Amplify: Recent Episodes
Redefining HR
Redefining HR is a podcast exploring the leading edges of all things talent - HR, people operations, recruiting, etc (formerly 21st Century HR). Each week I sit down with leading thinkers and doers in the field to get an inside look at how they build their teams, what drives them, and where we can do better.
The podcast spotlights mavericks, innovators, boundary-pushers, creators, builders, and convention crushers. It’s a conversational format bringing real insights, experience, and stories from a range of business and talent leaders around the world.
On this episode of Redefining HR, I’m joined by David Rogier, founder and CEO at MasterClass. We discuss lessons learned as a founder, how he’s empowering businesses through MasterClass at Work and why education can also be entertaining.
In this episode of Redefining Work, I’m joined by HR expert and human-first leadership advocate Paul Wolfe. We discuss his career, his book, “Human Beings First,” and why two-way communication is so important for HR leaders.
Let's get selfish. In this thought-provoking episode, we explore the surprising and transformative concept of selfishness and how it can become a driving force for both personal growth and business success. The episode delves into the notion that embracing a healthy dose of selfishness can lead to profound positive outcomes - for individuals and organizations alike. The episode challenges the traditional negative connotations associated with selfishness and encourages listeners to view it through a different lens. It argues that prioritizing self-learning and investing in professional growth can be instrumental in unlocking personal growth and impact, and in turn, becoming more effective contributors to their businesses.
In this episode of Redefining Work, I’m joined by Ethena CEO Roxanne Petraeus and Homebrew partner Hunter Walk. We discuss how Ethena is modernizing compliance training, the importance of the investor-founder relationship and much more.
In this episode of Redefining Work, I sit down with Angela Cheng-Cimini, Harvard Business Publishing CHRO and senior vice president, talent. Angela and I discuss optimizing AI in HR, communities' role in supporting HR professionals and the importance of speaking truth to power.
In this episode of Redefining Work, I’m excited to be joined by nexxworks co-founder and partner Peter Hinssen. He's an author, futurist, academic and a technologist through and through. Peter and I discuss his “day after tomorrow” framework, how generative AI is changing work and much more.
In this episode of Redefining Work Reports, Lars and Greenhouse's Chief People Officer break down some of the key takeaways from Greenhouse's 2023 Candidate Experience Report. You can view the full report below.
https://www.greenhouse.com/blog/2023-candidate-experience-report-us
Redefining Work Host Lars Schmidt shares a behind-the-scenes look at the production process for his upcoming LinkedIn Learning course.
This episode of Redefining Work Report explores Google’s hard turn on return to office, inside my upcoming LinkedIn Learning filming, and a preview of Season 10 of the LinkedIn Presents: Redefining Work podcast.
The future of work was yesterday. So, what's next? The new world of work is a complicated place. Let me help you make sense of it. Host Lars Schmidt leverages his 25+ years of experience and deep industry contacts to break down trends, stories, and news that are shaping the new world of work. His conversations with industry-shaping executives from Microsoft, Coca-Cola, The Lego Group, Mattel, and help listeners prepare themselves and their companies for what's now - and what's next. Subscribe for updates each Monday.
In this episode of Redefining Work, my guest is Mentimeter Chief People and Culture Officer Anna Gullstrand. Anna and I discuss her career path, her experience as interim CEO and then transitioning from that role, and the importance of curiosity in how we learn.
Redefining Work Reports are short podcasts recapping some of the top stories, news, and trends in the new world of work. In this episode, Lars introduces the open-source Founder's HR playbook.
In this episode of Redefining Work, I sit down with NASA astronaut selection manager April Jordan. She discusses how her career has evolved over 15 years at the agency, what the upcoming Artemis II mission means to her and NASA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Redefining Work Reports are short podcasts recapping some of the top stories, news, and trends in the new world of work. In this episode, Lars breaks down McKinsey's 2023 State of Organizations Report and what it means for people teams.
In this episode of Redefining Work, I sit down with Chevron Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Rhonda Morris. Rhonda and I discuss her nonlinear path in HR, how she’s built a global people strategy and how she communicates in clever ways with the workforce.
In this episode, Lars covers a new open-source project to help founders build great companies, AI in the Workplace, and the humility of aging - electric skateboard edition.
In this episode of Redefining Work, my guest is Asana Head of Editorial Emily Ann Epstein. We discuss her background in journalism and her role with Asana’s publication The Workback.
In this debut episode, Lars shares an inside look at LinkedIn’s Podcast Academy, HR Growth Sprints, kindness at work, Spotify goes Disco, and more.
In this episode of Redefining Work, Yelp Chief People Officer Carmen Orr discusses her career path, starting at Yelp during the pandemic and the benefits of becoming a remote-first business. We also discuss the findings of Yelp’s recent remote work report.
