Good Morning, HR

In episode 260 Coffey talks with Gerald Maatman Jr. about reducing employment litigation risk in an increasingly complex legal environment.    They discuss the realities and limitations of at-will employment in modern workplaces; litigation avoidance strategies for business owners and HR leaders; how employers should evaluate settlement versus defense decisions; reverse discrimination and evolving...

In episode 259, Coffey talks with Meg Delp about workplace mental health, burnout prevention, and how employers can create psychologically safe cultures that support employee wellbeing and performance.    They discuss the growing awareness of workplace mental health and its impact on business outcomes; generational differences in expectations around employee wellbeing and psychological safety; car...

In episode 258, Coffey talks with Blair Doran about the “Great Flattening” of middle management, AI adoption in HR, and the thawing job market's impact on employee retention.    They discuss the Great Flattening and the causes of middle management cuts; the risk of losing institutional culture and coaching capacity when middle managers are eliminated; poor selection criteria for promoting individu...

In episode 257, Coffey talks with Elizabeth Ledoux about talent considerations in business succession planning.    They discuss why most succession plans fail because leaders ignore employee emotions and organizational culture; how owners and successors can align around a shared vision for the future of the company; the importance of involving employees early in transition conversations to reduce...

For HR teams who discuss this podcast in their team meetings, we've created a discussion starter PDF to help guide your conversation. Download it here https://goodmorninghr.com/EP252    In episode 256, Coffey talks with Leslie Speas about developing high-retention managers who improve employee engagement, accountability, trust, and workplace culture through intentional leadership habits.    They d...

In episode 255, Coffey talks with Teri Chilcoat about navigating and recovering from toxic workplace environments while building healthier organizational cultures.    They discuss defining toxic workplace dynamics beyond legal thresholds and into lived employee experience; recognizing psychological and physical symptoms of chronic workplace stress and burnout; understanding the toxic triangle of l...

In episode 254, Coffey talks with David Miklas about rapidly changing employment law trends surrounding DEI programs, EEOC enforcement priorities, workplace discrimination claims, AI risks in HR investigations, and the evolving legal landscape employers face in 2026.    They discuss the EEOC’s proposal to eliminate EEO-1 reporting requirements and how demographic data impacts systemic discriminati...

In episode 253, Coffey talks with Anthony Sork about how emotional attachment during onboarding shapes employee engagement, retention, and organizational performance.    They discuss the difference between employee attachment and employee engagement; how onboarding experiences create long-term emotional bonds with organizations; the role frontline managers play in employee retention and discretion...

In episode 252, Coffey talks with Beverly Parker about how recruiting and talent acquisition are evolving and why relationship-based recruiting still matters.    They discuss the shift from newspaper job ads, to Monster, to today’s AI-powered recruiting platforms; why “post and pray” or “post and spray” recruiting fails to attract high-quality passive candidates; how recruiters use professional ne...

In episode 251, Coffey talks with Jennifer Yugo about why traditional interviews fail to identify top candidates and how competency-based, structured hiring improves outcomes.    They discuss the ineffectiveness of unstructured interviews and reliance on intuition in hiring decisions; confirmation bias and overconfidence in manager-led candidate selection processes; building competency-based hirin...

In episode 250, Coffey talks with Justin Dorsey about recent HR-related new items including navigating politics, mental health, employees’ sometimes inflated compensation expectations, and the most in-demand HR skills.    They discuss managing political conversations and ideological conflict in the workplace; balancing employee expression with productivity and respectful communication; how HR lead...

In episode 249, Coffey talks with Jenay Huey about how growing businesses should approach HR strategy, outsourcing, and internal capability building.    They discuss why small businesses delay investing in HR until problems arise; misconceptions about HR as a cost center versus strategic function; differences between transactional HR tasks and long-term workforce strategy; when to hire in-house HR...

In episode 248, Coffey talks with Damon Thompson about how student loan debt impacts employees and how employers can help reduce that burden through benefits programs and federal subsidies.    They discuss the history and evolution of federal student loan programs before and after the Affordable Care Act; rising college costs and lack of borrowing caps driving massive student debt growth; financia...

