The HR L&D Podcast

How many women are waiting for the right moment to pursue an ambition they already know they're capable of?

This episode is sponsored by Deel.

Hire, manage and pay – anyone, anywhere: https://www.deel.com/nickdayhr/

HR leadership often demands compromise. In this episode of @thehrldpodcast Nick Day sits down with Stanislava Susla, CEO of XperienceHR, who stepped into the role while four months pregnant and refused to choose between ambition, motherhood, and building a global payroll technology company. From her NGO work supporting Ukrainian refugees to scaling a mission-driven business, Stanislava brings a rare, deeply personal perspective on what it really takes to lead, grow, and show up fully without false choices.

Together, Nick and Stanislava unpack why so many parents, mothers especially, wait for the "right time" to chase their goals, and why that wait is so often driven by fear rather than a genuine lack of readiness.

This conversation unpacks how Stanislava normalized working through pregnancy and early motherhood, and why focus and efficiency often sharpen rather than suffer under real constraints. Nick and Stanislava also discuss the difference between fear and wisdom in decision-making, and why quality time, not quantity of time, forms the real foundation of confident parenting.

They also explore how psychological safety and honest feedback shape company culture, and why manipulation has no place in modern leadership. The discussion highlights the importance of boundaries between work and family life, and what separates healthy leadership from unhealthy leadership in both business and the wider world.

In an era where ambition and caregiving are still too often treated as competing identities, this episode examines what it actually takes for working parents, and mothers in particular, to build both a career and a family without sacrificing either.

A must-listen for HR leaders, working parents, entrepreneurs, and anyone who has ever waited for the "right time" to pursue something they already know they're capable of doing.

Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thepayrollpodcast for more great content!

Guest and Host:

Connect with Stanislava Susla: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanislava-susla-6a8298b2/

XperienceHR website: https://www.xperiencehr.com/

Nick Day's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickday/

Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/919cf6b9ea

Sign up to the HR L&D Newsletter: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/23e7b153e7

Stay tuned for the next episode of the Payroll Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon!

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction: Becoming CEO at Four Months Pregnant

(01:54) What "Human Resources" Really Means

(03:35) The Call That Changed Everything: Becoming CEO While Pregnant

(06:41) Normalizing Pregnancy and Finding New Efficiency

(12:18) Fear vs. Wisdom in Decision-Making

(17:57) Advice for Mothers Considering a Return to Work

(22:33) Maternity Leave: Six Weeks and No Regrets

(27:23) Merging Ambition and Motherhood Without Compromise

(34:18) Building a Human-Centric Culture at Experience HR

(44:34) Blind Spots and Self-Development as a CEO

(51:28) Inside Experience HR: Global Payroll and Time-Tracking Platform

(1:00:01) HR L&D Vault: Belief, Leadership, and Legacy

Grievances are never the beginning they're the final chapter of workplace culture breakdown. By the time a formal complaint reaches HR, the relationship has usually deteriorated in silence for months.

In this episode of @thehrldpodcast, Nick Day is joined by Roy Magara, employment solicitor advocate, founder of Magara Law, and accredited workplace mediator. Roy's career began on the legal side, managing escalations, grievances, dismissals and tribunal claims, but training and mediation gave him a different view entirely, a window into the conversations, emotional needs, and missed interventions that exist long before positions become entrenched. That dual perspective, acting for both employers and employees, is exactly what he brings to this conversation. Roy reveal the early warning signs HR leaders and people managers miss. Discover how to detect workplace culture deterioration before it escalates, why your grievance process is too late, and the specific conversations that stop problems before they become formal.

Nick and Roy explore why workplace conflict is rarely about the incident itself and almost always about what happens, or does not happen, afterwards, and why a rising number of UK employment claims are a direct consequence of avoided conversations rather than genuine wrongdoing. They unpack the early warning signs most leaders miss, from quieter team members and rising sickness absence to sarcastic emails and avoided one to ones, why people raise grievances not because they want a legal process but because they do not feel heard, and why remote and hybrid working has quietly made this worse by removing the informal moments where tension used to get caught early.

