Date: September 12, 2018
Location: Miami Airport Hilton, 5101 Blue Lagoon Drive Miami, FL 3312
Moderator: Patricia Hernandez, Esq., Shareholder, Avila, Rodriguez Hernandez Mena & Ferri, P.A.
Panelists: Ivelices Linares Thomas, Esq., Founder & Chief Executive Officer HR & Beyond
Jonathan Beckerman, Esq., Shareholder – Littler, P.A. – Employment & Labor Law Solutions
Christine Ramirez, Partner and Vice President – Dale Carnegie Training Southeast Florida
Sarah Gillet Couto, PCC, ELI-MP, Multilingual Leadership Coach – Transition & Change Management Expert
(Miami, FL)- The tradition continued Wednesday, September 12, 2018 as the 2018-2019 term for the South Florida Banking Institute kicked-off at Miami Airport Hilton. The first panel event of the year, “How to Manage and Mentor in Today’s Environment” was introduced by SFBI President Guillermo A. Benites and led by Moderator Patricia Hernandez, Esq., (Shareholder of Avila, Rodriguez Hernandez Mena & Ferri, P.A.). Panelists for this topic consisted of speakers Ivelices Linares Thomas, Esq., (Founder & Chief Executive Officer HR & Beyond), Jonathan Beckerman, Esq., (Shareholder – Littler, P.A. – Employment & Labor Law Solutions), Christine Ramirez, (Partner and Vice President – Dale Carnegie Training Southeast Florida) and Sarah Gillet Couto, PCC, ELI-MP, (Multilingual Leadership Coach – Transition & Change Management Expert).
The evening conference began with management-side labor employment lawyer Jonathan Beckerman speaking on the #MeToo movement. Beckerman discussed how sexual harassment claims have been on the rise since lawsuits have unfolded during the #MeToo movement. Employees are now more motivated to file lawsuit claims in the workplace. Beckerman stated that the key to getting out of a discrimination or harassment lawsuit is consistency and the application of policy and consistency and the application of discipline. He said this applies across all gender roles so everyone is measured in their approach. As the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity website states, “The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. It is also illegal to discriminate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. of the differences in economic and environmental sexual harassment in the workplace”. To read more about U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov
Furthermore, Ivelices Linares Thomas, a labor and employment attorney by trade- spoke on the importance of leadership and culture in the workplace. She paved her career into Human Resources after wanting to make a change in leadership and helping to establish culture in a multigenerational workforce. She stated that for the first time in history that we have five generations working in the workforce. These generations include Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y (or Millennials), and Generation Z. By understanding what is important to your workforce, learning the makeup of your team, leading by example, having open communication, and having respect within your team help increase productivity and decrease litigation.
Christine Ramirez spoke about four different four responsibilities leaders have when it comes to retaining employees in the workforce . She discussed the first responsibility, replacement planning as something that organizations are not thinking enough about. Ramirez stated this as an integral part of keeping the organization going. Another focus-talent management is another subject organizations need to think about in order to manage the pipeline of talent. Succession planning and management were stated as the third and fourth responsibilities on the list. Identifying what your leader and employees strengths are is important in order to anticipate what is going to happen next, as well as to best align and hone in to the needs of your organization.
Sarah Gillet Couto’s experience in banking paved her way to become a coach. Couto spoke on the benefits of integrating a coach within your organization. She stated that everyone can benefit from coaching, not just high-level executives, and that management and “lower-level” jobs may need coaching the most. Two types of coaching she discussed include individual and group coaching. She also explained the success found within an organization that strives to achieve happiness within their team as imperative to having a long retention.
