Workforce Therapy Files

File 36:  In this file of Workforce Therapy Files, the hosts spotlight Molley Ricketts, founder and CEO of Incipio Workforce Solutions, and explore her journey building a people-first recruiting firm. Molley shares how her early experiences shaped her belief that hiring should be intentional rather than transactional. The conversation dives into common hiring mistakes, including reactive recruiting and outdated job descriptions. They also unpack the real cost of bad hires and why culture alignment matters more than filling a seat quickly. Molley highlights the overlooked value of essential workers and the importance of recognizing their contributions beyond moments of crisis. The group discusses leadership growth, the difference between founder and CEO roles, and how to scale a business while maintaining culture. Practical insights around networking, strategy, and long-term talent development are woven throughout. The file ultimately challenges leaders to rethink how they approach hiring, culture, and workforce strategy. Key Themes: Molley Ricketts' Origin Story: From Corporate to Entrepreneur Reactive Hiring vs. Strategic Talent Planning The Real Cost of a Bad Hire vs. an Open Position Essential Workers: Why Their Value Is Still Overlooked Scaling a Business Without Losing Culture and Leadership Identity File Transcript: Jamie Swaim: Welcome back to another amazing episode of the Workforce Therapy Files. Today we are continuing a theme where we're getting to know the hosts of Workforce Therapy Files, and today we are dedicating our time completely to the one, the only, the incredible, the author… Molley Ricketts: International bestseller. Jamie Swaim: The international bestseller. You're not supposed to do your own intro, but dang it, Molley Ricketts: I didn't want you to miss it. Jamie Swaim: I'm not going to ask Jim to redo it because… Jason Heflin: A quick plug, but international best seller for what? Molley Ricketts: She Knows Best. Jamie Swaim: Author of international bestselling book, She Knows Best, Molley Ricketts. Molley Ricketts: Thanks. Thanks for having me on the show. Jamie Swaim: Very good. Molley Ricketts: Thanks. Jamie Swaim: Molley. I know we'll give you some questions and you prepared some things that you definitely want to talk about today, but you're not prepared. Jason Heflin: We're not going to ask you any of those questions. Jamie Swaim: We're not going to ask you any of them. We've got a whole list. Molley Ricketts: I feel so unprepared now. Jamie Swaim: All right. If you had to teach a master class tomorrow about something that has nothing to do with your business or your job, what would it be on? Molley Ricketts: Boating. Jamie Swaim: Boating. Jason Heflin: That's Boating with a B, not voting with a V. Molley Ricketts: Oh no. You don't want me to teach that class! Jamie Swaim: How'd you get into boating? Molley Ricketts: Grew up around it. Jamie Swaim: Yeah. Molley Ricketts: I was driving a boat before I was driving a car. Jamie Swaim: So now we'll also call you Captain Molley Ricketts. Jason Heflin: She's been a captain for us lately, like getting some of this content ready and stuff. Jamie Swaim: Yeah. I don't know if you guys know this, but our podcast wouldn't happen if it wasn't for Molley Ricketts. Molley Ricketts: Oh, stop. Jamie Swaim: She gets us together. She tells us what we're going to talk about. She gets us guests. She found Jim. Yeah. Your face should be bigger on our sticker. Molley Ricketts: I like that. Jamie Swaim: But you're already in the middle, so I guess there's that. Okay. Molley Ricketts: The Red glasses. Jamie Swaim: So let's just like every hero or villain in a story. Molley Ricketts: Yeah. Molley Ricketts' Origin Story: From Corporate to Entrepreneur Jamie Swaim: They all have a good origin story. Let's talk about yours. Molley Ricketts: Okay. Jamie Swaim: What problem in the workforce space frustrated you so much that you were like, nobody else is doing this, so I'm going to build a company and I'm going to be the one to do it? Molley Ricketts: It stemmed from working with organizations that continue to look at recruiting as a transaction and checking a box to fill a seat. The opportunities that come with an organization that are intentional about the people that they're putting in those seats and that are intentional about the knowledge, skills, and abilities that they're bringing into the company. When you really think about it and make that decision based on growth and succession, instead of checking-the-box, you change the game. And for so long, the companies that I was working with, that's all they wanted to do. Jamie Swaim: Yeah. I got you. Molley Ricketts: Yeah. Jamie Swaim: Your company's name is Incipio. We didn't mention that in the intro. Jason Heflin: Incipio Works. Jamie Swaim: Incipio Workforce Solutions. Yep. So was Incipio the first company you started? Molley Ricketts: It was not. Jamie Swaim: What? There's another story here. I did not know this. Molley Ricketts: So I worked with a corporate organization for almost 12 years and learned a lot. It was a great experience. It was also one of those great golden handcuff companies where you've got the great pay, great benefits, great PTO. Jamie Swaim: Did you have a pension? Molley Ricketts: Yeah. Jamie Swaim: What? Molley Ricketts: Can you believe it? Jamie Swaim: No. Molley Ricketts: Yeah. So there were other plans for me. I was part of the second wave of layoffs that banking institution had, and I thought, you know what? I can do this. I can do this on my own. But I had two small kids and didn't think that I could lean into myself enough to financially support the family. My husband was working, he had a stable job, still does, and it was all great, but taking that leap of faith on myself was a little too scary. So I went out and I said, okay, if anybody was going to hire me to solve their recruiting problems, and all I have on my resume is 12 years of a corporate job, they're going to look at me and think, no. Jamie Swaim: That's not going to work over here in my widget-making. Molley Ricketts: So, I went to work for a small company here in Louisville. Architects and engineers, Luckett and Farley. I'm a history nerd. So they were the official architects of the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs from 18, whatever that year was, sorry, I don't remember. So I thought, how cool would that be? And learned a lot from there. And then I was tapped to work a contract position with GE through YO Corporation out of northern, the New England area, and learned a lot there, especially working as a third party for a corporate company like GE. Learned a lot. And through that, a lot of the managers and leaders that I had worked with in the past at Citigroup said, Hey, the person that I'm working with now, I don't like them recruiting for me. Can you help me? So my first company started itself basically, because people that I had worked with in the past reached out and I thought, I can do this. I can work full-time job and come home and work again. Sorry, Chad. And that's what I did. So my first company was Starting Line Staffing Consultants. Jamie Swaim: Starting line? Molley Ricketts: Starting line. Jamie Swaim: Because you love the track. Molley Ricketts: Yes. Jamie Swaim: Yes. That's a great name for your company. Molley Ricketts: Yeah. And it was a starting line for new employees, for new companies. Right? Jamie Swaim: For sure. Molley Ricketts: So I did that. So I worked full-time as a contractor through YO at GE, and I had my own business on the side, and the business started to grow and I had to make a decision. I was like, I don't have that real third-party experience. So, I went to work for a temporary agency and continued to affirm that that's not the business that I wanted. Through that education and learning really took my Starting Line business and pulled it into that temporary agency and learned a lot after two and a half years and discovered that wasn't a good fit for me and decided to leave there and took on the adventure of giving myself a few months of a break to get my stuff together. Did you like that? I said stuff I didn't. Jason Heflin: Very well done. Yeah. Molley Ricketts: Thank you. Thank you. Jamie Swaim: Such growth, really. Molley Ricketts: Right, right. So I took a few months and really got a plan together. And Jason, to your point on a previous episode of really understanding what it was at the minimum expectations I had to set for myself, that was hard because I'd had so much responsibility in leadership opportunities in the previous positions, and I missed that, because now I'm the only one. And when I started Incipio and the frustration that I had seen with other organizations that I'd been a part of that we were working with, I just saw that real lack of focus and the transactional filling of seats that companies were used to, and there's got to be more than this. The satisfaction that I felt early on in my career, why can't other people feel that? And they should. Why has it become acceptable that they don't have to? So Starting Line was then dissolved, worked for the third party, and Incipio was born, which is Latin for new beginnings. Jamie Swaim: Look at all this intentionality. Jason Heflin: I know. Jamie Swaim: I know. Jason Heflin: I just start on a whim and she's over here thinking about it.  Jamie Swaim: I love it. So if you were to think about the thing that you have changed your mind on in the past 10 years as it relates to talent, what's the thing that you believed 10 years ago that you no longer believe? Molley Ricketts: Everything's on a resume. Jamie Swaim: Oh yeah. Molley Ricketts: Maybe it used to be that way. Jamie Swaim: No, I think it was probably wrong then too. Molley Ricketts: You think? Jamie Swaim: Well, I think it's because you have to decide what you are hiring for. Molley Ricketts: Yeah. Jamie Swaim: Are you hiring a resume writer? And if your job is not to be a resume writer, then it's probably not going to be a perfect resume. Molley Ricketts: Fair. Jamie Swaim: That's my take on it. Yeah. Jason Heflin: Alright. I'm going to ask some questions now. Jamie Swaim: That's good. I'm going to shut up now. Jason Heflin: Or don't. Please don't. Jamie Swaim: Okay, good Reactive Hiring vs. Strategic Talent Planning Jason Heflin: What are employers still getting wrong about hiring all this time? Molley Ricketts: Just one thing? Jason Heflin: Yeah. Molley Ricketts: I believe that employers are still getting wrong just in hiring and recruiting, that they're reactive. That because a person leaves or a position goes unfilled, that that position has to be filled. It's this job, it's no other job. And instead of taking a step back and really evaluating the landscape and understanding what position is missing, they're just reactive hiring. And this crazy thing happens when you really look at the job descriptions that you're hiring against when you're frustrated because the talent that's walking in the door that you want to hire to isn't the person that you want to fill the job. And the amount of times that I will ask a leader, well, did you read the job description? Jason Heflin: Yeah. Molley Ricketts: Well, recently? Yeah, before you posted it. Well, no, because the job that I need to fill. For the person that was here two years ago? You don't think that job has evolved at all, even in the smallest skillset? Jason Heflin: Oh yeah. Molley Ricketts: Oh, well, I guess. Jamie Swaim: You change systems. Molley Ricketts: You're not even on the same tech stack. Jamie Swaim: You all don't even produce that anymore. Jason Heflin: We're still recruiting for it. You had new responsibilities to that role. Molley Ricketts: Yeah. Well, I wonder why I wasn't getting the talent I was still looking for. It's like stop reactive hiring. Jason Heflin: Yeah. And rewrite that job description, please. Sounds like. Well, we're leaders confusing activity and with strategy that seems very common and we all do it, but the activity isn't always strategy. Where do they get that message up? Molley Ricketts: Post and pray. Jason Heflin: I say that all the time. Molley Ricketts: The post and pray mentality. I know that you guys know what that is, but for those listeners that may not, it's when you post a job and you pray that candidates come into play, especially in today's day and age. Let's even go back to rewriting a job description that's relevant to the position that you want to fill.  But thinking that people are just going to apply to a job that you've posted. If you don't have a brand that's nationally recognized, that's probably not going to happen. And even if you do have a brand that's nationally recognized, the talent that you're wanting, they're not applying to jobs. They're working. Not saying that the demographic of human that isn't working right now they're not quality talent. I'm not saying that. Please don't confuse the note of, you have to be intentional about the position that you want to fill.  Jamie Swaim: Agreed. The Real Cost of a Bad Hire vs. an Open Position Jason Heflin: Yeah. I think networking too. Networking has gone out the window. It's like, well, you may know someone, you may be working with someone at another institution that could be a good fit. Let's talk about that. What's the real cost of a bad hire that most executives… Jamie Swaim: Oh no. Is she going to tell us about soft dollars? Molley Ricketts: Here we go. I asked someone recently, I said, so do you think that having a position go unfilled is more costly than that of a bad hire? And they said, absolutely. I said, really? Tell me more. Well, because you've got the position. It's unfilled. They're not, no one's doing the job. I said, so you're telling me that that costs you more as an organization than filling the position with someone who is not a good fit? And everything that you have to go through in that experience to then get rid of them costs less than having the position vancant? Jason Heflin: And the cultural repercussions, because others have to fill that role for that. Not just fill an empty seat, but come back behind someone and clean things up and try to educate and try to train while doing the job and all those things. Molley Ricketts: And as a leader, if you're acknowledging that that person isn't the right fit, everyone that's around that person that knows that you know that they're not the right fit, they're like, well hell, if they're going to put up with this person, then why am I busting my butt to make it happen? Jamie Swaim: Especially if that hire was in a spot that is at a higher-level than that person that is doing the work. Molley Ricketts: Tight spot. Jamie Swaim: Really tight. Yeah. Essential Workers: Why Their Value Is Still Overlooked Jason Heflin: Wow. Alright. I got a question about essential workers. A lot about essential workers. Molley Ricketts: Yes, they're my jam. Jason Heflin: Yes, they're your jam. What's happening with essential workers that the media isn't talking about that people should be talking about? Molley Ricketts: So does everybody remember what happened back in 2020? Jamie Swaim: With painful clarity. Molley Ricketts: Do you remember the people that, I believe the federal government issued a thing that people were supposed to print out to put on their dashboards if they were an essential worker so that they could be on the road so that they could be parked in a parking lot so that they could be actually going to work? Do you guys remember that? Jamie Swaim: I don't know if it was federal, but yes, I remember the parking passes. Yeah. I remember having to make sure that people across straight, the state lines especially had something explaining why they had to cross the state lines and stuff like that. Jason Heflin: Yeah. There were privileges around it. Jamie Swaim: Privilege. Molley Ricketts: Essential workers were privileged, in that category. Jason Heflin: Valued. Molley Ricketts: I mean, revered. These are the people going to work every day, making it happen. Lifting them up! Jason Heflin: Utility workers, nurses, yeah. Molley Ricketts: Manufacturing. I mean, it's crazy, right? Jamie Swaim: Yeah absolutely. Molley Ricketts: And then what? Jamie Swaim: The world opened back up. Jason Heflin: Back to reality. Molley Ricketts: Yeah. So they weren't special anymore. Do you guys know that over 70% of the nation's workers is an essential worker? Jamie Swaim: 70%? Molley Ricketts: 70%? Jamie Swaim: I did not know that. Molley Ricketts: 70%. Jamie Swaim: That number surprises me for some reason, and I don't know why. Molley Ricketts: It did me too. Jamie Swaim: I guess when you think about all the things that prop up a community, essential workers are a large part of that. Molley Ricketts: So the ones that are actually doing the thing, doing the work. Jamie Swaim: Yeah. Molley Ricketts: It's so disheartening that individuals in that category of worker are no longer lifted up the way that they were. I really thought that that was going to help make a change and people would admire and look at those committed individuals in manufacturing, in long-term care, in the hospital environment Jamie Swaim: And logistics, Molley Ricketts: All of that. And it just went away. Jamie Swaim: And you feel like the media is not talking about that enough. How would you expect, if we were to keep the lessons of 2020, how would you expect to see those things show up now, if we learned from it and did something different? Molley Ricketts: I think acknowledging the power of their work, the influence of their work, instead of, it feels less than. If you have a blue collar job, if you have an entry-level to mid-level manager position in your community, in your home, it almost feels like they belittled.  That their job isn't a value because I'm the vice president of whatever, so I'm greater than, and that hurts my heart. Jason Heflin: So if I get pulled over by a police officer and I say, look, I'm a podcaster. I really got to get where I'm going. Oh sir, please. Yeah, go right on. Yeah. Yeah. Jamie Swaim: Sad note. I got pulled over recently in the great state of Indiana, and I would just like to thank the nice trooper for being the nicest person that's ever pulled me over. He was really kind - little side note. Molley Ricketts: Did he give you a ticket? Jamie Swaim: 100%. He absolutely gave me a ticket. Jason Heflin: Do you listen to the Workforce Therapy Files? Jamie Swaim: Do you know who I am? Is what I said. That didn't get me any clout. So yeah, no, he was like, did you know that you were speeding? And I said, oh, I just got off the interstate, so I guess I'm still an interstate mind. And he goes, you are going fast for the interstate. So I had to slow it down. Molley Ricketts: But just to wrap the essential worker category up, loyalty isn't something that is assumed it's earned. And in that category of worker, it's earned every day. Jamie Swaim: And obviously we need those or they wouldn't have been deemed essential. So how we treat those individuals in our community matters. Molley Ricketts: Hundred percent. Jamie Swaim: Yeah. I'm picking a bunch, putting down. Molley Ricketts: Thanks. Scaling a Business Without Losing Culture and Leadership Identity Jamie Swaim: Absolutely. Okay. So Molley, you're going to switch gears a smidge. In your career, and especially with Incipio, you have scaled a business, your second business, and you've done that. And we spent so much time talking about culture and it's importance. So I want to ask you some questions specific to what it means to scale a business without losing sight of culture. What do you think intentional growth has looked like in your business? Molley Ricketts: Understanding that the next thing is going to happen, whether or not you plan for it. So having the ability to ask, so what are you seeing? What's happening? And not being afraid to listen to that response and hear it, because you want to do the next thing that you think is best. Learning through those mistakes and not having people around you to truth-tell with you, that's huge. It can make or break your business. Jamie Swaim: Absolutely. I think that that is one of the biggest things that I've learned from you. I feel like you do a nice job of building community around you with people who are subject matter experts in a lot of different areas. And you can tell how you lean into that advice and that connection and make some adjustments to how you're doing things. Molley Ricketts: Yes. Jamie Swaim: It's been really cool to watch that. Molley Ricketts: Thanks. Jamie Swaim: And as somebody who you got to experience at the very beginning of my journey, I just want you to know that I carry that with me. It's good to know sometimes when you leave a mark. Molley Ricketts: Yeah. Jamie Swaim: How do you decide which clients are aligned to your culture versus just being helpful for revenue? Gosh, firing a client, that's the hardest thing, right? Molley Ricketts: Oh, it, it's not fun at all. And I think that over the last 10 years with Incipio, now being in a place where you can really align with organizations and grow together, we have several clients that they're going into their, they too are going to their 11th year in partnership with Incipio, which is really cool to say that we have clients that we started with that we're still with today. And the evolution of those organizations, as Incipio has evolved, and those fellow CEOs or key decision makers in a company that acknowledge that growth with you, that's huge.  And now in a position of clearly defining the culture and environment of Incipio and being able to look at another organization, even when you're in that first discovery meeting and say, they're not ready for us. They're not ready for Incipio, with confidence instead of fear, that's been great. Jason Heflin: Not everybody's right to ready to take action. Molley Ricketts: No. Jason Heflin: We've been on the theme of checking boxes. Some people are just in the business of checking a box. Molley Ricketts: And that's fine, but that's not who Incipio is. Jamie Swaim: Right? So when people start a business, you see them use any number of job titles, by the way, on their socials, how they market themselves. You call yourself CEO, correct? Molley Ricketts: That's right. Jamie Swaim: Right. So what do you consider the primary difference between founder and CEO and what adjustments have you needed to make? Molley Ricketts: Wow. Thanks for that. Jason Heflin: That's really good. Jamie Swaim: Thank you. Jason Heflin: Can I say something really quick while you're thinking about it? Yeah. I'm kind of shifting personally from CEO to founder, so I'm taking that. So I'm really interested in what you have to say because I'm, and titles are whatever. Molley Ricketts: Yeah, they're really for everybody else. Jason Heflin: For everybody else, it's clout. It's, he is trying to get in the door and say, look, I'm an important person you should be talking to. But yeah, Mrs. CEO tell us about it. Molley Ricketts: I think CEO to me means actively engaged and pursuing excellence. And founder to me means more of taking a backseat and letting everyone else do the day-to-day. Not in a bad way. Just the active engagement of a founder is completely different to me than a CEO. Now, I've also seen titles of entrepreneurs that start a business, and they've been in it for a while, that they have the Founder/CEO/President. What was that horrible boss's movie, the guy that took on four different titles from the character Jason Bateman played? Jason Heflin: Can I say that's like a huge pet peeve of mine. When a leader, when a top-level leader, we know you do a lot of jobs. We know you wear a lot of hats. Don't put seven titles on there. I get it. You do a lot of stuff. You're frustrated, but just pick one. Molley Ricketts: You don't need a 5x7 business card size to take all of your titles. Jason Heflin: I want to know when I've ended the body of the email and I've started the signature, and usually it's like the signature is longer than the body. Don't do that people. Molley Ricketts: Yeah. No. And I often think too, that the title is really, of CEO, is really more used for the outward for the people that we're working with as opposed to internal. At least I hope that that's what my partners, my internal partners think, because we have individuals within Incipio that we work with that are smarter than me, in ways that I know that I also have gifts that they don't. And being able to balance that out and honor each other and lift each other up to do that. That's what a CEO is to me. Someone that can discern the difference between, Jamie, what you're great at, Jason, what you're great at, and honoring what I'm great at, that you guys are not, and how we can pull that up together. The game has changed. Jason Heflin: Oh yeah. Molley Ricketts: But it takes a lot for somebody to get that, in my opinion. Jamie Swaim: Agreed. Alright, Molley, as always, we learned a lot from you today. Remind people how they can get in touch with Incipio. Molley Ricketts: Incipioworks.com. Like Jason said, that's a shorter version. Jason Heflin: This is a great tagline. Because you do work. You work hard. Molley Ricketts: Yeah, that's right. Or let's see. Oh no. Yeah, LinkedIn, Molley Ricketts. That's with an "ey". Jamie Swaim: Love that. And if they wanted to get a copy of, what was the name of that book again? Molley Ricketts: She knows Best. Jamie Swaim: She knows Best. Where would they go to get that? Anywhere they get books? Molley Ricketts: Amazon. Yeah. Bargain Price of $14.95. Jamie Swaim: How much would it cost to get your signature and set book? Molley Ricketts: Depends on how well I know you, like you, love you. Jamie Swaim: Okay. Well, I meant to bring mine today to see if I can negotiate that, but… Molley Ricketts: I might give it to you. Jamie Swaim: Oh, thanks. Well, I bought a copy because that's what friends do. Molley Ricketts: Thank you. Jason Heflin: Well, thank you for all your insights. I respect you a lot. I think a lot about you and what you've done through your career, and we all have our own unique path. But you've just done a great job getting to where you are and I can't wait to see what's next. Alright, James. Close that file.   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today. Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments. We'd love to hear from you.   Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help. You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR - www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts - www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin - www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!

