We're Only Human

"The way work is getting done is increasingly flexible and it gives the worker the power of choice. That choice serves both the worker and the end enterprise." Dan Beck, COO of Utmost We're Only Human -- Episode 106 Quick, your business needs to fill a talent gap you have, but you don't want to hire a new staff member. What do you do? Hire a consultant? Pick up a freelancer? Snag an independent contractor? Historically, these activities have happened outside the realm of HR, partly due to compliance and partly due to the different approaches to bringing on that talent. In today's episode, Ben talks with Dan Beck, COO of Utmost, about how forward-thinking employers are hiring, tracking, and managing the extended workforce.Think about it: companies today have increasing numbers of gig workers and flexible talent on the books, so why shouldn't we have insights into who they are, how we can manage them, and what that investment looks like at the highest levels of the company?  Learn more: https://utmost.co/ Connect with Dan: dan@utmost.co  See the show archives and sign up for episode updates

"Be gentle with yourself. I think we can all afford a little compassion and we're often able to give that to others easier than we're able to give it to ourselves. Give yourself time for introspection to understand what truly motivates you and let that be your first step."Kristin Richter, Engagedly We're Only Human -- Episode 105 This is a special edition of We're Only Human! Last fall Ben cohosted HR Analyst Day with Jessica from Workology (who you'll hear on today's show). They talked with a wide variety of HR tech companies covering recruiting, benefits, learning, engagement, and more. This episode was one of the outcomes from that experience. In it, Jessica interviews Kristin Richter from Engagedly about the company's focus and how it helps to create a more human-centered workplace.  Want to know more about HR Analyst Day? Check it out: https://learn.workology.com/hr-analyst-day/  Learn more about Engagedly: https://engagedly.com/  Connect with Kristin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristin-richter/ See the show archives and sign up for episode updates

"You can reconcile accounting, but you can't always reconcile people."Jeremy Stickling, Chief Administrative Officer at Nussbaum Transportation We're Only Human -- Episode 104 Turnover in some trucking and transportation companies runs nearly 100% a year, meaning they turn over virtually every employee over a 12 month period. But at Nussbaum, the turnover runs under 30% a year. What's the secret, and how can other employers with a field-based or remote workforce apply those principles to create better employment outcomes for their people? In this episode, Ben talks with Jeremy Stickling, Chief Administrative Officer at Nussbaum Transportation, about how the company has cracked this code. It's a great case study on caring for people and delivering a great experience, regardless of where employees are based.  Learn more about Nussbaum's purpose-driven culture: https://www.nussbaum.com/purposedriven/ Connect with Jeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-stickling-71a5b112/  Find out how to align your own values and work style with the kind of company you want to work with: https://mailchi.mp/upstarthr/5-hr-career-questions See the show archives and sign up for episode updates

I really do believe this is a moment for learning and training that could see a transformation that benefits learners. Simon Greany, Elucidat We're Only Human -- Episode 103 How many times have we in HR and learning been forced to create content in subjects we knew little to nothing about? In today's episode, Ben talks with Simon Greany from Elucidat about how the company supports employers through technology that enables subject matter experts to cocreate learning content. At the end of the day, learning is about performance. It's not about making people happy (though that can be a byproduct). And having targeted training that meets the needs of the workforce is the best option for creating sustained performance over time.  Learn more about Elucidat: https://www.elucidat.com/ Learn about myHRfit: http://myhrfit.com See where you can find the podcast: https://lhra.io/podcast See the show archives and sign up for episode updates

"We can't forget about being human."Tom Moran, Chief Strategy Officer, Prodoscore We're Only Human -- Episode 102 When workers gathered to work on assembly lines, productivity was easy: you counted the widgets produced per hour. In the modern workplace, it's a much harder proposition. How do you know when knowledge workers are really accomplishing what they need to be? In today's discussion, Ben dives into those questions and more with Tom Moran of Prodoscore. Prodoscore is a productivity intelligence tool designed to help companies understand how the workforce gets things done, who may need help, and where opportunities exist for smarter business practices. Tom shares how Prodoscore helps customers measure individual worker productivity, how the data can serve as a performance coaching tool, and more.  See Prodoscore's ethical pledge: https://www.prodoscore.com/company/#pledge See the show archives and sign up for episode updates