They also dig into where the genuine dividing line sits between issues that should be mediated and those that require formal investigation, why email is one of the worst mediums for resolving disputes, why leaders replacing assumption with curiosity changes outcomes, and why the coming changes to UK employment tribunal time limits, alongside a backlog stretching cases into 2029, make prevention more urgent than ever.

In a climate where tribunal claims are rising and legal exposure is widening, this episode makes the case that the real barriers were never about policy documents. They are about silence, avoidance, and managers who were never trained to have the conversation in the first place.

A must-listen for HR leaders, in-house counsel, people managers, and anyone responsible for building a workplace where conflict gets resolved before it ever needs a policy to intervene.

Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thepayrollpodcast for more great content!

This episode is sponsored by Deel

Managing a global team is complex, Deel makes it simpler with payroll, HR, IT, and compliance all in one place. That's why over 35,000 businesses trust Deel to hire, pay, and manage their teams worldwide.

See how Deel works at www.deel.com/nickday

Guest and Host:

Roy Magara's LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/roymagara

Magara Law website: https://www.magaralaw.co.uk/

Acas Guide to workplace mediation: https://www.acas.org.uk/mediation

Nick Day's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickday/

Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/919cf6b9ea

Sign up to the HR L&D Newsletter: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/23e7b153e7

Stay tuned for the next episode of the HR L&D Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon!

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction and Welcome to the HR L&D Podcast

(01:37) What Human Resources Means to Roy Magara

(03:00) The Biggest Misconception About Where Conflict Begins

(04:09) Early Warning Signs Leaders Routinely Miss

(08:04) Why Employees Really Raise Grievances

(17:01) Roy's Journey From Employment Lawyer to Mediator

(21:50) What Feeling Heard Actually Looks Like

(25:14) Reframing Conflict: Avoidance vs Disagreement

(26:36) Mediation vs Formal Investigation: Where the Line Sits

(32:15) The First 72 Hours: What HR Leaders Should Do

(35:14) Tribunal Backlogs and the Case for Mandatory Mediation

(49:01) HR Vault: Roy's Rapid-Fire Leadership Advice

What if the biggest barrier to innovation isn't a lack of confidence but a workplace culture that quietly punishes people for speaking up?

This episode is sponsored by Deel.

Hire, manage and pay – anyone, anywhere: https://www.deel.com/nickdayhr/

In this episode of @thehrldpodcast Nick Day is joined by Seema Bhansali, author, strategist, attorney, and former Fortune 500 people and culture executive. With over two decades of experience across high stakes environments, from supporting US Congressman Steve Israel to senior leadership at Henry Schein, Seema reveals why psychological safety fails in most organizations and the specific hr leadership behaviors that are silencing your talent. Discover how to flip the script before your best people go quiet.

Seema challenges the assumption that confidence training solves the problem of employees holding back. Together, Nick and Seema explore why the brain treats speaking up as a genuine risk, why environments rather than individuals are usually the real barrier, and why this issue starts far earlier in life than most leaders realize.

This conversation unpacks what the silence tax actually costs an organization, from lost innovation to hidden attrition that never shows up until it is too late. Nick and Seema discuss the difference between building confidence and building psychological safety, why rotating who gets to speak matters more than who is naturally confident, and why the loudest voices in the room are not always the smartest ones. They also explore Seema's forthcoming book, Hit the Buzzer, and the science competition story that inspired its title.

In a world increasingly shaped by AI adoption, fast decision making, and the risk of losing talent quietly rather than loudly, this episode delivers practical frameworks every HR and L&D professional needs in 2026, including how to build a no repeats rule into leadership presentations, how to treat voice as infrastructure rather than personality, and how to make speaking up less costly for everyone.

A must-listen for HR leaders, L&D professionals, and anyone ready to stop asking people to be braver and start building cultures where being heard does not carry a hidden cost.

Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thepayrollpodcast for more great content!

