What The HR!

🎙️ In this episode of What the HR!, hosts Becky Lauseng and Lena Scullard are joined by Kristin Dean, Chief People & Administrative Officer at Huntress, for an inspiring conversation on intentional leadership and career acceleration. Kristin Dean leads the company’s global People organization. She partners closely with the executive leadership team to align talent and culture to the operations...

Jenny Cotie Kangas rebuilt her life from zero after a 2020 injury erased her memory, and built a methodology out of what worked. Now she runs Whiterock Road, a Builder Coach practice for applied AI, where she builds systems alongside clients and teaches them to build the next one. From what if to how. Guest: Jenny (JCK) Cotie Kangas -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcotie/ Hosts: Becky Lauseng - htt...

Nicole is the Director of Human Resources at Bauer Design Build, where she leads people strategy with a focus on building people-first workplaces that align culture with business growth. Her work sits at the intersection of culture, operational reality, and mental health, creating environments where people feel seen, supported, and safe to speak up. With experience in highly structured industries...

Scott Mason—The Myth Slayer—is a 2x TEDx speaker, executive coach, attorney, author, and former senior New York City government and nonprofit executive. A graduate of Columbia Law School, Scott spent more than two decades leading complex, high-impact initiatives across government, legal, nonprofit, and mission-driven organizations. This included serving as second-in-command of New York City’s cent...

Laura King has had over 30,000 career conversations across two decades as an executive recruiter. She's sat with leaders at every level: the ones hitting their stride, the ones grinding without traction, and the ones doing everything right on paper and still falling short.   She learned that the gap between potential and performance almost always comes down to the system around people, not the peo...

Nikki Peters is the Founder and CEO of Studio 9 to 5, a national workplace wellness company transforming how organizations support employee health, energy, and performance. With 20 years of experience in the corporate wellness sector, Studio 9 to 5 has partnered with companies across healthcare, government, finance, and commercial real estate to deliver programs that improve engagement, resilience...

Amy Jacobson is an EI and human behaviour specialist, delivering emotional intelligence programs, keynotes & workshops across Australia internationally. She is a twice Wiley-published author of 'Emotional Intelligence: A simple and actionable guide to increasing performance, engagement and ownership', and the new book ‘The Emotional Intelligence Advantage: Mastering change and difficult conver...

Jeffery Robinson is the Senior Program Director at Build Wealth MN, where he leads financial education, coaching, workforce development, and housing counseling programs that help families build stability and generational wealth. His work is rooted in his personal mantra: “Because Somebody Did It for Me.” A graduate of the University of Minnesota–Morris, Jeffery co-founded Imani, a student organiza...

Paul DeBettignies, better known online as Minnesota Headhunter, is a Minnesota IT Recruiter who builds IT teams with startups and tech companies, creates recruiting strategies for Fortune 500 clients, author of the Minnesota Headhunter blog, the longest running regional recruiter blog and an Advisor to ToggleGreen. He is a frequent local and national speaker, trainer and subject matter expert on r...

A 6-time award-winning keynote speaker Meredith Breitstein tours the world encouraging leaders to step into their destiny, walk through fear, and SHINE by finding their courage. She specializes in helping teams, and her audiences speak up, stand out, and command a room with their presence. After coaching thousands of leaders she has learned there are 5 steps all of us can take to level UP and star...

Rick Rittmaster is a Leadership and Talent Development expert who leads the Leadership Solutions practice at Strategic Talent Partners and is a Co-Founder at Groveland Leadership. With over a decade of experience partnering with CEOs and senior executives, he helps organizations enhance leadership capability and drive sustainable growth. Rick is known for his unique ability to make complex leaders...

Heather Polivka helps leaders create workplaces where people thrive, great talent stays, and businesses grow. Whether clients are responding to a changing talent market, fueling high growth, or navigating accelerated change, Heather guides leaders to cultivate a way of working that fuels their business and empowers their people. She has been doing that for more than two decades at companies of all...

Lena Scullard and Becky Lauseng welcomed employment attorney Kate Bischoff to discuss employee handbooks, which she defined as documents setting expectations and guidance distinct from tactical policy manuals. Kate advised that HR should determine the handbook's tone to match the company culture, use the document to drive cultural change, and review the handbook annually, ideally from back to fron...

