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In our first episode coming out of the show’s summer break, Tom Schin joins us to talk about his work helping organizations build better culture.  We open up the conversation about the cultures we build with our kids and, in one of my better segues, pivot to focusing on the workplace.  Tom talks about driving culture from the job description, recruiting process, onboarding and throughout the employee journey. 

Our Guest: Tom Schin, Creator and Founder at Build Better Culture

Website: Build Better Culture

LinkedIn: Tom Schin

Instagram: @bbetterculture

Twitter: @buildbettercul1

YouTube: BuildBetterCulture

Where to find your host Tom Horne and Tom’s Engaging HR

LinkedIn: Tom Horne

Email: [email protected]

Personal Twitter: @TomsEngagingHR

Podcast Twitter Page: @EngagingHRPod

Youtube: @Tom’s ENGAGING HR

Instagram: @TomsEngagingHRPod

TikTok: @Toms.engaging.hr

Facebook: Tom’s Engaging HR Podcast

THANK YOU:

Intro and Theme song for Tom’s Engaging HR is “Better” by Break Signals.  Break Signals just released their first studio album “A Steady Frequency” and it absolutely rocks, check it out here:  Break Signals: A Steady Frequency

• Fun fact, the song “That Guy”, which is also on the album, was inspired by a magician that was hanging around outside The HR Technology Conference in 2022

Karl Pawlewicz: He was integral with helping with our logo, social media, and answering my 1,000 questions while building out the show.  I appreciate you and your friendship for over 20 years, you’re the man!

Rachel Kitty Cupples joins me after many conversations in the #HRCommunity on Twitter to talk about the state of recruiting today and where it’s heading over the coming months.  Rachel has a fun TikTok Channel, great social media, & fantastic blog that I’ve always loved…having her as a guest didn’t disappoint.  We talk about Tom Brady’s HOF Speech, break down the types of TA Roles you may interact with, the state of Recruiting today & a lot more.  It’s always fun when a recruiter is in the house!

Our Guest: Rachel Kitty Cupples, Talent Strategist, Full-Cycle Recruitment Program Manager & Trainer

Website: Recruitingshero.com

LinkedIn: Rachel Cupples

Instagram: @recruitingshero

Twitter: @recruitingSHEro

TikTok: @recruitingshero2.0

Mentioned in the show:

• Tom Brady: “Life Is Hard” HOF Speech

Where to find your host Tom Horne and Tom’s Engaging HR

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Tom Horne

Personal Twitter: @TomsEngagingHR

Podcast Twitter Page: @EngagingHRPod

Youtube: @Tom’s ENGAGING HR

Instagram: @TomsEngagingHRPod

TikTok: @Toms.engaging.hr

Facebook: Tom’s Engaging HR Podcast

THANK YOU:

Intro and Theme song for Tom’s Engaging HR is “Better” by Break Signals.  Break Signals just released their first studio album “A Steady Frequency” and it absolutely rocks, check it out here:  Break Signals: A Steady Frequency

• Fun fact, the song “That Guy”, which is also on the album, was inspired by a magician that was hanging around outside The HR Technology Conference in 2022

Karl Pawlewicz: He was integral with helping with our logo, social media, and answering my 1,000 questions while building out the show.  I appreciate you and your friendship for over 20 years, you’re the man!

On Today’s show we sit down for lunch on location at a great Mexican Restaurant in Littleton, CO to talk about his non-profit Longer Tables.  Tim has identified the power of connecting at a table, over food and with phones down as one of the true human connections.  We dive into how the phone is “microwaving” connections, I love that analogy btw, and what it means to really create meaning with those you connect with.  Tim’s perspective on belonging not being an outcome but rather the start of engagement is not to be missed. We hope you'll join us at the table for a great conversation about culture, connection, belonging in both your communities and the workplace.

Our Guest: Tim Jones, Founder

He’s the Executive Director of the non-profit, Longer Tables, who is creating places of connection through large-scale community table events – namely, a literal mile-long table in downtown Denver in 2025!

Company: Longertables.org

LinkedIn: Longer Tables

LinkedIn:Tim Jones

Mentioned in the show:

Disrupt HR Denver

Where to find your host Tom Horne and Tom’s Engaging HR

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: Tom Horne

Personal Twitter: @TomsEngagingHR

Podcast Twitter Page: @EngagingHRPod

Youtube: @Tom’s ENGAGING HR

Instagram: @TomsEngagingHRPod

TikTok: @Toms.engaging.hr

Facebook: Tom’s Engaging HR Podcast

THANK YOU:

Intro and Theme song for Tom’s Engaging HR is “Better” by Break Signals.  Break Signals just released their first studio album “A Steady Frequency” and it absolutely rocks, check it out here:  Break Signals: A Steady Frequency

• Fun fact, the song “That Guy”, which is also on the album, was inspired by a magician that was hanging around outside The HR Technology Conference in 2022

Karl Pawlewicz: He was integral with helping with our logo, social media, and answering my 1,000 questions while building out the show.  I appreciate you and your friendship for over 20 years, you’re the man!

