HRchat Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Most Change Fails Because Brains Hate Risk with Georgie Cooke, Lima Delta Oct 23, 2025

Show notes

Change doesn’t fail because people are stubborn; it fails because the rollout forgets how humans actually change. In this HRchat episode, Bill Banham sits down with Georgie Cooke, Learning and Change Strategist co-founder of Lima Delta, to unpack why so many transformations lose steam and how to design plans that stick.

From status quo bias and risk aversion to the quiet power of team norms, Georgie explains the psychology that shapes every initiative and shows how to turn insight into action.
Tune in to hear a clear breakdown of the Inspire, Train, Sustain framework and why sequence matters. Inspire builds urgency with a story that balances opportunity with the cost of staying the same. Train turns ideas into decisions through scenario-based practice and feedback that builds real capability. Sustain locks in new habits with aligned processes, incentives, communities of practice, and ongoing communication that respects the forgetting curve. We walk through a global engineering case study where leadership behavior shifted from vision on slides to norms in daily work—town halls and toolbox talks, a custom self-assessment, scenario learning, leadership labs, mentoring, and performance systems all pulling in the same direction.
Managers are the hinge that determines whether culture moves or snaps back. Georgie, a speaker at the November 12th Disrupt London summit, shares how to equip them as a distinct audience: early access, practical tools for local contexts, and clear expectations for the first 90 days.

Bill and Georgie also explore how to align company values with local realities, making the “why” personal to each team. If you’re leading HR, transformation, or people development, you’ll leave with concrete steps to diagnose resistance, tailor messages, and build environments where the right behavior is the easy behavior.
If this episode sparks ideas for your own rollout, follow along and share your biggest challenge. Subscribe for more conversations on change, leadership, and the future of work, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

Connect with Georgie: linkedin.com/in/georgina-cooke-ld

Learn about Lima Delta: limadelta.com

Check out Lima Delta's Pathfinder workshop: limadelta.com/pathfinder

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The Global Talent Expansion Playbook with Walter Sabrin, Vensure Employer Solutions Oct 09, 2025

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Walter Sabrin takes us behind the scenes of one of the most remarkable growth stories in the HR industry. As Chief Talent Officer at Vensure Employer Solutions, he's orchestrated talent strategy through 94 acquisitions in just six years, transforming a company with modest beginnings into the world's largest private HR outsourcing firm.
The phrase "violent execution" might sound alarming, but as Walter explains, this term perfectly encapsulates the focused, competitive culture driving Vensure's explosive growth. This cultural alignment remains Walter's north star as he navigates talent acquisition across a global portfolio of brands, balancing aggressive scaling with consistent values.
Walter's journey from competitive tennis to talent leadership has profoundly shaped his approach to recruitment. The discipline, compartmentalization, and resilience developed on the court translate directly to talent acquisition challenges. "You're never as good as you are when you win a point and you're never as bad as you are when you lose a point," Walter shares, highlighting how this athletic mindset prevents the emotional rollercoaster many recruiters experience when deals succeed or fail.
Perhaps most fascinating is Vensure's near-shore hiring revolution. What began as 11 employees working from a house in Medellin, Colombia has exploded to 40,000 staff across 32 countries. This approach delivers approximately 65% savings on wages while dramatically expanding access to global talent. Walter candidly admits his transformation from American-centric thinking to recognizing the extraordinary capabilities of international talent when properly engaged and respected.
While embracing technological advances in recruitment, Walter makes a compelling case for the irreplaceable human element in hiring decisions. Despite the hype around AI and automation, he firmly believes that human intuition – the "gut feeling" that can't be replicated by algorithms – will remain essential to quality hiring.
Connect with Walter on LinkedIn or email him at waltersabrin@vensure.com to learn more about Vensure's approach to global talent acquisition and how their strategies might benefit your organization's growth journey.

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Culture as an Operating System: Hypergrowth and People Strategy with Q Hamirani Oct 07, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Bill Banham sits down with Q Hamirani, Chief People Officer at HighLevel, one of the fastest-growing remote-first SaaS platforms serving agencies and consultants worldwide.

With 1,600+ employees spread across the globe and 1,000 new hires added in a single year, HighLevel’s meteoric rise demands a People strategy that can scale without losing its soul. As the company’s cultural architect, Q is at the helm of building a durable, people-first operating system that keeps teams aligned, inspired, and moving fast—no matter the time zone.

