In this episode of the Cohesion Podcast, Miriam Connaughton speaks with Jim O’Gorman, Chief People Officer at Included Health, about designing belonging and connectedness in a distributed healthcare workforce. Jim shares how his team reinvested office savings into ERGs and in-person experiences, how they separate orientation from onboarding, and why psychological safety matters more than ever in a dispersed workforce.

From playlists and Slack channels to leadership development and DEI strategy, this episode offers practical guidance on how to build a people-first culture—with intention.

Episode Segments:

1. Getting to Know Jim

00:00: From Hulu to healthcare—Jim shares career highlights, personal stories, and a favorite show.

2. Rethinking Belonging

04:53: Why employees feel lonelier than ever—and how we’ve misunderstood engagement.

3. Leading a Remote Culture

08:09: How Included Health uses travel, ERGs, and curated moments to foster connection.

4. Generational Diversity in the Workplace

18:06: What really divides (and unites) different generations—and how to focus on what matters.

5. Onboarding with Purpose

21:31: Why onboarding and orientation should be separate—and how to create early connection.

6. Inclusion & Performance

28:04: Beyond checkboxes—how DEI connects to performance, safety, and true belonging.

7. Equipping Leaders

32:00: Why junior managers are under pressure—and how to support them in a remote world.

8. Tech That Connects

35:11: Using tools like Slack, playlists, and walk-on songs to scale human connection.

“We need to stop running from connectedness. Remote work requires more—not less—humanity in how we lead.” – Jim O’Gorman

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🌐 Learn more about Simpplr: www.simpplr.com

📎 Connect with Jim: LinkedIn

#EmployeeExperience #BelongingAtWork #RemoteLeadership #HybridWorkforce #HealthcareCulture #InternalComms #PeopleStrategy #LeadershipEnablement

In this insightful episode of the Cohesion Podcast, Miriam Connaughton (Chief People Officer at Simpplr) sits down with Edie Goldberg, Ph.D., founder of E. L. Goldberg & Associates and renowned future of work thought leader. With over 30 years of experience in HR strategy, talent management, and organizational effectiveness, Edie has helped countless organizations evolve how they attract, engage, and retain talent.

Edie shares why traditional performance management systems fail both employees and organizations — and offers a vision for what she calls performance enablement. Drawing on research, her own practice, and her forthcoming book, she explains why ratings don’t tell the full story, how intrinsic motivation drives better outcomes, and why it’s time to shift from managing people to enabling their best performance.

From reframing feedback and recognition to embracing AI-enabled coaching and real-time insights, Edie’s perspective is both bold and practical — ideal for HR leaders, managers, and anyone ready to leave outdated practices behind.

If you’re tired of the annual eye-roll that comes with performance reviews, this conversation will inspire you to reimagine what’s possible.

Topics Covered:

• Why traditional performance management systems fail to engage or improve performance
• The unintended consequences of ratings and rankings
• How to shift focus from backward-looking reviews to forward-looking enablement
• Why development, recognition, and alignment to purpose matter more than ever
• The role of managers in fostering culture and performance — and how to equip them
• How AI, analytics, and real-time feedback are transforming the field
• Edie’s greatest hope — and fear — for the future of performance management

Connect with Edie Goldberg: LinkedIn | elgoldberg.com

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In this thought-provoking episode of the Cohesion Podcast, Miriam Connaughton (Chief People Officer at Simpplr) sits down with Gianna Driver, Chief People Officer at Lattice. A serial CPO with deep experience in the tech sector, Gianna brings a fresh perspective to one of HR’s most persistent questions: how should we really be measuring employee experience and performance?

With engagement scores stagnating for decades and workforces becoming more distributed and diverse, Gianna challenges conventional wisdom on employee engagement—and explores what might come next. Drawing on data, lived experience, and her people-first philosophy, she shares what she believes leaders should be measuring, and why metrics alone can fail to capture belonging, mental health, and true organizational health.

From rethinking engagement surveys to navigating the risks and opportunities of AI in the workplace, this episode is packed with strategic insights and human nuance.

If you’re reimagining how to support and measure your people in a hybrid, high-change world, this conversation is for you.

Topics Covered:

• Why employee engagement scores have flatlined for 20 years
• What HR teams might measure instead of—or in addition to—engagement
• How hybrid and remote work reshape connection and culture
• The generational shifts redefining what employees value most
• Insights from the disengaged: what outliers can tell us
• Balancing AI, analytics, and human empathy in employee experience
• Moving from individual-level fixes to systemic, structural solutions

Connect with Gianna Driver: LinkedIn

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In this inspiring episode of the Cohesion Podcast, Carolyn Clark (VP of Employee Experience Strategy & Transformation at Simpplr) sits down with Sarah Kaplan, Director of Internal Communications at Smarsh. With a unique background in opera performance and a keen instinct for people-first storytelling, Sarah has led major internal transformation at Smarsh—starting from scratch just before a company acquisition and CEO transition.

Sarah shares how she evolved the internal comms function from a team of one to a strategic partner to executive leadership. From ruthless prioritization to launching a global employee event across time zones, Sarah’s story is full of practical insights and human depth.

If you’re building a comms team, navigating rapid organizational change, or just curious how opera can shape a corporate career—this one’s for you.

Topics Covered:

• Building an internal comms function from zero
• Becoming a strategic partner to leadership
• Balancing trust with clarity during acquisitions and CEO change
• Leading hybrid transitions and global engagement events
• How performance arts skills translate to leadership and empathy

Connect with Sarah Kaplan: LinkedIn

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In this episode, we sit down with Kelly Clarke, a seasoned internal communications leader with experience at Cisco, Meta, and Gong, to explore how endurance and empathy power executive presence in times of transformation. With a foundation in PR and a heart for human-centered leadership, Kelly shares how she’s guided companies through crises, culture shifts, and massive change—always with transparency and trust at the core.

Simpplr’s Carolyn Clark, VP of Employee Experience Strategy & Transformation, joins the conversation to uncover how internal comms can drive clarity, connection, and courage at every level of an organization.

In This Episode, We Cover:

1. Leadership Lessons from Endurance

Kelly draws parallels between her long-distance running journey and her leadership style—revealing how consistency, mental toughness, and recovery fuel her ability to lead through complexity.

2. Building Comms Functions in Times of Change

From high-growth startups to global tech firms, Kelly shares how she’s built and scaled internal communications during reorgs, rebrands, and remote work pivots—always keeping the employee experience front and center.

3. Coaching Leaders to Show Up Authentically

Great comms start with great leadership. Kelly discusses how she partners with executives to cultivate transparency, vulnerability, and intentional messaging—making leaders more relatable and impactful.

4. Life Lessons from Girls on the Run

As a coach for Girls on the Run, Kelly reflects on what mentoring young girls taught her about confidence, community, and purpose—and how those same lessons show up in the workplace.