Employee development may be more important than ever in today’s changing job market. Employee development is mutually beneficial for both employees and businesses as employees improve existing competencies and develop new skills while supporting the goals of business and filling skill gaps.  

We are talking with our guest Christina Rossini about some of the employee development initiatives happening at her company.  Christina graduated from University of Oklahoma before returning home to Dallas for a B2B sales career in the telecom industry.  After ten years of serving small and mid-sized companies’ IT departments, she left the corporate world and spent the next five years running two start-ups: first, importing and distributing specialty Mexican coffee, and later re-launching her family’s electrical contracting business, R Squared Electric.  In 2023, she joined commercial interior design firm Go Studio as its inaugural Chief of Staff, supporting business operations and company strategy.  Christina is former chair of Conscious Capitalism Dallas, a member of Vistage, and serves on the advisory council for St. Cecilia Catholic School in Dallas.  Christina lives in Oak Cliff with her husband Mark and two blue heelers.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Let's don't make things more complicated than they really are.  Having a great company culture can actually be rooted in the basics and made to be pretty simple.  Today, we are looking at some of the foundational elements of a great culture that every organization should have at their center.

Glen Morrell started his career in the Fortune 500 world, working in various finance and accounting roles.  Glen joined Littlestown Foundry almost 40 years ago and worked in the finance role and moved into leadership positions in the company. Glen continues to work at the foundry as a Director providing leadership oversight and counsel in several areas. Glen gives us insight into how their culture was created at the 100+ year old foundry and how it is kept alive and continues to make the foundry an employer of choice.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

In today’s episode, we look at what would happen if we as organizational leaders, begin to reshuffle the tasks within job descriptions to match up to everybody's giftings/genius? If employees are working in their gifting area, they are more productive and fulfilled.  Working outside their giftings/genius leads to being frustrated and unfulfilled in their work.

 Our guest is Darin Hollingsworth.  With over 28 years in training, coaching and leadership development, both in ministry and through the corporate sphere, Darin has dedicated his career to cultivating leaders and teams.  Through RP3 Coaching & Renewal, he has led countless leadership sessions and facilitated Working Genius workshops. Darin’s background includes strategic leadership in a multi-site ministry, overseeing talent acquisition, team dynamics, and program management, as well as implementing organizational change initiatives. This diverse experience has enabled him to develop and implement comprehensive leadership systems, manage significant budgets, and foster environments of continuous learning and development for the organizations he works with.  Darin’s approach is rooted in practical leadership skills, with an emphasis on strategic planning, team building, and innovative problem-solving, ensuring leaders are well-equipped to navigate today's dynamic business landscape.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

In this episode, we are discussing the People Equation and the 5 R’s of HR in relation to the employee life cycle.  The 5 R's which include recruiting, ramping, rewarding, retaining and removing are significant to the journey of each employee within the company and the overall success of your business.  Remember, your employees are your most valuable asset and how you leverage their talents and capabilities during their employment will be the difference in your company being good or great.     

Our guest today is Mike Rose, founder and CEO of Return On Energy, Inc.  He is an accomplished speaker, author and entrepreneur.  He possesses a unique gift for conveying complex ideas in a manner that is both accessible and engaging.  Mike’s knowledge and experience spans over 25+ years with a dedication to driving a positive and profitable culture which has earned him numerous accolades and recognition.  Before his successful business exit as CEO of Mojo Media Labs, his company was a three times INC 5000 fast growing company in America, INC Best Workplaces in America, American Marketing Association agency of the year and a Forbes Small Giant winner.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
 During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   
 
 In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Today we are talking about what it looks like to have a healthy leadership strategy in your organization.  Leading through influence – not authority which creates a healthy culture for growing leaders.  We discuss various components of having an intentional strategy as being a differentiator for your business and the core characteristics of a healthy leader.

Our guest is Justin Winstead, CEO and Leadership & Improvement Coach. Justin grew up in a rural area with meager means and could have easily given up on his goals. Instead, he chose to use his circumstances as motivation to create a better life for himself. He pursued an education, attended seminary, and started his own successful business. Justin's story is an inspiration to anyone who has faced adversity in their lives, showing that with a clear purpose and a productive mindset, anything is possible.  Today, Justin is a leader in his field, having sold his successful insurance company to pursue his passion for coaching and consulting full-time. Through the Improver Group, Justin is helping other faith-driven business owners and leaders to achieve their goals and reach their full potential. His insight-focused coaching, consulting, and training has  helped countless individuals and companies to be better versions of who they were meant to be.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
 During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   
 
 In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Most people are not born a great  leader.  They have to grow into it with time, effort, development and training.  Today, we discuss some key areas of developing leadership tools that can take you to the next level.

