HR ShopTalk

After 4.5 years of hosting the HR Hub and hitting nearly 10,000 subscribers, I'm sharing a few insights that have shaped how I think about HR practice. This solo episode breaks down seven critical lessons I've learned from interviewing over 150 HR experts - and some of these might challenge how you practice!From the hard truth about why HR programs get cut to the business development skills you actually need for consulting, these aren't your typical HR platitudes. I'm talking about real, practical wisdom that can change how you approach your career and daily work.You'll discover why psychological safety isn't just a buzzword (and how it drives real business results), the uncomfortable reality about receiving feedback that nobody talks about, and why DEI initiatives deserve the same grace we give other business programs.Whether you're looking to advance in your HR career, considering consulting, or just want to be more effective in your current role, these seven lessons will give you a fresh perspective on what it really takes to succeed in HR.What You'll Learn:The #1 question that determines if your HR program survives budget cutsWhy preparation and speed create an impossible tensionThe leadership courage required to stand up for what's rightHow psychological safety drives innovation and business outcomesThe surprising skill that makes or breaks HR consultantsWhy we're training people wrong about feedbackA powerful story about bias that will change how you think about inclusionConnect with Andrea:Subscribe to the HR Hub on YouTube and SpotifyFollow on LinkedIn: Andrea AdamsShare your biggest HR lesson in the comments

Are your engagement initiatives actually working? In this refreshing and funny take , HR consultant Debbie Pearmain cuts through the fluff and reveals what actually moves the needle on employee engagement after 25 years in the field.Discover why your managers have an 80% impact on engagement success, why third-party surveys show dramatically different results than internal ones, and the science behind what employees really need (hint: it starts with fair compensation, not pizza parties).If you're fear investing in engagement initiatives that don't deliver results, this episode provides the honest, practical framework you need. Learn how to connect with employees at both the head AND heart level to drive impressive business outcomes: 21% higher profitability, 87% better retention, and 92% higher Connect with Debbie at https://onestophr.ca/or find her on LinkedIn!Find me (Andrea) https://thehrhub.cacustomer satisfaction.

Ever notice how we train leaders to give feedback but rarely teach them how to receive it? Also: did you know 70% of people feel uncomfortable receiving feedback, and 37% avoid it altogether? If you've ever felt that pit in your stomach when someone says "Can I give you some feedback?" you know what I am talking about. This episode got personal because I am definitely in the 70%.Pam Schmidt and Organizational Development expert and owner of Pam Schimdt Consulting breaks down why feedback often feels threatening, how power dynamics silence honest input as leaders rise in organizations, and practical strategies for receiving criticism without becoming defensive. You'll learn:Why traditional feedback models fall shortHow to prepare yourself emotionally for feedback conversationsWhen to trust feedback (and when to discard it)The powerful "2% rule" for finding value in even the most questionable feedbackIf you can master this, you will transform feedback from something to dread into a valuable tool for professional development!Find Pam on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamschmidt1/And me: andrea@thehrhub.ca

Feeling overwhelmed by workplace challenges? This episode delivers practical resilience strategies for HR professionals juggling strategic initiatives with daily operational demands.Resilience expert Beverly Beuermann-King breaks down her SOS framework (Situation, Ourselves, Support) and shares 10 key traits that help you bounce back from setbacks. Learn to identify your specific stress triggers, quiet your racing "monkey mind," and spot warning signs before burnout hits.Beverly offers no-nonsense advice on maintaining control during uncertainty and explains when it's time to seek additional support. Perfect for mid-level HR pros who need to maintain their own well-being while supporting others through organizational change.Walk away with actionable tools to not just survive workplace chaos, but actually flourish both professionally and personally.

Ever had an employee claim they're underpaid compared to the market? In this episode, I chat with compensation expert Carolyn Kildare about the nuts and bolts of effective salary benchmarking.We dive into how to respond when employees bring outside salary data to you, where to find reliable compensation surveys, and how to build credibility in your benchmarking process. Carolyn shares practical wisdom from her years at Mercer and as owner of Cadence Compensation to help you navigate these challenging conversations.Key topics we cover:Building a solid compensation philosophy as your foundationWhy data quality matters (and which surveys to trust)Handling employee challenges to your compensation structureThe difference between inflation and salary increase budgetsWhen and how to "age" older salary dataPerfect for HR professionals looking to strengthen their compensation strategy and confidently handle those tricky "but everyone else pays more" conversations.Find Carolyn at https://www.cadencecompensation.ca/ or on LinkedInFind me as always: https://thehrhub.ca

Is your L&D team flying blind? In this episode, I sit down with edtech strategist and author Lori Niles-Hofmann to unpack why data-driven learning design is a game-changer for HR professionals.Lori reveals how borrowing tactics from marketing can transform training effectiveness and explains her practical "duct tape approach" for organizations without perfect data systems. We explore everything from using digital body language to predict learning needs to her bold prediction about AI coaches replacing traditional courses.Whether you're struggling to measure learning impact or looking to modernize your training approach, this conversation delivers actionable insights for mid-career HR professionals ready to elevate their L&D strategy.Guest: Lori Niles-Hofmann, EdTech & AI Transformation Strategist and author of the upcoming "The Eight Levers of EdTech Transformation"Topics covered:• Why intuition alone fails in learning design• Essential data points every L&D team should track• Overcoming common barriers to data-driven approaches• How A/B testing can revolutionize your training effectiveness• The future of personalized AI-powered learningThis episode is also sponsored by iSpring - an all-in-one e-learning solution that makes creating training easier.Also check out:

Let's plan for 5 years down the road with a thousand moving pieces - many of which you have zero control over. That's strategic workforce planning.I have had a growing interest in workforce planning with the rise of AI. I don't want to be doing miserable HR - like mass layoffs when you didn't plan for the shift in 30% of tasks to AI. My guest this week, Ross Sparkman, has literally wrote the book on strategic workforce planning. When you google 'workforce planning books' his book, 'Strategic Workforce Planning: Developing optimized talent strategies for future growth' comes up and the 2nd edition came out last week! He is currently the Sr. Director of Workforce Planning at Walmart and held similar roles at Nike and Meta. It's complicated, but we need to plan for the future: - What roles and skills do we need now? In the future? When in the future?- What risks impact our plans? And how will we mitigate? - Do we have the right mix of full-time, part-time and contingent workers? - Are we hiring in the right places? And so many more. Workforce planning is the pinnacle of big picture HR. Ross tells us how to do it in the short-term and then how to scale up to the bigger picture. Check it out! And read the book - I can hardly think of another topic where reading the book would be more important. Find Ross' new book on Amazon! It was just published last week: Strategic Workforce Planning: Developing optimized talent strategies for future growthYou can find Ross on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ross-sparkman/You can find me https://thehrhub.ca/or on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-adams1/

80% are just fine, 15% skirt the edges, and 5% are evil. The latter 20% explain why compliance is such a big thing in HR. Anyone who follows my show closely knows I am interested in understanding the impact of power. I spoke with Dr. Catherine Connelly who is an expert in HR and in Canada's temporary foreign worker (TFW) program. The TFW program, arguably, represents one of the greatest power imbalances in any Canadian workplace. So what can HR learn from this power imbalance? Unsurprisngly, a lot:

If you do any meeting or workshop facilitation, this video will make it easier! It provides an overview of facilitation and many tactical insights which I plan to apply at my next facilitation.You never need fear that guy who slouches in his seat with his arms crossed ever again.My guest for this was Robin Parsons. Robin owns a facilitation company called Parsons Dialogue. She has been doing this work for 10 years and even teaches facilitation through ICA Associates. After talking with her I can see how I would have benefited from facilitation training. Things like:- It is important to start with ground rules.- Humans are emotional creatures. There are stages a group goes through and you can't skip the step in which they talk about their emotions.- If your client wants you to get the group to 'come up with the right answer themselves' beware. This is as much manipulation as facilitation.- Robin has many HR people in her classes because we know we need the skill but didn't learn it in university.This honestly was such a useful episode. I have some upcoming facilitation and will refer back to it. Check it out!https://ica-associates.ca/https://www.parsonsdialogue.com/https://thehrhub.ca

What if your employees had the willingness and ability to respond quickly and flexibly to changing business needs? Sounds a little like a fairytale.Maybe not. There are things you can do to build resilience in the workplace.This whole conversation with Beverly Beuermann-King about building resilience in the workplace was a revelation. Beverly talks about resilience a lot at conferences as well as presenting workshops and participating in panels. Her company, Work Smart Live Smart is a resiliency and corporate culture focused company helping people deal with reactions to stress and live better lives.A few things I noted:- A lot of what she talks about aligns with what we know of engagement - but not all.- The most intriguing part for me was about hope. Why don't we talk about hope at work more often? It makes total sense.- We need employee creativity and ideas. So working them to burnout is not the answer.Beverly has thought about this a lot and the message was so welcome. Check out the full discussion.Find Beverly at Work Smart Live Smarthttps://worksmartlivesmart.com/And of course find me at https://thehrhub.ca/

This is a special episode and is part of podcasthon. Podcasthon is a global movement bringing podcasts and channels together in service of all the AMAZING not-for-profits out there. This discussion revolves around doing HR in this kind of organization. There are so many great NFPs out there, but I am on the board of Trinity Place Foundation of Alberta. They provide housing for people who are hard to house and those with limited income. Given current housing conditions and the personal struggles of some people, this is so so important! I was happy to interview Jennie Deneka, the dynamic and passionate CEO of TPFA. Jennie has a background in healthcare and has been at the helm of TPFA for 4 years. She is currently guiding the organization through a transformation and was happy to talk about what NFPs TRULY need from HR. LIke:- Be a generalist. Many NFPs are smaller so you will have to do a lot of things.- You have to be realistic. NFPs often have small budgets and you have to make do. - Maybe you can also be really creative and get some great things done- The mission of the organization will fuel you. It's not the only thing that matters, but it helps a lot. It was a pleasure to do this and highlight the great work of so many charities and not-for-profits in all of our communities filling gaps and helping critical causes in our communities. Consider donating to a charity in your community or to TPFA. You can reach TPFA at info@tpfa.ca

HR is often shouldering the burden and leadership around the impact of societal shifts. We have to ensure the organization is prepared to respond, culture is aligned and any risks around the shift are mitigated. So we need to think about the future of work. I was delighted to have this conversation with Anthony Ariganello, CEO of CPHR Canada and President of the World Federation of People Management. AND he is a member of the Order of Canada! Anthony shared is big picture perspective on the future of HR. Somethings will be advanced and only get better from where they are today and there may be big shifts - like the one in the video below.