Guest and Host:

Connect with Seema Bhansali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seema-bhansali-esq-principal/

Nick Day's LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/nickday

Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/919cf6b9ea

Sign up to the HR L&D Newsletter: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/23e7b153e7

Stay tuned for the next episode of the HR L&D Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon!

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction: Exposing the Silence Tax

(01:28) What Human Resources Really Means to Seema

(03:36) Why Accomplished Women Go Silent in the Room

(06:49) The Behaviors Behind Muted Cultures

(09:10) The Neuroscience of Silence and Why Confidence Training Fails

(15:11) Naming the Silence Tax and Its Cost to Retention

(18:43) Systems vs Individuals: Who Is Really Responsible

(21:42) Making It Safer to Challenge Leadership

(25:18) The Real Cost of Silence: Innovation in the AI Era

(28:39) Building a Practical Open Voice Culture Framework

(34:56) Command and Control, and the Story Behind Hit the Buzzer

(45:06) Rapid Fire Questions and Closing Thoughts

Most organizations think fertility is a private matter. It is not. It is a silent talent drain hiding in plain sight. Employees quietly step back from opportunities, and by the time HR notices, the resignation letter has already been written.

This episode is sponsored by Deel.

Hire, manage and pay, anyone, anywhere: https://www.deel.com/nickdayhr/

In this episode of @thehrldpodcast, Nick Day is joined by Jennifer Elworthy, a career and fertility coach and Director of Engagement at Fertility Matters at Work. Jen's own path into this work began in 2015, when a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, a miscarriage, and a second ectopic pregnancy left her navigating PTSD while working at a senior level in the media industry. Despite it all, with the right manager and the right support in place, she was promoted, and she now spends her career helping organizations turn good intentions into meaningful workplace policy. That lived experience, paired with the research she leads at Fertility Matters at Work, is exactly what she brings to this conversation.

Nick and Jen explore why fertility remains one of the least discussed issues on the HR agenda despite affecting one in six people globally, and why the myth that it is not happening in your business is quietly costing UK employers an estimated 217 million pounds a year. They unpack the four questions every manager should ask when an employee discloses a fertility challenge, why 87% of managers have no training despite being the first point of disclosure for 70% of employees, and why a policy sitting in a dusty folder means nothing without a culture of psychological safety to back it up. They also dig into why fertility is not a women's issue, the hidden struggles of the childless not by choice community, the often overlooked reality of pregnancy and parenting after loss, and why career ambition and fertility treatment are not mutually exclusive, no matter how well meaning the advice to just relax might be.

In a world where 38% of employees have left or considered leaving a role due to lack of support, this episode makes the case that the real barriers were never about policy documents. They are about silence, stigma, and managers who want to help but were never given the tools.

A must-listen for HR leaders, L&D professionals, and anyone responsible for building a workplace where employees don't have to choose between their career and their fertility journey.

Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thepayrollpodcast for more great content!

Guest and Host:

Jennifer Elworthy's Website: www.jenniferelworthy.com

Jennifer Elworthy's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferelworthy/

Fertility Matters at Work: fertilitymattersatwork.com

Nick Day's LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/nickday

Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/919cf6b9ea

Sign up to the HR L&D Newsletter: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/23e7b153e7

Stay tuned for the next episode of the HR L&D Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon!

Timestamps:

(00:01) One in Six Face Infertility, Yet It's Still Hidden at Work

(03:24) Jen's Story: Ectopic Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and a PTSD Diagnosis

(10:05) What Real Support Looks Like: Policy, Manager Training, and Culture

(13:17) Why Fertility Is Missing From the HR Agenda

(17:27) Coaching From the Scar: What HR Never Hears in the Coaching Room

(20:32) Quiet Quitting and the Hidden Cost of an Unsupported Workforce

(24:28) Why 87% of Managers Have No Training for This Conversation

(26:17) The Four Questions Every Manager Should Ask

(29:14) Fertility Is Not a Women's Issue: Protecting Career Ambition

(35:01) When IVF Doesn't Work: Supporting the Childless Not by Choice

(37:45) Becoming Fertility-Friendly: Accreditation and the Power of Storytelling

(41:28) Life After Loss, the Future of Work, and Rapid-Fire Vault Questions

Most organizations think they have an AI tool problem. They do not. They have an AI behavioral problem. The licenses get bought, the workshops happen, and by Monday morning, people are back to working exactly as they did before.

