SHRM26 Debrief · Strategic HR, Organizational Design & Change Management · #1355

Everything I Know about Solving Today's HR Problems – I Learned from My Dog

with Michael Puck

▶ Watch on the SHRM portal ~55 min, distilled

trustemployee engagementroot cause vs symptoms

"Organizations don't fail because of symptoms. They fail because they get really good at treating them instead of eliminating what's causing them."

What it was about

Trust is not a soft skill, it's a performance multiplier. The biggest workplace dysfunctions (low engagement, high attrition, burnout, low innovation) are symptoms whose common root cause is lack of trust, and leaders who chase symptoms instead of building trust waste time and money.

By the numbers

64% higher innovation

in high-trust environments because people feel comfortable failing

10 times

Great Place to Work certified companies get 10x the job seekers knocking at their doors compared to the average company

$150,000 grown to $2.7 million over 24 years (1998-2022)

hypothetical investment in the 100 Best Companies to Work For list

Key notes

Before fixing any workplace problem, ask whether you're addressing a symptom or the root cause. Most HR interventions (retention bonuses, engagement programs) treat symptoms rather than the underlying lack of trust.
Apply the ABC model of trustworthiness: Abilities/Accomplishments, Be your word (integrity), and Care about people. Lead with C, since most leaders over-index on demonstrating competence (A) and under-deliver on care (C).
High-trust environments produce measurably better business outcomes: higher innovation, engagement, and satisfaction, lower stress, burnout, and turnover. Treat trust-building as a strategic investment, not a culture nicety.

The contrarian takeStandard HR retention and engagement fixes (bonuses, monetary retention programs, automation/outsourcing of symptom-handling) are largely wasted effort because they treat visible symptoms rather than the root cause of lack of trust. No amount of process improvement, automation, or even AI can substitute for actually finding and fixing that root cause.

Take this back Monday

Do this for your team

Skip the retention bonus talk. Spend 10 minutes with each direct report asking what makes them feel seen, heard, and connected.

Say this in your next leadership meeting

Fair pay only satisfies 37% of what employees want. The other 63% comes from trust, so trust is a performance multiplier, not a soft skill.

Watch out for

Treating symptoms (high attrition, low engagement, low productivity) with surface fixes like monetary retention programs instead of asking why the root cause, lack of trust, exists.
Overemphasizing competence/abilities (the 'A' in ABC) while under-delivering on showing care for people, which backfires and lowers perceived trustworthiness.
Assuming pay and benefits alone will drive engagement, when research shows they only satisfy 37% of what employees actually want.

Fun fact · Michael Puck

Michael Puck is a two-time TEDx speaker and published author who also funds animal welfare causes through his dog photography.

If this landed, see these

↳ Go deeperEmotional Intelligence Is a System Skill That Makes Work WorkExplains why trust breaks down even with well-intentioned leaders: the surrounding system, not the person.⇄ The counterpointHR Transformation: Building Strategic Impact During ChangeArgues transformation succeeds on data and CEO alignment, a harder-nosed lever than trust alone.✦ The unexpected one2026 Annual SHRM Employee Benefits Survey ResultsThe 37% pay-satisfies-engagement stat gets a full data set here on what benefits actually move the needle.