The Riff is a free-flowing unscripted conversation on a specific topic. On this second episode AJ Thomas, Q Hamirani, and Lars Schmidt riff on non-linear careers live from the Transform Conference in Las Vegas.
In this episode of Redefining Work, I’m joined by Jennie Rogerson, global head of people at Canva. We discuss her nontraditional career path, how the pandemic changed work and why Canva emphasizes open source sharing.
The Riff is a free-flowing unscripted conversation on a specific topic. On this debut episode AJ Thomas, Q Hamirani, and Lars Schmidt riff on the impact of ChatGPT and generative AI on HR.
In this episode of Redefining Work, I’m joined by Roleshare co-founder and co-CEO Sophie Smallwood. Sophie and I talk about the importance of mentorship, her journey to creating Roleshare and what the job-sharing model looks like in today’s workplaces.
On this episode of Redefining Work, I’m excited to be joined by Josh Bersin. He’s a global HR industry analyst. founder of The Josh Bersin Company, author and a returning guest to this podcast. In this conversation, we talk about HR trends in 2023, what people sustainability means, layoffs in tech and his book “Irresistible: The Seven Secrets of the World's Most Enduring, Employee-Focused Organizations.”
In this episode of Redefining Work, I’m thrilled to speak with Backstage Capital Managing Partner and founder Arlan Hamilton. Backstage Capital is a seed investment fund that backs overachieving, underrepresented startup founders. In this conversation, Arlan and I discuss the current state of HR and people operations, how she’s building a company in this important space and why you don’t necessarily have to quit your job to build a startup. We’ll also talk about her other projects, including the podcast Your First Million and her book “It's About Damn Time.”
In this episode of Redefining Work, I’m speaking with 10x Genomics Chief People Officer Becks Port. In this conversation, Becks and I discuss her career experience, her path from Ph.D in psychology to chief people officer and how she shapes strategy through the science of happiness.
Welcome to the debut episode of Redefining Work, a rebranding of my long-running podcast Redefining HR. This season, we’re expanding beyond pure HR coverage to discuss the new world of work from the perspective of leading thinkers, doers and practitioners. This episode features returning guest Marcus Buckingham, who is head of research, people and performance at ADP Research Institute. We discuss what Marcus sees for 2023’s work trends, how data can support the shift to skills-based hiring, and much more.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I’m joined by Workday’s chief people officer, Ashley Goldsmith. Ashley and I discuss how she’s helped scale Workday, the skills HR teams need to grow and much more. This episode is the season finale of Redefining HR. In January, for season nine, we’re evolving this podcast into Redefining Work. I’m excited for Ashley to help us close out season eight and be a part of this milestone for Redefining HR.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I spoke with PepsiCo’s SVP and Chief Design Officer, Mauro Porcini. Mauro and I discuss what great design looks like, how it ties to innovation and insights from his recent book, “The Human Side of Innovation.” We also discuss why everyone is a designer in many ways.
Welcome to a special episode of Redefining HR. For the past three years, I’ve had the privilege of hosting this podcast, and I’ve seen quite a bit of change during that time. Today, I’m excited to share how the podcast will also be changing in 2023.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I spoke with Northwestern Mutual Executive Vice President and Chief HR Officer Don Robertson. We discuss Don’s career transition from finance to HR, how his business acumen informs talent strategy, how Northwestern uses people analytics and much more.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I’m joined by Johnson & Johnson’s head of global talent management, Michael Ehret. Michael and I discuss his background, his work at J&J, how he thinks about innovating on a global scale and more.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I speak with Kerry Chandler, chief people officer at Bombas. We discuss her career path, what led her to Bombas and how she builds effective people teams. Kerry also shares how early career heads of people can align people strategy with the organization and build strong relationships with the board of directors.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I speak with NASA Chief Human Capital Officer Jane Datta. We discuss her career and how she leads the people team at one of the world’s most recognized organizations. We also discuss how NASA approaches recruiting in a high-volume environment and how the agency puts people first.
This episode is a rerun of the tribute I recorded for Kai two years ago. To this day, it’s the hardest piece of content that I’ve ever created. This podcast covers death, addiction, grief and loss, which can be triggering for many. I strongly recommend that if this podcast triggers you, please take care of yourself and pass on this episode.
This episode of Redefining HR is different from my normal format. There will be no video, guests or conversations specifically about innovative HR practices. Today, I’m talking about one of the universal life experiences of being human — living with grief.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I speak with Credit Karma Chief People, Places and Publicity Officer Colleen McCreary and Vice President, Head of Global Talent Acquisition, Ashleigh Anderson. We discuss their work at Credit Karma, including how they avoid layoffs. Colleen and Ashleigh discuss their unique approach to redeploying and reskilling talent and how it’s helped them avoid layoffs.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I’m joined by Zander Media’s founder and CEO, Robin Zander. We discuss his career path, creativity and digital storytelling, and his work in video production at Zander Media. We also talk about his new documentary, “Parenthood @ Home.”
