Podcasts about chros

CHROs have more responsibility than ever but less structural power than the role requires. In Part 2 of The CHRO Paradox series, Stacie explores the "C-suite gap"—the disconnect between where the CHRO sits and where real decisions are made. Drawing on data from The Conference Board, the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, Protiviti, and the Josh Bersin Company, this episode maps the four derailers keeping the authority gap open, illustrates what success looks like when organizations close it, and provides five concrete moves for HR leaders operating inside the gap right now. Stacie For more episodes, visit StacieBaird.com.

In this episode, we speak with Leroy Roberts about preventing supply chain failures through accountability, leadership under pressure, and the role of AI, clarity, and collaboration in resilient decision-making.Download the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠episode transcript⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠===== This week, we talked with Leroy Roberts about leadership under pressure, supply chain disruption, and preventing failure through clear accountability. We discussed psychological safety, the balance between firm control and burnout, the value of AI in risk management, and why future supply chains depend on collaboration, partnership, and better decision-making.  ===== Guest 1: : Leroy Roberts, British Army veteran, Non-Executive Director, and Executive Adviser,  Team-Worth SolutionsLeroy Roberts is a British Army veteran, Non-Executive Director, and Executive Adviser specialising in culture and conduct risk in high-pressure, regulated environments. He works with executive risk owners, including CEOs, CROs, COOs, CPOs, and CHROs, to strengthen decision-making, accountability, and truth-telling under pressure. Leroy helps organisations reduce culture and conduct risk signals within 90 days through practical, diagnostic-led interventions that restore operational grip and produce measurable, auditable improvement. Drawing on leadership experience from the British Army and the Jamaica Constabulary Force, alongside board-level governance experience, he brings a grounded perspective on how leadership behaviour under pressure either amplifies or contains organisational risk. He is the author of The Risk Owner's Reset and a contributing author to the international best-selling series Stand on the Shoulders of Giants.Host 1: Richard Howells, SAP   ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Howells⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ has been working in the Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing space for over 30 years. He is responsible for driving the thought leadership and awareness of SAP's ERP, Finance, and Supply Chain solutions and is an active writer, podcaster, and thought leader on the topics of supply chain, Industry 4.0, digitization, and sustainability.===== Show Links:Link to the book: amazon.com/dp/B0GMS2G361 The Culture and conduct scorecard: https://pro.speakerhub.com/speaker-feedback/?qr=e9a16245-4ab1-4c63-81e7-ce225d9e5372Supply Chain Management:  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SAP Supply Chain Management⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SAP Insights: Supply Chain⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠       Follow Us on Social Media : Richard Howells: ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠, SAP Digital Supply Chain: ⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠    Please give us a like, share, and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future episodes!  ===== Chapters:00:00:00: Intro00:01:00: Guest's Introductions00:01:59: Staying in control during disruption without micromanaging00:04:07: Accountability gaps and early warning signs00:07:40: Building a safe environment for constructive challenge00:11:08: Using AI for risk management with human judgment00:13:26: Accountability without burnout in volatile conditions00:19:20: Leadership under pressure during COVID logistics00:22:56: ''The Risk Owners Reset'' book00:25:55: What is the Future of Supply Chain?00:27:12: Outro

How do you rebuild a company's entire capability infrastructure — and fund the transformation through the savings it generates? Zaka Farhat is Global SVP for Talent, Learning, Organisation and Capability Development at GSK, where she leads the company's enterprise-wide skills, learning and capability agenda. In this episode, Zaka shares the full story of how GSK rebuilt its capability infrastructure in 18 months - retiring more than 20 legacy systems, building a single skills and learning ecosystem, and funding the transformation through the savings it generated. Join them as David and Zaka discuss:Why GSK's skills transformation began with a commercial question about capability and cost The five conditions for organisational readiness that had to be in place before any platform launched How GSK approached skills taxonomy, job architecture and inference, and what they had to redo along the way What personalised learning looks like at scale, and how skills data is now shaping workforce planning decisions What GSK chose to stop, and why decommissioning is the step most transformations skip How Zaka's team is measuring impact across three KPI layers This episode is sponsored by TechWolf. The world of work is being rewritten faster than HR systems can keep up. Skills age in months. Roles get redesigned quarter by quarter. CHROs have quietly become AI transformation leads, and the data they need to lead it doesn't exist in any HR system. That's why the world's most forward-looking enterprises such as HSBC, AMD, T-Mobile, GSK, ServiceNow, Pfizer, have built on TechWolf. As the data layer for the AI era of work, TechWolf gives enterprises the skills, they need to move faster and lead with confidence. Skills Intelligence, Work Intelligence, and Market Intelligence, in one layer. Visit techwolf.ai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Companies are increasingly focused on employee performance, which is challenging but also gives CHROs and CFOs an opportunity to collaborate. How can these key functions work together to reinforce culture, drive organizational change, and influence the CEO and board?   Join host Diana Scott and guests Henry Artalejo, SVP of global human resources at Griffith Foods, Matt Corker, EVP and chief financial officer at Griffith Foods, and Maria Colacurcio, CEO of Syndio. Find out what defines a people-first organization in 2026, how the CHRO-CFO partnership can drive culture and compensation conversations, and why AI transformation is an opportunity for HR to rebrand itself.   This special episode was recorded on June 3 at the 2026 CHRO Summit, hosted by The Conference Board in Chicago.   For more from The Conference Board: CHRO Summit: Turning Uncertainty into Growth The Conference Board to Honor S&P Global and UL Solutions at 2026 People First People First: Elevating Talent for the Future (Event)  

Buy-side carve-outs can create significant value for acquiring companies, but they can also present complex challenges. In this episode, we’re joined by Kameron Kordestani, Anna Mattson, and Rui Silva to discuss how leaders—particularly CFOs, integration managers, and CHROs—must balance financial structuring, operational planning, and people management to ensure a value-creating transition. Related insights How buyers can successfully navigate integrating a carve-out The power of goodbye: How carve-outs can unleash value Solving the carve-out conundrumSupport the show: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/mckinsey-strategy-&-corporate-finance/See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

How do the world's most forward-thinking organisations use skills intelligence, market intelligence and work intelligence together to stay ahead? In this episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, host David Green is joined by Mik Wornoo, co-founder and President of US at TechWolf, to explore how organisations are using three signals together to build a strategic workforce planning strategy that can keep pace with AI, and what that looks like in practice. In this conversation, David and Mik discuss: What skills intelligence, work intelligence and market intelligence each bring to strategic workforce planning, and why all three matter What work intelligence actually means in practice, and how decomposing work into tasks is changing how organisations understand the impact of AI on their workforce How AI is actively reshaping roles right now, and what that means for strategic workforce planning, job architecture and redeployment Real-world case studies from organisations using all three signals to make smarter workforce decisions and align their people strategy with their AI strategy What it actually looks like to get started, and why the barrier to entry is lower than most HR leaders think This episode is sponsored by TechWolf. The world of work is being rewritten faster than HR systems can keep up. Skills age in months. Roles get redesigned quarter by quarter. CHROs have quietly become AI transformation leads, and the data they need to lead it doesn't exist in any HR system. That's why the world's most forward-looking enterprises such as HSBC, AMD, T-Mobile, GSK, ServiceNow, Pfizer, have built on TechWolf. As the data layer for the AI era of work, TechWolf gives enterprises the skills, they need to move faster and lead with confidence. Skills Intelligence, Work Intelligence, and Market Intelligence, in one layer. Visit techwolf.ai. Resources: TechWolf podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the next chapter of your career is not full-time, but fully aligned?In this episode of Corporate Cafecito, Nallely and Carlos are talking about fractional work, what it means, why it is growing, and why so many professionals are starting to see it as more than just a backup plan.Fractional CFOs, COOs, CHROs, consultants, strategists, and operators are stepping into companies for a season, solving real problems, and bringing years of experience without being tied to one permanent role.But let's be honest, mi gente.This shift comes with both opportunity and concern.For some, fractional work creates freedom, flexibility, and a chance to use your expertise on your own terms.For others, it may feel like another sign that secure corporate jobs are changing.So we're talking about it all:✨ What fractional work really means✨ Why it is becoming more common✨ How it can help entrepreneurs and small businesses✨ What to consider before saying yes✨ Why your resume, skill set, and confidence matter more than everBecause sometimes the next move is not about starting over.Sometimes it is about realizing that what you already know has value.Pour your cafecito, bring your questions, y vámonos. This conversation is one many of us need right now.Watch the full episode at www.corpcafecito.com#CorporateCafecito #LatineProfessionals #CareerGrowth #FractionalWork #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #LatinasInBusiness #LatinosInBusiness #CareerStrategy #CafecitoConPurposeSupport the showIf you'd like to join Nallely y Carlos for a conversation, collaborate, or suggest a topic that matters to our community, we would love to hear from you. This podcast centers real conversations that move culture and careers forward. Visit www.corpcafecito.com/contact-us or email admin@corpcafecito.com.Elevar Development, founded by Nallely Suárez Gass, helps professionals and organizations grow with clarity and purpose. With over two decades of corporate experience, Nallely is known for helping people lead authentically, uncover strengths, and make confident, aligned decisions. Through personalized coaching and impactful workshops, Elevar creates practical, lasting change. Visit www.elevardevelopment.com or email Nallely@elevardevelopment.com today.Every business decision carries social, political, and economic considerations. Avizo Consulting helps organizations navigate complexity with intention, cultural awareness, and strategic insight. Carlos Butler Vale partners with leaders who want their values and actions aligned. Learn more at www.avizoconsulting.com or email carlos@avizoconsulting.com. Two leaders. One shared commitment to growth, cultura, and impact. 

Most employees spend their careers feeling confused about compensation, how it works, what’s negotiable, and what’s actually going on behind the scenes. In this episode, Sandrine Bardot breaks down how salaries are actually set, what professionals consistently get wrong about negotiation, and why the psychology of pay matters more than most people realise. From how companies build and allocate salary budgets to the best moments in your career to push for more, to the concept of procedural justice and why it shapes whether employees accept or reject pay decisions, this is the compensation conversation most workplaces never have. Our Guest: Sandrine Bardot Sandrine Bardot is a senior Performance and Reward advisor, founder of The Bardot Group, and a Transformational Performance and Reward Architect working at the intersection of strategy, governance, executive compensation, performance, and human capital. With more than 30 years of experience mostly across EMEA, including over a decade advising organisations across the Middle East, Sandrine brings deep technical reward expertise, corporate leadership experience, regional judgement, and Board-level advisory perspective. She advises Boards, Nomination and Remuneration Committees, CEOs, CHROs, Heads of Total Rewards, family business leaders, and senior decision-makers on the performance and reward systems behind strategy execution. Her work spans executive and Board remuneration, incentives, reward governance, performance management, job architecture, pay equity and transparency, nationalisation- linked reward design, pre-IPO readiness, and the modernisation of legacy reward models. Before founding The Bardot Group, Sandrine held senior Performance and Reward roles at Majid Al Futtaim and Mubadala, and worked with organisations including Apple, Microsoft, Airbus, Philips, and Fiat. She is known for her candour, cultural intelligence, and ability to help organisations design reward systems that are practical, explainable, governable, and defensible under scrutiny. References: Sandrine Bardot LinkedIn profile Listen to the next Episode All Podcast Episodes

