HR Famous

HR Famous

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HR Famous episodes

  • 26 - When Employees Pass Around Salary Worksheets (Blizzard Entertainment)

    In episode 26 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Kris Dunn and Jessica Lee discuss their favorite real estate apps, the hottest cities to move to if you're running from the pandemic/high cost of living/'the coasts", and a recent Bloomberg article that attempted a takedown vs Blizzard Entertainment related to pay issues - including some employees passing around a cloud spreadsheet listing salaries they make at Blizzard.

    Listen (click this link if you don’t see the player) and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (Apple Podcasts) and follow (Spotify)!

    SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

    1:30 - Tim is gone (again) this week on another vacay! KD and Jlee talk about what they think Tim is doing on his Lake Michigan getaway. Ginger people don’t tan!

    3:30 - What is your favorite real estate app? Jlee is a Redfin fan and the Dunn fam likes Zillow. 

    4:40 - First topic of the day - Redfin found that a record number of people are looking to move to a major metropolitan area. Tens of thousands of people are looking to leave the most expensive American housing markets and many are looking to move to Phoenix, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Austin. 

    7:30 - Jlee doesn’t like your hate on the “coastal elites”! She’s surprised by some of the cities on the list and noticed the warm climates amongst the top 5 cities. She wants some Phoenix heat! KD wants to stay close to his roots in ATL. 

    12:00 - Next topic of the day - Blizzard Entertainment, famous for making many popular video games like Call of Duty, has a situation where employees circulated a salary document internally that showed major pay disparities. The salary document was first reported by Bloomberg - but the gang has questions.

    15:00 - Jlee praises the person who circulated the Google sheets form for being efficient. If anyone has the link to the spreadsheet, HR Famous would love to see it! KD wonders aloud how many columns are on the spreadsheet?  Are they names? The gang doubts it.

    18:00 - An Activision spokesperson says that they compensate their employees fairly and gave their top performers a higher salary increase than in prior years. KD compares this issue to an episode of The Office where they have to decide who to give raises to and how.

    21:00 - KD comments on the quote from the Activision spokesperson that says “a 20% increase on salaries compared to other years” was questionable language. KD and Jlee give high marks to this the language that is a little clever to the untrained eye. 

    25:00 - KD points out that Blizzard has thousands of employees and not everyone could be consulted for this article. He's kind of over articles that splash, but make no mention of how many employees a reporter talked to.

    26:00 - What do you think Blizzard’s Glassdoor rating is? KD is a little surprised by Blizzard’s rating and thinks that their rating isn’t indicative of some of the problems this article addresses. 

    29:00 - KD finds the reported Blizzard salaries on Glassdoor by job and finds that many aren’t too far off the industry average/ KD guesses the problems are in customer service and QA based on low hourly rates.

    32:00 - Jlee feels for Blizzard and their HR department in these tough times for their company. KD wants reporters to tell a full story and do their job right. He encourages them to take their clickbait titles for traffic, then tell whole story.

    38 min
  • 25 - Paid Voting Time Off at Apple, Trump Pushes Skills vs Degrees

    In episode 25 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Tim Sackett, Kris Dunn and Jessica Lee discuss Jlee and KD’s return to the office, Apple’s paid time off for employees to vote, and President Trump’s new plan for skill-based hiring in the federal government.

    Listen (click this link if you don’t see the player) and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (Apple Podcasts) and follow (Spotify)!

    SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

    2:00 - Have you returned to your work office yet? Jlee returned to her office for the first time since March. She had to get approval to go into the office and she thought it was a very bizarre experience. KD also returned to his office and he thought it was something out of a zombie movie. 

    6:00 - Jlee missed her typical office amenities when she went back in and had to bring her own coffee, water, and snacks. Also, she had to change all of her calendars to the right month and throw away her old coffee cup (from March)!

    9:00 - Nike released a video about the new protections they’re implementing for their offices in Asia when employees come back to work. 

    10:30 - First BIG topic of the day - Apple is giving all employees paid time off to vote or volunteer at a polling place in upcoming US elections. Tim gives his employees time off to vote within reason and he commends Apple for allowing retail workers to have time off to vote.

