Leading the Frontline

In this episode of Leading the Frontline , Traci sits down with Ryan Holm, Divisional VP of Retail Innovation & Operations at Helzberg, to discuss his unique journey from managing Dunkin’ Donuts franchises to helping shape the future of retail operations and customer experience. Ryan shares how his career evolved from “sprinkles to sparkles,” why emotional connection matters more than product...

Most leaders struggle to truly connect with frontline teams—but what if the secret to sustained performance and engagement is simpler than you think?  Narinder Dhaliwal, Former VP of Global Operations Excellence at Americold, shares game-changing insights from 25+ years managing operations across 13 countries. In this episode, she explores how frontline engagement, continuous learning, and genuine...

In this episode of “Leading the Frontline,” host Traci Chernoff sits down with Cathy Hotka, a renowned retail industry leader.  Cathy shares her journey from her early days in retail to her influential role in creating the NRF CIO Council and fostering collaboration among retail leaders.  Together, they highlight the importance of listening, knowledge sharing, and servant leadership in shaping the...

In this episode of Leading the Frontline, Traci sits down with Nabil Malouli, SVP of Global E-commerce at DHL, to explore his inspiring journey from his first hourly job as a waiter to as his current role as a leader in the logistics industry. Discover how Nabil leverages innovation and mentorship to drive success and resilience in a rapidly evolving global market. Tune in to learn about the pivot...

What does it take to deliver operational excellence and great customer experiences in today’s changing retail landscape? In this episode of Leading the Frontline , host Traci Chernoff sits down with Kevin Ertell , a seasoned retail executive and former VP of Global Operations at Nike, to discuss leadership lessons, why retail produces great leaders, and evolving with AI. Listeners will walk away w...

Tune in this month to hear Mike Robards, Growth Account Executive at Legion Technologies, share his insights about how businesses future proof themselves. Connect with Mike here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikerobards/ Connect with Traci, Jon, and The Frontline podcast here:  https://linktr.ee/thefrontlinepod   Read more about this episode and Legion Technologies at  legion.co

Tune in this month to hear how Christopher Frey, Director of Workforce Management at Cinemark, is driving employee engagement through workforce management. As a customer of Legion's, Cinemark is dedicated to driving employee engagement and retention through Intelligent Automation. Connect with Christopher here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-frey-ab6a332/ Connect with Traci, Jon, and...

The UK recently concluded their trial of a four day workweek across a number of organizations, so Jon and Traci explore the intricacies and influence that this kind of flexibility has on the workforce. Read more about the trial here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-21/four-day-work-week-uk-study-finds-majority-of-employers-shifting Connect with Traci, Jon, and The Frontline podcast...

Tune in to hear our recap on NRF: Retail's Big Show!   Connect with Traci, Jon, and The Frontline podcast here: https://linktr.ee/thefrontlinepod   Read more about this episode and Legion Technologies at legion.co

Melissa Brown joins the podcast this week, as Chief Operating Officer for Concierge Elite with a Masters in Organizational Design, Melissa has seen and trained it all. Melissa is also the host of the "Understaffed" podcast and focuses on redefining people, processes, and products for the new workforce.   Connect with Melissa here:  https://www.conciergeelite.com/ https://www.conciergeeli...

Michael Spataro, Chief Customer Officer at Legion Technologies, helps us dive into the ins and outs of holiday staffing and all that businesses can do to focus on driving employee engagement during a busy time like Q4!   Connect with Michael here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-spataro-6788821/ As a reminder, we will pick up Season 2 in January!   If you're headed to NRF in January,...

Anthony Ladd, VP of Product at Legion Technologies, joins the podcast this month to discuss how business results and frontline employee experience improve thanks to demand forecasting.    Connect with Anthony here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyladd/   Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe.   Connect with Traci and The Frontline podcast here:  https://linktr.ee/...

Sean Fahey, Founder & CEO of VidCruiter, joins the podcast to highlight the critically important upsides to automating hiring. Speed to hire, flexibility, and removing unconscious bias are all points of discussion that Sean brings to light on this episode.   Connect with Sean and learn more about VidCruiter at https://vidcruiter.com/   Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe. &nb...

Solo episode to deep dive into the State of the Hourly workforce report that was discussed on our last episode. The survey was commissioned by Legion Technologies, and collected data from over 1500 retail employees and managers, which highlights the state of the workforce this year.   Read the survey here: https://pages.legion.co/2022-state-of-hourly-workforce.html#:~:text=Legion%20recently%2...

Sanish Mondkar, Founder and CEO of Legion Technologies, joins the podcast this week for a discussion on the 2022 State of the Hourly Workforce. We discuss a survey, commissioned by Legion Technologies, that collected data from over 1500 retail employees and managers, which highlights the state of the workforce this year.    Read the survey here: https://pages.legion.co/2022-state-of-hour...

Erin Diehl joins The Frontline this week to discuss how improv and levity are the magic and secret sauce to engagement, team building, and connection.   Erin “Big” Diehl is a Business Improv Edutainer, Failfluencer, and Professional Zoombie. Through a series of unrelated dares, Erin created improve it!, a unique professional development company that pushes others to laugh, learn, play, and gr...

Karen Mangia joins The Frontline this week to discuss how agency and ownership are critical to empowering and engaging teams.     Karen Mangia is a WSJ Best Selling Author and one of the most sought after thought leaders in the world, sharing her thought leadership with over 10,000 organizations during the course of her career.   She is the author of four books: Success fr...

Leighanne Levensaler joins The Frontline podcast for our very first episode to talk all things people and technology and how, when working together, they can drive positive change.    Connect with Leighanne here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leighannelevensaler/   Learn more about Leighanne: Leighanne Levensaler has spent her 25-year career operating at the intersection of people, ca...

Hourly employees want and need flexibility and predictability; they desire more connection and belonging with their peers and Companies. And businesses want to maximize productivity while enhancing employee engagement to reduce turnover. Who said we can't have it all? The Frontline podcast is focused on discussing the challenges that come along with having an hourly workforce and shedding light on...