What separates truly exceptional CEOs from everyone else?In this episode, Lepora Flournoy dives into one of the most practical leadership books written for senior executives, CEO Excellence, and unpacks the six mindsets that distinguish high-performing CEOs from merely competent leaders. This is not another conversation about charisma, motivation, or leadership clichés. It is a discussion about how the world's most successful CEOs think, make decisions, build teams, and create organizations that consistently outperform. Whether you are a CEO, CHRO, executive team member, board director, entrepreneur, or aspiring leader, this episode provides a powerful framework for evaluating your own leadership effectiveness and organizational impact.Lepora explores why the best leaders adopt an enterprise-first mindset, putting the success of the entire organization ahead of personal agendas, functional silos, or political interests. She discusses how great CEOs make bold yet disciplined strategic choices, focusing on a few critical priorities rather than overwhelming their organizations with competing initiatives. The conversation also examines what it takes to build a true high-performance executive team. Great leadership is not about surrounding yourself with people who agree with you. It is about creating an environment where healthy conflict, accountability, trust, and shared ownership drive better decisions and stronger outcomes. Another major theme is stakeholder engagement. Exceptional CEOs understand that trust is built long before a crisis arrives. They intentionally cultivate relationships with boards, investors, employees, customers, regulators, and key partners while maintaining authenticity and transparency. In a world where trust is increasingly scarce, leaders must learn how to engage people honestly rather than simply manage perceptions. Lepora also discusses the often-overlooked concept of a personal operating system. The most effective leaders recognize that their energy, focus, health, and emotional resilience are strategic assets. They establish routines, boundaries, and practices that allow them to sustain high performance over the long term rather than burning out under the weight of leadership responsibility. Finally, the episode explores the importance of continual renewal. The best leaders never assume that past success guarantees future relevance. They embrace learning, adapt to changing markets, develop new capabilities, and evolve alongside their organizations. From AI and digital transformation to succession planning and leadership development, excellence requires constant growth. Throughout the discussion, Lepora offers a candid perspective on both the strengths and limitations of the book. She examines where the research provides valuable guidance and where real-world leadership often becomes far messier than any framework can capture. She also addresses the critical role that values, character, purpose, and faith play in sustaining leadership excellence over time. If you are responsible for leading an organization, developing leaders, shaping culture, or preparing for your next level of impact, this episode will challenge you to look beyond titles and ask a more important question:Are you simply occupying a leadership position, or are you developing the mindsets required for leadership excellence?Join Lepora Flournoy for an insightful discussion that will help you evaluate your leadership, strengthen your executive team, and build a more intentional path toward lasting organizational success.Topics Covered:• The six mindsets of exceptional CEOs • Enterprise-first leadership • Strategic focus and decision-making • Building high-performance executive teams • Executive accountability and succession planning • Stakeholder trust and influence • Leadership energy management and resilience • Culture, talent, and organizational alignment • AI, innovation, and leadership renewal • The role of values, purpose, and faith in leadershipIdeal For:CEOs, CHROs, C-suite executives, board members, entrepreneurs, HR leaders, leadership coaches, talent management professionals, organizational development practitioners, and anyone committed to leading with greater impact and effectiveness.Support the show

In this episode of the HR business marketing podcast, A Better HR Business, Ben and his guest, Joelle Vail, talk about how holistic financial wellness solutions are driving major changes for employers and employees alike. As HR and business leaders look for ways to support their teams in today's challenging environment, companies like BrightPlan are setting a new standard for financial wellbeing in the workplace. Joelle Vail is Chief Revenue Officer at BrightPlan, where she oversees direct sales, partnerships, and client success. She has extensive experience scaling organizations from startup through enterprise growth, helping early-stage companies surpass $100 million in revenue and larger enterprises grow from $100 million to more than $2 billion. Prior to BrightPlan, Joelle served as Chief Operating Officer at Capital Factory and held senior leadership roles at Paychex and Ascentis. BrightPlan is a financial wellness platform designed to help employers improve employee financial outcomes while increasing the effectiveness of their benefits programs. The platform combines AI-driven financial planning tools with access to experienced financial advisors, delivering personalized guidance across budgeting, debt management, investing, retirement, and wealth planning. By integrating directly with employer benefits, BrightPlan helps employees make more informed financial decisions and encourages greater benefits utilization. For employers, BrightPlan provides a centralized dashboard with actionable insights into workforce financial health, enabling more strategic benefits planning, stronger employee engagement, and improved retention. The company is also certified for fiduciary excellence, ensuring guidance is objective and aligned with employees' best interests. You'll hear practical strategies for finding consulting clients, running a workplace consulting business, and business growth strategies for consultants. Whether you identify as HR, workplace, L&D, OD, recruitment, or people & culture, you'll discover real stories and actionable advice to attract clients, win contracts, and grow sustainably. What You'll Learn in This Episode: Why financial wellness is a rising priority for employers—and how to frame your consulting offers around their needs The role of technology and people-powered solutions in driving workplace engagement and retention Joelle Vail's lessons from partnering with HR leaders and the marketing moves that resonate with decision-makers Episode highlights: What BrightPlan does and the problems it solves for employers and employees. Defining "financial wellness" and how it goes beyond education. How BrightPlan supports employees with technology, AI, and certified financial planners. Addressing financial emergencies and the importance of building emergency savings . The limitations of traditional HR support in financial matters and closing the gap between employers and employees. Providing personalized, fiduciary financial advice without crossing HR compliance boundaries. Issues BrightPlan helps solve for employers, such as retention, productivity, and being an employer of choice. How financial stress can manifest as workplace behavioral issues. Transformational changes in HR, including the impact of COVID and AI on HR leadership and point solutions. Challenges in HR sales and how to stand out with limited HR budgets. Building trust with HR buyers through networks, pilots, and case studies. Collaborating with other vendors to enhance service and experience for employers and employees. Listening-first approach to sales, networking, and uncovering client needs. The importance of matching services to actual HR pain points. Marketing and Business Growth: Joelle Vail details BrightPlan's approach to marketing and business development: Aligning solutions with HR's most urgent needs and listening closely to buyers' challenges. Leveraging trusted HR advisory networks to gain introductions and build credibility. Offering pilot programs to demonstrate value and facilitate broader implementation. Using content marketing strategies such as webinars and white papers, often featuring CHROs and industry leaders. Prioritizing collaboration with other vendors for seamless HR solutions. Focusing on genuine, needs-based conversations at events and during networking. Resources & Links Mentioned: Company's website: https://www.brightplan.com/ Joelle's LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/joelle-risolo-vail Check out this B2B podcast launch service. About The A Better HR Business Podcast The A Better HR Business shares strategies, tactics, success stories, and more about marketing for HR consultancies and marketing for HR tech companies, and how to get more clients. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so you don't miss future episodes. For show notes and to see details of our previous guests, check out the podcast page here: www.GetMoreHRClients.com/Podcast HR BUSINESS GROWTH RESOURCES Get the new book - Grow A Successful HR Business Your Way Launch your own business podcast: B2B Podcast Agency VISIT GET MORE HR CLIENTS Want more clients for your HR-related consultancy or HR Tech business? Visit the Get More HR Clients website for articles, newsletters, podcasts, videos, resources, and more at www.getmorehrclients.com.

CFOs in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong face a new reality: talent is now a strategic risk. Between 2026–2027, cautious hiring contrasts with fierce competition for hybrid-skilled professionals who blend accounting expertise, digital literacy, commercial acumen, and regulatory fluency. Automation and AI threaten traditional career pipelines, while rapid AI adoption, family office growth, and capital market resurgence intensify demand, driving attrition and salary inflation. CFOs must act as talent architects, restructuring teams, embedding AI governance, and building resilient succession plans to safeguard leadership continuity against competitive pressures and workforce disruption.In this PodChats for FutureCFO, Angus Tsang, CFO and Company Secretary, CN Logistics International Holdings Limited, shares his thoughts on how finance leaders transforming the finance function to align to business priorities and market dynamics.1. How are CFOs redefining the finance operating model to balance cost efficiency with the strategic agility required to support business growth in 2026-2027?2. Do CFOs have a clear inventory of the skills they need versus the skills they possess, particularly regarding AI, data analytics, and regulatory technology?3. How are CFOs adapting their talent acquisition strategy to compete for "versatile" talent in a market where specialists command significant salary premiums?4. What is the CFO's strategy for managing the "automation paradox"—automating routine work without eroding the developmental pathways for early-career finance professionals?5. In your view, are succession plans for critical roles (e.g., Controllers, FP&A Heads, Tax) robust enough to withstand unexpected departures in a volatile hiring market? Is this succession plan reactive (someone resigns) or proactive?6. What should be the approach to managing the emerging risks associated with AI governance, specifically ensuring that the team has the talent to oversee algorithmic decision-making and regulatory compliance?7. How are CFOs leveraging the fluidity of regional hubs (Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia) to access talent pools that were previously out of reach?8. Given the rise of contract roles (fractional/project) driven by transformation projects, how are CFOs (and CHROs) balancing permanent headcount with flexible talent to maintain organisational resilience?10. How do CFOs measure the ROI of their talent development programmes, specifically regarding their impact on retention and internal promotion rates for leadership roles?

Jacob Morgan is one of the most forward-thinking voices on leadership, employee experience, and the future of work. He is the bestselling author of six books, including Leading With Vulnerability and his latest, The 8 Laws of Employee Experience, released in February 2026. He is a TED Speaker, the host of the podcast Future Ready Leadership with Jacob Morgan, and the founder of the Future of Work Leaders community, a network of CHROs from organizations like Johnson & Johnson, Dow, LEGO, and Northrop Grumman. Jacob returned to the Elevate Podcast to talk to Robert Glazer about the future of leadership, people-first cultures, balancing high support with high standards, and much more. Thank you to the sponsors of The Elevate Podcast Shopify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠shopify.com/elevate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Framer: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠framer.com/elevate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Indeed: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠indeed.com/elevate⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ethos Life: ⁠⁠⁠ethos.com/elevate⁠⁠⁠ Keeper Security: ⁠⁠⁠⁠keepersecurity.com/ELEVATE⁠⁠ Fora Travel: foratravel.com/elevate Northwest Registered Agent: northwestregisteredagent.com/elevate Whatnot: Search "Whatnot" in the app store to download Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it take to turn a 300-year-old bank into the UK's biggest fintech? Sharon Doherty is Chief People and Places Officer at Lloyds Banking Group, and over the last four years she's been leading one of the most ambitious organisational transformations in British financial services - 300-year-old institution reinventing itself as the UK's biggest fintech.In this episode, David and Sharon get into what transformation at that scale actually looks like from the inside - the governance, the culture work, the AI strategy, and the tough calls that only leadership can make. How Sharon thinks about her role as CPPO through three lenses: storyteller, tough lover, and disruptorThe AI governance structure at Lloyds, including the control tower she runs with the CTO and the ethics committee underpinning every decisionThe cross-functional super agent Lloyds is building with MicrosoftWhy HR leaders should be fighting to get Places on their remit, and how ownership of the physical environment transforms what the function can deliverHow Lloyds is approaching the shift from AI literacy to AI fluency across 80,000 peopleWhat Sharon thinks the world of work looks like in 2033, and the role HR must play in getting there This episode is sponsored by TechWolf. The world of work is being rewritten faster than HR systems can keep up. Skills age in months. Roles get redesigned quarter by quarter. CHROs have quietly become AI transformation leads, and the data they need to lead it doesn't exist in any HR system. That's why the world's most forward-looking enterprises such as HSBC, AMD, T-Mobile, GSK, ServiceNow, Pfizer, have built on TechWolf. As the data layer for the AI era of work, TechWolf gives enterprises the skills, they need to move faster and lead with confidence. Skills Intelligence, Work Intelligence, and Market Intelligence, in one layer. Visit techwolf.ai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode Notes Between 2025 and 2026, identity fraud detection jumped from a non-issue to a top-five priority for CHROs — a signal that hiring risk has changed in ways most organizations aren't prepared for. In this episode of Talent Experience Live, Amit Fernandes from Checkr, Inc. breaks down the three core types of hiring fraud: interview fraud, identity-related fraud, and candidate misrepresentation, and why siloed hiring systems are making each one harder to catch. With nearly 70% of HR leaders lacking confidence in preventing fraud, this conversation covers what it takes to build a hiring process where trust is designed in, not assumed.