File 35:  Jason Heflin sits in the "hot seat" to share insights from his entrepreneurial journey, which began after he realized he was not wired for the repetitive nature of a corporate cubicle. The interview explores his core business philosophy of avoiding commoditization by prioritizing deep, long-term strategic partnerships over one-off product services. When asked about scaling a business, Jason highlights the importance of "stick-to-itiveness" and the risk-taking necessary to overcome the fear of failure. He admits that his greatest operational challenge was learning to embrace standardized processes, a discipline that often feels restrictive to his "free spirit" nature. Regarding team management, Jason emphasizes accountability through ownership and the difficult but necessary decision to let go of talented individuals who are not a cultural fit. Reflecting on his diverse past ventures—ranging from a diaper bag company to a brewery—he cautions against chasing every "shiny object" without a clear plan or genuine passion. Having once prioritized "winning" at the cost of his personal life, he has since redefined success to focus on family and empowering others to lead. Finally, he identifies his company's differentiator as a results-driven culture where team members genuinely care about outcomes and are not afraid to pivot when strategies fail. Key Themes: Breaking Free from the Gray Cubicle The Partnership Obsession The "Stick-to-itiveness" of Scaling The Copper Touch: Lessons from Diaper Bags to Breweries Ownership and the Hard Truths of Leadership Redefining the Win: From Toxic Growth to Time Well Spent Episode Transcript: Jamie Swaim: Today on the Workforce Therapy files. We'd like to welcome you back and also tell you that we have a special guest that is in the hot seat. Molley Ricketts: Who? Jamie Swaim: It's none other than your favorite. Jason Heflin. Yes. Molley Ricketts: And the crowd goes wild! Jamie Swaim: So, Mr. Heflin, we have a number of questions that we'd like to just pick your brain on in this episode, in this file. Jason Heflin: I'm turning my hat around backwards for this.  Molley Ricketts: Uh-oh. Jamie Swaim: Is that straight up? Out of over the top. Are you Lincoln Hawk? Jason Heflin: Whoa. Jamie Swaim: Yes. Might've been one of my favorite movies. I'm not going to lie. Molley Ricketts: He trembled a little bit. Jamie Swaim: I know. And I'm ready to arm wrestle him just to see what happens. So Jason, I want to start off with, if you were a professional athlete and you had walk-in music, what would be the theme song you would choose? Jason Heflin: The Final Countdown. Jamie Swaim: Oh, there was a little harmony there. I like it. Final Countdown. Gosh, I do feel like that's a song I haven't heard recent enough. Jason Heflin: Yeah. There was a show 20 years ago called Arrested Development. Jamie Swaim: Yes, Jason Heflin: It was great, and one of the characters would always come out to that song. He was a magician, and that's how he would come out. He would do a little dance.  Molley Ricketts: It's a great show. Jason Heflin: It's a great show. Jamie Swaim: Jason Bateman, right? Molley Ricketts: Yeah, Jason Bateman. Molley Ricketts: In the early years. Jamie Swaim: He's one of my favorites. Molley Ricketts: Yeah. Jamie Swaim: Okay. Now we're going to get more serious, but it's helpful to know because I feel like when I see people and I know that about them, immediately this song pops in my head. Jason Heflin: Maybe it should be the intro, Jim, to this episode. Jamie Swaim: He said you can't afford that. Yeah.   Jason Heflin: We'll just have to sing it! Jamie Swaim: That public domain?  Is that how it works? Molley Ricketts: Copyright laws. Jamie Swaim: I dunno. Alright. So, Jason, what was the first moment that you realized you were wired for entrepreneurship? Jason Heflin: About six or seven years into sitting in a gray cubicle in a corporate office. Jamie Swaim: You're like, this is not for me. Jason Heflin: Doing TPS reports. Jamie Swaim: You've been missing a lot of work, Jason. Jason Heflin: I said 'm going to do something else and it's not going to be for someone else. I need to exercise that muscle.  Jamie Swaim: How long did that take you? Jason Heflin: Oh, like I said, six or seven years.  Jamie Swaim: Six or seven years. Jason Heflin: 6-7. Jamie Swaim: Okay. What problem are you most obsessed with solving right now? Jason Heflin: Not being a commodity.  Jamie Swaim: Tell me more. Jason Heflin: So I don't want our services to be commoditized. And I think often that's the way we're approached initially is, Hey, we need a website, or we need ads for hiring, or we want to attract talent through digital advertising, blah, blah. Whatever the thing is. And they're just looking at it like a commodity. Jamie Swaim: Dollar. Product. Jason Heflin: Yeah. Do you do it? We're going to ask 12 other people the same thing. And then whoever has the cheapest prices who we're going to pick. I want to build long-term partnerships. I mean, that's what I've always wanted. That's what we strive to do. And so it's really hard for me when someone enters our funnel as looking at us as a commodity. And then you have to kind of flip that and say, no, I want to go to lunch and get to know you and your team and what we're trying to do here, and let's build a strategy around it. I don't want to just do the thing. And then you're disappointed in six months. I want to really dig into what the true issues are.  Jamie Swaim: I would imagine what the kind of work that you do, the longer-term relationships create better outputs any way. Jason Heflin: Oh yeah.  Jamie Swaim: It's not like, oh, let me put together your whole employment brand because I've known you for two seconds. Jason Heflin: We've had clients for 12 plus years and they're the best. I love 'em. They're friends, they're partners. Partners is overused, but it's true. They're real partners. We're in their business. We go in their office and the admins know us and just shoo us on back to the conference room and no security and just, yeah. Jamie Swaim: Yeah. Molley Ricketts: It makes a difference. Jamie Swaim: I'm assuming, because you've been in business now for 72 years? Jason Heflin: 73. Jamie Swaim: 73, okay. I don't want to undersell your knowledge, but I'm curious, how has your definition of success evolved across that 73-year spectrum? Jason Heflin: Well, in the year 1 through 50, I was really more focused on winning. So it was more toxic culture, toxic growth for the sake of growth. But yeah, so I'm more focused on time with my family, treating people really well, building partnerships, long-term partnerships I want to be in for years with somebody. I don't want to waste anybody's time. So yeah, less winning, more hanging. Jamie Swaim: Well, as someone who's known you for at least 30 of those 73 years, I think it's a solid choice. People should do it.   Jason Heflin: Thanks. Jamie Swaim: Yeah, for sure. Molley Ricketts: All right, Jason, so what do you think separates entrepreneurs who scale from the ones who stall? Jason Heflin: Sticktoitiveness. Is that a word? Jamie Swaim: It is now. Jason Heflin: Okay. Webster's definition of sticktoitiveness is staying the course. Go. I mean, I think the ones that don't scale are maybe fearful. Being an entrepreneur is about risk, and you have to be willing to take those risks. And if you're not, it's going to be a very slow process. So don't expect it to be a quick run. If you're not willing to lose and lose multiple times. Molley Ricketts: You definitely have to be okay with the word no, a lot. Jason Heflin: I've started and sold at least four businesses in my life, and I made that mistake many times over in the past. Molley Ricketts: So what operational discipline do you think takes founders way too long to execute, to learn? What do they avoid for too long? Jason Heflin: In my experience, this is self-reflection, but it was process, building processes around commonly common tasks. Jamie Swaim: Standard work. Jason Heflin: Yep. Things that we do over and over again. We know how to do. Somebody's already figured out step one through six, just put it down, this is it. These are the rules. We can change the rules anytime if things in the environment change. But yeah, and I resist process because I'm a free spirit. I just want to operate. I'm a cowboy. I don't want to be pinned down. So that's tough for me. And my business partner's really good at it. So we have complimented each other in that way over the years. Molley Ricketts: I agree. It's definitely as a fellow free spirit, seeing things on paper with process and 1, 2, 3, A, B, C, and it's like, really? You couldn't just do it? Jason Heflin: I get itchy. I feel pinned in. Jamie Swaim: I know this isn't something that you said, but I'm curious around the same question because I know we're interviewing Jason, but we like to have a little chitchat. I feel like the founder relationship with cash also is something that might get in the way of people scaling. And I don't know how you guys have done that or whether or not that's a challenge that you had, but for the bootstrappers or the individuals who are getting started with some sort of investment cash, figuring out how to leverage debt, figuring out how to budget for the down months, figuring out how to do that and not be, I don't know, discouraged from continuing. I know you guys have had nothing but green, gold star months in your careers as entrepreneurs, but I'm curious what you might advise for the people who are doing those entrepreneur journeys, anew. Jason Heflin: I think prepare for the downtimes. The thing that you think, oh, if this happened, that would be bad. Well get ready for it. It's going to happen eventually. Just get ready, build a plan around it. If this, then this, if this, then that. And sometimes it's even helpful to kind of draw that out like a little tree. Just like, okay, if this happens, I'm going to do this and just be ready. And that way when it happens, you're much more at ease. You can say, okay, I have a plan. I can follow it. I don't know if it's going to work, but I have alternate routes I can take. Jamie Swaim: Name it and claim it. Jason Heflin: Yep. Molley Ricketts: For me, it was business debt is completely different than personal debt, but personal debt for me was always, you don't have that. That's how you freedom and survive and live.  But business debt, I went in with that same mentality, but learned that it's not the same at all. So when you think about looking at a business and you want to scale, you want to grow, where do you see businesses overcomplicating that growth? Jason Heflin: Well, on the topic of hiring, I think it's quick fix hiring. And I've been guilty of that many times. Just like, oh, this person has the credentials. Let's go hire them and let's just move. And we talked about that in a previous episode recently. It's just it does not work. It won't ever work. You might get lucky and their resume is everything about them, but most often it's not so quick. Jamie Swaim: Especially with AI, right? Yeah. Jamie Swaim: People are putting resumes together because they think that's what you want to see sometimes. Jason Heflin: Yeah, yeah. Lean into the interview. Don't be afraid to have a long interview. Don't be afraid to talk about culture. Don't be afraid to talk about the times in the past when they've had a conflict with fellow employees because those could bubble back up in your environment and come back to haunt you. Jamie Swaim: Absolutely. Jason Heflin: And it's better for them too. They don't need to be in a place that's not good for them. Molley Ricketts: They human behind the paper. So what do you think real accountability looks like in your organization at CrowdSouth? Jason Heflin: Ownership of your area of expertise. That's really what it is. And we did talk again in a recent episode about this, but letting them own it. Allowing them as an entrepreneur to own their area, getting in and being helpful by guiding the work and steering the work and kind and productive corrections are probably welcomed and should be welcomed, but not hovering over people. So I think them owning their area and then the entrepreneur allowing them to own their area. Jamie Swaim: As an entrepreneur, you have become no stranger to mitigating and navigating risks and learning how to make decisions that are right for you and your company. So I have a couple of questions as it relates to these things. What is a decision that you made that felt uncomfortable but was necessary? Jason Heflin: I'll tie it back to a previous answer a couple of questions ago. Letting people go that are not a good cultural fit. It's hard to do. Maybe they have all the talent, maybe have more than the talent, and you can see them fitting in a role somewhere else or even fitting in a role in your company, but just culturally they do not fit. And your team will let you know. Molley Ricketts: Pretty quick. Jason Heflin: Yep. Molley Ricketts: I agree with you on that. Jason Heflin: But it's still really hard. They're a good person. You're like, gosh, they could do so much. Jamie Swaim: Especially if you're doing any of the tips that we talk about around leadership and getting to know people and you learn their family, the impact of a job loss, those things start to hit really hard. Jason Heflin: Yeah. Oh yeah. Jamie Swaim: But your company's better for it. Jason Heflin: A hundred percent. Jamie Swaim: All right. I'm curious of the risk reward methodology you have in your own head. How do you measure and evaluate risk versus opportunity? Jason Heflin: I struggle with it personally. I like to keep the gas pedal down all the time. So I'm very comfortable with risk and I will go a little too far with it. Molley Ricketts: Do you have an example? Jason Heflin: Oh gosh. Do I have examples? Yeah. I mean, it's good for a business to be able to niche into things. These are the things we're good at. But then sometimes an opportunity will come up to take on a new thing and start to think we can do that. We'd be great at that. But it's a big risk to try something. You're going to probably fail a few times. And especially if it's a new client or someone you're interacting with as an entrepreneur, you could really flub it up. Think in terms of the big picture, go back to the plan for the year or the three-year plan or whatever it is, and say, does this really fit into what we're trying to do and be okay not taking this work or this big chunk of money because it's this shiny object or this brand that you wanted to work with. Or, Ooh, that would be great in our portfolio to say, I worked with this Fortune 100 company. Just be careful, evaluate it. Really sit back before you just take it. Jamie Swaim: And I don't know that our listeners know this about you, and so hopefully I'm not going too far, but blink twice if I say something you don't want me to say, okay, that's my safe word. But prior to CrowdSouth and building this marketing conglomerate that you guys have gone and built. Jason Heflin: Conglomerate, I like that. Jamie Swaim: That sounds big. Jason Heflin: Sure. Jamie Swaim: But prior to that, you were not new to the entrepreneur journey. I mean, you started companies and if you were to go through them, they don't all have something in common. Jason Heflin: Yeah. Jamie Swaim: You were in various industries and approaching it from different ways, but using key things that led to CrowdSouth. Do you want to talk about that at all? Because I think when people call you, they might be thinking about you through your marketing lens, but I used to refer to you as the person with the Midas touch. Everything you touch seemed to turn to gold. Jason Heflin: Maybe Copper. Jamie Swaim: Copper. The copper touch. Jason Heflin: Yeah, the copper touch. All Jamie Swaim: Right. Jason Heflin: Yeah. So a good example is I started a business once and it was fully because it was a good idea, but I wasn't super, super interested in it. So that kind of bit me. Later I started an online, an e-commerce business. And of all things, we were selling diaper bags. Jamie Swaim: Before you even had a child. Jason Heflin: Oh yeah, I had no interest. Jamie Swaim: You even know any kids? Jason Heflin: Yeah. What's a kid? I don't know. What's a diaper? Jamie Swaim: Why do you need a whole bag? Jason Heflin: Yeah, why do you a whole bag for these things? But it was a vacuum in the market, and my partner at the time and I went into it and it did really well. It just took off. And suddenly we were selling diaper bags and I turned a whole bedroom in my house into a warehouse. We had boxes stacked to the ceiling, and my wife and I were working on weekends shipping these things out and taking them to UPS, and it was exciting until it wasn't. And so we ended up selling that business to a company called Hayneedle, which owned like 50 different e-commerce businesses. It was just better. They had all the things they needed to really take it and run with it. And I could go do a different idea. So I think my unique ability as an entrepreneur is knowing when to leave, knowing when to get out of the way. Jamie Swaim: But you've also been a travel blogger. You owned a microbrewery slash restaurant, and now are in the marketing business. None of those things have automatic ties to each other. Definitely using your marketing expertise to do that. Jason Heflin: And real estate business and bourbon and all kinds of stuff. Jamie Swaim: I don't remember the bourbon. Jason Heflin: Most of them are opportunities. They're like, I see an opportunity and so I can't stop myself sometimes. So I do think it's important because entrepreneurs have that same gene where they see an opportunity whether it's a good fit or not, and they just chase it. And so be cautious of that. Make sure you don't have to be something you're just in love with, but at least have some sort of passion for it and know where it's going to go. Don't just start it because it's a good idea and then not know what you're going to do with it later. Jamie Swaim: Yeah. Jason Heflin: Have an exit plan or have a plan where you're going to step to the side and let somebody else take this thing over somebody that's more better suited, like, Hayneedle was. Molley Ricketts: Yeah. So Jason, when you think about your life as an entrepreneur and knowing that you've been with CrowdSouth for, what is it now 12, 13 years? Jason Heflin: Yep. Wow. Molley Ricketts: What does entrepreneurship cost you? Jason Heflin: Yeah, so I think it's cost me time. Time and money you exchange. So for many years, the brewery you mentioned, I owned the brewery at the same time, I own CrowdSouth. And I would go in the morning and I would work all day at CrowdSouth and I would drive immediately over to the brewery and I would work till one in the morning. And I did that for two and a half years. Jamie Swaim: Which means the MVP is also Jason's wife. Jason Heflin: Shout out. And during that time, had a baby. Molley Ricketts: Oh my gosh. Jason Heflin: And so it was just rough. And I realized I was exchanging too much the money for the time or the growth for the time, because it wasn't a lot of money then. It was just, okay, we're just growing this thing. So yeah, time. So that's really more what I'm trying to get back to focusing on. I'm going to start exchanging it the other way and I'll make less and I'll do less and I'll be less successful in terms of the typical definition of success, but I'm going to have more time. And it's probably an age thing too. I hit 50 this year. Jamie Swaim: Happy birthday. Jason Heflin: So it's like, okay, well I'm kind of waking up to, okay, it's time to slow down. Jamie Swaim: Success redefined? Jason Heflin: Yep. Yep. And just my son's getting older and it's a ticking, as they say. Molley Ricketts: So what would you tell your younger entrepreneurial self? Jason Heflin: Slow down. Think about these decisions. Don't jump into every thing that looks good. That's not always, like I said earlier, I just chased everything that was an opportunity. And I think that's fine when you're young and single or you don't have a lot of obligations, but as those obligations increase and compound, you got to take a step back and say, again, back to where I said, let other people do it, empower them. Start empowering people and start getting yourself out of the way. Because especially as you age, you can't keep up with everything. You can't keep up with all the technology and the trends. So let somebody else help you there. Molley Ricketts: So last question before we close our file. What is it about CrowdSouth that's different than all of your competitors? Jason Heflin: I can say, I mean, there are a thousand agencies across the country, marketing agencies, so I'm sure there are plenty that are like us. But I can say that we have developed a culture. One thing we've done right is we have a culture where people care. People care about the clients that care about the results. Sometimes a client will come in and they just want a brand project. We want to be seen more, or we want our employee brand just to be out there. And we're very results driven. So I think it's, it's a superpower, but it also gets in the way because we'll drive the client, we'll be like, Hey, no, we need to be doing better and these are the things we need and this is what we're going to do next. And sometimes they're slow down. We just got our heads around doing something basic and we're like, yeah, but we see so much back to the entrepreneurial kind of spirit and go, let's do this. I think we're really good at results driven work and we like to set smart goals early and have numbers behind everything. And that's what we're going to target every time we're going to drive toward that. So I'm very proud of the people that have gathered around us to do that. They all care too, and it hurts them when we don't do well. And I think a lot of companies don't admit when they don't do well, but we like to say, Hey, look, that didn't work, but we've got four new ideas to try. Molley Ricketts: Sure. Jason Heflin: So, come back to the table with that. That's what I'm proud of. Molley Ricketts: Awesome. Well, thanks for coming on the show and letting us bend your ear and twist your arm on all the questions. Jamie Swaim: It's good to have you. Jason Heflin: Yeah. Thank you. I'd love to come back sometime. Molley Ricketts: We'd love to have maybe next file. Jason Heflin: Okay. Molley Ricketts: Alright, Jim, close that file.   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today. Before we close the file, weinvite you toreach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments. We'd love to hear from you.   Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file.   Need Help SupportingYour Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help. You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·       Jamie Swaim, SPHR - www.ParcelKnows.com ·       Molley Ricketts - www.IncipioWorks.com ·       Jason Heflin - www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!  

File 34:  In this episode of Workforce Therapy Files, Jamie Swaim, Molley Ricketts, and Jason Heflin take a rapid-fire approach to leadership and workplace culture, tackling common myths, hiring mistakes, and behaviors that quietly damage teams. The conversation highlights the importance of intentional leadership, emotional intelligence, and clear communication in building strong workplace cultures. From employer branding and onboarding gaps to AI in recruiting and CEO-level concerns, this episode delivers practical, real-world insights for leaders navigating today's evolving workplace environment. Topics Workforce Myths That Hold Organizations Back Leadership Behaviors That Quietly Destroy Culture Hiring Mistakes and Candidate Experience Gaps AI in the Workplace: Opportunity vs. Risk What's Keeping CEOs Up at Night? What Should Be Keeping Leaders Up at Night?   Discussion Highlights Molley Ricketts: And welcome back to Workforce Therapy Files. Today, we've got a treat for you. We're calling this the rapid therapy round. Jamie, Jason, are you guys in? Jason Heflin: I'm in. Jamie Swaim: It's been a while since we didn't have a guest. Molley Ricketts: It has been. Jamie Swaim: I'm excited to spend some quality time with you guys. Molley Ricketts: We are guests with each other today. Jamie Swaim: That's right. I'm pretty excited. Jason Heflin: Yeah, we'll get to know each other a little better. Molley Ricketts: Okay, so there's seven questions. Rapid fire. Jason, one workforce myth you want to kill.   Workforce Myths That Hold Organizations Back Jason Heflin: Employer branding doesn't need attention. Companies spend time branding to customers but not enough to employees. Jamie Swaim: Mine is that leaders will lead. That is a myth. Jason Heflin: It takes time and effort to become a good leader. Molley Ricketts: Mine is HR being responsible for turnover. Leaders own that.   Leadership Behaviors That Quietly Destroy Culture Jason Heflin: One leadership behavior that quietly destroys culture? Jamie Swaim: Being outcomes-focused above everything else. Molley Ricketts: Sarcasm can damage culture. Jason Heflin: Not letting go and micromanaging.   Hiring Mistakes and Candidate Experience Gaps Jamie Swaim: One hiring mistake you see every week? Molley Ricketts: Silence after offer acceptance until day one. Jamie Swaim: That gap is a missed opportunity. Jason Heflin: Employer branding plays into that. Jamie Swaim: Hiring too quickly without development support.   AI in the Workplace: Opportunity vs. Risk Molley Ricketts: A trend you're bullish on? Jason Heflin: Using AI as a starting point, not as a full solution or to replace people. Jamie Swaim: Organizations need AI policies.  But my trend is radical candor. Molley Ricketts: AI recruiting needs human judgment.   What's Keeping CEOs Up at Night Jamie Swaim: Talent availability is a concern. Jason Heflin: Market instability. Molley Ricketts: Service levels and accountability.   What Should Be Keeping Leaders Up at Night Jamie Swaim: What should be keeping leaders up at night? Molley Ricketts: Company culture should keep leaders up at night. Jamie Swaim: External stress impacts employees. Jason Heflin: Leaders must prepare for what's next.   Conclusion Molley Ricketts: Well, I think this was great. Jason Heflin: Rapid this time. Jamie Swaim: It was definitely a therapy round. Jason Heflin: If you have opinions, let us know.   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments. We'd love to hear from you. Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·       Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·       Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·       Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.  Jamie and Molley were joined by Carol Schulte, Keynote Speaker and Founder of The Brāve Initiative.  Dr. Brad Shuck also sat in for this interview.  Carol shared her mission of empowering individuals to "get their brave on" by embracing their most authentic and vulnerable selves. She challenges HR professionals to create safe spaces where employees can bring their entire identity to their work, asserting that true connection requires being "real" rather than leading from a title. Carol's own "brave" journey includes a series of extraordinary life experiences, such as living in an ashram in India, volunteering in Thai orphanages, and apple picking while living in a van in New Zealand. These experiences inspired her to help others "live big" and focus on a "brave list" of challenges rather than a traditional bucket list. Regarding modern leadership, Carol believes the "command and control" style is obsolete and must be replaced by a mind shift toward courage and bold decision-making. She advocates for the platinum rule, which encourages leaders to "do unto others as they want you to do to them". This approach requires leaders to know their team members on a deeper, individual level to understand their unique motivations and needs. Carol emphasizes that today's workforce desires "raw humans" as leaders who are comfortable admitting they do not have all the answers. By being vulnerable and sharing their own stories, leaders invite their teams to do the same, fostering a more collaborative culture. To conclude her interview, she left a powerful question for the next participant: "What would you do if you were even braver?". To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  www.carolschulte.com Carol and Brad, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.  Jason and Jamie were joined by Corina West, an HR Assistant for Grace Health in Corbin, Kentucky.  Corina shared her insights on working for a comprehensive healthcare organization that provides family medicine, dentistry, and behavioral health services. Despite only being in her role for a little over a year, she is part of a small three-person team responsible for managing a large workforce of 465 employees. Corina now leads the one-day orientation for all new hires, where she coordinates speakers to cover topics like HIPAA and risk compliance while ensuring new employees understand the "expectancy" of company policies. She noted that their unique leave structure—accruing 6.15 hours of PTO every two weeks instead of having paid holidays—is a key policy she has mastered and often uses to help applicants determine if the role is a good fit. Corina spoke very highly of her Director, Kim Bingham, whose open-door policy and willingness to handle any task herself have made Corina's transition into HR seamless. While she currently manages the tasks that "everyone else hasn't already had their hands in," she is eager to grow within the department and take on higher-level responsibilities. She finds the work intimidating but deeply rewarding and was excited to be attending her second KYSHRM conference. To keep the conversation moving, she left this thoughtful question for the next participant: "What was the best decision that you've made in your current role and what was the outcome of it?" To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  www.gracehealthky.org Corina, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.  Jason was joined by Sharlis Montgomery, the Learning and Development Manager at the global law firm Hogan Lovells.  Sharlis shared how she supports over 2,500 non-lawyer staff members across the globe. With eight years at the firm, Sharlis focuses on upskilling "business teams" in areas like leadership and interpersonal skills through a structured competency framework. She is passionate about making training fun and innovative, ensuring every employee leaves her facilitation sessions with something valuable. One of her favorite aspects of the role is championing major investments in her team's growth, such as providing access to certifications from prestigious institutions like Harvard and Yale. When asked about retaining talent, Sharlis stressed the importance of truly listening to staff through post-surveys and "real, raw" focus groups to understand their development needs. She noted that many companies actually offer great benefits, but employees often leave simply because those opportunities weren't marketed internally well enough. Recognizing she is an expert in learning, not marketing, she advocates for cross-departmental collaboration to ensure staff are fully aware of the resources available to them. Sharlis believes that engaging directly with departments helps her identify and expand the training options that contribute most to long-term retention. She wrapped up the session by emphasizing that HR and marketing must work together to effectively share value with the organization. To challenge the next guest, Sharlis left the question: "If there was one thing that they could change about their role, what would that be?" To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  www.hoganlovells.com Sharlis, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!  

