Part 3 - The Future of HR - Beyond Tech

Speaker A: M foreign.

Speaker B: Welcome to HR Fresh Take, brought to you by Philly Sherm. Stay fresh with the latest trends affecting the Philadelphia region. I am your host, Dr. Joe Vasquez. In part three of our series, the Future of HR Beyond Tech, we'll discuss the shift from traditional compliance driven HR to a more strategic people centered function that blends business impact, data fluency, emotional intelligence, human connection. The conversation also tackles the importance of creating high trust cultures in the age of AI. Our guests today are Samantha Broussard, Chief talent Officer at Compass Business Solutions. Christy Straw, founder of Lighthouse Leadership consultants, and Jennifer McSherry, senior vice president and client advisor with Locked In Companies. Let's listen.

Speaker A: Hello listeners. I'm, um, here with my guest from

Speaker B: the Philly Shurm symposium.

Speaker A: And we're going to be talking about modern hr. We want to have the voice behind the name. So I'm going to start um, on, well, you can't see my right, but on my right, um. Samantha, could you introduce yourself?

Speaker C: Hi, um, my name is Samantha Buzzard. I am the chief integration officer at an organization called Compass Business Solutions. Compass, uh, is HR and operations consulting, management consulting firm. Because we know that every high performing organization knows that their greatest assets are their people. But navigating the complexities of that isn't always easy. And that's where we come in to integrate those things together.

Speaker A: And are you presenting at the symposium?

Speaker C: I am at 2:30 this afternoon. You can find me talking about mergers and acquisitions, but the people side of it.

Speaker A: All right, okay, so I'm going to go with Christy.

Speaker D: Ooh. Hello everybody. Uh, my name is Kristi Straw. I hail from Charlotte, North Carolina. You might know me as the unicorn leader. I am super excited to be here today. And um, what do I do? Well, I build high trust rooms where experiences turn time into quicker deal flow, quicker decision making and more money.

Speaker A: And will you be speaking during the symposium?

Speaker D: I am. I'm speaking at 2:30 today and I'll be talking all about modern HR.

Speaker A: Oh, okay. So we got a perfect guest.

Speaker B: Jennifer.

Speaker E: Hi, I'm um, Jennifer McSherry. I am a senior vice president and client advisor with the Lockton companies. So we focus on risk management. I specialize in employee benefits consulting. So helping employers make sure that they're bringing the right solutions to their employees from a total reward perspective while balancing that with the ongoing cost of health care.

Speaker A: So when we talk about modern hr, um, we're seeing that the workplace is changing at an epic rate. Especially with the introduction of AI, especially what's going on in the World and hr, ah, needs to pivot, um, and pivot fast. But it kind of get confusing because we don't know, um, what does that mean for HR in the future? What is it that they, uh, need as an individual and what do our teams need? So I would like to, um, hear what you think modern HR is for either the individual or team.

Speaker D: Um, okay. So I think modern HR is about moving from what has historically been a more of a support function into more of a client facing leadership function. Uh, what has been really exciting to see is how HR has evolved. Understanding how important psychological safety is, understanding how important highly emotionally intelligent leaders are. It is awesome to see this sort of evolution in the HR space. And I would say that modern HR is a double down on the fact that we're people first. Let's have conversations that may be difficult and then let's move through them and let's create workplaces where we can show up as an integrated whole person versus having to chameleonize ourselves across different environments. That is modern hr.

Speaker E: Yeah, Christy, I would just layer on top of that. I think that that's an amazing response. I would say to me, modern HR is really shifting from single program ownership to business impact. So it's no longer just managing this piece of benefits or this piece of compensation or this policy. It's how are you influencing the outcomes that those programs have and tying them back to the business in a way that you're thinking about what does this mean for retention or productivity or cost? And I think the biggest shift is that HR is now expected to understand the business just as well as they understand their people and then pull those two things together to really drive a strategic vision for the organization.

Speaker C: Yeah, um, I totally agree, Jennifer, doubling down on that. It's integrated, it's agile, and it is a business and a people operations function. Now I don't think that anymore we can look at HR as the siloed function and some of the things, uh, that were affiliated with that in the past.

Speaker A: So our platform for the next couple of years, um, for Felix Shurum is the human behind human resources. And I've heard from a couple of other recordings that we have for this series is that the human side seems to be a modern take on HR and away from paperwork and compliance. So what do you think about that?

