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Welcome to the bringing the 
human Back To Human Resources, 

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podcast, the podcast, all about 
the delicate balance between 

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people and business. 
And quite literally reconnecting

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that to my name is Tracy Ruben, 
and I spent nearly my entire 

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professional career in HR or 
stories, opinions and words of 

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advice with you each week. 
Hey, everyone. 

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Like I said, my name is Tracy 
Ruben. 

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I am currently a director of HR 
to global fashion company to 

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give you a little bit of 
background on myself. 

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I have always worked in retail 
my entire life. 

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Just when you think you're going
to get out of it it sucks. 

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You back in an honestly I can't 
complain. 

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I have been an HR since I 
started my professional career. 

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For the most part I had about 
six to eight months of a 

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different field. 
It was really like a customer 

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service role and I quickly found
that HR was a very serious 

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passion of mine. 
Among many other passions in as 

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you get to know me, I think 
you'll learn that there are so 

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many things that I like they're 
also so many things that I don't

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like, we'll get into it. 
HR has taken me for a whirlwind 

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of a ride. 
I started out my career really 

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as an HR Manager in a big box 
company, which we can talk about

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later on and I continued my 
Journey, 3 years, 4 years later 

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where I now am with a global 
fashion company. 

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And I started as an HR business 
partner who is overseeing US and

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Canada field operations. 
So for those of you who have no 

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idea what I'm talkin about field
operations, in a retail company 

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is really referring to all of 
the stores and all of the people

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that make the stores happen. 
I then was promoted to HR 

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manager, overseeing a region. 
And now I'm the director of HR. 

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I am so thrilled to be starting 
my own podcast. 

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It's something that I have 
dreamed about and procrastinated

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about at the same time for 
years. 

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At this point, I have terrible 
imposter syndrome and finally 

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covid happened. 
And I was like, wow, I need to 

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start living out my dreams and 
not worrying. 

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So much about everyone else's, 
opinions and sharing all of the 

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opinions that I have this. 
It's me to my next point, which 

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is really just a disclaimer that
all of the views opinions and 

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thoughts that I share on this 
episode. 

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And future episodes are truly a 
reflection of my own opinions 

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views and thoughts and not that 
of my employers. 

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So let's jump right into it this
week. 

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I want to talk about D 
stigmatizing, hrhr gets a bad 

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rap people in HR departments, 
everything about HR is 

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stigmatized and I am on a 
mission to destigmatize it, 

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whether it's this year last 
year, for the rest of my career.

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This is my mission in life to 
destigmatize HR. 

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Mostly before the podcast. 
I thought I would be doing that 

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through my own career and 
establishing really wonderful 

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relationships and having an 
impact on my employees. 

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And my peers are my partners 
that now that I have a podcast, 

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I hope that I can A few more 
people. 

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I want to share a story. 
It really comes from my 

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scrolling endlessly on social 
media platforms, and yes, I saw 

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the social dilemma. 
And yes, it was very compelling 

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and yes, I still have social 
media. 

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Nevertheless, I went to LinkedIn
to scroll as I always do and 

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react to some employees posts. 
Were very fortunate to have very

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participatory employees on the 
LinkedIn sphere. 

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And as I was scrolling, I saw a 
post from someone that I went to

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high school with pencil 
Rodriguez. 

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This is a shout out to you. 
You gave me my first ever 

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content for this podcast and I 
am truly indebted to you Hansel.

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And I went to high school 
together, he graduated with my 

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younger sister and he is the 
principal at core communities 

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and he posted just last week. 
If I've learned anything in the 

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last 12 months, it's that the 
work of Human Resources is 

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easily the most overlooked 
aspect of any business. 

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And, oh my gosh, I was like, 
this is exactly true. 

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And I also knew what I was going
to see in the comments section 

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actually went to the comments 
section to look for people 

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riding stigmatized comments, 
polarizing comments about HR, 

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and this is exactly what I 
thought I saw comments. 

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Like, never really looked at HR 
like that. 

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Meaning I didn't think HR could 
actually be an overlooked part 

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of the business, which is really
the foundation of what I'm 

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looking to do with this podcast.
I also saw comments like That's 

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because a lot of HR managers 
don't add value and if I 

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actually responded and if I ever
do respond, I might just link 

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this podcast because I hope that
people who share that same 

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opinion, which I know there are 
so many. 

