
Steve Bates on the Critical Role of IT During the Pandemic
05/08/20 • 18 min
SHRM’s All Things Work podcast is continuing coverage of how the world of work is responding to the pandemic. In this episode, we’re turning our attention to the critical role of IT during the crisis. While stay-at-home orders have brought so much work to a standstill, we can only imagine how much worse the economic slowdown would be if it weren’t for IT systems and the professionals responsible for keeping those systems running. In this episode, host Tony Lee is joined by Steve Bates of KPMG. Steve heads KPMG’s CIO Chief Center of Excellence and shares his vantage point of what it looks like for a company with 219,000 employees worldwide to go completely remote almost overnight. Hear Tony and Steve discuss the responses and lessons learned from IT departments both large and small, as well their thoughts on the future shape of IT as companies embrace remote work while also taking steps to return to the workplace.
Please subscribe to All Things Work on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn or wherever you listen to podcasts. Check out SHRM.org/podcasts to listen on your desktop. And be sure to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or on your podcatcher of choice.
Keep up with SHRM by visiting the website, liking our Facebook page, checking us out on LinkedIn, and following us on Twitter and Instagram.
SHRM’s All Things Work podcast is continuing coverage of how the world of work is responding to the pandemic. In this episode, we’re turning our attention to the critical role of IT during the crisis. While stay-at-home orders have brought so much work to a standstill, we can only imagine how much worse the economic slowdown would be if it weren’t for IT systems and the professionals responsible for keeping those systems running. In this episode, host Tony Lee is joined by Steve Bates of KPMG. Steve heads KPMG’s CIO Chief Center of Excellence and shares his vantage point of what it looks like for a company with 219,000 employees worldwide to go completely remote almost overnight. Hear Tony and Steve discuss the responses and lessons learned from IT departments both large and small, as well their thoughts on the future shape of IT as companies embrace remote work while also taking steps to return to the workplace.
Please subscribe to All Things Work on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn or wherever you listen to podcasts. Check out SHRM.org/podcasts to listen on your desktop. And be sure to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or on your podcatcher of choice.
Keep up with SHRM by visiting the website, liking our Facebook page, checking us out on LinkedIn, and following us on Twitter and Instagram.
Previous Episode

Michael and Katie Stallard on Maintaining Social Connection While Working Remotely
Last time on SHRM’s All Things Work podcast, we discussed how businesses can successfully implement remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, we’re turning our attention to employees’ experience of remote work and its accompanying feelings of isolation and loneliness. In this week’s episode, host Tony Lee is joined by Michael and Katie Stallard to discuss the isolating nature of remote work and solutions employees can take to stay well in this new, unprecedented era of work. Mike and Katie are a husband and wife team who have been studying the impact of personal connection in the workplace since 2002 and recently recently wrote a great article for LinkedIn on Why Relational Connection Is So Important During the Coronavirus Pandemic. Listen to hear them talk with Tony to unpack big questions such as, “How can employees successfully adapt to working from home?” and “Can video conferencing tools really replace the experience of being with someone?”
Please subscribe to All Things Work on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn or wherever you listen to podcasts. Check out SHRM.org/podcasts to listen on your desktop. And be sure to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or on your podcatcher of choice.
Keep up with SHRM by visiting the website, liking our Facebook page, checking us out on LinkedIn, and following us on Twitter and Instagram.
Next Episode

Dr. John Whyte on Helping Employees Return to Work
SHRM’s All Things Work podcast provides continuing coverage of how the world of work is responding to the pandemic. This episode explores the many ways the workplace will be different moving forward. Joining All Thing Work host Tony Lee is Dr. John Whyte, WebMD’s Chief Medical Officer. John shares his views on a number of critical issues, including the CDC’s return-to-work guidelines, the remarkable expansion of paid sick leave and his advice to companies with employees who are scared about returning to work.
Please subscribe to All Things Work on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn or wherever you listen to podcasts. Check out SHRM.org/podcasts to listen on your desktop. And be sure to rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or on your podcatcher of choice.
Keep up with SHRM by visiting the website, liking our Facebook page, checking us out on LinkedIn, and following us on Twitter and Instagram.
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