Pulse by HRBench

Culture is a strategy, not soft stuff. Jamie Petter, founder of Culture Grid HR and a fractional Chief People Officer, joins Pulse by HRBench to break down why so many acquisitions break on the people side, and how to define culture before a deal instead of after it cracks. In this episode: Why culture feels "soft" and how to treat it as a strategy that drives results The Culture Grid: p...

Melissa Duncan top grades every director-and-above hire, and she will not recommend anyone for a people-leader seat who has not gone through it. In this episode of Pulse by HRBench, she breaks down how PE-backed SaaS companies hire senior talent, build culture that a board respects, and raise revenue per employee without gutting the team. Practical, specific, and built for the inflection points yo...

Leadership development fails when it starts with a training request. Ash Panjwani has spent thirteen years building performance and leadership systems at VMware, Twilio, OneTrust, and Procore, and now runs Work Happy. She joins me on this episode to explain what to build instead. In this episode: The three-layer approach: set the standard, build the system, then bridge the gap The calibration meet...

Cole Napper, the world's first Chief People Intelligence Officer, walks through his People Intelligence Manifesto, why the HR operating model is collapsing into two layers, and how HR leaders can stop losing the language battle in the boardroom. In this episode: Why the four branches of HR analytics (people analytics, workforce planning, talent intelligence, behavioral science) are collapsing...

RyanMae McAvoy has worked with the same finance leader at Blackthorne for four years. They don't fight over budgets. They co-build them. In this conversation, she shares the exact approach she used to build that relationship, starting with three questions every HR leader should ask their finance partner. In this episode: The three questions RyanMae asks every department leader to understand th...

A $52 million whistleblower verdict in LA. Six years of litigation. Attorney's fees not added yet. Susanne Kleveros, founder of Don't Tell HR, joins Pulse by HRBench to unpack why employee relations just exploded, why silence after a termination is the clearest signal a lawsuit is coming, and how HR leaders at fast-paced companies can handle the hardest conversations in a way that protects...

Results don't just happen. They're designed. Dr. Tim Williams spent his career at P&G turning that idea into operating systems that HR leaders can actually run. He joins Pulse by HRBench to unpack what changes when HR treats outcomes like engineers treat problems. In this episode: Why most HR leaders are managing, not leading, and how to flip that The organizational design framework be...

Everyone's being told to "use AI." But most HR teams don't have a flight plan, a pilot, or even a destination. In this episode of Pulse by HRBench, we sit down with Kristin McDonald and Dani Woods, two seasoned HRIS and HR tech leaders, to talk about what AI adoption looks like inside HR departments today. They get into the real challenges: why AI tools still can't handle sys...

John Youngkrantz, Payroll & HRIS Manager at FirstKey Homes, spent years watching HR hand managers spreadsheets and call it reporting. On this episode, he breaks down exactly how his team changed that — building dashboards that give HR business partners real turnover trends, open rec data, and headcount context to bring into manager walkthroughs across 29 markets and 16 districts nationwide. Jo...

AI has officially moved past experimentation. In 2026, the real challenge is how to embed AI into your business strategy, while keeping humans firmly in the loop. In this episode of Pulse, we chat with Melissa Lemberg, VP of Digital Transformation & AI Strategy at LogicMonitor, to unpack what responsible, measurable AI adoption looks like inside complex organizations. Melissa brings nearly 30...

HR professionals are told the same thing: Work hard. Gain experience. Wait your turn. But, that’s not how careers accelerate. In this episode of Pulse, Dani Woods shares what helped her move from HR assistant to director before 30, and why the title alone is not what defines success. This conversation breaks down the career moves most HR professionals overlook: Why you need to “do the job” before...

HR leaders have reports, but still struggle to drive action. In this episode of Pulse by HRBench, Emily Granholm breaks down what it takes to make HR a strategic business function, especially inside PE-backed companies, where the board expects clear financial impact. You’ll learn the three most common analytics pitfalls that derail HR credibility, plus a practical approach to turning reports into...

What does it take to lead people in high-stakes, private-equity-backed environments, where efficiency matters, managers are underprepared, and AI is reshaping how work gets done? In this episode of Pulse by HRBench, Kelly Oliver, a veteran HR and business leader whose career spans leadership roles at Microsoft, Oracle, HP, Salesforce, and most recently as Head of HR at a PE-backed cybersecurity co...

AI is reshaping how we work, and HR should be at the forefront. In this episode of Pulse by HRBench, we sit down with Kristin McDonald, a veteran HR tech strategist and self-proclaimed “HR tech nerd,” to unpack what it means for HR to lead in the age of AI. Kristin shares: Why AI literacy is now table stakes for HR leaders How to build an AI roadmap that drives business value What traps to avoid d...

What if the performance issues you’re seeing are really signs of trauma? In this episode of Pulse by HRBench, Dr. John King shares his powerful story, from surviving childhood trafficking and losing everything at age 45, to building a framework for growth, healing, and leadership in high-performance environments. This isn’t just John’s personal story. It’s a roadmap for HR. We explore: Why trauma...

In this episode of Pulse by HRBench, we sit down with Stacie Baird, Chief People Officer at Community Medical Services, to talk about the early warning signs of burnout, and what HR can do before it turns into turnover. With over 30 years of experience in high-growth, PE-backed organizations, Stacie shares how CMS has built a proactive strategy around burnout, engagement, and retention.  Reducing...

What happens when you lead with culture and back it up with real-time workforce data? In this episode, Kevin Trowbridge, Director of Compensation at Kimray, a 75-year-old manufacturing company that’s rewriting what modern HR looks like. From starting every hiring process with a culture-fit interview to implementing job families that re-energized frontline engagement, Kimray is a case study in valu...

How should HR leaders show up in high-growth, PE-backed companies? In this episode of Pulse by HRBench, we unpack the HR playbook for private equity environments with seasoned HR leader Nicole Logue. Nicole shares lessons from operating across the entire PE lifecycle, from pre-acquisition to exit, and how HR can lead through each phase. We discuss: How HR can learn how the business makes money (an...

What does it take to turn HR data into decisions? In this episode of Pulse, we sit down with Courtney Brown, HR Analyst, to break down how she uses data to drive action across the employee lifecycle. From recruiting to onboarding and engagement surveys. Courtney shares how her early career in the CFO’s office shaped her mindset toward data integrity and decision-making, how she helped build a surv...

In this episode of Pulse, I speak with Alex Thompson, SHRM-CP and get his insights for making your work visible, trusted, and strategic. Alex has sat on both sides of the table, first as an HRBench customer, and now as an Implementation Manager. This provides a unique perspective, as he gets to speak with a lot of HR teams to understand what are successful strategies in the current environment. In...

What do executives really want from HR data — and how do you earn their trust? In this episode of Pulse, Logan talks with Dani Woods, an experienced HR leader, people strategist, and founder of Lotus Welle. Dani shares what it takes to build credibility in high-pressure environments, especially when the data is messy, the systems are disconnected, and the expectations are high. If you’ve ever been...