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.  Jamie and Molley were joined by Boutaïna Ettaki, a Talent Acquisition Specialist at Seven Counties Services.  She shared her enthusiasm for working in the nonprofit sector, where she finds fulfillment in supporting her community and underserved populations. Drawing on her professional background in sales, she views recruiting as a process of "shopping for people" by identifying specific skills to fill a hiring manager's unique needs. When it comes to attracting a younger workforce, Boutaïna emphasized that Gen Z looks for relatable content, such as real employee testimonials and videos, to get a true sense of a company's culture. She warned that this generation will "snoop" through an organization's website and social media, making it essential for companies to remain relevant or be left behind. Boutaïna also highlighted that these candidates heavily rely on reviews from sites like Glassdoor and Indeed, often scrolling through comment sections before deciding to apply. To improve retention, she suggested that leaders should communicate directly with team members to discover what they need to stay, rather than starting the expensive hiring process over again. She noted that losing a "best friend at work" creates a trickling effect on morale and can lead outsiders to assume a workplace is toxic. Boutaïna believes it is often more cost-effective to offer a small pay increase to a current employee than to spend thousands searching for a replacement. Finally, she encouraged employers to ask the right questions to understand the root causes of turnover within their organizations. To wrap things up, she left this vital question for the next guest: "What will you do to retain talent within your organization?" To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  www.sevencounties.org Ettaki, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.  Cooper Tyra, an Account Executive at Houchins Insurance Group, sat down with Jason Heflin and Molley Ricketts to explain how his firm serves as the "risk subsidiary" for a massive employee-owned conglomerate. Based in their Louisville satellite office, Cooper works as a single point of contact for private equity firms and manufacturing companies, handling both property and casualty insurance and employee benefits. He highlighted that Houchins stands out because it is an ESOP, part of an umbrella of 25 operating companies that employ over 20,000 people across the region. Although he started his career in project management and finance, Cooper found his stride in insurance after grad school because he enjoys the hands-on, consultative nature of building relationships. He shared that he loves making a tangible impact on employees' lives by improving their healthcare options and overall well-being. When it comes to engaging with company leadership, Cooper believes the best strategy is to lead with "the numbers". He explained that while HR teams often manage the plan structures, executives usually want to cut through organizational complexity to see the long-term story told through spreadsheets. This "straight to the point" approach ensures leaders understand the funding strategies that drive their business forward without getting bogged down in unnecessary details. Cooper finds that daily problem-solving and navigating the constant changes in the insurance market are right in his "wheelhouse". To wrap up his time at the conference, he left this forward-looking question for the next guest: "Heading into next year, what do you think is going to be the biggest impact on the younger workforce and being able to attract and retain them with so much changing regarding flexible work schedules?" To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  www.higusa.com Cooper, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.  Jessica Vogt, a Corporate Recruiter and culture specialist for Louisville-based Aegis Sortation, sat down with Jamie Swaim to discuss how her company is modernizing the freight and parcel industry through automation. Aegis works with major distribution centers like UPS, FedEx, and Amazon, bringing innovative technology to outdated conveyor sorting systems to make logistics more seamless. In addition to recruiting for cross-functional roles in engineering and manufacturing, Jessica is currently focused on building Employee Resource Groups and a new internship program to connect with local Kentucky colleges. She shared a key philosophy from her senior leadership: the importance of pairing high accountability with high flexibility. As a working mother with two young children, Jessica values that her company allows personal experiences and professional responsibilities to coexist without "fearful judgment". She believes that for a company to retain employees today, it must recognize that times have changed and prioritize balancing work with lifestyle needs. This culture of transparency is reinforced by the company's COO, who chooses to sit in the "bullpen" with the rest of the staff rather than in a private office. Though Aegis is only about eight years old, Jessica is proud that they are already taking the necessary initiatives to be an employer of choice where people want to stay. She concluded by noting that while the interview was a bit nerve-wracking, she enjoyed the opportunity to share how Aegis is striving to create "raving fans" through its workplace culture. To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  www.aegissortation.com Jessica, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.  Jamie Swaim and Molley Rickets sat down with Donald Woolridge, Sr., and Paul Bolton from the Leadership Louisville Center to discuss their training and development arm, Leading Better, which takes leadership insights traditionally reserved for small cohorts and brings them to the "many". Donald shared how leadership is fundamentally universal and timeless, centered on interpersonal connectivity, empathy, and influence regardless of how global or virtual a team becomes. Paul added that leaders must bridge the gap between remote and in-person workers through transparency and dedicated one-on-one time, noting that this investment is far more efficient than the cost of replacing a person. The group also stressed the importance of updating "dusty" job descriptions to ensure companies are hiring for the roles they actually need today. Paul compared a leader's role to that of a coach, whose job is simply to bring out the greatness that is already inside an individual. To improve employees' quality of life, Donald suggested that leaders must "pour into" their people and create environments where they have "skin in the game" and can speak freely. The group also discussed the concept that organizations aren't just hiring a headcount; they are hiring and coaching families, meaning every workplace decision has a ripple effect on an employee's life at home. This holistic view of the employee can drive a powerful cultural movement and significantly boost retention. To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  www.leadershiplouisville.org  Donald and Paul, thanks for speaking with us!   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!    

File 33:  In this episode of the Workforce Therapy Files, Jamie and Molley sit down with Eric Williamson to explore leadership and workplace culture, focusing on how intentional leadership decisions shape team performance, communication, and long-term organizational success. They dive into his recent book, "How to Work with Jerks."  The conversation centers on emotional intelligence, workplace accountability, and the responsibility leaders carry in building environments where teams can grow and perform at a high level. Leadership Begins with Intentionality The discussion opens with a focus on leadership responsibility. Strong workplace culture does not happen by accident. It is shaped by daily decisions, communication style, and how leaders respond under pressure. Eric emphasizes that leadership requires awareness, not just of strategy and operations, but of how behaviors influence team morale and performance. Intentional leadership sets the tone. When leaders operate with clarity and consistency, teams gain stability. When leaders react emotionally or inconsistently, uncertainty spreads. The conversation reinforces that culture flows from the top. Emotional Intelligence in Workplace Leadership A central theme in the episode is emotional intelligence. Leadership is not simply about directing tasks.  It's about understanding people. Eric discusses how self-awareness and the ability to manage reactions play a critical role in workplace culture. Leaders who regulate their emotions create space for productive dialogue. Instead of escalating tension during difficult moments, emotionally intelligent leaders pause, listen, and respond thoughtfully. This approach strengthens trust and reduces unnecessary workplace conflict. The group explores how emotional intelligence directly impacts retention, morale, and overall organizational performance. Navigating Conflict and Difficult Conversations Workplace challenges are inevitable. The episode highlights how leaders must approach conflict not as something to avoid, but as an opportunity to clarify expectations and reinforce standards. Eric explains that difficult conversations, when handled with clarity and fairness, can strengthen team alignment. Avoiding conflict often creates greater problems later. Addressing issues directly, while maintaining professionalism and respect, reinforces accountability and strengthens workplace culture. The conversation underscores that leadership maturity is often revealed in how leaders handle uncomfortable situations. Communication as the Foundation of Culture Communication emerges as another core leadership principle. Clear expectations, consistent feedback, and honest dialogue are foundational to strong workplace culture. The discussion emphasizes that high-performing teams understand what is expected of them. Leaders who communicate vision, priorities, and performance standards consistently create alignment. Miscommunication, on the other hand, breeds frustration and disengagement. Eric reinforces that communication is not a one-time announcement. It's an ongoing leadership discipline. Building Sustainable Organizational Growth The episode closes with a broader reflection on sustainable growth. Strong workplace culture supports long-term success. Leaders who invest in people, prioritize clarity, and operate with integrity build organizations that can adapt and thrive. The conversation reminds listeners that leadership is not about titles. Leadership is about influence. Workplace culture is shaped daily through actions, reactions, and expectations. Leaders who take ownership of that responsibility create environments where both people and performance can flourish.   Interested in Contacting Eric Williamson to Learn More? Website:         www.tailoredtrainingsolutions.com Email:            [email protected] Eric's Book:  How to Work with Jerks   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments. We'd love to hear from you. ALSO MENTIONED IN THIS INTERVIEW Molley's New Book: She Know's Best – Business Wisdom from Extraordinary Women   Dr. Debra Clary's Book:  The Curiosity Curve – A Leader's Guide to Transformation Through Bold Questions Listen to Our Episode with Dr. Debra Clary:  www.workforcetherapyfiles.com/podcast/how-curious-is-your-organization-an-interview-with-deb-clary     Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·       Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·       Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·       Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!  

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.  Jason Heflin, CEO of CrowdSouth interviewed Rawleigh Richardson, a member of the Kentucky SHRM State Council and the founder of HumanKind Consulting.  Rawleigh shared how he is working to put the "human" back into human resources. Since launching his consultancy in 2023, he's been busy helping clients navigate reductions in force by providing career coaching and optimizing their LinkedIn profiles and resumes. He also assists organizations with complex legal hurdles, specifically helping them understand wage and hour issues, such as exempt versus non-exempt contract status. Drawing on his experience as an employee relations investigator, Rawleigh emphasizes the importance of being a "risk avoider" by balancing the protection of the organization with a fair approach to individuals involved in conflicts. When asked for culture-building tips, Rawleigh recommended utilizing AI tools like Co-pilot to help apply a company's mission and vision to internal communication like newsletters. He strongly advocates for stay interviews, suggesting that leaders simply ask their team members what keeps them happy and why they choose to stay. Rawleigh believes that while technology is a great support, true engagement comes from direct communication and creating interest-based groups to keep people connected. He also encourages conference attendees to network and reach out to the state council board, including Chair Patricia William Key, for support. Finally, Rawleigh left this simple yet important question for the next participant: "Are you a dual member of your local chapter and the National SHRM, and what resources have you used from the National chapter?" To learn more, visit: ·      Website: www.HumanKindHRConsulting.com Rawleigh Richardson, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!  

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.  Molley Ricketts sat down with Erin Mitchell, the Chief of Staff at Barnes Young Wealth Advisors.  They discuss managing culture during a major merger that will grow Barnes Young from 19 to 55 people. With a background in political science, Erin discovered that her empathetic yet direct personality was a perfect fit for HR, where she prioritizes being able to step into other people's shoes. She is particularly proud of the culture she has helped cultivate and aims to maintain that sense of community across their expanding office locations. Erin believes the key to overcoming HR stigmas is building deep trust, acting as a transparent "middle woman" between the leadership team and the rest of the staff. She noted that while building trust is a foundation for success, it can be a double-edged sword when team members rely on her so much that she must guide them on how to handle situations themselves. If budget were no object, Erin would provide leadership training to every single employee, regardless of whether they are in a formal management role. She believes emotional intelligence, feedback skills, and career pathing are essential for everyone to lead within their own departments. Erin left this question for the next guest: "What are some tips of the trade or success stories for enhancing culture and relationships among multiple office locations?". To learn more, visit: ·      Website: www.blueprint.nm.com Erin Mitchell, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!    

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.  Hannah Carretti, HR Director for Campari America, sat down with Jamie Swaim and Jason Heflin, at the 2025 KYSHRM conference to share her experiences as a "true generalist at heart" working in the distilling industry. Hannah's favorite area of HR is training and employee development, which she finds both humbling and an honor to lead. Currently, she is spearheading a frontline leadership training program, viewing these leaders as the essential support system for her manufacturing team. Safety is also a top priority at her site, leading them to host an annual safety day where they stop production completely for hands-on training, games, and team bonding. When asked what she looks for in a new hire, Hannah immediately pointed to empathy, explaining that while technical skills can be learned by anyone, empathy and understanding are much harder to teach. She believes these soft skills are vital for effective leadership across all levels of an organization. Hannah also enjoyed the conference keynote by Eric Williamson, finding his session on "how not to be a jerk" both lively and engaging. To keep the conversation going, she left this imaginative question for the next participant: "If you could train on any topic with no budget and no restriction on what the topic is, what would you want to train your team on?". To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  www.camparigroup.com Hannah Carretti, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!  

File 32:  In today's file, the team interviews Maggie Harlow, Co-Founder of Signarama Downtown.  They discuss leadership lessons, evolving workforce expectations, the importance of communication and accountability, and the challenges of being a female CEO. Maggie shares her entrepreneurial journey, insights on personal growth, and the significance of vision boarding. The conversation emphasizes the need for clarity in expectations, respect among team members, and the courage to embrace challenges as opportunities for growth. Leadership and Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace As the leadership discussion unfolds, Maggie shares one of the most important lessons she has learned: the ability to stay centered while managing people and emotions at work. Emotional situations are inevitable in leadership roles.  Effective leaders must learn how to remain calm without becoming disconnected. Rather than reacting emotionally, Maggie emphasizes observing situations carefully and responding with clarity and intention. Practical Leadership Strategies for Difficult Workplace Conversations The conversation shifts to practical strategies Maggie uses when navigating emotionally charged workplace conversations. She explains how listening closely to the language people use to describe their feelings allows leaders to acknowledge emotions without escalating conflict. By reflecting those feelings back, leaders help others feel heard, which often reduces defensiveness and tension. Maggie also highlights the importance of validation.  She notes how acknowledging emotions does not mean agreeing with them. Instead, validation creates a foundation for productive dialogue and problem-solving. Curiosity as a Core Leadership Skill Curiosity is a central theme in today's discussion. Maggie explains how by staying curious leaders remain open rather than reactive, especially during moments of disagreement. Asking thoughtful follow-up questions and resisting the urge to correct or dismiss emotions helps leaders better understand people and situations. Curiosity can strengthen leadership effectiveness across teams, client relationships, and organizational culture. Learning Through Workplace Conflict and Growth Rather than avoiding conflict, Maggie reframes it as an opportunity for learning and leadership growth. She explains that moments of tension often reveal important insights about individuals, systems, and leadership blind spots. Leaders who approach conflict with openness and emotional awareness are better positioned to learn, adapt, and lead effectively. This approach is relevant to personal and professional development.  Growth often comes from navigating discomfort thoughtfully. The Broader Impact of Leadership on Teams and Culture As the conversation begins to wrap-up, the group reflects on how leadership behavior influences teams and workplace culture. Maggie discusses how modeling calm, intentional responses sets expectations for how others handle challenges. Leaders who demonstrate emotional intelligence and self-regulation often create healthier, more resilient workplaces. The episode reinforces the mission of Workforce Therapy Files: helping leaders navigate real-world workplace challenges with clarity, empathy, and confidence.    Interested in Contacting Maggie Harlow to Learn More? Website:  www.signarama.com/locations/ky-louisville-downtown Phone:  (502) 585-4099 That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   Jason Heflin caught up with Aaron Heflin, the HR Director for RCSS Holdings, Inc., which manages an employee-owned group of road construction companies including Reynolds Sealing and Striping. With over 300 active employees across Kentucky and neighboring states, Aaron shared that his crews particularly love their recurring project striping the roads of Smoky Mountain National Park because of the beautiful scenery and wildlife. This year marks a major milestone as they celebrate 10 years of being employee-owned, a model that has seen share values skyrocket by over 600%. Aaron emphasized that the ESOP structure is a massive culture driver, fostering collaboration and efficiency because the workers in the field are the ones truly driving the business's success. It serves as an incredible recruiting and retention tool, often getting new hires eager to start the very next day once they see the actual wealth progression of current employees. When asked about company culture, Aaron defined it as a "common sense of ownership" and the collaboration required to complete dangerous road projects as a unified team. He stressed that because road construction is a "team game," their success relies on everyone holding down their own fort while working together. To wrap things up, Aaron left this insightful question for the next participant: "On your next hire, what are the main skills or attributes that you're looking for?". To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  https://reynoldscorporation.com/ Aaron Heflin, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   Jamie Swaim is joined by Khari Bryant, an Account Executive at Bchex (formerly the Background Investigation Bureau) to explain how his company simplifies the "choose your own adventure" world of background screenings. Bchex rebranded to a shorter, more modern name while continuing to offer comprehensive services like criminal checks, drug screens, and MVRs at all jurisdictional levels. A major benefit of their partnership is FCRA compliance, as Bchex handles the dispute and adverse action letters that often lead to "terrible lawsuits" for unassisted businesses. Khari reminded listeners that the Fair Credit Reporting Act applies to any company running background checks, not just those in the credit or retail sectors. When it comes to recognition, Khari's team uses a creative "token system" where managers reward specific positive behaviors with tokens that employees can use for monthly drawings. He is also promoting a new podcast, "The Bad Hire," which features a $10,000 giveaway for the best hiring story submission. Khari hopes the podcast will provide a platform for people to share their hiring experiences, both good and bad. He wrapped up his interview by leaving a fundamental question for the next participant: "What do you think company culture is?" To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  https://www.bib.com Khari Bryant, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!  