You can build psychological safety pretty fast - note I didn't say 'easily'. And, actually, it's not that hard either, but it does require a little adventurous spirit and bravery to keep doing it long enough to see improvement. BUT THE BENEFITS! Psychological safety has been proven to have so many business benefits. Think about it. How well do YOU perform when you feel like you have to bite your tongue? When co-workers are in cliques and you're not welcome? When you are micromanaged? My guest this week is an emerging thought leader IMO. Israel Peck had a journey through finance doing massive cost cutting including 'reducing head count' which is a nicer way of saying mass terminations. In the process, he discovered how important culture is to rescuing an organization's financial performance. And, in turn, the importance of psychological safety. So he did something about it. He created cratic.ai which, through a slightly odd way of creating successively deeper conversations, helps teams create psychological safety and better cultures.He takes a financial view on HR:- HR needs a standard measure and he argues for eNPS. Really nothing is going to be perfect, so why not eNPS? - eNPS is the collective answer to the question: On a scale of1-10, how likely are you to recommend your place of work to a friend or colleague? - The point is: if you can move eNPS a quartile up, you will add between $10 and $25,000 EBITDA PER EMPLOYEE!- Psychological safety plays a huge role in eNPS and he has a methodology for driving it. - The key is better conversations not magic. It's genuinely one of the most exciting things I have seen while hosting my show. There really ARE better ways and Israel knows of one. Do yourself a favour and tune in! Find Israel at https://cratic.ai/ or on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ipeck/Find me at https://thehrhub.ca/

A compensation philosophy is our north star for our compensation plans. It's a statement that outlines a company's approach to employee compensation. It helps align our comp practices with business goals so a business makes the most of it's biggest cost: labour.I love a good guiding philosophy so was happy to have this discussion with Carolyn Kildare. Carolyn is the owner of Cadence Compensation Consulting. She worked for Mercer for 12 years and is the President of the Calgary Total Rewards Network. These are just a few tips from our discussion:

Are you trying to do HR in a toxic work environment? That's haard.You might see that things are not right and see that people aren't being held accountable for awful behaviour. Perhaps you feel a bit trapped in your job and can't switch and yet you don't have the power to really do anything about the problem.At this point, it's probably a long game and my guest has so much great advice. So much.Dr. Kevin Sansberry started in HR as an HR Advisor. Then he worked his way up to being Assistant Vice Chancellor of HR. Then he went off and did his own thing including a TedX presentation, consulting, executive coaching and the Toxic Leadership Podcast. I was delighted by the insight he had into tough HR issues - such as toxicity. You can tell that he has deep experience in HR. This is a fraction of the insight he shared:- As we discussed in a separate video, toxicity is an easy label, but rarely describes actual behaviour.- You are not without power even as an HR advisor.- You can change things, but need to think strategically.- Toxicity has its roots in culture. Focusing on anything else will be a bandaid fix.It was a fantastic discussion. One of the best if you are in HR.Find Kevin on LinkedIn at  / kevindsansberry  Find his podcast athttps://www.kevraconsulting.comFind Andrea for consulting supporthttps://thehrhub.ca

Microaggressions in the workplace continue to be hard to understand. I was involved in an investigation a while back alleging microaggressions and I was uncertain. So when I had the opportunity to clarify I did. I spoke with Sara Taylor who has been a DEI expert for a long time. She started her company, deepSEE Consulting in 2002. She has authored two books including, recently, 'Thinking at the Speed of Bias'. She has been a Chief Diversity Officer. She was on my panel discussion around DEI and it was wonderful to talk to her about this because I am a lot more clear now.

Has a wellness program ever had a positive effect on your well-being? To what degree? I participated in wellness programs - pilates and a free gym. But I was already so active, that the impact was meagre at best. It would be hard to say I was more well after that. What about you? That was the subject this week in my discussion with Tim Borys - fitness enthusiast, coach, wellness expert, author, and keynote speaker. We discuss whether or not corporate wellness programs are making a difference to our wellbeing. And, more importantly, how organizations can create more wellbeing.

This episode was supposed to be about upskilling and reskilling exclusively... but we quickly talked about the skills-based organization because that is where upskilling and reskilling start. You have to know what skills you are trying to build! I had THE best person for this discussion IMO. My guest was Lori Niles-Hofman. Lori hosts an upskilling course on LinkedIn Learning. She describes herself as an EdTech and AI Transformation Strategist. She is an author having written The Eight Levers of EdTech Transformation which will be published this spring. She has also been an L&D leader for big organizations. Her command of the big picture and the details was impressive. This discussion was full of new ways of thinking: - A skills based organization moves away from discussions about job titles to discussions around particular skills. - People might be paid based on skills rather than job title. - Upskilling and reskilling become a lot easier when we focus on individual skills as opposed to a large set of skills as is common on an L&D program - Her clients focus on a limited number of skills as they move towards a skills-based organization - You might start with ONE skill. Her insight was so precise - it was amazing. And it was different, Lori is not afraid to consider new ways of doing things! Check out the sponsor for this episode! iSpring Solutions! https://www.ispringsolutions.com/ They have offered discount codes (good until the end of 2025) as follows: 'ANDREA-SUITE' - For purchasing iSpring Suite with a 10% discount. 'ANDREA -SUITE-MAX' - For purchasing iSpring Suite Max with a 10% discount. I also had fun demo'ing their product: https://youtu.be/e8q-zhHHvkU Find Lori at any one of the following places: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorinileshofmann/ https://www.linkedin.com/learning/upskilling-and-reskilling-your-workforce https://www.theeightlevers.com/ https://www.loriniles.com/ You can find me at https://thehrhub.ca