A trusted advisor to founders, boards, and accelerator programs like Techstars, Q blends startup grit with global operational experience and deep HR expertise. His leadership journey spans hypergrowth environments at Airbnb, Paper, and now HighLevel—giving him a front-row seat to how People leadership is evolving in the age of AI and distributed teams.

Inside this episode:

Scaling Culture Like an Operating System: How HighLevel structures communication, decision-making, and goal-setting to keep 1,600+ employees rowing in the same direction.
Remote Leadership Rituals: From all-hands forums to the monthly Founder’s Corner, Q shares the leadership touchpoints that anchor strategy across borders.
Evolving the CPO Role: Why today’s Chief People Officer must blend innovation, business acumen, and cultural fluency to thrive in distributed, AI-enabled workplaces.
Hiring for Mission Alignment: How values-based interviews and compelling onboarding narratives—like HighLevel’s “skateboard-to-Ferrari” story—help transmit founder intent to every new joiner.
The Human Side of Hypergrowth: How creativity, music, and transcendental meditation help Q lead with empathy and resilience, and how parenthood shaped his leadership lens.

Whether you’re scaling a remote startup or professionalizing a late-stage rocket ship, this conversation is packed with tactical frameworks, cultural insights, and hard-won wisdom to help People leaders build lasting alignment at speed.

Connect with Q Hamirani on LinkedIn.

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Hearts, Minds, and the Mechanics of Change with Richard Page-Brown Oct 03, 2025

Show notes

Change rarely fails because the software didn’t ship. It fails because people didn’t shift. In this episode, Bill Bnaham sits down with Richard Page-Brown, a veteran program and change practitioner, to map a clear path from big intentions to sustained behavior change. Using the ADKAR model as our backbone, we move step by step through awareness, desire, knowledge, ability, and reinforcement, translating each stage into simple tactics HR leaders can use on Monday morning.
We start with the hard question: why change, and why now? Richard shows how to use market data, employee feedback, and the risks of no action to build true awareness, then turns to the messy middle—desire—where WIIFM, persona-based impact assessments, and credible advocates turn compliance into commitment. From there, we dig into knowledge design for HR tech rollouts, blending e-learning, workshops, SOPs, and process maps. Along the way, we explore AI-driven skills mapping, faster upskilling cycles, and how leading platforms turn skill gaps into targeted learning, coaching, and mentoring.
Ability is where learning becomes doing, and Richard lays out how coaching, sandbox environments, pilots, and phased rollouts build confidence under real pressure. Finally, we tackle reinforcement—the Achilles heel of so many transformations—with concrete steps to update job descriptions, align performance metrics and rewards, celebrate early wins, and keep feedback loops alive so new habits stick. Richard shares lessons learned from global programs, a simple threshold rule for progressing through stages, and a bold reminder: excellent change management makes initiatives seven times more likely to meet and sustain objectives.
If you’re leading a Workday, SAP, SuccessFactors, or Oracle rollout, or rethinking your people strategy for an AI-shaped future, this conversation gives you a field guide to make change real. Listen, share with your team, and if it helps, leave a review and subscribe so more HR pros and leaders can find it. What stage of ADKAR do you need to strengthen next?

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Disrupt Manchester Preview with Craig Saxby Sep 21, 2025

Show notes

In this episode of the HRchat Podcast, Bill Banham is joined by Craig Saxby, HR Solutions Director at Morson Talent.

Craig is a recruitment leader passionate about building high-performing teams and helping HR leaders navigate complex people and talent challenges. At Morson, he partners with Chief People Officers, HR Directors, and Talent Leaders to design and deliver strategic solutions—spanning RPO, outsourced HR, screening and vetting, and Morson Training.

The conversation covers:

Craig’s career journey and what drives his passion for developing high-performing HR and talent functions
The biggest challenges HR Directors and Chief People Officers are facing right now
How Morson supports organisations through services like RPO, outsourced HR, and workforce training
The significance of Morson Group’s appointment to the Procurement Services HR Support Services Framework (Y25006), which makes it easier for public sector organisations to access expert HR solutions
Why Morson is hosting the next edition of Disrupt Manchester on September 24th and what excites Craig about the event series
The future of HR and recruitment, including opportunities for innovation around AI, automation, and addressing skills shortages

You’ll also hear about Morson’s role in supporting local business community events and Craig’s practical advice for HR leaders tasked with doing more with less in today’s climate.

Listen in to get insights on evolving HR and talent solutions—and discover how Morson Talent is helping organisations improve people and performance.

