Ray Smith
Global SVP of People and Culture
The Arbinger Institute
Episode 180
How HR earns its seat at the table: Empowering talent for organizational success.
Current chapter: Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleMay 21, 2025 · 9:55
Thesis
“Empowering individuals through a culture of accountability and providing the autonomy to innovate, especially within HR initiatives, is crucial for organizational success and effective talent strategies.”
Show notes
Ray Smith's team achieved a 95% fill rate on hard-to-fill clinical positions — not by outbidding competitors on salary, but by making candidates feel like VIPs the moment they walked through the door.
Now Global SVP of People and Culture at The Arbinger Institute, Ray has 20 years of HR experience that started in corporate headhunting and evolved through some genuinely creative problem-solving. The "Red Carpet Experience" she developed at a physical therapy organization gave hiring managers a structured protocol for welcoming candidates with personalized facility tours, conversations with the clinical team, and a tangible sense of what working there would actually feel like. In a market where competing on compensation alone was impossible, that experience closed positions faster and at a higher rate than anything else they'd tried.
Her other case study — an early promotional video with QR codes distributed to therapists at competitor organizations — shows the same instinct: find a creative, human-centered angle and execute it before anyone else thinks to. Both initiatives also illustrate her broader leadership philosophy: give people the problem, let them develop the solution, and support them over the finish line. Ownership is the engine of accountability. And for HR leaders who are afraid to try something unconventional? Ray's response is direct: the people who take those chances are the ones who get remembered.
- The Red Carpet Experience — how personalizing the candidate journey for clinical roles drove a 95% fill rate in a competitive talent market
- Promotional video with QR codes — an early, creative employer branding move that reached candidates where traditional job postings couldn't
- Getting a seat at the table — how Ray moved HR from reactive staffing requests to proactive strategic involvement
- Accountability through ownership — the leadership practice of giving people the problem instead of the solution
- Taking calculated risks in HR — why the professionals willing to try unconventional approaches build the most credibility over time
- Building relationships with operations — why cross-functional trust is the prerequisite for every HR initiative that actually sticks
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What you'll take away
- 1Implement a 'red carpet experience' for candidates, providing personalized tours and interactions, which can dramatically increase fill rates (e.g., 95%) for hard-to-fill positions.
- 2Utilize innovative and creative promotional content (like early video reels with QR codes) to differentiate your employer brand and attract a diverse candidate pool.
- 3Proactively seek and secure a 'seat at the table' for HR, moving beyond reactive staffing requests to be involved in strategic organizational discussions.
- 4Foster a culture of accountability by presenting problems and empowering employees to devise their own solutions, then supporting them through implementation.
- 5Don't be afraid to take calculated risks with HR initiatives; successful 'out-of-the-box' approaches build credibility and open doors for future innovation.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Instead of dictating solutions, empower employees by 'giv[ing] them the problem, let them come up with the concept, and support them' to foster greater ownership and success.
- •Challenge the conventional fear of trying new things in HR; 'those people who take those chances are the ones who are remembered' and often achieve significant success by pushing beyond the norm.
In Ray's words
“The best part about my job is just being able to connect with people on a very personal level. And, and just making sure that everybody feels like they have a voice and is seen within the organization.”
This highlights Ray's core philosophy of human connection and visibility in HR.
“A lot of it was the talent that we had within the organizations. And in doing that, we had about a 95% fill rate when that happened, and we were able to close positions a lot quicker.”
This provides a concrete metric demonstrating the success of the red carpet experience.
“I created a promo reel in conjunction with, at the time, I think he was the regional vice president... And we connected it to QR codes.”
This showcases an early and innovative use of multimedia for recruitment marketing.
“I do ask for a seat at the table. So I want to know what's going on within the organization more than just, oh, what positions do you need? I'd like to be proactive in whatever is being done.”
This emphasizes the strategic and proactive role HR leaders should strive for.
“They're more likely to own something if you let them come up with the concept, give them the problem, let them come up with the concept, and support them in getting things over the threshold.”
This offers actionable advice on fostering accountability and innovative problem-solving within teams.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Struggling to fill specialized and critical positions in competitive industries.
- •Difficulty differentiating an employer's value proposition against competitors offering more perks or resources.
- •Challenges in attracting and building a diverse candidate pipeline.
- •HR departments being perceived as reactive rather than strategic partners in business operations.
- •Resistance or fear within HR to implement unconventional or innovative recruitment and engagement strategies.
In this episode
Built by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
SVP of HR has been in HR for about 20 years
In the Elevator With HR Executives
Ray Miller developed the red carpet experience strategy for talent acquisition
Red-Carpet Experience
Physio faced challenges with filling positions and attracting diverse candidates
The Promo Reel
Building relationships with operational folks played a crucial role in the success of HR initiatives
Ray, Building Relationships in the Organization
Ray, what parting advice would you like to share with our community
Ray McGuirk on His Final Words
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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