Punk Rock HR

Lisa Sterling said "absolutely not" when she was first asked to take a Chief People Officer role. Not because she didn't care about people, but because everything she believed about organizational performance was at odds with what HR was supposed to be. She took the job anyway, with one instruction: get rid of all of it and build what you actually believe in. She's now CPO at Perceptyx, and that's...

Most companies have no idea how their employee experience actually compares to their competitors. Not because the data doesn't exist. Because nobody's looked at it. David Barrett, founder and CEO of Welliba, built a platform that does exactly that, using publicly available information to measure workforce sentiment across hundreds of thousands of organizations.  The companies that treat their peop...

Twenty-six years in benefits gives you a particular kind of clarity. Rae Shanahan knows what the industry got right, and she's direct about what it got wrong. Now Chief Strategy Officer at Businessolver, she comes to this conversation with research and the research tells a story most HR teams aren't ready to hear. The system was built for employees with time, financial stability, and enough clarit...

The CEO is pumped. The engineers are burnt out. And HR is the last to know. Gemma Versace is Chief Client Officer at X-Team, and her company's research on AI talent strategy should be required reading for every HR leader. The confidence gap between executives and the people actually doing the work is wide, and the organizations that ignore it are losing their best people. If you work in HR and you...

Tameka Vasquez grew up in tech, where moving fast and breaking things was gospel. Then she started working with leaders outside that world and realized the gospel didn't travel. Most leaders, she found, are only equipped for change they've already seen. Everything else gets met with fear. That's the gap she has spent her career trying to close. Not by predicting the future, but by changing how lea...

Andrew Norcross built NASA's website. He built the New York Times' website. He's been engineering the infrastructure of the internet for 20 years. Now he's building fences and painting houses in Florida, because AI ate his job and he refuses to be complicit in what replaced it. This is an episode about what happens when someone with real skill, real principles, and zero interest in using AI sudden...

Most leadership advice skips the body entirely. Scott Eblin doesn't. The executive coach and author of Overworked and Overwhelmed has spent 25 years helping C-suite leaders perform better, and his starting point isn't strategy. It's neurobiology. The reason so many leaders feel reactive, depleted, and like they have no agency isn't a character flaw. It's physiology. When you're running on chronic...

Amari Leigh didn't plan any of this. She volunteered at sex worker charities and women's health organizations, sent her CV to every reproductive justice charity she could find, and stumbled into freelance virtual assistant (VA) work. Now she runs a global agency that's worked with over 100 businesses across 17 countries, all of them sex-positive and queer-affirming. Sex positivity is rooted in con...

Yolanda Fraction, organizational development consultant, doctoral student in IO psychology, and author of Joyful Workplaces, joins Punk Rock HR to make the case that joy at work is a strategy, not a perk. And for the leaders who bristle at the word "joy," she has a reframe: call it effectiveness. The outcome is the same either way. Bad bosses. Turnover. Absenteeism. Mental health days taken just t...

What actually helps people live longer, healthier lives? According to longevity expert Ken Stern, it’s not just diet, exercise, or the latest health trend. The biggest factor might surprise you: Your relationships. Ken Stern, author of Healthy to 100, joins Punk Rock HR to talk about what the longest-lived countries in the world are doing differently. Drawing from research and reporting in Japan,...

Karen Fleshman joins Punk Rock HR to talk about race, power, and the uncomfortable yet necessary work white women must do to build trust across differences. As the founder of the Interracial Sisterhood Coalition, Karen works with white women who are past the beginner stage of anti-racism and ready to examine how conditioning, proximity to power, and workplace dynamics reinforce racial hierarchy. T...

Ashley Herd, founder and CEO of Manager Method and co-host of HR Besties, joins Punk Rock HR to talk about what it actually takes to lead people well. A lawyer turned HR executive, Ashley shares how mentorship, recognition, and practical judgment shape better managers — and why “common sense” leadership isn’t common at all. If you manage people, support managers in HR, or sit in the C-suite and wa...

Mary Ellen Slayter and Steve Smith of Rep Cap join Punk Rock HR to talk about the state of the job market, the reality behind AI hype, and what’s actually changing in work tech and HR tech. Drawing on decades as journalists turned operators, they break down why this moment feels uniquely disorienting and where real opportunity still exists. From capital shifts and consolidation to brand, people in...

