All About HR

Jon Thurmond Talks Podcasting in the HR Space

Episode 26: Jon Thurmond Talks Podcasting in the HR Space as we Celebrate 250 Episodes of the HR Social Hour Half-Hour Podcast 
1/8/2022 
 With Jon and Wendy Dailey closing the doors on an amazing 318-episode HR Social Hour Half-Hour Podcast, I’m excited to sit down with Jon for his first interview/podcast since their final farewell episode.  We talk podcasting, community building, tie-in HR talk to G.I. Joe and Star Wars, and where to find the best Twitter Chat #HRSocialHour 
Noted in Podcast: 
HR HOTSAUCE “Favorite song to bring you out of a funk playlist” :  
Ben Folds Five - Underground 
 What Jon is listening to:  
Never Not Funny with Jimmy Pardo 
Doughboys with Mike Mitchell and Nick Wiger  HR Wonder Women Podcast  
Star Wars The Clone Wars (TV Series) 
Star Wars Rebels  
WWE NXT UK – Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov 
Our Guest, Jon Thurmond 
LinkedIn: Jon Thurmond 
Twitter: @Jon_Thurmond 
HR Half-Hour Social Hour Podcast 
StarJoes Podcast 
HR Social Hour Twitter Chat:  2nd and 4th Sunday’s 5pm EST each month.  Just search for #HRSocialHour and you’ll find the chat.  The next chat is 1/22/23 
Our Sponsor: People Element   
Understand, engage, inspire, and retain your people like never before.  People Element's employee experience and engagement solution delivers powerful intelligence, giving you the confidence to act.  
www.peopleelement.com  
LinkedIn: People Element  
Twitter: @People_Element  
Find Us:  
On Twitter: @AllAboutHRPod, @TomsEngagingHR 
Spotify: Spotify: All About HR Podcast 
Apple Podcast: All About HR on Apple Podcasts 

Kimberley Tipps Wallace Talks About The Art of Compliance & “Getting Wide with Your People” & Holiday Party Do’s & Don’ts

Episode 25: Kimberley Tipps Wallace Talks About The Art of Compliance & “Getting Wide with Your People” Plus a Special EOY HR Feed with Laura Hundley! 
12/28/2022 
Our Guest, Kimberley Tipps Wallace 
Kimberley Tipps Wallace is a HR leader with 30+ years of experience in not only the field of HR, but also operations, technology, and sales/marketing. Her diversified business acumen yields a unique and business-minded approach to Human Resources, which sets her apart from others in her field. 
LinkedIn: Kimberley Tipps Wallace 
Company Website: AlchemyHR “The Power of Good Advice" 
Al·che·my /ˈalkəmē/ a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination. 
Noted in Podcast: 
HR HOT SAUCE “Favorite song to bring you out of a funk playlist”: "Something By Led Zeppelin” - How About this?? Led Zeppelin - Fool in the Rain or maybe this one Dyer Mak’er 
 What Kimberley is listening to: 
Led Zeppelin - The Crunge 
Rob Zombie - Thunder Kiss '65 
The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team 
A Great Team Building Event: Color Me Mine 
THE HR Feed  
Movie: Office Christmas Party 
SNL Skit: Chris Farley & Patrick Swayze Try Out For Chippendales 
How to Survive the Office Holiday Party 
Our Sponsor: People Element   
Understand, engage, inspire, and retain your people like never before.  People Element's employee experience and engagement solution delivers powerful intelligence, giving you the confidence to act.  
www.peopleelement.com  
LinkedIn: People Element  
Twitter: @People_Element  
Find Us:  
On Twitter: @AllAboutHRPod, @TomsEngagingHR 
Spotify: Spotify: All About HR Podcast 
Apple Podcast: All About HR on Apple Podcasts 

