Patrick Porter
CHRO
Resolve Marine
Episode 20
AI, Communication, Trust: Modern HR Strategies for Unlocking Business Impact
Current chapter: This episode is presented by Previ, the only free tool that boosts internal communication
Built By PeopleDecember 17, 2025 · 16:59
Thesis
“Effective HR leadership hinges on continually driving people strategies for measurable business impact through open communication, proactive adaptation to rapid change (especially AI), and fostering strong, trust-based relationships across a global workforce.”
Show notes
"In real estate, it's location, location, location," says Patrick Porter, CHRO at Resolve Marine. "For businesses, it's communication, communication, communication." Twenty years of leading global HR at a family-owned maritime company will produce that kind of distilled clarity — and this conversation is full of it.
Resolve Marine is a specialized global company, which means Patrick manages people across different time zones, different cultures, and different operational contexts. The communication challenge is structural: you can't rely on proximity, shared schedules, or organic hallway moments to keep people aligned. Everything has to be intentional, and the people who get left out of communication chains are usually the first to disengage. Patrick tracks it, addresses it, and takes it seriously when turnover signals that something is off.
He's also one of the more candid voices on AI in HR: he describes the pace of change as "warp speed" and is direct about feeling like he's constantly trying to catch up. His advice to HR professionals at every level is simple and memorable: "Be a dry sponge. Absorb everything you can about AI." And then: "Be verbal, be visible, don't hesitate." It's career advice with urgency embedded in it — because the window for getting ahead of this curve is closing.
What you'll learn:
- How Patrick manages communication and cultural alignment across a global, multi-timezone workforce
- What to do when turnover is higher than expected — the data-collection and conversation approach that uncovers root causes
- Why Patrick calls AI a "paradigm shift" — and his exploratory approach to integrating it at Resolve Marine
- The "dry sponge" mindset for HR professionals navigating rapid AI adoption
- Why "be verbal, be visible, don't hesitate" is the career mantra every HR leader needs right now
- How an overemphasis on efficiency is quietly eroding the relationships that make leadership effective
Built by People is presented by Previ — the free tool that helps HR teams boost internal communication engagement.
What you'll take away
- 1Prioritize communication across all channels and time zones to ensure organizational alignment, engagement, and a sense of belonging in a global workforce.
- 2Embrace Artificial Intelligence as a paradigm shift by continuously learning, understanding its impact, and exploring how it can optimize HR processes and workflows.
- 3For career growth, be 'verbal, visible, don't hesitate' to consume knowledge (like AI training) and proactively apply new thinking to traditional tasks.
- 4Address higher-than-expected turnover by taking a step back, collecting more data, and having difficult conversations to understand underlying issues and their impact on engagement.
- 5Prioritize people as an organization's greatest resource, fostering open communications, building long-lasting relationships, and aligning culture with strategy for sustained success.
What most organizations get wrong
In Patrick's words
“the old adage in real estate, it's location, location, location. I think for businesses, it's communication, communication, communication.”
This highlights the paramount importance of communication in business, likening it to a fundamental principle like location in real estate.
“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.”
This quote captures the rapid pace and challenge of integrating AI into the workplace, emphasizing the continuous effort required for understanding.
“I want you to be a dry sponge. I want you to absorb anything and everything that you can about AI.”
This provides clear, actionable advice for HR professionals to proactively learn and immerse themselves in AI knowledge for future career growth.
“be verbal, be visible, don't hesitate.”
A concise, memorable mantra for professional development, encouraging proactive engagement, visibility, and decisive action.
“To 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.”
This points out a common pitfall in leadership, where efficiency pressures can inadvertently erode the essential human element of relationship-building.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Struggling with effective, consistent communication across a global organization with diverse roles and time zones, impacting relationships and trust.
- •Feeling overwhelmed by the 'warp speed' evolution of technology, particularly AI, and the constant need to understand and adapt to its impact on the workplace and engagement.
- •Experiencing higher-than-targeted employee turnover, indicating potential engagement issues that require deeper data analysis and difficult conversations to resolve.
- •Risk of leaders getting 'stuck in routine' and failing to step back to diagnose and solve critical organizational problems like retention systematically.
- •Losing focus on building critical, long-lasting relationships within management and leadership due to pressures of 'getting more done with less.'
In this episode
This episode is presented by Previ, the only free tool that boosts internal communication
Built by People
James: I'm excited to welcome Pat to the Built By People podcast
Built By People
Communication is a top priority at your company right now, James
Top HR Priority: Communication
When you start looking at some of the biggest challenges you're facing in your role
The Challenges of Leading the Future
How are you guys looking at AI from a prioritization level
Marine Business Update: AI Prioritization
James: AI is coming for a lot of things, right
What Advice Would You Give to HR Business Partners?
Resolve Marine recently experienced higher turnover than targeted or expected
Understanding the Process of Recruitment and Retention
What would you hope has changed in your HR org in 12 months
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Any HR professional should prioritize around people, recognizing that it's any organization's
Pete Dunphy on Built by People
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
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