HR is often asked to help increase accountability in the workplace. Because people just aren't doing their jobs they way they are supposed to! We often think it's because they don't care. Sometimes that's the case, but other times they just don't care about the impact they're having on others. I spoke to Mitch Warner, Managing Partner of the Arbinger Institute. Things got a little uncomfortable for me - but I guess that's when the learning happens right? He talks about an aspect of accountability that we don't think about often. That is, the accountability to others so they get their work done. The impact on others is frequently overlooked. This episode will make you think - every once in a while I have a guest who turns a topic on their head and this was one of them and I was there for it!

I figure we are mostly looking for the truth. And while 'truth' is hard to find, some things bring us closer. Like research. Also it's 2025. What HR debates are we still working through in our hunt for truth? This was the focus of my discussion with Dr. Catherine Connelly. Catherine is a leading HR researcher with a passion for research. When I asked Chat GPT for a 'future of HR' expert, her name was one of the top three. She is a Professor and Business Research Chair in Organizational Behaviour, in the Human Resources and Management department of the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University plus many other qualifications. We talked about: - Hybrid & remote work. I was hoping to settle the debate once and for all, but it's much more nuanced. Are you surprised? - AI - it continues to be biased because it trains on our data. Which has bias baked in. We'll have to audit but even if we could get totally unbiased AI, we still have biased people in our organizations (see the video below). - Employee Experience - We need to focus on the basics. - A theme running through our discussion was the much maligned middle manager. They are critical to success in a lot of this. I hope to try another of these episodes because I believe the pursuit of truth is a fundamental. It's like happiness: we'll work at it, but never quite get there. Still, it's a worthwhile and critical journey. We had an insightful conversation... check it out! Also, find Catherine here https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-connelly-57b70762/ https://connellyresearch.com/ https://experts.mcmaster.ca/display/connell As always, find me at https://www.thehrhub.ca

Happy end of 2024! I learn so much from the guests on my show. And so does Angela Nguyen of the Leadership Within Podcast. So we joined forces to discuss what we learned this year! We reflected on the challenges and things we learned including: - How hard it is to create content week after week - Qualities we both appreciate more: curiosity and perseverance - Thoughts on DEI as I continue to reflect on the panel discussion I hosted and Angela's reflections as a racialized woman And much more. Some relevant links: Angela's show: https://www.youtube.com/@UC4Ekg-0WangewQYVJCZixmA https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelanguyenkhaan/ Some of the episodes we referred to: Culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpJoYnS5nEk Toxicity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC1gewuzKvU&t=127s DEI Panel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZqbxXyLPkQ&t=3344s Civility: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOvSS2topjM&t=24s Bias in Technology: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_tz56BoHr4 Check some of it out!

The #1 reason hiring fails? Not treating recruitment like the project it really is. So project mistake are you guilty of maybe: Not revisiting the job description? Forgetting to ask the client if they'll be on vacation (I've done this one)? Not pushing back when client says the want the talent but don't want to pay? Mostly we just need to treat recruitment like a project. Meet with the client, set the goals, check in when goals aren't being bet etc etc. My guest this week, Wendy Sellers aka The HR Lady dropped more truth bombs about what it really takes to attract top talent in 2024. She's hilariously outspoken so it's unlikely you'll misunderstand anything she says. Wendy is an author, podcast host, and plain spoken HR expert. She has been featured in USA Today and even has radio show. Completely 'on brand' she wrote a book for HR called "Suck It Up, Buttercup". Really! And in this discussion she brought her practical, no-fluff approach to talent attraction. Some other insights

Sometimes it takes fresh eyes to see solutions for problems you've been struggling with forever. That's what this episode on culture change felt like. My guest was Israel Peck - head of Cratic Ai. He used to be a consultant on massive cost-cutting projects and discovered that culture has a huge financial impact. So he started Cratic Ai to help companies successfully shape their cultures. As you might think, given cost-cutting, he has a finance background not HR. So the conversation was overflowing with fresh perspectives and insights. Like: - HR needs one metric. All the other departments have them. He suggests that employee net promoter score (eNPS) could be that number (see the video below). - It's been shown that EBITDA will increase by $10-25,000 PER EMPLOYEE for every quartile shift in eNPS. - He know how to move the needle on eNPS and you could use his software, but you don't have to. - We often implement programs to change culture. His methods change it from the inside out. - The secret is: conversation. Not so secret right? He has a weird way of encouraging it. - In my opinion, you have to be brave to reap the rewards on this. I have had other guests who reinforced the power of great conversation in helping to create better teams. Having done a lot of this work and accidentally did some of what he talks about, I believe he is on to something. I believe we will see more of Israel and his ideas! Check it out! Find Israel on Linkedin or https://cratic.ai/ Find me for HR consulting at https://thehrhub.ca