¿Qué separa a un líder de RR. HH. transaccional de un CHRO verdaderamente transformacional?En este poderoso episodio, NextGen People y la estratega ejecutiva de liderazgo Dr. Lepora Flournoy revelan los 7 hábitos que elevan a los Chief Human Resources Officers, Chief People Officers y líderes senior de Recursos Humanos de simples gestores operativos a auténticas potencias estratégicas en la sala de juntas.Esta no es otra conversación sobre políticas, procesos administrativos o gestión tradicional de RR. HH. Este episodio trata sobre influencia empresarial, valentía ejecutiva, transformación organizacional, estrategia de liderazgo y la evolución del liderazgo de personas en un mundo impulsado por la inteligencia artificial.Ya seas CHRO, Head of People, HR Business Partner, ejecutivo de talento, líder de desarrollo organizacional, CEO, fundador o un ejecutivo emergente, este episodio ofrece una hoja de ruta práctica y estratégica para liderar organizaciones con impacto, influencia y resultados medibles.A lo largo de esta conversación, la Dra. Flournoy desafía a los líderes a dejar de pensar como administradores de políticas y comenzar a pensar como arquitectos empresariales. Las organizaciones que prosperarán en el futuro no serán simplemente aquellas con la mejor tecnología o sistemas, sino aquellas cuyos líderes sepan alinear la estrategia de personas con la estrategia del negocio en un mercado en constante evolución.En este episodio descubrirás por qué el liderazgo moderno de RR. HH. requiere mucho más que experiencia en relaciones laborales o cumplimiento normativo. Los líderes ejecutivos actuales deben comprender ingresos, productividad, riesgo organizacional, pipelines de talento, sucesión ejecutiva, transformación laboral, diseño cultural, influencia ejecutiva y gestión del cambio al más alto nivel.La Dra. Flournoy explica por qué uno de los mayores errores de los líderes de RR. HH. es liderar desde las políticas en lugar de liderar desde los resultados de negocio. Los equipos ejecutivos no están buscando más manuales ni documentación adicional; buscan soluciones que mejoren la productividad, aceleren el crecimiento, reduzcan riesgos, fortalezcan el liderazgo y aumenten el desempeño organizacional.Aprenderás cómo los líderes de personas de alto nivel estructuran sus conversaciones utilizando el lenguaje del negocio. En lugar de enfocarse únicamente en programas de capacitación o iniciativas de RR. HH., los líderes estratégicos se enfocan en resultados medibles como reducir el tiempo de adaptación de nuevos empleados, mejorar la efectividad del liderazgo, aumentar la retención del mejor talento, acelerar la preparación para roles críticos e impulsar un crecimiento sostenible.El episodio también profundiza en el diseño intencional de la cultura organizacional. La cultura no ocurre por accidente. La cultura se construye a través de lo que las organizaciones recompensan, toleran, refuerzan, ignoran y miden. La Dra. Flournoy explica por qué la cultura organizacional no es un concepto “suave”, sino una de las fuerzas empresariales más poderosas y medibles dentro de cualquier compañía.Los oyentes obtendrán claridad sobre cómo los comportamientos tóxicos se normalizan cuando las organizaciones recompensan resultados sin exigir responsabilidad, y cómo la credibilidad del liderazgo se deteriora cuando los ejecutivos dicen una cosa pero premian otra completamente distinta. La conversación explora cómo se construye una cultura auténtica mediante la alineación entre valores, acciones de liderazgo, sistemas, reconocimiento, accountability y prácticas operativas.Otro tema central del episodio es la planificación de sucesión y la construcción de una sólida banca de talento antes de que ocurra una crisis. La Dra. Flournoy explica por qué las organizaciones deben identificar los roles críticos para el negocio y asegurar tanto sucesores “listos ahora” como “listos para el futuro”. Los líderes aprenderán por qué las organizaciones de alto desempeño crean intencionalmente oportunidades de mentoría, asignaciones desafiantes y experiencias multifuncionales que preparan a los futuros líderes antes de que las transiciones se vuelvan urgentes.La conversación también aborda una de las competencias más importantes del liderazgo moderno: la toma de decisiones basada en datos. La intuición en RR. HH. ya no es suficiente. Aunque los líderes experimentados suelen tener fuertes instintos sobre dinámicas humanas, hoy los ejecutivos deben combinar sabiduría con analítica laboral y métricas empresariales.La Dra. Flournoy explora cómo los líderes pueden utilizar indicadores como engagement, tendencias de promoción, métricas de desempeño, productividad, compensación y retención para identificar oportunidades, diagnosticar desafíos organizacionales e influir en las decisiones ejecutivas. Explica por qué la combinación de insights cuantitativos con criterio ejecutivo crea una narrativa mucho más poderosa en la sala de juntas.Uno de los segmentos más impactantes del episodio se enfoca en el liderazgo del cambio. En una era definida por inteligencia artificial, transformación digital, incertidumbre económica, nuevas expectativas laborales y disrupción constante, las organizaciones no pueden permitirse líderes que solo funcionen bien en tiempos de estabilidad. Los líderes actuales deben desarrollar la disciplina de gestionar el cambio continuamente en lugar de tratar la transformación como una emergencia.La Dra. Flournoy analiza la realidad de la resistencia organizacional, el miedo, la incertidumbre, la ansiedad de los empleados, las implementaciones de sistemas, las transiciones de liderazgo y la adaptación laboral. Explica por qué la capacidad de liderar en medio de la ambigüedad y guiar a las personas a través de la disrupción se ha convertido en una de las competencias ejecutivas más valiosas del mercado global.La conversación también destaca la importancia del coraje ejecutivo. Los grandes CHROs no simplemente mantienen la armonía permaneciendo en silencio. Hablan de verdades difíciles de una manera que los equipos ejecutivos puedan comprender y transformar en acción. La Dra. Flournoy explica cómo los líderes pueden abordar problemas relacionados con cultura organizacional, brechas de liderazgo, riesgos de talento y reputación sin perder credibilidad ni influencia estratégica.Los oyentes también encontrarán una importante reflexión sobre equidad, acceso, oportunidades y confianza organizacional. Muchas de las decisiones más influyentes dentro de las organizaciones ocurren silenciosamente detrás de puertas cerradas: planificación de sucesión, selección de líderes, oportunidades estratégicas, patrocinio ejecutivo y evaluaciones de talento. Este episodio desafía a los líderes a reflexionar críticamente sobre cómo se distribuyen las oportunidades y cómo los sistemas organizacionales impactan la confianza, la moral y el compromiso a largo plazo de los empleados.A lo largo del episodio, la Dra. Flournoy combina visión ejecutiva con orientación práctica desarrollada a través de más de dos décadas trabajando con organizaciones Fortune 500, equipos ejecutivos y líderes empresariales senior. Su perspectiva integra psicología del liderazgo, transformación organizacional, liderazgo estratégico de RR. HH., desarrollo de talento, excelencia operacional, coaching ejecutivo y evolución empresarial impulsada por inteligencia artificial.Support the show

What if the biggest mistake companies make with AI transformation is treating it as a technology problem? Laurent Aufils, Chief People Officer at Orange Business, knows that it's all about people. In this episode, Kathi Enderes sits down with Laurent to explore how one of the world's leading digital services companies transformed its entire 30,000-people workforce through a people-first approach to generative AI. The results are concrete and striking. Orange Business's AI-powered contract management tool slashed what previously took teams weeks of painstaking analysis to under three hours — fundamentally disrupting not just how people work, but how they understand the value they bring.  Rather than letting 30,000 people go and rehiring AI specialists, Laurent and his team made a bold choice: there will always be a human in the loop. That principle became the foundation of everything — the cultural compass that kept employees from fearing the future and turned anxiety into engagement. The numbers tell the story. Among employees who went through Orange Business's reskilling and upskilling programs, employee Net Promoter Scores shot from a modest +8 to a remarkable +41. Over 90% of the company's workforce is now trained in generative AI, and more than 60% use it as a regular part of their daily work.  AI certifications became a business objective on par with financial targets, and the company won contracts specifically because clients knew their teams had the credentials to back up their pitch. But perhaps the most powerful insight Laurent shares is about learning. In the AI era, learning is no longer a one-time investment or a classroom event; it is a continuous business capability, and it must be embedded into the rhythm of everyday work. Orange Business's YouTime initiative — dedicating three hours per month per employee to learning — changed the entire mindset of the organization. Paired with an 11,000-member internal generative AI community, it created the kind of grassroots momentum that no top-down mandate ever could. Laurent's advice to CHROs and HR leaders: stay humble, keep experimenting, and never let technology outpace your people. Related resources Podcast: Why AI Is A Massive Job Creation Technology. Automated Integration. Findem. And Thank You.  The Superworker Organization: AI Goes Enterprise AI Pacesetters: Six Secrets Of The Superworker Company  The Age of the Superworker (and Supermanager) Get Galileo: The AI Superagent for HR   Chapters (00:00:03) - What Works: Changing the Way People Work(00:00:44) - Orange Business's AI Transformation(00:05:40) - How GE Prepared for the Generative AI Transformation(00:12:16) - How did the learning function change with the introduction of generative AI(00:15:09) - How Has Cognizant is evolving its culture(00:18:49) - Culture and the AI journey(00:22:02) - Top Executives: The AI Transformation(00:24:39) - What Works: Chief People Officer at Orange Business

Are your meetings actually working? Or has your calendar just become a system nobody knows how to switch off? In this episode, David Green is joined by Rebecca Hinds, Stanford-trained organisational researcher, Head of the Work AI Institute at Glean, and author of Your Best Meeting Ever: 7 Principles for Designing Meetings That Get Things Done. In this conversation, David and Rebecca discuss: Why organisations should treat meetings as a product, and what that actually means in practice The concept of meeting debt, and why calendars accumulate bloat in the same way codebases accumulate technical debt What a 48-hour calendar cleanse involves, and what typically happens when organisations rebuild their calendars from scratch The patterns that show up most consistently when mapping how work actually moves between teams How AI is being used to improve meetings, and the ways it can make dysfunctional meeting culture worse What the conversation looks like in the room when CHROs start rethinking collaboration for the AI era This episode is sponsored by TechWolf. The world of work is being rewritten faster than HR systems can keep up. Skills age in months. Roles get redesigned quarter by quarter. CHROs have quietly become AI transformation leads, and the data they need to lead it doesn't exist in any HR system. That's why the world's most forward-looking enterprises such as HSBC, AMD, T-Mobile, GSK, ServiceNow, Pfizer, have built on TechWolf. As the data layer for the AI era of work, TechWolf gives enterprises the skills, they need to move faster and lead with confidence. Skills Intelligence, Work Intelligence, and Market Intelligence, in one layer. Visit techwolf.ai. Resources: Your Best Meeting Ever: 7 Principles for Designing Meetings That Get Things Done Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

HR Reinvented – mehr als ein Buch, ein Weckruf für die HR-Zunft. In dieser Folge von HR Ungeschminkt spricht Annika mit Dr. Lea Bolz (Egon Zehnder, Co-Autorin von HR Reinvented) über die drängendsten Fragen der HR-Zukunft: Warum „Weiter so“ keine Option ist, wie HR vom Kostenfaktor zum strategischen Motor wird – und warum Transformationskompetenz heute wichtiger ist als Fachwissen. Lea teilt Einblicke aus 20 Interviews mit CHROs und zeigt: Die spannendsten HR-Karrieren kommen oft nicht aus der klassischen HR-Laufbahn.

Send us Fan MailWhat happens when a company decides HR experience doesn't actually matter?In this episode of Jaded HR, Warren and CeeCee dive headfirst into the frustrating reality of how many organizations still view HR as little more than paperwork, party planning, and administrative busywork.The conversation starts with a real-world story that'll make HR professionals cringe: a small company passes over an internal employee with an HR degree for an HR opening… and hires a former school teacher with zero HR experience instead. Why? Because leadership viewed the role as “mostly administrative.” Warren and CeeCee unpack the deeper issue behind decisions like this — the ongoing devaluation of HR expertise and the dangerous assumption that “anyone can do HR.”From there, things spiral beautifully into discussions about: companies replacing CHROs with “Chiefs of Staff”  why succession planning can backfire when nobody retires  retaining ambitious employees in small organizations  the emotional toll of career stagnation  why great employees eventually outgrow some companies  Walmart's latest accommodation lawsuit disaster  and SHRM's absolutely wild 2026 conference pricing The SHRM rant alone is worth the listen. Warren and CeeCee break down the jaw-dropping cost of attending the national conference, debate whether modern HR professionals still need organizations like SHRM, and question whether niche experts and social media creators are replacing traditional HR associations entirely.There's also: Costco vs. Sam's Club suburban warfare  forklift certification anxiety  Pokémon Go bonding moments  pool season HOA drama  thunderstorms as sleep therapy  and enough cynical HR commentary to power an entire leadership retreat. If you've ever wondered whether companies truly understand the value of HR — this episode answers that question loudly and painfully.Topics Covered HR leadership  CHRO trends  HR career growth  succession planning  employee retention  SHRM conference 2026  HR certifications  workplace accommodations  Walmart lawsuit  HR burnout  talent development  organizational culture  HR professional development  cynical HR stories  Human Resources podcast Support the showWant to:* Share a dumb employee question* Share a crazy story* Ask us a question* Share a  best practice * Give us feedbackOur Link Tree below has links to our social media sites,  Patreon, Apple podcasts, Spotify & more.Please leave a review on your favorite podcast player and interact with us online!Linktree - https://linktr.ee/jadedhrFollow Cee Cee on IG - BoozyHR @ https://www.instagram.com/boozy_hr/

In this episode of the Brandon Hall Group™ Excellence at Work podcast, host Rachel Cooke, COO of Brandon Hall Group, sits down with Lisa Cannell, Senior Managing Director of University of Virginia Darden Executive Education and Lifelong Learning, for a conversation that is equal parts strategic wake-up call and practical playbook. Lisa brings 25 years of HR and organizational development experience across corporations and higher education, and what she offers is not a technology perspective on AI but a deeply human one. Her argument is simple and urgent: organizations are getting AI adoption wrong not because they lack tools or talent, but because they are underestimating the people challenge at the center of it. This conversation covers why CHROs are sitting on a rare strategic opportunity, what most organizations are missing in their AI rollouts, and how Darden is helping leadership teams move beyond pilots and into transformation.

