Transform Your Workplace

Sheri Kuretich, a Human Resources Manager at Sunstone Circuits, shares how she and the leadership team at Sunstone built a successful wellness program for the organization that drove positive change in the culture and an improvement in overall health. During the episode, Sheri shares the reasons they started a wellness program, how they implemented it, the successes and failures they had along the...

Ever wonder what it is like to create a set of guiding principles for an organization—the type that all employees believe in and live every single day they are at work? Brandon Laws sits down Joy McCormick and Lacey Halpern of Xenium HR to discuss the process of creating a set of principlesfrom first-hand experience. Brandon, Joy, and Lacey discuss Xenium’s set of guiding principles called “The Xe...

Alfred Dual and Lacey Halpern of Xenium HR join Brandon Laws for a discussion on ways to engage employees at work. The discussion is centered around a handout that shared ideas on engaging employees at work from a keynote presentation at the Portland Human Resources Management Association Strategic Management Conference titled "What's Brewing in HR." During the discussion, Brandon, Alfred and Lace...

In this episode, Brandon Laws and Tim Winner, Vice President of People at Metal Toad Media discuss the title “VP of People” and its role in an organization as it relates to HR and leadership.   Brandon and Tim discuss how focusing on "people" has fueled growth in Metal Toad Media’s business. Tim talks about how culture development, recruiting great people, and having philosophies instead of workpl...

Lacey Halpern of Xenium HR, joins the  Human Resources for Small Business  podcast to discuss giving feedback to employees, being authentic and managing performance. During this episode, Lacey and Brandon discuss how giving negative feedback is better than no feedback at all, methods to give positive and negative feedback, types of feedback worth sharing, what is more appropriate—public or private...

Tyler Meuwissen, HR Representative at Xenium HR, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss the book The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. During the episode, Tyler and Brandon discuss the main takeaways within the book, including: what it means to focus on "One Thing," why we should do fewer things instead of...

Listen in as this podcast episode features a recording of the HR leader panel from the Attracting and Retaining Talent workshop Xenium hosted on April 16, 2014. The moderator for the panel discussion is Suzi Alligood, Director of Training & Development at Xenium HR. The three panelists are Susy Dunn, VP of People at Jama Software, Paige Jackson, VP of HR at Stimson Lumber Company and Tana Thomson,...

Molly Kelley, HR Business Partner at Xenium HR, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss developing for skills, training and a new program created at Xenium called XenTalks—which is an internal program intended to develop speaking skills. During this episode, Molly and Brandon discuss why employee development is critical to culture, the impact development has on an employee...

Alfred Dual, HR Business Partner at Xenium HR , and Brandon Laws discuss the leadership book The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in Life by Robin Sharma. During this episode, Alfred and Brandon discuss the background of the book, what it means to be a Leader With No Title , how turbulent times build great leaders, the habits of leaders and how any employee c...

Lacey Halpern, HR Business Partner at Xenium HR, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss how to create and implement corrective action and performance improvement plans. During this episode, Lacey and Brandon discuss the ways to manage performance, including the difference between corrective action and performance improvement plans, how to implement each plan and the import...

Jan Foster , an Account Executive at Performance Resources , joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss applicant tracking systems. During the episode, Jan and Brandon discuss how to implement applicant tracking systems, what questions to ask during the implementation process, creating automated "thank you" messages for candidates, search engine optimization (SEO) for job post...

Benjamin Prinzing, Principal at Kadalyst , joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to talk about creating successful and effective wellness programs. During this episode, Benjamin and Brandon discuss: The overall importance and purpose behind wellness programs, activity-based and outcomes-based wellness programs, building a wellness program brand, encouraging participation and trackin...

Molly Kelley, HR Business Partner at Xenium HR, returns to the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss exit and stay interview processes. During this episode, Molly and Brandon discuss: the definition and purpose of an exit and stay interview, questions that should be asked in an exit interview, who conducts each type of interview, communication of results to the organization and how...

Iris Tilly, an Associate at Barran Liebman who specializes in employment law advice & litigation, ERISA compliance and HIPPA, returns to the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to follow up on the changes that have occurred in Health Care Reform, including: the delay of the employer mandate, Exchange Notice requirements, individual mandate regulations, employer requirements to establish mea...

Kim Smith , a Human Resource Business Partner at Xenium HR in Portland, Oregon, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss employee satisfaction surveys. In this episode Kim discusses: Effective tools for conducting satisfaction surveys, what kinds of questions should and should not be asked. how to encourage participation from all employees, analyzing and presenting results t...

Rebecca Naatz , Senior Human Resource Business Partner, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss coaching and developing employee performance. During the episode, Rebecca explains the importance of coaching rather than simply managing, how this method can be used to further develop employees, and how managers can measure their effectiveness. In this episode: Characteristics...

Ellen West , Associate Professor of Management at Portland State University, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss the importance of company culture in the workplace. During the episode, Ellen explains the importance of establishing a culture which appreciates creativity and allows employees to "bring their whole selves to work." In this episode: - Practicing and nurturin...

Molly Kelley and Lacey Halpern of Xenium HR, join the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss The Five Dysfunctions of a Team , a novel by Patrick Lencioni. During the episode, Molly and Lacey discuss the five dysfunctions that cause even the best teams to struggle, and a model that can be used to overcome these obstacles to achieve a cohesive team. In this episode: -Building a found...

Suzi Alligood, the Director of Training and Development at Xenium HR, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss performance management and conducting reviews. During the episode, Suzi shares her thoughts on the importance of developing a process for managing performance in an organization. In this episode, Suzi discusses: The purposes on managing performance Challenges manage...

Iris Tilley , an attorney at Barran Liebman who specializes in employment law advice and litigation, ERISA compliance and affirmative action compliance, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss what employers need to know about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , or commonly known as Health Care Reform or ObamaCare . During the episode, Iris provides listeners w...

Lacey Halpern of Xenium HR joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss the difference between paid time off (PTO) and vacation & sick time policies. During the episode, Lacey shares her thoughts on why employers would choose one "time off" policy over the other and explains how each works. In this episode: - The advantages and disadvantages of paid time off (PTO) and vacation/s...

Mathew Simonton joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss the book Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time by Susan Scott. In this episode, Brandon and Mathew discuss the concepts in Fierce Conversations and give their overall review on the content. In this episode: - The seven principles in Fierce Conversations - How can we rela...

John Young , an attorney at Garrett Hemann Robertson, who practices civil litigation, employment & labor law and workers' compensation, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss how organizations can make the transition to a paperless workplace. In this episode, John and Brandon discuss the ideas in John's article, "Tips on Starting a Paperless Office," from the Oregon State...

Kirsten Solis , a Senior Human Resource Representative at Xenium HR, joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss the what employers should know about the Form I-9. In this episode, Kirsten and Brandon discuss the latest updates on the Form I-9 and share thoughts on filling out the form.   Learn: - What is the Form I-9 and why do employers need it? - Does the I-9 Form Expire? -...

Sierra Modro, author of The Right Ladder: Climb to your perfect career in 4 simple steps , joins the Human Resources for Small Business podcast to discuss how organizations and employees can reach the next level.     In this episode, Sierra and Brandon Discuss: - The LEAP system and what it stands for - How leaders can help current employees reach the next level in their career - Success and failu...