エピソード
-
Okay, so as we wrap up this podcast season, we’re gonna make this final episode a little different…featuring Hebba and her thoughts, and apparently zero filter!
This season of I Hate It Here was all about firsts and for the season finale, Hebba makes personal!
Listen as she walks you through three of her own HR firsts, performance reviews, terminations, and picking the right system, followed by what she wishes she'd done, and what she would tell herself if she had a time machine.
And then, because Hebba couldn't let the season end without a little chaos, she rounds this episode out with some HR horror stories that were sent in by members of the IHIH community.
Whether you're deep in your HR career or just getting started, this one's a reminder that none of us really know what we're doing the first time, and that's kinda the whole point. 🫶
00:00 - Intro
02:45 - The First Time Hebba Ever Did Performance Reviews
09:08 - Navigating Your First Termination With Empathy
16:59 - Choosing the Right HR Tech Stack
20:30 - A collection of HR Horror Stories---
The Predictive Index behavioral assessment reveals how people work, think, and thrive—so teams can understand each other better and perform at their best.
Because when you truly understand your people, work just works.
Learn more: trypi.com/ihateithere
---
If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!
---
Follow Hebba
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef
Come join Hebba at Safe Space Summit 2026 in Huntington Beach, CA! To learn more, check out: https://www.safespacesummit.com/ -
Madison Montgomery is back, and in this episode, we did what Paul Downs and Meg Stalter inspired us to do…turned our 1:1 into a podcast episode.
The result is a session of unfiltered chaos covering our first ATS implementation together (which is going exactly as well as you'd imagine when two non-detail-oriented people configure a system while actively recruiting on it), Summer House drama through an HR lens, my newly discovered cowboy era, and why neither of us will ever truly get to enjoy the company retreats we plan.
If you've ever been the person behind the process who never gets to just experience the process, you’ll probably relate to this discussion!
00:00 - Intro
04:55 - Implementing an ATS For the First Time
14:48 - What to Expect in Austin in August
21:23 - Hebba's Favorite Recent Story About Her Mom
28:14 - Other Firsts for Madison This Year
42:04 - Supporting Employees When They're Dealing With Grief
44:35 - Who Would Play Hebba and Madison in a Movie?
---
The Predictive Index behavioral assessment reveals how people work, think, and thrive—so teams can understand each other better and perform at their best.
Because when you truly understand your people, work just works.
Learn more: trypi.com/ihateithere
---
If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!
---
Follow Madison
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madison-montgomery14/
Follow Hebba
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
エピソードを見逃しましたか？
-
55% of orgs expect AI tool experience to be their most in-demand skill within two years!
Honestly, most of us are still figuring out what to have for lunch, so the timeline feels…a little aggressive.
In this final episode of the four-part AI Readiness Gap series, presented in partnership with TriNet, DeAnn Alcantar, Learning and Development Manager at TriNet, and Kelly Pacatte, Lead HR Compliance Consultant at TriNet, give us a north star for AI readiness so that we know what to focus on in that timeframe!
We're getting into what it takes to close the gap: the technical stuff, the deeply human skills that matter more than ever, and the mindset shift that's going to define which HR leaders are ready for what's coming and which ones are not.
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:12 - The Urgency of AI Proficiency
00:05:07 - Is Two Years Enough to Be Efficient With AI as an Org?
00:10:32 - The Human Skills That Are Going to Matter More Than Ever
00:14:44 - The Evolution of How HR Will Function at Orgs
00:22:58 - The One Mindset Shift HR Leaders Need
00:26:31 - What Every HR Leader Feeling Behind on AI Right Now Needs to Know
---
Running a small business is hard, and HR should not get in the way. TriNet helps small businesses by outsourcing HR to professionals. This lets business owners get back to the real work: building a company, and leaving a legacy. Learn more about TriNet.
---
If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!
---
Follow Our Guests
DeAnn Alcantar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deannealcantar
Kelly Pacatte: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellypacatte
Follow Hebba
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
Geography shouldn't be the reason you can't hire your next best person.
And yet, that’s the reality for hundreds of orgs at the moment!
I sat down with Sagar Khatri, co-founder and CEO of Multiplier, who literally built a company because opening a bank account in Japan took him 12 months.