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   Jamie and Molley sat down to interview Kelly Hunt HR Manager for Perry Distributors, in Hazard, Kentucky.  Kelly brings 20 years of combined leadership and HR experience to the discussion. She explained how her primary motivation for working in human resources is people. People build the business, and once the right individuals are hired, it becomes the employer's job to build them up. They discussed how the HR role is challenging, sometimes requiring professionals to act as a "babysitter" when employees bring personal issues, like stomach pain or a toothache, to the office. Kelly commented that HR work must always be proactive, not reactive, meaning professionals need to be ready for anything that comes their way. When discussing employee appreciation, Kelly emphasized that you have to know your people, because appreciation looks different for each individual. It could be as simple as always giving someone a high five, or it could mean providing a confidential space where they can vent, or even "kick, scream, and cry" if needed. You take a template approach to everyone. Finally, Kelly offered the next guest the question: "Why did you choose to be in HR or did it choose you?". To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  https://pdiperrydistributors.com Kelly Hunt, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   The team interviews Eric Williamson, one of the keynote speakers, and author of How to Work with Jerks and co-author of When Work Works.  Eric joined the KYSHRM Conference to help HR leaders mitigate workplace friction and help organizations prevent people from becoming a jerk in the first place. He stressed that while people often point fingers at others, we must be self-reflective because everyone has been the jerk at some point. Eric recommends practicing "the art of recognition," by centering on emotional self-awareness and tuning into what your body and the situation are signaling. A tip is to leave the ego at the door and constantly solicit feedback from employees and colleagues, doing a "pulse check" early and often, rather than waiting for formal reviews. Leaders should consider approaching difficult relationships with curiosity, asking how things could be done differently, instead of judgment. Eric's mission is deeply personal, stemming from his experience as an "expert jerk who turned jerk expert" after both working for a boss who embarrassed him and realizing his own arrogance toward his mentor nearly cost him his job. Talented people quit because they couldn't figure out how to manage difficult relationships, emphasizing the need to look internally for better outcomes. The ultimate tool for navigating conflict, according to Eric, is vulnerability. Removing the guard that makes you appear inadequate gives others confidence and shows them it is okay to not have all the answers. Keeping with the theme of difficult relationship management, Eric left the following question for the next guest: "What's one small action you'll take to build a relationship with someone you don't like?" To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  www.tailoredtrainingsolutions.com Eric Williamson, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   The team interviews Charles Duke, the HR Administrator for the Kentucky Historical Society, based in Lexington. He describes himself as an "inspirational leadership type of HR professional."  The KHS was coping with a unique situation: its 60 employees had operated for 7 years without an HR person, relying on the Personnel Cabinet for onboarding and discipline. Charles  came to the interview prepared.  He used the museum's website to create a portfolio of ideas for each department, ultimately turning the interview into a conversation built on competence. Charles also shares his extensive background, which included 30 years in the Air Force.  When asked what he looks for in a candidate, he immediately answered, "authenticity," explaining that he needs to see the same energy displayed during the interview applied to the rest of the job. Charles believes the HR professional's job is to put the "human" back in HR by handling employee relations and clarifying thought processes. That essential human element and relationship-building can't be done by AI or other staff, like a curator. Finally, Charles leaves the following question for the next guest:  What do you think qualifies you to be a human resources professional? To learn more, visit: ·      Website:          www.history.ky.gov Charles Duke, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   Jason Heflin, CEO of CrowdSouth interviews Jack Crowdis, Business Development Manager for PayFWDs, based in Louisville. Jack explains that while their payroll platform is similar to the big national providers, they bring a highly consultative approach. PayFWDs builds systems customized specifically around people, aiming to get the setup right.  That may be a different experience from what the client has seen elsewhere. Each client gets a dedicated customer service representatives. PayFWDs serves clients across 48 states. Jack comments the greatest hurdle they encounter is convincing prospective clients that switching payroll providers won't be a daunting process. PayFWDs tackles this by assuming the burden of the transfer, pulling necessary data for the client. They perform a full tax audit upfront and guarantee in their contract to pay any notice resulting from issues they should have caught. Jason asks Jack to provide a question for the next interview.  Jack asks, "What is the number one thing that drives revenue?  Is it customer service, pricing, etc.?" To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  www.payfwds.com Jack Crowdis, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   Jason Heflin, CEO of CrowdSouth interviews Jeremy Jacobs, Founder of UnDesked. They discussed critical challenges in workforce development, especially with regard to frontline employees. Jeremy explained that while traditional office workers are equipped with resources like laptops and Microsoft Teams, 80% of the global population in the workforce, or 2.7 billion people, are "undesked" and lack access to a dedicated computer. This gap creates significant problems for organizations related to onboarding, training, daily job assignments, and providing access to necessary resources. UnDesked offers a solution as the only frontline productivity platform, essentially functioning as "Frontline 365" for these deskless workers. In terms of scalability, while most clients are 50 people or larger, UnDesked serves massive clients like Berry Global, which operates 600 facilities with over 100,000 employees. The platform offers a significant financial value, costing only $5 per employee per month for the first year, which is even cheaper than securing email from Microsoft. Unlike complicated ERP systems that require lengthy implementation, UnDesked is designed for quick adoption, allowing clients to be up and running and communicating with workers within a week. Jacobs revealed that the worst professional advice he received, often from trusted individuals, was the generalized suggestion to "just go to college and get a good job," advice that would have contradicted his nature as an entrepreneur.  Finally, Jeremy provides a question for the next podcast guest, "What specific "puzzle" or non-typical issue keeps them up at night?" He clarifies that the answer should be more interesting than general work stress. To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  www.UnDesked.com Jeremy Jacobs, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   At the 2025 KYSHRM Conference, Rusty Steele, HR Director for Oxmoor Auto Group, joins Jason Heflin of CrowdSouth to discuss how effective communication and employee engagement drive long-term success in a fast-paced industry. Rusty explains how Oxmoor focuses on creating a positive culture across multiple dealerships, by focusing on transparency, teamwork, and genuine care for employees. He shares how leadership's commitment to listening and adapting has helped them attract and retain top talent in a competitive market. Jason and Rusty discuss how consistency, recognition, and accountability shape Oxmoor's workplace values. This is an example of how a large organization can stay people-focused, while continuing to grow. As the conversation concludes, Brian provides a question for the next guest at the conference: "Why do you wake up in the morning? Why are you doing this?". He explains that while everyone works for money, life is "too short to do something that you hate". Brian comments that if work is not someone's passion, they should find their passion, because it would be much better to get paid for doing something you love. To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  www.oxmoorautogroup.com Rusty Steele, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   In this segment, Jason interviews Brian Ingle.  He's the Executive Director of Planning and Management for the State Auditor's Office.  Brian adds that his passion lies in leadership, training new leaders, and helping supervisors transition from being button pushers to being true leaders of people. Brian discusses how the transition from a specialized role to a supervisory position is a big shift. To help new supervisors succeed and prevent them from failing during this transition, he created an acronym designed for the first 90 days in the role: RELAX. The RELAX Acronym for New Supervisors: 1. R (Role): New supervisors must understand that their role is going to change. It is no longer about pushing buttons; instead, leaders must add value to people and help them to push the buttons better. 2. E (Engagement): This component emphasizes relationship building, as leadership is relationship. Engagement means getting to know employees on an individual level, including personal details such as the names of their spouse, how many children they have, and their important days. Brian notes that if leaders invest in their people, the people will invest in them. 3. L (Link up): In the first 90 days, leaders need to conduct many meetings, not because people love meetings, but to foster the relationship piece. During these meetings, expectations must be clearly articulated: the leader's expectations of themselves, their expectations of the employee, and the employee's expectations of the leader and of themselves. Brian points out that people often have expectations—even if they claim not to—which surface when they go home and say, "it's not what I expected". Therefore, the link up process requires putting those expectations into words. 4. A (A): Ingle was unable to recall the "A" component during the recording, though the host suggested they might discuss it if Brian were to return as a full episode guest. 5. X (X factor): The "X factor" is the unique quality the individual brings to the role, the reason they were hired. Brian stresses that new leaders should avoid trying to fill the shoes of their predecessor or trying to be like everyone else. He encourages tapping into this unique factor because the organization may have hired the person specifically because they are different. He quotes Andy Stanley: "Your marginally improved weaknesses will never be as great as your fully exploited strengths." Leaders should play to their strengths and not be afraid to be unique, as they might be in that position precisely to say that thing, to think that thought, to have that idea. Jason agreed that the X factor is essential because everybody brings something different to the table and can improve things in their own way. Question for the Next Guest: As the conversation concludes, Brian provides a question for the next guest at the conference: "Why do you wake up in the morning? Why are you doing this?". He explains that while everyone works for money, life is "too short to do something that you hate". Brian suggests that if work is not someone's passion, they should find their passion, noting that it would be much better to get paid for doing what you love. To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  www.auditor.ky.gov/Pages/index.aspx Brian Ingle, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!  

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   In this segment, Jamie and Jason interview Kevin Finley.  He's an HR Generalist, with Denham-Blythe Company, a design-build general contractor specializing in industrial and heavy commercial construction. Kevin talks about how Denham-Blythe is adapting to future leadership challenges by implementing a successful beta test for a flexible work model for their office staff.  This model was later implemented throughout the company. He also explains the company's leadership model, where ownership is transferred internally, ensuring minimal culture shift. To learn more, visit: ·      Denham-Blythe Company:  www.denhamblythe.com Kevin Finley, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   In this segment, Molley interviews Nelson Caudill.  He's an Employee Benefits Advisor, with USI Insurance Services. Nelson joins the podcast to talk about how USI Insurance Services partners with companies to simplify complex insurance challenges. He describes how their hands-on, analytical process helps clients make smarter decisions about managing risk and employee benefits. Nelson shares examples of how USI's insights have made a tangible difference for businesses of all sizes. It's an easy-to-follow conversation that gives leaders a real sense of what it's like to work with USI. To learn more, visit: ·      USI Insurance Services:  www.usi.com Nelson Caudill, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!  

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   In this segment, we interview keynote speaker, Dr. Brad Shuck.  He gave a talk titled, Built by Us:  How HR Is Leading the Future of Work.  From the website:  "The future of work isn't something we're waiting on – it's something we're building  Today.  The choices we make.  How we show up.  How we connect.  How we see others.  In real time.  Human Resources isn't reacting to change anymore.  We're leading it." You may remember Brad from File 16, during which he discussed The 5 Currencies of Work .   To learn more, visit: Website:  www.orgvitals.com Dr. Brad Shuck, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

File 30:  In today's file, the team interviews Dr. Debra Clary her pursuit of the power of curiosity.  Deb has had a fascinating career path.  She's worked in executive roles at Frito-Lay, Coca-Cola, Papa John's, Brown-Forman and Humana.  Now, she's helping organizations to better understand how curiosity impacts its performance, all because of an intriguing question. Meet Deb Clary Deb was the first person in her family to graduate from college.  She completed her bachelor's degree at Michigan State University and earned her doctorate in leadership and organizational development, from George Washington University.  Her starting role at Frito-Lay was different from what she'd imagined it'd be, but it yielded extremely valuable insights for her career.  She spent roughly a decade there, progressing through the ranks.  She joined Coca-Cola in various sales, marketing and global roles.  Her global client was Papa John's.  They eventually invited her to join their organization, as the VP of Marketing and that brought her to Louisville.  Deb shares she was actually fired from Papa John's, a year into the role.  She admits having come from traditional, corporate environments, the Papa John's culture was much less-structured and entrepreneurial.  Deb assumed a VP of Strategy role in Brown-Forman's wine division, where she stayed for the next 3 years.  Learning that there are significant differences in culture and how those differences manifest, especially in terms of human behavior, was a key milestone.  It provided insights into how organizations could create leaders that could have greater impact and contribution, in a way that was warm and welcoming.  As Deb was completing her dissertation for her doctorate, she encountered someone from Humana.  It lead to a role in a leadership institute Humana was developing.  She eventually took on the challenge of leading the institute, which cultivated Humana's top 1,000 leaders.  Deb remained with Human for 18 years.  Deb recounts she was sitting next to her CEO, who asked her, "Do you think curiosity can be learned, or is it innate?"  It was an intriguing question.  After doing a deep dive into the research around that topic, she mentioned to the CEO that curiosity could indeed be learned.    This question ignited a spark in Debra.  Surprisingly, there wasn't a lot of data as it related to the question in a corporate environment.  So, she commissioned a team of researchers to do primary research on the topic.  The data proved it has immense power to transform.  Debra recognized a calling.  She subsequently left Humana and is pushing this new revelation out into the world. A Spark Leads to a Spotlight A group of accountability partners surprised Deb by arranging an opportunity for all of them to meet in Louisville.  It turns out the group had taken a one-woman show concept and actually pitched it to a producer.  The producer agreed to take her on, in New York.  It was time for Deb to start writing.  She had one year to right the play, but absolutely no experience in having done it before.  About six months after the start of her writing, someone connected her with a New York playwright who would be willing to provide feedback.  In his words, "This sucks."  Deb had written a keynote, not a play suitable for New York.  With this realization, Deb found someone to adapt it to stage (a phrase she'd never heard before).  She, later, found a director, Jessica De La Rosa.  She agreed to work on the first act, to see if the two of them could work together.  They turned out to be a great match. Deb's play is called, "A Curious Woman."  It's about being a woman in corporate America, during the 80s and 90s.  It's written as a comedy.  Interestingly, as a young girl, Deb's dream was to be a standup comic.  She did standup comedy on the weekends, in Detroit, during the Frito-Lay days.  The Curiosity Assessment This is a tool Deb developed to help companies benefit from the power of curiosity.  The research discussed earlier in the conversation highlighted a few important findings: Curiosity can be learned. Curiosity is contagious. Curiosity can be measured. They developed a validated assessment to measure curiosity, which lasts 6-8 minutes.  It focuses on four important factors related to one's curiosity curve, including exploration, openness to new ideas, focused engagement, and inspirational creativity.  The research data indicates that when you have a culture of curiosity, which is most-often driven by the leader, three significant things will occur: You drive retention. It promotes job satisfaction. It fosters engagement. Deb will assess each member of the organization.  It will yield an organizational score for each of the four factors, a total score, a team score, and an individual score.  It helps individuals to see how they fit into their team and the organization, at large.  The findings can highlight drivers of friction, especially when a direct report is extremely curious, but is working with a manager or leader who is less so.  Luckily, curiosity can be learned and developed.  This realization can lead to positive shifts for leaders.    In a recent workshop for the National Presidents Association, a group of women CEOs, the participants took the assessment.  Interestingly, the conversation regarding the results focused on their spouses and children.  It highlighted areas a friction and why it may be occurring at home.  The point is that when you are aware of your curiosity level, real change can happen. How Does Deb Clary Define Curiosity? Deb explains that curiosity is being generally interested in others and in other situations.  Consider how many questions a child asks on a daily basis.  Juxtapose that with the number asked by the typical adult.  Over time, we have a tendence to become incurious.  We've all heard the saying, "Curiosity killed the cat."  Deb included it her forthcoming book, which should be release this fall.  Actually, there's more to the sentence.  The full version is, "Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back."  (William Shakespeare, 1589)   Interested in Contacting Debra Clary to Learn More? Website:  https://debraclary.com/ LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/drdebraclary   Before We Leave We wanted to let you know the WTF Podcast is going to have a booth at the upcoming 2025 KYSHRM Conference, August 26-28, at the Central Bank Center in Lexington, KY.  Come visit us at Booth 113.  Be a guest for one our podcast mini-interviews! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you. Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

File 29:  In today's file, the team discusses talent pipelines, workforce development and the real drivers behind economic growth in Kentucky.  We welcome Emily Sayers, Kentucky's Executive Director of Workforce Solutions at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. Meet Emily Sayers Emily serves as the Executive Director in the Cabinet for Workforce and Economic Development, at KCTCS.  She may have the longest title for anyone we've interviewed on the podcast.  There are 16 workforce solutions divisions across Kentucky.  This aligns with the 16 colleges within KCTCS.  The focus is on business engagement, as well as the upskilling and reskilling of Kentucky's workforce. Emily originally worked at the Gateway Community and Technical College in northern Kentucky.  She viewed her role there as being a community resource for employers, beyond workforce.  She often connected employers with any number of others who could play a part in helping them to address specific issues they were facing. Emily and here team could design and deliver customized training to assist employers.  It could range from typical skills, such as MIG welding, to more adapted solutions including the welding, but in combination with a range of other company-specific needs, including managerial training.  The training could be delivered onsite or at a campus and during times that worked best for the employer, including 3rd shift time slots.  It would be a completely customized experienced. The goal for KCTCS is to move at the speed of business.  They want to be the incubator for new programming, technologies and more.  Timeline for New Orientation Programs and Other Programs Jamie asks Emily about the timeline involved in delivering programs for businesses.  Orientation upskilling is a common type of program KCTCS develops for employers, including manufacturing sites, ranging from highly technical processes to basic information regarding two-step verification.  If the curriculum already exists, KCTCS could deliver the new program in a week, assuming a subject matter expert can be identified and engaged.  This comes back to the focus on moving at the speed of business.  Other types of programs that are purely conceptual, at the outset, would require more time.  It usually comes down to how prepared the employer is and what their timeline requirements are. Emily mentions there's no real standard.  This manifests in KCTCS working in the gray, as the development of a new program evolves. Customized Programs for the Community Jason comments how KCTCS can customize programs based on needs of a community.  For instance, training heavy equipment operators.  Once a successful program is developed, it may be possible for KCTCS to leverage parts or all of the training for other situations/locations. Are KCTCS Resources Available to Companies outside of Kentucky? Jason asks Emily if employers in other states can leverage the capabilities of KCTCS?  While other states may offer similar services, actually, KCTCS does a lot of work in Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia and other border states.    Those non-Kentucky states may not have access to state incentives, but there are still opportunities for agile training and program development.  KCTCS may be able to partner with other non-profits to assist in opportunities with those employers. How Does KCTCS Approach the Sustainability of the Programs It Develops? It depends on the situation.  Some programs may move to the academic-side of Kentucky Community and Technical College System.  They would be supported through that area.  However, on the workforce development-side of the System, if there is an ongoing need by the employer, KCTCS can arrange to maintain that program.  If the needs have moved beyond the initial program, the original program may sunset as resources are focused on developing more up-to-date programs. Jason notes how the community college system can be much more flexible and adaptive, when compared to traditional 4-year universities.  Partnerships Across Kentucky Emily describes some of the partnerships they maintain across the state.  One is the with the Strategic Workforce and Talent Team (SWATT). It's comprised of many different entities.  This include (but are not limited to) KCTCS, Department for Education and Labor, Cabinet for Economic Development, the Kentucky Chamber, and others.  The goal of the partnership is ease of use for the employer.  It brings all of Kentucky's incentives and resources for employers in a clear format.  It helps to streamline the conversation between employers and the available providers, while reducing confusion and redundancy.  SWATT is still in its early days.  There's an identified effort to educate employers on how to access these program resources.  How Do Employers Pay for KCTCS Services? Emily highlights KCTCS-TRAINS funding.  This is an allocation of funds specifically for the 16 colleges in the system.  It is used to offset the cost to employers related to upskilling and reskilling the incumbent workforce.  It can cover up to 75% of the cost for an employer to have its customized training program.  Partner organizations and other groups may be able to be identified to cover the remaining 25% of the cost.  A 10% administration fee is also charged, for KCTCS to maintain the program.  These funding mechanisms can ensure employers can engage in workforce development activities, including customize programs, rather than pre-packaged programs that are offered by other vendors. How Many Employees Must Be Kentucky-Based for the Employer to Access the Incentives? Surprisingly, there is no minimum requirement.  If the business is operating in Kentucky, it can have access to the programs, including the KCTCS-TRAINS funding. Emily explains there are other parameters including training a certain number of people and spending a certain amount of money.  Nevertheless, this is an extremely valuable resource for employers. One of the objectives is to make this easy for employers to understand and participate.  Partnering with KCTCS can make the development of the new program and achieving the results much less complicated that one would imagine.  Combine that with the financial incentives and it's clear most of the traditional roadblocks have been eliminated.  Are there Commonly Overlooked Services Available from KCTCS? Jamie asks if there are services Emily wishes more employers would ask about or take advantage of?  The number one service is TRAINS funding.  The next, even for out-of-state employers is the customized training available from KCTCS, whether the training takes place at one of their locations or at the employer's location.  The agile and flexible ability of the services is a tremendous benefit.  KCTCS will come to you, which is extremely advantageous for employers in remote or rural locations. The Education First Employers Initiative is another important service.  Emily explains this is a partnership between KCTCS colleges and Kentucky businesses.  Participating businesses offer flexible scheduling, tuition assistance, and a commitment to meet or exceed a living wage.  Can KCTCS Support Remote or Hybrid-Work Arrangements? Yes.  By leveraging the Owensboro Community and Technical College infrastructure, KCTCS offer FlexTrain.  This is an LMS for employers involving customized training to support remote or hybrid staff needs.  Virtual reality learning is another capability offered by KCTCS.    Interested in Contacting Emily Sayers to Learn More? Website:  https://kctcs.edu/ Phone:  (877) 528-2748    Before We Leave We wanted to let you know the WTF Podcast is going to have a booth at the upcoming 2025 KYSHRM Conference, August 26-28, at the Central Bank Center in Lexington, KY.  Come visit us at Booth 113.  Be a guest for one our podcast mini-interviews! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you. Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

