RyanMae McAvoy has worked with the same finance leader at Blackthorne for four years. They don't fight over budgets.

They co-build them. In this conversation, she shares the exact approach she used to build that relationship, starting with three questions every HR leader should ask their finance partner.

In this episode:

• The three questions RyanMae asks every department leader to understand their priorities

• Why framing a comp tool purchase as an EBITDA play changes the conversation

• How Blackthorne uses time as currency when measuring the real cost of turnover

• The "drop everything" framework for knowing when to break your own rules

• Why unlimited PTO without a minimum requirement is a red flag

• How putting therapy on your public calendar sets the tone for your whole company

• What happens when HR has to stand up and deliver bad news about budget cuts

This episode is for people leaders who know they need a better relationship with finance but aren't sure where to start.

Episode Chapters:

• 00:00 | Meet RyanMae McAvoy
• 03:35 | The remote vs. office debate nobody wins
• 05:38 | Why HR and EBITDA feel like different languages
• 07:40 | Should HR ever report to finance?
• 11:49 | Three questions that change your budget conversations
• 13:07 | Time as currency and the four-year finance partnership
• 15:32 | Comp philosophy in the most expensive US market
• 17:41 | Quiet Fridays and why unlimited PTO is overrated
• 18:58 | How to learn the business
• 25:07 | The "drop everything" framework for distributed teams
• 26:23 | Putting therapy on your public calendar
• 32:11 | When budget cuts happen, HR can't stand alone
• 35:17 | Fair vs. equitable in global compensation
• 35:17 | Data can tell any story you want

Connect with RyanMae McAvoy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rm80920/

🎙️ Pulse by HRBench. Practical people analytics for HR leaders who tie their work to business outcomes.

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