We got into all of it: why compliance is a zero-or-one problem (and why so many companies are getting it very wrong), what actually happens to your business when your team spans 50 countries and 70+ nationalities, and why the future of talent is all about finally being able to find them wherever they are instead of hoping they come to you.
00:01:45 - Something Sagar Had to Unlearn Early in His Career
00:03:48 - Why Sagar Started a Company
00:10:43 - How the Pain of Global Hiring is Happening on a Massive Scale
00:20:03 - What the International Structure at Multiply Looks Like
00:31:09 - The Biggest Mistake Companies Make When They Hire Globally for the First Time
00:37:33 - The Relationship Between Diverse and Distributed Teams and Business Performance
00:43:07 - AI’s Impact on International Talent Acquisition
---
The Predictive Index behavioral assessment reveals how people work, think, and thrive—so teams can understand each other better and perform at their best.
Because when you truly understand your people, work just works.
Learn more: trypi.com/ihateithere
---
If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!
---
Follow Sagar on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sagar-khatri-53529359/
Follow Hebba
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
There is a lot to say about joining a startup, and I’m saying that as somebody who has been a part of four of them.
Nothing prepares you for the first time, because you truly have no idea what you’re walking into!
Not even the offer letter or the job description paints the full picture, so Christine Song, founder of the 5 to 9 Society and former CPO at Knix, is here to give you her expertise.
We're talking about walking into a company with no HR infrastructure, a CEO whose behavior made her want to run back to corporate, working 100 hours a week until her hair (literally) started falling out, and somehow still coming out the other side with more love for startups than ever.
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:01 - Something Christine Believed About Work That She Had to Unlearn
00:08:26 - What Stepping Into a Startup Role Felt like Vs The Expectation of It
00:21:01 - The Important Role of HR in Startups
00:35:18 - Picking Up on Signs of Burnout
00:40:40 - Startup Culture and Its Demands
00:49:10 - Creating a Life and Identity Outside of Work
00:55:11 - Christine’s Advice For Someone New to The Startup World
---
The Predictive Index behavioral assessment reveals how people work, think, and thrive—so teams can understand each other better and perform at their best.
Because when you truly understand your people, work just works.
Learn more: trypi.com/ihateithere
---
If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!
---
Follow Christine
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/songchristine1/
Follow Hebba
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
37% of HR leaders are already saying that evaluating AI skills in candidates is going to be a real challenge.
Hiring has always required us to assess things that are hard to measure, but AI is moving so fast that what you're looking for this week might be completely different next month!
In this episode, I sat down with Kristin Russum, Director of Organizational Development at TriNet, to get into the real question: how do you actually hire for AI competency when the skill set is still being defined in real time?
We talked behavioral interview strategies, the bias risks that not enough people are talking about, why curiosity might be the most important thing you can hire for right now, and what you can actually do immediately to update your process!
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:03 - Why is Evaluating AI Skills and Candidates So Much Harder than Assessing Other Technical Skills?
00:07:25 - What Does Hiring an AI Competent Candidate Look Like Right Now?
00:19:47 - How to Deal With the Built-in Bias of AI Usage in Hiring
00:25:27 - Practical Changes You Can Make to Your Hiring Proess Immediately
00:33:06 - One Thing Every HR Leader Who Feels Behind on AI Should Know
---
Running a small business is hard, and HR should not get in the way. TriNet helps small businesses by outsourcing HR to professionals. This lets business owners get back to the real work: building a company, and leaving a legacy. Learn more about TriNet.
---
If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!
Follow Kristin
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinrussum/
Follow Hebba
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
Nobody talks about their first termination the way they should, which is with a little bit of trauma, because we never forget the people we have to let go of.
In this latest episode of I Hate It Here, I sat down with Jennifer Laurie, fractional CPO and founder of Equitable HR Guild, to do exactly that!
We went all the way back to her very first termination…the nerves, the Googling "how to fire someone," the manager who was just as lost as she was, and then kept going.
We got into where managers go horribly wrong before they even get to the termination convo, how bias creeps into these decisions in ways that are really easy to miss, and why the debrief after is the part everyone skips but absolutely shouldn't.
Take a deep breath, and prepare yourself for this discussion!