Most organisations are asking how to get more from their people. But what if the real question is how to get more from the time they spend at work? In this episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, David Green is joined by Joe O'Connor, founder of Worktime Revolution, and Jared Lindzon, future-of-work journalist and author, to explore the research-backed case for the four-day working week, and what it means for how HR leaders design, lead and transform work. Join them as they discuss: Why the five-day working week is a relic of the industrial age What the evidence from global pilots shows about productivity, wellbeing and retention Why organisations moving to a four-day week are also becoming faster AI adopters What it actually takes to make the transition work - and why culture and trust are the real foundations How HR leaders can shift the conversation from top-down mandate to shared, enthusiastic change This episode is sponsored by TechWolf. The world of work is being rewritten faster than HR systems can keep up. Skills age in months. Roles get redesigned quarter by quarter. CHROs have quietly become AI transformation leads, and the data they need to lead it doesn't exist in any HR system. That's why the world's most forward-looking enterprises such as HSBC, AMD, T-Mobile, GSK, ServiceNow, Pfizer, have built on TechWolf.As the data layer for the AI era of work, TechWolf gives enterprises the skills, they need to move faster and lead with confidence. Skills Intelligence, Work Intelligence, and Market Intelligence, in one layer. Visit techwolf.ai. Resources: Do More In Four by Joe O'Connor and Jared Lindzon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

These episodes of #thePOZcast, live from Transform 2026 in Las Vegas, are proudly brought to you by our friends at PIN. AI recruiting tools that automate candidate sourcing, screening, and scheduling across 850M+ profiles. Built for recruiters, agencies, and hiring teams. Learn more and check out a demo:  https://www.pin.com/book-a-demo?via=adam-posner Thanks for listening, and please follow us on Insta @NHPTalent and www.youtube.com/thePOZcast For all episodes, please check out www.thePOZcast.com TAKEAWAYS:  1. Build Three Distinct Support Communities Before You Need Them Angel's framework for navigating crisis — professional or personal — is built on three tiers: the emotional inner circle (family, closest friends, real-time updates), the logistics home team (practical help, appointments, WhatsApp coordination), and the extended internet community (prayers, encouragement, distant support). Knowing who belongs in each circle saves energy and deepens each relationship. 2. Learning to Receive Is as Important as Learning to Give When you're in crisis, people want to help — sometimes financially, sometimes practically, sometimes emotionally. Angel's experience is that the resistance to accepting generosity is real and deeply wired. Working through that resistance isn't weakness; it's a survival skill. 3. Deep Empathy for Yourself Comes Before Your Resume The most common job search mistake: starting with the resume. Angel's framework starts with a more foundational question — who are you right now, in this exact moment of your life? Your family situation, your financial runway, your emotional state, your real needs. You cannot build a purposeful job search without that honest baseline. 4. Purpose Is Not the Same as Empathy — But You Can't Get There Without It Deep empathy gives you the foundation. Purpose builds on it — it's your current state, your trajectory, your story. It's the answer to "tell me about yourself" that is honest, specific, and actually compelling. Most people skip empathy and land on a purpose that doesn't feel real — because it isn't. 5. Your Old Resume Is Actively Working Against You The resume you built for the Obama administration — or even five years ago — is not your resume today. Angel's advice: start from scratch with a modern platform that parses your actual capabilities, competencies, and skills. Don't update the old document; replace it entirely. 6. LinkedIn Is a Brand, Not a Job Board Most people treat LinkedIn as a passive repository. Angel treats it as a living brand. The formula: 24 words for role, 36 words for quantified impact, a current professional photo, a Canva-designed header, and active storytelling. Dormant profiles don't get found. Active brands do. 7. The Career Prayer Is the Most Powerful Networking Tool Available A LinkedIn post that blends personal humanity (here's where I am in my life right now), professional context (here's what I built and who I built it with), and authentic future direction (here's what I'm looking for) activates dormant networks faster than any cold outreach campaign. If it reads like AI wrote it, it won't work. If it reads like you, it will. 8. Use AI to Identify Who to Reach Out to First Download your full LinkedIn contact list. Feed it into AI along with your resume, LinkedIn profile, and clarity on what you're looking for. Ask it to identify the 20 most relevant people to reach out to — and why. This turns a vague networking intention into a targeted, prioritized outreach list in minutes. 9. The 1-4/14: Plan for 14 Months and 14 Years Simultaneously Angel's framework for living with a terminal diagnosis is a masterclass in holding two truths at once: get your affairs in order (14 months — directives, will, trustees) and commit to building a life and a legacy (14 years — purpose, impact, the people you're fighting for). Both are necessary. Neither cancels the other out. 10. Showing Up Is Its Own Act of Leadership Angel came to Transform 2026 with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, a 2-3% five-year survival median, and more energy and generosity than almost anyone else in the building. His presence — and his willingness to share his journey publicly — is itself a form of re-inspiration for anyone going through their own version of impossible. CHAPTERS:  00:00 – Day 3 Opens With Angel Adam opens his first interview of day three with Angel Cruzado — a LinkedIn connection turned in-person meeting — and the conversation immediately goes somewhere real. 02:00 – Living With Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer Angel shares where he is on his cancer journey, what it's like to navigate a conference when you're fighting for your life, and why he showed up anyway. 04:30 – Building Your Community for the Hard Times How a cancer diagnosis forced Angel to build three distinct support communities: the emotional inner circle, the logistics home team, and the extended internet family. 08:00 – Learning to Accept Generosity One of the most vulnerable moments in the series: Angel talks about the resistance to receiving support — financial and otherwise — and how he learned to accept it as part of surviving. 10:30 – Meet Respiros: Career Transitions with Heart Angel introduces his company — an outplacement and career transition services firm that CHROs hire to re-inspire employees through layoffs, treating them as individuals rather than headcount. 13:00 – The Job Market Right Now: Real Talk An honest assessment of the current talent market: companies have their pick, not everyone is an A player, and struggling candidates need something more than a refreshed resume. 15:30 – Step 1: Deep Empathy for Yourself Before you touch your resume, understand where you truly are as a human being. Your baseline context shapes everything that follows. 18:00 – Step 2: Purpose — Who You Are and Where You're Going The second layer: purpose. Not the same as empathy. It's your current state, your trajectory, and the story that actually means something when someone asks "tell me about yourself." 20:30 – Step 3: Build the Right Resume From Scratch Why your 8-year-old resume is working against you and the case for starting completely fresh with a modern platform. 23:00 – Step 4: LinkedIn as a Living Brand How most people are using LinkedIn wrong — and the precise framework Angel uses: 24 words for role, 36 words for quantified impact. 26:00 – The Career Prayer: Storytelling That Activates Dormant Networks Angel's most memorable concept: a LinkedIn post format that blends personal authenticity, professional context, and genuine humanity — and why it generates real job leads in ways job applications never do. 30:00 – The AI Hack for Network Activation Download your full LinkedIn contacts, feed them into AI with your resume and profile, and ask it to identify the 20 people you should reach out to first — and why. 33:00 – How to Reach Out After Years of Silence The right way to re-engage a dormant contact: not a cold ask, but a genuine, story-led post that gives people a reason to respond on their own terms. 36:00 – The 1-4/14: His Framework for Living Plan for 14 months — medical directives, will, trustees — and simultaneously plan to live for 14 years. Both are necessary. Both are acts of hope. 39:00 – His North Star: His 11-Year-Old's High School Graduation The moment that grounds everything: Angel's goal of making it to his son's graduation when the median 5-year survival rate for Stage 4 pancreatic cancer is 2-3%. 41:00 – Re-Inspiring Others Through His Own Transition Angel closes with the mission: if people who are struggling and hurting can see him still showing up, still building, maybe that re-inspires them to do the same.  

Most HR leaders walk into CFO meetings already losing. Not because they lack the data, but because the work that should have happened months earlier never did.In this episode, AJ Vaughan answers a question from Denzel about what CHROs are actually rehearsing, avoiding, and feeling the night before they sit across from finance. The honest answer: the night before is the wrong place to start.AJ breaks down the pre-work most HR leaders are skipping. The strategic pockets with the CRO. The L &D conversations that never happen. The macro lens on the tech stack, the tools, and the human capability data sitting unused inside the business. The mentorship relationship with revenue leaders could generate six to seven figures if HR actually leaned in.This one is for the HR leader who is tired of being treated like a cost center, and for the CFO who keeps wondering why the people function never speaks their language.What is actually happening inside HR right now? What matters most before you walk into that meeting? What to do tomorrow. And what most HR leaders miss entirely.Listen now.

Susie Silver, CDE, joins Donald Thompson to make the ROI case for psychological safety, belonging, and people-first culture at scale." — used by Google Podcasts and podcast SEO toolsSummaryPsychological safety is not a perk — it is a performance strategy that drives measurable business results.In this episode, Donald Thompson sits down with his colleague and workplace consultant Susie Silver, a Certified Diversity Executive and Senior Consultant at the Workplace Options Center for Organizational Effectiveness. Drawing from her background in fine arts, education, and nearly two decades of consulting, Susie breaks down how the most successful organizations are the ones that treat human insight as a business asset, not an afterthought.Episode Long DescriptionIn this episode of High Octane Leadership, Donald Thompson and his colleague Susie Silver answer what people-first leadership actually means for executives who are accountable to both a culture scorecard and a financial one.In this episode of High Octane Leadership, Donald and Susie pull back the curtain on what it looks like to build a culture of psychological safety from the inside out, including including the specific story of how Susie's team pitched a microlearning program, earned Donald's buy-in at The Diversity Movement, and scaled it into a seven-figure opportunity. That is not a feel-good story. That is what happens when a leader creates the conditions for people to bring their best thinking.They also dig into what leaders get wrong about "bring your authentic self," why women leaders are often set up to fail by the very phrases meant to empower them, and how to balance the culture conversation with the financial conversation without sacrificing either one.This episode is built for HR executives, CHROs, and senior leaders who need the business case for culture — not just the philosophy.Key Talking Points:Human Insight as Strategy: How do you measure belonging the same way you measure revenue, and what are leaders who skip this step consistently getting wrong? The Micro-Training Revolution: What happened when one team replaced all-day workshops with 30-minute Monday sessions — and why 70% of an entire workforce, including the CEO, showed up every time?Psychological Safety in Practice: What does psychological safety actually require from a manager on a Tuesday morning, when the stakes are real and the buzzwords are useless?The "Be Bold" Lie: Why telling underrepresented leaders to bring their authentic selves — without redesigning the environment they are walking into — is one of the most damaging things a well-meaning organization can do?Empathy and Economics: What do organizations that treat culture and performance as competing priorities consistently get wrong — and what are the leaders winning right now doing instead?Chapter Markers0:00 - Intro: Susie Silver02:15 - From Fine Arts to the Boardroom: Susie's Journey05:00 - Translating Human Insight Into Business Strategy07:30 - What Psychological Safety Actually Looks Like in Practice10:00 - Teaching Employees to Speak the Language of Leadership13:00 - The Micro-Training Pilot: From Idea to Seven Figures18:00 - Stop Debating. Start Testing. Let the Data Lead.20:00 - Parenting in Unprecedented Times and What Leaders Can Learn From It24:00 - Flexibility Is Not a Weakness. It Is a Leadership Tool.27:00 - How Susie Consumes Information and Stays Current30:00 - The "Be Bold" Lie: What Women Leaders Are Really Up Against34:00 - How to Interrupt Bias in the Room in Real Time37:00 - You Do Not Have to Choose Between Empathy and EconomicsAbout the GuestSusie Silver is the rare workplace strategist whose frameworks were not built in a business school, they were built in fine arts studios, public school classrooms, and the kind of organizations where belonging was treated as a luxury until she made it a line item. Susie spent 18 years in fine arts education before realizing the most broken learning environments were inside corporations — and that career pivot became the foundation of her work as a Certified Diversity Executive and Senior Consultant at the Workplace Options Center for Organizational Effectiveness. With a background in fine arts, education, and nearly 18 years in the classroom, Susie pivoted into organizational consulting focused on psychological safety, inclusive culture, and LGBTQ plus inclusion. A serial entrepreneur and passionate advocate for building workplaces where people and performance thrive together, Susie brings a rare combination of creative thinking, business acumen, and real-world data to every engagement.Resources:Donald Thompson LinkedInDonald's Books: https://donaldthompson.com/books-resources/The Center for Organizational Effectiveness by Workplace Options Website Susie Silver LinkedInWorkplace Options 2026 Psychological Safety Study: https://psychsafety.workplaceoptions.com/resource/the-coe-2026-psychological-safety-study/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=psych_safety Stay connected with Donald: Get Donald's newsletter that is packed with actionable insights, and the kind of straight-talk leadership intelligence that helps build authority, drive performance, and stay ahead of what is coming next: donaldthompson.com.Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donaldthompsonjrSubscribe on SubStack: https://substack.com/@donaldthompsonjr High Octane Leadership is hosted by The Diversity Movement CEO and executive coach Donald Thompson and is a production of Earfluence.Order UNDERESTIMATED: A CEO'S UNLIKELY PATH TO SUCCESS, by Donald Thompson.

