Diane Thielfoldt

Learning Strategist and Co-Founder, The Learning Café

Diane partners with clients to create custom learning solutions that produce business results and support personal growth. She specializes in designing and developing training on the changing workplace, the four-generation workforce, leadership, and engagement.

Prior to launching a thriving business Diane’s corporate career encompassed leadership roles with McGraw-Hill, TRW, Bausch & Lomb, and Xerox in sales, marketing, communications, and learning design, development, and delivery.

Clients

Diane collaborates with clients to recruit, hire, on-board, engage, and retain four generations of talent, to develop leaders and mentors and to bridge the workplace generation gap.  Her clients span four continents and many industries, including aerospace, high technology, telecommunications, healthcare, insurance, banking and financial services, office equipment, business services, manufacturing and the Federal Government.

Conferences and Workshops

Diane is a popular speaker at meetings and conferences and an accomplished workshop facilitator.  Through these engagements she has educated hundreds of managers on practical everyday actions that contribute to a motivated, engaged workforce.  A sample of Diane’s highly acclaimed speaking and facilitation engagements includes:

• “Meet the Millennials” PMPA 2010 Conference
• “Engaging a Changing Workforce”  CORE Leadership Development
• “Motivating, Engaging and Retaining an Age Diverse Workforce” AMD 45^th Convention
• “Engaging a Changing Workforce”  Centers for Disease Control Leadership Management Institute
• “Four Generations One Workforce!  Connect, Communicate, Collaborate” Office of Inspector General
• “Engaging a Changing Workforce: Connect to Communicate” FISA 2009 Conference
• “Engaging a Changing Workforce: New Game, New Roles, New Rules”  ACRA ’09 Conference
• “The Art and Science of Retention:  Winning the War for Talent” Parker Hannifin
• “Managing a Changing Workforce”  FLETC Leadership Conference
• “A Leader’s Look at the New Workforce” ISA Conference
• “Speed-up!  Millennials Ahead” Keynote AMTDA Leadership Conference
• “Engaging a Changing Workforce” Treasury Executives Institute
• “Millennials on Staff:  Recruit, Engage, and Retain” NAW Association Executives Council
• “Engaging a Changing Workforce” Orange County Human Resources Forum
• “Engaging a Changing Workforce”  Center for Veterinary Medicine
• “A Leader’s Look at the New Workforce”  OIG, Department of Education
• “The Changing Workforce”  OIG, Department of Defense
• “Engaging a Changing Workforce:  New Game, New Roles, New Rules”  TIGTA Leadership
• “Engaging a Changing Workforce:  A Leader’s Look at the New Workforce”  FAEC Conference
• “Engaging a Changing Workforce” Easter Seals Training Conference
• “Manage Us Please!”  Meet the Millennial Generation, 2008 GOVEN
• “New Game, New Roles, New Rules” The Conference Board
• “New Workforce, New Workplace, New Game” Constellation Energy
• “Engaging the Changing Workforce”  Raytheon SAS Leadership Forum
• “The Changing Workforce” Parker Hannifin

Publications

Millennial Generation: Millennials 1977–1998 by Diane Thielfoldt and Devon Scheef 2009

Managers and organizations have their work cut out for them.  The Millennial generation has its own attitudes and perceptions that shape how its memebers regard work, and the influences that stimulate them to surpass expectations.  It’s harder than ever to understand what will motivate, engage and retain each employee.  This study takes an in-depth look at the generation that will no doubt fundamentally change the workplace.

Engaging a Changing Workforce Study – by Diane Thielfoldt and Devon Scheef 2008 Comprehensive, groundbreaking research about the four generations in the workplace – and the engagement and dissatisfaction drivers for each.  The report provides invaluable information for anyone who needs to hire, lead, engage, or retain multiple workplace generations.

Human Resources in the Twenty-First Century – Diane and her business partner Devon Scheef are co-authors of the chapter on generational issues in this highly acclaimed book.  The book showcases the work of fifty academics and practitioners, included for their thought leadership on the challenges that organizations must successfully manage in this century.

Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em: Getting Good People to Stay by Beverly Kaye & Sharon Jordan-Evans – This Wall Street Journal best-seller showcases 26 strategies A-Z for retaining and motivating organizational talent.  Diane is a subject matter expert for the chapter on retention strategies for the four workplace generations.

Her articles include Engaging Multiple Generations Among Your Workforce; Generation Integration-A Case Study of How Xerox Corporation Bridged the Generation Gap Between Two Business Groups; Mentoring for All Ages; Retaining the Four Generations in the Workplace; What Generations Want from Their Careers; and Nurses with Bifocals vs. Aides with Eyebrow Rings.

Education

Diane holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Pennsylvania State University.  She is qualified in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and a wide variety of testing and assessment tools, including 360 degree feedback.