Britt Griffin Talks About Building, Implementing, & Creating a Culture of DEIB

Episode 24: Britt Griffin Talks About Building, Implementing, & Creating a Culture of DEIB 
12/14/2022 
Noted in Podcast: 
HR HOTSAUCE “Favorite song to bring you out of a funk playlist”: I Ain't No Joke - Eric B. & Rakim 
 What Britt is listening to:  
Marvin Sapp 
Tasha Cobbs Leonard
Old School Rap: EPMD, LL Cool Jay, Eric B. & Rakim, Black Sheep, Digable Planets 
Our Guest, Britt Griffin 
Britt S. Griffin is a Human Resources and Diversity executive.  Currently he is the Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging for IEA (Infrastructure & Energy Alternatives) which is a $2.5 Billion-dollar, 6,000 employee national leader in the Renewable Energy and Construction industry headquartered in Indianapolis. Britt has over 25 years of experience leading Human Resources and Diversity initiatives for many companies throughout his career.  Currently, he is developing strategies and initiatives to create a culture of Belonging at IEA where all people can be seen, heard, understood, and valued.   
Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, as well as cheering on the Chicago Bears, Bulls, White Sox, and Blackhawks. 
LinkedIn: Britt Griffin 
Company Website IEA 
Our Sponsor: People Element   
Understand, engage, inspire, and retain your people like never before.  People Element's employee experience and engagement solution delivers powerful intelligence, giving you the confidence to act.  
www.peopleelement.com  
LinkedIn: People Element  
Twitter: @People_Element  
Find Us:  
On Twitter: @AllAboutHRPod, @TomsEngagingHR 
Spotify: Spotify: All About HR Podcast 
Apple Podcast: All About HR on Apple Podcasts 

Sims Tillirson Talks Benefits, EX, Being Your Genuine Self, & How HR Tech Needs to Approach Selling to HR Leaders

Episode 23: Sims Tillirson Talks Benefits, EX, Being Your Genuine Self, and how HR Tech NEEDS to approach sales to HR Leaders 
11/16/2022 
Sims Tillirson brings a ton of energy to today’s episode where we talk about employee benefits, music, bringing your whole self to work, and how HR Tech vendors need to better refocus how they sell to HR Leaders. Sims and I talk about his newest HR Song “Ice-cream Tuesday”. When we discuss benefits, we’re not just talking about what benefits matter but focus more on making sure your benefits drive employee experience. How do you connect your team to the benefits you’ve invested in for them?  Sims dives into his story of how he integrates his whole self (the good, the bad, the ugly) into his professional life. We finish the episode talking about how selling to HR needs to be different than just the same old sales metrics. Hint: focus on connections, not outbound calling stats. Focus on outcomes not just demoing your “industry leading product” 
 
Noted in Podcast: 
HR HOTSAUCE “Favorite song to bring you out of a funk playlist” : 
J.Cole - 95 South 
 What Sims is listening to:  
J. Cole - Interlude 
Just Surrender – Your Life & Mine 
All Get Out - Sumpter 
Benny the Butcher – Johnny P’s Caddy 
Convictions - Voices 
 
Our Guest, Sims Tillirson 
Over the past 10 years, Sims has worked in a variety of leadership positions at Fortune 500 insurance carriers, enrollment firms, and benefits technology firms.  
During that time, he had the opportunity to provide benefits technology to companies ranging from 25 - 10,000 employees. Outside of the office, he is an avid Community Volunteer, Tattoo Enthusiast, Recording Artist, Multi-Instrumentalist, Singer/Songwriter, and People Connector. 
Sims lives in Forest Acres, SC with his wife Brianne, son Jack, and dog Doc. 
 
LinkedIn: Sims Tillirson 
Sims Personal Branding Website 
Perks 
Our Sponsor: People Element   
Understand, engage, inspire, and retain your people like never before.  People Element's employee experience and engagement solution delivers powerful intelligence, giving you the confidence to act.  
www.peopleelement.com  
LinkedIn: People Element  
Twitter: @People_Element  
Find Us:  
On Twitter: @AllAboutHRPod, @TomsEngagingHR 
Spotify: Spotify: All About HR Podcast 
Apple Podcast: All About HR on Apple Podcasts 

Chris Hadley Shares His Journey to HR, Recruiting/Engaging Deskless Employees & Maternity/Paternity Benefits

Episode 22: Chris Hadley Shares His Journey to HR, Recruiting/Engaging Deskless Employees & Maternity/Paternity Benefits 
11/1/2022 
I am excited to welcome back another guest that’s out on the front lines of HR helping to directly support his employees. We talk about Chris’ journey into HR and how the community helped him break into his career. Chris leads HR for a team of deskless workers and he speaks about how they recruit and support top talent in a highly specialized space. We close out the conversation by talking about maternity/paternity benefits and how important they are to so many employees.  
Noted in Podcast: 
HR HOTSAUCE “Favorite song to bring you out of a funk playlist” : 
Nelly: Country Grammar  
Clayton Anderson: Shotgun Rider 
 What Chris is listening to:  
Metallica: Enter Sandman 
HR Social Hour ½ Hour Podcast 
Claude Silver: Emotional Optimism 
Loving his music playlists! 
Noted in the show 
The Avalanches  
Our Guest, Chris Hadley 
Chris is a non-college-educated HR Director for Choices In Community Living, a non-profit that provides services for adults with developmental disabilities to live their best life. 
Chris has not given any TED talks, keynote speeches, or done any blog posts, but he is a huge advocate of changing the stigma that the human resources department is just like the principal's office. 
Chris earned his Professional in Human Resources certificate from HRCI in 2020 and is a member of the City of Beavercreek’s Youth Development Committee and currently is a part of the Beavercreek Rotary’s Board of Directors. 
Lastly and most importantly, Chris is a husband and was recently promoted to father of 3. 
LinkedIn: Chris Hadley 
Twitter: @TheRealGappa 
 