Send us Fan Mail Why do so many learning and development initiatives struggle to create lasting behavioral change?In a previous conversation, we explored where things often break down and why strong strategies and well-designed programs don't always translate into impact.In this episode of Unlocking Intercultural Agility, we take the next step.Together with Nicole Regan-White, CEO of Create Space Group, we shift the focus from diagnosis to design, exploring what it actually takes to build leadership development that creates meaningful, sustained change.Because once we understand the problem, the real question becomes:What do we do differently?In this conversation, we explore:• How to better align L&D with business reality• What it looks like to involve practitioners earlier in the process• Why behavior needs to be considered from the moment of hiring• How leaders can move from informing to truly developing people• The role of coaching in embedding change over time• How intercultural agility strengthens implementation across contextsThis episode is especially relevant for CHROs, L&D leaders, and executives working in complex, multicultural environments.Because sustainable transformation does not happen by accident.It requires intentional design, consistent reinforcement, and a deep understanding of how people engage with change.If you would like to explore this further: https://www.knowledgeworkx.com/ Or to start better intercultural conversations:https://interculturalquestions.com/Connect with us on LinkedIn:Nicole Regan-White: linkedin.com/in/nicole-regan-whiteMarco Blankenburgh: linkedin.com/in/mblankenburgh  -- Looking for a book to take your cultural agility to the next step, check out the Ultimate Intercultural Question Book brought to you by KnowledgeWorkx.com

A massive wave of retirements known as "Peak 65" is creating a serious crisis for organizations as decades of institutional knowledge begin to walk out the door. This shift in workforce demographics means we must act now to secure our talent pipeline before these experts leave for good. In this episode, CHRO Robin Benoit shares how she and her team at FM are tackling this challenge at its core. We explore their unique mentorship program called AKA (Accelerating Knowledge Advancement), which pulls experts away from their day jobs to help newer employees reach senior-level career growth years ahead of schedule. Robin explains the balance between AI optimization and human interaction, highlighting the danger of using technology to automate entry-level work in a way that "kills off" the learning process for future leaders. We discuss building a "career lattice" for internal mobility and why we need transparent retirement conversations to ensure experienced workers don't block promotion paths while we still benefit from their wisdom through reverse mentorship. This episode is essential for CHROs who want to use succession planning and employee engagement to thrive in the future of work. Watch the full video on YouTube ---------- Start your day with the world's top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/ Quick heads-up: my new book, The 8 Laws of Employee Experience, is a practical playbook for building an environment where people do their best work—order a copy here: 8EXlaws.com

Pat Wadors, CHRO at Intuitive (the company behind the da Vinci surgical robot), the architect of LinkedIn's Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging framework known as DIBs, and the author of the 2024 Wiley book Unlock Your Leadership Story, joins Jessica Neal and Peter Clarke on Truth Works.From losing her mother during her freshman year of college and getting diagnosed with dyslexia in a career center conversation at LSU, to declaring at nineteen that she was going to run HR, Pat traces the unlikely path that took her from a fine art major in Louisiana to one of the most respected CHROs in Silicon Valley.She walks through the moment Jeff Weiner called her in the middle of a staff meeting at Plantronics to come fix LinkedIn at three thousand employees, the whiteboard exercise in her first five weeks that forced the executive team to admit they were not actually being "open and constructive," and the 3am realisation that became DIBs.She talks openly about why John Donahoe pursued her for ServiceNow with a now legendary line about marriage, and the comment from a head of product that has stuck with her for years, telling her she was the dentist while the rest of the executive team were just dental hygienists.She then opens up about her Personal Scorecard, and the moment her son devastated her by pointing out that if she actually stuck to her own scorecard, she would only see her grandchildren seventy two times by the time they turned eighteen.In this episode, Jessica, Peter and Pat discuss:The art show story that taught Pat at eighteen that she only sold to people she actually likedThe three year clock she runs in her head to avoid getting pigeon-holed in any roleWhat joining LinkedIn at three thousand employees was actually likeThe whiteboard exercise that became the foundation of LinkedIn's cultureWhy she gave DIBs to the world rather than keep it inside LinkedInThe dinner with John Donahoe that turned into a marriage proposal for a jobWhy she thinks of HR as a product with agile development methodologyWhat a CHRO actually needs to learn about the business to earn a real seat at the tableWhy she had a hysterectomy with the da Vinci robot and was ready to cook dinner that nightThe Personal Scorecard framework and how her son broke her heart with itGoldilocks, the Three Pigs, the Tortoise and the Hare, and Mulan as leadership lessonsThe one question she keeps on her desktop that empowers her every dayPat's book, Unlock Your Leadership Story: How to Build Understanding and Motivate Teams Using Fables and Folktales, is available now on Amazon, patwadors.com and as an audiobook.

It feels like we are on a fast treadmill because technology and AI are changing work so quickly. It is hard to stay ahead when old ways of doing things no longer work in this new, advanced digital world. In this episode, Sue Davies, EVP & CHRO of Markel, discusses navigating organizational transformation and how to build resilience in an AI-driven world. We uncover the "ABCS" (Awareness, Buy-in, Competence, and Sustainability) framework for organizational change to guide employees through the anxieties of technological change. We explore the shift from the traditional career ladder to internal talent mobility and why individual accountability is the key to upskilling for the future of work. Sue also shares how AI tools, like Co-pilot can speed up employee training while keeping human interaction and trust at the center of the business. From reflections on a 40-year career to modern AI pilots, Sue shares a clear focus on building workforce adaptability without losing the human touch. This episode provides a strategic roadmap for CHROs looking to lead their people through AI transformation with confidence and empathy. Watch the full video on YouTube ---------- Start your day with the world's top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/ Quick heads-up: my new book, The 8 Laws of Employee Experience, is a practical playbook for building an environment where people do their best work—order a copy here: 8EXlaws.com

Send us Fan MailWhy do so many leadership and learning initiatives look strong in design… yet fail to create real behavioral change?In this episode of Unlocking Intercultural Agility, I sit down with Nicole Regan-White, CEO of Create Space Group, to explore what breaks down when organizations attempt to develop leaders at scale.Across industries, technical capability is rarely the issue. The real gap shows up in how people communicate, collaborate, and lead across difference.Together, we unpack:• Why people skills remain the biggest leadership gap• What actually breaks down when leaders lack relational capability• Why global “one-size-fits-all” programs often fail• How culture, values, and behavior disconnect across borders• What it takes to create learning that truly shifts behaviorThis conversation is especially relevant for CHROs, L&D leaders, and executives responsible for driving measurable change across complex, multicultural environments.Because sustainable transformation doesn't begin with better content.It begins with understanding how people experience, interpret, and respond to what is being asked of them.If you want to explore this further, you can find additional tools and resources here:https://www.knowledgeworkx.com/ Or, if you're looking for a practical way to start better intercultural conversations:https://interculturalquestions.com/ Connect on LinkedIn today!Nicole Regan-White: linkedin.com/in/nicole-regan-white Marco Blankenburgh: linkedin.com/in/mblankenburgh  -- Looking for a book to take your cultural agility to the next step, check out the Ultimate Intercultural Question Book brought to you by KnowledgeWorkx.com

Companies today are rushing to build an AI strategy, but they often forget to create a human strategy to match it. As technology takes over daily tasks, keeping the human element alive at work is a huge challenge for business leaders. In this episode, Kathie Patterson, Chief Human Resources Officer at Ally, joins us to explore how to balance new AI tools with human emotional intelligence. We uncover how to roll out AI to employees for better efficiency while making sure a human is always in the loop for the moments that truly matter. Kathie explains why leaders need strong EQ and training in crucial conversations to handle conflicts, since frustrating moments like getting stuck in dead-end phone trees prove that people still crave real human connection during stressful times. We also explore balancing workplace empathy with business accountability, offering real support like mental health and fertility benefits without treating adult employees like children. Finally, we look at how to adapt to generational shifts, like Gen Z entering the workplace, and the risks of using AI for HR tasks like hiring and promotions. CHROs will find this episode essential for building a future-ready culture that embraces both high-tech tools and deep human connection. Watch the full video on YouTube ---------- Start your day with the world's top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/ Quick heads-up: my new book, The 8 Laws of Employee Experience, is a practical playbook for building an environment where people do their best work—order a copy here: 8EXlaws.com

Paul Rubenstein is Chief Evangelist at Visier, where he partners with CHROs and senior executives to connect talent strategy to business outcomes. He helps organizations move beyond traditional HR to build functions that are commercially minded, data-driven, and aligned to how the business actually runs. With more than two decades of experience across consulting and executive roles, including Chief People Officer and Chief Customer Officer at Visier, Paul brings a unique perspective on how HR can drive real business performance. His mission is simple: unlock the untapped potential of HR and make work better. These episodes of #thePOZcast, live from Unleash 2026 in Las Vegas, are proudly brought to you by our friends at PIN. AI recruiting tools that automate candidate sourcing, screening, and scheduling across 850M+ profiles. Built for recruiters, agencies, and hiring teams. Learn more and check out a demo:  https://www.pin.com/book-a-demo?via=adam-posner Thanks for listening, and please follow us on Insta @NHPTalent and www.youtube.com/thePOZcast For all episodes, please check out www.thePOZcast.com ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 – Cold open: conference chaos and “no one eats lunch”01:10 – Meet Paul Rubenstein and his HR journey02:30 – From consulting to HR leadership to evangelist04:00 – Why connecting talent to business outcomes matters05:30 – The dual role of HR: business driver + function optimizer07:00 – The evolution of HR: industrial → personnel → strategic09:30 – The rise of systems: PeopleSoft, scale, and efficiency11:30 – Engagement, sentiment, and the human side of HR13:00 – Globalization and the modern HR operating model14:30 – Why AI is a true inflection point—not just hype16:00 – The problem with siloed HR tech stacks17:30 – Orchestration layers and systems talking to systems19:00 – Democratization of data and decision-making20:30 – The importance of data quality in the AI era22:00 – The dark side: speed, skills gaps, and misuse of AI24:00 – Human + machine optimization (Toyota analogy)26:00 – Why rethinking work is the real challenge27:30 – How HR leaders (and everyone) must evolve29:00 – Why empathy still matters—and won't be replaced