Sims Tillirson is a well-known personality from LinkedIn and I’m super excited to sit down with him again to catch up.  You may know him from his skits he posts, the songs he sings, his raw and open presentation of himself, but I sit down and get a few layers deeper on this episode.  We both share an affinity for Nike’s in the workplace so we dive into that topic to get the engines running before pivoting to a lengthy conversation about employee benefits.  How do you get the most from your broker relationships?  How can you drive down costs while maintaining a high level of benefits for your employees?  Are there new legislations or compliance issues I have to be aware of regarding how we provide benefits?  All these questions are answered before we finish up talking about wellbeing…most notably ours. 

Our Guest: Sims Tillirson, SVP Sales & Broker Partnerships

Company: BLUE RAVEN actuarial

LinkedIn: Sims Tillirson

Spotify: Sims Tillirson

Mentioned in the show:

• GOAT: Air Jordan 1

Where to find your host Tom Horne and Tom’s Engaging HR

LinkedIn: Tom Horne

Email: [email protected]

Personal Twitter: @TomsEngagingHR

Podcast Twitter Page: @EngagingHRPod

YouTube: @Tom’s ENGAGING HR

Instagram: @TomsEngagingHRPod

TikTok: @Toms.engaging.hr

Facebook: Tom’s Engaging HR Podcast

THANK YOU:

Intro and Theme song for Tom’s Engaging HR is “Better” by Break Signals.  Break Signals just released their first studio album “A Steady Frequency” and it absolutely rocks, check it out here:  Break Signals: A Steady Frequency

• Fun fact, the song “That Guy”, which is also on the album, was inspired by a magician that was hanging around outside The HR Technology Conference in 2022

Karl Pawlewicz: He was integral with helping with our logo, social media, and answering my 1,000 questions while building out the show.  I appreciate you and your friendship for over 20 years, you’re the man!

We're excited to present a special episode that I recorded with Leo Tokar from Lockton in 2023.  I think the content is especially relevant to what companies and employees are focused on today.  Leo joins the podcast for our first in-depth conversation about Total Rewards. We cover Total Rewards at a high level but also focus on how Total Rewards Strategies can be leveraged in today’s uncertain economy. Leo also connects the dots of how to engage your employees with Total Rewards to drive the best employee experience.  

Noted in Podcast: 

• HR HOTSAUCE “Favorite song to bring you out of a funk playlist”:  Coldplay 

•  What Leo is listening to:  

• Marketing School Podcast 

Our Guest, Leo Tokar 

Leo serves as President, People Solutions and partner with Lockton Companies, a consulting and brokerage firm that provides insurance, risk management, total rewards, employee benefits and retirement solutions. Lockton is the 8th largest risk and benefits management firm in the world and the largest firm that is private and independent. 

Leo leads the strategy and financial performance of health & welfare, retirement, and executive benefits practices. In addition, he oversees consulting teams for key accounts and manages employee benefits and total rewards strategy for public and private organizations in a variety of industries.  

Leo has a MS in Marketing and MBS from the University of Colorado executive programs, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from the University of Kansas.  

Leo is a current board member of Delta Dental of Colorado, Denver Metro Chamber, Ensemble Innovation Ventures, and the American Cancer Society. He is also a graduate of Leadership Denver and has won the “Forty Under 40” Award from the Denver Business Journal. 

[email protected] 

LinkedIn: Leo Tokar 

Lockton Website 

Where to find your host Tom Horne and Tom’s Engaging HR

LinkedIn: Tom Horne

Email: [email protected]

Personal Twitter: @TomsEngagingHR

Podcast Twitter Page: @EngagingHRPod

Youtube: @Tom’s ENGAGING HR

Instagram: @TomsEngagingHRPod

TikTok: @Toms.engaging.hr

Facebook: Tom’s Engaging HR Podcast

THANK YOU:

Intro and Theme song for Tom’s Engaging HR is “Better” by Break Signals.  Break Signals just released their first studio album “A Steady Frequency” and it absolutely rocks, check it out here:  Break Signals: A Steady Frequency

• Fun fact, the song “That Guy”, which is also on the album, was inspired by a magician that was hanging around outside The HR Technology Conference in 2022

Thanks to Jon Thurmond for your mentorship and help getting the podcast off the ground.  I appreciate you lending the voice for the introduction as well!

Karl Pawlewicz: He was integral with helping with our logo, social media, and answering my 1,000 questions while building out the show.  I appreciate you and your friendship for over 20 years, you’re the man!

