HR Happy Hour Network

From Low-Wage Work to Career Opportunity: Building Better Talent PathwaysHost: Steve BoeseGuest: Connor Diamond-Yauman, Co-CEO of Merit America SummaryIn this episode of At Work in America, Steve is joined by Connor Diemand-Yauman, for a conversation about economic mobility, workforce development, and creating stronger pathways from low-wage work into sustainable careers.Connor shares the story behind Merit America and the realization that helped inspire its work: access to education alone does not necessarily create opportunity. The conversation explores their work with adults in low-wage jobs and why human coaching has become such an important part of its model. While learners may initially come for credentials in areas such as IT support, project management, cybersecurity, or semiconductor technology, Connor explains that many ultimately identify coaching as one of the most transformational parts of their experience.Steve and Connor also discuss the rapidly changing labor market and the challenge of preparing people for jobs and skills that continue to evolve. Rather than trying to perfectly predict the future of work, Connor argues that agility is becoming one of the most important capabilities for workforce development organizations, employers, and workers alike.For HR and business leaders, the message is clear: expanding economic opportunity requires opening the aperture on how we define qualified talent, taking thoughtful risks on people who may not fit traditional hiring profiles, and creating real pathways for people to turn their skills and potential into meaningful careers. Topics include:Why access to education does not automatically translate into career opportunityHow workforce programs can keep pace with a rapidly changing labor marketWhy some perceived talent shortages may actually be workplace or business model problemsThe disconnect between removing degree requirements and actually changing hiring practicesHow employers can broaden their definition of qualified talent Thank you for joining the show today! Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Workhuman is a proud supporter of the HR Happy Hour Network. Nearly every HR leader knows the feeling: Teams are stretched thin, priorities keep shifting, and it's getting harder to see what's really going on beneath the surface. That's the subject of Workhuman's new documentary, Spotlight: The Leadership Reset, an investigation into why managers are losing visibility into their teams, and what it takes to see clearly again. Featuring Harvard’s Professor Amy Edmondson, crisis leadership expert Dr. Syra Madad, and bakery-owner-turned-business-leader Joanne Chang. The Leadership Reset premieres September 29th. Register for free today at workhuman.com/spotlight. 

The Crossroads of HR: AI, Judgement, and the Future of the ProfessionHosts: Mervyn DinnenGuest: David D'Souza, Writer, keynote speaker, and advisor SummaryIn this episode of HR Means Business, Mervyn is joined by David D’Souza, former Director of Profession at the CIPD, for a wide-ranging conversation about the future of HR and the capabilities professionals will need to navigate what comes next.David reflects on how the profession has evolved and why HR’s value cannot be defined by HR alone. Rather than beginning with programs, best practices, or what the function believes organizations should do, he argues that HR must begin with the problems the business is trying to solve and understand how people, skills, structure, and culture can help address them.The conversation also explores the growing role of AI in HR and why automation creates both opportunity and responsibility. As technology takes on more transactional work, skills such as situational judgment, evidence-based decision-making, curiosity, adaptability, relationship building, and critical thinking become even more important. Key TakeawaysHR must start with the business problemHuman judgment becomes more important as AI growsCuriosity and adaptability will be essential HR skillsWorkforce planning must become more agileHR needs to enable change, not become the point of resistanceThank you for your continued support of the show and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!Workhuman is a proud supporter of the HR Happy Hour Network.  Here’s a wild stat: 6 in 10 employees have never been meaningfully recognized for a work anniversary. Think about that. Five, 10, 20 years of someone’s life — and too often, the moment falls flat. Workhuman’s Service Milestones® makes recognition more personal, memorable, and impactful. Milestone tracking happens automatically through your HRIS, the right colleagues are inspired to share stories and congratulations, and employees get access to rewards they actually want. Ready to make your milestones meet the moment with Workhuman? Click the banner on this episode’s page or follow the link in the show notes to learn more.

Compliance Is Cool: Using AI to Make Employment Law EasierHosts: Steve Boese and Trish SteedGuest: Kimball Dean Parker, CEO at SixFifty SummaryIn this episode of At Work in America, Steve and Trish welcome Kimball Dean Parker, CEO of SixFifty, for a conversation about how technology and AI are changing the way organizations manage employment law and compliance.Kimball shares the story behind SixFifty and why employment law became such an important problem to solve. With regulations varying across states, cities, and counties — and changing constantly — staying current can quickly become overwhelming, particularly for organizations hiring across multiple locations. The conversation explores how AI and automation can help organizations manage everything from employee handbooks and hiring documents to required posters, training, and other compliance workflows. Kimball also explains why combining AI with established legal workflows can create more predictable and reliable outcomes rather than simply asking generative AI to produce an answer from scratch.The conversation also looks beyond risk reduction. When organizations have greater confidence in their compliance infrastructure, they can hire talent in more locations, respond more quickly to regulatory changes, and give HR leaders back time that would otherwise be spent managing administrative complexity. The group offers a practical example of where AI can create immediate value for HR: taking repeatable, time-intensive compliance work off people's plates while allowing HR professionals to focus more of their time on people, strategy, and the business. Topics include:Why employment law compliance becomes increasingly complex as organizations expand across locationsHow technology can help organizations stay ahead of changing employment regulationsThe importance of combining AI with structured, established processesHow stronger compliance infrastructure can support multistate hiring and business growthHow automation can give HR leaders more time for strategic workWhy compliance may be one of the most practical places for organizations to begin using AIThank you for joining the show today! Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Workhuman is a proud supporter of the HR Happy Hour Network. Nearly every HR leader knows the feeling: Teams are stretched thin, priorities keep shifting, and it's getting harder to see what's really going on beneath the surface. That's the subject of Workhuman's new documentary, Spotlight: The Leadership Reset, an investigation into why managers are losing visibility into their teams, and what it takes to see clearly again. Featuring Harvard’s Professor Amy Edmondson, crisis leadership expert Dr. Syra Madad, and bakery-owner-turned-business-leader Joanne Chang. The Leadership Reset premieres September 29th. Register for free today at workhuman.com/spotlight. This episode of At Work in America is sponsored by Paychex, an industry-leading human capital management company that combines scale, trusted expertise, and innovation to help businesses succeed. SixFifty, by Paychex helps your business stay ahead of constantly changing laws and regulations with HR compliance software. Curated by experienced attorneys and powered by AI, SixFifty helps turn the impossible job of staying compliant with employment laws across every state into something simple, automatic, and stress-free. SixFifty is available both as a standalone solution and as an integrated offering within Paychex’s HCM platforms. To learn more about how you can make faster, more confident compliance decisions, head to sixfifty.com

