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HR Mixtape

HR Mixtape

By: WRKdefined Podcast Network
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HR Mixtape is a weekly human resources and business leadership podcast for HR professionals, people leaders, and executives navigating the real work of managing people. Episodes cover human resources strategy, HR compliance, workplace culture, leadership development, employee experience, payroll and HR technology, and the future of work. Whether you work in HR, talent management, people operations, or business leadership, HR Mixtape offers practical insights, expert conversations, and real-world perspectives to help you lead with confidence in today’s evolving workplace.All rights reserved by WRKdefined Career Success Economics Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Meeting Makeover: Treating Your Meetings Like a Product

    Meeting Makeover: Treating Your Meetings Like a Product
    Jun 23 2026
    Most organizations treat meetings as the default answer to everything, but that's costing you more than you think. Rebecca Hinds, Head of the Work AI Institute at Glean, researcher, and author of YOUR BEST MEETING EVER, brings a product design mindset to the most expensive form of collaboration in your org. She shares how to spot meeting dysfunction, use AI to audit your calendar, and make intentional changes that actually stick. In this episode: • Why meetings have become the 'junk drawer' of organizational communication, and how visibility bias keeps the habit alive. • How to use return on time investment (ROTI) scoring, meeting minimalism, and shared language to redesign your meeting culture. • The role AI and data play in building the business case for calendar reform, especially with a skeptical C-suite. Timestamps [00:01:10] Why Rebecca went all-in on meeting research and the psychology of visibility bias. [00:02:19] The meeting junk drawer: why meetings become the default for everything. [00:04:39] Treating meetings like a product, including the concept of meeting debt. [00:06:26] Return on time investment (ROTI): a data-driven way to rate your meetings. [00:08:16] How leadership buy-in determines how boldly you can reform your calendar. [00:08:56] Using AI to build meeting calculators and get C-suite buy-in. [00:10:52] Making the business case by anchoring on what the most powerful person cares about. [00:13:54] Building psychological safety so people feel empowered to flag bad meetings. [00:16:36] Shared language for meeting dysfunction, including Meeting Doomsday and meeting minimalism. [00:21:05] The one thing every leader can do this week: intentional design across four meeting dimensions. Guest Bio Rebecca Hinds is the author of YOUR BEST MEETING EVER, a leading expert on organizational behavior and the future of work, founder of the Work Innovation Lab at Asana and the Work AI Institute at Glean. She holds a BS, MS, and PhD from Stanford University. Her research is consistently featured in top-tier publications like Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Wired, and more. She is a trusted advisor to companies navigating the challenges of modern work, from meeting overload and hybrid dysfunction to the messy realities of AI adoption and organizational change. Brought to You by Paylocity Paylocity is the fastest growing unified platform for HR, Finance, and IT. Paylocity brings your people, processes, and data together in one place so HR leaders can spend less time managing systems and more time doing the work that actually moves their organizations forward. Learn more at paylocity.com Keywords: meetings, meeting culture, organizational behavior, future of work, meeting debt, return on time investment, psychological safety, AI, calendar reform, Meeting Doomsday, meeting minimalism, collaboration, HR leadership, Rebecca Hinds, HR Mixtape
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    23 mins
  • EQ Is the OS: Leading with Emotional Intelligence in an AI World

