I Hate It Here

Puberty. Periods. Motherhood. Menopause.   Let's be real—women go through a lot of challenging life stages. So why then, do employee benefits often feel like a one-size-fits-all? How can HR find a way to help women throughout all stages of their life, in a way where they feel fully supported? Hebba sits down with Isha Vij, Vice President of Sales at Maven Clinic, a digital health organization focu...

Too often, HR is expected to bet the jack of all trades for a business. But what do you do when it leaves you feeling like a master of none? Hebba sits down with Sarah Rose Hattem, a former HR team of one and currently a Senior HR Consultant for Rippling, to discuss the challenges of being a one-person HR department. How, as a one-person department, can you more effectively communicate your value...

It’s not just in your head—we’ve all felt underappreciated at work at one point or another. So how can managers and HR cultivate an environment where people, not just their accomplishments, are appreciated?  Megan Paige, CMO of Snappy, stops by the pod to chat with Hebba about the art of appreciation and implementing employee appreciation strategies that go beyond simply recognizing workplace acco...

Treat others the way you want to be treated. It’s a lesson as old as time—so why are we still fighting so hard to make it a priority in the workplace?  Hebba and the CPO of Greenhouse, Donald Knight, discuss the importance of authenticity, transparency, and continual evolution in the workplace. How can HR practitioners prioritize employee well-being in a meaningful way that connects to crucial bus...

“The Proposal.” “Two Weeks Notice.” “The Office.” “500 Days of Summer.” What do these things have in common? They all taught us to believe in the power of the good old-fashioned office romance.  So what happens when the workplace rom-com turns into an IRL horror movie? Just ask HR expert Kim Rohrer, as she and Hebba unleash some absolutely WILD horror stories submitted by viewers about the office...

Should DEI live within HR? And what’s the importance of prioritizing diversity in the workplace?  Hebba chats with Tara Turk-Haynes, founder of Equity Activations, about transforming businesses through the power of diversity, equity, and inclusion.  They chat about what can be performative during Black History Month, ruminating on why companies are so quick to utilize it for marketing purposes, bu...

Nearly 50% of employees say that their productivity is impacted by ineffective communication.  So does that mean the average person is bad at communicating at work? Maybe…  Dinah Alobeid, Senior Director of Content and Communications at Greenhouse, joins Hebba this week to discuss the importance of being direct, authentic, and straightforward in your communication with employees.  Hebba and Dinah...

80% of workers report they’re disengaged when it comes to work. So what’s the driving force behind employees’ increasing discontentment, disengagement, and rejection of the status quo?  Hebba chats with the Fractional Chief People Officer who’s led more than 100 worldwide companies to scale, Anessa Fike about the importance of transparency, feedback, and revolutionizing work to create a better exp...

98% of HR professionals are burnt out, stressed out, and just plain fed up with the functions of the job. If you’ve ever considered changing positions, just know you’re not in the minority.  How can building a safe space help us to stay motivated and fulfilled in HR? How do we remind ourselves of the reasons we got into HR to begin with? And is Gen Z the key to vanquishing toxic hustle culture for...

New year, new perspective? As we get ready to face the new year, we may need some inspiration to tackle the never ending dumpster-fire that can be HR and People Ops.    In this special episode, we've gathered insights from some of the top HR experts around. Join Hebba in the all-star studded episode where she asks her guests one important question:    “What’s your one wish for HR in 2024?”   From...

Did you know that 63% of workers who receive low-quality feedback are likely to quit within the next year?  Performance feedback isn’t just an HR problem, it’s a business problem. And in this week’s pod, Hebba’s sitting down with Kieran Snyder, CEO and Co-founder of Textio, to dive deep into the world of performance management and fairness in the workplace.  Is being labeled an overachiever really...

Spotted in the Podcast studio this week: Hebba Youssef and Rodney Evans chatting about the role of gossip in the workplace and how sometimes, it can actually be a good thing (IKR?).  Brave New Work podcast host and Partner at The Ready, Rodney Evans was heard talking up a storm about the unseen emotional labor of HR professionals in the workplace and breaking free from the codependent caretaker ro...