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Actually take the time to 
realize how invaluable HR is to 

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a business. 
So, Hansel. 

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Thank you. 
I couldn't agree. 

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More HR is overlooked. 
That HR is stigmatized, which is

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why I want to destigmatize it. 
So. 

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Where does the stigma come from?
I don't know. 

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I think that businesses for so 
long have focused on the bottom 

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line and focus on how they get 
people to try the bottom line 

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that people like myself. 
And my supervisor, and my peers 

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who really seek to provide 
valuable resources and support 

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are seen as inauthentic. 
And actually I've never worked 

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with more authentic people in my
life and I hope that I can have 

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some of my peers are more on 
this podcast so we can talk 

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about some of the things that we
even encounter in our own 

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careers. 
Ultimately, what we think of HR,

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there's a clear function to 
human resources and a business. 

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And it's not just about making 
sure people are paid, making 

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sure benefits eligible employees
are benefits eligible. 

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There's so much more to it and I
started my career as an HR 

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Manager. 
But really what? 

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I ended up realizing was my 
deepest passion was being a 

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business partner and in business
Partnerships everything rides on

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your relationship. 
So, when we think of distinct 

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matizant, HR, I think of it, as 
how many people how many 

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professionals weather is retail 
or another industry. 

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Can I connect with so that I can
destigmatize what it means to 

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have an HR business, partner, HR
Director, HR Manager for an HR 

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generalist, really? 
Anyone at any level, the role 

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that HR partner is to do exactly
that partner with a business or 

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an organization. 
And so many businesses just like

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Hansel said, Overlook Human 
Resources as a function, there 

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are a couple reasons for this. 
It's not quantitatively measured

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or not. 
Everything is measurable from a 

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return on investment 
perspective, which are sometimes

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costs more money for a business 
and actually the measurables or 

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the deliverables are a little 
bit harder to quantify. 

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Everything a lot of what we do 
is qualitative and for a 

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business, most businesses. 
I realized I'm generalizing 

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here, most businesses look at 
what is X going to do for why, 

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how is this going to benefit me?
As a business owner as a CEO as 

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a CFO and sometimes HR doesn't 
fit into that classification in 

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recent years in most of my 
career experience, I actually 

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have seen HR be a celebrated 
part and function of a business 

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and that is truly why I think 
I've developed such a passion 

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for it but going back to the 
original Point. 

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HR doesn't have those 
measurables that. 

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Tell someone let's invest HR is 
kind of like an investment That 

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You Don't See for 25 years. 
So you think of your Ross or 

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your 401k Don't worry, I'm not 
going to pull too much Finance 

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on you. 
That is an investment. 

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That sure you can see grow and 
might go down when the stock 

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market changes. 
There's a lot of fluctuation, 

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but in the long run you've 
invested and your interest can 

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build on itself 7% each year and
that's kind of how I see the HR 

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function, my guess is that HR is
a bit more than a 7% investment.

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Maybe one day, we'll quantify 
what the exact investment is 

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nevertheless. 
That's one reason why I think HR

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gets overlooked. 
Another reason is that we are 

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considered the fun police and 
might I say, I have a problem 

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with this because I am not the 
fun police. 

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I am the fun and I also 
recognize that I am not 

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representative of the whole 
entire HR Community. 

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But I will say that. 
I think this is exactly the 

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stigma people say oh, oh, oh, HR
sent an email HR called is 

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coming to the store or the 
business, the office, whatever, 

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the hospital, whatever industry 
that it's HR. 

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I don't ever want to hear 
someone say oshri. 

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Want people to say HR is coming.
What can they help me with? 

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And how can I take advantage of 
this time with someone who is 

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here to support me and support 
my business or my team? 

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And I just need to burst my own 
bubble here because I have to do

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it all the time. 
Otherwise, I will constantly 

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live in a sunshine, optimistic 
positive place where nothing can

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go wrong. 
So, to burst my own bubble, I 

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have to remind myself that 
actually there are so many parts

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of the business that aren't so 
pretty result in the Ohr phrase 

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and that's okay. 
Ultimately, I think the bottom 

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line 4D stigmatizing HR is 
creating the balance between the

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positive side of HR as a 
partnership in functionality of 

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business. 
And also recognizing that HR is 

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a serious Network of people and 
it serves a serious role for a 

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business. 
I recognize that people from 

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every industry. 
Hopefully, we'll listen to this 

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podcast. 
And some might say, well, this 

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isn't really applicable to me 
because HR is one person running

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an entire department. 
We Outsource payroll and 

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benefits. 
We have a consultant managing 

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employee relations issues, and 
this person just oversees those 

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functions and that's totally 
fine. 

