A clear compensation philosophy steers HR and recruitment teams onto the right path when it comes to setting pay according to job responsibilities, pay transparency, and tackling any pay equity issues that might be hiding under the surface.

In this episode of HR Unplugged, Vanessa and Anita chat with John Baldino, President of Humareso, live from Transform 2024 in Vegas. With over 30 years of HR experience, John delves into the importance of having a compensation philosophy, sharing insights on using data, addressing pay equity, and setting crystal clear job expectations.

He shares top-tier advice for HR teams, including smaller teams and solo HR professionals, on common pitfalls to avoid within your compensation policies. We hear why clear, up-to-date job descriptions (not job titles) should be the key focus of your compensation philosophy, plus how to find and solve equal pay issues in the workplace.

Key moments:

• Why a clear compensation philosophy is crucial
• How to navigate compensation data
• Why job descriptions are vital to get right
• Descriptions and Compensation
• Addressing pay equity issues
• Understanding the value of work when setting compensation
• Should you be transparent about pay?
• Why you should avoid over-extending

Key links:

• Subscribe to HR Unplugged Series: https://www.bamboohr.com/resources/podcasts/hr-unplugged/
• Join HR Heroes Slack Community: https://join.slack.com/t/hrheroesworkspace/shared_invite/zt-21ad3f1r8-dkWC2EdmyhxUAHw9cGLdQw
• Bamboo HR Homepage: https://www.bamboohr.com/
• Connect with John on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbaldinohr/

HR may not always swim in the same waters as finance, but there are plenty of benefits to building a good working relationship between the two teams. 

In this episode of HR Unplugged, we welcomed BambooHR’s Chief Financial Officer, Justin Judd, to share the perspective of a finance team leader working closely with HR. Justin is a big believer that HR and finance teaming up pays dividends to the wider business and individual team members. 

Hear him explain the benefits, how a team partnership can help to minimize conflict and solve problems faster, and what to do if your teams aren’t aligned on the same goals. 

Key moments:

• Tips for building a relationship between finance and HR
• How to prioritize it and what to do if some team leaders don’t want to
• The benefits of HR and finance working together 
• Why communication between teams should be constant
• How to deal with conflict between teams
• How operations can get in alignment with HR and finance

Key links:

• Subscribe to HR Unplugged Series: https://www.bamboohr.com/resources/podcasts/hr-unplugged/
• Join HR Heroes Slack Community: https://join.slack.com/t/hrheroesworkspace/shared_invite/zt-21ad3f1r8-dkWC2EdmyhxUAHw9cGLdQw
• Bamboo HR Homepage: https://www.bamboohr.com/
• Connect with Justin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-judd-48b0a08/

Modern tech tools can make managing HR more efficient and solve common pain points for HR teams. But how do you decide what tech you really need?

Each HR team has different needs and priorities, but building an efficient tech stack is a game-changer for modern HR teams. With the right tools, you can save time and energy, leaving your team free to focus on the things you’re best at – building and maintaining relationships for the good of the wider business.

If you’re new to building a tech stack, you might be wondering where to start. Or, if you already have one in place but it’s not working as well as you’d hope, how to streamline things.

In this episode, BambooHR’s Head of HR, Anita Grantham sits down with Lauren Nathanson, VP of People Operations at Axios, to talk about what really needs to be in your tech stack. We discuss how you can get started, which tool types to prioritize, how to make decisions based on company goals and pain points, and how to refine an existing tech stack.

Key moments:

• The biggest challenges to building a tech stack
• The first step for building a tech stack
• How to prioritize what problems to solve first
• Aligning your tech stack to business strategies
• Consolidating your existing tech stack
• What every HR team needs
• Metrics to measure with tech tools
• How to get the timing right
• How to manage your tech stack as a large vs. small HR team

Key links:

• Subscribe to HR Unplugged Series: https://www.bamboohr.com/resources/podcasts/hr-unplugged/
• Join HR Heroes Slack Community: https://join.slack.com/t/hrheroesworkspace/shared_invite/zt-21ad3f1r8-dkWC2EdmyhxUAHw9cGLdQw/
• Bamboo HR Homepage: https://www.bamboohr.com/

Is it time to scale your HR team? Deciding when and how to scale the HR department can be a delicate task. Who do you hire? What role should your second HR person play? How do you scale in a small or large company?

If these questions are on your mind, then this episode is for you. BambooHR’s Head of HR, Anita Grantham, and HR Business Partner, Vanessa Brulotte, sit down to explore the best practices for making your next HR hire.

