Guest:

Amy Edmondson, Ph.D., Harvard Business School professor of leadership and management

From lack of time to lack of C-suite buy-in, there's no shortage of reasons HR professionals might find themselves feeling more than a little frustrated — or even stuck — in their roles. In fact, in a role as challenging as HR, it would almost be more surprising if this weren't the case!

However, these feelings need not be permanent. By visualizing the HR profession as a classic hierarchy of needs, you can also visualize your path to its peak, leading to a kind of professional self-actualization or even transcendence. The model for this hierarchy, represented in the form of a pyramid, comes to us from one of the leading lights of 20th-century psychology: Abraham Maslow.

But what do the various levels on the HR hierarchy of needs actually look like? And how easy is it to move from one to the next?

In this episode of of HR Break Room®, host Caleb Masters welcomes Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson to discuss:

• the challenges and roadblocks to self-actualization faced by many HR professionals
• cultivating the right mindset for surmounting basic needs and safety and security to reach higher, more fulfilling levels on the hierarchy
• how the right HR technology can make the journey easier

Take an even deeper dive into the HR hierarchy of needs by reading our white paper, The HR Hierarchy of Needs: Achieving Self-Actualization in Your Profession.

Guest:

Guy Kawasaki, chief evangelist of Canva

Guy Kawasaki, host of the podcast Guy Kawasaki's Remarkable People, visits the HR Break Room® to share his unique insights regarding attitudes toward innovation, both as it relates to HR tech and within modern organizations as a whole.

In his position as chief evangelist of Canva, Kawasaki has seen and spearheaded positive changes across a diverse group of entities and understands the unique dynamics that play into organizational transformation.

In this episode, Kawasaki and host Caleb Masters discuss:

• the shifting role of the HR department in contemporary business
• making meaning as an essential function of innovation
• the impact the user experience has on the perception of a company
• how executives can partner with HR leadership to find the right HR tech for their organization

Learn more about how to foster a culture of innovation in your workplace by reading our white paper, Making the Change: How to Lead a Digital Transformation to Success.

Guest:

Steve Boese, HR Technology Conference program chair and HR Happy Hour podcast co-host

As a challenging year forced more organizations to embrace the reality of the digital transformation in the workplace, how employees incorporate technology into processes becomes more important by the day.

Steve Boese, chair of the HR Technology Conference, returns to the HR Break Room® to discuss the relationship between workplace tech and employees' frustrations. Boese addresses a new nationwide study by OnePoll that has uncovered some startling statistics about how office workers — both in the office and working remotely — view their options for tech in the workplace and ways for engaged employers to understand these results and move forward.

In this episode, Boese and host Caleb Masters unpack the implications of this information as they discuss:

• the dissonance between the technology employees encounter in their personal life versus their workplace tech and how this impacts the employee experience
• the costs associated with inefficient or outdated tech as it relates to productivity and the employee experience
• the varied benefits arising from effective and efficient workplace technology at all levels of the organization
• HR's role in technology selection and how to get C-suite buy-in during that process

Learn more about how to reduce employee frustrations with the right workplace technology by going to paycom.com/frustrations.

Guest:

Sharlyn Lauby, founder of HR Bartender

The events of 2020 exerted profound shifts in the way we think about work, including the technology we use to get our jobs done. But even as we enter the spring of 2021, a surprising number of organizations lag behind in their prioritization of automated workplace tech.

Meanwhile, remote or hybrid working arrangements pose challenges of their own. For example, in a recent OnePoll survey of American office workers, obtaining timely approvals from managers was cited as the second-biggest challenge for employees working from home.

How can you help ensure your organization is doing everything it can to position itself for success in a time of digital transformation?

In this episode of HR Break Room®, HR Bartender founder Sharlyn Lauby joins host Caleb Masters to discuss:

• how to harness the digital transformation to give employees what they want and accelerate business goals
• what remote and hybrid working environments are expected to look like in 2021
• why the right technology for employees should include tools for managers

Learn more about how to reduce employee frustrations with their workplace technology by checking out our toolkit, The Frustrations Today's Office Workers Have With Workplace Technology.

Guest:

Justin Cameron, Paycom manager of background check product

The ability to make informed hiring decisions is a crucial part of an effective talent acquisition process because it affects nearly every part of an organization. However, many businesses often overlook the importance of background checks or don't have the right HR tech to provide necessary information about candidates to help mitigate risks associated with hiring.

Protecting the safety and the culture of an organization begins with the selection process and helps ensure you hire the best individuals to move your company forward.

What should you look for in a background checks software to find and hire top talent?

Join us for episode 93 of HR Break Room® as we discuss:

• how a quality background checks process improves the candidate and employee experience
• best practices organizations can use to exercise due diligence in their background checks process
• why it's necessary for HR and recruiting teams to easily conduct employment screenings
• the role reliable technology plays in efficiently moving new hires through the background checks process

Learn how to exercise due diligence with Paycom's Enhanced Background Checks by reading our case study, How One Software Transformed Background Checks for a Government Contractor.

