Vantage Influencers Podcast

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Paul Falcone, Principal at Paul Falcone Workplace Leadership Consulting, LLC, shares his perspective on why managers often avoid difficult workplace conversations and how this reluctance can impact employee trust, team morale, and organizational culture. The conversation explores what makes these discussions challenging, why setting clear expectations and addressing problematic behaviors early is essential, how managers can navigate sensitive situations and cultural differences, and how HR leaders can equip managers with the confidence and communication skills needed to foster open dialogue, strengthen workplace relationships, and build a culture of trust and accountability.

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Dr. Elton Ron Nathan, Head L&OD and Senior General Manager at Apollo Health and Lifestyle Limited, shares his perspective on why great customer service starts with a positive employee experience. The conversation explores how employee engagement, workplace culture, and leadership influence customer interactions, why organizations need to prioritize employee well-being and development, and how HR leaders can create an environment where employees feel valued, supported, and empowered to deliver exceptional service and build lasting customer relationships.

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Yael Irom, Head of Talent Development and AI Leader Transformation, shares her perspective on why AI literacy is becoming an essential workplace skill and how organizations can prepare employees for an increasingly AI-driven future. The conversation explores how HR leaders can build AI awareness, equip employees with the skills and confidence to use AI effectively, integrate AI literacy into learning and development programs, and foster a culture of continuous learning, adaptability, and responsible AI adoption.

For decades, the traits that seem to get people promoted, decisiveness, assertiveness, competitiveness have quietly worn a "masculine" label. And the traits that get people liked, say for example empathy, patience, collaboration, got filed under "feminine," treated like a good thing to have rather than an actual leadership skill.

So, we're asking a pretty uncomfortable question: does corporate leadership actually reward masculine traits more than feminine ones? And if it does, what's that costing organizations, and the people trying to lead inside them?

To help us dig into this, we are joined by Elaine Palome, Regional Head of Human Resources, Americas at Axis Communications.

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, Sarah Cooper Truchard, Manager, Talent and Leadership Development at CITGO, shares her perspective on why soft skills are becoming increasingly important in an AI-driven workplace. The conversation explores how AI is reshaping workplace skill requirements, why human capabilities such as communication, adaptability, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking remain essential, and how HR leaders can help employees develop these skills to strengthen collaboration, leadership, and long-term career growth.

Most companies will tell you they value emotional intelligence. Far fewer can tell you what that actually looks like on a Tuesday afternoon, when someone's frustrated in a meeting, or a team is quietly burning out and nobody's said a word about it. I feel what's disappointing is that people treat emotional and social intelligence as some add-ons to culture. But realizes later, that it's not.

So today in this episode, we'll try to understand what it actually takes to build that into an organization on purpose, not by accident. And to help us, we have with us Becca McKnight, Manager of the Emotional & Social Intelligence Program at Promega Corporation.

When most companies talk about employer brand, they mean the careers page, the job ads, the polished video of people laughing in a break room. But ask anyone who's actually worked somewhere, and they'll tell you the real brand is what happens after you sign the offer, how you're paid, how you're taken care of, whether the company keeps its word.

So today, we're looking at employer brand from the inside out, starting with the systems that quietly shape whether people trust an organization. And to help us, we have with us Annalee Malone, Benefits and Compensation Manager at Total Safety.

In this episode of the Vantage HR Influencers Podcast, we explore how HR is evolving from a traditional cost center into a more strategic and commercially driven function that contributes directly to business growth.

Host Riha is joined by Shivali Anand, Country HR Head at Geidea, to discuss how HR leaders can build stronger business acumen, connect people decisions with organizational priorities, and demonstrate the commercial impact of HR initiatives. Together, they examine how HR can influence business strategy, use workforce insights to support better decisions, and become a more integral partner in driving performance, growth, and long-term business value.

When most people picture Merger & Acquisition, they picture spreadsheets, valuations, deal structures, and closing timelines. But ask anyone who's actually lived through a merger or acquisition, and they'll tell you the deal that looks perfect on paper can still fall apart because of what happens to the people inside it.

So in this episode, we're looking at M&A from the workforce side, the part of the deal that rarely makes the press release but almost always decides whether the deal actually works. And to help us, we have with us Elizebeth Mack, Principal and Workforce in Transactions Leader at BDO USA.

When most people picture Merger & Acquisition, they picture spreadsheets, valuations, deal structures, and closing timelines. But ask anyone who's actually lived through a merger or acquisition, and they'll tell you the deal that looks perfect on paper can still fall apart because of what happens to the people inside it.

So in this episode, we're looking at M&A from the workforce side, the part of the deal that rarely makes the press release but almost always decides whether the deal actually works. And to help us, we have with us Elizebeth Mack, Principal and Workforce in Transactions Leader at BDO USA.