Speaker C: I think it's kind of sad that it's the modern take. Right. Because it was the take that maybe we should have always been taking. But I agree we are moving away from this is the check the box Exercise that keeps us safe to. Of course, that's important too. No doubt. And how are we empowering our employees to thrive in this environment, to stay in this environment and then to make this business run as a complete function?

Speaker B: Mhm.

Speaker D: I would just say also that modern HR and really leaning into the human element of it is hilarious. Like you mentioned because it's called human resources. Some of us when we were inside the corporate system were leading in a very human being type of way and it squeezed us out. So there's a lot of us who have left the workplace environment who are now being strategists and consultants and being able to bring this level of understanding that the human element is so important and it's fun to be on this side of it. My fear is though, because. Let's have the real conversation.

Speaker A: Mhm.

Speaker D: It's not so fun for the people inside. Yeah, we have to change that.

Speaker E: Mhm.

Speaker D: We have to be more human. We have to be more authentic. We have to. As you said, HR has to know all the business. The business needs to know all the people.

Speaker B: Right.

Speaker D: That's a two way street.

Speaker E: I also think it's an interesting concept at the same time that we have this convergence of AI right? At the same time that we're like it needs to be human first. But hey, we have all of this AI. And I mean earlier in the session today it was, it's creating a lot of chaos and it's how do you bring the human element while still leaning into some of the leverage and efficiencies and strategies that a business can gain through AI? But it has to be through a human lens and making sure, Krista, to your point, that we're still understanding who our people are, understanding the impact that an organization has on those people while still leveraging the new tools and resources available with AI.

Speaker D: It's true. And did you know that an employee who reports to a leader who is self described as high EQ has a retention rate with that team Leader of over 4 years? 4 years at this point. I was just talking to somebody about this last night. They said they worked somewhere for five years. I'm like, damn, you're like a unicorn. Five years nowadays, right? That used to be like a little bit of a shameful thing, honestly, to move jobs. And so I say when we're now in this place where four and five years is a big long time to be somewhere, then I think that only underscores the importance of the human element for the humans that are left.

Speaker A: I, I, I, I just like to me in, when I started in my career, that it was, you know, personnel and it was all paper. And I see that the evolution of my career, that it's being, um, like, they know my name versus go to hr.

Speaker D: And do you like it?

Speaker A: I do that. The fact that they know my name instead of saying, well, I had to go to HR and you're hr and it's just like they actually, uh, Rising HR Affiliate ended up doing a session about My name is not hr.

Speaker D: That's a great title.

Speaker A: So. And whether I think, um, you know, it was myself that said, I'm going to put myself out there, but there's a fear of, you know, putting yourself out there. So, um, and again, we keep talking about the human element. You talked about AI and trying to put the human lens in it, but it's scary to be the human because of all that's going on. And hr, for all intents and purposes, seems to be the one giving the bad news all the time, never the good news, you know. So I say, how do you help? Um, again, our listeners go from students to senior members, those who are in transition, to kind of how do they modernize themselves? And whether it's through technology, knowing the business, or even being more empathetic.

Speaker B: What advice would you give?

Speaker E: I mean, the one thing that comes to mind for me is I think that there's two sides to the AI and tying it into hr. There's the business impact and operations, but then there's also like the stakeholder at the end. The employee has more information now than ever. They can go on to AI, get all of the information that they need. And that's driving different expectation for expectations from employees as well, where they're now expecting more. They're expecting that employers are bringing benefits and solutions that meet them where they are, rather than a one size fits all approach. And that lands with, ah, hr. Of how do they balance meeting? All of these employees who have all this information are probably very vocal about it. How do they meet their needs while still balancing that with the financial sustainability of the business and really taking both of those roles. To Kristi, what you said in the beginning of becoming a true business leader as well, of, uh, this is what my employees need. Here's our solutions. How do you drive actual impact and outcomes with those solutions to balance both the financial piece and what your employees need and are expecting?