This episode is sponsored by Deel.

Hire, manage, and pay anyone, anywhere: https://www.deel.com/nickdayhr/

In this episode of @thehrldpodcast Nick Day is joined by Jamie Bykov-Brett, an AI transformation strategist, TEDx speaker, and co-founder of the Executive AI Institute. Jamie's path into AI started in youth work, supporting young people from marginalized backgrounds into STEM careers. It was there, back in 2014, that he began forecasting how automation would reshape the workforce, discovering along the way that technology adoption rarely fails because of the tools themselves; it fails because people were never taken through the change. That change management lens is exactly what he brings to AI training and organizational transformation today.

Nick and Jamie explore why one-off AI workshops rarely create lasting behavior change, and why real transformation starts with human-centric skill development, not the tools. They unpack the "eliminate, automate, delegate" framework for deciding where AI actually belongs in a workflow, why psychological safety is the missing ingredient in most AI rollouts, and how legacy failed change projects can quietly sabotage adoption before training even begins. They also dig into why your most resistant employees might be your best future change agents, why highly technical people sometimes struggle most with AI adoption, why organizations should expect a temporary dip in performance during rollout rather than instant ROI, and what it actually looks like to design an AI learning intervention that turns AI into a daily working habit rather than a novelty.

In a world where organizations are under pressure to prove AI adoption is working immediately, this episode makes the case that the real barriers were never technical. They are emotional, cultural, and behavioral, and the organizations that address that will be the ones that actually get results.

A must-listen for HR leaders, L&D professionals, and anyone responsible for making AI adoption actually stick inside their organization.

Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thepayrollpodcast for more great content!

Guest and Host:

Jamie Bykov-Brett's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiebykovbrett/

Jamie Bykov-Brett's Website: bykovbrett.net

Nick Day's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickday/

Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/919cf6b9ea

Sign up to the HR L&D Newsletter: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/23e7b153e7

Stay tuned for the next episode of the HR L&D Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon!

Timestamps:

(00:01) Why AI Training Fails: The Behavior Problem, Not a Tool Problem

(03:27) Jamie's Journey: From Youth Work to AI Transformation Strategist

(09:05) The AI Adoption Gap: Rising HR Burnout Despite AI Investment

(10:47) AI as a Mirror: Why Technology Reflects Your Organization's Culture

(14:30) Human-Centric Skills First: Curiosity, Creativity and Critical Thinking

(20:31) The Eliminate, Automate, Delegate Framework

(23:09) Designing AI Interventions That Actually Fit Your Organization

(27:43) Turning Resistant Employees Into Change Agents

(33:11) The Hidden Fears Driving AI Resistance

(37:03) Case Study: How Insights Achieved a 9.7 NPS on AI Training

(39:59) Why L&D Should Expect a Performance Dip Before AI Pays Off

(45:43) Rapid Fire: Career Advice, Leadership, and HR's Future

Most HR leaders think a resignation starts the day someone hands in their notice. It doesn't. It starts months earlier, the moment someone decides it's no longer worth speaking up. And almost nobody in HR is measuring it.

This episode is sponsored by Deel.

Hire, manage and pay, anyone, anywhere: https://www.deel.com/nickdayhr/

In this episode of @thehrldpodcast, Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment Group, breaks from his usual format for the first time in more than 200 episodes. There is no guest this time, just Nick, a microphone, and one idea he cannot stop thinking about. After 24 years of exit interviews and placing over 10,000 professionals across 40+ countries, he has built his own coaching framework around fear. This episode is where he unpacks it in full.

