HRchat Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Achieving Happiness and Career Fulfillment with Rod McDermott and Zach Smith, Activate 180 Mar 18, 2022

Show notes

Companies lose 100s of billions of dollars in the US, Canada, and elsewhere each year due to disengaged employees, decreased productivity, higher attrition rates, and their negative effect on workplace culture. Generally, when people feel like they have fulfillment in life they show up stronger at work.
In this HRchat episode, we look into ways to develop strong company cultures and an even stronger employee-base through an innovative approach to career coaching. Bill's guests are Rod McDermott, CEO + Co-Founder, and Zach Smith, Chief Activation Officer + Co-Founder at Activate 180, a company on a mission to connect career fulfillment with life happiness.

Questions Include:

What does it mean to each of you to have happiness and fulfillment in one's personal and professional life? Why should this be a key goal for us all?
Lots of companies are struggling with employee retention. What advice would you give them to help address this issue?
How does a program like Activate 180 help companies improve their performance?
Your website offers some impressive stats based on the results you say your clients experience from working with Activate 180: "83% boost in self-confidence, 82% increase in overall growth + professional development, 69% boost in clarity on professional goals, 66% increase in their ability to manage stress". Can you break down these findings for us and tell us about the sample size/demographics of your client orgs?
There are five pillars that are integral to your program. What do these look like in action and what are the goals you hope to see come from this?
Can you expand on this by explaining why the five pillars matter? Why should this be important to companies?

About Rod McDermott
Rod has been an entrepreneur for over 20 years, growing companies from the ground up and challenging industry norms. His ultimate goal is to meaningfully contribute to the greater good, which is showcased through his passion for hard work, fostering relationships, and conceptualizing solutions for professional development.
About Zach Smith
Zach is a well-known voice in mindset, career optimization, and leadership. He has worked with companies and individuals to improve corporate engagement and align true calling and passion with their work. In his role, Zach leads a team of coaches who help high-potential professionals create a strategy and action plan for a purposeful and fulfilling life and career.

We do our best to ensure editorial objectivity. The views and ideas shared by our guests and sponsors are entirely independent of The HR Gazette, HRchat Podcast, and Iceni Media Inc.

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The HRchat show has had 100,000s of downloads and is frequently listed as one of the most popular global podcasts for HR pros, Talent execs and leaders. It is ranked in the top ten in the world based on traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness. The podcast is also ranked as the Best Canadian HR Podcast by FeedSpot and one of the top 10% most popular shows by Listen Score.
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What War in Ukraine Means For US Workforce Planning with Christopher Bjorling Mar 17, 2022

Show notes

In this special cross-over episode, Bill Banham welcomes Chris Bjorling back to the HRchat pod to share his thoughts on ways the Russian invasion of Ukraine will impact the labor market and workforce planning efforts in the US and Canada over the next 3-6 months.
Listen as Chris shares his thoughts on:

Stock market volatility and a possible new reluctance of companies in North America to invest in talent
Why higher salaries are needed to attract candidates/retain staff to compensate for higher costs of living
Energy and oil prices rise
Rising interest rates
Supply chain issues
Travel restrictions and rising airfare costs
Mental health of employees living through this new Cold War

Listen and also get Bill's preview of season 4 of the popular People and Performance Podcast.
This episode is part two of a discussion between Bill and Chris. Listen to part one on the People and Performance Podcast here.

We do our best to ensure editorial objectivity. The views and ideas shared by our guests and sponsors are entirely independent of The HR Gazette, HRchat Podcast, and Iceni Media Inc.

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Enhancing DEI Efforts with Charlene Thomas, UPS Mar 15, 2022

Show notes

In this HRchat, we talk about the DEI efforts at one of the best-known brands in the US and around the world: UPS
Bill's guest this time is Charlene Thomas. Charlene serves as Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for UPS and is a member of the company’s Executive Leadership Team.
Her role signals a significant step forward for UPS as the company strives to create a more inclusive and equitable company. Charlene leads UPS's global diversity, equity and inclusion efforts both internally and externally with UPS employees, suppliers and customers around the world.
Prior to being named Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Charlene served as the Chief Human Resources Officer. In this role, she guided UPS’s transformation and HR initiatives to optimize the talent, leadership and culture for the company’s 540,000+ employees worldwide.
Questions Include:

Talk about your career path and rise to Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at UPS.
I understand that you are UPS's first-ever chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer. What challenges and opportunities does that create for you?
How has being CHRO prepared you for your role in DEI, as Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer?
In 2021 Black employees comprised 24% of the U.S. workforce at UPS, and 46% of its employees are diverse. When it comes to senior and middle management in the U.S., 34% are minorities. By comparison, 49% of FedEx's U.S. workforce is diverse, and 36% of its management is comprised of minorities, according to the company's website. What are you and the board doing to bridge this gap?
employee advocates
In an interview for UPS, you shared your hopes for ways UPSers can explore the challenges women face when climbing the corporate ladder, and how men can become advocates for women in the workplace. Tell me about this.
You are also a member of the Board of Trustees at the National Urban League. Briefly tell us about the mission and how it helps to elevate the standards of living for African Americans and other historically underserved groups.