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The Essential Guide to HR Tech Conference with Katie Achille Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

In this special episode of the HRchat Podcast, we preview the 2025 HR Tech Conference in fabulous Las Vegas!

Bill Banham's guest is Katie Achille, Managing Partner at The Devon Group, and an award-winning communications pro. Katie is deeply embedded in the planning and communications behind the HR Tech Conference in Las Vegas, happening September 16–18.

HR Tech Conference, one of the world’s biggest HR technology events, will offer a power-packed Tuesday through Thursday format that ends with Josh Bersin's closing keynote.

This year introduces the HR Strategy Summit, specifically for leaders of large organizations and the prestigious HR Icons Awards Gala, celebrating excellence across six categories.
As always, networking opportunities abound as the conference brings together the HR technology ecosystem – practitioners, vendors, investors, analysts, and media – creating what Katie Achille describes as a "town hall" atmosphere where meaningful business connections happen naturally. The speaker lineup features numerous big names plus the awesome William Tincup will be moderating a panel of TikTok influencers on converting social engagement to job applications.
The Women in HR Tech Summit returns for its eighth year, consistently reaching capacity with sessions that deliver actionable insights rather than just high-level trends. Another highlight is Lydia Wu's session on leveraging AI as a career advancement tool, elevating the conversation beyond basic applications to strategic leadership development. Innovation takes center stage at the Startup Pavilion with approximately 50-60 emerging companies and the reimagined Pitch Fest competition.

Literary legend James Patterson adds star power, previewing his first-ever business book before its official publication. For an immersive experience, attendees can observe live podcast recordings at the HR Executive/WRKdefined studio on the expo floor through a unique "fishbowl" setup with headphones.

Ready to join the HR technology community in Las Vegas? Register at hrtechnologyconference.com with code DEVON25 for $250 off any registration type.

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Are You Using AI Wrong? A Guide to Avoiding Hallucinations and Leveraging LLMs with Dr. Keith Duggar Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

The technological landscape is evolving at breakneck speed, and AI stands at the forefront of this transformation. But how can HR professionals and business leaders navigate this new terrain effectively?
Dr. Keith Duggar, CTO of X-Ray and co-host of Machine Learning Street Talk, brings clarity to this complex topic through a lens shaped by his fascinating career trajectory. From his roots in chemical engineering to high-frequency trading on Wall Street, then to Microsoft, and now leading an innovative AI startup, Dr. Duggar offers practical wisdom for organizations grappling with AI adoption.
His company, X-Ray Glass, emerged from a deeply human need – creating augmented reality subtitles for those with hearing impairments. This mission of "subtitling life" exemplifies how AI can enhance human connection rather than diminish it. Through this work, Dr. Duggar has developed invaluable mental models for understanding large language models that cut through the hype and confusion.
"They're order of magnitude more efficient search engines," Dr. Duggar explains, while cautioning about their limitations, particularly hallucinations – convincingly wrong information that can appear authoritative. His advice? Approach AI as an interactive dialogue, start simple, refine iteratively, and always verify critical information through traditional sources.
Looking ahead, Dr. Duggar envisions a shift toward "constellations of narrow intelligences" rather than ever-larger general models, with specialized AI tools working in concert to solve complex problems. For organizations seeking to harness AI's potential, he recommends practical approaches like hackathons and workshops alongside robust governance frameworks addressing privacy and misinformation risks.
Whether you're an AI skeptic or enthusiast, this conversation offers a balanced perspective on embracing innovation while mitigating risk. Subscribe to the HR Chat Show for more insights on navigating the evolving workplace, and follow Dr. Duggar on LinkedIn or through the Machine Learning Street Talk Discord to continue exploring the frontiers of AI.

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Why Your Employees Won't Tell You The Truth (And How To Fix It) with Maureen Brown Sep 10, 2025