Nick introduces the idea of the fear tax, the invisible cost every organisation pays when people stop raising problems, ideas, and concerns out loud, and breaks down why silence looks like a wellbeing problem but spends like a balance sheet one. He contrasts a manager who unknowingly built a culture of fear with a leader whose team openly flagged a critical mistake before it went public, walks through his own fear equation of anxiety plus uncertainty multiplied by imagination, and explains why fear in capable people rarely looks like fear at all, instead disguising itself as caution, busy bravery, perfectionism, or imposter syndrome. He also shares the BOLD protocol, a four step method for catching fear in the three second window before it wins, backed by research from Stanford and UCLA, and gets personal about a lesson he learned the hard way with his own father.

In a world where HR is expected to protect culture, retain top talent, and prove ROI on every initiative, this episode makes the case that the biggest lever HR has never measured is right in front of them. It is whether people feel safe enough to speak.

A must-listen for HR leaders, people managers, and anyone who has ever sat in a meeting, known exactly the right thing to say, and said nothing.

Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thepayrollpodcast for more great content!

Nick Day's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickday/

Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/919cf6b9ea

Sign up to the HR L&D Newsletter: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/23e7b153e7

Stay tuned for the next episode of the HR L&D Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon!

Timestamps:

(00:01) Rachel's Story: The Resignation That Started Eight Months Early

(02:16) Why Nick Broke Format for His First-Ever Solo Episode

(04:38) James: The Manager Who Built a Fear Culture Without Raising His Voice

(07:03) Naming the Fear Tax

(09:07) The Real Cost of Losing Good People

(11:31) Why Your Speak-Up Culture Is Your Talent Strategy

(13:55) Amy Edmondson's Research: Why Quiet Teams Aren't Healthy Teams

(18:32) The Fear Equation: Anxiety Plus Uncertainty, Multiplied by Imagination

(22:01) From Fear Culture to Courage Culture: James's Turnaround and Fear's Disguises

(28:41) The Courage Window and the BOLD Protocol

(35:15) HR's Blind Spot: Practicing Psychological Safety and Convincing Skeptical Leaders

(43:14) The Monday Morning Move and Closing Thoughts

This episode is sponsored by Deel.

Hire, manage and pay, anyone, anywhere: https://www.deel.com/nickdayhr/

In this episode of @thehrldpodcast Nick Day is joined by Nelly Salinas, a global HR operations leader and Director of Global HR Operations at Accertify Inc. Nelly's path into HR started nowhere near HR. She began her career in industrial engineering and IT project management before discovering that projects rarely fail because of technology, they fail because people were never aligned in the first place. That engineering lens is exactly what she brings to global HR operations today.

Nick and Nelly explore why the future of HR will not belong to the most human leader alone, but to the hybrid leader who can connect people, process, systems, data, and strategy in one conversation. They unpack where AI is genuinely creating value in HR right now versus where organizations are mistaking experimentation for transformation, why AI can make recruiters lazy if it replaces human connection instead of freeing up time for it, and how homogenized AI written CVs are making it harder than ever to spot real talent. They also dig into the near impossible balancing act of standardizing HR processes across global regions without losing local nuance, why data literacy and change management are becoming non-negotiable skills, the ongoing debate over whether payroll should sit inside HR or finance, and what a realistic first step into agentic AI actually looks like for HR leaders who have not started yet.

In a world where HR is being asked to improve employee experience, scale global operations, adopt AI responsibly, and still deliver measurable outcomes, this episode makes the case that technology and humanity were never competing priorities. The job has always been to bring both together.

A must-listen for HR leaders, global operations professionals, and anyone trying to figure out what skills will actually matter in the next phase of HR.

Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thepayrollpodcast for more great content!

Nelly Salinas's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nellysalinascabala/

Nick Day's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickday/

Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/919cf6b9ea

Sign up to the HR L&D Newsletter: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/23e7b153e7

Stay tuned for the next episode of the HR L&D Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon!

Timestamps:

(00:01) Why HR Is Asking the Wrong Question About AI

(02:46) From Industrial Engineering to Global HR Operations

(05:04) HR's Collaboration Gap With IT

(07:13) What It Means to Be a Hybrid HR Leader

(08:52) Where AI Is Actually Showing Up in HR

(10:31) Is AI Making Recruiters Lazy?