Eric Harkins is the President and Founder of GKG Search & Outplacement, a Minneapolis-based consulting firm that helps organizations Get, Keep & Grow talent. He is also an Amazon #1 best-selling author of: Great Leaders Make Sure Monday Morning Doesn’t Suck. His goal is simple: Help every company he works with make sure Monday morning doesn’t suck for their employees. Eric is a motivationa...

Tiffany McDaniel, an Absence Consultant at Brown and Brown, explained the new Minnesota paid leave program, which takes effect on January 1st. Tiffany explained that employees are eligible for up to 20 weeks of paid time off with job and benefit protection for various reasons, including caring for a family member, bonding with a child, or their own serious health condition. Tiffany McDaniel also c...

Becky Lauseng and Jay Olson introduced Keynote Speaker, Janice Litvin, who defined burnout as chronic, unmanaged work leading to complete mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion, impacting organizational productivity and employee retention. Janice emphasized that individual awareness, effective managerial support, setting boundaries, and a top-down culture of well-being are crucial in preventin...

In this episode, we talk with J.P. Paul, Vice President of Stadium Operations for the Minnesota Vikings, now in his 23rd season with the team. J.P. has been instrumental in creating world-class game day experiences for fans, leading initiatives in food service, crowd management, and facility operations at U.S. Bank Stadium. He also plays a key role in shaping the future of TCO Stadium at Viking La...

Becky Lauseng introduced Jay Olson and Lena Scullard as the new co-hosts for the "What the HR podcast," with both new co-hosts expressing enthusiasm for joining and engaging with the TCSHRM community. Jay Olson and Lena Scullard shared their non-traditional career paths into HR/Talent, their personal hobbies and passions, and their motivations for joining the podcast, with Lena Scullard aiming to...

Kristen Brown is a Certified Speaking Professional, bestselling author, and interactive and funny keynote speaker and trainer who helps organizations unlock high-impact leadership, team engagement, and performance by harnessing the power of energy. With nearly two decades in corporate leadership and market research, she brings deep expertise in human behavior, workplace dynamics, and results-drive...

Dr. Rosie Ward is a fierce advocate for humanity who is sought-after to help rehumanize workplaces that free, fuel and inspire people to bring their best selves to work – and home – each day. She serves as CEO and Founder of Salveo Partners , which was awarded the 2024 Stellar Business Award for best business consulting in the United States, and focuses on future-proofing organizations by strength...

John Christensen is an award-winning filmmaker, author, and the CEO of ChartHouse Learning, the company behind the globally recognized FISH! Philosophy. In 1998, during a visit to Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market, he was inspired by the fishmongers’ energetic and joyful approach to their work. This experience led him to create the FISH! video, which evolved into a worldwide movement promoting work...

Mark Smith is a seasoned global talent leader with over 20 years of experience in Talent Acquisition, Leadership Development, and Talent Management. Currently serving as Vice President of Global Talent Acquisition at Medtronic, a leading medical technology company, Mark oversees a global team that drives innovative hiring solutions to advance Medtronic's mission of alleviating pain, restoring heal...

We’ve made it to 100 episodes of What the HR! — and we’re marking the moment with a special farewell to our original hosts, Jessie Novey and Mike Thul. Since 2019, they’ve brought thoughtful conversations, expert insights, and plenty of personality to the mic as dedicated TCSHRM volunteers. In this milestone episode, new host Becky Lauseng sits down with Mike and Jessie for an interview looking ba...

Dr. Benjamin Granger is Chief Workplace Psychologist and Head of EX Advisory Services. He has over a decade of experience building Experience Management (XM) programs across the globe and leads EX thought leadership and research initiatives across Qualtrics and the XM Institute. Report: https://www.qualtrics.com/ebooks-guides/2024-ex-trends-report/   Guest: Benjamin Granger: Chief Workplace Psycho...

With over 15 years of experience in human resource strategy, organizational effectiveness, and talent development, Bethany Kurbis helps leaders and organizations reach their potential and accomplish their unique missions. As an experienced people leader, she works with clients across various sectors to develop strategies that align their daily practices with their core values and guiding principle...