Not for profit organizations have different HR considerations. In part, their employee tend to be incredibly passionate about the organization's purpose. They'll often sacrifice their own well-being in service of it. And in many cases, they're expected to do it. Dimple Dhabalia, a lawyer, humanitarian and this week's guest, has a powerful story about what she learned after years of humanitarian service around the world. She burned out, but instead of doing what the rest of us would do, she wrote a book. Her book is called "Tell Me My Story: Challenging the Narrative of Service Before Self." For anyone working in service of people, there is a lot to learn from this thought-provoking conversation about unique consideration of doing HR in NFPs. For example: ❣️ "Being human is messy. And serving humanity is even messier." ❣️ Systems and culture drive employees to put the organization and their humanitarian service ahead of themselves. ❣️ It isn't all on the organization. Change starts with individuals. ❣️ Ultimately, individuals and organizations have to change together. ❣️ We (and especially women) are taught to give, give, give and that will only take us so far. Find Dimple through her book: Tell Me My Story: Challenging the Narrative of Service Before Self Or one of her podcasts: Service without Sacrifice: Conversations about Hope & Healing What Would Ted Lasso Do? Her website https://www.rootsintheclouds.com/ Find me, Andrea, https://thehrhub.ca/

Organizational development is what we strive for in HR. It brings all the strategic pieces of HR together in service of organizational strategy. Or that's how it struck me in this conversation with Michelle Chambers of Chambers and Associates. She teaches Organization Development at Schulich Executive Education (York University). She has won prestigious coaching awards and worked at or for a very long list of leading companies. She was a GREAT guest to discuss this. I suspect she would be great guest for many topics, but this was a good one. There were big and small 'aha' moments in this for me and I bet there would be for you too. Like ♾️ The work is incredibly diverse - coaching, working with teams, leadership development, change, transformation and more.

All of us in HR have to build relationships with clients. So how? It is a skill and what happens when things go wrong? I interviewed Tiffany Castagno, an HR consultant and leader, and I sensed had a gift for building relationships with clients. Because she was building a relationship with me so quickly! I could see she has a unique and effective way of balancing professionalism with authenticity. I concluded that we have a lot to learn from her. Some thoughts and questions: - What are your intentions about your clients? She signs emails saying "In your corner." A person can only do this if they mean it and she does. - Showing your human side strengthens relationships and vulnerability is a piece of that. How do you show your human side? - You will have to have difficult conversations with good intentions - so considerable courage is required. - Onboarding a new client is important! There was a lot to learn from Tiffany and you'll smile with her. As I said at the end, she has some magic and I'm glad she shared! Find Tiffany at https://www.cephrconsulting.com/   Linkedin: / tiffanycastagno-people-culture-consultant   Find Andrea at https://thehrhub.ca LinkedIn:  / andrea-adams1  

Does your EVP attract potential employees or push them away? Is it a bad thing if it DOES repell people? You want your EVP to help you attract the RIGHT people. EVP was the focus of a fantastic conversation with Bryan Adams of Happy Dance. Not Bryan Adams the singer of course. Our Bryan recently left the role of CEO of Ph.Creative which is an Employer Brand agency. He has written a few books - the most relevant of which is 'Give and Get: Repel the Many and Compel the Few'. He has consulted to the likes of Apple and many others so he knows what he is talking about. We had a fantastic conversation during which I was actually surprised (the video below). And delighted. These are some of the insights that delighted me and hopefully will delight you: ‼️ EVPs should be authentic - AND aspirational??

Do you feel trepidation at the thought of looking for talent outside the country? It's an intimidating process for sure! I'm not American, but I feel the same way here. Surprisingly, it might not be that hard. This one is for all my American HR friends! I interviewed Sergio Athanasso for this. He's an American corporate immigration lawyer and knows the ins and outs of bringing workers to the US. A few tips that he shared:

"Labelling, though it provides ease of conversing about something, it muddies up meaning." This is certainly the case for "toxicity". It's really easy to label someone or a workplace as toxic and not have to think constructively about them anymore. It's easy say a leader is creating a toxic work environment when someone objects (maybe strongly) to something they're doing. This muddiness has been on my mind a while so I reached out to Dr. Kevin Sansberry. He is a behavioural scientist, host of the Toxic Leadership Podcast, executive coach and deeply thoughtful and articulate human. Especially when it comes to organization leadership and toxic workplaces. We don't get muddy thinking from him. There were many insights in this conversation about toxic workplaces and far more:

Do your employees experience trauma at work or are some of their 'off' behaviours a result of trauma somewhere else? I spoke with Dimple Dhabalia about what she learned about trauma. She started out as a lawyer and then worked with refugees around the world. I think we can all appreciate how hard it might be to hear those horrifying and heart-breaking stories over and over. Unsurprisingly, she burned out. However, instead of getting therapy and going on leave like the rest of us might do, Dimple wrote a book: "Tell Me My Story: Challenging the Narrative of Service before Self" In it she shares her insights on recognizing and addressing trauma at work. The experience of our employees might not be as remarkable as Dimple's but we also don't know what people have experienced. How can we be mindful of that? Dimple explained: - the difference between "big T" and "little t" traumas, emphasizing how seemingly minor stressors can accumulate and impact an employee's ability to function effectively • How recognizing the humanity in employees can lead to better decision-making and a more supportive work environment. • Exploring practical methods for managing stress responses and improving emotional intelligence in the workplace. • Creating a psychologically safe workplace: Gain insights on fostering an environment where employees feel comfortable expressing themselves without fear of retaliation. After this discussion, I may have more questions than answers. HR has a job to do that sometimes can cause or trigger trauma. How do we get the job done with sensitivity? It's a big question - and this episode will get you thinking. Find Dimple at Roots in the Clouds: https://www.rootsintheclouds.com/ Her book, Tell Me My Story: https://www.amazon.ca/Tell-Me-Story-Challenging-Narrative/dp/B0CN3TYYP7 Find Andrea at https://thehrhub.ca/

