I Hate It Here

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

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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!

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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?

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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

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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!

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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

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

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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.

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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!

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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

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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

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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!

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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

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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

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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