Scott Stratten, speaker and author joins Punk Rock HR to talk about the hype, fear, and noise around AI in HR. Instead of focusing on tools, he asks why they exist in the first place and what they mean for the future of work. From AI bots in interviews to the risk of HR jobs disappearing in the next 24 months, Scott brings the truth. He calls for the act of slowing down, asking better questions, a...

Laura Maffucci, Head of HR at G-P, joins Punk Rock HR to explore how AI and global employment solutions are reshaping the HR landscape. From “agentic AI” and compliance challenges to the human side of leadership, Laura shares what HR leaders need to know about embracing AI responsibly while unlocking global talent with Employer of Record services. In this episode, you’ll hear: What an Employer of...

Blair Whitman, VP of Client Success at Homethrive, joins Punk Rock HR to talk about the stigma around caregiving, why it’s a workforce issue, and how companies can move beyond performative support. From personal caregiving stories to the ROI of real benefits, Blair shares how employers can create cultures that support both productivity and compassion. In this episode, you’ll hear: Why many people...

Robin Schooling, a luminary in the HR field, joins the Punk Rock HR Podcast for a compelling conversation about her new book, “Real HR: What It Is, What It Can Be, and How to Get There.” Robin shares personal and professional milestones, including a health scare that inspired her to complete her decade-long writing project. Her story is one of resilience and passion, challenging the absurdities of...

Facing a brain tumor and navigating menopause were not challenges Christine Muldoon ever anticipated would redefine her role as a leader and a woman. Her story is a powerful testament to the resilience and empathy that arise from confronting personal health challenges head-on. On this episode of the Punk Rock HR Podcast, Christine, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Strategy at WebMD Health Se...

Ever pondered the hidden complexities behind AI and HR compliance? On this episode of the Punk Rock HR Podcast, Laurie sits down with Joel Stupka, the Enterprise Partnerships Director at PosterElite and podcast host of HR Snacks. Using his expertise, they explore the unsung hero of HR compliance—the labor law poster. They also touch on the serious financial penalties businesses face for non-compli...

Have you ever wondered what differentiates a skilled moderator from a polished keynote speaker? On this episode of the Punk Rock HR Podcast, join Laurie as she unpacks her recent experiences navigating the challenging art of moderating panels. Unlike delivering a keynote, which thrives on preparation and repetition, moderating requires a balance of research, adaptability, and quick thinking. Lauri...

Joey Price, a thought leader in Human Resources and the author of “The Power of HR: How to Make an Organizational Impact as a People Professional,” joins Laurie to uncover the evolving landscape of HR in a digital-first world. This episode of the Punk Rock HR Podcast discusses the crucial role HR plays in shaping modern workplaces, focusing on transforming HR into strategic partners who understand...

Laurie's chaotic upbringing taught survival. Resilience revealed her true path. In this episode of the Punk Rock HR Podcast, Laurie draws inspiration from her unique journey and explores the balance between knowing when to offer help and when silence is the greatest gift. Motivated by Oprah Winfrey's thought-provoking question, "What do I owe people?", Laurie shares her insights, challenges the st...

Harvard Law alum and Bryce Legal's CEO, Shauna Bryce, shares her journey from legal practice to transformative career coaching on this episode of the Punk Rock HR Podcast. Shauna shares her inspiring journey from pursuing a partnership at a law firm to becoming an entrepreneur and executive coach. She highlights how aligning our careers with our values can lead to a fulfilling life. Her insights a...

Could understanding autism help create more inclusive spaces—at work and in life? On this episode of Punk Rock HR, host Laurie Ruettimann talks with Dr. Lisa Scott, an assistant professor of psychology at Utah Tech University. Dr. Scott has spent her career teaching, practicing therapy, consulting with businesses, focusing on important topics like autism and neurodiversity. Together, they explore...

On today’s episode of the Punk Rock HR Podcast, Ryan Leary and William Tincup are Laurie’s guests. They share their fascinating journey to building the WRKdefined Podcast Network. They spotlight the power of podcasting by revealing how meaningful content can be created without extravagant equipment. It is a thought-provoking exploration into the essence of authentic conversations, where we aim to...