This episode dives deep into a critical issue that affects nearly 80% of the workforce, substance use disorder (SUD), and explores how HR professionals and organisations can lead the change. Get ready for an eye-opening conversation filled with practical steps, inspiring examples, and a powerful message: supporting employees through recovery is not just compassionate, it's strategic. In this episode: Amy Dufrane reveals why substance abuse is a silent epidemic impacting organizations across all sectors The startling statistics surrounding SUD and its toll on productivity and healthcare costs How organizations are pioneering recovery-friendly workplace certifications and initiatives Practical advice for HR on cultivating a supportive, stigma-free environment The importance of education, policies, and manager training for long-term organizational health Resources for organizations to implement real change—without reinventing the wheel Timestamps: 00:00 - Welcome and introduction to Amy Dufrane, CEO of HRCI 00:24 - Amy's background and passion for HR's evolution 02:09 - Why substance use disorder is a critical issue for HR and employers 04:01 - The impact of SUD on productivity, turnover, and healthcare costs 05:28 - Understanding SUD as a chronic condition, not a choice 06:23 - How HR can start addressing substance abuse in the workplace 07:11 - Navigating HIPAA and legal considerations around employee health disclosures 08:39 - Partnering with organizations like Global Recovery Initiatives Foundation for education and certification 10:00 - The role of company certification and building a recovery-friendly culture 11:14 - Why leadership commitment is essential for change 12:44 - The importance of manager training and creating safe communication channels 15:08 - Overcoming organizational culture and resource barriers 16:08 - The long-term investment in employee wellbeing and organizational health 17:00 - The non-legal, human-centered approach to supporting employees in recovery 17:59 - How organizations can get started with certification and resources 21:07 - Practical first steps for HR and leadership 22:24 - The importance of proactive, organizational commitment over reactive responses 23:05 - Final advice for CHROs and leaders to prioritize this issue 23:44 - Gratitude and closing thoughts. Resources & Links: National Recovery Friendly Workplace Institute — Certification and tools for creating recovery-supportive workplaces HRCI — Certification and education for HR professionals White House Initiative on Substance Use — Government leadership in supporting workplace recovery efforts Connect with Amy Dufrane: LinkedIn Twitter Take Action: Start today by educating your leadership and HR team about SUD Explore certification programs to build a recovery-friendly culture Implement ongoing training for managers to recognize and support employees Remember: your organization's health depends on your compassion and commitment. Let's break the stigma and embrace a future where recovery is supported and celebrated.

The Good GameActivist investor seeks to oust Americold Chair Mark Patterson over “problematic boardroom behavior”Activist investor Sieve Capital is pushing Americold Realty Trust to remove board chair Mark Patterson, citing his tenure on the board of scandal-ridden office landlord Paramount Group.OpenAI releases policy proposals aimed at addressing fallout from AI-driven job losses The proposals, which OpenAI admits are “ambitious” and “intentionally early and exploratory,” include everything from a new industrial policy agenda to modernizing the tax system to expanding access to healthcare coverage and retirement savings.They are meant to help answer questions about job disruptions and AI systems that evade human control, and to protect against governments deploying AI in ways that run counter to democratic values.Among the core policy suggestions is a public wealth fund, which would see lawmakers and AI companies work together to invest in long-term assets linked to the AI boom, with returns distributed directly to citizens. Another is that the government should encourage and incentivize employers to experiment with four-day workweeks with no loss in pay and offer "benefits bonuses" tied to productivity gains from new AI tools.EPA Wants to Prioritize Microplastics, Pharmaceuticals as Water ContaminantsEPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the move sends “a clear message: we will follow the science, we will pursue answers, and we will hold ourselves to the highest standards to protect the health of every American family.”Delta started sharing profits with its 100,000 employees two decades ago. CEO Ed Bastian says shareholders love itThe payout is sizeable: this year, Delta dispersed over $1 billion to its roughly 100,000 employees.Profit sharing distributes a slice of company earnings directly to workers as a cash bonus. At Delta, the formula is simple: 10% of the first $2.5 billion in adjusted profits, and 20% of everything above that.Proxy adviser ISS recommends vote against BP board over attempt to scrap some climate reportingISS recommended a vote against the BP board on revoking some previous climate reporting resolutions and allowing it to hold online-only shareholder meetings: "A particularly compelling argument would be required to justify such a legal revocation, which we believe is unprecedented in the UK context," ISS said about BP's resolution to retire two resolutions from 2015 and 2019 requiring company-specific climate reporting which passed with near 100% support at the time.Activist shareholder Follow This broadens climate campaign against BPA group of European investors led ‌by activist Follow This urged BP on Thursday to drop plans to scrap some company-specific climate-reporting commitments and called on shareholders to vote against the move at the oil company's annual meeting this month.Follow This also warned ‌of possible ⁠legal action after BP refused to put a separate shareholder resolution on the agenda of its April 23 annual general meeting.TVA CEO Don Moul announces retirement as Trump slashes his payThe CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the largest public utility in the United States, will retire July 1.Don Moul, CEO since April, 9, 2025, notified the public utility's board of directors April 3, closing a turbulent chapter for the federal power provider.Had Moul decided to stay on at TVA, he would have faced a 90% pay cut as the Trump administration seeks to cap pay for all TVA employees at $500,000.Moul, the highest paid federal employee, made about $6 million as TVA CEO in 2025.Similarly sized utilities in the South, and TVA in the past, have paid their CEOs substantially more than Moul made. Jeff Lyash made over $10 million in his last year as TVA's chief executive. Lynn Good, a recent CEO of the private Duke Energy company, drew $21.6 million in 2024, and in the same year the CEO of Southern Company made $23.8 million.Starbucks staff will now get paid weekly — and some will get new bonuseswill allow baristas and shift supervisors at Starbucks' top stores to earn up to $300 each quarter — or up to $1,200 a year — for meeting sales goals and consistently delivering a positive customer experienceUnited Airlines and flight attendants reached a tentative deal with $740 million in bonusesUnited Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA reached a tentative five-year labor agreement on March 26 that would provide the carrier's 30,000 flight attendants their first pay increases since 2020, including a $740 million signing bonus pool and top wages of $100 per hour by the contract's end.Beyond base pay, the contract also covers compensation during the boarding process, additional pay when lengthy gaps occur between flights, and limits on how overnight flying can be scheduled.United said the agreement would make its flight attendants the highest-paid in the industry.‍ ‍Chief human resource officer salaries have surged 30% at S&P 500 companiesThe number of CHROs designated as named executive officers in public filings from Russell 3000 companies rose from 148 in 2021 to 230 in 2025Median compensation for Russell 3000 CHROs grew by 14.7% between 2024 and 2025, compared to 8.1% for all NEOs. When looking at S&P 500 companies, CHRO pay grew by 30.4% in the same timeframeCHROs are “taking on larger mandates, moving beyond that traditional operational focus, to take on something more,” Jones said. The fact that CHROs are becoming more “strategically integrated” into their organizations reflects how “workforce and culture issues really are just top of mind,” he added.‍ ‍The Entire State of Maine Is Poised to Ban New Data CentersThe bill was passed by the Maine House of Representatives last month and is expected to pass in the Senate as well, which would make Maine the first state in the country to ban new data centers. The unprecedented move highlights growing bipartisan political fallout over the AI hype and consequent construction boom.SPEED ROUNDIran war could spur Europe to double down on renewables — againFrom $85K to $528K: Caitlin Clark's 521% Pay Rise After New WNBA Deal Climate change is impacting golf, from player health to courses AND French ski resorts face 'downward spiral' amid climate change and funding meltdownBurger King to hire 60K workers as part of turnaround‍ ‍Red Lobster is reportedly bringing back Endless Shrimp 2 years after the CEO vowed it would never returnTrump fires Attorney General Pam BondiHershey is moving back to the original recipe for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups after the chocolate's grandson blasted them last monthUnited Airlines is rolling out beds in economy class

This is Part 2 of our live at the CHRO Association's annual CHRO Summit in Orlando, Florida.I was honored to be invited to the CHRO Association's annual CHRO Summit that brought together more than 300 CHROs and senior HR leaders for strategic conversations truly shaping the future of work. With 25 presenters and panelists on the agenda, I was able to sit down and interview seven of those amazing speakers and bring their insights directly to you across these two episodes (EP 186 & EP 187).In this episode, Part 2 - we're going to hear from three more incredible leaders:Darrell Ford, Vice Chair of the CHRO Association and Executive Vice President and CHRO at UPSRebecca Hinds, PhD, Head of the Work AI Institute and Thought Leadership at Glean, and author of Your Best Meeting EverKevin Cox, Former CHRO at General Electric and President of LKC Advisory LLCConnecting with CHRO Summit presenters: Connect with Darrell Ford on LinkedIn Connect with Rebecca Hinds on LinkedInConnect with Kevin Cox on LinkedInLearn more about CHRO AssociationEpisode Sponsor: Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leadersHR Leader's Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

On this episode, Pete and Julie welcome Trey Campbell, legendary HR outsourcing and transformation executive, former CEO, and current board member of OneSource Virtual, for a candid conversation on how HR outsourcing and managed services have evolved and where they are heading next. Trey takes us from the early days of HR outsourcing (HRO) to today's automation-driven, cloud-enabled service models that power cloud-based HR operations. He explains why so many large-scale outsourcing deals failed, why “lift and shift” never delivered on its promises, and why standardization, workflow automation, and service design matter more than ever. The conversation goes deep on what CHROs, and CFOs are getting wrong about outsourcing, why payroll and compliance risk, not just cost, drives buying decisions, and why the myth of one global payroll system still hasn't been cracked after 30 years.  Trey shares his perspective on AI, automation, and “services as software,” explaining where intelligent workflows will truly transform HR and payroll and where human expertise will remain essential.  Connect with Trey: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/campbelltrey/  Connect with the show: LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/company/hr-payroll-2-0 X: @HRPayroll2_0  X: @PeteTiliakos  X: @JulieFer_HR BlueSky: @hrpayroll2o.bsky.social YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HRPAYROLL2_0  WRKDefined Podcast Network: https://wrkdefined.com/podcast/hr-payroll-20  Thank you to our marquee sponsors for powering the HR & Payroll 2.0 podcast forward!  G-P ‘Globalization Partners': https://www.globalization-partners.com/ OneSource Virtual: https://hubs.ly/Q03YFNR90 Zoho: https://www.zoho.com/press.html Thank you to our ‘wizard behind the curtain' and show producer Ryan Kielma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-kielma/

This is a very special episode recorded live at the CHRO Association's annual CHRO Summit in Orlando, Florida.Over two days, more than 300 CHROs and senior HR leaders came together for strategic conversations truly shaping the future of work. With 25 presenters and panelists on the agenda, I was fortunate enough to sit down and interview seven of those amazing speakers and bring their insights directly to you.The conversations were so good and in-depth that we're making this a two-part series to ensure we do each conversation justice. This is Part 1.In this episode, you'll hear from:Tim Bartl, CEO of the CHRO AssociationTim Richmond, Chair of the CHRO Association and former EVP and CHRO at AbbVieKristi Hummel, Chief People Officer at OptumEthan Mollick, Innovation Expert, AI Thought Leader, and Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Wharton School of BusinessConnecting with CHRO Summit presenters: Connect with Tim Bartl on LinkedIn Connect with Tim Richmond on LinkedInConnect with Kristi Hummel on LinkedInConnect with Ethan Mollick on LinkedInLearn more about CHRO AssociationEpisode Sponsor: Next-Gen HR Accelerator - Learn more about this best-in-class leadership development program for next-gen HR leadersHR Leader's Blueprint - 18 pages of real-world advice from 100+ HR thought leaders. Simple, actionable, and proven strategies to advance your career.Succession Planning Playbook: In this focused 1-page resource, I cut through the noise to give you the vital elements that define what “great” succession planning looks like.