Speaker C: I think this is also a really unique time in the workforce when you look at generations. So, um, right now you have the first generation that had a Device some kind of technology in their hands from, um, infancy. And then you have generations that watched that transition happen. And then you watched generations who. That was a late adoption piece. And I think that what all of those generations have in common is still the people experience. And so while some of these folks are expecting faster, better, stronger technology, we can't minimize the fact that that human connection and that human element is really important. Coming back to how do you build relationships as leaders, as colleagues, as peers to get your work done and how do we integrate that into our learning and development curriculum? Even when, right, we're really pushing hard towards those technical competencies and being able to wear multiple hats and moving really fast. That human element, we can't miss on it.

Speaker D: We really can't. Because there's a study out that actually shows that the top 10 skills in 2030, seven of those are power skills, also known by people who mistakenly call them soft skills. Uh, power skills. Seven of the ten by 2030 are what's needed. Because listen, Tom and tech, who can't have a human conversation with Sally, who's upset because of X, Y and Z, now we don't have Sally anymore. And when we already have fewer and fewer human employees, we need to certainly make space and take care for the ones we have. So I tell people, not enough to upskill, it's not enough to workshop. You have to actually be integrating the behavior. And you can't do that until you understand any sort of root cause problem there might be in any sort of a leadership function. And so that's. A lot of times where I get pulled in is, hey, decisions are being relitigated. Oh my gosh, why are we having to talk about this for the third time and our meetings aren't moving forward? Honestly, guys, I'm telling you why it is is because AI is so new. Everybody's afraid to be the one that has the target on their back as the risk take. And so as soon as we can actually just codify and have the real conversation about who's responsible, what does responsibility mean? Because usually that does not mean you're in trouble if it doesn't work out. But that would involve us having to have a human conversation to move business goals forward, that's what has to happen.

Speaker A: Well, you talk about, um, the generations and it's the. I mean, that's probably step one in terms of, um. Because what also comes into organizations is what's happening in the world. So we talked about AI is one thing, but now we're talking about politics. Religion wars, um, just civility, uh, and again, a modern HR person has to tackle this. And again by your experiences and your uh, expertise is I have a lot of mid career professionals even and brand new professionals going, um, I've uh, got to go and deal with this. What advice would you give?

Speaker E: Yeah, I mean I think it's an interesting question. And if you also put the other lens on it, when you think about benefits, compensation, retirement, the things that HR leaders are responsible for, that's a significant portion of a business spend. And then there's all of these macro environment factors that are also, for a lack of a better word, attacking HR at the same time that there's all of these internal pressures. So to me the first thing that comes to mind is proactive of HR leaders can no longer just sit on the sidelines and react to the rest of the business. I think HR leaders and HR people in general need to be more proactive as they're thinking about what are we doing, what are the programs that are in place, what are we bringing to our employees and tying that with where the business is going so that they can actually drive change. I mean for me my lens is total rewards and employee benefits. So as you think about healthcare expense, it's a huge expense right now and HR leaders are being tasked with proactively managing that expense. So it's do you have the data that you need? Do you understand the goal of what your program is doing? Are you bringing it to the right way for your employees? And then are you tying that to where your business is going so that leaders can see you're being proactive with your decisions? You're tying them back to why it matters for the business to push leadership forward.

Speaker C: Jennifer, that's one of the number one things I'm counseling both mid managers and executives on right now. Always around the concept of data fluency, of what's the value? How does this tie back to the organization's goals? What is the roi not just for the business, but for our people? And how are all of our solutions ultimately tying back as a direct response to what the business needs in some way shape or form, Whether that's through the human elements, through the operational elements. And Dr. Joe, you brought it up. And last year I delivered a thought leadership um, session called but did AI live through a global pandemic? And right when you think about that, you saw this meteoric rise of a tool that is now in our day to day life while our lives were changing regularly, hour by hour, day by day, in a way that we'd never seen before. And so we can't lose sight of the things that we can't see. And I know we're on a podcast, but I'm pointing to what's in my mind right now, right. And all of the things that are going through all of our employees and our team members minds on a day to day basis. So I think that's a really good call out to think about the external factors, not just the internal factors while you're at work.

Speaker A: And you know, one of the things about um, negotiating, um, you know, even like the use of technology in terms of people's uh, experiences with that, it's like how do we make learning and development more experiential? More like that. You feel it. Um, and you know, before we uh, we wrap up, I can't believe like the time was going by fast. I'd uh, like to give you an opportunity for, you know, a last message to our HR constituents because we're both HR practitioners and our adjacent partners. Listen to this. So what would you, what would you say about, in terms of modern HR that you haven't done already?