    14:20 - Tim Cook and Auburn University shoutout from KD!

    15:00 - KD doesn’t think that Apple’s decision is that out of the box. He brings up the potential logistical concerns in manufacturing or other settings where scheduling could be an issue. 

    16:00 - KD and Tim discuss the potential influence of who to vote for from company execs. Tim talks about how his Mom used to share wisdom on who to vote for and why. 

    18:00 - Tim and Jlee think Apple should have released to the public the memo on PTO to vote for good employment marketing. 

    20:30 - Jlee is planning on taking a PTO day for the day after the election hangover. How late are you willing to stay up to watch election results?

    22:00 - HR Famous supports Apple CEO Tim Cook and Auburn University (at least KD does). If you’re reading this Tim, we would love to have you on the pod!

    22:30 - Second BIG topic of the day - President Trump signed an executive order in late June ordering the federal government to revise their qualifications for jobs, in hopes to prioritize jobs skills over college degrees. Ivanka Trump is leading this initiative to help those without higher education get good federal government jobs.

    24:30 - Tim praises the federal government for catching up to private industry and taking out unnecessary job qualifications for certain jobs. 

    26:30 - Tim and KD worry that this news coming from the Trump administration will be discounted because it’s coming from President Trump and both of them think it’s a pretty progressive move. 

    31:00 - Tim talks about how he used to require all of his recruiters to have a college degree and the determination it shows to finish a degree. He has changed his requirements since and he’s seen some of his best recruiters come in without a degree. 

    33:20 - Tim asks Jlee and KD what percentage of jobs they think actually require a degree. What do you think?

    36:50 - One final War Eagle and Tim Cook shoutout!

    41 min
  • 24 - Complicated Career Expectations in the Modern World for New Grads + Notes on Hamilton

    In episode 24 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Tim Sackett, Kris Dunn and Jessica Lee are back to discuss the escalation of career expectations for college students (as well as the musical Hamilton and Glassdoor/Indeed changes). 

    Listen (click this link if you don’t see the player) and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (Apple Podcasts) and follow (Spotify)!

    SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

    1:30 - KD is now a user of a standing desk. How do you like yours?

    2:00 - Hamilton time! Tim convinced the rest of the crew to watch Hamilton on Disney+ and Jlee says she respects it but is not the biggest fan of musicals or history. 

    4:20 - Tim asks KD and Jlee who they think each of the HR Famous crew is in the Hamilton cast. Tim and Jlee both think they’re Alexander Hamilton. KD doesn’t think that Hamilton is charismatic enough to be Tim. KD wins by being compared to George Washington and King George by his friends.

    11:00 - First topic of the day: Indeed and Glassdoor are merging services. Tim thinks that this is bad news for Glassdoor and worries that Indeed will sell out the mission of Glassdoor for $$$. 

    14:45 - Second topic of the day: new grads! We welcome Tim’s middle son, Cameron, who is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan to discuss his latest experience in the job market. Cam is looking for a job in the entertainment industry in marketing/social media and he spends a lot of his time applying for jobs and reaching out to UMich alums to network.

    18:15 - KD asks Cam about the alumni network at the University of Michigan and how he tries to leverage that connection. He talks about the different types of responses he gets and the steep cost of being a member of the U of M Alumni Association. 

    22:00 - KD and Jlee talk about network fatigue that is occurring right now due to the many people who are currently looking for a job and how this will make it harder for anyone to make new connections. 

    23:30 - The HR Famous crew wants to see Cam out in the news space talking about his experience. If you want to interview a new grad on his job search or are interested in Cam for your company, find him on LinkedIn!

    24:30 - Tim talks about his perspective as a parent of a new grad and a HR professional and how he’s had to watch the struggles of his son enter a bad job market. 

    26:15 - Tim asks Cam about candidate experience and what kind of response rate he’s getting from companies. Tim talks about how he thinks the data from this year about candidate experience is going to be really poor. 

    29:00 - KD discusses his worries about post-grad jobs in a COVID and post-COVID world. He thinks we’re setting difficult expectations for high performing college students who are entering the job force. Jlee worries that colleges are just using student’s successes and expectations to get the best crop of incoming students. 

