HR Happy Hour Network

Rebuilding Pathways to Work: Removing Barriers for Overlooked Talent
Hosts: Steve Boese and Trish Steed
Guest: Dr. Lee Bowes, CEO of America Works

Summary
In this episode of At Work in America, Steve and Trish speak with Dr. Lee Bowes, CEO of America Works, about what it takes to reconnect people with meaningful employment - and why employers may be overlooking individuals who have the ability and desire to contribute.
Dr. Bowes shares lessons from decades of helping people navigate challenges including disabilities, employment gaps, limited transportation, justice involvement, outdated skills, and complex public-benefit systems. The conversation also examines the role employers and HR leaders can play in creating more accessible hiring processes, supporting frontline managers, and helping new employees remain successful once they are hired. Sustainable employment often requires individualized support, stronger employer partnerships, practical problem-solving, and a willingness to recognize potential that may not appear on a traditional résumé.

Topics include:
Why employment provides connection, dignity, and purpose in addition to income
The practical barriers that prevent willing people from returning to work
Transportation challenges facing workers in suburban and rural communities
How complicated online applications and limited digital skills can restrict access
Why employers and frontline managers also need support when hiring overlooked talent
The importance of coaching, communication, and early intervention in employee retention
What HR leaders can do to create more sustainable pathways into employment


Thank you for joining the show today! Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

Workhuman is a proud supporter of the HR Happy Hour Network.
Nearly every HR leader knows the feeling: Teams are stretched thin, priorities keep shifting, and it's getting harder to see what's really going on beneath the surface. That's the subject of Workhuman's new documentary, Spotlight: The Leadership Reset, an investigation into why managers are losing visibility into their teams, and what it takes to see clearly again. Featuring Harvard’s Professor Amy Edmondson, crisis leadership expert Dr. Syra Madad, and bakery-owner-turned-business-leader Joanne Chang. The Leadership Reset premieres September 29th. Register for free today at workhuman.com/spotlight.

How Work Gets Done Now, and the Signals for How to Measure It
Hosts: Steve Boese and Trish Steed
Guest: KeyAnna Schmeidl, Chief Human Experience Officer at Workhuman

Summary
Work has outgrown the org chart. Today, work moves across teams, projects, functions, technologies, and informal networks that traditional workforce metrics were never designed to capture. Headcount, turnover, productivity, and performance data still matter - but they rarely tell the full story of how work gets done or who is making it possible.
In this episode of the HR Happy Hour, Steve and Trish welcome KeyAnna Schmeidl, Chief Human Experience Officer at Workhuman, for a conversation about what leaders can learn when they look beyond traditional reporting and start paying attention to the human signals inside everyday work. She explains why reporting relationships and job descriptions often reveal far less than the connections, contributions, expertise, and informal influence that move work forward. The conversation explores how organizations can move from backward-looking dashboards toward more dynamic workforce intelligence that helps leaders understand what is happening now, and make better decisions about what should happen next.
One of the richest sources of that insight may already exist inside the organization: recognition data. Because recognition captures what people notice and value in one another's work, it can reveal contributors who remove roadblocks, share expertise, mentor teammates, strengthen collaboration, and influence outcomes in ways that may never appear in a traditional performance metric.

Topics include:
Where traditional HR and productivity metrics fall short
The shift from reporting what happened to understanding what is happening
Why simply replacing a departing employee with the same role may no longer make sense
How recognition data can uncover hidden contributors, connectors, mentors, and emerging leaders
The role recognition can play in succession planning, internal mobility, and identifying future leadership potential
What "dark spots" in recognition can reveal about culture and employee visibility
How leaders can build workforce dashboards that combine historical, real-time, and forward-looking information


Thank you for joining the show today! Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!
Workhuman is a proud supporter of the HR Happy Hour Network.
Nearly every HR leader knows the feeling: Teams are stretched thin, priorities keep shifting, and it's getting harder to see what's really going on beneath the surface. That's the subject of Workhuman's new documentary, Spotlight: The Leadership Reset, an investigation into why managers are losing visibility into their teams, and what it takes to see clearly again. Featuring Harvard’s Professor Amy Edmondson, crisis leadership expert Dr. Syra Madad, and bakery-owner-turned-business-leader Joanne Chang. The Leadership Reset premieres September 29th. Register for free today at workhuman.com/spotlight.

The Accidental Manager Trap (And How to Fix It)
Host: Sabrina Baker

Summary
What happens when your top individual contributor gets promoted to manager but receives zero training on how to actually manage people?
In small and mid-sized businesses (1 to 500 employees), "accidental managers" are created every day. While these star performers have great intentions, placing them in management without guardrails creates massive legal, financial, and operational risks, from wage-and-hour violations to undocumented performance issues and mishandled medical disclosures.
In this episode of The HR Connection, host Sabrina Baker breaks down the hidden costs of untrained managers, walks through real-world "wrong way vs. right way" scenarios, and shares a 3-step framework to sneak high-impact leadership development into your managers' daily routine without spending a dime.