In this episode of Redefining HR, I spoke with Melissa Daimler, chief learning officer at Udemy and author of the new book “ReCulturing: Design Your Company Culture to Connect with Strategy and Purpose for Lasting Success.” Melissa and I talk about her book, her career path and how learning and organizational development have evolved. We also discuss how to intentionally apply system thinking to design so you can reculture the workplace.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I’m joined by Electronic Arts Chief People Officer Mala Singh. We discuss her background in HR, how international assignments shaped her view on global people practices, how she thinks about innovation at scale in hybrid work and much more.
One of the most important relationships in a workplace is the dynamic between the chief people officer and the founder-CEO. No one knows this better than Lynee Luque, CPO at NerdWallet. In this episode of Redefining HR, Lynee and I discuss her shift from finance and consulting to HR, how the dynamic shifts for a CPO when working with a founder-CEO versus an established CEO, and how she’s fueled growth by working with her CEO.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I’m joined by my good friend AJ Thomas, the chaos pilot for people and culture at X, the moonshot factory. AJ and I discuss her career and many other interests, what it means to surf the chaos in HR, the idea behind moonshots and how it can relate to personal goals.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I speak with Rapid7 Chief People Officer Christina Luconi. Christina and I discuss her career with high-growth startups and tech companies in the Boston ecosystem and her role in navigating hyper-growth at Rapid7. We’ll also get her thoughts on building work relationships and why the CEO and CPO need to trust in each other.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I spoke with Envoy’s chief people officer, Annette Reavis. Envoy is a workplace platform that helps companies manage hybrid work. Annette and I discuss her background, her career transition from finance to HR and her thoughts on building hybrid organizations. We also dive into her past experience at Facebook.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I sit down with Liz Fosslien, author and head of communications and content at Humu, a company dedicated to making work better with science, machine learning and a bit of love. Liz and I discuss her career journey, her role at Humu and her work as an author and illustrator. We also dive into the creative process for the Liz and Mollie illustrations and how they have bridged the gap between emotions and work.
Welcome to season eight of the Redefining HR podcast! There are a lot of exciting things happening in the Amplify world. Season eight will be a fun journey, with incredible guests, the new Amplify Academy and more ways to engage and collaborate with listeners.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I’m sitting down with Kathleen Hogan, chief people officer at Microsoft. In this spirited and topical conversation, Kathleen and I discuss her non-linear career path to the HR executive seat, how she approaches innovation at scale at Microsoft and how her team embraces open-source HR practices through Microsoft’s WorkLab.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I’m sitting down with Jill Campbell, Cox Enterprises’ president and chief people and operations officer. Jill and I discuss her move from operational leadership into HR leadership, how the team thinks about flexibility at scale, maintaining a people-centric workplace, the importance of business acumen in HR and more.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I’m excited to be joined by Nichelle Grant, head of diversity, equity and inclusion at Siemens USA. Nichelle and I are sitting down to talk about her career path through Siemens to her current role, how she thinks about prioritizing DEI in remote and hybrid environments, and why it’s essential to spread your DEI efforts throughout the supply chain.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I’m joined by best-selling author and the founder of Box of Crayons, Michael Bungay Stanier. Michael and I sit down to talk about creativity and innovation, the role these concepts have in the workplace and what is uncovered when they are encouraged at work.
Welcome to another episode of Redefining HR. I’m joined by Cadigan Talent Ventures talent hacker and advisor Steve Cadigan in this episode. Steve and I sit down to talk about his book, “Workquake,” his experience scaling LinkedIn from 400 to 4,000 employees and everything about building a new world of work.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I’m sitting down with Oyster CEO and founder Tony Jamous. I was thrilled to talk with Tony and discuss all things remote work. In this conversation, we’re talking about Oyster’s origin story, what scaling has looked like over the last two years as the demand for remote work has surged, his thoughts on building a thriving culture with a globally and culturally distributed workforce, and much more.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I’m thrilled to sit down with Piyush Mehta, Genpact’s chief human resources officer. Piyush and I discuss how he views HR evolution and innovation at scale. We also walk through the complexities of navigating and transforming the HR and people functions in an organization with more than 115,000 employees.
In this episode, I’m sitting down with SwagUp founder and CEO Michael Martocci. Michael and I talk about his experience building and scaling SwagUp, the origins of his entrepreneurial spirit and his viewpoint on scaling culture as the organization grows.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I’m joined by Pavle Stojkovic, chief people officer at SWORD Health. Pavle and I are talking about his career in hyper scale and growth, his experience at The Athletic, what it’s been like to search for a job in the competitive CHRO/HR market, what he is doing now and more.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I’m excited to sit down with VICE Media’s chief people officer Daisy Auger-Domínguez. In this episode, Daisy and I talk about her career path, her work in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, her book, and much more.
