Jill Bruneau
Director of Total Rewards
Powder Mountain
Episode 296
Rethink HR: Embrace a startup mindset to win the war for talent.
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleFebruary 18, 2025 · 8:00
Thesis
“Companies, particularly in dynamic or seasonal industries, must embrace an agile 'startup' mindset in HR, challenging traditional approaches and prioritizing competitive, innovative total rewards to attract and retain talent.”
Show notes
Powder Mountain is a ski resort in Utah that describes itself as a 50-year-old startup. It's an unusual self-description — but for Jill Bruneau, their Director of Total Rewards, it captures something real: a seasonal, legacy operation that has deliberately chosen to rethink everything rather than default to how things were done before.
Jill came to HR through an unexpected route — twenty years as a veterinary technician — and she brings an outsider's healthy skepticism to conventional HR wisdom. Her operating principle: if a practice exists primarily because it's how it was always done, that's not a reason to keep it. At Powder Mountain, that mindset has driven everything from rethinking base wage structures to building benefit packages that actually compete for the talent a hospitality operation needs year-round, not just during peak season. She credits her comfort with unconventional approaches to her diverse background, and points to the Netflix culture document (and Reed Hastings' No Rules Rules) as a touchstone for building high-trust, high-accountability environments without excessive bureaucracy.
Her work with seasonal workforce management is particularly instructive: the challenge of retaining talent when the employment cycle is inherently discontinuous requires creative total rewards design, not just better onboarding. Jill also brings a clear-eyed view of what transparent communication during organizational transformation actually requires — especially when new leadership inherits a workforce with established expectations.
- The 50-year-old startup mindset — why legacy organizations can and should challenge every inherited HR convention
- Startup agility in traditional industries — applying innovation-driven thinking to hospitality and seasonal workforce management
- Total rewards design for seasonal talent — competitive compensation strategies that retain people through an inherently cyclical employment model
- Transparent leadership during organizational transformation — what new leaders owe employees during periods of significant change
- Non-traditional paths as HR assets — how backgrounds outside HR bring fresh perspective to stubborn people problems
- Building high-trust cultures without bureaucracy — lessons from No Rules Rules applied to a real seasonal operation
Built by People is sponsored by Previ, the private pricing network that saves employees an average of $2,200/year on essentials like cell phone and auto insurance — free for companies to launch and maintain.
What you'll take away
- 1Challenge conventional HR wisdom; don't adhere to 'how things were always done' if they no longer serve current needs.
- 2Adopt a startup mentality of agility and innovation, even in established industries, to drive business transformation and people strategies.
- 3Strategically tailor total rewards, including competitive base wages and enhanced perks, to attract and retain talent in unique or seasonal environments.
- 4Utilize transparency and direct communication with leadership during large-scale changes and onboarding to build employee trust and engagement.
- 5Draw on diverse professional experiences to foster 'outside-the-box' thinking and creative problem-solving in HR.
What most organizations get wrong
- •"Don't get locked into the mindset that you have to do something a certain way. Just because that's how it was done before doesn't mean that's what's gonna work now." (7:10)
- •"Rather than doing, uh, what other resorts are doing, I looked at other successful companies and, you know, they're paying market rate for compensation, they're offering competitive benefits, and, you know, doing all of this while still thinking like a scrappy startup." (3:08)
- •Embracing a "no rules rules approach" (5:03) to build a people team in a traditional industry like hospitality.
In Jill's words
“I started my career actually as a vet tech, and after about 20 years decided to transition over to HR.”
Highlights an unconventional career path into HR, demonstrating transferable skills from diverse experiences.
“Powder Mountain has pivoted from a public resort to a hybrid public-private resort. So as with any successful startup, you know, you kind of hire the best team, have great business model. And solid funding.”
Explains the core business transformation, framing it through the lens of a tech startup's success factors.
“Rather than doing, uh, what other resorts are doing, I looked at other successful companies and, you know, they're paying market rate for compensation, they're offering competitive benefits, and, you know, doing all of this while still thinking like a scrappy startup.”
Illustrates Jill's innovative approach to HR by seeking inspiration beyond industry norms and maintaining a lean, adaptive mindset.
“By being transparent and having the employees have the ability to ask questions and have those breakout sessions, I think really helped. Bring that trust that's needed to be able to say, hey, we're in this together and we're excited for what's coming.”
Details a successful strategy for building trust and engagement during rapid, large-scale seasonal onboarding through open communication.
“in our '24-'25 season, we increased that entry-level wage from $15 to $20 an hour, and then overall revamped our perk program. So I think that's gonna be the thing that's gonna have to happen is companies are gonna have to realize that people are looking for more.”
Provides a concrete example of a significant change in compensation strategy and connects it to a broader trend of evolving employee expectations.
“Don't get locked into the mindset that you have to do something a certain way. Just because that's how it was done before doesn't mean that's what's gonna work now.”
Offers a concise, actionable piece of advice that encapsulates her philosophy of adapting HR practices to current realities.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Failing businesses requiring rapid, agile, and innovative HR transformation to avoid collapse.
- •Attracting and retaining talent in highly seasonal or unique industries that often rely on non-traditional perks beyond standard compensation.
- •Efficiently onboarding a large volume of seasonal employees (e.g., 700 in two months) while ensuring trust and alignment with organizational changes.
- •Overcoming internal resistance and breaking away from established industry norms in HR practices (e.g., compensation, benefits) to stay competitive.
- •Addressing the top employee concern of covering monthly expenses, highlighting a need for innovative financial well-being benefits (as noted by the podcast sponsor).
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
I started my career as a vet tech and then transitioned over to HR
How to Start Your Career in HR
Powder Mountain is transforming into a 50-year-old startup
How Powder Mountain is transforming into a 50-Year-Old Startup
How do you tailor compensation and benefit packages to attract and retain talent in seasonal environment
Powder Mountain's Compensation and Benefit Plan
Managing seasonal operations at a ski resort is quite unique
How To Manage Seasonality at Snowbird
Looking ahead, what do you see as the major trends or changes in HR for seasonal industries
How Powder Mountain is preparing for the future
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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