The Modern People Leader: Forward-Thinking HR

At the end of each episode, we ask every guest which 3-4 metrics they’re keeping an eye on.  Today, we talked about the biggest themes that we identified and which of these metrics should make it onto your HR scorecard. Timestamps: DEI metrics (3:57), peer recognition metrics (8:30), eNPS or a single engagement metric (14:38), employee engagement metrics (16:40), retention data (22:00), business metrics (23:50), using the wobble scale for 1x1 conversations (24:38), recruiting metrics (27:18), building a scorecard for HR (30:27), moving to a focus on leading indicators versus lagging indicators (31:58), why we started The Modern People Leader (33:54), and how you can help The Modern People Leader (40:09). If you have any feedback for the MPL podcast or would like to connect, don't hesitate to reach out on LinkedIn: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

Darren Murph, Head of Remote at GitLab, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about what a Head of Remote does, investing in document infrastructure, building culture outside of company walls, and how to shift from a fear and scarcity mindset to a mindset of opportunity. Timestamps: What a Head of Remote does on a daily basis (6:20), change without story feels like a mandate, change with a purpose feels like vision (9:44), shifting from a fear and scarcity mindset to a mindset of opportunity (12:00), you can learn something from everyone (13:07), the two biggest challenges scaling culture fully remote (16:55), investing in document infrastructure (20:46), COVID has given every leader a permission slip to try new things (30:54), hybrid or shybrid? (32:59), providing examples for building new lifestyles around work (35:26), community impact outings are good alternatives to zoom happy hours (38:37), culture is the barometer for how well values are adhered to and reinforced (42:20), the future of work is going to be asynchronous (45:10), and have you looked at your purpose portfolio lately (51:50). Here’s a link to GitLab’s handbook: Informal Communication in an all-remote environment If you have any feedback for the MPL podcast or would like to connect, don't hesitate to reach out on LinkedIn: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

Barbie Brewer, former VP of Talent at Netflix and Chief Culture Officer at GitLab, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about the many shades of gray between office-first and remote-first. Then, we chatted about all things culture. Timestamps: The best piece of career advice she has ever received (8:52), the many shades of gray between office-first and remote-first (16:40), the difference between remote-first and remote-friendly (19:05), most companies are trying to make hybrid work (22:11), keys to asynchronous work (24:10), key lessons and takeaways on culture from her time at Netflix (37:30), culture is never done (40:41), good or bad, culture was exposed by the pandemic (42:58), what leaders should do if they feel like the culture is off (45:21), and defining the behaviors underneath your values (48:38). If you want to learn more about Barbie and the work that she’s doing, visit her website: https://barbiejane.com/contact-us If you have any feedback for the MPL podcast or would like to connect, don't hesitate to reach out on LinkedIn: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

By 2025 Gen Z will make up 27% of the workforce. So, today we talked about what makes them different from any other generation and what they’re expecting from employers. If you have any feedback for the MPL podcast or would like to connect, don't hesitate to reach out on LinkedIn: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

Clio Knowles, Chief People Person at Virgin Hotels, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about technology, how they’re hiring differently, and the importance of making employees feel seen. Timestamps: Launching hotels during COVID (12:00), why they built a custom communications platform (14:50), combatting the great resignation in the hospitality industry (16:50), focusing attention on hiring people from underserved populations (18:40), seeing employees as human beings (24:20), BAREIT sessions at Virgin Hotels (28:15), they mapped the teammate journey out and created a teammate branding toolkit (30:20), the people that have the answers are the people on the ground doing the work (34:00), and more. If you have any feedback for the MPL podcast or would like to connect, don't hesitate to reach out on LinkedIn: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

Shelby Wolpa, Founder of Shelby Wolpa Consulting, joined us on The Modern People Leader. Shelby talked about her experience scaling the people function for 4 separate unicorn+ status companies. Then, we talked about what it takes to build a best-in-class culture in a remote-first environment. Timestamps: learnings from scaling the people function for 4 venture-backed companies (9:19), what it was like pioneering a remote-first culture (10:55), foundational steps for setting yourself up for success in a remote-first environment (14:10), common pitfalls when going remote-first (20:12), what type of work should happen in the office (24:40), Shelby’s prediction for remote work (25:50), there’s no such thing as hybrid (30:30), the three phases of onboarding (33:45), and what’s keeping people leaders up at night (43:15). You can find Shelby’s free guide for building a remote-first culture and her other playbooks on her website: https://www.shelbywolpaconsulting.com/ If you have any feedback for the MPL podcast or would like to connect, don't hesitate to reach out on LinkedIn: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

Allison Whalen, Co-Founder and CEO at Parentaly, joined us on The Modern People Leader. She shared what she wishes people would have told her before she became a parent and took leave. Then, we talked about what the best companies are doing for parental leave. Timestamps: Allison’s personal struggles dealing with the career stressors of parental leave (3:55), what she wishes people would have told her before she took leave (8:20), why parental leave is front and center right now (18:20), moving past the old way of thinking about paid leave (22:16), the challenges companies face with extending leave (22:36), using parental leave to take inventory of what work matters most (28:08), and re-onboarding parents when they come back to work (31:36). If you have any feedback for the MPL podcast or would like to connect, don't hesitate to reach out on LinkedIn: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

Dom Boon, VP Talent & Organizational Development at Liberty Latin America, joined us on The Modern People Leader. We talked about LLA’s manager research and how they identified the 8 habits of the top 10% of their managers. Timestamps: Navigating the pandemic across 30 different markets (15:02), how Liberty Latin America identified the top 10% of managers (17:58), 5 questions to measure managers (21:34), the 8 habits that differentiate the top 10% of managers at LLA (22:22), building talent programs from this manager research (30:15), and shifting to a human-centric style of leadership (34:42). Check out Dom's recent post on LinkedIn where he writes about the 8 new habits of their top people managers. If you have any feedback for the MPL podcast or would like to connect, don't hesitate to reach out on LinkedIn: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

Today we reflected on the past ten months and all of the great conversations that we've had on The Modern People Leader. At 19:00, we each give our top 3 moments from the show. If you have any feedback for the MPL podcast or would like to connect, don't hesitate to reach out on LinkedIn: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta

Angela Shaw, Chief People Officer at JuiceLand, joined us on The Modern People Leader.  We talked about her nontraditional path into HR, uninviting people from the party if they can’t get behind your organization's shared beliefs, and bucking industry norms when it’s the right thing to do.  Timestamps: Angela’s nontraditional path into HR (4:20), her first 30, 60, 90 days on the job as the new CPO at JuiceLand (9:10), creating shared beliefs, shared knowledge, and shared action with DEI efforts (12:05), why the fight over who should own DEI is so frustrating (15:46), bucking the industry norms when it’s the right thing to do (26:55), staying true to who you are and what you represent (33:07), and finding balance and learning how to say NO (40:00).  If you have any feedback for the MPL podcast or would like to connect, don't hesitate to reach out on LinkedIn: Daniel Huerta and Stephen Huerta