Welcome to a very special episode of Redefining HR. I’ve wanted to record a podcast episode with a CEO and chief people officer for a few seasons now to talk about the dynamics of that working relationship, how they collaborate, partner, overcome disagreements and much more. And in this episode, I get to do exactly that! Join me as I sit down with Eventbrite CEO Julia Hartz and Chief Human Resources Officer David Hanrahan to discuss their relationship at work and more.
In this episode, Karsten Vagner of Maven Clinic and I talk about his career, how his childhood shaped his views about work and the type of mission-driven organization he wanted to work in. We also talk about the impact of the pandemic on parents and caregivers, the power of community in HR and much more.
In this episode, I’m sitting down with EEOC Commissioner Keith Sonderling. Our conversation ranged from federal civil rights to AI. We are also discussing why it’s important for the EEOC and HR to work together to create significant change at work.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I am thrilled to be sitting down with Beth Steinberg, SVP of people and talent at Chime. Beth is sharing her deep wisdom on all things leadership and people, what drew her to the field of HR, advice for CHROs and CPOs in new roles who are building relationships with their CEOs, and what she is building at Chime.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I’m joined by Maryanne Caughey, head of people ops at Notion. We are discussing her role at Notion, what she’s learned from scaling and growing their operations, what it was like joining a new company just a few months into the pandemic, and how Notion’s software is improving their people team.
In today's episode, I sat down with Y Combinator's head of leadership and executive talent, Brendan Browne. I was excited to discuss Brendan's career path and growth in recruiting, his move to venture capital and what he learned, his thoughts on the current recruitment landscape and his advice for first-time heads of people working with early-stage founders.
In this episode, I sat down with eqtble co-founder and CEO Joseph Ifiegbu. We discuss his new business, his deep background in data science and people analytics, and how it has led him to what he is building now.
Welcome back to the seventh season of Redefining HR! In this episode we talk about Ian’s career in people analytics, his recent article in the Harvard Business Review titled “Who Is Driving The Great Resignation?” and the massive dataset that has uncovered the drivers of the Great Resignation.
As we begin winding down 2021 and getting ready for 2022, I wanted to share some of those answers with you to close the year on a hopeful note for our field - and the leaders driving us into this new world of work.
In the Season 6 finale of Redefining HR, I sat down with ADP Research Institute’s head of research, Marcus Buckingham. We discuss his career, his views on the evolution of performance in HR and the new HRXPS report that measures the performance and impact of HR teams.
In this week’s episode, I sit down with PeopleTech Partners (PTP) co-founders Cara Brennan Allamano and Robby Peters. We discuss how they came together to create PTP, their support of the people leader community and work tech ecosystem, and what is next for PTP.
In this episode, I sit down with Domino's EVP and chief HR officer, Lisa Price. We discuss her career experience in HR and her role in building out a new people strategy for Domino’s.
In this episode I sit down for a conversation with Strava's chief people officer, Michele Bousquet. We discuss the early days of her career in HR, the work that she has done at Strava and the organization’s commitments and pledges to become an anti-racist company.
In this episode, I sit down with The LEGO Group’s chief people officer and head of corporate affairs, Loren I. Shuster. We talk about his shift to the field of HR and people from a business background, as well as how he has prioritized innovation at scale at The LEGO Group.
In this episode of Redefining HR, I’m joined by Guild Education’s Chief People Officer Lorna Hagen. We discuss her career journey across a range of countries and industries and her latest role: leading the people team at Guild Education. We also discuss the importance of co-creation across teams, how Guild Education is setting up this function, and how it helps them to be in service to their team and clients.
In this episode, I sit down with SAP’s Chief People and Operations Officer Sabine Bendiek. We talk about the transition into her HR role and making connections between the CPO and COO positions. We also discuss how SAP approaches innovation at scale with their new “Pledge to Flex” structure.
In this episode, I am joined by SignalFire Managing Director of People and Talent Heather Doshay. We sit down to talk about Heather’s career journey through academia, to startups, HR, and now on the venture capital side. We also discuss strengthening employee connections while being remote and Heather gives us great advice on how to make space for those interpersonal relationships with executives and employees, especially early on while working remotely.
This episode is a replay of my first live event under the new Amplify banner, a joint event with PeopleTech Partners. For those who aren’t familiar, they are an incredible tech incubator and chief people officer networking community. It has members all around the U.S. and the world. I am joined by an expert panel of tech partners, including Ciara Lakhani, Cindy Gordon, David Hanrahan and Jevan Soo Lenox. I’m excited for you to join us for this collaborative chat!