---
00:00:00 - Intro
00:03:51 - Something Jennifer Believed Early in Her Career That She Had to Unlearn
00:07:15 - What it Feels Like to Fire Somebody for the First Time
00:13:04 - Something Nobody Teaches You About Terminations
00:19:19 - Where Most Managers go Wrong in the Build-up to a Termination
00:24:17 - Addressing Bias in Termination Decisions
00:30:20 - Reflecting and Learning Done After a Termination
00:36:54 - Can Some Terminations Make Work Better for Everyone?
00:44:24 Advice for First-Time Termination Managers
The Predictive Index behavioral assessment reveals how people work, think, and thrive—so teams can understand each other better and perform at their best.
Because when you truly understand your people, work just works.
Learn more: trypi.com/ihateithere
---
If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!
---
Follow Jennifer
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferlauriehr/
Follow Hebba
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
Women make up nearly half the workforce, and somehow, their health is still being treated like a line item someone might cut. Make it make sense!
I've been wanting to do this episode for a while, and I'm not going to pretend I made it through without getting in my feelings at least once.
I sat down with Kembre Roberts and Kevin Fyock from Aon to get into why women's health keeps getting deprioritized, what it's costing orgs as a result, and what it looks like when employers finally get this right.
Just having a fertility benefit and calling it a day isn’t gonna cut it anymore!
---
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:30 - Why Employers Should Care About Women's Health
00:12:45 - How Women's Health Directly Influences Financial Security
00:19:55 - The Data You Need to Help Execs Understand Women's Health Data
00:27:44 - Being Proactive About Women's Health and Financial Wellness Before a Crisis Happens
00:35:26 - What Orgs Keep Getting Wrong About Women's Health, and What a Better Decision Looks Like
Aon’s Human Capital capabilities help organizations make confident workforce decisions by connecting advisory, insights and data across health benefits, talent and retirement.
By aligning people strategies to business outcomes, we enable leaders to drive engagement, manage program sustainability, and build a resilient workforce ready for what’s next.
Learn more at Aon.com
---
If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out I Hate It Here on YouTube for even more exclusive insider content!
Follow Kembre on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kembre-roberts-phd-4a227625/
Follow Kevin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinfyock/
Follow Hebba:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
You know that feeling where you've been sprinting all day and somehow your actual to-do list hasn't moved an inch?
Your inbox is feral and new work just keeps showing up like it was never not invited!
Yeaaaah, that feeling has a name, and it's called not having a system.
I say that with full love and zero judgment because I have absolutely been there!
Today I'm sitting down with Liz Clarke, strategic HR leader and founder of Liz Clarke Coaching and Consulting, who learned the hard way early in her career that working harder is not the answer when the system itself doesn't make sense.
This one is for every HR person who has been busy every single minute of the day and still somehow felt like they got nothing done.
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:18 - Something Liz Had to Unlearn About Work
00:05:04 - The Moment Liz Realized She Needed a System to Get Work Done
00:09:44 - What Building a System Looks Like, in Practice
00:14:49 - How to Build a System That Accounts for Unpredictability
00:17:40 - What Does a Flow State Feel Like in HR?
00:21:07 - Is Burnout a Workload Problem, or is it More Than That?
00:27:50 - How Did We End up With Everything Being “Urgent?”
00:33:48 - What Building a System Helps You Understand About Leaders
---
The Predictive Index behavioral assessment reveals how people work, think, and thrive—so teams can understand each other better and perform at their best.
Because when you truly understand your people, work just works.
Learn more: trypi.com/ihateithere
---
If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!
---
Follow Liz
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-walker-msim/
Follow Hebba
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
Fun fact: 56% of HR leaders expect AI to change how we develop and train employees.
So most of us can see it coming which is cool, but the problem is that seeing the freight train and knowing how to get off the tracks are two very different things!
I sat down with Lauren Gregor, who has built and operated businesses across industries and learned most of what she knows the same way the rest of us did, which is by being the person in the room who had to figure it out.
We got into what a realistic AI development strategy actually looks like (hint: it's not a one-size-fits-all e-learning module and a prayer), how to stop making the same mistakes everyone's making when trying to build an AI learning culture, and what to do if you're feeling behind right now, which currently sounds like a lot of folks!