File 28:  In today's file, the team addresses a serious topic.  Active aggressor or active shooter situations are becoming more common that we'd like to admit.  There are steps you can take to prepare yourself and your organization for this type emergency.  We welcome the Eric Culver and Dale Massey, founders of STAT, a company focused on providing active aggressor training.  They'll share advice and insights on preparing for this dangerous situation. Editor's Note:  This file may not be suitable for all audiences, given the subject matter that will be discussed. Meet Eric and Dale Eric started with the Jefferson County Police in 2001.  His father is a retired police officer.  After 7 years, he joined the FBI.  Eric later returned to the police department, as a member of the SWAT team.  The mission of the SWAT team is to save lives.  He remained part of SWAT for 16 years and eventually retired after serving 21 years with the police force.  Dale joined the police department in 2000.  Dale eventually joined SWAT as the Assistant Commander.  He eventually retired from the SWAT, as the Team Commander in 2021.  He credits Eric's effort in getting the Louisville's SWAT team established as one of about 50 full-time teams in the US.    Eric came up with a concept to train people, once he and Dale retired.  That was the genesis of their company, STAT, based out of Louisville, Kentucky.  What Inspired Eric and Dale to Create a Program for Active Aggressor Training? Eric seriously enjoyed being part of SWAT, a small-unit team that worked to hone the skill sets of individual members to function as an effective team.  When bad things happened, he wanted to be the one who got the call.  Eric recalls joining the police department 1 week before 9/11.  SWAT spent most of its time working around active-shooter situations.  Over time, the term evolved into active aggressor or armed assailant.  They developed a response to the city, modeled off of what they learned from a program called, Rescue Task Force.  It's a collaboration between police, fire and EMS developed to help them more effectively respond to scenes.    There have been notable situations in our country's past, during which this type of integration and execution were not thoroughly planned and the results were tragic.  Think back to Columbine, Standard Gravure, and others. Dale and Eric were called to the 2018 J-Town Kroger, active-shooter incident.  Eric was one of the first officers to enter the building.  Eric comments that while he and Dale have 20+ years of training for these types of situations, the regular individual who may be caught in a situation does not.  They decided to build a program to provide these services to individuals and organizations.  Their approach is to empower and educate people in a positive way.  Why Do People Tend to Avoid the Topic? Dale explains that people often don't want to think about what could happen.  "That'll never happen to me" is an approach people want to believe.  However, just in Louisville, we've experienced the Standard Gravure, J-Town Kroger and the Old National Bank shootings.  These events are actually under-reported. It takes effort to prepare, plan and train for these potential situations.  Most people simple prefer to take the easy approach, which is to ignore the possibility.  STAT focuses on empowering people; not scaring them.  In the event something does happen, you'll have options, because you've taken steps to prepare yourself and your organization. It's Similar to an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) Many people take time to prepare for a fire or tornado.  Preparing for an active aggressor situation is a similar methodology.    STAT Offers Services to Businesses STAT provides a range of services to businesses and organizations.  A comprehensive, threat assessment is the first step.  STAT will do an onsite assessment of your business environment, security procedures, camera surveillance, etc.  It will be simple, but impactful and most importantly, actionable. STAT works closely with Homeland Security.  They also do a lot of work with non-profit organizations.  Many are able to get grant money to offset some or all of the cost.  In addition to site assessments, they offer classroom training, active aggressor training, de-escalation training, medical-based training, live scenarios, custom-content for specific needs, and much more. Jaime has experienced training sessions provided by STAT.  There were are few ah-ha moments.  One fact she realized is that your typical office first-aid kit is not prepared for this type of emergency.  Jamie has been first-aid certified and has completed OSHA-30 training, in addition to other workplace safety training sessions.  None of them prepared her for how to pack a wound or apply a tourniquet.  STAT taught her that valuable skill.  Jamie also appreciates the tips and advice STAT offered regarding the supplies and equipment that should be part of the first-aid kits.  She strongly recommends people consider taking these courses, based on her personal experience. Dale points out that the body has 6 important arteries.  If one of them were to get severed, a person only has 3 minutes before they bleed out.  Knowing how to properly apply a tourniquet and having several of them on hand, can save a life.  If the tourniquet is not applied within 1 minute of sustaining the injury, that person will most-likely pass out.  This is a time-sensitive event.  It's a skill that's not hard to learn.  But it requires training and preparation. Building Redundancy in the EAP What if your organization has designated a specific individual to be responsible for the medical kits and other procedures, but that person is absent or incapacitated on the day of the event?  It's important to build redundancy into your Emergency Action Plan.  This relates to both personnel and equipment, such as medical kits.  You have to plan for contingencies. Dale recommends placing the medial kits with or near the AEDs you already have onsite.  Is Run, Hide, Fight Still an Appropriate Protocol? Eric explains that this depends on the situation.  He begins with some simple definitions.  If 1-2 people are shot or attacked at a workplace, it's considered workplace violence.  If 3 or fewer are impacted, it's considered active shooter/active aggressor.  If 4 or more are injured, it's considered to be a mass casualty situation.    The federal government developed the Run, Hide, Fight paradigm in the early 2000s.  It was the first methodology for addressing an active aggressor situation.  It was a system that employed a linear approach to dealing with the situation.  Unfortunately, most people don't have a mindset that follows this methodology.    The STAT Mindset – Escape, Evade, Engage STAT offers training that focuses not on your skillset, but rather, on your mindset.  The human mind learns in patterns of 3.  Additionally, the letter "E" is the most commonly used letter.  Based on these factors, STAT developed training around Escape, Evade, Engage.  It's designed to work everywhere, not just at the office. Escape, Evade, Engage is a decision-making process that gives you options.  The goal is to get you thinking, not simply reacting.  Eric uses the example of the Old National Bank shooting.  Some people decided to run, but once they got out into the street, they turned around to watch.  Unfortunately, they were still getting shot at, because they stopped.  Instead, they should have continued to run and extend the distance between themselves and the active threat.  Is STAT Training Applicable for Schools and Educators? Jason has school-aged children and he thinks about these kinds of topics when he drops off his kids at school, especially at the start of the school year.  He asks if STAT provides training for schools, teachers and staff? STAT does a lot of training with schools.  Both Dale and Eric are still sworn police officers, in retirement.  For instance, they are trying to make Taylorsville and Spencer County, a test-case for the country.  There are actually no regulations pertaining to this training.  Schools are required to have resource officers (SROs), but there's no specific funding.  The STAT team is also developing content for middle school and high school students.  Many schools are hesitant to engage STAT-based services.  JCPS, in Louisville, just implemented its own police force.  Are they properly equipped and trained for active aggressor situations?  A single SRO isn't the answer for a typical school.  A school should have layers of security.  STAT uses the CPTED system.  The acronym stands for Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design.  It helps schools to incorporate security measures into the esthetic environment the school wants to maintain.  It creates reactionary-gap time, allowing you to make critical decisions in a time of crisis.  Dale stresses the importance of building a safety-culture inside your organization.  You can have the tools in place, but if the personnel aren't taking it seriously, your system is primed to fail.  People need to buy into the system so they actively check things and look for breakdowns in the system, on a regular basis.  This can be as simple as ensuring exterior doors are locked to prevent an unauthorized individual from gaining access. Eric mentions the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.  It was an epic failure, across the board.  It highlights the fact that the first responder coming to may not be properly prepared to engage.  The average police officer in the US only receives about 4 hours of active shooter response training.  In the case of a business, if you have multiple facilities that have been trained in some type of EAP, but the point person is transferred to a different facility, are the EAPs the same?  Would there instead be a level of confusion that could be avoided with a standard plan?  STAT is helping to provide that type of system. Jamie comments that some states are now requiring this type of training for organizations with a certain number of people.  California is one such state requiring armed aggressor training.  This should be much more than a surface-level, check the box, approach. Help Is on the Way, Eventually It's important to understand police are going to focus on going after the aggressor/shooter when they first arrive.  Their focus will not be on taking care of you or rendering medical aid.  This is a critical reason you need to develop the right mindset.  STAT is a qualified resource and is ready to help you and your organization. Interestingly, the average time it takes for the police to arrive on site is 15 minutes.  A lot can happen in 15 minutes.  We all remember doing fire drills and tornado drills in school.  Have you ever practiced for an active aggressor situation?  Probably not.  Students may be familiar with lock-down drills.  Unfortunately, many adults don't even want to think about doing this type of drill in the workplace.  Why not implement this type of drill, at least once a year to help familiarize your team with the proper mindset?  STAT has developed a video program, as a cost-effective option.  They've also developed webinars and have the capability to custom-design a training program for your specific situation. You Won't Rise to the Occasion; You'll Fall to Your Level of Training There's a mistaken belief that you, or someone around you, will suddenly know how to respond to an active aggressor situation (or some other crisis).  Unfortunately, that's usually a myth.  The reality is most people will fall to their level of training on how to deal with the situation.  Most often, it doesn't go the way you'd hoped. This is about developing a mindset and practicing what to do, should the situation arise at your workplace, church, school, etc.  Dale points out that communication is critical.  When an employee is laid-off or terminated, how does the organization communicate the situation?  What would happen if that hasn't been effectively communicated and the individual shows up the next day intending to do harm?  How easy would it be for that person to gain access and cause a tragic result?  We may need to rethink how we address certain issues.  You don't need to get into the specifics of why the person is being terminated, but they need to understand the individual should not be let back into the facility. But We've Always Done It this Way Molley asks "How could HR or other leaders reduce the risk of an active aggressor situation involving a termination?"  Eric suggests not bringing the individual into your office for that conversation.  You've allowed what could become a volatile situation to occur in a compromising location.  You may have positioned the conversation to occur in a way that the impacted individual is situated between you and the exit.  You might be trapped in the room.    Instead, consider doing an offsite termination.  If that's not practicable, consider doing it in the lobby or parking lot, thus preventing immediate access to the facility.  Consider this the first layer. The second layer of protection is to have a plan for identifying your exit routes, enabling you to Escape, Evade, Engage, if the situation warrants it.  This is definitely a paradigm-shift for HR professionals.  At the same time, Dale recommends that the termination is never handled in a one-on-one basis.  Bring someone with you.  Police refer to this a "contact and cover."  This is about your personal safety and that of others. Jamie's Advice to HR Professionals Over the years, Jamie has added a number of considerations and steps to her procedures.  Make sure you have someone outside of the room, whom you can contact if the situation escalates.  Do you have a panic button that goes to internal security and to local authorities?    Have you reached out to local authorities to familiarize them with the layout of your facility and to establish a list of people who can be contacted, when necessary?  If a termination is planned, consider having an off-duty police officer in the parking lot, lobby or in the space to provide some additional security. Be careful about the procedure allowing people to obtain their personal effects.  If they have items in their locker, office or car, consider other ways to transfer those items.  Use a courier to deliver those items, or consider recovering those items for the individual.  It may be a better alternative to allowing the person to go back to their office.  While you can't anticipate every issue, it's important that you've taken the time to make some level of preparation, rather than trying to do so in the moment. Are You a Second-Chance Employer? This isn't about being judgy or making assumptions about people.  Rather, it's about being proactive in your mindset.  It's a challenge to find the balance. Dale recommends employers define what types of crimes would they allow and which will be disallowed, in terms of the second-chance candidate's past.  Establish a standard.  You'll get a sense of the person's commitment to moving forward during the interview, but you need to have boundaries.  Eric relates this back to his career as a police officer.  While he always tried to give the person the benefit of the doubt during an engagement, he always had a plan of action.  If the situation was going bad, he already knew how he would exit, escape, evade and engage.  He recommends the moment you detect a sign that something is wrong, resist the temptation to second-guess yourself.  STAT would rather you make a bad decision, than no decision.  You can fix a bad decision.  If you make no decision, someone else will exert a decision on you.  Parting Thoughts from Eric and Dale Dale points out there's a difference between compliance-based and regulatory-based training, verses what STAT offers.  If you want impactful training that can save lives, consider programs such as what STAT has developed.  Training budgets are extremely limited.  The training STAT provides is portable.  It'll go with you, wherever you go.  STAT has actually had survivors validate the scenarios they introduce during training sessions.  They've developed scenarios that combine perspectives from both a first responder's prospective and a survivor's perspective.  It's reality based. Eric points out that their training can be done in phases or customized to your budget.  It's an investment in your people.  You're providing your people a skillset they can share with their families and friends.  The team at STAT does this because they want people to know they can do something and not just be a victim.  Jason points out that safety is a fantastic gift.  Jamie mentions that after attending STAT training, she's gone home and discussed it with her family, because is more than work training; it's life training for our communities and the communities we're serving. Interested in Contacting STAT for Your Organization? Website:  ActiveAggressor.com Phone:  (502) 576-7856   Before We Leave We wanted to let you know the WTF Podcast is going to have a booth at the upcoming 2025 KYSHRM Conference, August 26-28, at the Central Bank Center in Lexington, KY.  Come visit us at Booth 113.  Be a guest for one our podcast mini-interviews! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you. Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

File 27:  In today's file, the team explores the benefits of vision boards and life boards.  They each talk about how they approach these tools in their own lives.  This conversation springs from a new experience Jamie is working through that took an unexpected turn, at the outset.  The team welcomes their podcast producer, Jim Ray, to participate with them in the discussion. The Executive Coaching Experience Jamie shares that she's recently begun working with an executive coach at Building Champions. One way the coach has challenged her is to be more intentional about herself.  That came as a bit of a surprise.  It wasn't exactly what Jamie was anticipating, although she knows it's been an area she's often overlooked, while helping others.  Jamie asks Molley whether she uses a vision board and to explain her overall life-planning process.  When Molley's kids were young, the family would create vision boards during the Thanksgiving break.  It was interesting to see how those young brains worked.  They'd cutout pictures and color the poster board based on where they saw themselves in a year.  As a result, it became apparent that they needed to do something more.  While Molley sees the value in using a vision board, life-planning is bigger than that.  Assuming the average lifespan is between 70 and 80 years old, she suggests making a grid comprised of 80 squares.  Put an X in each of the boxes that represents as year, up to your current age.  The visual is typically a grid with many fewer boxes remaining, that you might have initially thought.  Is it worth being as stressed out as we probably are?  Where do we want to be in 5-10 years?  What will retirement look like?  How do we begin taking steps to make the life we want to live in retirement? Jamie admits when she considers what the future is going to look like, she has trouble bringing that vision into focus.  Jason suggests that may be one of the reasons she elected to begin working with a coach.  Jamie comments she feels she does a nice job of talking about intentionality in the professional setting, but when that conversation is focused inward, she struggles. Producer Jim relates to Jamie.  As a sales professional and sales manager, he knows how to craft a territory strategy for revenue growth, it becomes much more difficult on the personal level.  You realize how quickly time has passed.  The thing we used to value may no longer hold as much value in our lives.  He's never built a vision board, so he's looking forward to this discussion. Creating a Vision Board and a Life Board Molley explains how someone might view a vision board, until they finally accomplish one of those items on the board.  Then, the process, focus and meaning begins to fall into place.  Jason admits it may feel a little "woo-woo."  But, by placing an item on your vision board, it holds you accountable.  In fact, he's been doing vision boards for roughly 20 years.  Jason divides his board into a work column and a personal column.  There might be 4-10 items he lists that he really wants to accomplish in the upcoming year.  The important aspect is that it's measurable.  It may be a dollar amount, a specific number of days, or some other trackable objective.  This way, he "knows what done looks like." Interestingly, he also resists removing items from his board, unless there's a major intervening factor.  He wants this board to stare him in the face.  While his primary board is a 1-year timeframe.  He also creates a 3-year, 5-year and 10-year version, enabling him to focus on long-term aspirations. At age 50, Jason comments that understanding the limited time he has left may sound a bit morbid.  Molley recasts that perspective as, "How you're going to feel your joy."  These are an outline of the steps he'll take to achieve that joy. Jamie asks how Jason and Molley got started with their vision boards.  Jason had just left a corporate job.  He wanted to take a year off. The board was a collection of activities he wanted to experiment with, such as consulting, becoming fractional senior leader for a small company, etc.  Within 4 weeks of leaving his corporate job, he became a fractional marketing VP and had a consulting client.  He was astonished by how quickly these items became realities.  He knew it was time to take another crack at his vision board.  Jason explains that once he added something to the board, he'd take time to work backwards to determine what would have to happen in order for that vision to become manifest.  For most motivated professionals, having an item on a vision board can be a significant source of focus and determination. Jamie came up through her education learning about servant-leadership.  There was a focus on helping others to live the lives they wanted to live.  When she took her first step at creating a vision board, it was very emotional for her.  It was strange to begin thinking about what she wanted, as opposed to having to think about what everybody else wanted.  Jason points out that he has to remind himself to determine whether a vision is focusing on something he wants, or rather something he thinks he should do because others in his circle are doing it.  How many times are our wants/desires constructed by other people?  He recommends you find out what's right for you.  While you may not have a defined concept of the end state, you can at least begin to clarify what the next several steps will look like. Molley shares that her vision boarding experience began when she got laid off.  She'd spent the previous 11 years sacrificing for her marriage and kids.  He role involved significant travel.  She admits she felt emotionally tied to the job.  It defined who she was.  When she got laid off, she was devastated.    She took 2 weeks to sulk and drink too much wine.  After that, she committed to never letting someone else control her mind the way that job had done.  After some time, she admitted to herself that she didn't want to work as hard has she'd been doing.  She began to understand the fallacy of the need to keep up with the Jones.  After all, they weren't paying her mortgage.  As she began looking at the items on her vision board, she began thinking about the things she'd need to do to empower herself to get there.  The hard part was balancing that with her husband and kids.  Looking back from 2008 onward, it's been a gamechanger.  There's been a realization that the people who matter the most are her husband and two kids; everyone else is a bonus.  From a practical standpoint, Molley admits she hopes to be a caretaker in the lives of her grandchildren.  So, what does she need to do to ensure that happens?  If she wants to take her family on 1 trip a year, what needs to happen to make that possible?  How does she begin to create those experiences? Molley suggests you create a life board and the big items used to populate your vision boards actually come from the life board.  Striking Balance when You're Pulled in Different Directions Jamie discusses how whenever a successful woman is presenting or speaking to a group, the question always comes up, "How do you make time to balance all of it?"  She believes it's also true for men who are building a career.  How do we resist setting our hair on fire, just to keep everyone else warm?  We need to establish meaningful boundaries.  It takes practice. Jason adds that it may entail sacrifice.  You may lose a few friends along the path.  It could be clients or other opportunities that aren't fully aligned with your vision board or life board.  Admittedly, it could hurt for a while.  Don't let fear make those decisions for you.  People plan exits all the time.  There may be people on your team who are already in the process of doing so. Jason reminds us it's important to create a life board or vision board that's specifically for ourselves, not for someone else.  Maybe you're already in the right place and only need to change a few things about the place you're in to make it perfect.  The key to understand is that if you don't take the time to plan for it, it'll never happen. How Do You Include Your Family in Your Vision Work? Admittedly, may people listening to this right now are not alone on the path.  They have a spouse and possibly children.  For Molley, it was an intentional conversation about a plan.  When she was thinking about launching Incipio, she needed to ensure her husband was aligned with the goal and its purpose.  It's a negotiation, as is involved in any relationship with a partner.  It will take both of you to get there.  If both are working toward "the big idea," you'll have a much greater chance of achieving that vision.  Jason stresses the importance of communication, even beyond the one you'll have with your spouse/partner.  If your vision focuses on a specific role, you'll need to have a conversation with your manager so he/she can help you to plan for the steps that will eventually lead to your promotion into that role.  At the same time, if it doesn't appear that will be possible, similar roles exist in other organizations.  You may need to consider steps to pivot toward that transition. Jamie Recommends a Book Earlier in the discussion, Jamie share how her new coach recommended she focus on becoming more intentional about herself.  As part of that growth, her coach suggested she begin reading Living Forward, by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy.  The subtitle is:  A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want. At the time of this recording, she's just begun reading the book.  She's realizing how decisions she made and paths she pursued may not have necessarily been part of a conscious plan, but they've allowed her to arrive at the place in which she now finds herself.  Was it "the drift"?  She's admittedly been a high-achiever, but events in life have just happened.  Jamie is very interested in how Living Forward will impact her perspective and the resulting path.  At the same time, she encourages listeners to comment on social media regarding questions, comments and thoughts about either the topic or the book, itself. What Motivated Jamie to Engage a Coach? Jamie admits it wasn't completely intentional.  It was a service related to her current role.  She frequently recommends coaching to people.  However, prior to this, her only other time working with an executive coach was during her first, leadership role (years ago).  The environment, issues and perspectives were much different back then, than what she's leading through today.  Currently, she's in her first real executive role, while owning and running her own business.  She realizes the importance of balancing those two opportunities, while not losing sight of the other important parts of her life.  There are times during which, as she puts it, "It feels out of whack." Jamie's realizing how this book is going to have a positive impact.  She was surprised when the coach suggested starting the process with this particular book.  However, there's clarity in understanding without having a plan for your life (and career), you're pouring from an empty cup.  If this is your reality, the people in your life and around you won't be able to get the best version of you. A point made early in the book is that achieving perfect balance may not be the objective.  There's not enough time to fully balance everything.  It's about figuring out the points of imbalance that match or align with your goals.  Molley adds it's also about not feeling guilty about making that decision when you need to go all in for a specific period of time to make progress toward specific goals; especially when they're on your vision board or life board. Jason reminds us that the goals we set should be our own.  You need to be real with yourself.  Sometimes the goal we set don't necessarily align with other goals we've established.  It's okay.  Just be mindful of resisting the temptation of letting other people set the goals for us. Molley shares a conversation she had with one of her best friends.  That friend reached out to apologize for not being able to be the best of friends, right now.  Molley was confused, until her friend explained how busy she was with her kids.  That was the reason for the comment.  Molley pointed out that it's simply the season of life that friend is currently experiencing.  What's important is that her friend is being intentional about building her relationships with her children.  That will pay important dividends in the future.  Embrace it while the season is here.  Their friendship will continue to grow and thrive with time. It's important to understand you may need to limit or walk away from friends who aren't willing to support those items on your vision board, because they don't necessarily agree with them.  Then there are those who seem completely adrift.  While they can still be your friends, resist the urge to go to them for advice about specific issues.  They probably won't understand it, anyway.  The risk is the older we get, the more difficult it becomes to make new friends.  It might be a risk worth taking.  We'd like to encourage you to send us your favorite resources, via the Workforce Therapy Files website or on our social media channels.  We might mention them on an upcoming file. Before We Leave We wanted to let you know the WTF Podcast is going to have a booth at the upcoming 2025 KYSHRM Conference, August 26-28, at the Central Bank Center in Lexington, KY.  Come visit us at Booth 113.  Be a guest for one our podcast mini-interviews! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you. Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