(15:28) Experimentation vs Real Transformation

(17:56) Standardizing Global HR Without Losing Local Nuance

(21:51) The Skills HR Leaders Need to Future-Proof Their Careers

(26:06) HR as Strategic Partner, Not Back Office

(29:59) Using AI and Data Analytics to Drive Real HR Insights

(31:56) Getting Started With AI and the Future of Agentic HR

This episode is sponsored by Deel.

Hire, manage and pay, anyone, anywhere: https://www.deel.com/nickdayhr/

In this episode of @thehrldpodcast Nick Day is joined by Dr. Thom Mayer, emergency physician, crisis leader, NFL Players Association Medical Director, and bestselling author of Leadership Is Worthless But Leading Is Priceless. Having led through 9/11 at the Pentagon, the national anthrax response, and medical training on the ground in Ukraine, Dr. Mayer brings a career forged under the highest pressure imaginable to challenge everything we think we know about what it means to lead.

Nick and Dr. Mayer explore why the concept of leadership has become dangerously hollow, why every person on your team is already a leader whether you treat them that way or not, and why innovation never moves at the speed of genius but always at the speed of trust. They unpack the critical difference between bravery, courage, and tenacity, why making failure your fuel is the foundation of elite performance, how victim mentality disappears the moment people own their agency, and why calling someone a future leader is one of the most toxic things you can say. They also examine how AI is being dangerously misused as a substitute for leadership wisdom and why luck is really just a discipline meeting opportunity.

In a world where trust is eroding, burnout is rising, and pressure is relentless, this episode makes the case that the leader you have been looking for has been there all along and it is you.

A must-listen for HR leaders, L&D professionals, and anyone ready to stop talking about leadership and start actually leading.

Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thepayrollpodcast for more great content!

Dr. Thom Mayer's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thom-mayer-md-40342024/

Nick Day's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickday/

Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/919cf6b9ea

Sign up to the HR L&D Newsletter: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/23e7b153e7

Stay tuned for the next episode of the HR L&D Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon!

Timestamps:

(00:01) Why Leadership Is Worthless But Leading Is Priceless

(02:09) Everyone Is Already a Leader, Not a Future One

(05:15) The We Suite vs The C Suite, Empowerment Over Hierarchy

(08:10) Vulnerability, Authenticity and Making Failure Your Fuel

(15:23) Leadership as Identity vs Leadership as Behavior

(18:12) Leading Through 9/11, the NFL and Ukraine

(22:36) Bravery, Courage and Tenacity, Three Very Different Things

(28:44) Can AI Close the Leadership Gap or Is It Widening It

(39:00) The Book and Why It Is Not Just Another Leadership Book

(43:06) Luck, Discipline and Saying Yes to the Invitation

(46:11) Limiting Beliefs and How They Hold Leaders Back

(50:24) How to Sustain Leadership Performance and Connect with Dr. Thom Mayer

In this special Enter The Vault episode of ‪@thehrldpodcast, we unlock the HR L&D vault, a curated collection of the most powerful insights, lessons, and truths shared by the brightest minds shaping the future of work.

You'll hear game-changing perspectives on trust-based leadership, skills-based hiring, imposter syndrome, fear in the workplace, building high-trust cultures, HR as a strategic function, and what it truly takes to move from command and control to trust and inspire.

From practical advice on rebuilding lost trust and professionalising HR, to deeply human lessons on vulnerability, failure, calmness under pressure, and original thinking, this episode captures the mindset shifts that separate reactive HR from truly transformational people leadership.

If you're an HR professional, CHRO, L&D leader, talent strategist, people manager, or founder navigating culture change, leadership development, and the evolving world of work, this episode is packed with timeless insights you can apply immediately.

Subscribe for more conversations redefining HR, leadership, and the future of work.

Nick Day's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickday/

Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/919cf6b9ea

Sign up to the HR L&D Newsletter: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/23e7b153e7

Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast ‪@thepayrollpodcast for more great content!