They explain why you should always start with a solid strategy that reflects the company’s mission and values, how to decide what type of role to hire for next, and the best ways to scale your team effectively.

Key moments:

• Why you need a solid strategy to scale your HR team
• How to decide what type of role to hire for next
• Why you should consider retention and employee experience in your strategy
• Why scaling your HR team is good for the overall company
• How teams should scale
• Advice for small companies looking to grow their HR teams

Key links:

• Subscribe to HR Unplugged Series: https://www.bamboohr.com/resources/podcasts/hr-unplugged/
• Join HR Heroes Slack Community: https://join.slack.com/t/hrheroesworkspace/shared_invite/zt-21ad3f1r8-dkWC2EdmyhxUAHw9cGLdQw/
• Bamboo HR Homepage: https://www.bamboohr.com/

When CEOs team up with their HR leaders, it can only mean good things for the wider business. It means a more strategic recruitment drive, better performance management, and more alignment on company goals.

In this episode of HR Unplugged, Vanessa Brulotte and Anita Grantham sat down with Sam Devyver, the CEO of EasyLlama, live from Vegas at the Transform 2024 event to talk about how to make that all-important relationship happen.

Sam shares his take as a CEO who works closely with HR professionals on how to build that relationship, mistakes to avoid, and the benefits of integrating HR into other business functions.

Key moments:

• Why a close working relationship between HR and CEOs is important
• The benefits of HR being aligned on business initiatives
• Sam explains his experience as a CEO working closely with HR
• Advice for CEOs and HR leaders to build that relationship
• Why trust is key
• Sam’s advice on bringing HR into different areas of the business

Key links:

• Subscribe to HR Unplugged Series: https://www.bamboohr.com/resources/podcasts/hr-unplugged/
• Join HR Heroes Slack Community: https://join.slack.com/t/hrheroesworkspace/shared_invite/zt-21ad3f1r8-dkWC2EdmyhxUAHw9cGLdQw/
• Bamboo HR Homepage: https://www.bamboohr.com/
• Connect with Sam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samueldevyver/

Firings and layoffs are never an enjoyable part of HR or leadership. But it’s important that there’s a robust process in place to manage the transition and it’s handled with compassion.

In this episode of HR Unplugged, our Head of HR, Anita Grantham and HR Business Partner, Vanessa Brulotte, discuss how to manage firings and layoffs in the right way. We discuss the best practices, do’s and don’ts, and how to build a process that protects the company and provides the best chance of the employee parting on good terms.

We dive into some of the common questions on how to handle a contract termination, who should be in that meeting, when to hold these meetings, and whether you should offer to be a reference for the person in question.

Key moments:

• Dos and don’ts of layoffs and firings
• Why you should have a detailed process in place
• How to break the news of firing or layoffs to employees
• How to tie your process to your company mission
• What to do in the event of a crisis
• How to reassure remaining employees

Key links:

• Subscribe to HR Unplugged Series: https://www.bamboohr.com/resources/podcasts/hr-unplugged/
• Join HR Heroes Slack Community: https://join.slack.com/t/hrheroesworkspace/shared_invite/zt-21ad3f1r8-dkWC2EdmyhxUAHw9cGLdQw
• Bamboo HR Homepage: https://www.bamboohr.com/

How do you compensate team members fairly so that they’re happy and don’t start looking elsewhere?

In this episode of HR Unplugged, we welcomed back Alex Bertin, BambooHR’s Head of Total Rewards, to talk more about compensation and benefits strategies. Alex sits down with our Head of HR, Anita Grantham, to discuss when leaders should talk to employees about compensation, how to build efficient pay processes, pay transparency, and more.

Alex and Anita also tackle the debate on whether on-site workers should be paid more than remote workers and how to assess compensation based on business impact.

Key moments:

• What the data on compensation levels says
• How often should leaders bring up compensation with their team
• Why leaders need to build and understand the compensation process
• The debate on pay transparency
• Should on-site workers be paid more than remote employees?
• How to assess the impact of a role/employee on the business

Key links:

• Subscribe to HR Unplugged Series: https://www.bamboohr.com/resources/podcasts/hr-unplugged/
• Join HR Heroes Slack Community: https://join.slack.com/t/hrheroesworkspace/shared_invite/zt-21ad3f1r8-dkWC2EdmyhxUAHw9cGLdQw
• Bamboo HR Homepage: https://www.bamboohr.com/

Recruitment is always a tricky part of HR, but there are ways to be more strategic in your approach to ensure a high quality of hire. 