00:00:00 - Intro
00:03:24 - The Shift in Mindset Towards AI
00:10:09 - Teaching Yourself in an Unstructured Learning Environment
00:19:58 - Common Mistakes Companies Make Trying to Build an AI Learning Culture
00:28:05 - Keeping the Human Part of L&D Front and Center
00:32:36 - What Does a Realistic, Well-executed Employee Development Strategy for AI Look Like?
00:38:22 - Lauren’s Advice if You’re Feeling Behind on AI Right Now
---
Running a small business is hard, and HR should not get in the way. TriNet helps small businesses by outsourcing HR to professionals. This lets business owners get back to the real work: building a company, and leaving a legacy. Learn more about TriNet.
---
If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!
Follow Lauren
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurengregor/
Follow Hebba:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
HR has this fun little quirk where almost nothing is black and white, and the concept of "right" and "wrong" is rarely as simple as it sounds in a policy doc!
This season, we've talking about firsts, and the moments that fundamentally change how you see this work.
Today, I sat down with Stacey Norville, VP of People Strategy at Pyn and host of one of my favorite podcasts, Toot or Boot, to talk about the first time she had to step into an HRBP role before that role even existed at her company, then navigate a serious performance situation where doing everything right still didn't guarantee a good outcome.
We get into the emotional toll and gray areas you have to deal with to survive this job, and the part no one puts in the job description, which is that sometimes you carry the weight of your decisions home with you!
00:03:29 - Something Stacey Had to Unlearn About Work
00:05:23 - When Stacey Had to Step into an HRBP Role Before it Even Existed
00:11:21 - Expecting the Unexpected in HR
00:19:09 - The Difficult Nature of Feedback Convos
00:25:39 - The Duality of Regulating Your Emotional Reactions During Procedural Moments
00:34:59 - The Complexity of What’s Right and What’s Wrong in HR
00:38:36 - How Past Experiences Have Shaped Stacey’s Approach to Performance Management
00:49:47 - Getting in Touch With Stacey
---
The Predictive Index behavioral assessment reveals how people work, think, and thrive—so teams can understand each other better and perform at their best.
Because when you truly understand your people, work just works.
Learn more: trypi.com/ihateithere
---
And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out I Hate It Here on YouTube for even more exclusive insider content!
Follow Stacey
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staceynordwall/
Toot or Boot Podcast: https://www.tootorboot.com/
Follow Hebba
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
This episode kicks off a four-part mini-series called the AI Readiness Gap, produced in partnership with TriNet, where we're cutting through the noise and getting into the actual numbers behind AI readiness in the workplace.
---
81% of orgs are out here figuring out AI in real time.
Not planning or preparing for it. Figuring. It. Out. In. Real. Time.
Which…same, honestly. But that stat hit me because it confirms what so many of us have been feeling, which is that we're all behind, and no one really wants to say it out loud.
No "AI is the future!" hot air without anything tactical to back it up, I promise! HR leaders deserve more than vibes and vague LinkedIn posts to navigate this shift.
My guest is Parijat Sarkar, who has seen the HR tech world from the inside, from scaling people systems at Zenefits to building AI-powered tools for finance teams at Numos, and he has thoughts. Good ones. The kind that will make you feel less like you're screaming into the void and more like you might actually know where to start.
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:45 - How Parijat is Experiencing AI at WorkRight Now
00:02:59 - Parijat’s Reaction to Orgs Being Unprepared for AI Talent Acquisition
00:05:05 - Why So Many Orgs Are Stuck at the Starting Line For AI Readiness
00:08:01 - What IS it That Makes AI Feel so Overwhelming?
00:13:19 - Actively Sabotaging AI to Avoid Being Replaced
00:19:19 - What Being Prepared to Implement AI Actually Looks Like
00:24:34 - Parijat’s Advice For People Feeling Behind on AI
Running a small business is hard, and HR should not get in the way. TriNet helps small businesses by outsourcing HR to professionals. This lets business owners get back to the real work: building a company, and leaving a legacy. Learn more about TriNet.
If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!
Follow Parijat:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parijatsarkar/
Follow Hebba:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
We talk a lot about career pivots like they're these well-planned, LinkedIn-announcement-ready moments.
In reality, they are almost NEVER that!
Today I'm chatting with Lauren Schneider, Head of Brand and Communications at Compt. Lauren is a recovering TV reporter, millennial mom, improv performer, and someone who has quit jobs in the messiest, most human ways possible and lived to tell about it.