John Bernatovicz joined me to talk about his journey to writing his best-selling book HR Like a Boss.  We cover a lot of ground from his early days at ADP, to a great story about how he beat Tiger Woods in a golf tournament, how he founded Willory and finally the main topic: How to HR Like a Boss.  It’s a really fun and engaging conversation with a great leader and voice in the HR Space.

Our Guest: John Bernatovicz, Founder, Author, Speaker

Email: [email protected]

Company: Willory

LinkedIn: John Bernatovicz

HR Like a Boss Podcast

HR Like a Boss Community and Book

Mentioned in the show:

• What John’s Listening to: John's Playlist

Where to find your host Tom Horne and Tom’s Engaging HR

LinkedIn: Tom Horne

Email: [email protected]

Personal Twitter: @TomsEngagingHR

Podcast Twitter Page: @EngagingHRPod

Youtube: @Tom’s ENGAGING HR

Instagram: @TomsEngagingHRPod

TikTok: @Toms.engaging.hr

Facebook: Tom’s Engaging HR Podcast

THANK YOU:

Intro and Theme song for Tom’s Engaging HR is “Better” by Break Signals.  Break Signals just released their first studio album “A Steady Frequency” and it absolutely rocks, check it out here:  Break Signals: A Steady Frequency

• Fun fact, the song “That Guy”, which is also on the album, was inspired by a magician that was hanging around outside The HR Technology Conference in 2022

Thanks to Jon Thurmond for your mentorship and help getting the podcast off the ground.  I appreciate you lending the voice for the introduction as well!

Karl Pawlewicz: He was integral with helping with our logo, social media, and answering my 1,000 questions while building out the show.  I appreciate you and your friendship for over 20 years, you’re the man!

RyanMae joins us to talk about how her team came to the decision to roll out a 4 day workweek.  I’ve heard this talked about a lot but excited to finally speak with someone who’s successfully launched it for their organization.  It may not be for every organization but Ryan shares how they came to the decision, rolled it out, where some of the pitfalls are, how they manage it and what it’s done for their company.  We also dig into her time at the Transform HR Show, some stories of the ski season and how she started her career in HR at a ski resort.  It’s a great conversation and Ryan is just so awesome to speak with!

Our Guest: RyanMae McAvoy, Director of People Operations

Company: Blackthorn.io

LinkedIn, Ryan-Mae

Mentioned in the show:

• Transform HR Conference

• Koe Wessel: Damn Near Normal

Where to find your host Tom Horne and Tom’s Engaging HR

LinkedIn: Tom Horne

Email: [email protected]

Personal Twitter: @TomsEngagingHR

Podcast Twitter Page: @EngagingHRPod

Youtube: @Tom’s ENGAGING HR

Instagram: @TomsEngagingHRPod

TikTok: @Toms.engaging.hr

Facebook: Tom’s Engaging HR Podcast

THANK YOU:

Intro and Theme song for Tom’s Engaging HR is “Better” by Break Signals.  Break Signals just released their first studio album “A Steady Frequency” and it absolutely rocks, check it out here:  Break Signals: A Steady Frequency

• Fun fact, the song “That Guy”, which is also on the album, was inspired by a magician that was hanging around outside The HR Technology Conference in 2022

Jon Thurmond: Thank you for your guidance, support and inspiration.  Jon also recorded our introduction to the show, he's one of my favorite podcast voices! 

Karl Pawlewicz: He was integral with helping with our logo, social media, and answering my 1,000 questions while building out the show.  I appreciate you and your friendship for over 20 years, you’re the man!

Christie joins the podcast to talk all about networking in HR.  The conversation starts out talking about college sports before we get into some of the great place for HR to network and share Ideas.  Christie talks about the bi-monthly #HRSocialHour Twitter chats and how you can find them.  We also get into some of the other places to find a HR Community and some of the truly wild questions that get asked.  Tune in, it’s a great conversation with a seasoned HR Leader!

Our Guest: Christie Engler, VP of HR

Company: Diversified Systems

Twitter, @christie_engler

LinkedIn, Christie Engler

Mentioned in the show:

• #HRSocialHour Twitter Chats: 2 x a month on X (Twitter, Twix, whatever you may call it) on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month at 7PM EST

• Search #HRSocialHour and you’ll find the chat on the above dates/times!

Where to find your host Tom Horne and Tom’s Engaging HR

LinkedIn: Tom Horne

Email: [email protected]

Personal Twitter: @TomsEngagingHR

Podcast Twitter Page: @EngagingHRPod

Youtube: @Tom’s ENGAGING HR

Instagram: @TomsEngagingHRPod

TikTok: @Toms.engaging.hr

Facebook: Tom’s Engaging HR Podcast

THANK YOU:

Intro and Theme song for Tom’s Engaging HR is “Better” by Break Signals.  Break Signals just released their first studio album “A Steady Frequency” and it absolutely rocks, check it out here:  Break Signals: A Steady Frequency

• Fun fact, the song “That Guy”, which is also on the album, was inspired by a magician that was hanging around outside The HR Technology Conference in 2022

Karl Pawlewicz: He was integral with helping with our logo, social media, and answering my 1,000 questions while building out the show.  I appreciate you and your friendship for over 20 years, you’re the man!