In this episode, I am joined by Adam Nathan, the co-founder and CEO of Almanac. Together, we discuss the hybrid work model, why it just may not work, and the urgency that companies have to adopt a remote-friendly work policy instead.
Listen in to our conversation to hear what organizations may be losing by not adopting remote-friendly work policies today and what HR leaders can do to adapt.
In this episode, Lars Schmidt is joined by the CEO of Remote, Job van der Voort. They discuss overcoming common mistakes when creating a remote work environment, how to build culture remotely, and what can be done to support that culture.
Kindness, ownership, excellence, transparency, and ambition go a long way to building and maintaining a healthy remote work environment.
Listen to this episode to learn about how remote work is not the same as in-person work, and why we can’t treat it like it is.
In this episode, I am joined by a former colleague of mine: Amy Thompson, executive vice president and chief people officer at Mattel. Together, we discuss employee wellness and the multifaceted approach to that wellness. Amy delves into Mattel’s employee-centric model and focuses on five areas of well-being: physical wellness, emotional wellness, financial wellness, career wellness, and social wellness and belonging.
In this episode, I’m really excited to be sitting down with an old friend of mine, Torin Ellis. He’s a diversity strategist, risk mitigator, podcast host and speaker. “I show up differently in the [DEIB] space than anybody else that you are going to encounter,” Torin says. “I'm moving in love and truth in that I'm trying to challenge and agitate individuals to simply do better.”
Torin sat down with me to discuss inclusion and belonging, particularly in how leadership can show that their organizations will remain true to their DEIB efforts and how to build an organization that prioritizes belonging and inclusion.
Welcome to this week's episode of Redefining HR! We sat down with Eber Leadership Group CEO & Chief Storyteller Karen Eber to discuss the importance of storytelling and how it can help a company's culture and bring out the best in people and the workplace. Have a listen as we talk to her about her background, experience and ideas on all things, performance, culture, and storytelling and how to maximize and build well-rounded teams.
This week on Redefining HR, I'm really excited to be joined by Matt Watson. Matt is the founder and CEO of Origin. We had a much-needed chat about financial wellness in the workplace and how Matt's experience led him to help others with his financial health and security platform.
In this episode, I had the chance to sit down with a former colleague and friend, Tara Turk-Haynes. She is now the VP of Diversity Equity and Inclusion and Talent Management at Leaf Group. Listen to our conversation about the intersection of DEI and talent management, why DEI efforts must begin with education and how her roles at Leaf Group are helping her to untangle systemic issues in our organizations.
Nellie Peshkov is the Chief People and Culture Officer for Reddit. Nellie joined the Reddit team in February 2020 – mere weeks before COVID shut the world down. Nothing quite prepared anyone for how quickly the pandemic changed things. We discuss how Nellie and her team were able to seize the opportunity during that time to rethink the concept of building employee trust and improve upon their organization’s culture as they entered a new era.
In this episode, I chat with Lisa Brown, Vidyard’s Vice President of Talent, to discuss her experiences as a talent leader during the COVID-19 crisis and how she’s leveraging asynchronous video communication to bring out the best in everyone.
In this episode, I sit down with Coca-Cola SVP and Global Chief People Officer Lisa Chang. We discuss the complexity and scope of Coca-Cola’s business and operations, how they’ve adapted during the pandemic and what their plans are moving forward. We also touch on supporting and nurturing company culture, staying abreast of changes (whether that involves changes in society, tech or business) and remaining adaptive in HR.
In this episode, I sit down with Thumbtack Head of People Jelena Djordjevic. We discuss her background as chief of staff and how that experience translated into her current role. We also talk about the future of work, and the programs and initiatives that Thumbtack is implementing to better the quality of life for their employees in terms of the flexibility of virtual-first work, inclusivity and mental health.
Welcome to the preview episode of the upcoming 6th season of the Redefining HR podcast.
In this episode, I sat down with AirBnB Global Head of People Operations, Q Hamirani, to discuss his career and work at AirBnB. Our conversations covers:
What drew Q to HR
The value of role sharing
How AirBnB architected their layoffs in the early days of the pandemic
Designing work beyond the pandemic
The importance of flexibility
You can also view the letter AirBnB CEO Brian Chesky wrote announcing the layoffs we discuss in this post.
In this episode, I sit down with Living Corporate CEO Zach Nunn to discuss his podcast and media platform and the importance of amplifying Black and Brown stories.
Learn more about the Redefining HR Accelerator platform including podcast, book, cohort program, courses, newsletter, community, and open-source lab.
In this episode, I sit down with iTech Media Chief Operating Officer Alan Cairns to discuss his career in HR and transition to COO.