Our Sponsor: People Element   
Understand, engage, inspire, and retain your people like never before.  People Element's employee experience and engagement solution delivers powerful intelligence, giving you the confidence to act.  
www.peopleelement.com  
LinkedIn: People Element  
Twitter: @People_Element  
Find Us:  
On Twitter: @AllAboutHRPod, @TomsEngagingHR 
Spotify: Spotify: All About HR Podcast 
Apple Podcast: All About HR on Apple Podcasts 

Steve Browne, the Most People-Focused Person I’ve Ever Met

Episode 21: Steve Browne, the Most People-Focused Person I’ve Ever Met 
10/19/2022 
Steve joins us to talk about how he found a career in HR, what drives his genuine passion for people, a GREAT story from conference presentations, dissecting the terms surrounding HR today (The Great Resignation, Lobby Lizards), Llamas, Supporting Deskless Workers and why Shaquille O’Neill is the best customer.  
Noted in Podcast: 
HR HOTSAUCE “Favorite song to bring you out of a funk playlist” :
Vertigo, U2
Thunderstruck, AC/DC 
 What Steve is listening to: A True Music Lover!
Beck
Radiohead
Ben Folds 
Our Guest, Steve Browne 
CPO at LaRosa’s, proud OU Bobcat, lover of all Rock music, confessed HR Radical!!  
Author of the best-seller "HR on Purpose!!" and "HR Rising!!"
 
Steve’s Books | Where to Find Him  
HR on Purpose!! 
HR Rising!! 
LinkedIn: Steve Brown 
https://www.larosas.com/ 
Twitter: @SteveBrownHR 
Our Sponsor: People Element   
Understand, engage, inspire, and retain your people like never before.  People Element's employee experience and engagement solution delivers powerful intelligence, giving you the confidence to act.  
www.peopleelement.com  
LinkedIn: People Element  
Twitter: @People_Element  
Find Us:  
On Twitter: @AllAboutHRPod, @TomsEngagingHR 
Spotify: Spotify: All About HR Podcast 
Apple Podcast: All About HR on Apple Podcasts 

Courtenay Shipley, Maximizing Your Financial Benefits Plan

Episode 20, Courtenay Shipley Joins Us to Talk All About Maximizing Your Financial Benefits Plan 
10/4/2022 
Noted in Podcast: 
HR HOTSAUCE “Favorite song to bring you out of a funk playlist” – Ben has added: Diggin’ On James Brown – Tower of Power 
Honorable Mention: Hot Chili – Steve Miller Band 
SEP IRA - IRS.gov 
Smorrebrod, The Best Danish Sandwich! 
The War on Drugs (Band) 
What Courtenay is listening to 
Choiceology Podcast  
You Need a Budget (YNAB) with Jesse Mecham 
David Gray 
Kurt Vile 
Our Guest, Courtenay Shipley 
Courtenay Shipley is Chief Planologist of Retirement Planology, which is a niche firm dedicated to helping employers design, manage, and oversee their employee retirement plan. Most of the time that’s a 401(k). She’s been doing this very nerdy thing for over 20 years and their firm has been recognized by Financial Times as a Top 401k advisor, and Courtenay as a top women advisor by the National Association of Plan Advisors. She’s also the upcoming president of the national group the Retirement Advisor Council and has lots of letters after her name that indicate she’s good at passing nerdy retirement plan tests. 
Email Address: cshipley@retirementplanology.com 
 
LinkedIn: Courtenay Shipley 
Planology 
Twitter: Planology 
Our Sponsor: People Element   
Understand, engage, inspire, and retain your people like never before.  People Element's employee experience and engagement solution delivers powerful intelligence, giving you the confidence to act.  
www.peopleelement.com  
LinkedIn: People Element  
Twitter: @People_Element  
Find Us:  
On Twitter: @AllAboutHRPod, @TomsEngagingHR 
Spotify: Spotify: All About HR Podcast 
Apple Podcast: All About HR on Apple Podcasts 

Dr. Brooks Mitchell – CEO, Professor & Creator of the First Computerized Job Interview Talks Interviewing, Retention, Intermittent Reinforcement