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Maureen Brown joins the HRchat Podcast to reveal why employee voice isn't just another corporate buzzword—it's the untapped resource transforming workplace culture and employer branding across industries. As founder of Sullivan Brown Resourcing Partners and MySay, Maureen brings 16+ years of recruitment expertise to this conversation about why companies struggle to truly hear their employees.
We dive deep into the disconnect between conducting engagement surveys and implementing genuine listening strategies. Maureen explains why even well-intentioned HR teams and managers often can't hear feedback without bias, and how independent partners create the psychological safety essential for honest communication. "People want to feel heard," Maureen emphasizes, "and I don't know how heard you feel when you've filled in an online survey."
The conversation with Bill Banham reveals a fascinating post-pandemic shift in workplace dynamics. While pre-COVID exit interviews often contained negative feedback about direct managers, today's employees express positive sentiments about their managers while directing frustration toward leadership teams. Maureen unpacks the complex reasons behind this change—from decreased leadership visibility to middle managers increasingly identifying with their teams rather than with leadership.
Perhaps most compelling is Maureen's challenge to conventional employer branding approaches. Rather than investing in slick recruitment websites or referral schemes, she advocates for fostering genuine employee advocacy through meaningful listening practices. "There's nothing more powerful than genuine advocacy," she asserts, pointing to the missed opportunity when companies fail to amplify authentic employee voices.
Whether you're struggling with retention, rebuilding your culture post-pandemic, or simply wanting to strengthen your employer brand, this episode offers actionable insights on creating psychological safety, conducting effective stay interviews, and transforming employee feedback into strategic advantage. Connect with Maureen on LinkedIn or visit sullivanbrown.co.uk and mi-say.com to learn more about amplifying employee voice in your organization.

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DisruptHR Birmingham and The HR Shockwave with Sara Andrews Sep 08, 2025

Show notes

What happens when engineering principles meet people strategy? Sara Andrews, Chief People Officer at Ecovyst, brings this powerful combination to the HRchat Show, revealing how her background as an engineer transformed her approach to human resources leadership.

Looking toward her upcoming presentation "HR as a Shockwave: From Compliance to Competitive Edge" at DisruptHR Birmingham, Sara previews how trust, talent frameworks, and culture serve as driving forces for organizational transformation. She also offers practical insights on balancing legacy practices with innovation, adapting strategies across different business environments, and leveraging AI for talent attraction, workforce planning, and personalized development.
Sarah also shares her journey of recognizing that truly effective HR requires building "strong, capable, competent and coherent teams" that directly impact business outcomes. Rather than viewing HR as a support function, she positions it as a strategic driver of enterprise value. Her refreshing perspective cuts through typical HR rhetoric to focus on measurable results: "My entry into HR was always about making a difference, having an HR function that created value and initiatives that really spoke to the bottom line."
While acknowledging HR's progress in gaining organizational influence, Sarah candidly assesses our current reality: "I think we have a seat at the top table. I'm not quite sure that our voice is as clearly heard as it should be." She outlines how HR professionals must develop skills to demonstrate how people management directly connects to growth, revenue, and DEI. This represents the evolving frontier for HR leadership – moving beyond presence to genuine influence.
Ready to transform your HR function from a support role to a competitive advantage? Listen now to discover how engineering principles can revolutionize your people strategy and drive measurable business impact.

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When Values Drive Growth: Authentic Leadership in Scaling Companies with Christina Luconi Sep 04, 2025

Show notes

In this episode, Christina Luconi, dubbed "the original people innovator," takes host Bill Banham on a fascinating journey through her pioneering career in transforming how fast-growing companies approach their most valuable asset - their people. With refreshing candor and hard-earned wisdom, she reveals how she's helped multiple tech startups scale from dozens to thousands of employees without sacrificing their cultural foundations.
The conversation explores Christina's unconventional entry into HR after studying psychology, where her willingness to question established norms ("why do we call humans 'resources'?") set her on a path of people-centered innovation. Her formative experience at Sapient during the 90s tech boom—where she helped scale from 150 to 3,500 employees in just four years—established her philosophy that culture isn't just important for growth; it's the essential foundation that makes rapid growth possible.
Christina shares practical strategies from her 14-year tenure at Rapid7, where she developed the concept of "scaling with soul." Rather than imposing values from the top down, she engaged employees directly in defining the company's identity and integrated these values throughout the employee lifecycle. The approach was so successful that even terminated employees would recommend the company to others—perhaps the ultimate test of cultural strength. She eloquently articulates how diversity of thought and cultural alignment can coexist when organizations focus on shared values while encouraging authentic self-expression.
Now launching her consulting practice, People Innovations, Christina aims to help early-stage companies recognize the critical importance of human-centered approaches from day one. Having faced personal health challenges that shifted her perspective, she's passionate about maximizing her impact across multiple organizations. Despite acknowledging the current difficulties in people leadership, she remains optimistic: "This could be one of the most pivotal and important roles in a company because ultimately, it doesn't matter what you're building or selling...AI might replace a lot of stuff, but it can't replace human relationships and trust and collaboration."
Ready to transform how your organization approaches culture and growth? Subscribe to the HRchat Show for more insights from visionary leaders who are redefining the world of work.

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