The Q4 Scramble: Setting Boundaries Before Budgeting & Open Enrollment BeginHost: Sabrina Baker SummarySeptember is the Sunday evening of the business calendar—summer vacations end, executive energy surges, and suddenly every department wants everything finished before December 31st. For small business HR leaders (1–500 employees) operating without a bench of specialists, handling Open Enrollment, 2027 budgeting, and performance reviews all at once can lead straight to severe Q4 burnout.In this episode of HR Connection, Sabrina breaks down how to move away from telling leadership "we're too busy"—a phrase executives often misread as a lack of time management—and start defining "busy" with concrete calendar data. Learn how to build Quarterly and Annual Roadmaps, translate HR initiatives into "time in weeks," navigate budget requests whether you have a formal HR budget or not, and execute Q4 scrappily without dropping the ball. Topics include:Use a quarterly roadmap to visualize workload and tradeoffsBuild an annual roadmap to anticipate heavy periods and resource needsCreate more structure and stronger boundaries around open enrollmentConnect HR investments directly to time and capacity gainedStreamline and automate performance review processesAvoid changing major HR processes right before launchTreat capacity management as a leadership responsibility Thank you for joining the show today! Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!Workhuman is a proud supporter of the HR Happy Hour Network. Nearly every HR leader knows the feeling: Teams are stretched thin, priorities keep shifting, and it's getting harder to see what's really going on beneath the surface. That's the subject of Workhuman's new documentary, Spotlight: The Leadership Reset, an investigation into why managers are losing visibility into their teams, and what it takes to see clearly again. Featuring Harvard’s Professor Amy Edmondson, crisis leadership expert Dr. Syra Madad, and bakery-owner-turned-business-leader Joanne Chang. The Leadership Reset premieres September 29th. Register for free today at workhuman.com/spotlight. 

Is the Culture You Have the Culture You Think You Have? How to Read the Culture SignalsHosts: Steve Boese and Trish SteedGuest: Meisha-ann Martin, Ph.D., VP of People Research at Workhuman SummaryIn this episode of the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve and Trish are joined by Meisha-ann Martin, VP of People Research at Workhuman, for a conversation about moving beyond stated values and getting a clearer picture of how culture actually shows up across an organization.The conversation explores one of the biggest sources of cultural disconnect: what organizations say they value versus what they actually reward and reinforce. A company may say it values efficient execution while celebrating heroic firefighting. It may promote innovation while only recognizing successful outcomes, unintentionally discouraging thoughtful risk-taking. Or it may tolerate harmful behaviors because an employee delivers strong business results.Meisha-ann shares how recognition data can give leaders a much richer view into these patterns. She also explains how advances in people analytics and natural language processing are making it possible to uncover insights that traditional engagement surveys alone could not provide—from identifying differences in how employees are recognized to detecting language that may serve as an early warning signal for burnout.Ultimately, Meisha-ann encourages HR and business leaders to approach culture with greater intentionality: define the outcome you want, understand the behaviors that lead to it, measure what is actually happening, and continually refine the system based on what the data reveals. Topics include:Why culture is more than the values written on the wallThe gap between organizational intentions and employee experiencesHow organizations can unintentionally reinforce the wrong behaviorsThe relationship among vulnerability, recognition, and psychological safetyHow language data can uncover burnout risk, bias, and cultural misalignmentWhy recognizing behaviors—not just outcomes—can improve performanceConnecting leadership behaviors to organizational outcomesWhy measurement should come before analytics Thank you for joining the show today! Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts! Workhuman is a proud supporter of the HR Happy Hour Network. Nearly every HR leader knows the feeling: Teams are stretched thin, priorities keep shifting, and it's getting harder to see what's really going on beneath the surface. That's the subject of Workhuman's new documentary, Spotlight: The Leadership Reset, an investigation into why managers are losing visibility into their teams, and what it takes to see clearly again. Featuring Harvard’s Professor Amy Edmondson, crisis leadership expert Dr. Syra Madad, and bakery-owner-turned-business-leader Joanne Chang. The Leadership Reset premieres September 29th. Register for free today at workhuman.com/spotlight.