(0:00) Intro (1:35) About the podcast sponsor: The American College of Governance Counsel (2:22) Start of interview (3:01) Joelle's origin story (7:00) The Journey of Paradigm, the culture company she co-founded in 2014. "Our goal is to help organizations build healthy and high performing cultures where people from all backgrounds can come together, do their best work and thrive." (11:15) On the current backlash against DEI. (16:49) On Coinbase's "mission focused company" statement in 2020. (21:53) The Politics of Company Culture, and Silicon Valley's approach. (26:15) The Shift from Public to Private Companies (29:33) AI's Impact on the Workforce (35:18) The Role of the Board on Workplace Culture (37:23) Talent executives and CHROs on Boards (39:54) Rethinking Compliance in Organizations (42:43) Evaluating an organization's culture (45:22) Books that have greatly influenced her life: Growth Mindset, by Carol Dweck (2007) Abundance, by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson (2025) Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St. John Mandel (2022) (47:04) Her mentors.  (48:24) Quotes that she thinks of often or lives her life by "Do the best you can until you know better. And then when you know better, do better." (Maya Angelou) "Forward is a pace" (heard from a Peloton instructor, Robin Arzon) (49:08) An unusual habit or an absurd thing that she loves (49:44) The living person she most admires (inspiring now): Lindsey Vonn. (50:30) The Unique Perspective of a Lawyer-CEO Joelle Emerson is the CEO and co-founder of Paradigm, a company that empowers organizations to create innovative, high-performance workplaces where everyone can do their best work. You can follow Evan on social media at:X: @evanepsteinLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/__To support this podcast you can join as a subscriber of the Boardroom Governance Newsletter at https://evanepstein.substack.com/__Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

As consultants and coaches, we know trust is the foundation of any meaningful relationship. And it is especially true in the work we do with our clients. When clients trust us, everything changes. They open up. They share what is really going on. They accept feedback. They take risks. They implement our recommendations. That is when real transformation happens in their careers, businesses, and organizations. Without trust, even if we land the contract, the engagement quietly falls apart. Clients stay guarded. They hesitate. They hold back. The work never reaches its full potential. But here is the deeper question. What if trust does not begin in your discovery call? What if it begins long before that? In this episode, I explore the idea that trust is built at every touchpoint of your brand. Your website. Your messaging. Your positioning. The clarity of your expertise. The way you communicate your purpose. All of it either lowers anxiety and builds confidence, or creates subtle barriers to trust. And not just trust in you. Trust in themselves and their ability to create change. Joining me is Dr. J.B. Adams, executive development strategist and trust researcher, whose doctoral work focused specifically on what builds trust and what breaks it . Together, we unpack why branding is not about looking impressive. It is about creating safety. In This Episode, You'll Hear: Why trust is the real driver of successful consulting and coaching engagements, and why it starts long before the discovery call. The three core elements that build trust and how they apply directly to your brand. How vague positioning quietly erodes credibility, and why clear specialization instantly increases trust. The surprising lesson a skin cancer diagnosis taught me about branding, safety, and client anxiety. Why moving from order taker to strategic partner is essential if you want to build a brand that commands respect and long-term loyalty. If you are a consultant or coach who wants deeper client engagement, stronger results, and more powerful word of mouth, this conversation will shift how you think about your brand. Chapters: 00:00 The Importance of Trust in Consulting03:04 JB Adams: A Journey of Trust and Branding05:54 The Evolution of JB's Career and Education09:04 The Decision to Work on Brand Positioning11:55 The Experience of Rebranding with Betsy14:47 The Deep Dive into Trust and Branding18:08 The Role of Trust in Client Relationships20:55 The Impact of Trust on Client Engagement23:57 Navigating the Crossroads of Business Focus27:07 Building Trust Through Cohort-Based Development30:13 The Three Pillars of Trust: Ability, Integrity, Benevolence33:05 Applying Trust to Branding Strategies36:07 The Power of Trust in Client Relationships39:05 Final Thoughts on Trust and Branding Next Steps: Audit your brand through the lens of trust: Take a fresh look at your website, messaging, and client touchpoints. Are you clearly demonstrating expertise, integrity, and genuine care? Or are there subtle gaps that could be creating hesitation? Move from order taker to strategic partner: Consider where you might be saying yes out of habit instead of alignment. Trust grows when you position yourself as a thoughtful expert who solves a specific problem, not just someone who takes requests. See trust-centered branding in action: Visit adamslearning.com to explore how Dr. J.B. Adams positioned his expertise around executive development and trust after earning his doctorate. If you want the kind of clarity and confidence J.B. built into his brand, explore working with me: Head over to betsyjordan.com to learn more about my brand positioning and messaging services and how we can build a trust-centered brand that reflects the real depth of your work. Other episodes you may enjoy: 3 Types of Consulting /Coaching Expertise: Which one is yours? (Ep147) 5 Truths About Branding, I Only Saw After Tearing My Process Apart (Ep146) Inside My Brand Messaging Process (and Why It Always Works) (Ep140) About the guest: Dr. J.B. Adams is an Executive Development Strategist and Coach who partners with purpose-driven, people-centered CEOs and CHROs in service-based organizations to build executive-ready leaders and trust-centered cultures. With decades of experience in learning and development, a doctorate in business, and master's degrees in education and business, his background includes developing leaders at organizations such as The Walt Disney Company. Through customized, cohort-based programs that integrate 360-degree assessments, stakeholder-centered coaching, and group learning, he helps organizations strengthen their executive bench, fuel sustainable growth, and protect their long-term legacy. Visit his website: https://adamslearning.com/ About the host: Betsy Jordyn is a business mentor, brand messaging strategist, and former Disney consultant who helps purpose-driven consultants and coaches build profitable businesses rooted in their unique strengths. With over 20 years in the industry and a knack for turning big ideas into clear positioning, she's your go-to for strategy that aligns with your calling. Work with me: https://www.betsyjordyn.com/services

Is employee experience due for a reset? For much of the past decade, employee experience has been framed as a competitive advantage - a way to attract talent, boost engagement, and strengthen culture. Yet in today's environment, shaped by economic pressure, evolving workforce expectations, and the rapid rise of AI, many organisations are re-examining whether their approach is still sustainable - or whether, in trying to improve employee experience, they may have inadvertently diluted it. So, in this episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, host David Green speaks with Jacob Morgan - author, keynote speaker, and Founder of The Future of Work Leaders - to explore what an employee experience reset looks like in 2026 and beyond. Drawing on insights from interviews with 100 CHROs, Jacob shares why this moment may mark a turning point for accountability at work, and what leaders must do to balance empathy with performance without undermining either. Tune in to learn more about: Why 2026 may be a turning point for accountability in employee experience Whether wellbeing programmes have diluted performance expectations How leaders can balance empathy and high performance standards without appearing anti-employee What the evolving power dynamic between employers and employees means in practice How AI is redefining how work is measured, managed, and valued Why HR must lead - not just manage - the responsible and ethical adoption of AI This episode is sponsored by Hibob. HiBob brings HR, Payroll, and Finance together into a single platform that employees actually use. With AI throughout, you move faster, work smarter, and empower your people to power your business. Sapient Insights recognises HiBob's AI vision, citing the Bob AI Companion for making everyday work faster and easier. Fosway Group also names HiBob a 2025 9-Grid™ Core Leader, recognising the strongest AI vision among Core Leaders. HiBob. All-in-one HCM for HR, Payroll, and Finance. ​​​Learn all about HiBob's modern HR platform here Resources: The Eight Laws of Employee Experience Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI can generate the message in seconds. It cannot lead the room.In How to Communicate Powerfully in the AI Era with Jane Hanson, Dr. Ginny Baro brings senior leaders into a focused conversation about the one leadership advantage technology cannot replace. As AI accelerates output, communication becomes the differentiator that drives alignment, decision velocity, and trust across teams.Dr. Ginny sits down with Jane Hanson, Emmy Award-Winning broadcaster turned Executive Presence, Media, and Presentation coach, to examine what executive communication really requires when pressure is high and expectations are rising.In this episode, listeners gain:A disciplined way to communicate clearly as a senior leader when complexity threatens clarityInsight into how executive presence in meetings influences trust, credibility, and follow throughA sharper understanding of how leadership communication shapes personal brand and long term influenceThis conversation speaks directly to C suite leaders, CHROs, COOs, and executive teams navigating change in Financial Services and STEM. In an AI driven workplace, executive communication skills, trust building, and alignment across multi-generational teams determine whether strategy moves or stalls.Listen and strengthen the leadership advantage that still matters most.Recommended resources:⭐ If you enjoyed this content, subscribe to our podcast, rate it so others can find it, and share the episode with your trusted network.Looking for ways to grow and lead?⭐ Let's connect for a 15-minute cyber coffee and explore what you're facing or what may be holding you or your team back. I've held a few spots on my calendar for these high-impact connections: https://cybercoffee.youcanbook.me/⭐ If you're hosting an event and looking for a relatable speaker who delivers fresh perspectives, energy, and practical insights, let's explore how we can collaborate. https://www.executivebound.com/speaking⭐ Gain weekly leadership tools and strategies by joining our ExecutiveBound Inner Circle: https://www.executivebound.com/innercircle⭐ Explore upcoming events and high-value resources from our website: https://www.executivebound.com/events⭐ And don't miss claiming your copy of Healing Leadership or Fearless Women at Work for actionable insights to strengthen your journey: www.executivebound.com/booksLet's expand our network!⭐ Send me a LinkedIn connection request. I'd love to share my network of over 29K members with you: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginnybaro© ExecutiveBound®. All rights reserved. The Dr. Ginny Show content may not be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form without prior written permission.Disclaimer: The views, information, and opinions shared on The Dr. Ginny Show are intended for entertainment and educational purposes only. They do not substitute for professional advice in legal, medical, financial, therapeutic, or organizational matters. Always seek the advice of qualified professionals regarding your unique situation.About Jane HansonJane Hanson is an Emmy award-winning broadcaster turned Executive Presence, Media, and Presentation coach. She spent over 30 years at NBC in New York, conducting thousands of interviews and speaking engagements. Today, she helps leaders refine what they say, how they say it, and how their body language brings it all together. Connect with Jane at www.janehanson.com, email jane@janehanson.com, and follow her on LinkedIn.About Jane HansonJane Hanson is an Emmy award-winning broadcaster turned Executive Presence, Media, and Presentation coach. She spent over 30 years at NBC in New York, conducting thousands of interviews and speaking engagements. Today, she helps leaders refine what they say, how they say it, and how their body language brings it all together. Connect with Jane at www.janehanson.com, email jane@janehanson.com, and follow her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janehansontv

Many parents and leaders are wondering if a college degree is still worth the high educational costs. With student debt reaching nearly $2 trillion and the AI impact changing the future of work, the traditional path to success is facing a major disruption. In this episode, Eric Gertler, Executive Chairman and CEO of US News and World Report, joins us to talk about the "broken compact" in higher education and how college rankings are changing as consumer trust falls. We explore how university leadership must move away from focusing on real estate growth and instead prioritize critical thinking, internships, and lifelong learning. We also cover the growing demand for high-paying trades like electrical work over four-year degrees and a story from Eric's time in government where a hospital leader identified the need for data analysts years before it became a trend. This episode helps CHROs build better talent strategies by showing how to find and train workers based on their actual skill development in a job market where actual skills matter more than a diploma. Watch on Youtube ---------- Start your day with the world's top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/ Quick heads-up: my new book, The 8 Laws of Employee Experience, is a practical playbook for building an environment where people do their best work—order a copy here: 8EXlaws.com  

In the first official episode of Culture Over Quota, AJ Vaughan introduces a concept that sits right in the uncomfortable gap most high-growth organizations refuse to measure: People Profit.Every leadership team can tell you their CAC, EBITDA, unit economics, and revenue per employee. Those numbers are discussed, defended, and forecasted like gospel. But the most important operating system behind all of them — the lived reality of the workforce — often goes unmeasured until it breaks.This episode is a direct conversation to CHROs, CFOs, CROs, and private equity operators who are chasing scale without pretending the human layer will “figure itself out.”AJ breaks down the hidden margin crisis that shows up when companies optimize for short-term output while ignoring human capacity alignment: the quiet disengagement, the innovation drag, the internal hesitation, the missed handoffs, the cancelled collaboration meetings, the increase in “heroics,” and the fear-based grind that turns high performers into flight risks.You'll hear why a company can look “fine” on paper while internally bleeding speed — and why leaders often feel the month was “off,” even when dashboards don't explain it.AJ uses a simple but sharp sports analogy: teams that sprint too hard early burn out late. Businesses do the same thing — pushing intensity without building sustainable alignment — then act surprised when Q2 momentum fades, Q3 gets weird, and Q4 becomes a recovery plan.People Profit is AJ's push to change what we track:Not just financial outcomes, but the human signals that predict them alignment, psychological safety, workload strain, collaboration quality, and the invisible behaviors that either compound performance or quietly tax it.Because culture isn't a vibe.It's a performance system.And when you measure it honestly, it becomes a margin.This is Part One of a multi-part breakdown of the People Profit framework and the start of Culture Over Quota as a movement for leaders who want growth without burnout, speed without chaos, and profit without losing the people who create it.

