Redefining Work Podcast

In this episode, I sit down with Patagonia CHRO and Head of Shared Services Dean Carter to discuss his career and what shapes his work at Patagonia. Some of the areas we explore include:

Why he moved into HR

The kismet that brought him to Patagonia

The structure of his role overseeing HR, Finance, and shared services

Why he sees his role as “Head of Community”

How the pandemic impact their HR operations

Advice for CHRO’s navigating the intersection of politics and workplace

The risks of commoditization of work with the rise of remote companies

Jobs on his team

In this episode, I sit down with Procore Technologies Chief People Officer to discuss her career in HR, and why she’s optimistic on the future of the field. We explore some of the topics below:

What originally drew her to HR

How the role and expectations of HR have evolved

Why the alignment between the people function and recruiting is so important

What drew her to Procore Technologies

Advice for CHROs interested in board roles

How the pandemic has propelled HR forward

Much more

In this episode, I chat with Upwork’s Head of TA & DIB Dr. Erin Thomas about her career and designing equitable work structures. You’ll learn:

When she knew she wanted to dedicate her career to DIB

Definition of key terms of DIB work

How consulting shaped her views on the field

How she balances leading two teams at Upwork

How she approaches Twitter threads (@ErinLThomasPhD)

How the events of 2020 have shaped diversity conversations (and actions) today

How to think about designing equitable recruiting systems

Where she finds inspiration

Work with her! Learn about what she’s hiring for right now

In this episode, I sit down with Pyn cofounders & co-CEOs, Joris Luijke and Jon Williams to discuss internal communications approaches and how their platform enables companies to communicate more effectively. In this episode you’ll learn:

How Joris & Jon connected on this idea

Why "Pyn"?

Some of the challenges companies face with remote comms, and how to overcome them

What great internal communication look like

Tips to get employees to take action on corporate messaging

How to use their open-source employee journey map (link below)

Much more

Disclaimer: Pyn underwrites the Redefining HR community so I want to be transparent about that relationship.

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Modern Health Founder & CEO Alyson Watson to discuss mental health benefits in the workplace. You’ll learn:

What she founded Modern Health

Why she feels mental health support is the 4th pillar of employee benefits

How Modern Health supports employee

Efforts to remove the stigma of mental health support

Preventative mental health support

Why vulnerability is a key trait for modern executives

And more

In this episode, I sit down with Zoom’s Chief People Officer Lynne Oldham to discuss her career and experience leading Zoom through its explosive growth in 2020. You’ll learn:

- What drew Lynne to HR

- Her work supporting former inmates transition out of incarceration

- A look under the hood at Zoom’s people team

- How she and her team navigated the employees and organization through their explosive growth of 2020

- How the FLEXWORK Coalition came together and the role of open practices in shaping the future of the field

- You can check out FLEXWORK at flexwork.life.

Celebrating the launch of the Redefining HR book with an audiobook of the opening chapter.

I’ve interviewed hundreds of modern HR practitioners over the years. They all have unique approaches and perspectives, but also share some common views and thinking about what’s led them to success.

I wanted to distill those traits and couple them with my own career experience and learning to build tangible advice on building a great career in HR, people operations, talent, recruiting, or whatever discipline you choose to pursue.

This podcast was adapted from an extract from my upcoming Redefining HR book ©2021 and reproduced with permission from Kogan Page Ltd.

Welcome to Season 5 of Redefining HR! I’m thrilled to kick off this season with my good friend and the author of the newly released book, Betting on You, Laurie Ruettimann. Laurie has been one of the leading voices in HR for years. In this episode, we go behind the scenes on the writing process for Betting on You and discuss getting fired, that night in Tijuana, the best career advice she’s ever received, and much more.

In this finale of season four, Lars breaks down some of his personal highlights of the season and previews what to expect in season five.