Topics include:
Why high-performing employees aren’t automatically prepared to become effective people managers
Three major risks created by untrained managers: wage and hour violations, documentation gaps, and mishandled accommodation or leave conversations
How seemingly small manager decisions can create significant legal and financial exposure
The difference between how trained and untrained managers respond to common workplace situations
How to create a simple set of first-30-day manager compliance guardrails
Why 15-minute tactical micro-training sessions can be more effective and realistic for small organizations than traditional leadership programs
How consistent manager training can improve the way performance, employee concerns, and compliance issues are handled across the organizatio

Thank you for joining the show today! Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

The HR Happy Hour Network is sponsored by Workhuman.
Nearly 9 in 10 HR leaders say they don't have a strong leadership bench. Workhuman's Future Leaders gives organizations a smarter way to build one. Future Leaders is the first talent intelligence solution to identify high-potential VP+ talent already within your workforce—up to four years before promotion. Using proprietary AI and real-time recognition data, it uncovers the leadership signals hidden in everyday work long before traditional succession planning can. It's a smarter, data-driven approach to building tomorrow's leaders. Learn more at Workhuman.com. Thanks for joining us.

Workplace Movie Hall of Fame - America's Sweethearts 2026
Hosts: Steve Boese and Trish Steed

Summary
In this episode of At Work in America, Steve and Trish return to Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders to unpack the workplace lessons found throughout Season 3.
Following significant changes to DCC compensation, the conversation moves beyond whether these highly visible performers are being paid fairly and into deeper questions about the employee experience. Steve and Trish explore the tension between longtime leaders and a largely Gen Z workforce, the importance of meaningful feedback and recognition, and what happens when leaders listen to employee input without truly changing how they lead. They also examine the DCC selection process, the emotional weight of hiring and termination decisions, the role experienced employees play in supporting newer team members, and the “invisible work” that often holds teams together but goes unnoticed by leadership.
Along the way, Steve and Trish don’t always agree - particularly when it comes to how much credit DCC leadership deserves for adapting. But their debate raises an important question for every organization: Is changing a process enough if the underlying leadership behaviors and culture haven’t changed with it?

Topics include:
Why listening to employees is only meaningful when leaders are willing to act on what they hear
The growing expectations Gen Z employees have around feedback, recognition, connection, and leadership
Can longtime leaders successfully adapt as workplace expectations change
The danger of asking employees for input when the final decision consistently ignores their perspective
What the DCC audition and selection process can teach employers about recruiting, evaluation, rejection, and candidate experience
How peer leaders and experienced team members often perform critical coaching, encouragement, and culture-building work
Why some of the most valuable contributions employees make may be invisible to traditional performance measures


Thank you for joining the show today! Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

The HR Happy Hour Network is sponsored by Workhuman.
Nearly 9 in 10 HR leaders say they don't have a strong leadership bench. Workhuman's Future Leaders gives organizations a smarter way to build one. Future Leaders is the first talent intelligence solution to identify high-potential VP+ talent already within your workforce—up to four years before promotion. Using proprietary AI and real-time recognition data, it uncovers the leadership signals hidden in everyday work long before traditional succession planning can. It's a smarter, data-driven approach to building tomorrow's leaders. Learn more at Workhuman.com. Thanks for joining us.

Seeing the Future: Prediction Markets on the Rise With Gen Z
Hosts: Jack McFarlane and Nicholas Schlemmer

Summary
In this episode of The Play by Play, Jack and Nick break down the growing world of prediction markets and explore why platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket have captured the attention of Gen Z. They discuss how these markets work, the appeal of their stock-market-like experience, and the combination of instant gratification, financial anxiety, and easy access that may be fueling their popularity. But with the excitement comes real financial risk. Jack and Nick dig into the potential downsides of speculative trading and gambling, including the danger of dipping into savings, chasing losses, and betting money that someone can't afford to lose. Their takeaway: if you're going to participate, understand the risk and keep it to money you can genuinely afford to lose.
Then the guys lighten things up with the debut of the Play by Play Prediction Market — using imaginary coins instead of real money to make their picks for the upcoming college football season. From Ohio State and Michigan to Utah, BYU, LSU, Miami, Clemson, Indiana, and Georgia, Jack and Nick put their predictions on the record for conference champions, playoff contenders, and the national championship.
It's part financial trends, part Gen Z perspective, part college football preview — and 100% Play by Play.

Takeaways
What prediction markets are and how they work
The connection between Gen Z, financial anxiety, investing, and instant gratification
The financial and behavioral risks associated with gambling and speculative trading
Jack and Nick's approach to responsible betting
The first-ever Play by Play Prediction Market
College football conference and national championship predictions
A football-themed final Quote of the Show


Thank you for joining the show today! Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!
The HR Happy Hour Network is sponsored by Workhuman.
Nearly 9 in 10 HR leaders say they don't have a strong leadership bench. Workhuman's Future Leaders gives organizations a smarter way to build one. Future Leaders is the first talent intelligence solution to identify high-potential VP+ talent already within your workforce—up to four years before promotion. Using proprietary AI and real-time recognition data, it uncovers the leadership signals hidden in everyday work long before traditional succession planning can. It's a smarter, data-driven approach to building tomorrow's leaders. Learn more at Workhuman.com. Thanks for joining us.