In this episode, I sit down with SmartRecruiters Chief Diversity Officer Rocki Howard to discuss her new role and work inside and outside the company, their progress on becoming an antiracist company, and more.
In this episode, I sit down with TendLab Cofounder/CEO Amy Henderson and Cofounder/COO Kim Rohrer to discuss the impact of Covid-19 on women and caretakers in the workforce. You’ll learn Tendlab's origin story, what attracted Kim to their mission, how we begin to address the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on women and caretakers in the workforce, how companies can support their caretaking employees, and more.
In today’s episode, I sit down with Builtin cofounder & CEO to discuss the impact of the shift to remote on technical hiring. We discuss:
Builtin’s origin story
Cities are rising as tech talent hubs with the shift to distributed and remote work
How the shift to remote may impact diversity in tech
Does that data on the migration to Miami match the hype
How she works with their VP People and people team
What she’s excited about in building new ways of work
In this episode, I sit down with Peloton SVP, Global Head of People Shari Eaton to discuss her career path to HR and work at Peloton. You’ll learn what inspired her to move into HR, how she accounted for the pandemic’s impact on their employees and business operations, Peloton’s commitment to being an antiracist company, advice for HR leaders leading antiracist efforts, how she and her team are thinking about return to the workplace
In this episode, I sit down with Calm Chief People Officer Scott Domann to discuss his career in HR and work at Calm. You’ll learn:
How starting his career in strategy, metrics, and comms carried over to his HR career
What it’s like to have your new company acquired soon after joining, and advice for CPO’s navigating those waters
What drew Scott to Calm
How he practices self-care given the unique stress and pressures on a CPO in the wake of 2020
Details on Calm’s recently announced program to provide one year free of Calm for HR practitioners
Jobs! What Scott is hiring for on his team
In this episode, I sit down with Pagaya Chief People Officer and startup advisor Tami Rosen to discuss topics spanning from future/now of work, executive onboarding, being the “first” executive-level HR hire, and more. You’ll learn:
How HR has evolved over the last 10 years Unique challenges of being an org's "first" HR leader Onboarding tips for new CPO’s What HR and people ops might look like if we built from the ground up today Much more
In this episode, I sit down with Zenefits Chief People Officer Tracy Cote to discuss her career, the state of HR education, remote engagement, and more. You’ll learn:
What lured Tracy to HR Why she was drawn to education Her perspective on the state of education for HR practitioners What it takes to scale a global business How she thinks about employee engagement in our new remote/pandemic world
In this episode, I sit down with ServiceNow Head of Scaled Learning Thomas Igeme to discuss his career and thoughts personalizing at scale. Some of the areas we explore include:
How his career path took him from entrepreneur to researcher to HR How his experience as a Researcher at Stanford prepare him to track trends and separate hype from substance How his immersion in sales approaches at LinkedIn shaped his ability to articulate a business case and influence Personalization at scale, and why it shouldn’t scare you What allyship means today
In this episode, I sit down with Patagonia CHRO and Head of Shared Services Dean Carter to discuss his career and what shapes his work at Patagonia. Some of the areas we explore include:
Why he moved into HR The kismet that brought him to Patagonia The structure of his role overseeing HR, Finance, and shared services Why he sees his role as “Head of Community” How the pandemic impact their HR operations Advice for CHRO’s navigating the intersection of politics and workplace The risks of commoditization of work with the rise of remote companies Jobs on his team
In this episode, I sit down with Procore Technologies Chief People Officer to discuss her career in HR, and why she’s optimistic on the future of the field. We explore some of the topics below:
What originally drew her to HR How the role and expectations of HR have evolved Why the alignment between the people function and recruiting is so important What drew her to Procore Technologies Advice for CHROs interested in board roles How the pandemic has propelled HR forward Much more
In this episode, I chat with Upwork’s Head of TA & DIB Dr. Erin Thomas about her career and designing equitable work structures. You’ll learn:
When she knew she wanted to dedicate her career to DIB Definition of key terms of DIB work How consulting shaped her views on the field How she balances leading two teams at Upwork How she approaches Twitter threads (@ErinLThomasPhD) How the events of 2020 have shaped diversity conversations (and actions) today How to think about designing equitable recruiting systems Where she finds inspiration Work with her! Learn about what she’s hiring for right now
In this episode, I sit down with Pyn cofounders & co-CEOs, Joris Luijke and Jon Williams to discuss internal communications approaches and how their platform enables companies to communicate more effectively. In this episode you’ll learn:
How Joris & Jon connected on this idea Why "Pyn"? Some of the challenges companies face with remote comms, and how to overcome them What great internal communication look like Tips to get employees to take action on corporate messaging How to use their open-source employee journey map (link below) Much more
Disclaimer: Pyn underwrites the Redefining HR community so I want to be transparent about that relationship.