In episode 247, Coffey talks with Michelle Sims about building skills-first hiring pipelines and expanding apprenticeship models to address the early-career experience gap in the age of AI.    They discuss redefining entry-level work as automation reshapes junior roles; bridging the experience gap through apprenticeships and workforce development programs; expanding access for non-degree and nontr...

In episode 246, Coffey talks with Kelly Price about building effective people strategy in small and medium-sized businesses.    They discuss why small businesses often treat HR as administrative rather than strategic; hidden financial costs of poor hiring and turnover; aligning people strategy with business goals and growth plans; improving recruiting processes beyond staffing agencies; designing...

In episode 245, Coffey talks with Patrick Richter about news and media items from the past month, including emerging HR risks involving AI, workplace compliance, and employer liability.    They discuss legal risks of AI-driven hiring tools and potential age discrimination claims; nuances of disparate impact versus disparate treatment under employment law; employer responsibilities when using third...

In episode 244, Coffey talks with Dr. Jason Jones about how leaders must adapt their thinking and behavior to navigate the rapid disruption caused by artificial intelligence.    They discuss why AI represents a step-change disruption compared to past technology waves; growing workforce resistance and fear surrounding AI adoption in organizations; how enterprise AI systems will soon integrate SOPs,...

In episode 243, Coffey talks with Dan Dalton about using personality profiles to improve hiring, onboarding, team dynamics, and organizational effectiveness.    They discuss the evolution of personality assessments from paper-based tools to data-driven platforms; appropriate and inappropriate uses of DISC and Predictive Index in hiring decisions; leveraging behavioral data to ask better interview...

In episode 242, Coffey talks with Lee Colan about rebuilding human connection in a technology-driven, hybrid workplace.    They discuss the loneliness epidemic and its impact on employee wellbeing; differences between social isolation and emotional loneliness; remote work and the rise of frictionless digital experiences; Gallup and BetterUp data on workplace friendships and retention; the decline...

In episode 241, Coffey talks with Neil Katz news and media items from the past month, including who HR is “for”, managing AI agents, and mental-health-related gaps in employment.    They discuss HR’s responsibility to conduct impartial workplace investigations based on evidence; the misconception that HR exists primarily as employee advocates; aligning HR strategy with revenue, margin, and organiz...

In episode 240, Coffey talks with Yoram Solomon about motivating disengaged employees by building trust, increasing autonomy, and aligning intrinsic motivation with meaningful work.    They discuss quiet quitting and job hugging trends in uncertain economic times; intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation using the car engine analogy; why pay and bonuses fail as long-term engagement strategies; the cr...

In episode 239, Coffey talks with Carrie Fabris about why organizations seem to revisit the same issues repeatedly and how leaders can solve them for good through better communication, alignment, and accountability.    They discuss ineffective workplace communication and recurring problems; intuitive leadership versus inclusive decision-making; defining root causes instead of treating symptoms; cr...

In episode 238, Coffey talks with Joseph Fuller about how skills-based hiring is reshaping recruiting, workforce development, and talent strategy in the age of AI.    They discuss defining skills-based hiring beyond degree proxies; redesigning recruiting and applicant tracking systems; training hiring managers to reduce bias and risk aversion; using AI, simulations, and assessments to evaluate rea...

Something New!   For HR teams who discuss this podcast in their team meetings, we've created a discussion starter PDF to help guide your conversation. Download it here https://goodmorninghr.com/EP237    In episode 237, Coffey and DeDe Church discuss recent news items about how shifting economic conditions, technology, and leadership gaps are reshaping the employment landscape.    They discuss the...

Something New!   For HR teams who discuss this podcast in their team meetings, we've created a discussion starter PDF to help guide your conversation. Download it here https://goodmorninghr.com/EP236    In episode 236, the second part of a two-part conversation, Coffey continues his discussion with Jacob Morgan about building future-ready organizations by balancing empathy, performance, and techno...