Episode 19 - 9/14/2022 
Dr. Brooks Mitchell – CEO, Professor & Creator of the First Computerized Job Interview Talks Interviewing, Retention, Intermittent Reinforcement
Noted in Podcast: 
HR HOTSAUCE “Favorite song to bring you out of a funk playlist” – Ben has added: Hank Locklin - Wild Side of Life 
Our Guest, Brooks Mitchell 
Brooks Mitchell Youtube Channel - Mama Mable's Boy 
Hiring for Negative Tendencies – Interview with Aspen Tree Founder Brooks Mitchell 
Featured in Forbes Magazine August 16, 1993 “Slouches Make Better Operators” 
Book: Bet on Cowboys, Not on Horses 
Book: Kipling’s Error III: They Were Good Americans 
Our Sponsor: People Element   
Understand, engage, inspire, and retain your people like never before.  People Element's employee experience and engagement solution delivers powerful intelligence, giving you the confidence to act.  
www.peopleelement.com  
LinkedIn: People Element  
Twitter: @People_Element  
Find Us:  
On Twitter: @AllAboutHRPod, @EngagementHR  
Spotify: Spotify: All About HR Podcast 
Apple Podcast: All About HR on Apple Podcasts 
 
 

Tracie Sponenberg, CPO of The Granite Group Joins Us To Talk Upskilling HR, Supporting a Deskless Workforce and Building Vendor Partner Relationships

Episode 18 - 8/30/2022 
What Tracie is Listening To:   
HR Social Hour Half Hour Podcast 
Noted in Podcast: 
HR HOTSAUCE “Favorite song to bring you out of a funk playlist” – Tracie has added: Doja Cat, Boss Bi&ch 
Our Guest, Tracie Sponenberg 
Tracie is an executive leader focused on aligning people strategy with business strategy at privately held and/or private equity-backed businesses experiencing growth. HR Rebel, DisruptHR NH & HR Rebooted Co-founder. Speaker on technology, leadership, branding and all things HR. Recipient of the 2019 Ry Perry HR Hero Award, and the global 2021 OnCON Top 50 Human Resources Professional Award.  Passionate about the people experience; HR technology selection and deployment; wellness program development; engagement; culture building and turn-around; organizational development; coaching; leadership and team development. 
LinkedIn: Tracie Sponenberg 
Twitter: @traciespon 
The Granite Group 
The HR Feed: 
Do As I Say, not as I do” Won’t Help Workers Wellbeing” 
Location-based Pay Considerations Are All Over The Place 
The Daily (New York Times Podcast) The rise of Workplace Surveillance 
Our Sponsor: People Element   
Understand, engage, inspire, and retain your people like never before.  People Element's employee experience and engagement solution delivers powerful intelligence, giving you the confidence to act.  
www.peopleelement.com  
LinkedIn: People Element  
Twitter: @People_Element  
Find Us:  
On Twitter: @AllAboutHRPod, @EngagementHR  
Spotify: Spotify: All About HR Podcast 
Apple Podcast: All About HR on Apple Podcasts 

Guest Jay Polaki Talks About Streamlining Tools for HR, Improving HR Tradeshows & How Godzilla Turned into a Gecko

Episode 17: Welcome back to season 2!  Jay Polaki, the founder of HR Geckos, joins us from the #HRCommunity and we’re talking about why HR is a glutton for punishment, how today’s vendors can support them with technology, and how we can improve our HR Trade Shows.  You’ll also hear a fun story about Godzilla turning into a Gecko!  Thanks for listening!
What Jay is Listening To: 
Founder’s Journal with Alex Lieberman
McKinsey Podcast Series
Women at Work Podcast, HBR
Punk Rock HR with Laurie Ruettimann
The HR Social Hour Half Hour Podcast
Noted in Podcast:
HR HOTSAUCE “Favorite song to bring you out of a funk playlist” – Jay has added: Thunder, Imagine Dragons
 Our Guest, Jay Polaki
Jay founded HR Geckos to solve one big problem I faced as an HR Director - providing a consumer-first employee experience in the HR function. HR Geckos’ mission is to transform HR service delivery in organizations using AI and machine learning technologies. While Jay handles clients internationally across all HR Geckos’ markets, she lives, writes, grows tomatoes, solves crosswords, and integrates work into life in Maryland, USA. 
Twitter: @jaypolaki
LinkedIn: Jay Polaki Polaki
HR Geckos Website
 
Our Sponsor: People Element 
Understand, engage, inspire, and retain your people like never before.  People Element's employee experience and engagement solution delivers powerful intelligence, giving you the confidence to act.
www.peopleelement.com
LinkedIn: People Element
Twitter: @People_Element
Find Us:
On Twitter: @AllAboutHRPod, @EngagementHR
Spotify: Spotify: All About HR Podcast