In today’s episode, I’m joined by Modern Health Founder & CEO Alyson Watson to discuss mental health benefits in the workplace. You’ll learn:
What she founded Modern Health Why she feels mental health support is the 4th pillar of employee benefits How Modern Health supports employee Efforts to remove the stigma of mental health support Preventative mental health support Why vulnerability is a key trait for modern executives And more
In this episode, I sit down with Zoom’s Chief People Officer Lynne Oldham to discuss her career and experience leading Zoom through its explosive growth in 2020. You’ll learn:
- What drew Lynne to HR
- Her work supporting former inmates transition out of incarceration
- A look under the hood at Zoom’s people team
- How she and her team navigated the employees and organization through their explosive growth of 2020
- How the FLEXWORK Coalition came together and the role of open practices in shaping the future of the field
- You can check out FLEXWORK at flexwork.life.
Celebrating the launch of the Redefining HR book with an audiobook of the opening chapter.
I’ve interviewed hundreds of modern HR practitioners over the years. They all have unique approaches and perspectives, but also share some common views and thinking about what’s led them to success.
I wanted to distill those traits and couple them with my own career experience and learning to build tangible advice on building a great career in HR, people operations, talent, recruiting, or whatever discipline you choose to pursue.
This podcast was adapted from an extract from my upcoming Redefining HR book ©2021 and reproduced with permission from Kogan Page Ltd.
Welcome to Season 5 of Redefining HR! I’m thrilled to kick off this season with my good friend and the author of the newly released book, Betting on You, Laurie Ruettimann. Laurie has been one of the leading voices in HR for years. In this episode, we go behind the scenes on the writing process for Betting on You and discuss getting fired, that night in Tijuana, the best career advice she’s ever received, and much more.
In this finale of season four, Lars breaks down some of his personal highlights of the season and previews what to expect in season five.
In today’s episode of Redefining HR, Box Chief Talent & Inclusion Officer and Global Head of Communities Tiffany Stevenson discusses her role leading inclusion efforts across Box. We dig into some of the following topics.
How her work leading inclusion and communities intersect The importance of self-care for DEI leaders Moments vs. movements in the struggle for social justice How HR leaders can navigate these political times Supporting culture in distributed teams
In this episode I sit down with Virta Health VP People & Places to discuss her career and some of the topics below:
How her experience in academia shaped her views as an operator What her job as Chief of Staff at Yahoo! entailed, and how it prepared her to run the function Her experience returning from maternity leave four months into a global pandemic How they’re finding ways to connect with employees and build culture Blending virtual and IRL employee experiences
In this episode, I sit down with Coda Cofounder & CEO Shishir Mehrotra to discuss his career journey that led him to launch Coda and his thoughts on a range of topics including:
Why he cofounded Coda Eigenquestions The “Big pond, small pond” approach to career development What he looks for in his people executives Remote/distributed work Rethinking performance and growth measures
In today’s episode, I sit down with Rippleworks Chief People Person Sung Hae Kim to discuss her career in HR, joining a new role leading the people function at the beginning of a pandemic, and how to have constructive feedback discussions with remote employees. In this episode, you’ll learn:
What it was like starting a new role as a global pandemic blew up
How she gauged how to make organizational decisions as a brand new leader
Practices for supporting culture and connection in distributed teams
The risks of radical candor when so many of our employees are distributed
How can feedback build or break psychological safety
How she coaches leaders to provide feedback in a way that builds up their employees
In this episode, I sit down with Bayer SVP HR Innovations Melissa Harper to learn more about how they approach agile HR and people practices at scale. In this episode, you’ll learn:
What drew Melissa to HR The size and structure of Bayer’s HR team Why the SVP HR Innovations role was created, and what her scope is How she prioritizes innovation projects to pursue Where her project ideas come from Her favorite projects she’s launched Future projects she’s exploring How she stays on top of trends and developments in the space How Covid-19 is a catalyst for redesigning work at Bayer
In this episode, I sit down with Shopify Chief Talent Officer Brittany Forsyth to discuss her experience scaling Shopify from employee #22 to 5,000+. In this episode, you’ll learn:
Traits that allowed Brittany to grow from an office manager right out of University to running the people function for a 5,000+ public company How her personal experience with growth mindset is infused into how Shopify hires An inside look at how their new “digital by default” model came together The HR and people team implications of shifting from colocation to distributed How it will impact the design of her people team Advice for people and business leaders who are shifting to remote
In this episode, I sit down with JUST EAST Chief People Officer Mira Magecha to discuss her career, including what it’s like to move into the Chief People Officer role from within. In this episode, you’ll learn:
What drew Mira to HR
How management consulting at Cap Gemini shaped her views on the field
