Dina Perreault
VP of Human Resources
the Faulkner Organization
Episode 24
Beyond HR Admin: Why Strategic HR is Your Business's New Secret Weapon
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features interviews with world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleNovember 13, 2025 · 15:02
Thesis
“Effective HR operates as a strategic business partner, deeply understanding the organization's goals and fostering human-centric communication and trust, which technology alone cannot replace.”
Show notes
Twenty-three years ago, a mentor named Larry hired Dina Perreault, trained her in everything he knew about HR, got her certified, and then — as planned from the beginning — retired. She didn't know any of that was coming when she said yes. It turned out to be one of the best unscripted career decisions she ever made, and it set up a philosophy she carries to this day: HR's job is to be a genuine business partner, not a compliance function with a benefits portal.
Dina leads HR at the Faulkner Organization, a multi-location automotive dealer group — an industry with a workforce that's skilled, competitive, and deeply reliant on the kind of technical talent that's increasingly hard to find. The succession planning and talent pipeline work she's prioritizing isn't abstract; it's a direct response to a shrinking pool of candidates with the technical skills the business needs to operate. She's building pathways from the ground up, working with operational leaders who function as her primary communication amplifiers across the organization.
Her solution to one of HR's most draining problems — the endless repetitive questions that consume disproportionate time — is simple and worth stealing: a robust FAQ resource, quarterly management training sessions, and operational leaders who own the message once HR equips them with it. It doesn't eliminate the noise entirely, but it changes where the noise originates and who's responsible for answering it.
What you'll learn:
- How Dina is building succession planning and talent pipelines in a shrinking skilled trades talent pool
- The FAQ + manager training approach to reducing repetitive employee questions and HR information overload
- Why operational leaders are the most important communication partners HR has — and how to leverage them
- Where AI can genuinely help HR (training scenarios, practice simulations) and where human interaction is still irreplaceable
- What "HR as business partner" actually means in a frontline-heavy automotive environment
- The mentorship-driven career origin story that shaped her approach to the function
Built by People is presented by Previ — the free tool that helps HR teams boost internal communication engagement.
What you'll take away
- 1HR must lead as a business partner first, speaking the business language fluently to demonstrate impact beyond traditional HR functions.
- 2Combat repetitive employee questions and information overload by establishing accessible FAQs and consistent, quarterly management training sessions.
- 3Leverage operational leaders as critical partners to amplify HR messaging and ensure consistent communication across the organization.
- 4Prioritize strategic activities like succession planning and talent pipeline development, especially for roles with shrinking talent pools like skilled trades.
- 5While AI offers value for training scenarios and practice, genuine human interaction is essential for building trust and truly understanding employee needs and reactions.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Dina emphasizes that human interaction for communication and trust-building is irreplaceable, stating that AI 'won't be able to fill that gap' and 'we'll be more comfortable talking to machines, but that's just not yet, right? Not today.' This pushes back against the idea of AI fully automating critical communication aspects of HR.
In Dina's words
“And he said, come work for me. I'll train you everything I know. And what I didn't know was he was planning to retire. The next year, but his name is Larry and he was true to his word. He brought me on, he sent me through some additional training, made sure that I got my HR certification, and then he rode off into the sunset. And that was 23 years ago. And here I remain.”
This quote highlights an unconventional entry into HR, emphasizing mentorship and on-the-job training as a foundation for a long career.
“But when you're answering the same question for the 10th time, right, about the same kind of thing, or, hey, maybe they didn't read the email that was sent, that's kind of demoralizing, right? And then you spend a lot of time doing that repetitive administrative kind of work. Rather than focusing on strategy.”
This directly addresses a common pain point for HR professionals, underscoring the shift from administrative tasks to strategic work.
“And making sure that HR is well aligned with those 3 executives has been a huge benefit because they can sort of carry the water for us, right? They can ask all the questions or say, hey, I'm also being inundated with these questions. You know, how do I help? Get the word out, and then use sort of the same language so we're all speaking from the same playbook.”
This illustrates a practical strategy for improving communication and reducing HR's burden by involving and aligning with operational leadership.
“And I just don't think that that's something that AI will be able to— it won't be able to fill that gap, right? You really need humans to have that conversation.”
This quote draws a clear line between the capabilities of AI and the essential role of human interaction in fostering meaningful communication and trust.
“And of course, and so this isn't just in my current company, but it's sort of universal that the number one issue that employees state they have is a lack of or insufficient communication with the leadership team.”
This highlights a pervasive and universal challenge in employee engagement, underscoring the critical need for effective leadership communication.
“I would say, and I'm probably beating the same drum of many other HR professionals, but really be a business partner first. You need to learn the business well. You need to be able to speak the business language fluently.”
This provides core advice for HR professionals, emphasizing the need to integrate business acumen with HR expertise for strategic impact.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Struggling to find technical talent in the trades due to a shrinking pool and fierce competition, especially for roles requiring new computer programming skills.
- •HR teams are bogged down by answering repetitive employee questions about benefits, payroll, and time off, diverting focus from strategic initiatives.
- •Low utilization rates of existing internal communication tools like FAQs for employees.
- •Employees universally report a lack of or insufficient communication with their leadership team, leading to disengagement.
- •Market volatility is making talent acquisition more expensive and creating challenges with pay compression for current employees.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features interviews with world's top HR leaders
Built by People: Dina
You joined the military right out of college and now work in HR
Inspiring workers: My Journey into HR
Right now, I'm working on succession planning and talent development
Top Executives: Succession Plan and Talent Development
The biggest challenge is trying to find technical talent in the trades
What's the Biggest Challenge in HR?
You know, you mentioned something that was, it kind of hit me
What's the Most Ridical Job in the Company?
Which tools or partners are you finding most critical for you today
What Tools Are You Using to Manage Your HR Team?
Communication is key to helping companies thrive or suffer, right
Communication is the key to employee engagement
Overcommunication is better than undercommunication, so better engagement from employees is better
The New Culture of Overcommunication
If I came back in 12 months, what would you hope has changed in HR org
MRK: If I came back in 12 months, what would
Be a business partner first when you're hired as an HR person
Be a Business Partner First
Dina Dina joins us on the Built by People podcast
Built by People Podcast
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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