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What it takes to. 
Destigmatize HR doesn't come 

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from the HR person. 
It does come from. 

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That person. 
As a consultant, for the person,

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overseeing the consultant, or 
the 30%, Human Resources team, 

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or the 5% Human Resources team 
in the entire business. 

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What I seen in my current 
employer and I just want to 

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celebrate this point. 
Human Resources, is seen as a 

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function of the business that 
drives the bottom line and 

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supports. 
The drivers of the bottom line 

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is I'm going to break that down.
When I say drives the bottom 

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line, our function inherently is
seen. 

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And I really believe this. 
Like I said, these are all my 

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own opinions. 
They don't represent my 

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employers. 
I really believe that my company

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values HR at the court, not just
because of the way, our business

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model works, but because our 
values are people Centric and so

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businesses have an opportunity 
there, what does people-centric 

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mean all the tech companies are 
using other people soundtrack? 

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We have meals and snacks in the 
breakroom like at all times. 

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And the kitchen cold people 
Centric is just another way of 

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saying we care about you and HR 
is fundamentally underlining the

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Way, we operate our business. 
Secondly, what I truly believe. 

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My employer does well, is create
a conversation around how our 

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people and specifically I'm in 
retail. 

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So our field team, they generate
the money for our business. 

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They are the front lines of 
everything we do whether it's 

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before or after or during the 
day are the ones generating and 

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driving. 
And maintaining the bottom line 

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and HR is seen, as a, as a 
critical element in further 

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driving that not, every company 
values HR at the core like that,

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I will argue. 
And I invite you to argue this 

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point against or with me. 
That a company that puts HR and 

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people at the center of every 
single thing they do, doesn't 

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matter. 
The industry is going to be the 

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business that remains 
Progressive that keeps top 

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talent at the Forefront of their
operations and remains a 

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successful entity in the 
marketplace. 

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People run businesses, small 
businesses, large businesses 

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Fortune 500, like I mentioned at
the beginning of this episode 

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has started my career at a big 
box. 

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I worked at Target. 
I was Target, Tracy, I had to 

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Target Tracy Twitter. 
I was really active but I'm kind

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of getting embarrassed even just
talking about it but I told 

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myself as podcast was exactly 
what it's going to be and that's

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going to be honest and 
transparent and free of Judgment

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at least in my own mind. 
It's fine Target Tracy and even 

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at that level three hundred 
people in just one store. 

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People wear everything you going
to Target as a customer. 

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You walk through the aisles. 
You tell yourself, you're just 

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getting a pack of gum, you lie 
to yourself, you end up with 

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$150. 
How do you end up with $150 in 

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your car? 
You have potentially 300 

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employees working in the front 
of the scenes on the stage 

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helping you and behind the 
scenes. 

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And let me tell you, it takes a 
village, these stories I can 

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share at a later time. 
Target, did it perfectly 

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everything was team, everything 
was celebrated, all the good 

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stuff, celebrated rewarded, 
recognize, and everything had a 

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structure around people. 
And I don't think I realized 

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that until I left Target, 
because there was so much that I

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loved about it. 
That I borrowed and brought with

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me to my current company, which 
really focuses on doing the same

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thing and really being truly 
people-centric. 

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So, again, Target celebrated 
everything. 

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For example, there was a best 
team card. 

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So leaders on duty for the Pete,
the non-retail people leaders, 

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on duty are basically the 
managers Who Run The Show for 

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their shift and everyone 
including the HR. 

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People like me have LOD or 
leader on duty shifts and during

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the leader on duty shifts. 
Expected to write best team 

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cards and deliver them meeting 
like present them hand them to 

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the employee, recognizing them, 
for something, they did Target a

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Fortune 500 company found time 
in their business to make people

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matter. 
Every second at the time that I 

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was at Target, the stock price 
was around $66, a share. 

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I think I promise I'm not going 
to get too fancy, but I just 

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have to mention that there's a 
clear delineation between people

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and Prophets. 
Right now as of October 20th, 

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2020 the year that can't end 
soon enough. 

