2021 Aspiring HR Leader is Comcast’s Amanda Kirschman

NAPERVILLE, ILL., August 10, 2021 – Created in 2012, the Aspiring HR Leader Award recognizes an up-and-coming human resources (HR) professional for leveraging a fresh perspective, inventive ideas and strong leadership skills to impact his/her organization. C2HR is pleased to announce the tenth recipient of this prestigious award is Amanda Kirschman, senior director of talent management at Comcast Business.

In less than two years, Kirschman elevated her talent management role into a game-changer for talent and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) efforts across Comcast. She went beyond the expectations of a typical talent leader’s duty to became one of the company’s go-to experts for all talent topics, and accelerated careers, particularly for rising diverse leaders, by providing employees with more exposure and strategic development. Over the past 18 months, Kirschman successfully created several strong, proactive talent programs.

Year of the Leader
Kirschman implemented Year of the Leader (YOTL), a new inclusion learning program within Comcast Business designed to bring awareness, reduce bias and develop applicable and measurable tactics for creating an inclusive culture. The program’s goal was to enhance leaders’ capabilities and behaviors to prioritize inclusion and transparency at all stages of the employee experience and ultimately develop high-performing and high-potential diverse teams. Kirschman worked across a variety of teams to implement the initiative, host a national kick-off in early 2020, and create quarterly learning plans to support the goal. The quarterly plans focused on unconscious bias and team goal setting, coaching, communication and performance assessments.

Ally Coaches
Kirschman also developed an Ally Coaches program, a group of dedicated and trained employees who are available to address questions and share advice. Her effort continued with a new Comcast Business Allyship Teams Page, a central place for employees to share and connect, creating a stronger community of allies within Comcast Business. Kirschman’s leadership has expanded beyond her business unit with the creation of DE&I Digest, an all-inclusive hub of information on DE&I news and resources for all Comcast employees. Since its launch in Q1 2021, it has garnered well over 6k views.

Who to Know Roadshow
To strengthen succession planning across the organization, Kirschman created the Who to Know Roadshow, a program where senior leaders are introduced to high performing diverse talent. The roadshow created an opportunity for HR to partner with the business units to foster connections and improve the leadership pipeline. The initial roadshow resulted in the Comcast Business leadership team gaining awareness of 40 high potential, diverse employees throughout Comcast.

Workshops, Networking, & Responsive Listening Sessions
Kirschman is also responsible for the Comcast Business Career Bar, a series of weekly workshops launched in the first quarter of 2021. Through these workshops, over 320 employees focused on reflection, development, exposure and awareness inclusive of DE&I drivers and resources to accelerate adoption of Comcast’s new Workday system.

Kirschman also leads Comcast’s Talent Effectiveness Champions Network, a group of over 100 cross-functional employees who advise and consult on key talent initiatives, DE&I initiatives and provide insight on business trends and emerging business and talent needs.

She grew Comcast Business’ Gig program, a talent development initiative that expands the skill set of internal talent while sourcing the right talent to meet short-term business needs. Under her leadership, Comcast developed a comprehensive guide to provide resources for establishing and supporting a gig and it has grown to over 112 opportunities.

Following the murder of George Floyd, Kirschman quickly implemented over a dozen impactful listening sessions for employees. Her leadership and thoughtful approach to facilitating each session resulted in highly successful forums. Employees had the opportunity to be heard and share experiences, educate each other and simply connect. The listening sessions were so successful that they became a model and framework for Comcast’s current DE&I learning pods, an opportunity for employees and teams to continue the dialog on important topics.

“Amanda’s extraordinary contributions are helping build an even stronger culture of DE&I and strategic talent development for all employees at Comcast. She epitomizes the spirit of the Aspiring HR Leader, and we applaud her achievements,” shared Sandy Gunn, senior vice president of HR for Comcast.

Kirschman will draw upon her success and share her insight on Friday, August 13 during a C2HR CON session titled, “All Eyes on You: Making Your Presence Known.”

For a listing of past Aspiring HR Leaders, please visit https://c2hr.org/awards-accolades/nomination-form-aspiring-leader/.

Media Contact: Melissa Hicks, 484.888.6766

ABOUT C2HR
Content & Connectivity Human Resources (C2HR) is a professional association serving 4,300 members from 50 companies spanning the telecommunications, technology, media and entertainment sectors. C2HR provides industry-specific analytics, information and resources, as well as networking and educational opportunities. Its groundbreaking initiatives include the Annual C2HR Compensation Surveys and C2HR CON. For more information, visit www.C2HR.org.