Speaker D: You know, I'll step in here because you just said something really cool. Experiential. That's all that we do. When we go into firms, we have something called a better story studio. It's a traveling and strategy lab and it's where we teach people real time. How do you translate your data into a story that your team internally or your customers externally would be excited to hear? And so that's experiential. The other thing is we do something called the Pinnacle Dinner. We bring executives together for collision communities where we have social sector, nonprofit for profit. They have a collision, we have a conversation, it's facilitated and there's no electronics. These experiences are what is changing corporate culture. It's experiential, it's human first and it's not something you can get anywhere else.

Speaker C: I would just say that as uh, people leaders, I think we're going to be focused over the next five to 10 years on moving from activity to impact.

Speaker E: Right.

Speaker C: We talked about, we're not sitting in our offices anymore, we're out among our teams. We're influencing at uh, the C suite level. We're bringing roi. This role has changed dramatically. Uh, whether you're in consulting like my team is, whether you're in house, whether you're in benefits and total rewards, this is changing dramatically. And we have to think about how we impact all of the different things that we're touching and what our role is in making those things better.

Speaker A: And I know that you've, um, when you mentioned about data and roi, um, the data should be, um, it shouldn't

Speaker B: inform but not dictate.

Speaker D: Right.

Speaker C: That's a great way to put it.

Speaker A: And it's, you know. Cause we can get caught up in terms of the numbers and um, just like, oh, what the number said. But it's just like, no, this is like this is what you have here. But it doesn't have to change everything that you do.

Speaker C: It's a piece of the puzzle. It's an important piece of the puzzle, but it is a piece of the puzzle.

Speaker E: And I think that's also where HR has a leg up too. Of there is all this data. And if you think about the other stakeholders within an organization, if you pick on finance for a second, that they live in the data, everything is numbers driven. If HR can take that lens of understanding the data, what the story that the data is telling them, their unique lens of who their people are with that data, and really bring together, whether it be finance or leadership with hr, to drive business decisions that impact their people, that have outcomes that are proven. And that's a lot of what we try to do just from a benefits perspective of what's the data telling us is where you're spending your money in the right way, are you getting value out of it, and what does it mean for your business? So I think HR just has a leg up right now of connecting the right people internally to use their unique lens of they know their people better than anyone else in the organization. How do you tie that into what other parts of the organization are working on to really pull together those outcomes and drive impact?

Speaker A: I couldn't have said it better and that there was not a better way to end our time together. Uh, but before we do end, we actually like to ask this fun question of our guests. So we live in the age of the multiverse. So if you weren't doing what you were doing in this universe, what would you be doing in another universe?

Speaker E: This is easy for me. I would be a bakery owner with a coffee shop, have a little shop in the community and just spend my days baking and making coffee.

Speaker A: All right.

Speaker D: Oh, that's peaceful.

Speaker E: Yes. That's why it's my goal.

Speaker A: For me, it'd be stressful because I can't bake.

Speaker C: Um, in my other life, as I call it, I would probably be an undercover detective and working for something like a government agency, like a CIA type of role. And I'm gonna stop there without leading you down too much more of why.

Speaker E: See, that makes me feel stressed.

Speaker D: Uh, I would be a therapist. Oh, yeah. My husband's a therapist. And so I feel like it's informed so much of my work over the last 25 years. I probably would have just gone directly into organizational psychology.

Speaker A: I was just listening to you. I would like to go to you.

Speaker E: Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.

Speaker D: Hey, now, talk about that.

Speaker A: It could be the two universes may come together. Mhm.

Speaker B: All right.

Speaker E: It could happen at my coffee shop.

Speaker D: Yes. We could have a whole therapy session and then you could investigate, uh, why people aren't coming when they need to be coming.

Speaker E: I think we're onto something.

Speaker C: We might have a new business model.

Speaker A: We could call it the. The, uh, what? Called Detective Coffee Shop. Something.

Speaker D: Yes. Yes.

Speaker B: Foreign. Hope that you've enjoyed this episode and got some key takeaways for yourself and your organizations. Please connect with us on social media with our handle Illy Sherm or by searching phillysherm to receive the latest information on our virtual and in person events and membership. Also, don't forget to follow us on your preferred podcast platform so you can be the first to know when future episodes drop. Thank you for joining us. This is HR Fresh.

Speaker A: Take.