The HR Life Podcast

The guys talk to Karisa Stahle about I9's, 1099 Employees, and how to do audits during an incredibly difficult time.  The guys check in with Karisa on the state HR, talk AI a little, and talk about how to go about an I9 audit.  Where to start and how to keep everybody calm when you let them know you need to redo some paperwork.  Learn more about Karisa Stahle at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karisa...

The guys talk to Tracie Kalmar about how tough it was to work with Steve (which she claims was great), building culture, cutesy stickers, interviewing for humility, and a lot more.  Listeners get an update on Steve's cat flooding his bathrooms and Tony gets exposed for saying the word fantastic too much.  The guys introduce a new charity you can work with and the word strategic gets said more ofte...

The guys talk to Mark Tolman, a company side employment attorney, and the most common EEOC complaints, executive orders, and some legal updates.  Learn about Muldrow v. City of St. Louis and other cases.  Did you know that you can get a restraining order against former employees and others who make threats?  Who files more of those than anybody else in Utah? Oh... and the episode isn't boring!  Le...

From our families to yours, Merry Christmas!  The guys give you an insight into their personal lives by having their wives on the podcast.  Does Steve sometimes leave off the true ending of the story?  Why does Tony respond slower now instead of just saying the first thing that pops into his head?  Listen to the podcast and find out.  Get an insight into the cardinal rule of the podcast and where...

This is the episode Steve's been teasing for more than a month!  Tony and Steve talk compassion with Andrea Hollingsworth.  Listen in as Andrea crowd surfs the "live studio audience" and dispels the idea that compassion is a lot of workplace hugs.  The guys talk to her about the difference between empathy and compassion, and discuss the fight or flight response generated when employees don't feel...

The guys talk to Weslie Porter, Director of People Analytics for the State of Utah, and he drops some amazing stats that have the ability to change how you view HR.  Wes gives some amazing insights into motivation, dissent, and the actual role of human resources.  From artillery specialists in the Army to private sector employees just onboarded, how do you gather data and build excellence?  Find o...

The guys talk to Desma and Elrona D'Souza, the "HR Sisters" and owners of S&K HR Consulting.  What is it like to live in a country where 80% of the population is imported?  What is similar between HR in Dubai and the US, what is different?  If you give somebody a bobblehead of Tony in Dubai is it a positive thing or not?  Desma D'Souza - After spending over 15 years building a successful corpo...

This episode includes the long awaited announcement of the theme of the 2026 Work Elevated Conference.  JoyLynn Jeppson joins the guys to announce the theme (which is NOT Steve Smith), tell her story and remind of how sexist the '90's were.  The episode was delayed when Tony damaged the original recording and it had to be rerecorded.  JoyLynn shares data that came out of the 2025 conference, expla...

In this week's episode, the guys talk with Tami Bajema about the revolutionary idea that weaknesses are just strengths turned up a little too high.  Tami talks about helping people find their Super Powers (the intersection of what they're good at, what they like to do, and their perseverance/marketability) starting in elementary school and during interviews.  She talks about what happened when she...

In this episode Tony and Steve attack how to take over a dysfunctional HR department or start a department of one.  They coin a new phrase, "Eat the Otterpops", discuss how to build recruiting on a solid foundation, and have a lot of fun along the way.  Steve gives some incredible new insights into what demotivates employees with some new research from iSolved, and explains why employees refer the...

Claire Lizear joins the podcast from 6 Mile to talk HR burnout, the trap that many HR professionals find themselves in, who HR should report to, how she screens applicants, and of course, horror stories.  All this with Claire's fiery sense of humor and incredible insight.  Tony shares a favorite harassment complaint.  Claire explains what 8 Mile, 6 Mile, and 5 Mile are near Detroit and we find out...

Alison Avila joins the guys to test the theory that no matter what intro Tony gives about Steve, it will turn out to be true.  They also discuss perfectionism in HR Pro's, nicknamed horror stories, and why some staffing companies succeed when others don't.  Alison is the Director of Human Resources at Your Employment Solutions (YES) , a Utah-based staffing agency where she has led HR strategy and...