File 26:  In today's file, the team is going to lighten-up the conversation with some funny HR stories they've either experienced or heard about.  Before we begin, we'd like to encourage you to send us your funny HR stories, via the Workforce Therapy Files website.  We might read them on an upcoming file. Sleeping on the Job Stories Story 1 Molley begins with a personal example from her "first real job."  She wanted to talk with one of the leaders.  She knew he was in the office.  She knocked on his office door repeatedly.  Finally, the door opened.  She was shocked.  She asked if he had been sleeping at his desk, because there was an imprint of his watch on his forehead!  Molley later explains that the guy and his wife had recently had their firstborn, so he may have been justifiably, sleep-deprived. Stories 2, 3 and 4 Jason also has some sleeping stories.  Jason worked at a distribution, during a newly-created 2nd shift.  There weren't many trucks coming it on 2nd shift.  The supervisors created some busy work for the employees, between trucks.  Jason was sweeping a long aisle in the warehouse.  Suddenly, he hears, "Hey dude."  It startled him, so he began looking around to see where the voice came from.  He looked up to find his co-worker napping on the 3rd level of the rack shelves.  Jason climbed up to find and entire sleeping space the guy had created.  After assuring his co-worker that they were cool, he climbed back down and just continued sleeping. There was another role in which Jason knew a co-worker in the office was falling asleep at his desk.  Jason would ask him what he was doing and the guy's head would pop-up and the guy mumbled, "Praying."  It happened often enough that Jason had to eventually dismiss the guy. In his final sleeping story, Jason describes a small office he worked in, years ago.  They had an admin at the front desk.  Early one morning, the boss unlocked the main door and walked in.  All the lights were out, so she continued back to her own office.  When she came back out, the admin guy was sitting at his desk.  The bell on the front door hadn't chimed, but he claimed he'd been there the whole time.  The boss knew she'd just walked past the empty desk.  The admin finally relented and admitted that he'd been asleep under the desk (from a hangover). Reasons People Gave for Calling Out of Work Story 5 Jamie was working her first HR-assistant job out of college.  One of her responsibilities was to review the call-out line messages.  She tells us about 2 interesting excuses. The first was from a woman who was calling on behalf of a guy who worked 3rd shift.  He wasn't going to be able to come in, because she was getting ready to have a baby.  Then she let out a giant labor pain scream.  Jaime still tries to imagine the conversation that must have taken place between the guy and the woman about calling his employer, while she was having contractions.  Fortunately, once the man returned to work, he proudly showed off pictures of his new baby. Work Isn't the Only Type of Labor that Happens at the Office Story 6 Jamie tells another story about a woman who actually went into labor at work.  While the baby came extremely early, it was a very tense experience, that turned out okay.  The work environment required a lot of walking.  Surprisingly, the walking induced the birth.  Jamie remembers sitting on the bathroom floor with the woman.  While this isn't a funny HR story, unexpected things often happen at work.  In this case, you might say, "Life Happens." Drug Test Fail Story 7 Molley was handling mass-recruiting for a large call center.  There was a lot of turnover, so it was a constant push to get people scheduled for interviews.  She sent an offer to a candidate.  Candidates were required to immediately come in for the drug test and fingerprinting.  Other employees started approaching the HR office to let them know a woman was in the parking lot offering $100 to anyone who would provide a urine sample she could use for her drug test.  They rescinded the offer that day. In Vino Veritas Story 8 Jason recounts a story he heard about a company conference.  There was a 20-person hot tub at the venue.  Alcohol had been consumed at the event.  Someone came up with the idea of playing truth or dare in the hot tub.  Well, some stories came out.  Needless to say, there were some very awkward looks in the room the following day. Duct Tape Will Fix It Story 9 Jamie remembers a job she had years ago.  There was an individual who was constantly in trouble for pushing the line on what was deemed to be appropriate and inappropriate.  He enjoyed wearing t-shirts that had questionable statements on them.  While some of them were funny, Jamie knew she would lose authority if she allowed herself to actually laugh at some them.  To remedy the situation, she'd give the guy duct tape to cover the statements considered dress-code violations.  Once in a while, he'd look at her and say, "You kind of want to laugh at this, don't you?"  It only made it more difficult for her to maintain her composure.  Her only recourse was to double down on why the statement was inappropriate. No-Call/No-Shows Story 10 While in college, Jason worked in plant that made electrical motors for refrigerators.  It was summer time, but a large order needed to be filled for an appliance manufacturer.  They worked 80 hours per week, including weekends.  The crew was exhausted.  Toward the end of the summer, they were begging for a day off.  The company refused, because the project was almost finished.    In a coup, the crew told the others they were going to the lake the next day and would be considered no-call/no-shows.  The next day they showed up expecting to get fired.  The boss pulled them aside and they worked through the situation, especially given there was only a week left on the project.  Viva la Revolution! More Drug Test Fails Story 11 Jamie remembers someone who submitted a sample for their drug test.  Strangely, it was colorless and odorless sample.  This creative individual decide they'd have a better chance if they simply submitted tap water as their sample.  Once again, the offer was rescinded. Story 12 One time, Molley was told by a candidate they'd at a Snoop Dog concert and everyone around her was smoking weed.  That must have been why pot was showing up in her test results. Story 13 Jamie listened as a candidate explained how she'd just broken up with her boyfriend and he must have put cocaine in her drink.  Sounds almost plausible, right? Story 14 Molley had a candidate comment that they'd been at a party and everyone ate some brownies.  Shockingly, they must have been laced! Story 15 (Okay, We're not Saying this was a Fail) Molley once worked for a company that was doing random drug tests.  She was travelling when she received the call that she'd been selected.  Company policy was that you had to take a drug test, at their facility, within 24 hours.  She wasn't schedule to return from her Texas business trip until several days later.  They ended up letting her take a test in Texas, but later decided she had to take another one, once she arrived home. Secret Codes and Scenarios Story 16 Jamie pulled this on from Reddit.  The person worked in a small IT and web-design company.  The team discovered the 2048 game and everyone started playing it.  The competitive group began listing their high scores and initials on the glass door, in the office.  When others saw the scores and initials, the group would make up stories about what the "codes" meant.  Interestingly, Jamie knows of HR professionals who've used the 2048 game references during interviews with candidates. Story 17 Molley was asked if she saw herself as either an apple or an orange, during an interview.  She stated she didn't like either, but did prefer to view herself as a banana.  It completely threw the interviewer off her game.  Molley knew it would only go downhill from there. Story 18 In college, Molley interviewed for a part-time job in a law office.  The male attorney has if she anticipated needing an extended time off, in the near future.  She said not, while adding that she had school, but the entire purpose of the question flew completely over her head.  He was actually trying to ask about pregnancy.  Story 19 Jason asked a job candidate where she saw herself in 5 years.  She had the confidence to respond she'd be the president of the company, not realizing that was Jason's actual role.    Remember to submit your funny HR story to the WTF Team.  You can DM us on social media or contact us via the website.  We'll keep it anonymous, if we read it during an upcoming file.  We hope to hear some good stories!  Rest assured, there's not much we haven't seen.   Before We Leave We wanted to let you know the WTF Podcast is going to have a booth at the upcoming 2025 KYSHRM Conference, August 26-28, at the Central Bank Center in Lexington, KY.  Come visit us at Booth 113.  Be a guest for one our podcast mini-interviews! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you. Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

File 25:  In today's file, the team wraps up a 2-part discussion on the job market.  In this episode, they'll focus on "lay-ups".  These are the positive ways an organization can assist exiting employees to land on their feet, after a separation. At the same time, this segment will also help area employers to take advantage of the availability of new candidates becoming available, especially if a large layoff has occurred. Click here to listen File 24, Layoffs and Lay-Ups (Part 1).  In File 11 (Breaking Up Is Hard to Do), the team discussed the topic of separating with dignity.  This might also be a good reference point.  There Are Steps that Can Be Taken to Assist Exiting Employees Molley begins by commenting about how once the severance package and other formalities have been handled, there are still additional steps an employer can take to assist exiting employees.  This comes back to a them discussed in File 11 about separating with dignity. If the organization knows the separation is going to happen, are there job-placement resources in the community that could assist with re-hiring?  Do managers personally know if local businesses that could use good employees? Contact them and invite them to connect with your impacted employees.  These types of extra steps can help to ease the transition.  Remember, when one door closes, another one eventually opens. In the previous file, File 24, Jamie presented some of the legal requirements a company has, based on the WARN Act, when a layoff is coming.  Again, none of the hosts are attorneys, but the information can serve as a guideline for a conversation with your business/corporate attorney. Jamie points out that by helping former employees to land on their feet, there are indirect and direct benefits to the organization, such as lower claims and the avoidance of potential litigation expenses.  Not to mention the damage to the company's reputation as a community/regional employer. Jason discusses a number of actions he's seen his clients take in these types of situations.  He groups them as passive and active steps.  An example of a passive action could include writing letters of recommendation for employees.  An active action might be contacting local and regional workforce teams and the unemployment office resources.  Additionally, if you become aware of a layoff in the area, get your marketing team working on a plan to potentially attract these potential job candidates.  Go so far as to engage that company's HR team to see if you can begin recruiting onsite, before the official layoff date occurs.  Consider geo-fencing or geo-targeting the company's location enabling you to serve online ad notifications to people who show up at that location. Jamie also comments on this aspect.  If you are the employer facing layoffs, consider reaching out to other local employers to see if they are looking for good candidates.  Your recommendations would be extremely helpful to the HR team, as well as your employees.  Jason explains how they helped to identify industry-adjacent employers for a client.  They didn't have the exact same jobs, but many of roles required similar skillsets.  Molley describes how affected employees can leverage the skills they've developed over the years, yet when recruiters and HR overly-depend on technology to screen applicants, those prospective employees risk being left on the sidelines.  We need to help employees to tell their stories differently. Providing a long-term employee resources can be extremely helpful.  He/she may need help building a résumé and learning how to apply for jobs.  Help them to list their specific skills.  It's also possible to work on improving their social media footprint.  Equip that long-term employee with a letter of recommendation, help them to set up an appointment with a staffing specialist, and you might even be able to provide them with information about specific opportunities with other employers.  Remember, these are steps to helping with a lay-up, before or after the layoff. Molley suggests contacting the Kentucky Career Center, which is a statewide resource.  It's a valuable resource for employees who are facing a layoff or other separation.  Your tax dollars have already been used to fund these resources, so take advantage of them. Placing an Emphasis on Workforce Planning This was mentioned in File 24.  Molley provides an example.  Organizations over-hire.  It's often because they don't know how to properly hire.  They're planning for attrition.  Instead, if organizations were to create an authentic approach to the hiring process for each position, you'd consider the company's readiness to hire, the timing for the hire, the reason one or more people need to be hired, etc.  This granular approach will help you to know the best time to engage in the hiring process.  It can actually lower the overall cost of your workforce development efforts.  It's not simply a cost of doing business. Consider listening to our 3-Part Series on how Recruiting Begins with Retention.  Click here to listen to Part 1.  If you are authentic and candid with your workforce about how the company is performing, should a layoff be in the future, employees may be better able to understand the decision is business-related, not personal.  Consider the following simple takeaways: -       Treat people like adults. -       Be transparent. -       Partner with your networks. -       Build community around we are all better off when we're all employed. -       If you have to layoff, lay them up for their next opportunity. -       Remember, anyone whose been with your company for 3-5 years may need some additional help because the process of seeking a new opportunity will be different for them. Each of the steps you can take to help these individuals to move forward will help to alleviate worry, stress, anxiety and the fear of the unknown future.  These efforts can also reduce any potential negative reactions the company and its remaining employees might face. Before We Leave We wanted to let you know the WTF Podcast is going to have a booth at the upcoming 2025 KYSHRM Conference, August 26-28, at the Central Bank Center in Lexington, KY.  Come visit us at Booth 113.  Be a guest for one our podcast mini-interviews! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you. Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

File 24:  In today's file, the team begins a 2-part discussion on the job market.  In this episode, they'll focus on layoffs.  Several clients have reached out to Jamie and Molley to plan for potential layoffs and the specific steps companies are required to take.  In File 11 (Breaking Up Is Hard to Do), the team discussed the topic of separating with dignity.  This might be a good reference point.  Legal Considerations Involving a Layoff To begin, it's important to note none of this should be considered legal advice, as the members of the WTF Podcast team are not lawyers.  However, they've been involved in these situations and are prepared to share some perspectives and tips.  Today's discussion might provide an outline for a series of questions you might want to review with your business attorney. Information regarding the WARN Act can be found on the Department of Labor's website.  It's the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification.  This Act ensures advanced notice in cases of qualified plant closings.  When are Employers Required to Provide Advance Notice to Employees of a Layoffs or a Plant Closure? Jamie explains that if you are an employer planning a layoff, plant closure or significant reduction in work hours, you are required to do a WARN notice.  It must be filed with the unemployment office.  The threshold is that you must have over 100 full-time workers, excluding workers who have been there for less than 6-months, or who work less than 20 hours per week.  If you're laying off 50 or more people, at a single site, or if you employ more than 100 workers who work at least a combined 4,000 hours. Please note, there are many other group descriptions that should be reviewed in determining your specific requirements. The benefit to this process is that it can help the various community resources to engage in planning and coordination to assist affected workers in the area.  It also provides 60-day notice so that the affected employees can make plans regarding their individual situations.  Jamie notes that the time and notice can make a difference for continued employment for those impacted employees.  What Can Companies Do to Help Employees Affected by a Layoff? Jason comments that the notification, per the WARN Act, goes to the local career centers and unemployment offices.  Once notified, those agencies can provide information on opportunities and programs for up-skilling and training.  Some agencies may even come on-site to provide employees with information about job openings and other potential resources, including providing information about how unemployment works.  It's good to utilize these services as early in the process as possible.  It's also the right thing to do for your people. Most of the previous files on this podcast have focused on attracting good people; the right talent for your company.  You probably have a large group of people you really hope to retain.  You may even be able to come up with solutions that could avoid the need for a layoff. Alternatives to Enacting a Layoff Consider the use of furloughs.  If you're trying to reduced costs, you may have the option of instituting temporary furloughs and avoiding the need to issue a WARN Act notification.  The advantage is you might still be able to retain your talent.  They should be able to draw unemployment for periods of time. Jamie recalls working with a client who was having a dip in business, but believe it wasn't a permanent situation.  As a company, they decided to implement furloughs to get them through the current period and come out together, on the other side.  Everyone, including management took a 2-week, unpaid furlough.  In their case, the payroll savings enabled them to survive. Molley comments that communication is key, especially when the company itself is under stress.  By being transparent about the situation, it may help to gain important buy-in for an option, such as a furlough, instead of having to layoff a significant number of people.  This transparency also helps the company to control the narrative, rather than letting rumors and misinformation to get traction. It's important to understand that a furlough for a specific period of time is much different from a layoff, which means you're losing your job.  It's an entirely different situation.  Molley points out that some companies might try to use a layoff to mask poor performance.  Often, this is due to a lack of good management, in her opinion.  If you're laying off for poor performance, is it possible your managers weren't given the tools or opportunities to lead?  Jamie, agrees that using "layoffs" for poor performance is a misuse of the term.  You're not required to retain a poor performer.  You should take the necessary steps to notify someone of their lack of performance and to provide opportunities and time for improvement.  This is the best way to get someone to demonstrate improved performance.  Nonetheless, some leaders may share responsibility for the underperforming employees.  It might be the best thing for the business, but have other alternatives been explored? Why Not Use a Layoff to Purge Your Weakest Performers? In reality, few companies have extremely solid performance data, enabling the organization to definitively identify its weakest performers.  Thus, you're going to create a risk for the business if this is the chosen path. What Are Recommended Criteria for Selecting Which Employees Are to be Laid-Off? Jamie has seen companies use a last-in, first-out criteria.  This may be effective if your workforce is unionized.  Another approach is to identify critical roles for the future success of the business and to isolate other roles that will be less needed.  Molley's team at Incipio was recently working with a company that had to downsize its workforce.  Effective leaders naturally struggle with this communication because they understand the impact these decisions are going to have on the lives of their people. Jamie recalls the first layoff she as involved with.  She'd been out of college for about 2 years.  She was the person delivering these notifications.  Some of the affected employees had been with the company for 20 years or more.  The situation caused her to have literal nightmares about what could happen to her, as a result of the communications.  Her car was keyed, she was spit-on, her desk was messed up.  Interestingly, Jamie observes that no one had prepared her for how to have these conversations.  They didn't help her to prepare for effective communication that would allow the person receiving the bad news to receive it, along with the compassion and empathy that should be part of this type of discussion. While you may be the person communicating the decision, recognize the person receiving the news is experiencing a million emotions, all at once.  What if their family has medical conditions?  How is this going to affect household finances?  The list of life-obligations just starts racing.  In this moment, as a leader, if you're not prepared and able to show care and concern, you've missed out on an opportunity.  If handled well, that employee may decide to return to the company, once the current situation has improved.  Considerations for Remote-Work Companies Informing Employees about a Layoff The team has touched on this topic in previous files.  Molley strongly advises that you should have legal participate in these communications, along with your HR staff.  There are many variable that can surface.  What if the employee were to record the discussion?  How do you handle the employee who is attempting to trigger the manager to react to specific questions or accusations?  Any number of issues could develop resulting in liability for the company. It's important to do this before the first conversation is held.  Jason recommends engaging Jamie and Molley to help your organization to have a game plan before the situation gets underway.  Preparation is vital.  Nonetheless, hiring and firing are often the most short-sighted processes. Jamie notes the number of Instagram clips and Tik Toks that are recorded possibly without the companies being aware.  A lot of states have varying laws regarding one-party consent, as it relates to recording conversations.  These recorded conversations can quickly take on a life of their own.  Again, you've got to be prepared. Molley and Jamie point out that if a legal situation were to stem from this conversation with an employee, it's possible that an actual class action lawsuit could develop involving each of the affected employees.  Even if the employer wins the case, consider the expense, damaged reputation and other negative outcomes. There is a solid process that can be followed to ensure you effectively communicate the intended message, while avoiding creating scenarios that could open your company to legal and financial exposure.  Jamie reminds the audience that the WARN Act requires 60-days' notice, so this isn't a process you can implement next week.  If your organization's leadership has an effective business plan and is monitoring key performance indicators, you should see the smoke signals on the horizon.  This phase should be just as well thought out and implemented.  You have to make sure your managers are equipped and prepared for this difficult situation.  Molley brings up the large layoff by Big Lots, just before Christmas 2024.  They were attempting to work through a merger or buy-out.  When that failed, they were forced to file for bankruptcy.  The notices to the employees were issued around December 15th.  Families and communities were impacted and the lack of preparation and communication only exacerbated the situation. Does the Term Layoff Signify Temporarily or Permanently? Jason asks about the usage of the term layoff.  It seems this is a temporary situation, but today's conversation seems to indicated it can be a permanent separation.  Which is correct? Jamie explains that some employees have union contracts.  It may contain a clause for a layoff with right of recall.  This means those employees will be added to list and will be contacted for rehire, once the company begins that process.  On the flipside, the company may not be required to specify the duration of the layoff, nor when the rehiring process would begin.  Jamie further explains that a layoff typically occurs due to no fault of the individual.  Termination may be performance-related, but generally means employment has ended.  Going back to the term furlough, it would normally involve a defined period of time. Be sure to join us for File 25, Layoffs and Lay-Ups (Part 2).  That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you. Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

File 23:  In today's file, the team welcomes Summer Dixon Goldman of Dixon Strategies.  She offers fractional Chief Operating Officer services for owners, founders and CEOs.  Dixon Strategies brings order to chaos. Meet Summer Goldman Summer had a 20-year, corporate career.  She has a background in agriculture and lending.  The majority of her corporate experience was in leadership roles related to sales and operations teams.  She eventually made the decision to start her own company.  Summer begins by explaining fractional chief operating officer services looks different for different organizations.  She focuses on startups, small businesses and family-run businesses.  She either serves as a fractional COO, or as a consultant to the existing operations team.  Summer also has a Vistage practice.  She serves in the peer-advisory role and as a coach.  Her practice is comprised of an entrepreneurial group of CEOs, although still focused on startups, small businesses and family-run entities. Challenges People Need Help Solving, Today Jamie asks about the trends in the types of challenges Summer is seeing in today's marketplace.  One issue Summer sees is the location of the workforce.  She has an advanced manufacturing client with locations across Kentucky.  The challenge for this company is sourcing local talent, in a very competitive environment. Another issue is the multi-generational workforce.  Each group has its own unique needs and desires.  This can lead to misunderstandings between the generations and challenges for the company leadership trying to manage the diverse issues that arise.  There's also the ongoing challenge of being clear when attempting to communicate/establish expectations with various groups of people and/or individuals. Jason comments that he recognizes the issue of geographic locations of the workforce.  It's been a challenge for growing markets in Kentucky.  Bowling Green, for instance, is exploding.  Manufacturing is a growth-area that's especially hot in Warren County.  He discusses how Bowling Green has addressed the workforce issue head-on and the result is Bowling Green becoming the fastest growing market in Kentucky and one of the fastest in the country.  How Are Companies Addressing the Workforce Issues Relative to Misplacement or Displacement? Jason asks Summer about her perspective on how other Kentucky areas are dealing with what Bowling Green had to overcome.  It begins with communities finding effective ways to communicate the various opportunities available in their respective, geographic areas.  On the surface, certain industries may not seem as attractive, until you begin to understand the advantage they offer to the individuals and the communities, at large.  Branding the workforce experience for those particular industries is important. Summer goes on to stress the importance of meeting people where they are, in a very broad sense.  This encompasses their physical location, skill set and their personal goals.  It's a question of figuring out how to blend and balance both the business' and personal needs.  Addressing the Skills Gap The team focused on this in the previous file, with Amy Rudy.  Summer hones in on the advanced manufacturing space.  We've lost a lot of those jobs.  However, she points out that the coal industry workers actually have skills that lend themselves to those of advance manufacturing.  There's also a similar fit for certain areas of agriculture.  Skills in areas such as diesel mechanics, livestock or crop production and others are actually quite applicable. Jamie refers back to the 3-Part series WTF recorded on Peeling the Workforce Onion (Part 1).  A key point was to avoid being overly rigid in the specific attributes you use to screen prospective employees.  Transferrable skills exist, but the individual may not recognize this fact.  Thus, they never connect with the potential employer.  Summer recalls how File 14 also offered suggestions on finding overlooked candidates.  Immigrant populations and veterans can be ideal candidates.  Molley discusses how individuals can leverage transferable skills, or up-skill themselves to equip them to qualify for those new types of jobs.  Molley's company, Incipio, is actively matching individuals with positions that have "like" skill sets, based on the information they've submitted.  The software is highlighting matching skill sets, some of which you may not have previously considered. What Are Leaders Missing in Terms of Workforce Development? Jason asks about what Summer is seeing as potential blind spots she's seen leaders fail to recognize.  She notes that many founders/owners struggle with understanding why members of their teams aren't as passionate as they are about the business.  In reality she points out that they're not going to be.  It's not their baby.  They most likely don't have their life's savings invested.  The answer might be to work on creating a culture of people who are passionate about you.  This is particularly relevant in the entrepreneurial space where often the founder is the brand. You can develop a team that's passionate about working in that environment or with that particular leadership style.  It may be the work or the mission that attracts them.  For Summer, this is an ongoing puzzle she's trying to solve.  Jason relates his own leadership experience, as it relates to his team.  He feels an immense responsibility to cultivate and equip his employees for success.  They're real people, not inputs.  You're developing their careers.  That's a powerful north star. Summer points out that the leaders with whom she works often feel a deep responsibility to their employees.  The challenge is helping the people to see that's a key advantage of working is those specific organizations.  It's a way to create passion, and can be a differentiator. It's not about making this part of the marketing communications.  As a leader, it's about showing up and being consistent with that level of focus on the team.  But, it must be done authentically.  The results will follow. What Advice Could Summer Offer to Leaders and their HR Partners? One of the first questions Summer asks of a prospective client is, "Who's your HR partner?"  It may be internal, but when the partner is external, she follows up with, "Have you considered…"  HR challenges are going to surface.  Leaders need to ensure they have a structure including and beyond the job description.  Have leadership training.  It's a core area ranging from the technical piece to strategy.  As the HR partner, you have to have a level of understanding when you're working with a visionary.  It's incumbent upon that partner to ensure they are speaking to the audience.  Pick the priorities. Jason points out that sometimes there's a person who serves as the interpreter or liaison between the visionary and the team.  It may be an operations role that recasts what the visionary was trying to convey, albeit in a more appropriate or understandable manner.  How to You Coach a Visionary to Recognize the Need for and to Find that Intermediary? The group agrees this is almost like matchmaking.  Summer recommends explaining to the visionary that he/she needs some clarity around something.  It doesn't have to be everything.  Expectation-setting is an important step in this process.  The intermediary should be ready to ask a lot of questions of the visionary, in an effort to determine the actual risk-tolerance of that leader.  A balance needs to be struck at the foundational level.  HR may be able to cultivate the benefit to having the visionary buy into bringing on the person to fill this role.  It may take courage to approach the idea, but it'll be worth it in the end. Would You Like to Contact Summer Dixon Goldman? LinkedIn:         https://www.linkedin.com/in/summerdgoldman Website:          https://dixonstrategies.com/ Phone:             (812) 630-9448   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