    32:45 - Tim talks about his blog post he wrote about Cam’s college admissions experience and how the college admission system is screwed up. KD is a big fan of the comments on the blog post and still subscribes to them 4 years later. 

    35:30 - KD asks Cam about how he remembers his college admissions experience and the frustrations he felt during this time. 

    37:30 - KD asks Jlee about her experience going through college as a child of immigrant parents. She discusses the high expectations that her parents had for her and how she’s going to change and adapt those expectations for her children. 

    40:00 - Jlee discusses her rebellious streak as a young adult and how she did well enough to get by and still rise to the top of her field. 

    41:30 - HR Famous thinks the cream always rises to the top!

    44:00 - KD posted a blog post on the HR Capitalist this week about a woman who reached out to him that had worked at the same call center for four years. He thinks that regardless of where anyone starts, the best will always rise and reach where they want to be. 

    47:00 - Cam talks about what he thinks about taking a call center and his hesitations. He says that he would be more willing to take a customer service entry level position if he’s joining a company that has great upward mobility and career mentoring. 

    48:45 - The HR Famous crew gives their last words of advice to Cam on the job search. 

    54 min
  • 23 - TikTok On Company Phones, Unemployment $$ Crushes RTW

    In episode 23 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Tim Sackett, Kris Dunn and Jessica Lee are back to discuss Jlee’s recent vacation, Tim’s new favorite shorts, different proposed plans for return to work bonuses, and privacy concerns about TikTok and other apps on company owned devices. 

    Listen (click this link if you don’t see the player) and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (Apple Podcasts) and follow (Spotify)!

    SHOW HIGHLIGHTS:

    1:20 - Jlee is back from vacay! Jlee went on a working vacation to the beach and returned with a nice tan. 

    3:45 - Do you turn on an out of office reply on your email when you go on vacation? The HR Famous crew has rarely if never turned on their out of office reply. 

    6:00 - Tim comes through with the much needed fashion advice. He says to check out Fair Harbor shorts! (Also, we’re open to a sponsorship!)

    7:00 - First topic of the episode: return to work bonuses. Republican lawmakers are calling to an end to the unemployment benefits coming from the federal stimulus package and replace them with a return to work bonus. Tim says that he’s hearing from many companies that they cannot find workers right now. 

    9:30 - KD lists off a few of the proposed return to work bonus plans that are being considered. Jlee brings up the fact that many states have waived work search requirements for those receiving unemployment benefits. 

    12:00 - KD praises the government for moving fast in the beginning of the pandemic to get money to those who really needed it, although there may be problems with the policies. 

    14:00 - Idaho implemented a version of a return to work hiring bonus but the funds are first come, first serve. Tim worries that some people will return just to get the bonus and then quit and go back on unemployment. 

    16:20 - Tim discusses a company that he is currently working with and how it is harder to recruit positions for that company in places where Amazon warehouses exist. 

    18:00 - A big factor for many people to return to work depends on decisions schools make to go virtual or return to in person instruction. KD brings up some counties in the Atlanta area who have decided to do virtual learning for the upcoming school year. Tim talks about how he would want to recruit other families to do virtual learning together. 

    21:45 - Next topic of the episode: TikTok and employer’s rights! Last Friday, Amazon emailed employees to delete TikTok from their phones. Later in the day, they issued a statement that the email was a mistake and their employees didn’t need to delete TikTok. Wells Fargo also directed their employees to delete TikTok from company owned devices. 

    24:00 - Tim brings up the bitcoin hack on Twitter and privacy/security concerns on there as well. Although TikTok is a Chinese owned company, there is still risk coming from American owned companies like Twitter. 

    25:50 - KD discusses the differences in security issues on different kinds of devices or softwares. Tim brings up how many tech companies have allowed their employees to work on whatever operating system they’re most comfortable with and how there may be IT concerns surrounding that. 

    28:00 - KD asks Jlee if she thinks that people will delete TikTok from their personal mobile devices even though most people have other privacy sensitive information on their devices. Jlee thinks it’s not going to happen and says the only way employers could have complete control over the employee’s devices would have to be somewhat similar to government agencies that work with national security concerns. 