The guys talk Steve's missing Star Wars ornaments and Vision Mission Values with the Empty Red Seat.  Why your vision, mission, and values form a critical component in your recruiting, onboarding, and engagement.  This discussion is the central focus of Tony’s consulting services and the bleeding edge recruiting techniques that Steve presents at conferences around the country and in his book.    ...

The guys talk to Steve Jaffe, author of the book The Layoff Journey: From Dismissal to Discovery .  The discussion moves from statistics of the increasing numbers of people caught in layoffs, to some of the pitfalls of using an ATS fully screen applicants.  Recovering from being caught in a layoff is a journey and this episode looks at it from 100 different angles including HR’s.     Born and rais...

Recorded live at The Work Elevated Conference, this episode will shock you into a smile.  After another brilliant introduction, the guys talk to both organizers and attendees at the conference.  Rachel Child joins the podcast again and talks about working at the conference, Karisa Stahle then talks about turning over the reigns to Joylynn Jepson who also joined and promised to first release the th...

Steve admits his troubled past selling lizards and the guys talk recruiting, interviewing, and the state of HR with Melissa Musgrave.  Melissa shares her experience "recruiting Jesus" and some other fun stories.  The guys take a few minutes and discuss the assassination of Charlie Kirk.   Melissa believes people are the capital, and growth is the return.  Founder of Melissa Musgrave People Collect...

After a shaky start, the guys talk to Diane Fullerton from GBS Benefits about that time she helped save the Work Elevated Conference and her association with Utah SHRM.  They also talk the world of benefits, what your broker should be doing for you, and the process of getting benefit quotes.  We know... all sexy topics for sure, but it was a lot of fun.  Monday was a full participant in this episo...

The guys talk with JD Robinson about Recruiting, the state of HR, making transformative relationships with people, and acknowledge that HR is not your friend... but neither is accounting or marketing.  They discuss the value of experience verses a degree and why high performers that nobody likes shouldn't be on your team as well as the greatest recruiting process JD has ever been a part of.  (No p...

The guys talk to Dan Merkley about his experience organizing and managing the athlete's village for the Olympics.  What does it take to create an organization that exists to put on a single event and then disband? How do you staff hundreds of workers and keep them all engaged and working hard until the end of the games?  How do you keep them from finding another employer two weeks into the event? ...

The guys talk to Matt Hilbig from OCM, Inc about the state of HR from the perspective of the job seeker.  The discussion covers the current labor market, bad behavior by both candidates and recruiters, the reputation companies develop over time by how they treat applicants, and, of course, the word "strategic."   Guest appearance by Rizzo.     Matthew Hilbig is Executive Vice President and co-owne...

The guys sit down and talk to Josh Brecheisen about working in HR while being religious, recruiting, how to become the best version of yourself and the future of AI in helping people find jobs.  Josh discusses the idea that, in the future, AI bots will find everybody a job instead of individuals applying for jobs.  Josh is a recruiting leader, trainer, and speaker. He's recruited for top brands su...

The guys leave the Red Seat empty for an episode and talk the lawsuit against Workday and the implications for AI use in recruiting.  They discuss how you can protect your company and what to ask vendors to provide when you evaluate their AI products.  The guys also talk recent changes in recruiting and the marketing principles associated with them.  The current state of HR also comes up, of cours...

The guys speak to Xavier "X" Cugnon about veterans, the skills they bring to the private sector, how employers can ask about a veteran's story, and the transition from military to civilian life. Oh... and there's a story about a great big cat.    Xavier Cugnon is the Vice President of Human Resources at Lookout Pest Control. With over 15 years of progressive HR leadership, Xavier blends business a...

Tony and Steve talk to Kate Thompson for a fresh take on HR.  Tony rambles on about perfume, and Kate drops some fantastic wisdom. They talk about the benefit of being required to solve problems, self care, finding out who's perfume is overpowering the office, and the definition of boring/bad HR.  Steve coins the phrase "Cold Played", and the jokes just never stop coming.   And yes... the email to...

In this episode, the guys talk to Rachel Child about her story, how she got into HR, the effect of firing a lot of people on a young practitioner, the generational differences between older and younger workers, and even a story about an HR professional who was answering email while in delivery.   Rachel Child is a certified HR Practitioner, Consultant, and Business Instructor (Weber State) who lov...