"We allow business leaders to dictate things based on who they like, who they golfed with the last weekend, and things like that when it should be: 'Who is doing the work and who is a benefit to our work environment and our culture?'" Carla Patton, HR Executive We're Only Human -- Episode 101 One of the challenges in the last year is that the pandemic showed the cracks in the relationships created by poor leadership. In an office environment, there are enough opportunities to smooth over mediocrity from a leadership perspective, but when things are virtual, those kinds of behaviors like favoritism or simply being inept become magnified. In this episode, Carla Patton encourages us to stop accepting mediocrity from our leaders and hold them to a higher standard. It's not just about business results--it's about the kind of environment they create for their team and whether that environment encourages performance or hinders it.  Links: Ben on the Paychex HR Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3F4a4zK3l0PSQEMf9wl5duConnect with Carla on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlahpatton/Check out The Career Salon podcast with the HR Twins:https://open.spotify.com/show/0zUiPwDUotwiu5dna1WrLa  See the show archives and sign up for episode updates

"We map the employee journey and experiences that an employee has. We do things where we can really hear, learn, and better understand the employee sentiment, directly from employees. We have feedback mechanisms built in that allow us to continually evolve, and we really look at that feedback that we get on our experiences as a gift. We welcome it. We want to hear 'what did we do' and 'how did it land' and 'how can we make it better?'"Adella Bell, PayPal We're Only Human -- Episode 100 Today, one of the most challenging pieces of supporting employees is understanding their unique journeys, identifying their needs at each step, and designing experiences that meet those needs. At PayPal, there is a clear approach that leads to better outcomes, and it hinges on employee-focused design. From how feedback is gathered to how journeys are mapped and more, every piece of this is centered on the employees and what they need. In today's discussion, Ben talks with Ramesh Murugan and Adella Bell from PayPal's HR team to explore how PayPal designs an employee experience that is scalable and high touch, including key insights into how the HR team identifies what the workforce needs through comprehensive voice of the employee efforts.  To learn more about IBM Talent Transformation Services:http://ibm.biz/talentacquisitionOther episodes in this series on Talent Transformation: How Takeda Radically Transformed its HR Operating ModelHow to Drive Business Innovation from within HR Learn about PayPal's commitment to and support of global intiatives in their Impact Report: https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/globalimpact  See the show archives and sign up for episode updates

"So you're about to go into a meeting physically or remotely, you click on the team on the calendar invite and it'll pull up the culture of that meeting. Imagine EQ everywhere, and you're delivering emotional intelligence insights where every person can communicate, collaborate, and connect." Juan Betancourt, HumantelligenceWe're Only Human -- Episode 99 One of the issues with the tools, the technology, and the processes we use in HR is that we sometimes get away from the human at the core of it all. This episode includes an incredible case study of how Ashley Furniture reduced turnover by approximately 30% and saved nearly $5 million in the process by focusing on the real drivers and values of each individual they hire onto their team.In today's discussion, Ben and Juan dig into how we can use more emotional intelligence insights in everyday interactions, creating more human and people-focused workplaces. From hiring decisions to team alignment, there are many different types of opportunities to support and enable better communication and connection. Connect with Juan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juanluisbetancourt/ Learn more about Humantelligence: https://humantelligence.com/ See the show archives and sign up for episode updates

"Human resources is ripe for innovation right now. Innovation is definitely a place of great opportunity within human capital. We should be constantly looking out for how we can leverage what others have done in other areas and apply it to human resources functions." Karin Wagner, Senior Director of Talent Transformation at UnitedHealth GroupWe're Only Human -- Episode 98If you've ever wondered why HR seems to struggle with innovation, you're not alone.For some companies, HR expects innovation to come from other departments.For some companies, HR tries but fails to generate the innovation it needs.But in some firms, HR leads the charge with innovation, creating new opportunities to drive the business and demonstrate the value of HR within the organization. In today's discussion with Karin Wagner, Senior Director of Talent Transformation at UnitedHealth Group, Ben and Karin talk about how this process works and Karin opens her playbook on how to build relationship capital in authentic ways, what it takes to go from idea to execution, and more. Karin is incredibly insightful and you don't want to miss her ideas in this special episode.  To learn more about IBM Talent Transformation Services:http://ibm.biz/talentacquisitionConnect with Karin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karin-wagner-b26500 See the show archives and sign up for episode updates

"My company is going remote because of COVID. How do I transition our culture over?" We're Only Human -- Episode 97In today's episode, Ben takes three audience questions: How do we move to a remote work culture?What payroll technology works for a smaller organization? How do I leave a toxic workplace? We are trying out this Q&A series and would love to hear your feedback! Let us know if you enjoy it or if you want to ask your own question. Just send it to questions@upstarthr.com or record a short voice question anonymously at http://upstarthr.com/questionQuote for today's episode by Kahlil Gibran: Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy. For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger. And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine. And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.See the show archives and sign up for episode updates