We're getting into what happens when your whole identity gets wrapped up in a job that isn't working, what it feels like to walk away without a safety net, and how you start to reclaim the parts of yourself that work slowly convince you don't matter.
This one felt like therapy, so it’s time!
00:02:04 - How Lauren Got Into Improv
00:05:49 - Something Lauren Believed About Work Early on That She Had to Unlearn
00:13:16 - The Culture Shock of Moving to Salt Lake City
00:26:06 - Lauren’s Advice From Mentors About Quitting a Bad Job
00:30:40 - Was Lauren Financially Prepared to Quit Her Job?
00:38:38 - Quitting Jobs Without a Safety Net
00:47:04 - How Lauren’s Experiences Changed Her Relationship With Work
00:57:27 - What Lauren Wants Listeners to Take Away From Her Story
The Predictive Index behavioral assessment reveals how people work, think, and thrive—so teams can understand each other better and perform at their best.
Because when you truly understand your people, work just works.
Learn more: trypi.com/ihateithere
---
And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out I Hate It Here on YouTube for even more exclusive insider content!
Follow Lauren
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenthandley/
Follow Hebba
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
We have more data than ever, and somehow we're still making people decisions that feel like they were made with a Magic 8-Ball and a prayer.
Make it make sense!
Dashboards, engagement scores, predictive analytics…it's all there, and yet the decisions still feel completely disconnected from what the numbers are saying.
In this episode of Better Decisions, I sat down with Doug Melton, Global Chief Commercial Officer for Human Capital at Aon and a human capital analytics expert, to get into why orgs are so insight-rich but decision-poor, and what it looks like to close that gap.
---
Aon’s Human Capital capabilities help organizations make confident workforce decisions by connecting advisory, insights and data across health benefits, talent and retirement.
By aligning people strategies to business outcomes, we enable leaders to drive engagement, manage program sustainability, and build a resilient workforce ready for what’s next.
Learn more at Aon.com
---
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:57 - Why Orgs Struggle to Turn People into Data Decisions
00:06:20 - Why Some People Struggle to Even Understand the Data in Front of Them
00:08:32 - Ways Leaders Can Come to Agreements on Outcomes and How They’re Being Measured
00:12:27 - The Difference Between Collecting Data and Making Better Decisions With the Data you Already Have
00:16:19 - What Does Good Judgment Look Like When Analytics Conflict With Intuition?
00:23:05 - One Analytics Decision Companies Keep Getting Wrong---
If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration. https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out I Hate It Here on YouTube for even more exclusive insider content!
Follow Doug:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-melton-a955a12/
Follow Hebba:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
If you've been in HR long enough, you know this feeling.
You see something wrong, you know it's wrong, and then you look around and realize the system you work inside of wasn't actually built to let you fix it.
Today I'm talking to Keisha Toussaint, founder of BCC'd HR and someone who did what most of us only think about doing: she removed the corporate muzzle entirely.
We're getting into the moment that changed how she saw this job forever, what happens when you advocate for the right thing and leadership responds with escalation instead of accountability, and why courage isn't optional in HR, even when the org makes it feel that way.
Another day of tough convos, but important convos nonetheless!
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:20 - Something Keisha Believed About Work Early On and Had to Unlearn
00:06:10 - A Difficult Conversation Keisha Had at Work
00:11:17 - How Keisha Thought HR Operated Vs How it Actually Does
00:18:43 - When the Energy in the Room Shifts
00:22:19 - Understanding What HR Roles Actually Require From You
00:28:29 - Moments That Require Courage
00:37:44 - How Orgs Respond to Outspoken Employees, Especially Employees of Color
00:44:57 - Advice For Folks Dealing with Difficult Convos at Work
---
The Predictive Index behavioral assessment reveals how people work, think, and thrive—so teams can understand each other better and perform at their best.
Because when you truly understand your people, work just works.
Learn more: trypi.com/ihateithere
---
And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out I Hate It Here on YouTube for even more exclusive insider content!
Follow Keisha
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keishatoussaint/
Follow Hebba
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
It’s kinda wild how many people of are still dealing with compensation issues today!
Most companies have a comp strategy the same way most people have a fitness plan...technically it exists, but nobody is really following it.