It’s not that HR doesn’t want to pay you equitably… It’s that sometimes we just can’t. The odds are… rarely ever in our favor. So what can we do to eliminate the constant source friction that pay inequity causes?    Hebba dives into the complex world of compensation management with guest Enrique Esclusa, co-founder and co-CEO of Assemble. They unravel the reasons why understanding equity as an emp...

Who needs Halloween night, when we barely survive our own horror story each and every day?  Join Hebba as she shares hair-raising HR horror stories that will send shivers up your spine and make you double-check each and every email and document you send in this Halloween special. From ghostbusting in the workplace to employees submitting unusual receipts, she’s got audience stories that will leave...

Burnout and failure are inevitable in HR. So how can we grow and learn from our own mistakes? Tracie Sponenberg, Chief People Officer of the Granite Group, joins Hebba to discuss her storied career in HR and to share her love/hate relationship with the industry as a whole. She reveals why open communication and having conversations with your employees, whether it’s good, bad, or anything in betwee...

Determining if employee-workplace fit should be a two-way street. So why does the recruitment process feel like a one-way street for so many job-seekers?  Jessica Winder, Senior VP of People at Refine Labs, shares her insights on how workplaces should rethink compatibility, and the steps employees can take to ensure a potential workplace is right for them.   From considering factors like transpare...

Startup founders aren’t always building their companies with equity in mind… On this week’s pod, Hebba sits down with Desiree Morton, a DEI practitioner and tech founder, to discuss the importance of building companies with equity in mind from the beginning. From managing expectations to prioritizing equity initiatives, Desiree shares valuable insights and advice for creating a more inclusive and...

Is it possible to eliminate bias in the workplace? Not really, no. However, we can, at the very least, strive to minimize our unconscious biases. In this episode, Hebba sits down with Dani Herrera, an expert in talent and recruiting with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, to discuss the various challenges recruiters face and how they often lack the necessary tools and resources to excel...

What separates the good from the great HR leaders? Adam Weber, host of HR Superstars and Chief Evangelist at 15five, has talked to thousands of HR leaders and in this episode he shares his observations about what characteristics make an HR leader exceptional. From the importance of understanding the business to activating your managers, Adam shares what he’s learned and how you can deploy it tomor...

People trust their next-door neighbor more than they trust their HR department—and that’s a massive problem.  So how can HR work to create an environment built upon trust and transparency? Minda Harts, author of "The Memo," joins Hebba to discuss the importance of trust in the workplace and how HR professionals can rebuild it after layoffs. Minda and Hebba explore the challenges of transparency an...

In this week’s pod, Hebba sits down with Jessica Zwaan, COO of Whereby and the author of "Built for People,” to chat about AI’s potential impact on the structure of compensation and equity in the workspace and the evolving landscape of HR. Jessica unleashes a few of her hottest HR takes, predicting a shift towards employees demanding more equity stakes in something she affectionately calls "tech s...

Wait— we thought that parents just don’t understand. But as it turns out, workplaces don’t understand parents at all. So how can HR help to better support the working parent? Hebba engages in a thought-provoking discussion with Kim Rohrer, Principal Partner at Oyster, a global employment platform reshaping cross-border hiring. With 15 years in HR under her belt, Kim sheds light on the critical rol...

Alright— that’s it. We’re finally settling the debate of who wore it best: remote, hybrid, or in-person. Or uh… at the very least, we’re coming to some massively inconclusive conclusions about which work style reigns supreme. In this special series with New Stand, a startup company setting out to improve everyday employee experience— and bring a little bit of daily joy back into employees’ lives—...

Work sucks, I know. And since we can’t all make it to Blink 182’s show… How exactly do we cope with the uncertainty of an insanely competitive, wildly unstable job economy?  In this special series with New Stand, a startup company setting out to improve everyday employee experience—and bring a little bit of daily joy back into employees’ lives—CEO Dave Garcia chats with Hebba about the #problemat...

Let’s face it— not everyone wants to be at work. So how do you build a better sense of community without feeling like you’re pulling out teeth?  In this live virtual event featuring a panel of HR experts, Hebba and crew discuss the ways in which you can create a better workplace community. How can you foster more virtual interactions? How do you rebuild trust after massive layoffs? And how should...