April SHRM Luncheon: Reduce Workplace Fear & Increase Employee Engagement (Thursday, April 09, 2026)

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 18:30:00 GMT

Join us for April's SHRM Luncheon

"From Hire to Retire: Reduce Workplace Fear & Increase Employee Engagement"

Building Engagement by Making Work More Human

Date/Time: Thursday April 9th | 11:30am - 1:00pm

Location: Holiday Inn & Suites (Airport) | 4260 Mitchell Way

Tickets on Sale Until April 2nd for Lunch

Tickets on Sale Until April 8th for Program-Only

HR leaders play a critical role in shaping the employee experience, from recruiting and onboarding to performance management, development, and retention. Yet many engagement strategies focus on programs rather than the everyday actions that truly shape how people experience work.

In this insightful, practical session, Renée Smith, MSOD, explores how engagement is built, or eroded, across the employee lifecycle through leadership behaviors, team dynamics, and organizational practices.

Using a practical framework grounded in her own qualitative research, Renée shows how more human experiences create the conditions for engagement, while fear-based experiences at work lead to disengagement, turnover, and reduced performance. These negative impact the bottom line and employer reputation.

Participants will walk away with concrete ways to embed engagement into hiring practices, feedback conversations, team norms, and organizational systems, creating a more human and effective workplace from start to finish.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Identify common fear-based patterns that undermine engagement, trust, and retention
Understand how workplace experiences affect motivation, learning, and performance
Apply practical strategies to create a more human experience across the employee lifecycle
Strengthen engagement, responsibility, and performance through human-centered practices
Begin a conversation with managers, executives and owners about the business value of making work more human

About Our Presenter: Renee Smith

Renée Smith, MSOD (she/her) is the founder and CEO of A Human Workplace, a leadership and culture consultancy serving the US and UK. She advocates for making work more human as a researcher, writer, speaker, and leader.

Renée served in the Governor’s Office as Director of Workplace Transformation for the State of Washington and led award-winning culture change work as Director of Organization Development for the Department of Enterprise Services. Smith has spoken to hundreds of audiences in eleven countries in industries as disparate as IT, Healthcare, Education, Government, the US Army, Manufacturing, Construction and Engineering, Law, Social Services, and more.

She is a podcaster, a prolific blogger, and published author. She lives in Tacoma with her husband, Jim, in a multi-generational household with her son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren. She enjoys traveling anywhere, sculling on the Puget Sound, gardening, and painting with watercolor.

Proudly Sponsored By:

Washington’s 529 Education Savings Plans (WA529) help your employees save for future education expenses. With tax benefits, flexible contribution options, and choice of school type and location, it’s easy to start saving. Learn more at 529.wa.gov

General admission tickets may be purchased at the door (lunch not included).

This program is approved for general credit for HRCI and 1.0 SHRM credit.

Mt. Baker SHRM upcoming events

April SHRM Luncheon: Reduce Workplace Fear & Increase Employee Engagement (Thursday, April 09, 2026)