Haris Ikram, co-founder and CEO of Candor IQ, joins me this week to talk about his founder journey and why compensation is the most misunderstood, most mishandled, and most consequential thing happening inside your org right now.
This one's going to sting a little, but it’ll bring plenty of clarity too, so it’s still worth it!
---
0:00:00 - Intro
0:01:54 - Something Haris Believed About Work Early in His Career That he Unlearned
0:03:18 - The Moment Haris Decided to Start a Company
0:06:39 - What Starting a Company Seemed Like vs What it was Actually Like
0:09:49 - Being a Founder vs Being an Executive
0:13:24 - The Hardest Part of Being a First-time Founder That Nobody Tells You About
0:15:45 - The First Mistake Founders Make With Comp That Cost Them Later On
0:19:32 - What Made Haris Want to Solve the Comp Problem
0:30:24 - Why HR and Finance Can't Seem to Get Along
0:41:37 - How Data Alignment Transparency Benefits Employees
0:45:50 - Haris's Advice for Somebody Who Wants to Start a Company
---
The Predictive Index behavioral assessment reveals how people work, think, and thrive—so teams can understand each other better and perform at their best.
Because when you truly understand your people, work just works.
Learn more: trypi.com/ihateithere
---
If you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.
https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love this podcast, be sure to check out more episodesfor even more exclusive insider content! https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here
Follow Haris
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harisikram/
Follow Hebba:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
Most AI conversations I sit through are either full of hype that doesn't hold up or sooo doom-and-gloom that I leave feeling like I should update my resume and move to a cabin.
This episode is neither of those things, and that's exactly why I loved it!
I sat down with Marinus van Driel, a partner at Aon who leads their workforce transformation team, to talk about what's actually happening with AI and workforce strategy in 2026, and more importantly, what leaders are getting catastrophically wrong about it.
The short version: most organizations are treating AI like a cost-cutting lever when they should be using it to redesign how work gets done entirely.
The longer version is in this episode, and it's worth every minute!
---
Aon’s Human Capital capabilities help organizations make confident workforce decisions by connecting advisory, insights and data across health benefits, talent and retirement.
By aligning people strategies to business outcomes, we enable leaders to drive engagement, manage program sustainability, and build a resilient workforce ready for what’s next.
Learn more at Aon.com
---
00:01:45 - Marinus’s Background
00:03:12 - The Biggest AI/Trends in 2026 (So Far)
00:08:09 - How We Can Prepare for Major Changes in the Workplace
00:14:12 - What Leaders Need to Know so They Can Understand AI More Effectively
00:19:15 - How HR Can Separate Fear-based Decisions into Strategy
00:25:30 - What Leaders Are Doing Differently to Become Forward-thinking Orgs
00:30:53 - What Companies Keep Getting Wrong About AI, and What a Better Decision Looks Like
---
And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.
https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!
Follow Marinus:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinus/
Follow Hebba:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
We have all handed an engagement score to a CEO, watched them nod confidently, say something completely incorrect about what it means, and had to just sit there smiling while dying a little inside.
Just me?
…Definitely not just me.
The number isn't always lying, but the questions we've been asking for the last decade might be!
My guest today is Anne Maltese from Quantum Workplace, and she has spent nearly 20 years watching what happens when people data lands in executive rooms, between the good, the bad, and the deeply cringe-worthy.
We're getting into new ways to think about engagement, smarter questions to bring your leadership team, and why the disengaged people on your team might not be who you think they are.
Buckle up!
---
Quantum Workplace helps leaders build thriving teams that fuel business success. We give leaders at every level a clear path forward—by unlocking critical talent insights across engagement, performance, and development. With clarity and confidence, people leaders can act decisively, scale leadership quality, and strengthen connection and performance.
Trusted by thousands of people-focused companies, Quantum Workplace makes it easier to keep teams aligned, empowered, growing, and valued on the path to business success.
Visit quantumworkplace.com to learn more.
---
00:02:13 - Something New Anne Wants to Learn This Year
00:05:11 - The Biggest Shift Anne Has Seen Around How Orgs Talk About Engagement
00:11:20 - Is Your Engagement Healthy?