File 22:  In today's file, the team welcomes Amy Rudy, the Founder of Impact Sales Systems, to discuss the challenge of staying relevant in your industry or field and growing your knowledge, skills and abilities.  It's also going to require a level of resilience to remain agile in the future of work.  In case you missed them, the previous 2 episodes focused on The Future of Work.  Click the below links to listen: ·      The Future of Work (Part 1) ·      The Future of Work (Part 2) Meet Amy Rudy Amy is a sales and sales management coach.  She works with business owners and sales teams on the behaviors behind selling.  She often works with solely-owned and closely-owned businesses.  Prior to launching Impact Sales Solutions, Amy founded a software development firm that built custom solutions for specialized challenges facing both small businesses and Fortune 500 companies. The Gap Left when a Founder Leaves the Organization Amy explains that a successful business will often outgrow the skill set that enabled it to launch and grow, in the early days.  This is especially true of a business that had a sole owner/founder.  It works for a while, but because so much of what makes the organization unique is tied to the knowledge, skills and relationships of that individual, it may be difficult to export that talent to a larger team.  As the team attempts to take shape, the initial inertia can slow and leave the team wondering how it can regain the momentum and direction.  Managing the Transition It may be a case of the leader wanting to retire or exit in 15 years, or so.  However, when Amy is approached with the idea of accelerating that exit to 18 months or less, it's virtually impossible.  Now the exit can definitely take place, but it's a question of how stable the company was built to withstand the event.  It's a matter of being strategic with the decision.  If new leaders are beginning to surface and take on some of the responsibilities, they may be willing to do even more.  There's already a sense of forward motion occurring.  The reality is often smaller companies are managed and controlled (along with the decision-making).  This environment may work well for the leader, but the rest of the organization is underprepared to move beyond that individual; even to survive after the exit.  Is the organization ready to operate with a business-mindset, rather than as a personal checkbook? Amy recommends planning for succession much earlier that people often assume is necessary. The Importance of Creating Succession Plans Jason asks about how this is initiated and developed.  Amy comments that it's a question of whether the organization needs "more of same" or needs to pivot.  If the company needs more of the same approach, then documenting work processes and operations would make sense.  Amy prefers to begin by asking the client(s) to describe their future.  What does FutureCo look like?  How much revenue will it produce?  How much volume will be required to generate that revenue?  Is it truly more of same or is it different?  Will it need to move faster?  Will the problems be more complex? She also challenges the client(s) to consider the required capabilities.  Describe the necessary skills to operate at those levels and in those areas.  How much cash will FutureCo require to operate at those levels?  It's a matter of really attempting to define what the intended future will look like. Once you have that vision defined, Amy notes that the business needs to measure where they are today, using the same metrics, for CurrentCo.  When accurately performed, a true gap-analysis provides valuable insights.  Leaders should then involve the people around them to figure out what needs to be done differently to become FutureCo, as envisioned. One of the underlying challenges becomes reality when the new leader steps into the role, but the insight and resulting roadmap doesn't exist, because it walked out the door inside the previous leader's head.  This can echo throughout company leadership as people begin to protect what they know.  There's no real knowledge transfer and the organization becomes stuck, or worse yet, begins to regress. It may not be a question of who the organization replaces "Steve" with another Steve (e.g. more of same).  Maybe Steve hit his performance ceiling.  It's it possible that moving forward will require a different kind of leader who can take what Steve began and effectively navigate into the future? Jason and Amy discuss the view that, "It worked, so why change it?"  Assessing whether it's still working and will it work in the future are importantly different questions.  While this is a difficult conversation to have, Amy observes that there are people at the table who want to be part of the conversation, but unfortunately are not always given the opportunity to contribute their ideas, perspectives and innovation to the situation. Having a level of transparency among all leadership roles should mean that everyone can contribute.  Unfortunately, people become accustomed to waiting to be told what to do next, rather than helping to define what actually needs to be done next. However, if a business owner can adopt that mindset and begin encouraging those additional points of views, true progress can be made toward actively planning and preparing for FutureCo. Planning Remains Important Amy reinforces the need to have solid roles and responsibilities enabling people to communicate what and how they're going to proceed, while enabling the organization to measure that progress is important.  It's about accountability and results.  This is especially true in sales.  Enable to individuals to own the role and own the goal. Are there Trends in the Skills Gaps? Jason asks Amy if there seem to be a set of trends she notices in the workforce?  Technology is advancing incredibly quickly.  Technical skills involving office tools, such as spreadsheets, could enable people to analyze large data sets on their own.  There seems to be a gap in this area. Additionally, Amy recognizes gaps are apparent in: ·      - Negotiating ·      - Forecasting & Planning ·      - Accounting ·      - Account-level Planning ·      - Questioning ·      - Navigating the Way Forward Are your sales people neglecting the sales tools and simply waiting for leads to be generated for them?  Are they consistently initiating contacts and cultivating referral-relationships?  Even an excellent marketing machine will only generate a certain percentage of leads.  The individual network a professional can cultivate could generally exceed that.  Is it being developed, effectively and consistently? Amy points out that while marketing can plant seeds in the minds of a target audience, sales has to be there exploring those opportunities with those prospective clients.  That requires an understanding of the prospect's business, as well as their own.  This is a definite skills gap. Is This the Greatest Gaps Amy Sees in Her Client Base? Amy begins by confirming it's fixable.  Understanding how a business makes money and where the problems typically exist is vital.  It'll help to identify the problem you solve and how that impacts the prospect's P&L.  One of the issues is that business owners may not be focused on developing that talent within their respective staffs.  Do those sales professionals know how to think like a business owner?  Does the business owner share their own P&L to provide insights and to demonstrate the relationships between the line items?  Is the business owner training them to make decisions like a business owner? How to Improve the Job Description and/or Interview Process to Identify those Gaps Having worked with Molley and Jamie, Amy is confident business owners may not know the skills they need or what will need to be different to move them toward FutureCo.  Often the descriptions are copied from previous versions. Amy leads clients through an assessment of the specific skill sets the company needs.  The list could be extensive.  It's critical to understand the skills and why they're important to the specific role in question.  Does the candidate have the proper mindset to sell into a C-Suite verses a different client base?  This may be a key, differentiating factor. Amy recommends having the gaps identified in what's required verses those your best candidate brings.  This way, on day one, you already know where you need to upskill or equip him/her for success in your marketplace.  There's no such thing as 100% fit.  There's always a gap that can be addressed.  How do you create the opportunities to enable the individual to close the that gap and any others that are apparent? Can Companies Define What Success Looks Like for Their New Hires? Jamie asks this question based on the premise that it's easier to identify the skills that are needed rather than what those skills are meant to deliver.  Amy recommends including interview questions focused on how the candidate can demonstrate their skills to a prospective employer. Amy goes on to explain that if the leader's goals for the organization are overly general, or vague, they haven't broken down what it would actually take to be successful in that role.  An overreliance on the dashboard may mask specific behaviors that ultimately result in the metrics that show up on the dashboard.  For instance, how does a sales professional plan his/her weekly activities, how they conduct their conversations, do they sound like a traditional sales rep or more like an advisor who is equipped with insights and knowledge to help the prospective client? Jason comments on the talent and skills an effective sales professional brings to the role.  He admits that he's challenged during interviews with prospective sales candidates, because he leads them too much with his questioning.  Many business owners and managers often get sold during the interview, only to discover that individual isn't exactly what they thought, before hiring them. The other challenge, Jason observes, is that the owner or manager fails to manage their new sales hire through the gaps.  Advice to Prepare to Interview Someone for a Sales Role Amy leads with an admonition to stop validating yourself and force them to validate themselves.  You should be transparent, but you still need to test for fit instead of focusing on selling the candidate on the job opportunity.  The hiring process should result in a mutual selection.  Again, be transparent about the current situation within the company and its market environment.  Is your organization anticipating a period of significant changes?  Is your market leadership making you a target for your competitors?  Define the necessary skills for the company to be successful and then provide the candidate an opportunity to demonstrate those specific skills and aptitudes. It's not inappropriate to ask them to bring examples of how they'd plan their week.  This is especially important for remote work.  Undertraining, even a seasoned sales professional, is a key reason they may be looking for a new opportunity.  Simply dumping that individual into a situation and requiring them to figure it out (e.g. sink or swim) is a recipe for failure.  As the team discussed in File 8, there's a value to a well-designed and executed on-boarding program. Jason points out that often the person hiring for the role may not have direct experience having been in that role, so they don't know what they should ask and how to respond to the answers provided. Amy describes her surprise with how long it takes for an owner to begin discussing the earnings potential, during the interview.  A typical sales professional is going to key in on that aspect of the discussion.  At the same time, has the leader developed a solid understanding relationship between the compensation and the cost of the product or service.  This topic should be covered very early in the engagement.  What Do the Skill Sets of Successful Sale Professionals Look Like in the Future? Molley asks what should be expected as we continue to look forward.  It's imperative that sales professionals have and continue to develop strategic mindset activities.  The sales team should evolve into an advisory resource for company leadership.  The resulting collaborative approach can help to identify deficits in features/capabilities.  It can also provide insights into the profitability of what's actually being sold.  A trusted feedback loop will also provide information on how the competition is adjusting to your offering. In reality, Amy often observes the skills gap may actually be in the leadership seats.  It goes back to whether the owner or leader knows how to build a cohesive team who know how to properly define where the organization needs to go, how it's going to get there and the resource required for the journey. Relying too much on the automation, to the detriment of actually knowing what the detailed activities truly are, is a challenge for some leaders.  Automation is a tool; not an answer. The pace of change is accelerating.  Focus your leadership team on finding ways to look further down the road that your competition my currently be doing.  Challenge them to develop the most effective plan to get there and hold people accountable for the results.  Would You Like to Contact Amy Rudy? Website:          https://www.impactsalessystems.com/ Phone:             (502) 589-2139 That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!  

File 21:  In today's file, the team continues the discussion on the future of work, namely the changes to where and how we'll work, in the not too distant future.  Remember, we let AI draft the outline for this file.  Jason and Molley haven't seen the outline.  We'll see where the machine takes us! If you missed Part 1, you can listen to it here:  https://www.workforcetherapyfiles.com/podcast/the-future-of-work-part-1/ The Gig Economy Is Booming Will this continue to grow?  Will contract-work increase?  Jason points out that not everyone is wired to be a business owner.  It's a big step and can be more complicated that it appears, on the surface.  Before you quit your office job and jump into the world of full-time entrepreneurship, you may want to follow his example.  Jason dipped his toe into the water by doing some side-hustle work to see if it was a viable option.  He is a fan of gig-work.  He uses it himself.  However, it's not for everyone.  While he does think the gig economy is part of the future of work, there are many challenges for those getting into it on a full-time basis. Jamie talks about her dad's decision to take a part-time job after retiring.  He actually enjoyed the freedom and the income the job provided.  She goes onto explain that if you are hiring gig-workers, there are some challenges.  These could include a lack of continuity, you may not be able to spend the time training them like you would a typical employee, and you'll need to be very confident in the people whom you decide to hire on a gig-style basis. Molley see this as a viable option for structured individuals.  There are various websites that connect companies with gig workers such as: ·      https://www.gigworker.com/ ·      https://www.gigworx.com/ ·      Note: Molley is not specifically endorsing these sites. As it relates to gigs for meal delivery, rideshare services and others, these will continue to be good ways to supplement your income.  These could also be viable transitional jobs.  Prediction Molley sees gig work as being both generational and situational, as it continues to grow.  Reskilling Will Be Part of Life Jamie mentions the availability of online course, such as on LinkedIn Learning.  Some colleges/universities provide free courses.  Will these continue to be part of individuals' development plans? The group discusses Python, which is a coding language.  AI can step in and code a process or task for you, as well.  Learning how to work with these tools is a definite advantage.  Jason notes that traditional education isn't necessarily the best path for every individual.  Technology is allowing people to choose their own paths and lifestyles.  It requires courage and discipline, but just like gig work, it's viable. Molley mentions that she knows people who will work for Amazon or some other employer, and then take several months off to do something else.  The availability of these jobs may provide healthcare benefits and other advantages.  It's a lifestyle choice.  Jason discusses how employers will need to be aware that potential candidates have options.  This lifestyle approach to working can become either a threat or potential competitor to your workforce development efforts.  Jamie mentions that technology is moving forward more quickly than traditional education.  We're going to have to find other ways to upskill or reskill our workforce.  It's going to take some significant investment by employers.  Jason points out that if companies resist the need to reskill employees, those individuals are going to seek it out on their own, and may pursue new opportunities as a result. Molley suggests individuals explore reskill and upskill opportunities thorough resources such as Jefferson County Adult Education.  There are tons of classes available. Jamie reads through some of the industry-specific "callouts" related to reskilling. ·     -  Healthcare ·      - Education ·      - Retail ·      - Manufacturing ·      - Finance Because we're discussion the future of work, Jason asks the group if we'll every have a Jetsons existence?  Molley thinks it'll happen but maybe not in their lifetime. Challenges Concerning the Future of Work The ethics of AI will be a significant challenge.  Rules, or policies, need to be created and enforced as we continue to embrace AI-developed work product. Mental health can be strained as remote workers feel the pressure to be "on" 24/7.  This is going to negatively affect the work quality, over the long-term, if employers aren't sensitive to this risk. Job displacement through automation.  This will be another reason organizations will need to focus on reskilling or upskilling the workforce.  Automation and technology don't have to be a threat, as long as employees have the skills to embrace and optimize the processes using these new technologies. That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!  

File 20:  In today's file, the team will discuss the future of work, namely the changes to where and how we'll work, in the not too distant future.  In an effort to lighten up the topic, we let AI draft the outline for this file.  Jason and Molley haven't seen the outline.  We'll see where the machine takes us! Companies Will Adapt to Remote Work to Survive? There's been a lot of chatter about the return-to-office trend.  How will this affect the workforce?  Molley suggests that top talent may decide to seek other companies allowing its teams at least some work-from-home flexibility.  Jason's company, CrowdSouth, has decided to let everyone work from home, although they have periodic, internal, in-person meetings.  Client meetings are also generally held in-person.  Some employees do enjoy coming into the office and interacting with colleagues.  While he understands the advantages of being able to stay home, there are many jobs that can't be done that way. One of the compromises (or sacrifices) we've made is giving up that traditional 9-5 work day.  Working from home often results in work being done throughout the day and night.    As an HR professional, Jamie admits not walking through the office environments makes it more difficult for her to get a sense of the way employees are interacting.  It makes it more of a challenge to understand how the culture is actually working.  Remote work also makes it more difficult to form those bonds with colleagues.  Companies are required to be more intentional about how they maintain productivity and cultivate a positive experience. Molley notes that if we were to return to the office, it may help to reestablish boundaries for everyone.  This may help to better define when someone is "on" and when they're "off."  That line has gotten blurred over the past several years.  Jason explains how the work being done is more difficult for managers to accurately track.  Members of his team may decide to work more at night or to take longer lunch breaks.  While it may be okay for some organizations, it may present more of a challenge for others.  For instance, because the employees don't have that face-to-face interaction, there may be less of a social bonding taking place.  His company uses a practice during weekly meetings to enable each team member to talk about personal bests they accomplished, in additional to their work-related accomplishments.  This is an actual agenda item for their meetings. Molley suggests there should be a hybrid approach to having employees re-enter the office.  Maybe this is a 3-2 arrangement or some other workable combination.  Jamie explains a concept referred to as the "Trust Triangle."  It's made up of 3 attributes:  being authentic, being empathetic and having rigorous logic.  When combined, an organization can use it to build trust.  This can be helpful as companies begin to require employees to return to the office.  The trust triangle can be a guiding principle in helping organizations to successfully navigate this change. Jason points out that some companies, including his, hired remotely.  This may present a significant barrier to requiring everyone to return to a central office.  Prediction:  Jamie predicts that hybrid work arrangements will be the solutions.  Organizations will need to balance flexibility with customer needs.  Molley sees a significant push in 2025 to have employees return to the office on a more regular basis.  She sees the hybrid becoming the solution for 2026 and beyond, in an effort to keep top talent.  Jason agrees with both, but adds that it's going to be more based on the industry or roles involved. AI and Automation Will Grow in Significance Jamie discusses how she's begun using Smartsheet.  It creates charts, graphs and summaries from Excel spreadsheets (take that you pivot table aficionados).  She also uses AI to draft policies, based on previous policies she may have written.  It's an expedited path, verses always starting from scratch.  Recently, she used AI to help outline a process map for organization design.  Again, it's a way to get started more quickly. Molley uses ChatGPT to rewrite a document she's already drafted.  She like how it can make a draft much more understandable.  On a different level, she sees how AI will have a dramatic effect on recruiting.  While it may not fully replace the human, it will augment the process and reduce the time required to perform certain tasks from talent attraction to assimilation. Jamie notes that if you decide to use AI in recruiting, you will still be responsible for your screening.  It cannot have an unintended or disparate impact.  You need to be careful here.  A recent case made it to the Supreme Court.  Jason comments that there are a number of sensitive topics and asks he doesn't see being transitioned to AI. He sees the value in having it write a first draft for an important press release.  Spell checking is another AI-delegated task.  He points out that the liability will require the final version to remain in human hands.  In the marketing and advertising space, Jason uses various AI tools.  For instance, one assists with A/B testing suggestions.  AI can easily create additional versions of an add, enabling them to test which would be the best option.  It's definitely a time-saving tool.  Rather than replacing the human touch, it makes his team more efficient.  They can spend more time on the main creative, rather than on the various iterations.  Jamie enjoyed an AI tool on the recruiting-side.  It reviewed and evaluated job descriptions to determine if they leaned feminine or masculine.  Certain words or phrasing might attract a certain gender to a specific opportunity.  Jason points out that the AI was created by humans and the algorithms often pull from certain sources.  Both of these factors could introduce a degree of bias.  Molley also use AI to help the job description to target specific types of applicants.  For instance, an industrial construction job description needs to be different from one for a residential contractor.  The two industries use different words.  Understanding this will help recruiting software to forward specific opportunities to the proper target candidate pool.  This maximizes the impact of the market funds allocated to recruitment activities. The group discusses the need to review how AI enhanced the copy or draft.  You'll still want to verify that it fully understood the task it was given and that it executed properly.  This is extremely important from a compliance perspective.  Prediction:  Jamie predict that the use of AI and automation will continue to grow, but we'll need to be careful with the inputs and spend time evaluating the outputs.  This may lead to the development of new skills.  Molley feels AI and automation will require us to discuss the future of careers.  The cross-functionality we have will play a part, but the role requirements are definitely going to need to adapt.  Jason notes that it won't be about replacing roles, but rather a question of which responsibilities can be enhance using AI and automation.  He also encourages leaders to explore the capabilities of these AI tools.  Molley suggests there may be ways for organizations to reallocate funds to ensure employees receive a financial benefit, based on the savings that might be related to a position eliminated through AI.d  It's interesting to think about where AI and automation will take us in the next 10 years. Be sure to join us for Part 2 of the discussion! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