    30:00 - Tim discusses concerns over TikTok being a Chinese company and therefore, somewhat state-controlled. He thinks a solution may be getting a US owned TikTok alternative to replace the platform. Jlee is very sad about the potential outlawing of TikTok. 

    32:00 - Tim thinks that people should be allowed to have multiple logins on a phone like you can have on a laptop or a computer. KD thinks that companies should just pay for their employees to have their own company device to solve any security concerns. 

    33:30 - The HR Famous podcast promotes wearing a mask! Mask up!

    34:00 - Is your family stocking up on new devices for back to school? Jlee’s family is spending a lot of money on back to school and Tim may need to buy his son a new laptop. 

    35:00 - KD is working on bringing a manager training series online at Kinetix. Look out for that coming soon!

    36:00 - Check out friend of the podcast, Stacy Zapar, for recruiter training. 

    41 min
  • 22 - Talking HR Reporting with Shana Lebowitz Gaynor of Business Insider

    In episode 22 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Tim Sackett and Kris Dunn are joined by Shana Lebowitz Gaynor to discuss her work at Business Insider and specifically her articles about SHRM’s handling of BLM statements and top HR innovators. The crew also talks about Tim’s Utah adventures, the CHRO move of the week, and KD’s many ideas for HR-related articles at Business Insider. 

    Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!

    1:00 - No Jlee this week! We hope she’s having fun on her beach vacation!

    2:00 - Tim just got back from another (socially distanced) Southern Utah vacation. Tim and KD talk about how to get into Zion National Park and how Tim works the system to get into Zion the easiest way. KD thinks Tim is getting spoiled with views. 

    4:50 - Check out Tim’s instagram for all of his cool Utah excursions and his most recent jet ski and cliff jumping adventure. 

    7:20 - New segment alert: CHRO move of the week! Eileen Moore Johnson is the new EVP and CHRO at Scientific Games. Johnson moves from an operational role at Caesars to this new role. KD and Tim break down what they like about the move.

    12:00 - Time to welcome our guest for the episode! Shana Lebowitz Gaynor is the correspondent and HR insider writer at Business Insider. 

    14:00 - Where are most HR people getting their news from? Shana thinks most HR people are getting their news like many other industries, on social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn. 

    16:00 - Tim asks Shana about her experience at Business Insider and what she sees people are connecting most with their content. She says that people respond the most to articles about what to do if you hate your job. 

    17:50 - Shana says that her time at BI has taught her to get to the point and be succinct in her articles. KD praises BI for this formatting. 

    20:00 - Tim asks Shana about her article about SHRM and their response surrounding BLM and the response she got to the article. She says she learned about the passion of SHRM members 

    22:00 - Tim discusses his and KD’s criticism of SHRM and how the toughest critics are often the ones that want to see an organization succeed the most. Shana talks about how she sees the criticism of SHRM as a microcosm of what’s going on in the business world. 

    24:20 - KD asks Shana what surprised her about SHRM and the HR community that she learned in the writing of her article. She responds by saying that she doesn’t see the demands from racial injustice and other injustices going away. 

    27:00 - KD has a lot of requests for HR reporting! He brings up an idea to create a list of HR companies that are doing the best work to take meaningful action to get results. 

    28:30 - Tim brings up Shana’s article “HR innovators who are transforming company culture”. Shana talks about FedEx’s program to hire young tech talent and a tech startup’s effort to make a non-homogenous workforce. 

    34:00 - KD asks Shana about any grassroots efforts she’s seen that she is excited about. Shana talks about PWC’s training program for new employees and their commitment to better mental health programs for employees. 

    36:30 - Tim asks Shana about how she foresees company culture changing in our new WFH environment. Shana takes an optimistic view and sees a better and more flexible company culture and increased humanism in the business world. 

    42:00 - Check out Shana on LinkedIn, Twitter, or read her articles on Business Insider! Thank you to Shana for joining us this week and for all of her great work about the HR industry! Check out their paid membership for all of their content.

    47 min
  • 21 - NFL Rooney Rule + VMware's Minority and Female Recruiting Pivot

    In episode 21 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Tim Sackett, Kris Dunn, and Jessica Lee come together to talk about The Rooney Rule and VMware’s new commitment to include a minority and female candidate in every search at the company.The gang also discusses how often they’ve filled up their car tanks during quarantine, and something called Generation Zoom. 

    Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!

    1:30 - How many times have you filled your gas tank during quarantine? Jlee has only filled her tank once since March!

    3:00 - Who doesn’t love a best friend duo that runs together? KD and Tim went running in Celebration, Florida together. KD was on Zillow on his phone the entire time they ran in the community and Tim was dying. 

    5:45 - KD has been reading a lot about “Generation Zoom”; our younger generation that has been learning through distance learning. Jlee talks about how her young kids may have trouble learning in the future since they are losing a lot of development time in school. 

    9:00 - Do you think there will be a dip in SAT and ACT scores in the coming year? Tim is interested to see where the data falls. 

    10:45 - First major topic of the day: The Rooney Rule. This NFL rule places interview quotas for minority candidates for coaching positions. Tim talks about how more minority candidates have been put into the interview process and what it’s meant in hiring minority coaches. 

    16:00 - Jlee discusses her own personal experience getting an opportunity that she might not have based on her resume and how she relates to the experience of Mike Tomlin. 

    18:00 - Tim talks about some negative views on the Rooney Rule and how often coaching positions are planned and picked out far in advance. 

    20:00 - KD and Jlee bring up another positive of the Rooney Rule, in that it forces forcing hiring managers to look harder and potentially finding special people that they may not have been able to find before, even if it’s not for that particular position. 

    22:30 - Second topic of the day: VMware’s CEO (Patrick Gelsinger) announced their company would commit to interviewing a POC and a woman for every single position. KD thinks this sounds similar to the Rooney Rule. KD and Tim praises VMware and other companies who have come out recently with new processes and practices to help diversify their workforce. 

    26:20 - Jlee brings up potential backlash from recruiters and other hiring managers. She notes that leaders need to give recruiters some leeway in order to reach performance metrics and new interviewing goals. 

    29:40 - How will this new hiring practice work in practice? KD brings up the self ID process and when it comes into play in the hiring process. Jlee discusses the data recruiters will be giving to hiring managers and how they will report that they are meeting a certain requirement. 

    33:00 - KD reads VMware’s CEO statement again to Tim and gets his reaction. Tim thinks there are many aspects to this new rule that need to be addressed in order to be successful in finding the best possible candidates. 

    36:00 - Pat (CEO of VM Ware) is a new best friend of the pod!

    36:20 - Jlee and KD praise the leadership at VMware for going ahead with this announcement and implementation of the rule instead of getting bogged down in details and complaints. 

    38:45 - Jlee and KD talk about the concept of equality vs diversity, with KD bringing up Salesforce’s move years ago to grab the high ground of equality.

    41:00 - HR Famous would like to congratulate Patrick Gelsinger from VMware on a job well done with their new version of the Rooney Rule. 

    46 min
  • 20 - Adidas CHRO on Ropes, SCOTUS Ruling, Pronouns & Micromanaging

    In episode 20 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Tim Sackett, Kris Dunn, and Jessica Lee come together to discuss this week’s Supreme Court ruling, pronouns, and Zoom fatigue. The trio talk about the new developments that may come out of the SCOTUS ruling, the calling for the resignation of Adidas’ CHRO, and micromanaging WFH employees. 

    Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!

    SHOW HIGHLIGHTS

    2:40 - Weird voicemail time: Tim talks about a voicemail he got from a young person looking for a job with no information whatsoever. Do you have any crazy voicemail stories?

    4:50 - Do you put your phone number on your LinkedIn profile? Tim has his out there and he doesn’t get a lot of spam calls (yet).

    5:40 - First major topic of the day: SCOTUS ruled on Monday that the Civil Rights Act protects LGBTQ workers from workplace discrimination. Jlee thinks that this is may open up a new dialogue about transgender workers amongst HR professionals and compliance. KD wonders about self IDs and any new developments with affirmative action. 

    10:00 - Tim discusses the importance of collecting gender in order to collect data on discrimination. He also talks about how he first was hesitant about the importance of pronouns and how he’s come around on the importance of proper pronouns in the workplace. 