This episode on incivility at work was soooo welcome. It doesn't matter if you're on the left or the right, it might make you uncomfortable! I love it when this happens! After well over 200 episodes, it's thrilling to be unexpectedly challenged! Sara Taylor has been a DEI expert for a long time. She started her company, deepSEE Consulting in 2002. She has authored two books including, recently, 'Thinking at the Speed of Bias'. She has been a Chief Diversity Officer. She was on my panel discussion around DEI. So, in light of these facts, you might think she would blindly advocate for any DEI perspective, but you would be wrong! We all have biases. Every single one of us. Whether we're white, black, asian, gay, straight... etc. We all know it's true, it's just that some people with biases have power. Sara also said: 2️⃣ Most of the incivility that HR is dragged into have to do with people in the second stage of culture competence.

"If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism." It's a saying in the neurodiverse space. Neurodiversity recognizes that all brains work differently, including those with conditions like ADHD, dyslexia and autism spectrum disorder. In this illuminating conversation, Curtis Braun addressed assumptions about neurodivergent individuals and shared how we can create truly inclusive workplaces. Curtis Braun is an HR instructor, consultant and coach who brings first-hand experience as the father of a neurodivergent son. He has recently started a coaching business focused on men with neurodivergent children so they have the mindset and support they need to help their kids. He discusses: • Not that we will become diagnosticians, but there are 5 dimensions for assessing neurodivergence: language, perception, sensory skills, motor skills and executive functioning. • 5 dimensions is a lot of a variety - putting people in boxes is not helpful. • Common misconceptions include ideas like we need to lower our expectations and they do poorly with change. Not necessarily! • Fostering psychological safety allows neurodivergent talent to thrive. Curtis made the case that neurodiversity is a societal reality - and a competitive advantage for inclusive organizations willing to "unlearn" biases. Find Curtis on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/curtiswbraun Check out his company at https://advc8.ca/ Find Andrea https://thehrhub.ca

So you want career growth. But how do you make it happen? You need to answer the question of 'what do you mean by career growth'. And the answer could be ANYTHING. Time with family. Travelling. Money. Praise. Promotions. Prestige. Specialization. Really it could be anything and an honest, personal answer will help you achieve it. This was the focus of my conversation with Adam Pekarsky. He's had career growth, but not really of the traditional kind. He started out as a lawyer and now he is a leader and majority shareholder at Humanis Advisory - an executive search firm. He reflects on career growth in his new book (out this month) called "The Ampersand Chronicles Vol 1: Stories of a Small but Mighty Business in a Rough and Tumble Town". He writes the most amazing blog you've read and has organized his best into a book! So his insights on career growth from his own perspective but also that of the people he helps: - All motivation is valid, but you have to know what yours are. - Maybe you want to climb the ladder, but maybe you want something else as well. There may be trade-offs. - He resists the idea of work life balance because it's limiting, a zero-sum game. For him it's 'work-life integration' and it enables more possibilities. - Passion is important. Think about what Tiger Woods said in his prime "I'm not the best golfer in the world because I have the most talent. I'm the best golfer in the world because I practice the most." It would be hard to 'practice the most' without passion. It was wonderful conversation full of good stories and good advice Find Adam on LinkedIn or at https://humanisadvisory.com/ To get a copy of the book, please contact Kiara Tyler at kiara@humaniscalgary.com and they will add you to the list! Find Andrea for consulting support: andrea@thehrhub.ca

The future of DEI is murky. So the purpose of this panel discussion was to reflect on the recent developments in DEI and consider how we might evolve our effort to become more effective. We collectively dove into DEI around the murder of George Floyd - often with little to no experience. And it was a great discussion! The following were just a few of the ideas I took away: - We HAVE made progress. - And this problem is 400 years (or more) in the making. While we want to see change now, this is the work of generations i.e. a marathon not a sprint. - Much of our effort has been spent on diversity where the real work should focus on inclusion and equity. - To be effective we need to meet people where they are at. - If you are on the extreme right or extreme left, you may be contributing to the polarization. Overall, I'm left with a sense of hope and a reframed perspective. Thank you to the panelists: Amy E. Hull M. Ed. Amy is the Head of DEI for Paycor. She is a consultant and Former School Administrator. She recently won bronze from Brandon Hull for her DEI strategy. She is working on authoring her first book on the relationship between power and empathy.   / amyehull6   Toby Mildon. Toby is the author of 'Inclusive Growth' and Host of a podcast by the same name. This year, he also released another book 'Building Inclusivity'. He runs Mildon consultancy and previously worked for Deloitte, Accenture and the BBC. https://www.mildon.co.uk/ Dr. Leeno Karumanchery has PhD in Sociology and Equity Studies from the University of Toronto. He is an author of a number of books including an upcoming book called 'The Old Black Lesbian Elephant in the Room: Why the Woke Need to Wake Up'. He is the head of Mesh diversity which takes a numbers and data science approach to helping organizations with DEI. https://meshdiversity.com/ Sara Taylor. Sara is the author of recent book called Thinking at the Speed of Bias, and another bestselling book called 'Filter Shift'. She is a consultant, owner of deepSEE consulting and has 35 years of experience in the field. https://www.deepseeconsulting.com/ You can find me andrea@thehrhub.ca