We do our best to ensure editorial objectivity. The views and ideas shared by our guests and sponsors are entirely independent of The HR Gazette, HRchat Podcast, and Iceni Media Inc.

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How to Handle Employee Absence with Sandra Grafe Mar 13, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, guest host Roger Thorpe considers issues related to absence management and ways to better communicate wellness initiatives and benefits to employees.
Roger's guest is Sandra Grafe, Manager, Disability Management Services at AGS Rehab Solutions.

Sandra has been involved with disability management for the past 15 years from which her vast educational pursuits led her towards human health and wellness, completing two bachelor's degrees in Physical Health and Education (Kinesiology) and Nutritional Sciences from the University of Toronto and University of Western Ontario, respectively.
Sandra is a speaker at the Benefits and Wellness Superhero Symposium produced by Thorpe Benefits in partnership with HR Gazette - happening online on April 6 and 7.

Questions Include:

What can be some of the effects to a business when large swathes of employees are off sick?
What can managers do when large numbers of employees are absent from work due to health issues at the same time?
How should managers tackle vague notes of absence and accommodation – requiring extended periods of time?
How can leadership improve corporate culture in view of lowering levels of absenteeism?
How can we manage an employee who takes a lot of time off, intermittently?
Absenteeism has skyrocketed, surpassing hefty HR budgets. Talk to me about the effects.
Okay so you’ve managed to get most employees back to work in safe ways but what about presenteeism?

More About Sandra Grafe

Sandra has shared her knowledge, by speaking at various conferences on managing accommodation in a unionized environment and measuring disability trends for effective preventive programs, with a focus on balancing management and employee needs for positive returns on investment.

Throughout her disability management career, Sandra has upgraded her skillset with certificates in interpersonal communication, business management, Group Benefits Associate (GBA via CEBS), Certified Disability Management Consultant (CDMP via NIDMAR) and is in the process of completing her Occupational Health and Safety certificate. She is also a certified wellness coach. Recently, she completed her Mental Health First Aid Training certification through the Mental Health Commission of Canada. Additional coursework includes project management, psychological health, PTSD, workplace accommodation, arthritis, aging populations, repetitive strain, and fostering positive workplace cultures.

We do our best to ensure editorial objectivity. The views and ideas shared by our guests and sponsors are entirely independent of The HR Gazette, HRchat Podcast, and Iceni Media Inc.

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Finding Top Tech Talent with Ilya Brotzky, VanHack Mar 10, 2022

Show notes

In this HRchat episode, we discuss ways to find, hire, and retain top tech talent from around the world.
Our returning guest is Ilya Brotzky, CEO and CoFounder of VanHack, a global platform for tech talent looking to get hired anywhere and work from anywhere.
Questions Include:

Why are software developers and other tech talents so hard to attract and recruit at the moment?
Why should firms in Canada and the US look globally to secure top tech talent?
What did the pandemic do to widen the available talent pool for hiring companies?
VanHack has helped hire around 1500 software developers and I understand that the average tenure of a hire facilitated by VanHack has risen to 2.9 years. What can recruiters do to find and attract talent who'll stay and grow with the company?
What are the most common challenges in remote hiring? How can we overcome them?
You and I have both emigrated. For those positions that still require relocation, what are the typical anxieties of candidates?
Slowly but surely companies are moving to more diverse, gender-inclusive hiring practices - what have you been observing with some of the companies you’ve been working with?
You have a couple of recruiting fairs and events coming up in 2022. Can you run through them with me and what candidates and hiring companies can expect?

More About Ilya
Featured in Fast Company, BC Business, Betakit, and elsewhere, Ilya leads a team of around 80 employees from 13 countries with the mission of creating a borderless world for tech talent through jobs. He holds a Bachelors of Applied Economics from Cornell University and has helped raise over $100,000 for a variety of charities in Africa and South America.
More About VanHack
VanHack helps candidates find remote jobs, relocation jobs, or a combination of the two. This allows companies to hire amazing senior and diverse talent and more quickly.
Check out, and register for, upcoming job fairs by VanHack here.
We do our best to ensure editorial objectivity. The views and ideas shared by our guests and sponsors are entirely independent of The HR Gazette, HRchat Podcast, and Iceni Media Inc.