How moving into the CPO role from within helped and hurt her ability to drive change
How she manages to avoid burnout
How shifting to remote impacts culture
Why she’s excited about a new platform she’s advising, Unibeez, and what this means for the students
In this episode, I’m joined by Onboard Health Founder & CEO Andre Blackman for a discussion at the intersection of public health, racial equity, and talent. Some of the topics we discuss include:
What drew Andre to healthcare
Racial equity and disparity in healthcare
Thoughts on how the pandemic will continue to unfold over the next year
Dismantling the “lack of pipeline” diversity excuses
What gives Andre hope right now
In this special two-part episode, I sit down with Coinbase Chief People Officer L.J. Brock to discuss their recent announcement to be “mission-focused” and move away from corporate and employee activism (part one) and their shift to remote-first (part two). We initially recorded the remote discussion before the mission-focused announcement, so part-two to discuss how the people team would manage their new apolitical approach. In this podcast you’ll learn:
Part 1
LJ’s thoughts on their new mission
The practical implications of their mission to employees
Commitments they’re making to under-represented employees
Thoughts on how this may impact recruiting
How this impacts their ability to build a sense of belonging within the company
Part 2
How the determined remote-first was best for their employees and company
The downstream people team implications of that decision (compensation, policies, support)
How LJ is thinking about redesigning his people team for today and tomorrow
How to foster community in a remote-first organization
Managing burnout as a CPO
You can read Coinbase’s announcement here: https://blog.coinbase.com/coinbase-is-a-mission-focused-company-af882df8804
In this episode, I sit down with SmartRecruiters Founder & CEO Jerome Ternynck to discuss their plans to become an antiracist force in the recruiting industry. We dig into some of the following topics.
How has the pandemic has impacted SmartRecruiters
Why they shifted to remote-first
How that impacts their compensation plans
How the increased consciousness and conversation around racism and systemic inequity have impacted Jerome personally
SmartRecruiters roadmap to becoming an anti-racist force in the recruiting market
Why it was important for SmartRecruiters to take a leadership role on antiracism within the industry
How they’re auditing their internal systems and programs to identify bias and inequity
Jerome’s advice for other CEO’s who want to become antiracist companies
You can check out their plans to become an antiracist force in the recruiting market here: https://www.smartrecruiters.com/news/our-plan-to-become-an-anti-racist-force-in-the-recruiting-market/
In this episode, I sit down with my friend Aubrey Blanche, Culture Amp’s Director of Equitable Design & Impact. Aubrey has been someone I look up to as a tireless champion of inclusive and equitable practices. In this episode, we discuss:
- How HR can become better antiracism advocates
- Culture Amp’s plans to become an anti-racist company
- How she’s teaching her parents about equity and racism
- Breaking down terms and definitions in her work
- Who inspires her work
- Much more
The "future of work" is now. The events of 2020 have propelled the field of HR forward and created an opportunity for a rethinking and resetting of how we design work practices that best serve all employees, our companies, and each other.
The role of HR has never been more important. To meet this moment we must work together to share ideas, practices, and what we’re learning. This resource is the result of a collaborative effort aimed at curating resources and tools to help businesses design and think about what’s next.
There’s no way to know exactly how, what, and when “work” will look differently on the other side of the pandemic. Our only certainty is that it won’t be the same. These resources aim to help educate and inspire those who are designing their future work strategies and structure, gauge how other companies are approaching this, and find resources to support their decision-making.
Like all open-source projects, this doc gets more useful with your contributions. You can view the open-source doc at: https://coda.io/@lars-schmidt/redefining-hr-for-the-post-covid-future-of-work.
In this episode, I sit down with Carrot Fertility Cofounder & CEO Tammy Sun to discuss fertility benefits and how Covid-19 has impacted HR’s views on supporting employees. In this episode you’ll learn:
Why Tammy founded Carrot Fertility
How Carrot partners with companies to provide fertility support
How has the pandemic impacted Carrot’s operations, and how it’s changed Tammy’s views on the people operations
How Covid has impacted how companies think about employee benefits?
How they’re thinking about building antiracist practices and a look inside their new program to allow U.S. members to select Black, Indigenous, or People of Color fertility providers.
How HR practitioners can make the case for investment in broadening their benefits
In this episode, Upwork SVP HR & Talent Innovation Zoe Harte and Lars bid adieu to the “future of work” and explore how Upwork has been leveraging their platform to built a hybrid workforce with on-demand talent.
Mark Levy is one of the pioneers of employee experience (EX). His background spans a range of industry-leading retail and technology companies including Best Buy, Levi Strauss, Gap, Technicolor, Airbnb, Allbirds, Peloton, and more. In this episode, Mark and I discuss the evolution of EX and why it’s more important than ever to take this approach and building people programs.