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction: Welcome to the HR L&D Vault

(00:48) Everyone Is Making It Up: Imposter Syndrome at Every Level

(03:53) The One Quality Every Great Leader Has: Calm Is Strength

(07:08)Take More Risks: The Career Advice You Needed Earlier

(08:28) Skills-Based Hiring and Walking Away from CVs

(10:11) Why You Should Hire an HR Leader Sooner Than You Think

(14:36) Trust Can Be Lost But It Can Be Rebuilt Through Behaviour

(17:19) Trust and Inspire: The Leadership Model for the Modern World

(21:50) Inspiration Is the New Engagement Frontier

(31:06) How Fear Is Silently Sabotaging Your Leadership

(34:06) Failure Is Not the Opposite of Success, It Is Part of It

This episode is sponsored by Deel.

Hire, manage and pay – anyone, anywhere: https://www.deel.com/nickdayhr/

In this episode of @thehrldpodcast Nick Day is joined by Jackie Dube, Chief People Officer at The Predictive Index, with over two decades of experience helping organizations unlock performance through behavioral science and talent optimization. Grounding her work in a simple but powerful belief, that happy, aligned people do better work and live better lives, Jackie brings both the science and the human heart to one of the most pressing challenges facing workplaces today.

Jackie brings a rare blend of behavioral expertise and people leadership into the world of HR and organizational performance. Together, Nick and Jackie explore why so many employees, despite better tools, more flexibility, and greater leadership investment than ever before, still feel a deep sense of emptiness at work, and what leaders can actually do about it.

This conversation unpacks what it truly means to align people with their work from the inside out. Nick and Jackie discuss why engagement and meaning are not the same thing, how the four behavioral drives of dominance, extraversion, patience, and formality determine what energizes or drains each employee, and why the same task can be deeply motivating for one person and completely demotivating for another. They explore how hiring for speed quietly erodes culture, why interpersonal conflicts at work are almost always behavioral mismatches rather than personality clashes, and how leaders can use the three whys technique to reconnect people to organizational purpose.

They also cover the four forces of engagement, the role of pulse surveys in detecting disengagement early, and how AI adoption is creating a new wave of workforce fear that behavioral science is uniquely equipped to address. The discussion highlights PI's J-curve framework for navigating change, why transparency around AI matters more than most leaders realize, and how understanding what drives each individual is the foundation of a truly high-performing team.

In a world shaped by remote work, rapid AI adoption, and growing disconnection, this episode examines why behavioral science may be the most practical and powerful tool HR and L&D professionals have in 2026 to restore meaning, motivation, and performance across their organizations.

A must-listen for HR leaders, L&D professionals, and anyone ready to stop guessing what their people need and start building workplaces where people are genuinely wired to thrive.

Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thepayrollpodcast for more great content!

Connect with Jackie Dube & The Predictive Index:

Predictive Index: https://www.predictiveindex.com

Predictive Index behavioural science insights: https://www.predictiveindex.com/blog/

Jackie Dube's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackie-dube/

Nick Day's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickday/

Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/919cf6b9ea

Sign up to the HR L&D Newsletter: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/23e7b153e7

Stay tuned for the next episode of the HR L&D Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon!

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction: Why Work Feels Empty in the Modern Workplace

(01:40) Meet Jackie Dube, Chief People Officer at The Predictive Index

(02:28) Jackie's Origin Story, From Family Therapy to HR

(05:30) How Behavioral Science First Clicked for Jackie

(08:33) What Is Driving the Emptiness at Work Today

(12:44) How Organizations Unintentionally Drain Meaning from Work

(14:39) Early Warning Signs of Disengagement and How to Spot Them

(16:22) The Four Behavioral Drives and How They Shape the Way We Work

(20:13) How Behavioral Differences Create Motivation or Demotivation

(22:52) Why Engagement and Meaning Are Not the Same Thing

(27:31) AI Adoption, Workforce Fear and the J-Curve Framework

(36:01) How The Predictive Index Helps Organizations Build Meaning and Performance