This is our first episode with video: Check us out on YouTube Here: Tom's Engaging HR YouTube, Matt Meadows

In our 3rd episode Matt Meadows joins us to talk about the much debated topic of Performance Reviews.  Does doing reviews once a year make the most sense for the employee and the business?  We share stories of people we know engaged in months long review processes and explore ways that organizations can better leverage feedback to drive outcomes for both employees and the business.  We also chat about buying houses in wild markets across the country and a super fun HR Hot Sauce Segment!

Our Guest: Matt Meadows

CEO and Co-founder of WorkStory, Matt Meadows, is working to reshape the landscape of performance management. Matt brings a wealth of experience from his time in various startups, working in a variety of leadership capacities from account management to marketing to customer relations. His entrepreneurial journey is marked by a relentless pursuit of efficiency and effectiveness in the workplace, which led him to co-found WorkStory. Frustrated by the outdated and time-consuming traditional performance reviews that failed to foster real improvement, Matt envisioned a new way forward.

Under Matt's leadership, WorkStory is pioneering the move away from conventional evaluation methods by implementing continuous feedback and data-driven insights. This approach not only engages employees more meaningfully but also streamlines the performance review process, making it quicker and more impactful. Matt's innovative mindset is backed by a solid foundation in management and entrepreneurship, earned from the University of Central Florida. Beyond his professional endeavors, he's an avid fan of the Florida Panthers and a staunch supporter of the rest of South Florida's professional sports teams. Matt also keeps active with frequent ultimate frisbee games.

Company: WorkStory

Twitter, @meadowsm 

LinkedIn, Matt Meadows

Mentioned in the show:

• Superlist

What Matt’s Listening to:

• Freakonomics

Where to find your host Tom Horne and Tom’s Engaging HR

LinkedIn: Tom Horne

Email: [email protected]

Personal Twitter: @TomsEngagingHR

Podcast Twitter Page: @EngagingHRPod

Youtube: @Tom’s ENGAGING HR

Instagram: @TomsEngagingHRPod

TikTok: @Toms.engaging.hr

Facebook: Tom’s Engaging HR Podcast

THANK YOU:

Intro and Theme song for Tom’s Engaging HR is “Better” by Break Signals.  Break Signals just released their first studio album “A Steady Frequency” and it absolutely rocks, check it out here:  Break Signals: A Steady Frequency

• Fun fact, the song “That Guy”, which is also on the album, was inspired by a magician that was hanging around outside The HR Technology Conference in 2022

Karl Pawlewicz: He was integral with helping with our logo, social media, and answering my 1,000 questions while building out the show.  I appreciate you and your friendship for over 20 years, you’re the man!

In our 2nd Episode we connect with TA Leader Laura Mazzullo and dig into vulnerability, building walls, and burnout in HR.  We get pretty deep into a pretty hot topic for many people, looking inward.  Laura’s compassionate approach and genuine desire to help leads us through a discussion addressing the outcomes of these pressures HR faces.  Heck, we even hold up the mirrors to ourselves and unlock opportunities for empathy and to better support HR Leaders.  We delve into how HR Leaders that are looking for positions can approach the search for their next great opportunity.  Don’t worry we still have plenty of fun talking about our favorite city, “big salads”, and TikTok for HR folks.

Our Guest: Laura Mazzullo

Company: Founder/Owner at East Side Staffing

Twitter, @eastsidestaff 

LinkedIn, Laura Mazzullo  

Youtube: Learn With Laura

Mentioned in the show:

• Ben Brooks on HR Happy Hour Podcast

Where to find your host Tom Horne and Tom’s Engaging HR

LinkedIn: Tom Horne

Email: [email protected]

Personal Twitter: @TomsEngagingHR

Podcast Twitter Page: @EngagingHRPod

Youtube: @Tom’s ENGAGING HR

Instagram: @TomsEngagingHRPod

TikTok: @Toms.engaging.hr

Facebook: Tom’s Engaging HR Podcast

THANK YOU:

Intro and Theme song for Tom’s Engaging HR is “Better” by Break Signals.  Break Signals just released their first studio album “A Steady Frequency” and it absolutely rocks, check it out here:  Break Signals: A Steady Frequency

• Fun fact, the song “That Guy”, which is also on the album, was inspired by a magician that was hanging around outside The HR Technology Conference in 2022

Karl Pawlewicz: He was integral with helping with our logo, social media, and answering my 1,000 questions while building out the show.  I appreciate you and your friendship for over 20 years, you’re the man!