The Modern People Leader: Forward-Thinking HR

DJ Casto joined us on The Modern People Leader to share how Synchrony is co-designing the future of work with employees.We talked about active listening at scale, building trust by being great not perfect, rethinking leadership for a flexible workforce, and why treating the employee experience like a product creates real business impact.---- Downloadable PDF with top takeaways: https://modernpeopleleader.kit.com/episode271Sponsor Links:🔗 Try Viva’s $950 one-month trial at execviva.com/mpl MPL Links:🔗 Buy your ticket for MPL Live Austin.🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.---- (06:16) DJ’s Origin Story: From First-Gen College Student to CHRO at Synchrony(11:19) What Synchrony Does: Credit Access, Health & Wellness, and Major Retail Partners(14:12) Co-Designing the Future of Work & Adopting an MVP Mindset in HR(18:27) Active Listening as the Operating System for People Programs(29:10) Scaling Listening: Pulse Surveys, Roundtables, ERGs, Wellness Coaches and On-Site Therapists(35:14) Avoiding the “Send One Email” Trap and Communicating 20 Different Ways(38:48) Great, Not Perfect: Building Trust, Prioritizing Requests, and Saying No Openly(44:51) Synchrony’s Hybrid “Way of Working” and Redesigning Leadership for Flexibility(51:48) Rethinking Performance, Onboarding, and Culture Centers in a Hybrid World---- 📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn---- Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.

Taylor and Melanie joined The Modern People Leader to unpack how HR teams can get out from under compliance chaos and admin overload to focus on business impact.---- Downloadable PDF with top takeaways: https://modernpeopleleader.kit.com/episode270Sponsor Links:🔗 Try Viva’s $950 one-month trial at execviva.com/mpl.MPL Links:🔗 Buy your ticket for MPL Live Austin.🔗 Go sign up for MPL Build.---- (06:00) — The problem statement: HR buried in admin, Q4 pressure, need for practical fixes(07:25)— Taylor on leave management as the high-stakes admin vortex and why great leave drives retention(10:18) — Melanie on overwork vs impact: earn respect through outcomes, not hours(14:08) — Reframing service: self-service, business-first questions, and saying “look it up” kindly(20:32) — Horror Story 1: Mexico-beach FMLA backfire and what the law actually allows(22:19) — Horror Story 2: CEO’s mis-sent inappropriate email and culture trust fallout(24:56) — Horror Story 3: Walk-by performance ratings in open cubes(27:42) — Taylor’s fix: design for simplicity in leave policies and automate approvals(28:57) — Melanie’s fix: make time your asset; test-outs, policy bots, AI course builder(33:47) — Q&A: “Minimum training hours” requirements and assigning only what’s legally needed(37:04) — Feeling “behind on AI”: why most teams are weeks, not years, behind(39:07) — Q&A---- 📬 Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get episode recaps💡 Follow The Modern People Leader on LinkedIn😊 Follow Daniel Huerta on LinkedIn😊 Follow Stephen Huerta on LinkedIn---- Past guests on MPL include Brené Brown, Annie Dean (VP of Team Anywhere, Atlassian), Josh Bersin, Katie Burke (Chief People Officer, Harvey), Liz Fosslien, Helen Russell (Chief People Officer, HubSpot), Dave Scott (Chief People Officer, ADT), Melanie Rossenwasser (Chief People Officer, Dropbox), Crystal Boysen (Chief People Officer, Sprout Social), and many more.

Jessica Swank, Chief People Officer at Box, shares insights on integrating AI into organizational strategies. She discusses building an 'org brain' and the necessity for managers to lead hybrid teams of humans and agents. Jessica outlines Box's three pillars for AI: Optimize, Elevate, Amplify, emphasizing the importance of rethinking job roles and skills for an AI-driven future. She also addresses managing agent performance, avoiding tech debt, and encouraging HR leaders to experiment with AI personally to stay ahead in the evolving landscape.

Kit Krugman, SVP of People & Culture at Foursquare, shares her innovative journey from education to HR transformation. She discusses the reasons behind rebranding HR to 'People' and outlines Foursquare's North Stars of vibrancy and velocity. Kit elaborates on applying design thinking to enhance the employee experience and implementing team-based performance models. She reveals the power of organizational network analysis, measures success with a notable 43% increase in perceived velocity, and offers valuable advice for overwhelmed people leaders.

Shannon Hobbs, Chief People Officer at BNY, is leading a culture-first transformation in banking, focusing on early-career talent and innovative AI integration. She shares insights on scaling the analyst program from 500 to 2,000 members and emphasizes the importance of flattening organizational structures for cross-functional collaboration. Shannon introduces Eliza, BNY's in-house AI hub, highlighting its impressive stats: over 15,000 agents trained. Her practical advice for HR leaders centers on inclusive education and tying AI to talent development.

Luke O'Mahoney, Founder of Sapienˣ and expert in product-led PeopleOps, shares insights from his journey in HR. He discusses the three models transforming HR: HR as a Service, Programs as Products, and Work as the Product. Luke emphasizes the need for a product mindset, moving away from legacy HR, and the real risks of 'Agile theater'. He offers practical frameworks for implementing these ideas and advises HR leaders on integrating business strategies with people experience. It's all about creating impactful changes in the HR landscape!

Darren Murph, a former leader at GitLab and Zillow, is a sought-after consultant on remote work. He discusses the four-pillar operating model essential for distributed teams, emphasizing knowledge management as the foundation. Murph explains why companies often misjudge their remote maturity and highlights the importance of fixing organizational systems rather than just individuals. He shares insights on treating knowledge like a product and showcases effective tools for documentation and project management, paving the way for improved performance in a distributed landscape.

Brandon Weber, Co-founder and CEO of Nava Benefits, shares his insights on revolutionizing employer healthcare. He explains why benefits have surged to the second-largest company expense and how HR can strategically manage this cost. The discussion also covers the complexities of healthcare plans, the emergence of the 'alt marketplace,' and tools to streamline benefits administration. Brandon emphasizes data-driven approaches to cut costs while enhancing employee outcomes, all while advocating for a more transparent healthcare system.

Andrew Golden, Chief People Officer at RetailNext, shares his insights on transforming HR by aligning it with business workflows. Known for his expertise in lean PX design, he discusses how RetailNext merges hardware and data for enhanced retail experiences. Andrew emphasizes the importance of HR-IT partnerships, the benefits of building in-house AI tools, and the optimism for HR's future. His journey includes redefining HR processes and advocating for agile solutions that tackle employee pain points directly.

Gena Smith, the CHRO of LVMH North America, boasts extensive experience in HR transformation across luxury brands. In this discussion, she highlights her role in spearheading LVMH’s AI transformation across 75 brands. Gena emphasizes the need for HR to lead in AI change management, reframing AI as a cultural advantage. She discusses overcoming employee reluctance toward AI and advocates for upskilling as essential for future-proofing careers. Her insights on creating internal narratives and normalizing AI adoption are both inspiring and actionable.