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Target stock is $164.87 a share.
I recognize that this could be 

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related to a number of things. 
But I left Target but see, it's 

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2020. 
So I left Target about three 

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years ago at all. 
I needed to do hair was thinking

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about the 10-year that I have a 
migraine, clearly that out. 

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Three years ago Target still 
always has been very stable. 

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Business model, very stable 
company. 

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It's always convinced people to 
go in for one thing and leave 

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with 20 but ultimately what I'm 
trying to get out here is that 

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targets business model is 100% 
focused on people. 

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Naysayers will say that Target 
is like any other company. 

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That's only focused on profit. 
Of course, that's how companies 

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stay alive and employ thousands 
of people a year but they 

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figured out that profit and 
people are connected. 

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And so ultimately, all of this 
is to say that my firm belief is

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that the more people Centric The
company, the better, the HR 

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function, the better the HR 
professionals, so clearly you 

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have to have the right people 
enroll to drive these profitable

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margins companies that put 
people first, get ahead first, 

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they end up on top and good for 
them because people are what 

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drive a business getting back to
the original point. 

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The mission that I'm going to 
have branded across my face. 

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D, stigmatizing HR if even just 
one person listen to this 

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podcast would be great but I was
really trying to say is if even 

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one person hopefully there will 
be many listening to this 

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podcast, goes back and takes 
away something around valuing. 

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HR value in a charm or looking 
at the business and prioritizing

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the people. 
Then I have taken one step 

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toward de-stigmatizing HR. 
So I encourage everyone, or if 

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00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:16,400
this is just my mom or my sister
listening, go back, share this 

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podcast and start a discussion. 
We had to talk about how we can 

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value people more, because if we
don't value HR, we might, as 

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00:19:26,100 --> 00:19:30,800
well say, we don't value the 
people that HR supports and 

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we're including all that. 
I'm a professional professional,

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but I'm still an employee. 
So if the functions that I bring

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to a company, don't benefit an 
employee gets what. 

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00:19:41,900 --> 00:19:44,600
They don't benefit me either. 
There is a clear symbiotic 

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00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:49,100
relationship to having strong HR
talent and driving a strong 

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00:19:49,100 --> 00:19:51,400
business. 
So I want to touch on another 

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00:19:51,400 --> 00:19:58,100
stigma that floats around HR And
this is really a credit to my 

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00:19:58,100 --> 00:20:04,600
grandmother and my fiance and to
everyone who doesn't totally 

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00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,100
understand what I do. 
Which I feel I can be a topic on

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00:20:08,100 --> 00:20:11,200
its own. 
I don't just fire people. 

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There's more to us than that. 
There's more to HR people than 

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00:20:15,700 --> 00:20:18,600
just firing and my grandma 
always says. 

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00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:21,700
So what are you doing? 
Is fire people and even though 

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00:20:21,700 --> 00:20:24,100
she doesn't sound like that and 
maybe one day we'll have her on 

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00:20:24,100 --> 00:20:25,700
because I think that could be 
really fun. 

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00:20:25,700 --> 00:20:32,000
She was an educator and she has 
a very specific depends on so 

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00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:33,500
many things kind of similar to 
me. 

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00:20:33,500 --> 00:20:36,900
She always says, what are you? 
Do you fire people. 

302
00:20:36,900 --> 00:20:43,800
And that is like, 1% of what an 
HR function actually overseas. 

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00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:47,300
And even though I'm not so great
at talking about what I do, 

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00:20:47,300 --> 00:20:49,800
because I get my fiance my 
grandma. 

305
00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:54,300
Even my parents asked me this 
all the time you spend your day 

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00:20:54,300 --> 00:20:58,000
on And I really try to come up 
with an answer and sometimes 

307
00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:00,200
they go back to my job 
description, I'm like, okay, 

308
00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:06,500
yeah I do all this is so much 
more than the firing Department.

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00:21:06,500 --> 00:21:09,700
We're not the fun police were 
not the firing Department. 

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00:21:09,700 --> 00:21:14,800
Certainly, there are parts of 
our roles in our jobs that 

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00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:19,800
require us to take some of the 
phone away or to terminate 

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people. 
We hope that those terminations 

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00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:28,700
are based on decisions that 
those individuals are making and

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00:21:28,700 --> 00:21:30,700
not based on company decisions. 
That's all. 

