The Hiring Room

Entrepreneurship is often described as freedom, but the path to it is rarely linear. In this episode of The Hiring Room , host Renee L. Beckman sits down with Heather Winandy to explore career evolution, visibility, and what actually happens when capable people outgrow the roles they were hired into. Heather shares her journey from administrative leadership and project management inside large orga...

Hiring decisions now carry legal, cultural, and operational risk that many companies underestimate. In this episode of The Hiring Room , Renee Beckman speaks with labor and employment attorney Neil Dishman of Jackson Lewis about what has changed for employers heading into 2026. They discuss Illinois’ new AI disclosure laws, interview boundaries, criminal background checks, cannabis testing, and ho...

In this episode of The Hiring Room , host Renee Beckman sits down with Denny DeDecker , Controller at Sollitt Construction, for a candid conversation on how ownership models fundamentally shape leadership behavior, culture, and long-term performance. Denny brings firsthand experience leading inside private equity–backed organizations where growth expectations are aggressive, pressure is constant,...

In this episode of The Hiring Room , host Renee Beckman sits down with Juli Johnson, a seasoned Chief Human Resources and People Officer, for an honest and wide-ranging conversation about culture, confidence, and what it really takes to build strong organizations. Juli shares her non-linear path into HR, including a decade spent outside the function before stepping into people leadership. She expl...

Leadership, Neuroscience, and the Human Cost of a Multi-Cognitive Workplace What happens to leadership, trust, and mental wellness when AI becomes a cognitive presence on the team? In this episode, Renee Beckman sits down with Jeanine Stewart, PhD, neuroscientist, former provost, and executive leadership coach, for a wide-ranging conversation on how leadership breaks down when humans are promoted...

Hiring decisions change people’s lives, and most companies do not treat them with that level of responsibility. In this episode of The Hiring Room, Renee Beckman sits down with Kristine Ritzler, HR Manager at Prairie Capital Advisors, to unpack what thoughtful, ethical hiring looks like inside a growing professional services firm. From ESOP culture to onboarding accountability, Kristine brings a g...

What makes a startup feel “magical” and how do you build that kind of culture on purpose? In this episode, Renee Beckman sits down with Kristina Creed , a high-impact HR leader with deep experience moving between early-stage companies and larger organizations, to break down what it really takes to thrive in a startup environment . From the “messy middle” of undefined roles to the pace of hypergrow...

Andrew discusses how critical it is to set 90 - 180 day onboarding plans with new employees and your expectations of them as a leader. Don’t make assumptions, then you and your employee could be mis-aligned. Grab the details and other hot topics surrounding technology in HR, how to retain internal recruiters during soft markets and challenges with labor shortage in manufacturing!