SpeakEasy HR

We’re going LIVE from the 2026 HR Collaborative with a fast-paced lineup of 15-minute conversations featuring leading HR and leadership voices.
This afternoon edition dives into the real challenges leaders are facing today—how to better engage employees, elevate leadership impact, navigate change, and align people strategy with business outcomes.
Afternoon LIVE features 4 speakers:
Davis Robinson opens with a fresh take on employee engagement, challenging organizations to rethink traditional approaches by putting the employee experience at the center—not the organization.
Todd Bertsch follows with a leadership shift from “fixer” to “influencer,” focusing on how great leaders build trust and become people others genuinely want to follow.
Sean Olson brings a practical framework for leading change, helping leaders “ignite their SPARK” by turning resistance into resilience in times of disruption and uncertainty.

AI is everywhere—but making it work inside your organization is where most leaders get stuck.

In this episode, Alex Meyer brings a practical, grounded perspective on how to move beyond the hype and actually implement AI in ways that create real business value. As Founder & Partner of Dualis Studio, Alex shares what he’s seeing across organizations—where AI efforts succeed, where they fall short, and why.

We dig into:
👉 How to align AI initiatives with real business outcomes
👉 Gaining buy-in across leadership and teams
👉 Avoiding common mistakes that stall progress
👉 Moving from experimentation to execution with confidence

This conversation is all about making AI useful, usable, and impactful—not just interesting.
If you’re trying to figure out how AI fits into your organization in a meaningful way, this episode delivers real clarity.

AI may dominate today’s HR conversations, but David Turetsky believes the real challenge for HR in 2026 isn’t artificial intelligence — it’s HR data. Many organizations are eager to adopt AI tools, yet still struggle with the fundamentals like data quality, governance, and turning workforce data into meaningful insights.

To learn more about the HR Channel: https://thehrchannel.tv/

Connect with David on LinkedIn or his work at HR Data Labs, https://hrdatalabs.com/

In this episode of SpeakEasy HR HR, I sit down with Mark Lane, a corporate communications and strategic marketing executive with over 20 years of experience helping organizations strengthen their messaging, brand reputation, and employee engagement.

Mark also hosts the podcast Ghosted by the Machine, where he explores the growing disconnect between job seekers and today’s AI-driven hiring process. Together, we discuss why job searching feels so broken right now—from automated screening tools and candidate ghosting to the lack of communication many applicants experience. Mark shares insights on how organizations can improve the candidate experience by bringing more transparency, empathy, and human connection back into hiring. A great conversation for HR leaders, recruiters, and job seekers navigating today’s evolving hiring landscape.

In this episode of SpeakEasy HR, we talk with Meghan Hensley, Vice President at Beech Acres Parenting Center, about how organizations can move from a culture where employees are just surviving to one where they are truly thriving.
With over 20 years of experience in HR, leadership, and organizational development, Meghan shares practical insights on building authentic leadership, creating real belonging, and shaping cultures where people feel connected, valued, and inspired to bring their best to work every day. If you care about building stronger leaders and workplaces where people can truly flourish, this conversation is packed with ideas you won’t want to miss.

https://bit.ly/4s770vQ

In this episode, Tammy shares her powerful framework for elevating payroll from a back-office function to a strategic driver of success. From improving processes and system implementations to solving payroll challenges and mentoring the next generation of payroll pros, she makes the case for why payroll deserves a seat at the leadership table.

If you’re ready to see payroll differently — and start doing it like a boss — this episode is for you. New book, "Payroll Like a Boss" drops April 28!

In this episode, we sit down with Thomas Hansen, CEO of AINIRO, a pioneer in AI chatbot solutions and intelligent web agents. With over 42 years of experience in software engineering, Thomas shares his deep insights into how AI can augment human work rather than replace it, and why this mindset is critical for the future of organizations.

Thomas walks us through the practical ways AI can enhance productivity, improve decision-making, and foster creativity — all while keeping humans at the center of the workplace. He also discusses how his company’s customizable AI chatbots leverage LLMs, machine learning, and web-scraped data to engage visitors, increase conversions, and drive business growth.

Beyond AI, Thomas reflects on his long career in software development, including his work with Azure DevOps, serverless computing, Docker, Kubernetes, low-code frameworks, and his groundbreaking contributions to declarative programming with Hyperlambda. From building critical enterprise software across industries like FinTech and Health, to creating automation tools for software development, Thomas shares lessons on innovation, adaptability, and designing technology that empowers people rather than replaces them.

Whether you’re a leader, developer, or just curious about the future of AI at work, this episode provides actionable insights on how to embrace AI as a tool to augment human potential, not automate it away.

Many organizations are chasing bold outcomes with systems built for a different era—leading to burnout, broken collaboration, and rising delivery risk. In this episode, Dr. Lisa Colledge explains why these aren’t people problems, but system signals.

To learn more about her work, go to https://www.lisacolledgeconsulting.com/

This conversation is packed with practical insight, self-awareness, and actionable takeaways for leaders at every stage. If you’re looking to lead with clarity, intention, and impact, this episode is one you won’t want to miss. To learn more, go to https://www.youevolvingnow.com