    12:00 - Any Billions watchers out there?

    13:00 - KD brings up the issue of a few corporations encouraging or forcing the use of personal pronouns on platforms like LinkedIn profiles. He thinks it may slow the progress of the adoption of this new practice. 

    16:00 - Tim thinks that companies can force pronoun use and identification onto employees if they’re a company that fosters a more progressive culture. He thinks it may help with less offensive situations by encouraging leadership to adopt the practice and see the culture change from the top down. 

    18:30 - Second topic of the day: Adidas employees are calling for the resignation of the brand’s CHRO Karen Parkin due to previous problematic comments on racial issues within the company. Jlee discusses how companies can’t have any missteps right now and if they do, they have to react quickly. 

    23:00 - Tim and Jlee comment on their distaste for digging up old dirt and bringing it back up years later. He commends Howard Stern and his genuine apology for doing blackface. He also brings up the differences in racial issues across the world and from country to country. 

    26:20 - KD says that it is hard for him to fathom a business leader that isn’t able to acknowledge issues within a company when confronted. Jlee discusses the need for humility and empathy as HR professionals. 

    28:15 - Final topic of the day: micromanaging! We’re not talking about the messaging platform but about leaders who micromanage their teams. Tim calls out Jlee for being a micromanager but she claims her extra micromanaging is due to the uncertainty of the times. 

    31:40 - Tim doesn’t believe in Zoom fatigue. Do you?

    33:50 - “Do you know what’s worse than Zoom fatigue? Not having a job.” - Tim

    34:00 - Jlee stands up for permanent remote employees who weren’t forced to show their face on camera before but are now due to everyone working remotely. 

    35:20 - Did you know KD writes on the side?

    37:15 - Tim thinks that 25-30 working at home may equate to 40 hours to an office.

    Resources:

    Jessica Lee on LinkedIn

    Tim Sackett on Linkedin

    Kris Dunn on LinkedIn

    HRU Tech

    The Tim Sackett Project

    The HR Capitalist

    Fistful of Talent

    Kinetix

    Boss Leadership Training Series

    42 min
  • 19 - Starbucks Work Uniform Woes and Hourly Hiring

    In episode 19 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Tim Sackett, Kris Dunn, and Jessica Lee are back to discuss a number of topics about diverse hiring. The trio talk about Adidas’s new hiring goal, tech companies’ contribution to the BLM movement, and Starbucks’ uniform debacle. Later in the episode, Tim is joined by HR leader Jonathan Zoob about hourly hiring and sitting courtside at an NBA game. 

    Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!

    1:30 - The gang is finally back together! It’s been a few weeks, but Tim, Jlee, and KD are all back on the podcast this week!

    2:30 - First topic of the day: popular brand pronunciations. Apparently, the US says everything different than the rest of the world. 

    3:45 - Adidas has announced that 30% of their hires will be diverse hires. The gang praises Adidas for putting a number out there to start progress but they question where the hiring is going to cause change. 

    8:40 - Tim discusses a goal that he had at a previous company for diverse hires in leadership roles. He talks about push back from hiring managers and other certain people that feel victimized by diversity hiring goals. 

    10:30 - KD talks about his favorite “Tim working at Applebee’s” story. Tim says that Applebee’s restrooms are like “a war zone”.....

    11:30 - CNBC compiled a list of different tech companies and what they’re doing to support the BLM movement. Every company on the list contributed lots of money, but only one organization announced a change in leadership, when the CEO of Reddit stepped down from his board seat to fill it with a POC. Tim accuses many tech companies of “buying their way out of this conversation” instead of making real change happen. KD thinks that monetary contributions are still commendable but they need to effect real change too. 

    14:45 - “You have to have money but you also have to have tangible movement”. 

    16:30 - Starbucks’ employees were told that they could not wear apparel supporting BLM to work. They received backlash because Starbucks’ allows their employees to wear Pride-related uniforms in the month of June. They have pivoted since their original decision. Jlee praises them for pivoting and listening to their employees and what they want. 

    20:00 - Tim thinks that Starbucks’ and other companies that enforce uniforms should standardize their uniforms and not allow anything other than a standard option since it is easier to manage and can raise many issues. He says that you can support diversity and other causes and keep a plain uniform. 