In this episode, we welcomed Casey Bailey, Head of People at Deel, to talk about recruitment and interviewing strategies. Casey and Anita Grantham break down their favorite interview questions to ask, how to decide which questions to prioritize, and how to approach different types of interviews. 

Casey explains how you don’t always need a formal applicant tracking system, but you probably need a scorecard to measure the suitability of candidates for a role. We also look at how interviews for internal and external candidates may differ.

Key moments:

• How to decide what interview questions to ask
• How many interviews should we conduct while recruiting?
• Managing your applicant tracking system
• How to hire internal vs. external candidates
• Mistakes that hiring managers often make

Key links:

• Subscribe to HR Unplugged Series: https://www.bamboohr.com/resources/podcasts/hr-unplugged/
• Join HR Heroes Slack Community: https://join.slack.com/t/hrheroesworkspace/shared_invite/zt-21ad3f1r8-dkWC2EdmyhxUAHw9cGLdQw
• Bamboo HR Homepage: https://www.bamboohr.com/
• Connect with Casey on LinkedIn

A growing mental health crisis, particularly since 2020, has put HR professionals on the front line in many organizations. This, coupled with the difficulties of the job, such as dealing with redundancies, legal issues, employee emotional wellbeing, and even employee death, means that HR needs support more than ever.  

Joining the podcast is Julie Turney, Founder and CEO of HR@Heart Consulting, who shares lots of brilliant ideas for people in HR to get the support they need to do their jobs effectively.  

We hear about the importance of having coaches and mentors for your career, resources for support, how to set healthy boundaries, and much more. 

Key moments: 

• The importance of HR for HR 
• Why there’s a greater need for trauma and response training for HR today 
• Why HR professionals need mentors  
• How to be intentional about networking  
• Why people in HR need to set healthy boundaries 
• Resources to get support  

Key links: 

• Subscribe to HR Unplugged Series: https://www.bamboohr.com/resources/podcasts/hr-unplugged/ 
• Join HR Heroes Slack Community: https://join.slack.com/t/hrheroesworkspace/shared_invite/zt-21ad3f1r8-dkWC2EdmyhxUAHw9cGLdQw 
• Bamboo HR Homepage: https://www.bamboohr.com/

Communities

• https://join.slack.com/t/hrheroesworkspace/shared_invite/zt-21ad3f1r8-dkWC2EdmyhxUAHw9cGLdQw
• https://hrgirlfriends.com/
• https://www.acas.org.uk/
• https://www.raconteur.net/ 

Working together to support mental health and wellbeing

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kRPRsl8d3k
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9ULc-rjHbU 

21 Best HR Resources

• https://www.bamboohr.com/blog/top-websites-for-hr-professionals

Without a good performance review process, managers risk leaving employees unhappy, unproductive, and unaligned on goals that affect personal progress and the business.  

So how do you fix a broken performance review process? 

In this episode of HR Unplugged, we welcomed special guest Adam Weber, Chief Evangelist at 15Five, to share his perspective and advice for leaders. Adam is the host of the HR Superstars podcast and leads the HR Superstars community alongside his main role. His book ‘Lead Like a Human’ also details how to lead and build high-performance teams but in a way that honors your authentic self.  

Our conversation explores what the data says about performance reviews from the perspective of managers and employees, why there’s often a disconnect in the review process, and how leaders can build a culture of feedback. Tune in to hear the systems and questions he likes to use in his own performance reviews to improve relationships and outcomes. 

Key moments: 

• What recent data says about performance reviews 
• Why there’s a disconnect in performance reviews 
• How to build a culture of feedback 
• Different ways to deliver feedback 
• The importance of goal alignment  
• Self-evaluation questions for employees to answer 
• Advice for managers to improve employee relationships 
• The importance of giving feedback directly 
• How to make performance management and reviews more effective 
• How to get employees on board with business goals 

Key links: 

• Subscribe to HR Unplugged Series/https://www.bamboohr.com/resources/podcasts/hr-unplugged/ 
• Join HR Heroes Slack Community: https://join.slack.com/t/hrheroesworkspace/shared_invite/zt-21ad3f1r8-dkWC2EdmyhxUAHw9cGLdQw 
• Bamboo HR Homepage: https://www.bamboohr.com/ 
• 40+ questions you can add to your performance review 
• 15Five’s Guide to Designing a Fair, Valuable, and Efficient Review Process 
• Connect with Adam on LinkedIn