Our guest in today's episode is Richard Best, President/CEO of Lead Executive Consulting.  Richard serves as an executive coach and consultant with extensive experience coaching senior executives and high-potential leaders. He specializes in developing leadership behaviors and emotional intelligence, exchanging less desirable behaviors for those exemplifying true leadership. Richard helps clients strengthen their interpersonal effectiveness and leadership impact, resulting in increased opportunities for their career and personal success. He has coached executives to identify development areas, create fresh perspectives for growth and overcome obstacles in making measurable and sustained changes. Richard has extensive experience working with executives from a variety of industries.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
 During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   
 
 In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Today we are looking at using behavioral assessments for more successful hiring outcomes. When evaluating candidates, hiring teams tend to focus on hard skills like computer proficiency or technical aptitudes, but even a highly qualified candidate can be wrong for a job if they lack the right soft skills such as emotional intelligence, collaboration and problem-solving.   Here we discuss how behavioral assessments can be used to help hiring teams support decision-making to determine who can work most effectively in the organization.
 
 Our guest today is Melanie Shaffer, President/Founder of Talent Suite. She has spent over 16 years in the Talent Management space both in a boutique firm setting and in a national publicly held recruiting firm where she received numerous awards for her national rankings and client feedback. She has always had a passion for partnering with her clients to understand their business challenges, values and culture allowing her to become a trusted advisor in developing meaningful and measurable talent performance strategies.  Melanie equips her clients with the ability to align, measure & design optimal human capital performance for selecting and managing talent by providing turnkey solutions, processes, training and coaching.
 
 Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
 During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   
 
 In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

There is a lot of talk about the changes that have taken place in the job market over the past few years, but how is that affecting the search for talent and what should a good recruiting process look like?  We are looking at the current job market and the importance of having a strategic, repeatable, and scalable process to get the right talent in your organization.  It is no longer just the job candidate proving themselves to the company, but the company now needs to sell themselves to the candidates at the same time.  We discuss how successful interviewing looks at skills and experience along with evaluating the candidate as a good fit for company culture and core values.  

Jolene Risch of Risch Results is our guest today.  Jolene’s philosophy is that a business is only as successful as the workforce that supports it. She has spent the better part of the last 25 years devising process consulting and staffing, performance and leader management solutions. Jolene is President and Founder of Risch Results, a certified women’s business enterprise.  She is passionate about helping businesses build, cultivate and nurture workforces that are in alignment with the company’s goals and growth objectives. 

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com 

We know there has been a shift in the world of work which means there also needs to be a shift in how leadership is responding and leading.  Employees have shifted from wanting a boss to really wanting a coach, from focusing on their weaknesses to focusing on their strengths, from prioritizing the paycheck to prioritizing purpose.  Join us as we discuss proven ways to shape leaders in this new work world.  

 Today, we are talking with Lee Colan, author of Healthy Leadership – How to Thrive in the New World of Work.  Lee tells us that healthy leadership is like a cultural magnet that attracts people to your team and the cultural glue that makes them want to stay. He describes how healthy leadership starts with the leader, but it’s really about the people you serve. As a leader, when you help others grow, you grow and growing people fuel growing, healthy organizations.  Lee Colan is the co-founder of The L Group, a leadership advisory firm that has been encouraging and equipping leaders for healthy growth since 1999. His firm has worked with virtually every industry including retail, energy, services, financial, manufacturing, healthcare, education and faith-based organizations. Lee is an organizational psychologist and CEO advisor. He applies a rare combination of skills as a corporate executive, business consultant, thought leader, prolific author, artful facilitator and engaging presenter.  Lee has authored 16 popular leadership books that have been translated into 10 languages.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com 

In this episode,  we are talking about how to build a great company culture.  You may have heard the saying "Culture is King."  Having a great culture gives your company a solid foundation for success in all other areas.  

Today, HR Problem Solver's guest is Trey Thompson, President of Star Industries who has long valued maintaining a strong company culture and believes it is critical to business success.  Trey has grown businesses through year over year sales growth, completing successful acquisitions, designing innovative marketing initiatives, and creating scalable processes that manage capex and human capital. As president of a highly successful company, Trey has led teams that increased sales over 35 percent in 12 months while designing and implementing operating and manufacturing processes that dramatically increased net income while improving customer loyalty.  He has created and led a start-up company, orchestrating the design and release of eight product lines, while building a successful sales organization that achieved $8 million in sales in three years. Trey believes in developing strong relationships and team synergies that promote a high level of performance and productivity.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com