On this episode, Pete and Julie are joined by Mary Sue Rogers, a legend and pioneer in global HR, payroll, and workforce transformation!  From her early days modernizing payroll systems to senior leadership roles at IBM, Talent2, and Ascender, Mary Sue shares a rare, long-view perspective on how payroll evolved from a compliance function into the operational backbone of today's global workforce. The conversation spans Asia-Pacific payroll complexity, multinational compliance, board-level risk oversight, and why paying people accurately is foundational to employee experience. Mary Sue also offers sharp insight into AI's real impact on HR, the growing role of payroll as an extension of government compliance, and what CHROs must prioritize as organizations head into an uncertain 2026. Connect with Mary Sue: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rogersmarysue Connect with the show: LinkedIn:  http://linkedin.com/company/hr-payroll-2-0 X: @HRPayroll2_0  X: @PeteTiliakos  X: @JulieFer_HR BlueSky: @hrpayroll2o.bsky.social YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HRPAYROLL2_0  WRKDefined Podcast Network: https://wrkdefined.com/podcast/hr-payroll-20  Thank you to our marquee sponsors for powering the HR & Payroll 2.0 podcast forward!  G-P ‘Globalization Partners': https://www.globalization-partners.com/ OneSource Virtual: https://hubs.ly/Q03YFNR90 Zoho: https://www.zoho.com/press.html Thank you to our ‘wizard behind the curtain' and show producer Ryan Kielma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-kielma/

Many companies try to solve low morale with simple perks like wellness apps, but workers often care more about real pay and career growth. The big challenge today is keeping frontline employees happy while the world worries about AI impact and high turnover. What could be the most substantial, meaningful investments leaders can make that truly build real loyalty? In this episode, Paul Marchand, EVP and CHRO of Charter Communications, more popularly known as Spectrum, discusses how to invest in people to create a better customer experience. He explains the strategy behind helping a 95,000-person workforce through absorbing rising benefit costs and programs like frictionless, prepaid tuition reimbursement and a unique employee stock purchase plan designed to build an owner mindset. Paul shares how "open mic" sessions at Charter improve their employee retention, and the way Spectrum GPT is being used to make HR more efficient. We also explore the 'high school pathways' initiative, upcoming M&A integration with Cox Communications, and how HR role evolution is turning leaders into Chief Future of Work Officers, going far beyond traditional employee management. This episode shows CHROs how to use a people-first strategy to build a resilient and competitive workforce.

People analytics has spent years building credibility through data. Now the pressure is different. Business leaders aren't just asking for insight - they're expecting direction. Where should we invest? What should we stop doing? What risks are we not seeing yet? But many teams still find themselves pulled back into reporting cycles, ad-hoc requests, and an overemphasis on metrics that don't always lead to better decisions. So what shifts when people analytics starts operating more like a product and less like a project function? In this episode, David Green is joined by Ashar Khan, Head of People Insights and Solution Design at Autodesk, to explore how the function evolves from delivering data to shaping choices at scale. Join this conversation as they discuss: The skills and mindsets modern people analytics teams need beyond technical expertiseWhat an effective people analytics operating model looks like in practice The core capabilities required to bridge HR technology and HR strategy Where “metric fixation” leads organisations toward false confidence and poor decisions Why the assumption that AI automatically means “fewer people” misses the bigger picture Practical advice for CHROs building or redesigning a people analytics function today This episode is sponsored by Worklytics. How productive is your organisation, really? Worklytics makes it clear - with privacy-first insights from everyday work data. See how meeting volume, manager effectiveness, collaboration health, and AI adoption are impacting your team's focus, efficiency, and outcomes - so you can make smarter decisions, faster. No surveys. No assumptions. Just clear insight into work. Right now, Worklytics is offering podcast listeners a free 30-day trial of their productivity analytics dashboard. Learn more at worklytics.co/productivity Link to resources: The Strategic Workforce Planning Handbook David Edwards' Dark Artistry Newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is not a conversation about the future of HR. It's a conversation about what is already happening inside executive teams, inside HR organizations, and inside companies being reshaped by AI faster than most leaders are willing to admit.In this episode, I sit down with Keith Ferrazzi for a raw, unscripted conversation about power, voice, and transformation at the highest levels of leadership.Keith shares what he's seeing right now: HR organizations being cut dramatically as “people ops” gets automated, and the CHRO role being forced into a new standard, less compliance and consensus, more disruption, and enterprise leadership.We dig into why HR doesn't earn influence — it has to take it. We unpack why the real transformation center is shifting to the CHRO–CIO partnership, and why many companies are still treating that relationship like an afterthought.Keith also breaks down the next operating model he's studying: human–agent pairs. Not teams in the traditional sense but humans working alongside AI agents across procurement, supply chain, and core functions, and what HR must become to support that reality.This episode isn't theoretical. It's observational, direct, and grounded in the rooms where decisions are being made right now.If you're responsible for people, systems, culture, or scale — this conversation will meet you where you are.1) People Ops is getting automated - What Keith is seeing inside organizations as AI absorbs work that HR has historically owned.2) HR doesn't get a voice; it commands one - A real conversation about influence, disruption, and how CHROs are perceived at the executive table.3) The CHRO–CIO axis is the new center - Why transformation is being decided through the partnership between HR and technology leadership.4) Human–agent pairs are the next work model - What happens when collaboration, accountability, and decision-making include AI agents as working partners?5) Collaboration vs. consensus - How teams capture broader input without getting trapped in endless iteration, and why “landing the plane” matters.6) What high-impact leaders are doing differently - The behaviors and operating rhythm Keith is engineering inside executive teams right now.Keith referenced his work through Ferrazzi Greenlight, focused on building high-performing teams and leader-driven communities that accelerate transformation.Learn more here:https://www.ferrazzigreenlight.com- If you're serious about leading through disruption, not managing around it, this work is worth a look.

The old playbooks for leadership no longer apply when your top performers might never step foot in a traditional office. It's time to move past the superficial logistics of where people sit and uncover the specific cultural habits that maintain high standards and relentless speed as your organization evolves. In this episode, LJ Brock, Chief People Officer at Coinbase, joins me to explore the high-stakes evolution of leading a remote-first organization that scales without losing its competitive edge. We dive into the practical reality of managing 5,000 global employees, moving beyond the "return to office" debate to discuss Coinbase's "magnet, not mandate" hub strategy and their recent pivot toward mandatory quarterly in-person sessions designed specifically for execution. LJ pulls back the curtain on the unique operating system that powers their culture—including the bold decision to outlaw committees—and shares the specific decision-making frameworks, like the Directly Responsible Individual (DRI) and Problem Proposed Solution (PPS) models, that ensure individual accountability remains front and center. From tackling the nuances of performance management and asynchronous collaboration to leveraging AI for future efficiency, this conversation is a must-watch for CHROs who want to build a high-performance culture that prioritizes measurable results over physical proximity. ---------- Start your day with the world's top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/ Quick heads-up: my new book, The 8 Laws of Employee Experience, is a practical playbook for building an environment where people do their best work—order a copy here: 8EXlaws.com

In this episode of Take the Stage, Brad Bialy sits down with Paul Petersen to unpack why the candidate black hole still exists in recruiting and how human-centered, tech-enabled recruiting can finally fix it. About the Guest Paul Petersen is a fractional CHRO and executive workforce strategist with more than 30 years of experience helping organizations modernize talent acquisition, HR technology, and workforce strategy across global enterprises. He's known for blending deep HR tech expertise with a relentless focus on the human experience for both talent and hiring managers. Key Takeaways Speed without intention creates invisible talent. Screening out is easier than building trust—but far less effective. Communication is the real differentiator in modern recruiting. Technology should amplify recruiters, not replace them. Great recruiters act like agents, not gatekeepers. Timestamps [00:23] – Why the candidate black hole still exists [02:54] – Screening out versus screening in explained [05:16] – When “speed to hire” becomes the wrong metric [06:48] – The two personas that actually matter [08:35] – Can AI really fix the candidate experience? [10:33] – The Domino's pizza tracker analogy for recruiting [14:02] – Why talent pools are massively underutilized [16:26] – Predicting talent needs before jobs open [20:53] – Paul's 300-application job search story [25:11] – Why recruiters should think like sports agents [30:37] – The hiring manager's missing voice in HR tech [35:27] – Integrity as a long-term recruiting advantage About the Host Brad Bialy is a trusted voice and highly sought-after speaker in the staffing and recruiting industry, known for helping firms grow through integrated marketing, sales, and recruiting strategies. With over 13 years at Haley Marketing and a proven track record guiding hundreds of firms, Brad brings deep expertise and a fresh, actionable perspective to every engagement. He's the host of Take the Stage and InSights, two of the staffing industry's leading podcasts with more than 200,000 downloads. Sponsors and Offers Heard Take the Stage is presented by Haley Marketing. For a limited time, we're offering 50% off a brand new staffing website. Just message Brad Bialy on LinkedIn and mention the Crazy Website Promo. Book a 30-minute business and marketing consultation with host Brad Bialy: https://bit.ly/Bialy30 Benefits in a Card helps staffing firms offer meaningful benefits to their entire workforce through flexible, unbundled plans designed for high-turnover environments—making it easier to control costs, improve retention, and stay competitive. https://www.BenefitsInACard.com TRICOM partners with staffing firms as an asset-based lender and full-service back-office provider, helping owners scale confidently by reducing risk and easing the operational strain of payroll, cash flow, and administration. https://www.tricom.com

In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, we sit down with Vincent Lecerf, Executive Vice President, Human Resources at Orange, to unpack how purpose, diversity, and skills become real business levers inside a fast moving telecom and technology environment.Vincent explains why serving communities is not brand marketing, it's an operating model, from safer phones for children to digital education for seniors, and why HR must integrate DEI directly into strategy, governance, and incentives, not treat it as a side initiative.Most importantly, he shares how skills expiration, inclusive leadership, and AI acceleration are forcing CHROs to rethink reskilling cycles, leadership accountability, and how change happens with people, not to them.

AI can handle entry-level tasks today, but at what cost to your future leadership? Many companies are accidentally "hollowing out" their talent pipeline by cutting junior roles, creating a massive gap that will haunt them in five years. Efficiency today shouldn't come at the expense of your leaders tomorrow. How do we thoughtfully architect the future workforce to prioritize the health and depth of the leadership bench? In this episode, Melanie Tinto, CHRO of Grainger, joins us to explore how the company utilizes Strategic Workforce Planning (SWP) to ensure a "tech powered, human led" organization that balances automation with career development. This discipline informs every aspect of Grainger's talent strategy, from navigating the impact of AI to addressing talent shortages. We look into the necessity of viewing workforce planning as a mirror to financial planning, focusing on the strategic migration of roles and skills rather than simple headcount reduction. Key highlights include managing the surge of AI-generated job applications, the importance of foundational talent programs such as maintaining the campus recruiting "spigot," and transitioning toward a skills-based organization through internal upskilling and "build vs. buy" strategies. This episode is the CHROs' blueprint to become strategic visionaries who stay three moves ahead of market disruption. Discover how to master these critical "chess moves" before the talent gap becomes irreversible.   ---------- Start your day with the world's top leaders by joining thousands of others at Great Leadership on Substack. Just enter your email: ⁠⁠https://greatleadership.substack.com/ Future-ready organizations are built, not hoped for. My latest book, -The 8 Laws of Employee Experience shows how. Preorder here: 8EXlaws.com