Theme
Connection between employee experience and customer outcomes
Ep. 341 · January 20, 2025
Jed Milstein · Asbury Automotive Group
Exceptional customer service and business differentiation in the automotive industry directly stem from a profound commitment to internal employee well-being, fostering transparency, and meticulously integrating cultures during acquisitions to ensure continuity and drive productivity.
Score
100%
Ep. 1 · February 18, 2026
Kelly Costanza · CAVA
Successful organizations, particularly in frontline-heavy industries, must prioritize a 'full human experience' for employees by deeply embedding values, fostering human connection, and continuously adapting programs to meet evolving needs, thereby enabling exceptional customer experience while leveraging technology to enhance, not replace, human interaction.
Score
90%
Ep. 230 · April 16, 2025
Robert Sklans · N/A
HR must transcend traditional roles by deeply understanding business strategies and market dynamics to drive measurable value, with successful transformations built on genuine stakeholder involvement and clear strategic alignment.
Score
90%
Ep. 312 · February 6, 2025
Lizzie Garner · ClearChoice Dental Implant Centers
HR strategies should be reverse-engineered directly from specific business needs and desired customer experiences, rather than relying on rigid HR theory, to foster high-performing teams and drive organizational success.
Score
90%
Ep. 339 · January 21, 2025
Lisa Jacobi · COCC
Investing deeply in people and workplace culture is not merely a 'nice-to-have' but a direct and measurable driver of business success, customer satisfaction, and long-term organizational growth, especially in complex, service-oriented industries.
Score
90%
Ep. 363 · December 31, 2024
Shelley Okeefe · Platinum Dermatology Partners
Effective culture and employee experience are built by deeply understanding employee demographics, leveraging existing organizational strengths, and adapting flexibly, particularly through significant organizational changes like M&A, mirroring customer-centric marketing strategies.
Score
90%
Ep. 51 · September 18, 2025
Sean Hartley · Safeguard Medical
Effective HR leadership is not about leaving a personal legacy but about stewarding a role to leave the organization in a better state, driven by a customer-centric and experimental mindset that values transparency and empowers teams.
Score
80%
Ep. 139 · June 19, 2025
Jodi Weintraub · Revinate
HR must transform from a support function to a business accelerator by deeply integrating with and directly influencing core business metrics, fostering a business-first mindset among HR professionals.
Score
80%
Ep. 191 · May 14, 2025
Jessica Mitory · Advance Auto Parts
HR's strategic role is to create value for shareholders by building high-performance organizations, achieved by prioritizing and investing in employees who serve the customer, especially during periods of transformation, while continuously learning and adapting.
Score
80%
Ep. 196 · May 12, 2025
John Kral · Green Garden Child Development Center
Careers are non-linear, and while titles change, people remain at the core; effective leadership in HR requires a posture of curiosity, deep listening, and applying organizational values consistently to both customers and employees to drive positive change and foster growth.
Score
80%
Ep. 245 · April 4, 2025
Kate Kemp · Restaurant365
HR's fundamental role is to enable and amplify the organization by understanding and leveraging people's unique experiences and differences as assets, acting as a platform to remove friction and drive impact.
Score
80%
Ep. 264 · March 24, 2025
Liz Ahmed · Unum
By actively embracing continuous change and transformation rather than specializing, HR leaders can strategically align with business goals, foster deep employee engagement through transparent communication and storytelling, and proactively develop programs that address evolving workforce needs like mental health and efficient benefits administration.
Score
80%
Ep. 277 · March 13, 2025
James Selig · Crunch Fitness
The fundamental delivery of accurate and timely benefits and compensation (the "basics") is the most critical component of Total Rewards, as it establishes trust and enables all other strategic initiatives, akin to a five-star hospitality experience.
Score
80%
Ep. 367 · December 24, 2024
Fred Skinner · Eversana
A genuinely cultivated, simple, and trust-based company culture, centered on employee engagement, client delight, and financial results, is the indispensable foundation for sustainable success, especially through rapid growth and mergers.
Score
80%
Ep. 76 · August 18, 2025
Maureen Cawley · Saatva
Authentic company culture is built by deeply aligning internal practices and employee experience with external brand promises, leading to total life success for employees and fostering strong customer trust.
Score
75%
Ep. 157 · June 6, 2025
Marina Hong Mealin · Bayer
Successful organizational transformation hinges on a dynamic, skills-based approach, a customer-first enterprise mindset, and empowered cross-functional teams, requiring HR to drive changes in structure, mindset, and tools.
Score
70%
Ep. 184 · May 19, 2025
Mark Arell · Herc Rentals
HR's primary role is to act as a business partner, strategically aligning talent initiatives with core company goals and leveraging data to cultivate internal capabilities that directly drive and enable measurable business growth.
Score
70%
Ep. 193 · May 13, 2025
Jeanette Winters · 8x8
Strategic HR must transcend compliance, deeply understanding business economics and cultural nuances to align talent strategies that directly drive tangible business outcomes and foster genuine employee engagement.
Score
70%
Ep. 204 · May 5, 2025
Katy Conway · RGP
Katy Conway believes that effective HR leadership stems from a 'business-first' mindset, treating employee experience like a marketer treats customer experience, and using comprehensive data to uncover true drivers of engagement and retention, rather than relying on common assumptions.
Score
70%
Ep. 215 · April 28, 2025
Marc Hinson · Smokey Bones
While efficiency-driven AI and automation are valuable for HR operations, genuine human connection and consistent, personal performance management are essential for building and retaining high-performing teams and ensuring an excellent customer experience, particularly in the hospitality sector.
Score
70%
Ep. 218 · April 24, 2025
Shelley Wells · PeopleInk
Building a high-performing, people-centric organization requires a consciously designed, values-driven culture that is integrated into every aspect of the business, from hiring to accountability and customer branding, and sustained through continuous discipline with unwavering leadership buy-in.
Score
70%
Ep. 238 · April 9, 2025
Jeff Diana · Advising For Impact LLC
HR must evolve from a reactive, administrative function to a proactive, data-driven strategic business partner that deeply understands and contributes to core business metrics, actively markets its impact, and earns its 'seat at the table' to drive organizational productivity and growth.
Score
70%
Ep. 302 · February 13, 2025
Courtney Abraham · Current Lighting
HR leaders must adopt a business-first mindset, focusing on measurable value creation and organizational impact, while simultaneously fostering a people-centric culture through active listening, robust feedback mechanisms, and creative, resourceful initiatives, particularly in resource-constrained environments.
Score
70%
Ep. 45 · September 25, 2025
Maxim Williams · Autodesk
A well-defined and intentionally evolved company culture, underpinned by clear values, continuous learning, and an embrace of failure, is essential for driving organizational performance, innovation, and ultimately, a better world.
Score
60%
Ep. 62 · September 3, 2025
Yutaka Takagi · isolved
Despite the relentless march of technology and AI in HR, the indispensable human elements of communication and empathy must remain at the core, guiding how we design and implement solutions to truly serve people.
Score
60%
Ep. 91 · July 25, 2025
Vineet Gambhir · Datalink
Recruiting is a fundamental brand-building and sales exercise for any company, demanding empathy, authenticity, and a strategic future-focused approach to attract and retain the best talent, rather than being treated as a mere tactical task.
Score
60%
Ep. 101 · July 18, 2025
Dr. Waajida L. Small · Trinity Wall Street
An authentic and inclusive organizational culture is built on 'ways of being'—how people genuinely act and serve—rather than static, potentially 'weaponized' values. This approach fosters a deeper connection to the organization's mission for all employees.
Score
60%
Ep. 131 · June 25, 2025
Amanda Sedars · Mindr
A strong legal foundation, coupled with a relentless focus on human connection and strategic networking, empowers HR leaders to navigate complex, fast-paced environments like private equity, driving performance while building resilient, values-driven cultures.
Score
60%
Ep. 152 · June 11, 2025
Thomas Lokar · National Car Wash Solutions
HR must proactively transform into a strategic value creator, leveraging technology and data to move beyond transactional tasks and drive tangible business outcomes.
Score
60%
Ep. 156 · June 8, 2025
Melanie Steinbach · MasterClass
HR leaders must deeply understand the business's financial model and proactively engage beyond traditional HR confines to truly unlock human potential and drive business value, moving from advisor to co-pilot.
Score
60%
Ep. 249 · March 31, 2025
Luani Alvarado · Kenvue
Successful organizations are built by intentionally fostering a people-centric culture where employees feel valued, can make an impact, grow, and are recognized, transcending traditional HR functions to focus on individual needs and leadership development.
Score
60%
Ep. 250 · March 28, 2025
Jamie Durling · Luxury Goods & Retail (various organizations)
HR must transcend traditional people-centric views to become a strategic business facilitator, quantifying its impact on financial outcomes and proactively partnering with finance to drive top and bottom-line results.
Score
60%
Ep. 295 · February 18, 2025
Diana Blancone · Omnicom Media Group
To be truly effective, HR leaders must integrate deeply into core business operations, understanding financials, client deliverables, and overall strategy, rather than operating in a departmental silo.
Score
60%
Ep. 310 · February 7, 2025
Bob Lockett · CAE
HR leaders must adopt a scientific, data-driven approach to solve business challenges, consistently linking HR efforts to financial outcomes, and strategically influencing leaders rather than solely managing employee issues. This requires continuous learning, risk-taking, and a resilient mindset.
Score
60%
Ep. 9 · January 26, 2026
Kevin Weishaar · Property Management/Affordable Housing Firm
In an increasingly data-driven and AI-influenced world, effective leadership hinges on prioritizing personal connections and fostering strong relationships to inspire teams, navigate change, and ultimately drive organizational and societal success.
Score
50%
Ep. 37 · September 30, 2025
Jill Wrobel · Brunswick Corporation
Sustainable continuous improvement is critical for organizational success, especially in dynamic sectors, and must be intentionally embedded into a company's unique culture, values, business systems, and leadership behaviors, all communicated with authenticity and care.
Score
50%
Ep. 95 · July 23, 2025
Malvika Jhangiani · FARO Technologies
Successful HR leadership in a dynamic, global environment demands agility, a willingness to embrace discomfort and 'scrappy' innovation, and a profound 'bilingual' understanding of both HR and core business functions to unlock human potential and drive growth.
Score
50%
Ep. 98 · July 21, 2025
Lamari Brayboy Lii · Thoughtworks
HR must evolve from a perceived cost center to an indispensable strategic business partner by adopting a data-driven, cross-functional approach, translating HR initiatives into measurable business value, and integrating deeply with financial and sales objectives.
Score
50%
Ep. 142 · June 18, 2025
Diane Sanford · Unleashed Brands
Fostering a foundation of trust and clarity is paramount for creating best-in-class workplace cultures that enable employees, particularly younger generations, to thrive and connect their work to a larger purpose, while strategically leveraging technology to enhance human connection.
Score
50%
Ep. 168 · May 30, 2025
Tom Brown · Druva
The future impact of AI on jobs is largely unknown, but organizations and individuals must proactively embrace learning, curiosity, and responsible risk-taking to leverage AI's augmenting benefits and navigate its societal transformation, rather than succumbing to fear.
Score
50%
Ep. 169 · May 29, 2025
Kevin Henry · PulteGroup
Effective HR leadership is rooted in humanity, empowering employees through clear communication and strategic recognition, and embracing innovative thinking to drive both business performance and a thriving organizational culture.
Score
50%
Ep. 275 · March 17, 2025
DeRetta Rhodes · Atlanta Braves
Personal and professional growth is achieved through navigating challenges with resilience, cultivating strong support networks, and actively empowering others, while consistently recognizing and demonstrating the inherent value of the HR profession.
Score
50%
Ep. 281 · March 7, 2025
Gena Smith · LVMH North America
High-performance cultures can and must coexist with holistic employee care and well-being, fostering growth and innovation through intentional development and transparent career pathways.
Score
50%
Ep. 304 · February 12, 2025
Hope Harris · Real Floors
HR professionals must transition from compliance-focused roles to strategic business partners with cross-functional understanding, while cultivating an environment where employees feel valued and their work aligns with a greater purpose, fostering engagement and positive impact.
Score
50%
Ep. 314 · February 5, 2025
Ruchita Sharma · Guardian Life
Ruchita Sharma argues that HR's true value lies in proactively driving business outcomes through strategic transformation, embracing technology and flexible models, and fostering a culture of continuous learning, rather than merely reacting to situations.
Score
50%
Ep. 328 · January 28, 2025
Josh Greenwald · Elevance Health (previously Bank of America, TIAA)
HR must build durable, future-proof talent strategies, develop learning-agile leaders, and foster human-centric cultures to navigate the accelerating pace of business transformation, especially with AI, while proactively mitigating burnout and enhancing employee experience.
Score
50%
Ep. 349 · January 14, 2025
Janice Deskus · Staples
Successful large-scale change and organizational transformation depend on a deep understanding of an organization's history, present, and future goals, coupled with relentless, empathetic communication and a holistic approach to leadership development that prioritizes the 'whole self' of employees.
Score
50%
“The only thing that differentiates one car dealership from another in our business is the level of service... What will get you connected and have you coming back to that dealership for service, future purchases, referri...”
“We believe and bringing heart, health, and humanity to food. And the only way we do that is through doing that for our people.”
“Although I was in HR, I would read the market research. I would attend the global franchise leadership meetings in R&D. I would always ask folks about what were they were doing, what was the work they were doing. I would...”
“Reverse engineering our program to fit the customer experience is what's ultimately most important to me.”
“When we started to invest in people, there was a direct correlation of the turnover going down, the employee engagement going up, and our report card ratings, which is a huge component of our success, going to a higher l...”
“You get the conversation, you get the phone call because of the technology, but you land the deal because those institutions learn about who we are and learn about the people. And it's the people that sells. And it's the...”
“What it taught me was to think about the customer experience... you can take those same philosophies and apply them to the employee experience... think of our employees as our customers.”
“This could be a little controversial, but similar to how a marketer thinks about customers, not all employees maybe are valued equal in an organization when you think about the value they drive to the business.”
“being on the other side of the fence, to look at what HR is providing the customer and how I've done it versus what the customer's actually looking for has been very helpful.”
“I found myself often with our leaders saying, hey, if this staff member was a 3-year-old in your classroom, what would you do? And they'd go, oh, I wouldn't do it that way. So what should we do? Let's carry that value no...”
“I often think about our customers are our employees. And if you think about applying design thinking to that, it's really thinking about the customer experience and how you enable that and working backwards from there.”
“I take a lot of elements, I think, from the hospitality field and apply it to the total rewards field. I think every day when I go to work, I try to envision myself as almost like this concierge at a 5-star hotel.”
“If we put the customer first, everything else revolves around it.”
“One of the things about servicing customer through calls is understanding the culture of the caller.”
“However, when you look at the ways of being, giving the best of ourselves, being in service to the community, bringing people together, that work you do, we can't send out a grant, right, without you processing a piece o...”
“At the core is connecting your initiatives and your culture to what wins with your customer.”