Crafting Culture

If you had to bet everything you own on one to win the Indy 500, would you choose:  A 5-year-old driving the fastest car ever made or Michael Schumacher driving a lawnmower? Yeah… either way, you’d end up broke. That’s because the best car and best driver aren’t aligned.  Crafting a perfect company culture is the same: It’s all about aligning your promises to customers with your promises to employees.  That’s what the latest episode of Crafting Culture is all about — cultural alignment.  In it, I go over: Why culture is another name for the promises you make Why carving a niche matters for both customers and employees How to strike a compromise between customer and employee priorities To listen to this episode and many more like it, subscribe to Crafting Culture on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or follow along on our website.

The majority of data HR collects is ubiquitous by itself. But, when operationalized and paired with qualitative data collection, it can be pretty powerful stuff. In this episode of Crafting Culture, co-host Matt Burns explores three steps organizations can take to operationalize their HR analytics. He covers: Determining which data sets are imperative and which are not The value of using both quantitative and qualitative data for creating compelling arguments Why organizations should be transparent with their HR information  This episode is co-hosted by Matt Burns, founder and CIO of BentoHR. To listen to this episode and many more like it, subscribe to Crafting Culture on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or follow along on our website.

Where is the line between company culture and just doing business?  Even if it’s a little blurry, there has to be one. Right? After all, you can’t spare someone’s feelings at the expense of the entire company. To explore this paradox further, co-host Kate Marshall of Zestful catches up with Liz Ratto, the head of people at Cedar, Inc. The two discuss: Building a nurturing environment at a startup Navigating the reality of a startup while still catering to its employees Developing a culture that normalizes feedback, growth, and change The #Perks series on Crafting Culture is brought to you by Zestful. Zestful makes daily recognition and rewards a breeze with its consolidated and easy-to-use employee perks platform. To learn more, visit zestful.com/craftingculture. Listen to this and all our other Crafting Culture episodes with Apple Podcast, Spotify, or on our website.

Employee benefits plans are always about give and take. None of us can have everything. What’s surprising, though, is the lack of transparency around benefits. Shouldn’t the employee be able to exchange benefits in for ones they actually prioritize? Co-host Ryan Kohler thinks so. In this episode of Crafting Culture, Ryan shares the #1 tool that helps him and his employees prioritize benefits together. Plus, he covers: Inclusion in the tech space How to have better relationships with your employees The importance of not assuming which benefits your employees prioritize This episode is co-hosted by Ryan Kohler, CEO at ApplicantPro. To listen to this episode and many more like it, subscribe to Crafting Culture on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or follow along on our website

Ok, zoomer. It’s official: Gen Z’s are the new millennials… with a few key differentiators. One being that people belonging to Gen Z don’t remember life without the internet. To share with us the differences between millennials and Gen Z’s and provide tips on retaining Gen Z employees is Ylva Eriksson. Ylva is the PR & Marketing Manager at Benify, a global benefits management tech provider. In this episode of Crafting Culture, Ylva and co-host Logan Lyles discuss: The importance of knowing your employees in order to serve them well. Components Gen Z’s are looking for in their workplace. Keys for recruiting and retaining Gen Z employees. See Benify’s Gen Z employee study here. The perk series is co-hosted by Logan Lyles, Director of Partnerships at Sweet Fish Media. To listen to this episode and many more like it, subscribe to Crafting Culture on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or follow along on our website.

Being part of a new company can be a very ambiguous time. No one’s really telling you what to do — you just hopefully make the right decision. Many times there’s not an established HR role. How do you make sure you’re developing a positive work culture that helps your organization grow? In this #perk episode of Crafting Culture, co-host Kate Marshall catches up with CADRE’s Culture & Events Manager, Catie Case. Catie is one all too familiar with pulling a company’s culture out of — essentially — thin air. The two discuss: Growing in your career as your company also grows. Getting people involved in new work culture initiatives. Coming up with creative culture ideas for your specific organization. The #perk series is co-hosted by Kate Marshall, Head of Content at Zestful. Zestful makes daily recognition and rewards a breeze with its consolidated and easy-to-use employee perks platform. To learn more, visit zestful.com/craftingculture. To listen to this episode and many more like it, subscribe to Crafting Culture on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or follow along on our website.

In the age of remote workers, off-site employees are looking for perks just like on-site team members. But it’s not as easy to engage remote employees with catered lunches or office happy hours. In this #perks episode of Crafting Culture, co-host Kate Marshall of Zestful encourages HR leaders to get creative with perks for remote employees. She also discusses: Examples of creative perks for remote teams What perks modern employees are expecting from their work Why workplaces need to be more flexible today The perk series is co-hosted by Kate Marshall, Head of Content at Zestful. Zestful makes daily recognition and rewards a breeze with its consolidated and easy-to-use employee perks platform. To learn more, visit zestful.com/craftingculture. To listen to this episode and many more like it, subscribe to Crafting Culture on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or follow along on our website.

Predictive analytics in HR may be a trend today. But it will be a reality tomorrow. HR leaders should be taking advantage of the opportunities predictive analytics provides us today. In this episode of Crafting Culture, founder and CIO of BentoHR — Matt Burns — fills us in on why HR leaders should be leveraging predictive analytics today. Plus, he covers: Uncovering patterns in aggregated data How to optimize your resources with predictive data Helping the HR industry evolve from putting fires out to preventing fires entirely This episode is co-hosted by Matt Burns, founder and CIO of BentoHR. To listen to this episode and many more like it, subscribe to Crafting Culture on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or follow along on our website.

If you want to hire phenomenal people, especially in a tight labor market, you have to lighten your job-specific requirements and focus on skills and values. Ryan Kohler talks about how to make the shift from hiring just for skill to hiring for culture fit. Ryan Kohler is the CEO of Applicant Pro, an Applicant Tracking System that offers fully-integratable products to boost hiring strategy, including background checks, employee onboarding, and pre-employment assessments. What Ryan discussed: Knowing what you're hiring for What culture fit really means Why most people would rather hire for skill than culture (and why they're wrong) How to research your candidates before an interview Interviewing tips for culture fit The value of hiring for culture fit This episode is co-hosted by Ryan Kohler, CEO at Applicant Pro. To listen to this episode and many more like it, subscribe to Crafting Culture on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or follow along on our website.

Let’s talk empathy. No, not the warm, fuzzy, share-all-your-innermost-feelings empathy. The professional, direct kind of empathy. The type of empathy that gets stuff done. In this episode of Crafting Culture, I check in with Emma Brudner, Director of People Operations at Lola.com. She shares her experience with perspective-taking in professional settings. Plus, we talk about: Finding the balance between empathy and directness at work How to use empathy to create a more efficient work culture How leaders can use authenticity and vulnerability to be more effective Check out Emma’s article on Inc.com, Why You Need to Make an Effort to Be Empathetic at Work if You Want to Be More Efficient. The Perks Series on Crafting Culture is brought to you by Zestful. Zestful makes daily recognition and rewards a breeze with its consolidated and easy-to-use employee perks platform. To learn more, visit zestful.com/craftingculture. Listen to this and all our other Crafting Culture episodes with Apple Podcast, Spotify, or at our website.