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00:21:30,700 --> 00:21:33,400
Even though there isn't usually 
a best-case scenario and 

316
00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:38,000
determination you hope that it's
a reflection of something that 

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00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:42,600
can be learned something that's 
consistently held to a certain 

318
00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:45,400
standard. 
That is a separate topic for 

319
00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:51,700
another time. 
But that is absolutely the third

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00:21:51,700 --> 00:21:56,700
and probably most significant 
underlying stigma at least from 

321
00:21:56,700 --> 00:22:02,400
the outside looking in employee.
Say that HR is coming because 

322
00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:05,200
they think someone is getting 
fired. 

323
00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:08,900
I have traveled to Canada to 
California to Florida. 

324
00:22:08,900 --> 00:22:13,900
I've been very lucky to work for
an employer that sees the value 

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00:22:13,900 --> 00:22:17,200
in HR, being present in the 
organization. 

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00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:20,400
And for me, specifically in the 
field again, non-retail people 

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00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:27,200
the field equals the money. 
Basically and when I when it, 

328
00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:30,200
when it's shared, then I am 
headed to one of these locations

329
00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:34,600
for anything other than like a 
planned training or conference. 

330
00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:39,900
For example, there's the 
question of Tracy's coming is 

331
00:22:39,900 --> 00:22:44,100
everything, okay? 
Even though I have wonderfully 

332
00:22:44,100 --> 00:22:48,000
established relationships with 
employees and partners in the 

333
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:51,200
field. 
But ultimately, I think this 

334
00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:55,400
comes from what my grandma asks.
What are you do you fire people?

335
00:22:56,800 --> 00:23:01,800
I'm glad that's not the only 
function of my job and I'm sure 

336
00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:05,400
we'll get to this on another 
episode but terminations are 

337
00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:11,900
exhausting. 
They are impactful and 

338
00:23:11,900 --> 00:23:14,900
ultimately like your ending 
songs employment, even if it's 

339
00:23:14,900 --> 00:23:16,900
because of something that was in
their control. 

340
00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:23,800
One should always consider the 
impact on the individual. 

341
00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,400
I have, to be honest, I was 
about to go on a tangent there. 

342
00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:30,900
I had to stop myself because I'm
going to save it for another 

343
00:23:30,900 --> 00:23:34,300
episode because I think it's 
clear that we can talk about 

344
00:23:34,300 --> 00:23:38,200
terminations forever but when I 
think about the impact on the 

345
00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:40,800
individuals that is ultimately 
what we're driving home in this 

346
00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:43,100
episode. 
And forever. 

347
00:23:44,100 --> 00:23:46,600
Bringing the human Back To Human
Resources. 

348
00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:51,000
Anything dealing with people 
should be celebrated, it should 

349
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:54,600
be revered. 
It should be prioritized. 

350
00:23:54,600 --> 00:24:00,600
And so how do we do, you stick, 
matai's, HR, And remind 

351
00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:03,200
ourselves that that page. 
Since for human, we're talkin 

352
00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:06,900
about people and their lives and
their livelihood. 

353
00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:09,900
I'm going to stop at there for 
today. 

354
00:24:09,900 --> 00:24:16,300
As you can tell, you're very 
passionate and very inspired. 

355
00:24:16,300 --> 00:24:21,100
I also has heated. 
Nevertheless, I want to take the

356
00:24:21,108 --> 00:24:26,700
rest of the time to talk about a
question that was asked of me I 

357
00:24:26,700 --> 00:24:31,000
won't share from home but this 
is a part of the podcast that I 

358
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:37,200
want to regularly add and that 
is like spice section questions 

359
00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:41,700
a lot from my friends. 
My family members their friends.

360
00:24:41,700 --> 00:24:45,600
About just general like HR 
questions and one of the 

361
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:52,000
questions that I got recently 
was Around a situation where 

362
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:58,200
their manager didn't communicate
to them, that they would be 

363
00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:02,000
taking on additional work in an 
outside function. 

364
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:07,400
So let's say I'm actually very 
specifically their core function

365
00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:14,200
is related to the general public
and they had an added function, 

366
00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:17,900
that's really a voluntary type 
of function added to their 

367
00:25:17,900 --> 00:25:21,400
plate. 
So, in digging in, I wanted to 

368
00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:23,400
try and understand why this 
became an HR issue. 

