Bert Somsin
Chief Human Resources Officer
onsemi
Episode 44
Beyond 'Always Done It': First Principles Drive Breakthrough HR Transformation
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleSeptember 25, 2025 · 15:30
Thesis
“Deep-rooted organizational traditions often hinder progress, but by applying 'first principles' thinking, leveraging data, and demonstrating relentless conviction, HR leaders can successfully drive significant, impactful change that benefits both employees and customer experience.”
Show notes
Bert Somsin's career started on a loading dock — sorting packages at UPS during the Christmas rush. He had no HR background, no roadmap, and a staffing problem that was quietly becoming a safety crisis. What he did next became the defining story of how he thinks about every people challenge he's faced since: he went back to first principles, built a data-backed case, and fought through years of institutional resistance to get a training program redesigned from the ground up.
Today Bert leads HR for onsemi across 23,000 employees in 33 countries. The same discipline he applied to a UPS loading dock — question every assumption, stress-test your data, plan for worst-case scenarios — is the discipline he brings to global workforce strategy. His "first principles" approach is a direct rebuke of how most organizations handle change: by layering new initiatives on top of old ones rather than asking whether the old ones actually work.
The lesson at the center of this episode is one that translates across industries and scales: when tradition is the only defense for a failing process, tradition isn't the answer. But winning that argument takes data, conviction, and the willingness to be the most unpopular person in the room for a while.
- First principles thinking in HR — how to challenge "the way we've always done it" with evidence, not opinion
- Building a data-backed case for change — especially when the resistance is rooted in safety or tradition
- Managing cultural inertia — why change management is harder than the change itself
- Planning for worst-case scenarios — a practical habit that's served Bert across every organization he's led
- The character traits that compound over a career — integrity, consistency, and what actually earns trust at scale
Previ is an employer network that provides private pricing for employees — saving the average employee $2,200/year on essentials like cell phone service and insurance, at no cost to the company.
What you'll take away
- 1Challenge long-standing traditions and 'the way we've always done things' by questioning fundamental assumptions and employing a 'first principles' approach.
- 2Utilize data-backed analysis to build a compelling case for change, especially when addressing sensitive areas like safety or core operational processes.
- 3Cultivate relentless conviction and persistence to overcome resistance from all organizational levels, from executives to frontline trainers.
- 4Proactively plan for worst-case scenarios and engage peers early to broaden the impact and support for innovative solutions.
- 5Success often hinges on consistent character traits: being respectful, responsible, and having integrity, alongside strategic problem-solving.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Challenging a 30-year-old, 5-day safety training, which was a sacred cow, by proposing a more focused 3-day model, suggesting that 'less' (in duration) could be 'better' (in effectiveness and safety).
- •Arguing that a staffed operation (even with reduced initial training time) is inherently safer than an understaffed one, pushing back on the notion that longer training automatically equates to more safety.
In Bert's words
“What's much harder, the challenge was overcoming the cultural norms. This is the way we've done things. It's proven. We don't compromise in safety, et cetera.”
Highlights the primary obstacle to innovation in established organizations: deeply ingrained cultural resistance.
“It's not about compromising on safety or going against tradition. It's about solving the problem for what it is today, right?”
Articulates a modern approach to balancing cherished traditions with the necessity of evolving to meet current challenges.
“It wasn't about less safety training, it was about focused safety training.”
Reframes a potentially controversial reduction in training time as an improvement in quality and effectiveness.
“I believe that I pursued it without letting up. Like I was not going to back down from saying this is the right way and I will be a district of staff and. Keep all our team members safe.”
Emphasizes the critical role of conviction and persistence in driving significant organizational change against resistance.
“It's about first principles, which is breaking everything down to the most simple and fundamental form and then working your way back up from, from that standpoint.”
Introduces a powerful problem-solving methodology that helped him overcome initial constraints and find an innovative solution.
“Sometimes it's not about being special. It's just about being consistent, respectful, and responsible. In other words, being someone with character.”
Offers profound, foundational advice on the importance of character and consistent behavior for professional success.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Difficulty in meeting high-volume staffing needs (e.g., peak seasons) due to rigid and outdated training requirements that limit capacity.
- •Organizational inertia and resistance to change ('this is the way we've always done it') preventing the adoption of more effective, data-driven solutions.
- •Risk of unmet service commitments and compromised customer experience when staffing levels are insufficient.
- •Ineffective, generalized safety training that lacks focus and does not adapt to specific regional or contextual hazards.
- •Challenges in securing executive buy-in and convincing experienced trainers to adopt new methodologies, even when data supports the change.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Bert Johnson is the chief HR officer at semiconductor company Onsemi
Interviews with Onsemi's Chief HR Officer
At UPS, the problem was hiring enough peak drivers to support the Christmas rush
Top Executives: The Problem
Burt says overcoming resistance to safety training was key to success
The Challenges of Safety Training
Bert, why was solving this particular problem so important for the organization
UPS Employee on the Christmas Crisis
Bert, what parting advice would you like to share with our community
Bert Jones on Being Consistent, Respectful, and Success
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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