Curious about how Indeed is using AI to help employers and candidates? And how they apply it as an Employer? I certainly was. I spoke with Hannah Calhoon about how Indeed is using AI. She is the VP, Product at Indeed and AI is her responsibility. They've recently launched some generative AI improvements like Smart Sourcing. Smart Sourcing enhances the our user experience and improves the quality of matches. In the discussion, we ALSO learn about how to incorporate AI in our own organizations - Indeed aside. Here are just a few insights: ♾️ Indeed has been using AI for a long time but now they are incorporating generative AI. It will help with personalized job recommendations, skills extractions out of resumes, and recommendations to employers.

I think we know that "culture is not about ping pong tables and snacks." Too often, company culture gets reduced to these superficial perks. Or perks like this become the symbols of culture everyone points to. But true culture runs much deeper - it's about your core values and how those get lived out through behavior, communication, leadership and more. I spoke with HR consultant Tiffany Castagno of CEPHR consulting about culture. She helps her clients with it all the time and breaks down the key dimensions of workplace culture that you need to be intentional about shaping. She says:

Mindset is harder than rocket science according to NASA scientists. So all you HR people out there? Give yourselves a pat on the back! The people stuff is hard! In this episode, I spoke with Mitch Warner, managing partner at the Arbinger Institute, which is responsible for the book "Outward Mindset". Mitch helped with the latest edition and shares his insight into mindset generally. He focuses particularly on the value of having an outward (rather than inward) mindset. He's worked with clients like NASA and this is how he knows what the rocket scientists think! An "outward mindset" has all employees (including HR) focusing on others' needs and objectives alongside one's own. This approach, he argues, is key to fostering a productive, connected, and innovative workplace culture. Key insights from our conversation: • There are many mindsets (growth, safety, positive, scarcity etc) but many of them would have us focus on ourselves rather than others around us. • Changing mindset has been shown to be far more effective in creating change than simply prescribing new behaviours. • We can use an outward mindset to help our employees redefine what it means to have a job in terms of impact on others including our customers and coworkers. • He gave examples of how an outward mindset can revolutionize areas like workplace safety and debt collection. HR is often instrumental in creating the kinds of organizations we need. An outward mindset has a so much potential. Forget silos, remember our customers, ditch bickering... This is an idea I am thinking about a lot! Mitch's insights offer a fresh perspective on organizational culture and leadership, challenging HR professionals to rethink their approach to employee engagement and performance. Whether you're looking to boost productivity, enhance teamwork, or drive innovation, this episode provides strategies for leveraging the power of mindset in your organization. Find Mitch and the Arbinger Institute at https://arbinger.com/ You can find their books (The Outward Mindset and Leadership and Self-Deception) anywhere you buy your books but also via their website: https://arbinger.com/store/ Find me, Andrea Adams, at https://thehrhub.ca/

"We (need to) talk to people not about people." Talking about people (unless you're venting with a trusted friend), greatly harms trust. Building trust within teams is critical for high performance, but it's often an overlooked aspect of team dynamics. It came up recently for me in relation to consulting so I sat down with trust expert Ila Edgar to dive deep into the key behaviours and mindsets needed to foster trust on teams. Ila is a coach, former recruiter, and co-host of the "Trust on Purpose" podcast. We did a couple episodes year before this one and they were some of the episodes I refer to most often at work. She shares her invaluable wisdom on:

"You have to think about [retirement], it doesn't just automatically happen." How are organizations supporting the retirement of their employees? Are they getting pushed out the door or supported in making informed decisions? Having recently embarked on her own retirement, Dr. Melanie Peacock offered her account of reimagining life's next steps and how to improve your employer brand by informing your employees. She is an HR expert; she's also an author, keynote speaker, and a fellow with CPHR Alberta, making her insights informed from both an HR and retirement perspective. Melanie provides insights on:

'The difference between the skill of job seekers and those who are employed is often significant.' So, for executive search, you are almost exclusively looking for leaders who are in good jobs that they probably like. So how do you entice them away? If you think about it, this has many implications to the talent acquisition process. I had a great conversation with Adam Pekarsky of Humanis Advisory. Adam started out as a lawyer, but has been in executive search for 20+ years. He has one of the best newsletters that I have ever read (the Ampersand) and his own podcast. He has an inspiring way of connecting the details to the big picture and to his values and ethics. It's apparent in everything he says. For instance:

"Without conflict, you don't have innovation. So I want to make sure people use their voices." And use it effectively in a leadership team when there are a number of strong voices present. I spoke with Tish Squillaro of CANDOR Management Consulting about the art of building leadership teams. This is something you'll do more as you progress, but the principles apply to any team. Tish, is a candid consulting expert who has worked with Salesforce and IBM. She knows her content inside and out and one of her core interests is team dynamics, a crucial aspect of scaling organizations. Tish shared her insights on her approach to leadership team dynamics or what she calls team chemsitry. She talks about the qualities that a leadership team should possess, and why these are so crucial for organizational success. She also discusses the challenges of recruitment, the evolution of leadership teams as companies scale, and the tools she uses. Here's a peek into some of what we covered:

Our entitled employees are irritating. Or should we look in the mirror? Are YOU driving THEM crazy?? This was just one part of the conversation I had with Wendy Sellers, The HR Lady. Wendy has authored books, has a podcast, is on the radio and has even been on USA Today. She is wonderfully outspoken. For example one of her books is called "Suck it Up, Buttercup." It was awesome. Wendy shared the following:

Employer Brand: "Ultimately, it's about reverse engineering. What does the business need? And getting to the point of ‘Now we understand that, how do we tell a story and talk about the strength, benefits, and opportunities balance with the harsh realities adversities to craft a proposition that's both authentic and compelling.'" I had a fantastic conversation with Bryan Adams, founder and former CEO of ph-creative and founder and CEO of HappyDance - a platform that means business when it comes to candidate experience. He has consulted to brands such as Apple and Nike and knows what he's talking about. It would be difficult to consolidate what I learned but here's a few things: $ You can do it on a budget. If you're autthentic and compelling you've won with respect to your employer brand.

Attendance management is not discipline. We use it when valid issues affect an employee's ability to meet the commitments of their employment. In this episode, I tackled the fairly common yet tricky issue of attendance or absenteeism management. This is part of the series I am doing for small and medium businesses and NFPs on HR. However it has a lot of relevance for anyone involved in this aspect of HR. It's Canadian content - especially towards the end. In it, I discuss how to on how to effectively manage attendance and the impact that poor attendance has on productivity, morale, the customer experience and the overall work environment. Also:

Hiring a foreign worker isn't guaranteed and it may take longer. But you may be better off in the long run. One of my first jobs ever was as an immigration officer so maybe it was just me, but I loved this demystification of rules for hiring foreign talent. This is American content though - I'll find someone Canadian soon. I spoke with an immigration attorney, Sergio Athanasso, of Sergio Law. He specializes in helping organizations with their foreign recruitment and gave us a bunch of tips on how to navigate international hiring. Key highlights include: 1.

Succession planning is more than just a game of thrones! It's about building a pipeline of ready and able leaders. But where do you start? This week I delved into the complexities of succession planning with Dr. Nanette Miner. She is an author, consultant, and succession strategist, and broke down the process of succession planning which is mostly preparation. As the video below says, you need a pipeline not a single individual. 3️⃣ Succession planning takes a minimum of 3 years. Maybe this is why few organizations do it well.

"HR professionals have the hardest and the most critical role. It's to really understand the people dynamics and how it's going to help a company grow." This week we were talking about scaling organizations. It's always a hot topic in HR consulting. Tish Squillaro, a dynamic consultant with over 20 years of experience working with clients like Salesforce and IBM, was my guest. She understands complicated things and shared some of her knowledge with us. Her particular expertise is helping venture-backed companies scale effectively. She emphasizes five priorities for helping an organization scale and says HR plays the most important role. The first of which is having the right people in the right seats. So we talk about:

"Celebrate all diversity." In this case we were mostly talking about cultural diversity - as in from different countries. This used to be something we talked about a lot and then we stopped. It's still relevant though. Some peoples have different priorities or beliefs that come into our workplaces or we're part of a multinational firm. So, with some personal trepidation that we might veer off into negative stereotypes, I spoke with with Sue Ingram. She's has a keen interest in what makes a great workplace and dealt with the topic beautifully. In this episode, Sue brings her unique insights into multicultural workplaces and discusses:

"Being in person doesn't mean you are present." On one hand, many employees love remote work while, on the other, many companies want employees in person. Where do you sit on the subject? The debate rages in my household. I'll state the obvious: it's hard for any of us to be objective. I spoke with Kaleem Clarkson, COO of BlendMe, a consultancy focused on supporting remote and hybrid workplaces. Recently, he was listed as one of the top 50 experts around enabling remote work. He shared his insights on why employers resist remote work, the pros and cons of remote work, and how to build a successful remote work culture.

In a small or medium business (or NFP) you need to do a little bit of many things - learning and development is no exception. So, as part of my series on HR for SMBs, we are talking about L&D in that environment. Our expert guest for this episode was the exceptional James Aird, an L&D specialist with a Master's of Education from Harvard. James has a unique perspective, having honed his skills in conflict areas like Iraq and the Congo. He is down-to-earth with a lot of practical tips to help SMBs figure out their L&D. In this episode, James shares:

I was tired of hearing about 'fast-paced change' ten years ago. And now the pace is even faster. The World Economic Forum's 'Future of Jobs Report', estimates that by 2025, 85 million jobs may be displaced by a shift in the division of labor between humans and machines, while 97 million new roles may emerge. That's since 2020! That's next year! My guest, Michelle Ellis, brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. With her background in from Disney, a PhD in training and performance improvement, and her current role at Intellum, a learning management software company, she shares approaches to building learning culture. We talked about: