What makes an HR leader successful in a PE backed company?

What are the key differences between PE backed and public companies?

My guest on this episode is with Randy Patterson, Managing Director of Human Capital, Portfolio Operations Group at Blackstone

During our conversation Randy and I discuss:

• What early career experiences were most helpful in preparing him to become a CHRO
• The differences between being a CHRO at a private equity backed company versus a public company
• How he assess potential candidates experiences, capabilities and fit for the CHRO role
• What makes a 1st time CHRO successful in a private equity backed company
• How Blackstone's innovative Career Pathways program is supporting the advancement of underrepresented talent

Connecting with Randy Patterson

Connect with Randy Patterson on LinkedIn

Learn more about Blackstone’s Career Pathways program

What does it mean to have “career agility” and how can you build this important skill?

My guests on this episode are Antoine Tirard and Claire Harbour who co-authored the book “Disrupt Your Career: How to Navigate Uncharted Career Transitions and Thrive” and co-host their popular “Disrupt Your Career" podcast.

During our conversation Antoine, Claire and I discuss:

• The three key trends that are driving a new career paradigm
• What they have learned in researching successful career transitions
• How to leverage their 4E career framework to find the right role for you
• Why “career agility” is so important and how to build this important skill
• Why career management is both an art and a science.
• What companies and HR can do to better support career development

Connecting with Claire and Antoine

Connect with Claire Harbour on LinkedIn

Connect with Antoine Tirard on LinkedIn

Learn more about their “Disrupt Your Career” book

Listen or subscribe to their “Disrupt Your Career” podcast

How can HR use people analytics insights to drive business results?

How will AI impact not only people analytics, but HR?

My guest on this episode is with Cole Napper, Vice President, People Analytics & Chief Evangelist, Orgnostic

During our conversation Cole and I discuss:

• Why people analytics is much more than just dashboards
• Why he believes people analytics is team sport
• What “organizational network analysis” is and how it can diagnose breakdowns in collaboration and communication within teams
• The potential value and use cases of Generative AI tools in HR
• How AI will impact the future of people analytics

Connecting with Cole Napper

Connect with Cole Napper on LinkedIn

Check out his podcast “Directionally Correct” or subscribe to his Substack to read his articles

Why is talent the ultimate value creator?

How can you unlock the capacity of your people and a high performance culture?

My guest on this episode is Chris Scalia, Chief Human Resources Officer, The Hershey Company

During our conversation Chris and I discuss:

• Why he believes talent is the ultimate value creator
• Why it is important that your organization have a strategic narrative that drives clarity and purpose for your workforce
• Why the most effective employee listening capabilities give team members a direct voice in shaping strategies and how the business operates
• Why he believes every high performing team is composed of visionaries, pragmatists, and geeks
• Why he believes a strong employee value proposition can build trust, increase organizational agility and foster inclusion.
• His advice for future CHROs on how to be successful in the role

Connecting with Chris Scalia

Connect with Chris Scalia on LinkedIn

Learn more about the Milton Hershey School

• How organizations can accelerate the transition of new leaders into their roles
• How remote and hybrid work has impacted leadership transitions
• Why it is critical that new leaders come in with a “learning plan” and how to create one
• Why he believes “integration” is more important than “orientation”
• Why organization’s need to be more clear on who owns leadership transitions
• Why he believes that people can develop “strategic thinking” skills

• Why differentiating your skills, a variety of experiences, and building deep relationships are critical to career success
• How and why I started the Future of HR podcast
• What I have learned after interviewing over 50+ HR leaders and experts in our field
• How CEOs can better leverage their HR leaders
• The key phrase that I believe will define the Future of HR

• Why relationships are the delivery systems of how work gets done
• How decisions are often driven by relationships, emotions, and other factors rather than rational thinking
• Why he believes the feedback is overrated
• Why is critical that HR speaks authentically and addresses what is happening in the moment
• How HR leaders can handle resistance and why overcoming it is about uncovering a leader’s doubts, not providing more evidence
• Why asking your key stakeholders, “what about our relationship do you find valuable” is one of the most effective ways to builds trust
• Why HR needs to stop waiting for a seat at the table and become the table

What makes a Talent Review successful?

Why is it important that your talent review be “action oriented” and deliver outcomes for the business

My guest on this episode is Anne Gotte, VP Global Talent, General Mills & Joe Garbus, EVP Global Head of Talent, PVH Corp.

During our conversation Anne, Joe, and I discuss:

• Why your talent review needs to be “smart and simple” and how to do it
• Why you should think of talent reviews as a diagnostic and planning tool
• Why talent reviews should focus on development, not just assessing performance and potential
• Why establishing consistent and shared definitions for evaluating and differentiating talent is critical to a successful talent review
• Why the best talent reviews are “action-orientated” and result in tangible plans, outcomes, and progress.

Connecting with Anne & Joe: Connect with Anne Gotte & Joe Garbus on LinkedIn

How can you best design and optimize your remote or hybrid work practices to increase productivity, collaboration and culture?

My guest on this episode is Nick Bloom, WFH expert & Professor of Economics at Stanford UniversityDuring our conversation Nick and I discuss:

• How he became the expert on “Working From Home” research
• The real reason “work from home” has increased over the past few years (hint: it is not just the pandemic)
• Why people working from home are more likely to log hours at night or on the weekends
• What the research really says about productivity and “remote / hybrid work”
• Why organized hybrid work schedules are becoming more popular
• Why he believes a strong performance management system is critical to successful hybrid/remote work workplaces
• Why he believes work from home will increase like a Nike swoosh over the next ten years

Connecting with Nick: Connect with Nick Bloom on LinkedIn

• How he made a mid career transition from operations to HR
• The workforce trends that are impacting healthcare organizations
• Why he believes that increasing productivity through technology is an imperative in the healthcare industry
• Why asking “how does this make someone feel” is the key to creating great employee experiences
• How talent acquisition drives the employee experience and can increase retention