I Think I Love My Job W/ Dr. Kalifa Oliver, PH.D

In this episode of Sunbeam Chats, I am talking with the amazing, dynamic and gifted Dr. Kalifa Oliver.  She is an experienced Confidence Coach, Author, Executive Advisor, Keynote Speaker, and expert on building brilliant experiences, using  people-centered design and analytics. She holds a PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Clemson University and a Certification in People Analytics from MIT.

She has consulted for several companies including Tech start-ups, Non-profits, and Fortune 500 companies, to help them position their culture and Employer Value Proposition (EVP) - with a focus on employee experience, organizational listening, employee voice architecture and people analytics.

Dr. Kalifa Oliver is a first time author of the book “I Think I Love My Job", which  has been described as a must-read for HR professionals and executives looking to transform their organizational culture.

In this conversation we do a deep dive into the work environment, employee experiences, leadership and how to build the best experiences within organizations. Dr. Kalifa is a master builder and champion for employees and she shares how building a people centered organization can be done, to take companies from Good to Great. 

• We discuss her role as an Executive Advisor to Leaders, where she encourages them to "rethink how employees fit into their business strategy and operation, and to not see them as an expense. We chat about with the emergence of new technology, people's rolls will evolve, because organizations will always need humans. 

• We discuss what is People Analytics and how it impacts the business and people. Also the role of HR, which in most organizations is to protect the business, not necessarily the employees. 

• Are you happy at work, should your job make you happy? We discuss the myth that our jobs should make us happy, which is not the case. However you can seek job satisfaction. We delve into this area and agree that a job is a job, and we should ultimately find our happy place outside of work. 

• Have you ever experienced trauma at work? Well, trauma at work is most times the norm, however as employees we should not accept this, it is not healthy and not normal. We delve into work place trauma, what it looks like and how employees can deal with this reality.  

• Dr. Kalifa talks about toxic work environments and how it can affect entire departments and like a virus spread to create a sick organization. It is therefore important to hire the right persons within the company. 

• We chat about "being in the room" and having a "seat at the table" the importance of this and if you are in the room, what you do to help create the best work environment. 

• We discuss a DEI hire, where Dr. Kalifa reframes this into the context of the role of HR to ensure diversity from the start, thereby removing the stigma around a DEI hire. 

• Do you have an Exit Strategy?  This should be the last resort if persons are not able to thrive at work. We discuss how to carefully prepare for this transition so you can land on your feet once existed. 

Finally, Dr. Kalifa talks about her book, " I Think I Love My Job" and how it can help leaders and employees have the best experience. If however you are not having one or creating one (as leaders) and cannot say "I Think I Love My Job" then do something about it. 

Dr. Kalifa ends with this