Patrick Porter

▶0:00IntroWelcome to the Built by People podcast, where we share the stories and insights of the world's top executive leaders. Join us as we dive deep into the minds of executives, uncovering their strategies, challenges, and triumphs in shaping today's workforce. Now, let's jump in and get started with our next guest.

▶0:41HostWell, I'm excited to welcome Pat to the Built By People podcast today. Pat, thanks so much for joining us. As a starting question, I always love to ask if you can share more about your career journey.

▶0:54GuestCertainly, James. Thanks for the invitation to join you. So I'm a global HR executive with 20 years experience leading transformational people strategies. As you get to know me through this conversation, I've been associated with lots of different industries, but as a chief human resources officer, I've excelled in workforce planning, talent acquisition, performance management, and cultural transformation. So worked closely as a trusted C-suite advisor, delivering results and, and improvement culture for organizations I've been a part of.

▶1:34HostAll right. Looking at your current company right now, what would you say is a top priority for this quarter?

▶1:41GuestSo, you know, and I, I wouldn't say it's not only this quarter, but it seems to be a continual focus of mine, but it's driving the, the people strategies to gain a measurable business impact, right? So, me throughout my HR career, it's been about strategy and people behavior, making sure that the organization is aligned with its organization goals and mission at hand. And part of that too, James, is also making sure that, you know, the people are in the right place at the right time and we're getting the right results from that. I love it.

▶2:20HostSo, I mean, you kind of hit on a pretty big challenge, getting people in the right place. And I think a lot of it comes down to the communication efforts to make sure we have that collaborative communication across the organization. Right now, how do you guys communicate and effectively get that type of conversation across the board and understanding of where they sit in their role and kind of figuring out if it is something they want to move to, stay within, or they want to move to a different department? How do you communicate best with your employees? Yeah.

▶2:51GuestSo, you know, the old adage in real estate, it's location, location, location. I think for businesses, it's communication, communication, communication. And we're, we're, I think, looking at this as an opportunity, but it's a challenge. And we're a global organization. So I've got people all across the globe, different time zones, different roles. And so the communication can't always be person, but yet, you know, we're a family-owned business and it's a lot about relationships and trust and working together. So it's using all forms of communication that's available. Sometimes the message can't be delivered one-on-one, right? So it's in the virtual channels like this. Sometimes it has to be in written form. Just this week, we do a quarterly global town hall. So we'll have upwards to 100 or more people dial in and be a part of that opportunity to have a conversation. But then, we record it and make it available for those that it doesn't fit into their schedule at the time. So, communication, communication, communication. I don't think organizations can put enough time and energy into having that ongoing conversation.

▶4:12HostCouldn't agree more, actually. That's, it's one of the things we've, we talk a lot about and it's funny how many HR leaders we connect with and talk through on the podcast. It does come very heavily into communication. That's how they get employees to resonate, how they get them to engage and then stay and feel that they're prioritized within the company. So I completely agree with that consistent communication being one of those. When you start looking at some of the biggest challenges you're facing, what would you say those currently are for you in your role?

▶4:46GuestI think it's in this business environment, everything seems to be challenged at warp speed, right? So it's, you know, the business itself sets goals and objectives, and yet, you know, we need to produce those tomorrow, right? The industry puts pressure on us. Outside of the industry, you know, the latest challenge I'm feeling is what what's happening in the space of artificial intelligence. Even as a global family-owned company, you know, we feel the need to understand how that's going to change. You know, in my 30-plus-year career, I've gone through the evolutions, right? And I can speak back to going from, you know, just recruiting being paper-based, and it was about, you know, the weight of the paper and the color of paper used on your resume, to now it was the dot-com days and applicant tracking system, that change, it seemed like you had opportunities to adjust. Artificial intelligence seems to be— it's, again, as I referenced earlier on warp speed, and you're constantly trying to catch up and catch up to understand. So to me, I think the biggest challenges is seeing the workplace change, the engagement change. Making sure that we've got the leaders in this organization that can lead us forward because at the end, we have to have that strategic focus and commitment to achieve the results. Yeah.

▶6:21HostI mean, you are not the only one, right? Artificial intelligence is one of those right now. I think everybody's like, what do we do? How do we look for it? What are we supposed to be identifying? I mean, transparently within our own organization, We're looking at all of it and it's where and what is the right tool and does it cover which parts of our organization? So I'd love to kind of, this is a random question, but I'd love to throw it out because you kind of hit on one of our questions already, which is what keeps you up at night. And AI is definitely one of those. How are you guys looking at AI from a prioritization level and are there any tools or maybe Are you looking at consulting firms or anything like that that's helping kind of navigate through those waters? Because there's so many AI tools out there.

▶7:10GuestThere, there are. And what I would say our approach is, and in some ways I'm fortunate, our CEO is, he's skilled and trained as an engineer. So he has that analytical mindset and he's playing a lot with and not just playing, but utilizing a lot of the AI modeling. We tend to be, not necessarily a product endorsement here, but we're leaning into more the, the work Microsoft Copilot, one, because it aligns with the platform that we're on. Two, it gives us a bit more priority ownership on our data and we're putting in and building our AI models around the Resolve Marine data rather than going out to public platforms from that standpoint. So I think you also ask what are you leaning into and prioritizing for the organization? I think we're in that discovery mode. You know, there are some isolated cases where, you know, we're using it from a leadership and strategic point of view, but then also trying to better leverage it from a business development, customer and client satisfaction retention point of view. And so I think a lot of what we're doing is exploratory and will be further defined while we're kind of building that memory and those muscles to use it and deploy it even more in 2026. Yeah.