    22:00 - “Print the shirts” -KD

    23:30 - Time for this week’s special guest! Jonathan Zoob from Fountain has joined Tim for the second half of this week’s episode to talk about hourly hiring. 

    25:00 - Tim and Zoob talk about their bucket list to sit courtside at a NBA game. They’re both Golden State Warriors fans!

    27:00 - Back to business talk. Tim discusses hearing about pre-pandemic struggles to hire hourly workers and he asks Zoob what is going to change about hiring hourly workers. 

    30:00 - Tim asks Zoob why companies should use different systems for hourly workers. 

    32:30 - Are new hiring practices for hourly workers causing companies to lose the traditional experience of finding the best candidate? Zoob discusses how his company’s work allows non-HR professionals to find more and better candidates. 

    34:30 - Tim brings up issues about hiring to create a diverse workforce and how training hiring leaders may not be enough. Zoob discusses how often those doing hiring won’t get diversity and bias training. 

    36:00 - What do Fountain’s clients see getting better when using the Fountain system? Zoob says their time to hire decreases significantly. 

    37:15 - Tim asks Zoob how fast time to hire should be and Zoob answers that companies must engage candidates in the application process to really get them to stay interested. 

    39:00 - Last question of the day: will mass hiring start to happen without interviewing in the coming years?

    40:20 - Find Jonathan at fountain.com for a demo or on LinkedIn! 

    Resources:

    Jessica Lee on LinkedIn

    Tim Sackett on Linkedin

    Kris Dunn on LinkedIn

    HRU Tech

    The Tim Sackett Project

    The HR Capitalist

    Fistful of Talent

    Kinetix

    Boss Leadership Training Series

    44 min
  • 18 - Torin Ellis - Going All In on D&I in 2020

    The HR Famous Crew welcomes in author, SiriusXM radio host, and D&I Talent Strategy expert, Torin Ellis, to talk about how and what organizations can do in light of recent events surrounding the George Floyd killing. Torin delivers both practical advice for organizational leaders, but also directly to HR and TA leaders who have been struggling to move their D&I strategy forward in light of pandemic budget cuts, during what might be the most important time in recent history to be all-in on D&I.

    Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!

    1:50 - Welcome to the pod, our special guest Torin Ellis! Jlee and Torin are tired, guys!

    2:45 - Tim emceed the Transform HR virtual conference last week so he too is tired. 

    3:30 - Check out Torin’s podcast Crazy and The King!

    5:30 - Is Baltimore different from the rest of Maryland? Jlee’s husband thinks so but Torin defends the great city Baltimore. 

    7:00 - First topic of the episode: virtual conferencing! Tim discusses Transform HR and the great experience he had last week emceeing the conference. 

    9:00 - Torin discusses his experience as a keynote speaker at Transform HR the past 2 years and praises the conference for allowing him to use his platform as a keynote speaker to raise awareness and money for causes and to bring humanity to the conference. 

    12:20 - Insider report: Torin scratched his entire keynote presentation the night before the conference!

    13:30 - Tim asks Torin about how he thinks the current the Black Lives Matter movements and protests will affect D&I campaigns within corporations. Torin remains optimistic but wants substantive movement moving forward. 

    16:00 - Although Nike is often praised for their response to social issues, Nike board member Peter Henry, has said that only 8% of Nike’s VPs are black. Tim references The Prof G Show podcast episode “Slow Thinking”. 

    18:30 - Jlee and Torin are surprised by Peter Henry’s thought that he didn’t expect a social movement like what we’re seeing today for another ten years. Torin thinks that maybe Henry’s maturity is causing him to be a little out of touch with younger people. 

    21:20 - Jlee brings up a recent experience she had with a black female team member about being reached out to a lot in the past week by white friends. She asks Torin about the burden and exhaustion black people and other POC are feeling and how to work through it. 

    23:40 - Torin responds by discussing the bad timing by these people to ask for guidance by their black peers. He recommends for non-black people to go to each other and figure out why such discrimination has happened for many years. 

    28:00 - Torin encourages everyone to read White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo and The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein. Check them out to learn how to be a better ally to POC and about the systemic racism built into every system of our lives in the United States. 