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Supporting Ukrainian Employees in Crisis with Vladimir Gendelman, Company Folders Mar 07, 2022

Show notes

What we're witnessing in Eastern Europe at the moment is terrifying and painful. As of today, huge swathes of land in the south, north and east of Ukraine have been invaded. Many predict it's only a matter of days before Putin's troops attempt to occupy the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.
Our guest today reached out to our editorial team a few days ago and we felt it was imperative to get him on the podcast to share his story with you as soon as possible.
Vladimir Gendelman is founder and CEO of Company Folders and an immigrant to the US from Kharkiv, Ukraine.
He employs a team of seven software programmers, graphic designers, and quality assurance engineers in Ukraine. Last week three of them were trapped in Kharkiv, where they were sheltering in windowless rooms in buildings that are shaking from barrages of shelling. Fortunately, they were able to escape. Millions more have not been as lucky.
Vladimir's team was previously based in Donetsk, the epicenter of the uprising in 2014, so, unfortunately, this is not the first time they've dealt with destabilization caused by foreign aggression.
Listen to this discussion Bill Banham had with Vladimir to hear his experiences of leading and supporting a team literally under siege. Hear too, his heartfelt plea to the West to do more to help.

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Building A Stronger Employer Brand with Terry Baker, Pandologic Mar 04, 2022

Show notes

It has never been harder to find and engage candidates. So how can your employer brand stand out while keeping your budget in check? When it comes to your recruitment sourcing strategy and finding the right candidate, there are several factors to consider.
Helping Bill Banham to get to the heart of how to mix AI with other approaches to candidate sourcing is Terry Baker, CEO & President at Pandologic, an AI-enabled recruiting platform.
Questions For Terry Include:

The Great Resignation is projected to be with us for a long time. What have employers learned from this experience so far that's helping them prepare for what’s next?
How do you see technology fitting into this narrative? What’s the role AI will play in continuing to help drive outcomes?
What are the risks with fully automated/AI-driven processes? Can great candidates be missed in a process where humans are removed from the early-stage screening process? Can checks be put in place?
One of the biggest challenges facing recruiters today is the sheer number of online job boards that exist. Can you share some stats around job boards (#s of boards, collective reach, engagement rates, etc).
Before one can even get to the candidate sourcing stage of the recruitment process, it's vital to tackle an important task: perfecting the job listing and requirements listed. What tips can you share?
Specificity is good for candidate sourcing, but sometimes an overly specific list of requirements can be just as dissuading to a candidate as a job listing stuffed with vague terms. What's the correct middle ground approach?
Knowing the value data provides, how can we measure success going forward?

More About Terry
Terry brings 20+ years of managing high-growth companies to his role at PandoLogic. Prior to joining PandoLogic, Terry was the founder and CEO of Amped Market Place Inc. a strategic partner to online media companies by providing services to amplify traffic, audience, and revenue. His career in online recruitment and on-line media has included helping companies reach critical mass and global coverage through business development, direct sales and channel development, M&A, marketing and product management including executive leadership roles with Adicio Inc., Advanced Recruiting Technology Inc., and Hire.com.
Terry is a frequent speaker in the U.S. and internationally, and has presented at conferences hosted by NAA, OnRec, Editor & Publisher, Folio, ICMA and IAEWS. He earned an MBA in Marketing and a B.S. in Information Systems from San Diego State University.
We do our best to ensure editorial objectivity. The views and ideas shared by our guests and sponsors are entirely independent of The HR Gazette, HRchat Podcast, and Iceni Media Inc.

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Candidates and Culture Fit with Dan Hunter, Workzinga Mar 03, 2022

Show notes

The pandemic gave employees the time to reflect on their relationship with work and frankly, many weren't happy with what they uncovered. This has led to record numbers of resignations in 2021 and 2022 is set to be more of the same.
The Great Resignation has ushered in a massive shift in what people value and what they are willing to tolerate in their work lives.

The key reasons driving the great resignation include a reduction in benefits, a worsening work-life balance, a desire to do more fulfilling work, or a toxic workplace culture.
Our guest today says that the days of matching web keyword searches with resumes and job descriptions are over! Instead, it's all about culture fit. Dan Hunter is founder of Workzinga, a job search and hiring platform emphasizing company culture fit.