▶8:40HostSo this would be kind of a future question that I always ask, but I'm going to bring it in now. Looking at a lot of, a lot of the people that listen into the podcast are HR leaders and some are like generalists, right? And they're trying to work their way up. You just mentioned a big part, strengthening that muscle of AI. What advice would you kind of give to that group, right? That's trying to move higher up into the role, right? Because AI is, is coming for a lot of things. I don't think it's going to overtake jobs, right? Maybe some cases for I think some other areas. Yeah.

▶9:14GuestRight.

▶9:15HostBut how do I strengthen that muscle now so that if I come into an organization, I have a little more validity to say, I know how to work with these tools.

▶9:23GuestYeah, James. And I've got two HR business partners that are at that point in their career. So they're 5 to 7 years into their career. And so for me, in the conversations I'm having with them is I want you to be a dry sponge. I want you to absorb anything and everything that you can about AI. Not saying that it will be fully applied to what you do as an HR business partner or a generalist, or I would even say that to someone that's in a key area like recruiting or compensation. It's just understanding it. This will be, it may be hard to see today, but this will be a paradigm shift for you, right? No different than I can point back to the timing of the dot-com days and shifting into the world of applicant tracking systems and figuring that out. But this, this to me seems like it's going to have even larger impact beyond just some kind of small technological advancement. So again, my message to those individuals is absorb as much AI and be willing to accept that the change is coming, right? And think outside the box. You know, we have to, in these times, look at, you know, your body of work, your work processes, your workflows, and think about, is there a better way that I can complete task A and task B and task C? James, I go back to often a mentor of mine. I came into an organization and we were talking about what does it take in order to be successful? And he said, be verbal, be visible, don't hesitate. And so if I take, you know, that message as simple as it is and apply to if I were an HR business partner today, start relatively into my career, but I wanted to grow at greater heights, is be visible, right? So when you see, whether it's a free AI training module or a webinar or seminar or a white paper or an article or a podcast, right? Consume it, right? Add that to your memory bank. Because you're going to draw on that later. And the part about change is coming. So, if you feel like you're always hesitant to accept the change, and look, I know a lot of people are struggling with what is the good of AI, and there's so many examples of bad that's going to come as of this, right? So, accept the good for what it is, utilize that and strengthen, you know, your knowledge, your skills, abilities, and experiences. Because that's, that to me is what's gonna open up doors of opportunity and allow you to, to level up your, your career.

▶12:36HostI love that message. So, okay. So I have a question on those 3 core principles that you just hit on, right? I'll, I'll ask this next question that I, that I also bring in, which is, is there a recent situation where maybe something broke down for you, whether it was, you know, it could have been benefits, engagement, compliance, churn, whatever it was that you were able to kind of utilize those principles that could help others as they're looking at some of these issues they're running into? Yeah.

▶13:02GuestSo recently, you know, Resolve Marine, we've experienced higher turnover than targeted or expected, right? And so as an organization challenged and we are only as good as our people, Right. And so we needed to take a step back and collect more data and understand that data around turnover or retention, however you want to look at it. And also, from my point of view, knowing that engagement has been a primary focus of mine and an HR leadership point of view is that engagement is being compromised too when we are experiencing higher turnover than expected. So that verbal part, we've had different conversations throughout the organization around retention and turnover to understand the issues. Some of it can be easily explained and somewhat accepted. In other cases, you know, you have to ask the difficult questions. And so you kind of lean into the topic to better understand it so that it doesn't, you know, become an organized problem and one that continues to linger and challenge, challenges us going forward.

▶14:21HostYeah, I, this is great because I think a lot of leaders, they kind of get stuck in the routine, right? And so being able to really kind of take that step back, like you're talking about to help understand them, what is the problem and let's try to solve it. Well, I know we've only got a few minutes more. If I were to come back to you in 12 months, what would you hope has changed in your HR org?

▶14:44GuestWell, to that point about AI, right? So we know that, that, that change is going to come. I hope in 12 months when we revisit, James, you're going to see that and hear me speak of how the organization has embraced that change, right? And embraced decision-making that's truly data-driven and strategically aligned, that we're not reacting and that we're, we're being proactive about the way we do business, the way we go to market. The way we support our customers from that standpoint. I think that's— we're at that middle of the intersection where it's so critical that that's how I envision us moving forward and where we'll be in 12 months. Awesome.

▶15:29HostWell, and what parting advice do you have that you'd like to share with our community?

▶15:33GuestWell, I go back to what we first started talking about at the beginning of the call was around people. And so I think any HR professional, HR leader should prioritize around people, recognizing that it's any organization's greatest resource. Make sure that we talked about earlier, you're fostering open communications, right? You're building long-lasting relationships. Too much of our management and leaders are challenged with How am I getting more done with less? And we're losing how critical those relationships are. And, you know, to me, my success oftentimes is in part because of the relationships I have built and the relationships that, that stay with me. Lastly, it's, you know, making sure that you're aligned with culture and culture and strategy are going hand in hand because that to me has been how success follows is when you do have a team that's valued and empowered and inspired. I appreciate it.

▶16:42HostI, I think that's great advice for the upcoming HR leaders and those that have maybe not stepped back for a minute, right? So I appreciate this. And Pat, I want to just thank you so much for joining us today on the Built By People podcast. It's been a pleasure having you involved.

▶16:56GuestThanks for the invite. I really enjoyed it.