Guest:

Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take, Originals and Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

In episode 91 of HR Break Room®, Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and New York Times bestselling author, joined us to talk about creating a resilient workplace in 2021 in the midst of burnout and fatigue. Throughout the conversation, we received questions from the audience that only Grant could answer.

In today's digital reality, how can HR lead engagement initiatives to help motivate and retain employees?

In this special follow-up episode of HR Break Room, Grant returns to discuss:

• common questions about resiliency from the audience
• how to spot warning signs of employee burnout
• overcoming the communications gaps in your organization
• improving processes for employees in an uncertain business environment

Foster a resilient workplace culture by leveraging the digital transformation. Learn how by reading our white paper, Making the Change: How to Lead a Digital Transformation to Success.

Guest:

Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take, Originals, and Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know

For businesses, 2020 was marked by exponential change. Many HR professionals who were on the front lines leading changes are now dealing with burnout and fatigue.

How can HR teams address burnout and help create a culture of resiliency for a successful 2021?

Few people understand what it takes to overcome unexpected challenges through resiliency and innovation better than Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Option B.

In this episode of HR Break Room®, Grant joins us podcast to discuss:

• how HR can remain resilient in 2021
• practical steps to rebuild an organization when Option A is no longer on the table
• creating psychological safety when your organization experiences unexpected shifts
• leveraging digital transformation to improve employee buy-in

Foster a resilient workplace culture by leveraging the digital transformation. Learn how by reading our white paper, Making the Change: How to Lead a Digital Transformation to Success.

Guests:

Louis R. Lessig, Brown & Connery, LLP partner

AJ Griffin, Paycom's director of government and community affairs

The pre-employment screening process — criminal background checks, credit checks and so on — is crucial to many organizations' ability to bring in reliable talent. But the laws that govern that process exist in an often surprising state of flux, with the year to come being no exception.

From the "ban the box" movement (to eliminate criminal history from consideration in job applications) to changing drug laws (including medical use, decriminalization or legalization of marijuana in an ever-growing number of states), the way we think about pre-employment screening continues to evolve.

In this episode of HR Break Room®, employment law expert Louis Lessig and Paycom director of government and community affairs AJ Griffin join host Caleb Masters to discuss:

• key pre-employment screening trends to watch for as we head into a new year, including "ban the box," drug protocols and prohibitions on inquiring about salary history
• the importance of staying in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act
• the role of technology in an efficient, forward-thinking screening process

Learn more about emerging compliance trends to watch headed into the new year, including pre-employment screenings, by attending our upcoming webinar, Workplace Compliance Trends 2021: Staying Ready for What's Next.

Guests:

Karin Hurt and David Dye, authors of Courageous Cultures

Have you ever had a potentially good idea that you kept to yourself?

It's a common experience, and in the world of work, it can be a problem. Organizations of all sizes and industries employ thoughtful, talented people who have ideas that could improve the customer experience, increase organizational efficiency and more. But for various reasons — from assuming they wouldn't be taken seriously to simply not being asked in the first place — these employees do not make their voices heard.

What would it take to reverse this phenomenon? Karin Hurt and David Dye, authors of Courageous Cultures, have some ideas of their own — and fortunately, they're more than willing to share. In this episode of HR Break Room®, Hurt and Dye join host Caleb Masters to discuss:

• what might be holding back everyday innovation among your teams
• communication strategies to eliminate FOSU (fear of speaking up) and encourage deeper dialogue
• easy-to-use tools and techniques to facilitate organizational and customer-focused problem-solving
• how HR technology can be leveraged to encourage better employee input

Learn more about how to foster a culture of innovation and engagement by reading our white paper, What Employees Want: Overlooked Insights in Employee Engagement.

Guests:

Jennifer Kraszewski, Paycom vice president of human resources

Dickens Aubourg, Paycom director of client learning

Creating an atmosphere of inclusion starts with the hiring process and extends through initiatives and conversational channels that make employees feel understood for the duration of their careers.

Crucially, diversity means more than demographic differences. It also applies to the differing viewpoints and perspectives that combine to form the intellectual and emotional fuel behind a successful organization.

Is your company benefiting from diverse points of view? What programs could be implemented to instill a greater sense of belonging within your organization’s culture?

In this episode of HR Break Room®, host Caleb Masters is joined by Kraszewski and Aubourg to discuss:

• the value of having a workforce with employees from all backgrounds and walks of life
• why HR and leadership should provide employees an outlet for sharing their thoughts and feelings
• how to foster a culture where employees feel safe to share their stories through open dialogue and be their authentic selves
• the roles recruiting and continuous development through training play in building a more diverse workforce

Learn more about how to foster a culture where employees feel safe to share their stories by registering for our Nov. 24 HR.com webinar, “A Sense of Belonging: Crafting the Right Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.”