Questions For Dan Include:

Tell us about the mission of Navorion LLC’s first venture, Workzinga.
What advice would you offer to employers who want to future-proof their organizations?
What is your greatest source of optimism about the future of work?
It seems like there’s a new headline every day. ‘The Great Resignation’. ‘TheGreat Reconfiguration’. And now the ‘Great Reevaluation’. What are the most important messages leaders need to hear from these headlines? How do the cultures of companies need to evolve?
Workzinga commissioned insights agency Opinium to conduct a survey of 2,501 full-time employed and unemployed US adults aged 20-64 years old. What did the findings suggest about the importance of culture fit?
You published an article on LinkedIn in early February 2022 called ‘What Does it Take For a Job Seeker to Get Noticed?’ Can you share some of your tips in the article that can help job seekers stand out from the crowd?
Workzinga recently hosted The State of Culture event in Nashville. Tell me about the event and Workzinga’s plans to attend/exhibit/sponsor other events in 2022. For example, I understand that Workzinga will have a big presence at SHRM this year?
What do you predict will be the same about work, the workforce and the workplace 10-15years from now? What do you predict will be different?

We do our best to ensure editorial objectivity. The views and ideas shared by our guests and sponsors are entirely independent of The HR Gazette, HRchat Podcast, and Iceni Media Inc.

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When Mindsets Shift Powerful Things Can Happen with Joe Britto Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

Returning to the pod after many years is Joe Britto, psychological coach, interactive consultant, founder of Innate Leaders and author of Six Attributes of a Leadership Mindset.
He works with a wide range of business leaders from organizations including non-profits as well as the public and private sectors. His work focuses on creating long-term sustainable change by developing a leadership mindset throughout an organization.
Joe's experience in the world of experiential learning, plus his expertise in literary theory and psychological coaching, has allowed him to develop a methodology that facilitates sustainable results for a range of organizations including Lockheed Martin, NASA, Coca-Cola, and intel.
Questions Include:

Your passion for your work comes from a personal belief that when mindsets shift everything shifts. Let's start there. Talk about your philosophy and experience of a mindset shift/aha moment.
Innate Leaders is a consulting firm that believes "everyone can lead, given the right support and the right mindset ... and that this is true regardless of the role someone holds in an organization". How is mindset relevant in a workplace context?
In what ways did you see this inherent ability to lead show up in employees and leaders during the covid crisis?
How can we go about changing our mindsets in ways that improve our work and personal lives?

We do our best to ensure editorial objectivity. The views and ideas shared by our guests and sponsors are entirely independent of The HR Gazette, HRchat Podcast, and Iceni Media Inc.

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Meaningful Work and HR Trends with Marc-André Nataf, CEO, Cegid North America Feb 25, 2022

Show notes

Covid-19 accelerated the transformation of the workplace and the role that HR plays in it. The HR department has had to become more strategic since the onset of the pandemic and plays an important role in shaping the New Normal.

This comes with a different mindset, new skills, processes, and models. But at the end of the day, HR is still all about the human factor. That's why says today's guest, you should always keep investing in talent.

Bill's guest this time is Marc-André Nataf, CEO, Cegid North America, a platform designed to help companies better manage candidates, recruiting, training, performance, compensation, career development, and succession.

Questions Include:

Cegid recently acquired Talentsoft. What does that mean for the capabilities, goals and market strategy of Cegid in 2022/23?
Talk about factors behind so many employees wanting to leave their jobs to give more meaning to their work lives.
You take a pragmatic approach in your recent article called Talent War: It’s Not All About Recruitment. You write “… to retain (high-performing employees), you need to know who they are. Who are the people whose departure would slow down the company's growth and harm its competitiveness? The first thing to do is to ensure that you have reliable data on the performance of each person, in order to go beyond the mere feelings of the managers.” How can leaders and HR departments best analyze and differentiate high performers/high potentials from those that are not adding to the bottom line?
Cegid recently released its HR Trends For 2022 report, In it, it says “While we can’t simply ‘go back’ to a time before the pandemic, it’s time to look back to move forward. What we can do is make the decision to build again, on strong foundations … That’s why our HR Trends for 2022 are based around three words, all starting with the prefix ‘re’ … Realign, Reconnect, Redeploy.” What can companies do to realign, reconnect, and redeploy in a post-pandemic environment post-pandemic?
The HR Trends For 2022 report concludes by stating “HR jobs are ...going to change! In the near future, HR's work will consist of developing a holistic view of employee well-being." As we look to wrap up, can you summarize how the pandemic accelerated the change to the HR function?

We do our best to ensure editorial objectivity. The views and ideas shared by our guests and sponsors are entirely independent of The HR Gazette, HRchat Podcast and Iceni Media Inc.

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