369
00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:29,400
She said, well, you know, it was
just, I just got an email about 

370
00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:32,400
it and like, now I'm doing this.
And what does that mean for my 

371
00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:34,000
workload? 
And every question that you can 

372
00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:38,000
imagine when someone has added 
workload, when they don't have 

373
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:40,900
enough bandwidth, All of those 
questions. 

374
00:25:40,900 --> 00:25:43,500
Come up. 
What happens to what I'm 

375
00:25:43,500 --> 00:25:45,900
reviewed on? 
How is this going to impact my 

376
00:25:45,900 --> 00:25:48,400
long-term goals, and 
achievements? 

377
00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:50,800
How, how is this? 
Okay? 

378
00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:54,400
And she said, Lake Providence, 
her perspective, what should I 

379
00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:57,200
do? 
And I said, well, I don't know, 

380
00:25:57,200 --> 00:26:01,000
is an HR issue, and I said that,
because really, when we think of

381
00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:02,900
an HR issue, that means HR is 
getting involved. 

382
00:26:02,900 --> 00:26:06,500
But the situation here is that 
the employee and the manager 

383
00:26:06,500 --> 00:26:09,400
have an issue. 
I think of a few things, when I 

384
00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:13,800
hear the term HR issue, and in 
this case, this is really more. 

385
00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:17,500
So a person looking for, advice 
on how to dress their manager. 

386
00:26:17,500 --> 00:26:20,500
So, if you're in HR, 
professional in this moment, you

387
00:26:20,500 --> 00:26:23,500
would want to give some advice. 
Maybe some tips if you're an 

388
00:26:23,500 --> 00:26:27,100
employee, keep in mind HR is not
always going to get involved and

389
00:26:27,100 --> 00:26:28,500
you have to think of the 
employee. 

390
00:26:28,500 --> 00:26:33,200
What is my objective? 
Do I want my HR professional to 

391
00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:36,300
get involved? 
Am I looking for advice in this 

392
00:26:36,300 --> 00:26:38,100
moment? 
I think that the person who 

393
00:26:38,100 --> 00:26:40,400
reached out to me was really 
looking for valet Jason that 

394
00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:43,300
they did the right thing. 
And what they did was, they went

395
00:26:43,300 --> 00:26:45,200
to their manager, they keep them
feedback in. 

396
00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:47,900
Those are all of the right first
steps in my opinion. 

397
00:26:47,900 --> 00:26:51,200
Once you get a charm evolve to 
eat, can't really go back. 

398
00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:56,500
I mean, HR can make a situation 
bigger potentially than what it 

399
00:26:56,500 --> 00:26:59,200
actually is. 
And so if you're an employee, I 

400
00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:03,100
encourage you to consider what 
is my objective. 

401
00:27:03,100 --> 00:27:06,000
And if you're an HR 
professional, think about 

402
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:08,600
sharing that. 
What is your objective? 

403
00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:11,900
What is it that you are looking 
to gain out of my involvement? 

404
00:27:11,900 --> 00:27:16,000
Or do you just need advice? 
I should we roll play? 

405
00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:20,900
What it is that you're looking 
to address or how you're looking

406
00:27:20,900 --> 00:27:22,500
to address that? 
I find that role playing is 

407
00:27:22,500 --> 00:27:25,300
often extremely helpful 
especially in a situation like 

408
00:27:25,300 --> 00:27:30,600
this relates back to the D 
stigmatizing of HR. 

409
00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:36,900
Is that HR often is seen as the 
department, that handles 

410
00:27:36,900 --> 00:27:43,400
complaints and the department 
that neutralizes situations in 

411
00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:48,300
which two major functions of the
HR capacity. 

412
00:27:48,300 --> 00:27:52,600
However, not the complaint 
department where the solutions 

413
00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:57,100
Department cuz I like to say. 
So the solutions oriented which 

414
00:27:57,100 --> 00:28:00,800
this person really was, she was 
like, I reached out to my 

415
00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:04,900
manager already. 
I spoke with him about how this 

416
00:28:04,900 --> 00:28:07,900
made me feel and I also sought 
additional information and 

417
00:28:07,900 --> 00:28:09,200
reiterated that I'm a team 
player. 

418
00:28:09,208 --> 00:28:13,400
Couldn't have said it better 
myself to the person who I'm 

419
00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:14,700
referring to. 
Great job. 

