Berkshire State of Work Summit 2025

From Hiring to Thriving: A New Era of Workplace Culture

Berkshire Community College (BCC) is teaming up with 1Berkshire, MassHire, the Berkshire Innovation Center and the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission to address the workforce challenges facing all Berkshire employers.

Berkshire State of Work Summit

Wednesday, June 18, 2025, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Berkshire Community College
Tickets: $75

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This one-day conference will focus on encapsulating a journey that businesses and organizations are increasingly focused on, from attracting the right talent to ensuring their employees flourish in a supportive and dynamic work environment.

3 Summit Tracks | 15 sessions | 40+ Speakers | 200 Attendees

Summit Keynote Speaker: JD Chesloff, Executive Director, Massachusetts Business Roundtable

Session Tracks

  1. Recruiting and Retention
    Are you finding it challenging to find qualified job candidates? In this track, discover overlooked sources of workers, how to maximize existing hiring resources and strategies for retaining new hires longer.
  2. Communication and Workplace Culture
    Most people leave their jobs because they are unhappy with the workplace culture or a lack of opportunities. In this track, hear from employees about their work needs and what keeps them in their jobs longer. Discuss how to minimize distractions from digital communications and how to make employee communications more effective. Learn the ingredients for creating a thriving culture within your organization, so people are banging down your door to work there!
  3. Workplace Readiness Skills
    You might be able to find candidates that possess the right "hard skills," but won't thrive in their role due to their lack of "soft skills" or "workplace readiness skills". In this track, learn how to incorporate workplace readiness skills into your existing employee training, how to improve employee tech literacy and how to build self-sufficient teams.

Questions?

Stephen Warley, Summit Coordinator
stephen@lifeskillsthatmatter.com

Email Stephen to receive the latest updates.

BCC is committed to providing universal access to our events. Contact workforce@berkshirecc.edu to request disability accommodations.

1Berkshire LogoMassHire Berkshires logoBerkshire Regional Planning Commission logoBerkshire Innovation Center logo

Session Agenda

  • Block Schedules

    8 – 9 a.m.: Registration, networking, light breakfast

    9 – 9:45 a.m.: Welcome, keynote

    JD Chesloff, Executive Director, Massachusetts Business Roundtable

    9:45 – 10 a.m.: Break

    10 – 10:45 a.m.: Session Block #1

    Track: Recruiting and Retention
    Session: Overlooked Sources of Workers (A)

    Discover untapped talent pools and innovative hiring strategies in the Berkshires. This session explores nontraditional candidates, alternative pipelines, and creative approaches to expand your recruitment efforts.

    Track: Communication and Workplace Culture
    Session: Hear From Employees About Their Needs (A)

    Gain valuable insights directly from employees about what's most important to them about taking a job and what keeps them in a job. Hear their perspectives on how to improve the hiring process, flexible work arrangements and what makes them feel more engaged with their work.

    Track: Work Readiness
    Session: On-the-job Work Readiness Skill Development

    Learn about the most crucial workforce readiness skills for your new hires and discover various ways to equip them with the soft skills they need to succeed. This session explores effective strategies for improving professionalism, boosting confidence, and enhancing long-term retention.

    10:45 – 11 a.m.: Break

    11 – 11:45 a.m.: Session Block #2

    Track: Recruiting and Retention
    Session: Maximize Existing Hiring Resources

    Did you know that local hiring and economic development organizations not only support employees, but also employers? Learn about programs and resources to optimize your recruiting efforts, streamline your hiring processes and supplemental employee training to prepare them for the workforce.

    Track: Communication and Workplace Culture
    Session: Creating a Thriving Work Culture

    When someone takes a job, they are buying into your work culture. Do you have a work culture that makes your employees thrive and want to recruit others to work for you? Discover how to build a workplace where employees feel valued, motivated, included, and engaged, helping you retain your best employees longer.

    Track: Workforce Readiness
    Session: Strategies for Improving Employee Tech Literacy

    Explore practical approaches to teaching your employees the basic tech they need to thrive in their role. Learn about training resources and how to build their confidence to embrace the technology required to perform their job.

    11:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.: Lunch, panel discussion

    Topic: How Inclusion Builds a Stronger Workforce

    Hear from local employers why embracing a more inclusive workplace culture, not only made their employees thrive, but was also good for their bottom line by attracting new customers and talent.

    1:15 – 2 p.m.: Session Block #3

    Track: Recruiting and Retention
    Session: Strategies for Retaining New Hires

    Hear about local case studies from employers who have implemented innovative approaches for increasing employee retention and reducing their recruiting costs.

    Track: Communication and Workplace Culture
    Session: How to Give and Receive Feedback

    Dysfunctional communication is one of the primary reasons people leave their jobs. In this session, explore various methods for giving and receiving feedback to your employees, from formal review systems to everyday interactions. Improving your internal feedback loops can have a powerful impact on your brand, recruiting efforts and revenue.

    Track: Workforce Readiness
    Session: Build Self-Sufficient Teams: From Problem Solving to Conflict Resolution

    Learn how to motivate and inspire your employees to manage themselves. This session delves into strategies for fostering critical thinking, collaboration, and resilience, helping employees tackle obstacles and resolve conflicts with confidence.

    2 – 2:15 p.m.: Break

    2:15 – 3 p.m.: Session Block #4

    Track: Recruiting and Retention
    Session: Overlooked Sources of Workers (B)

    Discover untapped talent pools and innovative hiring strategies in the Berkshires. This session explores nontraditional candidates, alternative pipelines, and creative approaches to expand your recruitment efforts.

    Track: Communication and Workplace Culture
    Session: Productive Uses of Digital Communications

    Employers are still grappling with the pros and cons of email, texting, social media, remote work, project management software like Asana and now AI. Access to our phones is crucial for work, but also an enormous source of distraction. In this session, there will no doubt be a lively discussion about when digital communication makes employees more productive and when it doesn't.

    Track: Communication and Workplace Culture
    Session: Hear From Employees About Their Needs (B)

    Gain valuable insights directly from employees about what's most important to them about taking a job and what keeps them in a job. Hear their perspectives on how to improve the hiring process, flexible work arrangements and what makes them feel more engaged with their work.

    3 – 3:15 p.m.: Break

    3:15 – 4 p.m.: Closing keynote panel discussion

    Topic: Navigating Change - How to Manage Transformation

    The world of work has been turned upside down as a result of digital communications, the pandemic, flexible work arrangements and AI. Employers are experiencing an unprecedented amount and pace of change that they have never seen before. We'll explore ways to manage change, as well as how you can to start implementing changes inside your organization to create a thriving workplace culture.