00:16:39 - Smarter Questions to Walk Into an Exec Room With Instead of Just Standard Engagement Scores
00:27:01 - What Does it Mean if Someone is a Top Performer, But Disengaged?
00:34:24 - What Good Data Storytelling Looks Like in Practice
00:38:35 - Does Data Show That HR Leaders are Thriving?
00:42:23 - How HR Should Start Rethinking Measuring and Reporting Engagement
00:48:03 - What Gives Anne Hope For the Future
---
And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.
https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!
Follow Anne:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-maltese-0b9a876/
Follow Hebba:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
L&D gets done dirty constantly and I have been saying this for years!!!
It's the function that gets underfunded, overcomplicated, blamed for culture problems it didn't create, and somehow still expected to fix everything with a workshop and a Kirkpatrick model.
Hanan Sahourieh got into all of it: why L&D functions fail before they even get started, how ego and power dynamics quietly destroy learning cultures, what trust actually looks like when you have to rebuild it from scratch, and the mistakes learning professionals make without even realizing it.
Oh, and she wrote a book called Everybody Be Cool which is the most accurate title for an L&D book I have ever heard in my life.
---
Quantum Workplace helps leaders build thriving teams that fuel business success. We give leaders at every level a clear path forward—by unlocking critical talent insights across engagement, performance, and development. With clarity and confidence, people leaders can act decisively, scale leadership quality, and strengthen connection and performance.
Trusted by thousands of people-focused companies, Quantum Workplace makes it easier to keep teams aligned, empowered, growing, and valued on the path to business success.
Visit quantumworkplace.com to learn more.
---
00:01:42 - Something New Hanan Wants to Learn This Year
00:04:30 - The First Thing Hanan Notices When L&D is a Mess at an Org
00:07:35 - The Story Behind Hanan’s Book Title, Everybody Be Cool
00:13:12 - Why Cross-functional Leaders Keep Over-engineering Stuff That Isn’t Theirs to Run
00:19:44 - Pushing Back on a Senior Leader When They Think They Know Better Than the Learning Team
00:25:52 - A New Idea in L&D Right Now
00:30:29 - How to Build Trust That’s Brand New or Even Lost
00:38:16 - Some of the Most Common Mistakes Learnig Professionals Make Without Realizing
00:42:13 - The Single Most Important Thing HR Should Get Right About Learning in Year One
And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.
https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!
Follow Hanan:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hananharb/
Follow Hebba:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef -
Okay so this episode is a little different, because the layers here are a lot.
Morgan T. Stanley is my guest today, and yes, that is her real name, and yes, we have laughed about it many times.
We started as peers, then somehow ended up in a manager-direct report situation, then became peers again, and NOW she has my old job!
We discuss everything — how we met, what it was like when the dynamic shifted, what she changed after stepping into the role, and how leadership has genuinely changed her as a person.
This one felt less like an interview and more like two people who've seen each other grow up in this industry, finally putting it all on the table.
---
Quantum Workplace helps leaders build thriving teams that fuel business success. We give leaders at every level a clear path forward—by unlocking critical talent insights across engagement, performance, and development. With clarity and confidence, people leaders can act decisively, scale leadership quality, and strengthen connection and performance.
Trusted by thousands of people-focused companies, Quantum Workplace makes it easier to keep teams aligned, empowered, growing, and valued on the path to business success.
Visit quantumworkplace.com to learn more.
---
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:39 - One New Thing Morgan is Learning This Year
00:04:30 - How Hebba and Morgan Met
00:15:59 - How Hebba and Morgan Have Learned From Each Other Over the Years
00:21:44 - When Morgan Stepped Into Hebba’s Old Role
00:36:24 - What Changes Did Morgan Make After Stepping Into Hebba’s Old Role?
00:41:51 - How Morgan’s Relationship With Power and Responsibility Have Evolved
00:48:45 - How Morgan’s Role Has Changed Her
---
And if you love I Hate It Here, sign up to Hebba’s newsletter! It’s for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burnt-out HR/People Operations professionals needing a little inspiration.
https://workweek.com/discover-newsletters/i-hate-it-here-newsletter/
And if you love the podcast, be sure to check out https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here for even more exclusive insider content!
Follow Morgan:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morgantstanley/
Follow Hebba:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ihateit-here/videos
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/hebba-youssef
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hebbamyoussef - もっと表示する