File 19:  In today's file, the entire team is back in the studio.  They welcome Wendy Hall to discuss showing you the money.  She is an Employee Benefits Advisor for USI Insurance Services.  The group discusses the impact of taking an innovative approach to employee benefit programs.  There are ways to do this in a very, cost-effective manner. Meet Wendy Hall Wendy has spent many years in focusing in the areas of employee benefits and HR.  Her passion is helping employers create a motivated and engaged workforce through effective benefits plan, without breaking the bank.  The relative cost of benefits has a significant impact on the financials of most companies.  Wendy's objective is to help employers control those costs while getting employees excited about the available benefit options. Transparency Leads to Value with Benefits Molley is a strong proponent of ensuring the total benefits package is delineated in an offer letter.  Ideally, that second page should go into great detail to help the prospective employee to easily see beyond the base pay.  Many employers miss out on the opportunity to showcase the value of the entire package.  It may be a lost opportunity to differentiate the offer from others that may be in consideration.  This tactic can also be applied to an annual review. Wendy notes this is a common topic executives want her perspectives on during an engagement.  The arrive frustrated because employees or prospective employees are pursuing other options because they don't fully recognize the value added by the benefits program and/or package.  She points out that it may be a case of the employer failing to effectively communicate the value of the various elements being offered. On the other side of the coin, many employers overlook the possibility of asking what their workforces would like to see as part of their benefits.  Wendy points out that we have 5 different generations in the workforce, so a one-size-fits-all approach to benefits will typically fail.  Employees have different needs and wants, depending upon the stage of life they are in.  Jamie recalls her first job.  She read through the benefits, but didn't understand the difference between co-insurance and co-pay.  She didn't understand how to make the optimal 401(k) selections.  To make matters worse, the company didn't provide resources to help her think through these important options. How Are Companies Beginning to Educate Their Employees about Benefits? Wendy begins with insurance, because it's typically a large, specific line item on the financials.  However, open enrollment really happens once a year.  So, how can companies use the remaining 11 months of the year to educate their respective workforces?  One option is to begin analyzing the gaps in care and/or education.  Are there trends and grouping in the types of questions employees are asking?  Those clusters can identify opportunities for focused education and communication. Proactive implementation of this education and communication may ensure the upcoming open enrollment period goes more smoothly.  It also empowers the employees to may better decisions about their individual benefits. How Often Should an Organization Audit Its Benefit Package? If your organization is run by a board, or is a government entity, regulations are probably already in place regarding the audit frequency.  For example, there may be a requirement that an RFP be issued every 3 years.  There's also a due diligence process. If your feedback loops are indicating certain elements aren't working well, it's a signal you should begin investigating alternative providers and options.  The size of your organization doesn't necessarily have an impact on the frequency.  In reality, it may be driven more by the available funding for the benefit programs.  Wendy comments the importance of considering the costs related to retention, turnover and recruitment, that bucket may provide additional fund that could be leveraged to improve the mix of benefit options being made available to your employees.  She notes benefits are definitely a differentiator related to those metrics. The Importance of Employee Surveys It's important to include sections related to benefit offerings in your employee surveys.  It affords the workforce a chance to provide input and share perspectives about what they find valuable and what they don't.  That process can foster a sense of ownership.  The positive effect is multiplied when they see the organization implementing changes, based on that feedback. How Transparent Should Management Be Regarding the Available Benefits? Wendy views transparency as "your best friend."  It's a competitive marketplace and employees often have options.  The grass may seem greener elsewhere, if the organization is not promoting the condition of the grass on its side of the fence.  Take the time to conduct in-depth benefit reviews to education and help employees to optimize their selection/use of the available benefits.  Wendy has evidence to show that even a poor benefits plan, when properly communicated, can be viewed as a strong plan by the employees.  At the same time, a great program that's not properly communicated won't perform as well. Jamie recommends sharing benchmark information.  Sharing information can help to build trust throughout the organization.  Wendy notes that from an internal perspective, employers should also benchmark their plans to proactively identify deficiencies, as well as advantages, when compared to their respective industry sectors and geographic regions.  This data should be available from your benefits broker.  Jason points out that companies can allocate specific time for companywide presentations, including company financials.  This is an opportunity to highlight the various elements of the benefit program and to be candid about certain cost constraints.  Is There a Difference to Pre-Employment vs. Active Employment Benefit Needs? Wendy approaches this question by sharing how the traditional benefits program is being forced to evolve.  Employees are looking for more of a cafeteria-style program.  She connects that trend to back to the multi-generational nature of the workforce.  Options are important. Lifestyle Savings Accounts (LSAs) are increasingly popular.  Employers set aside specific funds that can the employee can be applied to certain services.  Life coaching, pet insurance, funeral expenses, home office furniture, gym memberships are innovative benefit options.  The success of these types of options relies on effective communication about the available services and how they can help. Wendy notes there are vendors who can assist in putting these options together, similar to HSA or FHA programs.  Remember, the LSA would utilize post-tax dollars, as opposed to pre-tax dollars.  Another advantage is LSAs give the employees a sense of control or ownership in their benefits.  Financial education services are popular options for employees.  Financial stress is a productivity sink for many employees.  They spend time at work trying to deal with personal, financial issues.  The stress can be a major distraction leading to health issues.  Providing a financial counseling or service option can be a valuable benefit. Available Resources for Companies that Don't Have Benefit Teams Wendy explains small employers have a variety of options to address this challenge.  Most brokers have groups dedicated to supporting smaller organizations.  The needs are often different, so providing experienced resources can help to guide those clients through these challenges.  Consider reaching out to community resources, such as Chamber programs.  Many chambers have access to group plans enabling smaller organizations to leverage their membership plans.  Benefit services and analysis should be available, assuming you're working with the right team. Molley emphasizes the importance of engaging your broker to help manage the offerings, rather than trying to do it independently.  A program with a good mix of options is a workforce retention tool.  Healthcare Benefits are Complicated Wendy shares that even after 30 years in the industry, when she receives an EOB, it's still stressful.  Now, imagine how an employ probably feels when they receive one.  How confusing can the information be for them?  This is another area in which education is important.  Knowing whom you should contact with questions is important.  Is it your carrier or your broker?  You need to be able to reach out for assistance.  Remember there are many vendors available to assist with the education, benefit selection tools, enrollment, and census reviews to guide you.  All of this can help the employer to select the best possible plans for their organizations.  It's much better than the alternative of throwing a dart at the wall, during open enrollment.  Having an advisor to guide you through the options and tools is a vital resource.  Organizations need to understand the true costs, the value and determine if those plans align with the organizational culture.  Communicating the Value of the Benefits Jamie adds that even if you've but together a strong benefits program, you still need to communicate the value of what it provides.  Internal marketing is a component of a successful program.  She recommends utilizing the total rewards statements as an effective tool for accomplishing this objective. These statements are an example of showing the employee the cost of what the organization is providing in terms of benefits.  It can help the employee better understand the broader, compensation picture, beyond simply their wages or salary. Many HR systems provide this capability already. Molley explained how Wendy mentioned, in preparing for this discussion, that there's a $500 billion loss incurred due to absenteeism, turnover, lost productivity, vacancies, etc.  Employers and employees need a way of better understanding the shared impact of these issues. Should You be Apprehensive about Including Benefits Information in Marketing Materials? Jason asks Wendy what she would recommend companies do in there outreach efforts.  The answer is simple.  Why should an organization be hesitant about communicating with their employees?  Employees leave for a variety of reasons.  They have options.  The cost of employee turnover is real and quantifiable.  Wendy goes on to explain that every story about your company is going to be told.  The question is whether the leadership, including HR and Marketing, will contribute to what's being told.  This comes back to an organization's efforts related to establishing and maintaining that triangle of trust discussed during her 2024 KY SHRM interview. If your company is apprehensive, are the benefits worth bragging about, in the first place?  If not, there's work to be done.  You can begin this by going back to the benchmarking discussed earlier. Ultimately, if there's no enough funding to increase the benefit packages, consider other ways to accomplish the goal.  Jaime suggests reviewing how the time off of work policy could become more flexible.  Is there an opportunity to market (internally and externally) the work environment and culture of your organization?  Wendy suggests there are strategic ways to increase the perceived value.  For instance, many banks would enjoy the opportunity to educate your employees on various financial topics.  This might provide the bank with an opportunity to gain new clients, as a result.  This could be an extremely low-cost, high-impact benefit option. Developing programs related to preventative care is a way to add value, while possibly avoiding more substantial costs, should a disease be detected much later in its progression.  Many employees may not have a primary care physician, so are their providers in your area who would be willing to work with your organization.  Again, this can be a win-win situation.  Wendy notes that 80% of our healthcare spend is related to care based on lifestyle decisions.  Many of these decisions result in chronic, medical conditions.  Some of which, may have been reduced with better preventative care.  It begins with education.  Preventative care education can be a low-cost addition to your benefits program. To Contact Wendy Hall: Website:          https://www.USI.com Email:              [email protected] Phone:             (502) 777-0833   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you. Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!    

File 18:  In today's file, Molley and Jamie address the topic that is extremely relevant, now that the presidential inauguration has taken place and the new administration begins implementing its policies.  It's a good time to discuss how organizations navigate uncertainty.  Whenever there's a transition in the White House, how work works, changes.  Let's look at some helpful tips to help you lead your organization through this period of change.  We've Been Here Before Jamie and Molley note that over their careers in HR, the fact of the matter is that we've all been here before.  Every 4-8 years, there's a new administration.  There are themes and new policies they want to implement.    Jamie's 2nd favorite podcast is Fixable.  The hosts look at business challenges and then provide a formula for solving one or more of those challenges.  One of the tools they stress can be paraphrased as follows.  Whenever trust is desired, you should look for 3 things:  1.     Are you being authentic? 2.     Are you being empathetic? 3.     Are you basing your decisions on rigorous logic?  Even if you and the other person(s) disagree, at least you have a foundation for a healthy conversation, based on facts rather than opinions.  Applying this Concept in Times of Uncertainty Jamie uses these 3 questions in urging her team to look at their communications and their plans to confirm whether all 3 of the above questions have been positively answered.  It's way to check yourself.  Molley comments that when a significant transition occurs, such as a company has been acquired, this will definitely involve navigating through uncertainty.  Turning toward 2025, we are dealing with a transition, it's just seemly bigger. By asking the 3 questions, above, you may be able to ask yourself which one you're not feeling as comfortable with, internally.    Molley reminds us that we have to be strong enough to remove self, to allow for a diversity of thinking.  We need to be able to consider other points of view, with facts, to arrive at the right plan for all involved.    What Will 2025 Bring? One of the top factors in the uncertainty is the issue what will be the impact of the uncertainty on the workforce?  Driving change in a workforce made up of now 6 generations in the workplace is becoming a reality.  Leaders are going to have to be proactive in their strategies, their communications and their interactions because of the uncertainty.  They are going to have to prepare to manage the ripple effect.  The importance of strategic planning is heightened especially in periods of uncertainty.  You must maintain a laser-focus on what's important.  Events are going to try to distract us from our goals, personally and organizationally, as the environment shifts.    Translating Strategic Planning Goals Having goals is only the beginning.  Assigning responsibility to an individual, team or department is vital.  Molley asks how many of us listed "Pandemic" in our SWOT analysis prior to the past few years?    Molley explains how each goal represents a different success story for her company's strategic plan, depending upon where you are in the organization.  It's important that everyone have at least a small piece of responsibility or owner ship in those overall goals, to be successful as a company.  Moving beyond the political, when it comes to our communities in general, the lack of commitment needs to be brought into the light.  Society tends to believe it's okay to flip-flop multiple times.  Does this current zeitgeist work against the 3 questions listed above?  In many ways, it certainly does.  So, how can we do better in 2025? Uncertainty and Change Has an Impact Mental health is a key area that can be negatively impacted during times of uncertainty and change.  It's going to be a challenge finding that sense of balance in the upcoming months.  Molley recommends finding a way to unplug.  Unfortunately, there's often an accompanying sense of guilt leading up to those few days off.  She comments how it's so critically important to "disconnect, so we can reconnect."  This is similar to one of the topics from the previous file, slowing down to speed up.  We need to find a way to quit being reactive.  Because we don't know what's coming, we constantly live in a period of uncertainty.  How one approaches this fact will have an impact on how businesses lead their respective workforces.    Immigration is one of the drivers of uncertainty, across the country.  There will be discussions about how to properly classify workers.  What will be the Department of Labor's view of how contractors and other workers are classified?  Given the labor shortage, some states are considering a reevaluation of the child labor requirements.  Jamie recommends tasking someone in the organization with the responsibility of monitoring the various government websites.  There are many opinions, but TikTok isn't the most reliable source of information.  The Department of Labor website is where you'll find many of the updates.  Your State Department of Labor website is another (here's Kentucky's).  If you have questions, you may have access to an employment attorney, or you could contact Parcel, for to speak with an HR professional.  The Department of Labor also posts important labor statistics, which was discussed in File 6, last year.  The WTF team provided useful tips about how to read and understand some of those statistics.  Molley brings up the concept that we also need to consider the ways people are going to come to us.  Some employees may need the option of a work from home arrangement, for at least part of the week, to address family issues.  How can a workable solution be crafted? Jamie suggests the value of staying educated using resources, such as the CDC's website.  You may have different rules in different state's that require a constant monitoring for compliance.  Be sure to check-in with your local teams to make sure the plans that have been implemented are actually working at those locations.  Are they properly executed?  Are they adequately supported?  Discipline yourself to return to those initial 3 questions to make sure you're showing up from a position of trust. You can navigate uncertainty, with certainty, is by ensuring we are listening.  Is it working?  Accept that you can't possibly know everything.  A key lesson from the pandemic is that we had to learn to be adaptable.  Everything kept changing.  Stay flexible. Communication Is the Key By keeping open the lines of communication, and realizing it's okay to say, "I don't know," we'll be able to forge trust in uncertain times.  Confront the issues head-on, be candid and resist the temptation to close off the world by staying in your office.  Consider asking how the other person might suggest we approach the problem at hand.  Foster good communication.  It also leads to buy-in of the solution.  Keep the dialog and the information flow going. To Summarize: ·      - Utilize the 3-Question Tool (authenticity, empathy, and rigorous logic) ·      - Are You Doing Strategic Planning? ·     -  Balance Employee Needs and Business Needs ·      - Use Trusted Resources (e.g. Government Websites) to Anticipate Upcoming Challenges ·      - Maintain Healthy Communication Patters, Even When You Don't Have the Answers   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you. Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

File 17:  In today's file, we begin Season 2 of the podcast.  Today, the team welcomes Tiffany Nugent, an HR practitioner for over 20 years.  The discussion is going to focus on leadership and wellness.  They'll explore the challenge of creating a wellness-focused organization. Meet Tiffany Nugent Tiffany has experience in a broad range of industry sectors, including retail, manufacturing, fulfillment, healthcare and healthcare technology.  She led a healthcare organization through a rapid-growth phase, then through the COVID pandemic.  Afterwards, she transitioned into healthcare technology.  That organization was experiencing double-digit growth before closing down.  Currently, Tiffany is working in the virtual, mental health space. Interestingly, Tiffany is also the owner of the Louisville Salt Cave and Salt Wellness.  They partner with organizations interested in bringing wellness into the workplace. Molley comments on how so many leaders neglect wellness within their respective organizations.  She blames this on the previous 4-years, post pandemic, and that we haven't shifted back.  Jamie notes that often leadership underestimates their impact on the wellness of others.  It's not simply something quick, such as direct feedback.  It may take someone time to digest the feedback before deciding to act.  It could take years.  She advises leaders to be mindful of creating a spark that could eventually grow into forest fire. Being Intentional about Organizational Wellness Jamie remarks on Tiffany's focus on how organizations support wellness, especially when resilience, adaptability and culture belong at the forefront. Tiffany describes a scenario from the pandemic.  It heightened her awareness of how an organization has a responsibility to support its leaders, so they in turn can support their employees.  HR is typically under-resourced because it's not viewed as revenue-producing.  Alternatively, leadership expects HR to lead culture and wellness.  In response, Tiffany views the opportunity exists for HR to equip leadership with tools to lead wellness and to create a healthy workforce.  The HR staff and C-suite can't be everywhere, so by equipping other leaders in the organization, the feedback, needs and recommendations can be more quickly communicated.  They are the frontline. During the pandemic, Tiffany was approached by many leaders asking for direction and/or advice in dealing with the situations such as the death of family members.  Her primary response, was to approach the situation as a human, first.  There are many things that need to get done, but we're dealing with real people experiencing real situations that could impact their ability to remain focused and engaged. Providing psychological safety in the workplace, providing space and understanding all mesh to help employees realize the company cares about them.  This is how the organization ultimately benefits. Tiffany explains that sometimes, feedback isn't necessarily required in the moment.  It may be time to pause and to consider what's going on in the person's life.  Could external issues be impacting how that employee is showing up?  If you can meet them where they are and think through it, the opportunity for feedback will present itself.  At the same time, that feedback might not take years to resonate within that individual (or ignite that forest fire Jamie mentioned). What Does Wellness Really Mean? Molly comments that leaders need to be told what "wellness" means.  It's not about the cafeteria, the gym or the air hockey table.  The key for leaders is to take the whole person into consideration. Mid-level managers and down are need you to be mindful of leading your people.  It's typically a mix of ages, generational experience and demographics.  Molley points out that the wellbeing of the human in these group is "all of their environment."  It's requires a holistic view. Jamie adds that there are small nuggets to consider relative to wellness in the workplace.  She recommends assuming the individual wanted a situation to work out well.  It's easier to have a dialog from this starting point, rather than just hammering them. Good Feedback Loops Create Healthy Environments Tiffany points out that people need to feel a sense of psychological safety in order to want to speak up.  If that's absent, it's a marker of an unhealthy work environment.  That trend toward superficial wellness (i.e. the air hockey table in the breakroom) only served to mask existing problems.  When people feel comfortable enough to raise their hands and voice issues that are problematic, there's a good sign you have a healthy workplace.  Especially if surveys indicate people plan on remaining with the company, but they want to make it even better. A manager who feels the need to give feedback regardless of the size of the issue, is just feedback for the sake of feedback.  Consider how your immediate, albeit well-intentioned, desire to provide feedback may lack an assumption of positive intent.  You need to slow down and consider the impact of your feedback, overall.  Molley explains how Incipio favors employee surveys.  Helping leaders to understand and analyze the results of the feedback is critical.  The pure fact that only a small percentage of the surveys were completed and returned is not a good sign, regardless of what the answers are.  It may be a case of the non-respondents assuming their feedback won't make a difference anyway.  Worse yet, maybe they simply don't care because they've disengaged with the mottos posted on the walls of the office or plant.  This place is only a stepping stone in their future careers. So NOW You Want My Opinion? Why to employers usually only focus on feedback during the annual survey and the exit interview?  If you're waiting until the exit interview, it's already too late. Leaders should generally have to care about the survey results.  Jamie advises that if you're not going to do something based on feedback to a particular question, don't ask it.  Tiffany points out that that non-action degrades the trust in the organization.  Consistency and Cadence Tiffany recommends maintaining a consistency of the questions along with the frequency of the employee feedback surveys.  If the questions keep changing, there's no way to measure the trend or progress toward a better solution set. Once you've defined a way to address specific issues, it's important to communicate the changes the company is implementing to address the issues.  At the same time, be transparent about what you are unable to address in the short-term and why. This also shows up in benefit surveys.  Even after the feedback was provided, there's a good chance the benefits won't change or may even get worse.  One approach Tiffany uses is to assemble the benefit survey results and determine which benefits add the least value.  Get rid of it and redirect the expenditure toward benefits people actually want.  Is there an opportunity to implement a type of total rewards package that would be more beneficial to a generationally-diverse workforce? Initiatives are Good, Right? Jamie comments that companies often hear about ideas that are implemented as initiatives.  The unfortunate part is they forget the "…so that…" aspect when justifying the initiative.  Focusing on Wellbeing without Sacrificing Productivity Tiffany has a worked the past couple of years in a remote workforce environment.  This topic is particularly important to remote-first or hybrid workforce organizations.  Fundamentally, without a focus on wellbeing, you won't get the productivity you're expecting.  You'll experience high absentee rates and higher rates of leaves of absence.  It's often a reflection of the employees' mental wellbeing.  Leaders should look at their workforce as human beings first.  Assume positive intent and ask how the company could better support and help.  Tiffany recounts an engagement in which the executive team did a listening tour to try to figure out why the leaders were becoming less cohesive as group.  They were all feeling over-stretched and it was beginning to show in the way in which they interacted.  Once the feedback was assembled, Tiffany noted that the feedback focused on symptoms.  She challenged the executive team to consider the demands being placed on the other leaders.  Did they have the right tools to handle the responsibilities?  She encouraged the team to dig deeper to uncover the root causes, not just the symptoms.  Sprints involving extra effort hours or higher-levels of stress may be possible, but extending that expectation over the long-term leads to burnout and worse.  Jamie comments, "You can't pour from an empty cup." Leaders should take time to understand the weight of the words they carry and the shadow they cast on the organization.  Even though they may be well-intentioned and want to help, sometimes simply being there is scary or otherwise disruptive.  Be self-aware and remember we're all humans trying to work together. How Do We Strike that Balance? Molley asks about practical ways to accomplish wellness goals for the organization and organizational performance.  The topic of the 9-box tool surfaces.  Tiffany often works with start-ups and rapid-growth organizations.  The typical 9-box approach doesn't really work for these types of organizations, in her opinion.  The place to begin is with training your leaders on how to be good people-leaders.  It's not uncommon for high-performers to get thrown into leadership roles without the proper tools and training for that role. The better approach is to consider how the organization sets its leaders up for success.  Are there minimum expectations for being a good leader?  Do we communicate what we see as their competencies?  Unfortunately, the answer is often no.  However, by taking this alternative approach we are prioritizing wellness in the workplace. In a recent executive leadership engagement, Tiffany held an impactful exercise.   They reflected on what they've done, what could be learned from it, what should be continued, what should they stop doing, and ultimately take those lessons into planning for the next year or quarter.  This should be done on a consistent frequency.  It's about investing in yourselves, regardless of how busy it may be. At Salt Wellness, Tiffany provides a space for people to get away from the chaos of work and find a place to connect with each other.  They do corporate events and leadership training there.  It's a place for organizations to do teambuilding exercises and related programs.  For more information: Website:  www.SaltWellnessKY.com In closing, Molley comments that 2025 is the year people need to make the change.  It's time to focus on slowing down to speed up.  It's time to move beyond the Band-Aids.  It's time to pay more attention to the wellbeing of the organization and its workforce.  Tiffany observes that we're already experiencing high turnover rates.  People are simply burned-out.  Organizations must intentionally slow down, identify the root causes and fundamentally fix the foundation that's negatively impacting our workforce.  Unless we do, we're going to continue to see organizations limit their potential, experience decline and some ultimately won't make it.    We'd like to thank Tiffany Nugent for joining us on the Workforce Therapy Files podcast.  That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you. We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!   Did You Enjoy Today's Conversation? Visit www.WorkforceTherapyFiles.com to listen to additional WTF files or to let us know you'd like to be a guest on an upcoming file. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com    

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2024 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   In this segment, we interview Daro Mott, a Multisector Leader with a wide-ranging background in process improvement and strategic consulting.  He currently serves as the Head of Strategic Projects and Process Improvement for Farm Credit Mid-America.  He co-presented, at the 2024 KY SHRM, on the topic of Demystifying Project Management for the HR Professional.  To learn more, visit: LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/daro-mott-pmp-958a9a4 Daro, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!  

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2024 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   In this segment, we interview Natalie Middaugh, President and CEO of Kentuckiana Health Collaborative. They area a non-profit coalition of employers and other healthcare stakeholders.  The organization has been around for 24 years.  They focus on improving communities through high-quality, affordable and equitable healthcare.  They assist employers to design healthcare benefit programs by collaborating with providers, plans and government programs.   To learn more, visit: Website: https://khcollaborative.org/ Phone:  (502) 238-3603 Natalie, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.          Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2024 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   In this segment, we interview Ben Vallat, investor and CEO of GoJob.  They provide end-to-end solutions leveraging AI to source, match and screen job candidates for companies.  Their ideal client is a large warehouse facility or factory requiring hundreds or thousands of workers.  The GoJob platform automates many of the low-value tasks HR staff and recruiters have to handle, enabling them to spend more time interviewing and interacting with candidates. To learn more, visit: Website: https://gojob.com/media/gojob-us-opening-offices Ben, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2024 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   In this segment, we interview Angela McCorkle Buckler, People Person at Parcel, LLC.  Angela and Jamie presented at the conference on the topic of "Separating with Dignity."  They explained ways to terminate employees, but in a compassionate, thoughtful and mindful manor.    To learn more, visit: Website:  http://www.parcelknows.com/ Phone:  (502) 554-3071 Angie, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2024 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   In this segment, we interview David Irwin, President of gThankYou LLC. They produce and sell gift certificates employers can give to employees for a variety of reasons, including holiday celebrations. The gift card works like a coupon for items such as a turkey, ham, full bag of groceries, etc.  It's an innovative approach offering control and flexibility for employers who want to reward their employees.  Most importantly, it's a way to say "thank you" to your team.  To learn more, visit: Website:  https://www.gthankyou.com/ Phone:  888-484-1658 David, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2024 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   In this segment, we interview Wendy Hall, Employee Benefits Advisor for USI Insurance Services.  She helps mid-market organizations discover ways to contain costs and innovative ways to provide employee benefits.  We discuss how what employees want from employee benefits and how that's evolved over the years.  Wendy assists organizations to identify and offer the types of benefits that truly add value for the employee.  It's key component of employee recruitment and retention.  To learn more, visit: Website:  https://www.usi.com/ Email:  [email protected] Phone:  (502) 777-0833 Wendy, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!  

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2024 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   In this segment, we interview Trevor Collins, Account Executive for SHARE Mobility.  He explained how SHARE Mobility is solving transportation challenges by providing reliable, shuttle services for employees in Kentucky. To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  https://www.sharemobility.com/ Trevor, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2024 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   In this segment, we interview Catherine Lanier, Vice President of Human Resources for the Murray Bank in Calloway County.  As a local bank, they pride themselves in providing true customer service to the community.  They have 75 employees and 3 branches.  Catherine is also serving as the Four Rivers SHRM Chapter President. To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  https://www.themurraybank.com/ ·      Phone: (270) 753-5626 Catherine, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2024 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.   In this segment, we interview Tonia Dennison, Human Resources Manager for Stupp Bridge Company in Bowling Green.  She explained how Stupp Bridge is experiencing workforce success by engaging with immigrant communities.  To learn more, visit: ·      Website:  https://www.stuppbridge.com/ ·      Phone:  (270) 393-5000   Tonia, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!