We are in the midst of the biggest global pandemic for a century, combine that with social unrest, an economic crisis, and at the same time, rapid business transformation, then the role of the HR function has never been so important.One company where HR has really come to the fore during the crisis is Bayer. My guest on this episode of the podcast is Melissa Harper, Senior Vice President for HR Innovations at Bayer. With more than 30 years of HR experience, Melissa has been at the forefront of Bayer's response to the crises of 2020 and efforts to redefine the workplace around purpose, innovation, and culture.In our conversation, Melissa and I discuss: Why Bayer’s people first philosophy, has been critical to the company's response to the crisis and its efforts to redefine the workplace of the future How Bayer is incorporating some of the positives that have emerged in 2020 such as faster, more distributed decision making and increased employee listening to enhance its innovative culture Bayer's approach to inclusion and diversity and how this is premised on taking action on the talent challenges that arise How digital analytics and culture provide the connective tissue around the workforce at the company What HR can do to prepare their organisation for an increase in remote and hybrid workingThis episode is a must listen for anyone interested or involved in Inclusion and Diversity, Culture, Employee Experience and Innovation. So that's Business Leaders, CHROs and anyone in a People Analytics, Workforce Planning, I&D or HR Business Partner role.Support for this podcast is brought to you by Panalyt. To learn more, visit https://www.panalyt.com. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.