of legacy players, but no one has a solution that ticks all the boxes in the space of payroll, compensation, employee experience and learning. This is another area that AI has the potential to transform and some interesting investments are being made in the space of employee experience in this space.

Technology is accelerating employee learning and upskilling and allowing organizations to get more out of these investments. Organizations have access to advanced analytics that allow them to gain deep insights into the effectiveness of learning and upskilling initiatives, which will only become more robust with AI. Data analysis capabilities allow organizations to track the progress and outcomes of different skills, performance improvements and career progression. These tangible metrics allow organizations to make data-driven decisions and adjustments to upskilling programs to ensure alignment with organizational goals and those of the individual’s career path.

Amy: CHROs should embrace agility and continuous learning opportunities to stay resilient and knowledgeable with challenges across the HR landscape. HR leaders should keep up with emerging trends, read, network, share and become experts or thought leaders in the HR industry. HR leaders need strong peers and mentors they can trust and turn to for advice, counsel and guidance. We are facing unprecedented change and new advancements in people practices and technology no one has dealt with before. HR leaders should tap into the wealth that is the collective brains of many and avoid siloing themselves.

Remaining open to new ideas as technology is also critical, especially with AI having the potential to make such a big impact on the industry. HR leaders should be data-driven and leverage data and analytics whenever possible, be curious, ask questions and learn the business. HR leaders must use data to inform organizational decision-making and invest in tools that provide access to quality and real-time data to help guide these decisions. HR leaders need to be curious and ask questions to set the tone for a continuous learning mindset.

Along with creating a continuous learning culture, CHROs should also encourage a culture that is inclusive and resilient in the face of challenges, such as economic shifts, global crises, or technological disruptions. This involves fostering adaptability, open communication, and a supportive environment. Ensure that your workplace culture is inclusive, where all employees feel valued, empowered, and safe to contribute.

This not only improves employee satisfaction but also drives innovation. HR leaders must also know the business they are in and continuously educate themselves on changes in their industry. Gone are the days of fluffy HR. HR leaders need strong business and financial acumen as CHROs are often looked at as the right
hand of the CEO alongside the CFO. HR leaders must learn the business and saturate themselves in it to ensure they have a seat at the table to influence business roadmaps and priorities.