420
00:28:14,700 --> 00:28:19,800
You handled it beautifully. 
The other part of the beast in 

421
00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:23,100
the passing of HR that I 
mentioned before, is that we are

422
00:28:23,100 --> 00:28:26,500
seeing as this only 
middle-ground, and that's 

423
00:28:26,500 --> 00:28:31,400
somewhat true, we always will 
maintain neutrality, objectivity

424
00:28:31,400 --> 00:28:34,700
and all of those things. 
But HR is entitled to take a 

425
00:28:34,700 --> 00:28:39,600
stance to whether it's with the 
business or we should say the 

426
00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:43,300
manager, and we have to also 
support the person may 

427
00:28:43,300 --> 00:28:45,000
individual. 
Some naturally we're going to be

428
00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:51,300
in this mediating type of role. 
But it's not a Charles job to 

429
00:28:51,300 --> 00:28:53,500
say. 
Okay, let's talk about it 

430
00:28:53,500 --> 00:28:57,600
together. 
It's not necessary you as the 

431
00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:02,500
employee, go to your manager and
you work it out and the best 

432
00:29:02,500 --> 00:29:04,900
seats are Partners in. 
My opinion are the ones who 

433
00:29:04,900 --> 00:29:12,000
create and Elevate and Establish
the relationship, a strong 

434
00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:14,100
relationship between a manager 
and an employee. 

435
00:29:14,100 --> 00:29:19,900
So if I were this person's HR 
partner, I would not get 

436
00:29:19,900 --> 00:29:23,000
involved in the sense, that I 
wouldn't be the mediating 

437
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:26,300
person, unless that's what the 
employee and the manager, 

438
00:29:26,300 --> 00:29:31,700
requesting otherwise I can 
dilute the relationship between 

439
00:29:31,700 --> 00:29:34,200
the manager in the employee. 
And I think one of the most 

440
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:38,400
important things to do as an HR 
professional is strengthened or 

441
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,500
establish. 
If it's not already established,

442
00:29:40,500 --> 00:29:44,200
the relationship between a 
manager and employee and 

443
00:29:44,200 --> 00:29:50,300
understanding our support is. 
Best served is the key. 

444
00:29:50,300 --> 00:29:55,100
I think to destigmatize in the 
relationship in action versus 

445
00:29:55,100 --> 00:30:00,000
and speech like I'm doing this 
entire 30 minutes and finally 

446
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:04,800
we'll work toward creating a 
people-centric business 

447
00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:11,100
organization that is less 
focused on K Charles coming and 

448
00:30:11,100 --> 00:30:14,000
more focused on how can we 
support our people? 

449
00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:16,700
How can we make this a 
people-centric place? 

450
00:30:16,700 --> 00:30:22,400
How can I revalue use represent 
and support the people that 

451
00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:24,700
represented support us? 
Thank you. 

452
00:30:24,700 --> 00:30:27,500
So, so much for listening to the
first ever. 

453
00:30:27,500 --> 00:30:31,400
Bringing the humans Back To 
Human Resources podcast, episode

454
00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:36,800
very first episode. 
Very first, ever podcast more to

455
00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:41,000
come if you're interested in 
asking, for advice during a 

456
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specific topic on a future 
podcast. 

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00:30:42,900 --> 00:30:46,100
For just connecting with me. 
Some follow me on Instagram at 

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00:30:46,100 --> 00:30:47,800
HR. 
Tracy, that's a jar. 

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00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:52,400
Tracii love to hear from you. 
Also, please don't forget to 

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00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:55,500
subscribe rate and comment 
wherever you're listening to the

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00:30:55,500 --> 00:30:57,500
podcast. 
It is election day. 

462
00:30:57,500 --> 00:31:01,000
So if you are waiting in line to
vote while listening to the 

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00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:03,900
podcast, thank you for not only 
listening to the podcast. 

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00:31:03,900 --> 00:31:08,100
But also for voting if you're 
thinking twice about voting let 

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00:31:08,100 --> 00:31:11,600
this Please get out and vote 
today. 

466
00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:15,300
I will be releasing episodes 
every Tuesday, so I'll see you 

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00:31:15,300 --> 00:31:11,600
next week. 
Please get out and vote today. 

468
00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:15,300
I will be releasing episodes 
every Tuesday, so I'll see you 

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00:31:15,300 --> 00:31:15,900
next week.