    32:00 - The topics shift to discuss budget cuts in D&I departments. Tim asks Torin how to see growth in D&I in this time of reductions. Torin believes that organizations that cut their D&I departments now will be behind for many years to come. 

    34:45 - Tim brings up small changes that organizations can make to promote D&I. Torin advises recruiting from a wider range of schools and breaking the norm from current recruiting patterns. 

    40:00 - Find Torin on all social media platforms @torinellis and at torinellis.com. Also, check out his show on SiriusXM Channel 126 on Sundays at 1 pm!

    44 min
  • 17 - Crocs and Compensation Strategy in a COVID World

    In episode 17 of The HR Famous Podcast, long-time HR leaders (and friends) Kris Dunn and Tim Sackett come together to discuss Crocs, compensation strategy, Facebook’s new location based salary adjustments, and the return of the MLB. The duo discuss the different compensation adjustment strategies companies have been taking, why companies have been choosing which strategy to implement, and how decisions made during the pandemic may translate to problems when life returns to normalcy.

    Listen below and be sure to subscribe, rate, and review (iTunes) and follow (Spotify)!

    2:00 - Haven’t heard about Crocs in awhile? No worries! Tim starts the episode talking about the resurgence of Crocs and talks about his history with the infamous shoe brand. 

    5:00 - Tim wears his Crocs around the house but KD lives in a strict no-shoe household. Is your house a shoes on or shoes off home?

    6:45 - Today’s topic: compensation strategy. Tim discusses the 3 different strategies companies are taking during the pandemic recession. 

    8:30 - KD wages that the specific compensation strategy chosen by businesses depends on how the economy is looking and how it will be in the future. Some industries will be hit differently at different times. 

    10:45 - Airbnb recently announced that they’re cutting 25% of their staff. KD discusses the strategy the CEO took for their layoffs and how they went about it. 

    12:30 - Quick digression: Vegas time! Las Vegas is opening up in June and Tim talks about casinos that are giving away one way tickets for Vegas’s grand reopening. 

    14:00 - We have seen upper level management and executives cutting a lot from their earnings. KD praises execs for doing a good job of forgoing or cutting salaries during the pandemic.

    15:20 - Last compensation cutting strategy: location based pay. Facebook has announced that employees who elect to WFH permanently will have their pay adjusted to their personal cost of living. 

    19:30 - How to adjust pay becomes a new problem with this compensation strategy. Tim and KD discuss how salary adjustment based on location and cost of living could add to the problem of wages and unfair pay

    24:30 - “Stop using forever when you tell people they can work at home.” - Tim Sackett

    25:00 - Google is giving their remote workers $1,000 to set their employees up for success in a WFH environment. Tim said he spent $4,000 on his personal home office when he worked remotely. KD seems stunned by the price but Tim reminds him furniture is expensive.

    27:40 - KD brings us back to the days of relocation compensation. He thinks that $4,000 seems very high and argues for the side of “bootstrap America”. Bootstrappers don’t need a Herman Miller chair for their home office!

    30:20 - Tim discusses the draw of working for highly known brands and how the experience of working for these brands goes away when working from home. Tim says that these companies should have Uber Eats drop off lunch for their WFH employees and KD groans. Okay boomer!

    31:50 - One last topic for today: sports! KD and Tim laugh at the potential new plans for social distancing for the 2020 major league baseball season. 

    34:00 - Want to go visit Spanish beaches? They’re planning on creating beach reservations that adhere to social distancing standards. Tim loves the idea. Who is down for a Spain trip?

    Resources:

    Jessica Lee on LinkedIn

    Tim Sackett on Linkedin

    Kris Dunn on LinkedIn

    HRU Tech

    The Tim Sackett Project

    The HR Capitalist

    Fistful of Talent

    Kinetix

    Boss Leadership Training Series

    40 min

About HR Famous

From the publisher's feed

The HR Famous Podcast is a lively conversation dealing with the real-life craziness HR pros deal with every day! Think of this as your own HR therapy session - sharing stories, strategies, and sometimes simply venting about a career we love, but one that makes us scream at the same time.