    EQ Is the OS: Leading with Emotional Intelligence in an AI World
    Jun 16 2026
    Most high performers don't get passed over because of what they know. They get passed over because of how they lead. In this episode, Dr. Bushra Khan makes the case that emotional intelligence isn't a soft skill, it's the strategic operating system every leader needs right now, especially as AI reshapes what work looks like. In this conversation, she breaks down: Why 'be more strategic' on a performance review usually means something specific and fixable. How influence actually works in the brain, and why title alone won't get people to go above and beyond. A concrete KPI approach for measuring emotional intelligence that most organizations aren't tracking yet. Timestamps [00:00:42] Emotional intelligence as the operating system for the future of work [00:02:30] Why 'soft skills' is out — and 'strategic skills' is in [00:03:10] How technical experts plateau: the real meaning of 'not strategic enough' [00:05:47] What 'be more strategic' is actually code for [00:07:26] Micromanagement as a symptom of not knowing how to teach others [00:09:09] The Peter Principle in action: when great individual contributors struggle to lead [00:12:19] Why title doesn't equal influence — and what builds rapport instead [00:16:55] Integrity in leadership: what it looks like when leaders actually walk the walk [00:17:15] How to give feedback that makes people better, not defensive [00:19:57] Measuring emotional intelligence: the KPI framework most orgs are missing Guest Bio: Dr. Bushra Khan is a founder, educator, and leadership expert with over 15 years of experience in organizational development and adult learning. With a doctorate in Educational Leadership, deep research in emotional intelligence alongside global experts, and the creation of a top-rated executive leadership program (clients include Google, Government of Canada, and ERCOT), her impact is both measurable and deeply human. Dr. Khan helps high-performing professionals strengthen their strategic capabilities, lead with integrity, turn their expertise into meaningful influence, and shape their leadership philosophy. She describes her work as a calm, compelling signal in the noise — a space where leaders come for clarity, rising professionals see possibility, and organizations recognize that emotional intelligence isn't a nice-to-have: it's the operating system for the future of work. Brought to You by Paylocity Paylocity is the fastest growing unified platform for HR, Finance, and IT. Paylocity brings your people, processes, and data together in one place so HR leaders can spend less time managing systems and more time doing the work that actually moves their organizations forward. Learn more at paylocity.com Keywords: emotional intelligence, EQ, leadership, strategic skills, soft skills, HR leadership, performance management, people management, coaching, micromanagement, influence, integrity, feedback, AI and leadership, KPIs, organizational culture, future of work, Dr. Bushra Khan, HR Mixtape, Paylocity
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    23 mins
  • Grey Area: HR Strategy for Blue and White Collar Workforces

    Grey Area: HR Strategy for Blue and White Collar Workforces
    Jun 9 2026
    What does it really take to hire and retain people across a workforce that's part office, part shop floor? Jason Lerner, HR Director at Groundwater Treatment and Technology, has spent his career doing exactly that. He's grown his current company from fewer than 300 employees to more than 500 across six states, and he's cracked the code on attracting, developing, and keeping talent in grey industries, where blue-collar and white-collar work exist side by side. In this episode, Jason and Dr. Shari Simpson dig into the skills gap hiding in plain sight, why Gen Z is more suited for grey-collar work than most people think, and how accountability is actually a retention tool, not a threat. Key takeaways: • Why candidates with non-traditional backgrounds may be your best hire, and how to screen for it in the interview. • How to build clear career paths that satisfy Gen Z's need for growth without overpromising. • Why holding people accountable is one of the best things you can do for your top performers. Timestamps [00:00:00] Intro from The HR Mixtape announcer [00:00:41] Jason's non-traditional path: from sales to childcare to HR [00:03:10] Defining grey industries and why they matter right now [00:04:39] Skills transfer: helping candidates see their own potential [00:05:09] Real example of a shop employee who moved into engineering [00:08:35] Reformatting the interview process for non-traditional candidates [00:09:41] Taking candidates on a PPE tour before making an offer [00:11:23] Succession planning and why Gen Z fits into grey industries [00:13:32] Setting expectations and using accountability as a retention tool [00:17:00] Why credibility in the shop matters as much as HR expertise Guest Bio Motivating teams, building consensus, and creating a culture of honest and open communication are the tenets that have defined Jason Lerner's professional life. With a nuanced understanding of human behavior and a high degree of emotional intelligence, Jason leads by example and champions the performance and success of his team. Adept at transforming ideas into actionable programs and breaking down complex concepts into understandable parts, Jason is known as an agent of change and an executive who gets things done. He currently leads the HR function for a privately held transportation and logistics company, overseeing its expansion from fewer than 300 to more than 500 employees across six states. Committed to positioning HR as a strategic business partner, Jason collaborates with finance and executive leaders to advance the mission of the organization. Brought to You by Paylocity Paylocity is the fastest growing unified platform for HR, Finance, and IT. Paylocity brings your people, processes, and data together in one place so HR leaders can spend less time managing systems and more time doing the work that actually moves their organizations forward. Learn more at paylocity.com Keywords: grey industries, blue-collar hiring, white-collar hiring, workforce development, Gen Z retention, skills transfer, non-traditional candidates, succession planning, accountability, HR strategy, career pathing, grey-collar work, employee retention, interview process
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    21 mins
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