Bringing the Human back to Human Resources

Hosted by Traci Chernoff

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Episodes

289

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

People are at the center of every business--or at least they should be. "Bringing the Human back to Human Resources" is a podcast hosted by Traci Chernoff, a Senior Director of HR, who has spent 10 years in critical HR leadership roles. Traci explores the delicate balance between people and business and destigmatizes what it means to be in "Human Resources".

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60 recent

August 18, 202624 min

290. Agentic AI and the HR Strategy Gap feat. Joey Price

Agentic AI is already changing how HR teams buy technology, lead their people, and think about who belongs in the room when decisions about the future of work get made — and most HR leaders don't have a strategy for any of it. This week Traci sits down with Joey Price, CEO of Jumpstart HR, a TEDx speaker on AI in the workplace, and author of The Power of HR: How to Make an Organizational Impact as a People Professional. A SHRM Top 30 Under 30 alum and one of the top 100 HR tech influencers of 2025, Joey also hosts his own podcast, While We Were Working, and brings years of hands-on experience helping HR teams navigate technology decisions with humanity at the center. What We Cover - Why "if you're not at the table for digital transformation, you're on the menu" - The framework Joey built to help HR leaders actually buy technology the right way - The surprising number of HR leaders who don't have an AI strategy at all - The five workforce archetypes and where your organization actually falls - Whether AI is coming for your job, and what to do about it either way Connect with Joey Price: LinkedIn | JumpStartHR.com | The Power of HR Book | Podcast Connect with Traci: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

August 4, 202626 min

287. Policy Pulse: The New DEI Lawsuit Every HR Leader Should Know About

This week's Policy Pulse segment tackles three major legal developments HR leaders need to know about: the EEOC's lawsuit against The New York Times over its DEI program, Colorado's rollback of its AI hiring law, and a Supreme Court case that could give the president the power to fire agency heads at the EEOC and NLRB without cause. Bryan Driscoll returns for another Policy Pulse segment, bringing his employment law expertise to break down the cases and policy shifts shaping workplace compliance right now. As our resident legal expert, Bryan helps translate the legal jargon into what it actually means for your business. In this episode: - The EEOC just sued The New York Times over its own DEI program, and the case could reshape how discrimination claims get proven going forward. - Colorado gutted its AI hiring law, but that doesn't mean the compliance risk disappeared. - Your AI chat history could end up as evidence in a lawsuit. - A Supreme Court case could hand the president the power to fire the heads of the EEOC and NLRB at will. - Good intentions won't protect you from a discrimination claim if your documentation doesn't back them up. Connect with Bryan Driscoll, JD: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanjohndriscoll/ Connect with Traci: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

July 21, 202621 min

286. AI Readiness: What Your Workforce Needs First Ft. Reimund Neienaber

AI is reshaping how companies hire and how job seekers land interviews, and this week's guest is building the tools making it happen. Traci sits down with Reimund Nienaber, a seasoned HR leader and global talent development expert with more than 20 years of experience spanning telecommunications, expat HR leadership across five continents, and now consulting work at Edligo. As Director of Consulting and Customer Success, Reimund helps organizations figure out what their people actually know, where the gaps are, and how to close them as AI reshapes roles across every department. What We Talked About: Will AI Really Give Us a Two Day Work Week? Meet the AI Recruiter Agent Changing the Game The CV Feedback Job Seekers Never Get From Germany to Latin America: A Career Built on Skills, The Competency Gap Killing AI Transformation Projects The Simple Question That Starts Every Successful Learning Culture Connect with Reimund Nienaber: LinkedIn | Edligo Learning and Talent Analytics LinkedIn | Edligo.net Contact Traci: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

July 7, 202629 min

283. What HR Gets Wrong About Developing Future Leaders feat. Michael Timms

Michael Timms joins the podcast to break down why most "succession planning" in organizations is actually just replacement planning in disguise, and why that distinction matters more than most HR leaders realize. Michael Timms is an internationally sought after speaker, consultant, and bestselling author who teaches leaders how to inspire accountability. He's the author of How Leaders Can Inspire Accountability, the basis for his TEDx talk "How to Claim Your Leadership Power," and Succession Planning That Works. Through his company, Avail Leadership, he partners with organizations to build high performance cultures of teamwork and accountability. What We Cover: – The real difference between succession planning and replacement planning, and why most organizations are only doing one of them – Why the nine box might be doing more harm than good in your organization – The uncomfortable truth about who actually gets to decide someone's "potential" – What the research says about how much your manager actually shapes your performance – Why most leadership competency lists accidentally describe an impossible person – The handful of behaviors that actually predict great leadership, and how to find them – A better, less political way to identify who's ready to grow – The employee headcount where succession planning actually starts to matter – Why developing people, even the ones who might leave, is never a loss Michael challenges a lot of what HR has been taught to accept as best practice, and this conversation is a great reminder of why it's worth questioning the tools we default to. Be sure to check out his TEDx talk, linked in the show notes, for more on claiming your leadership power. Connect with Michael Timms: LinkedIn | YouTube | Website | TED Talk Connect with Traci here: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

June 23, 202627 min

282. Why Good Employees Leave and What Actually Makes Them Stay

Traci welcomes Dr. Carrie Graham, PhD, a training strategist specializing in scalable talent development who guides small and mid-sized organizations to achieve measurable results through strategic employee training programs. Dr. Graham's research reveals that toxic work environments aren't just unpleasant, they produce real, life-altering mental and physical health consequences for the people inside them, particularly for high-achieving women who were promised development opportunities that never materialized. What We Cover: Why retention strategies miss the point and what to focus on instead Good people leave bad managers and what makes someone actually unequipped to lead The real cost of a toxic environment and Dr. Graham's research findings on health outcomes for employees When employees outgrow their role and how social roles shift over time and what that demands of employers Why development starts with the individual, not what you think they bring, but everything they haven't told you yet The free recruiting tool most companies are ignoring and how former employees become brand advocates What job seekers can and should ask and the questions candidates have every right to put on the table Connect with Dr. Carrie Graham: LinkedIn | drcarriegraham.com | YouTube | Instagram Connect with Traci here: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

June 16, 202619 min

281. Three Kids, a Career, and a Podcast: The Honest Update

In this episode, Traci shares what her return to work has looked like with three kids under three, a demanding career, and a podcast. She opens up about what that took to admit, and why the "have it all" pressure lands differently when both your career and your family are simultaneously demanding more of you. She also gets into what she actually wishes workplaces understood about flexibility, and why the traditional nine-to-five model isn't built for the reality most people are living. What We Cover: — Why the show is going biweekly and what that decision actually cost Traci to make — The "100% problem" and why splitting it a million ways doesn't work — What it's like when both your career and your family are on an upward trajectory at the same time — Why "working mom" and "career mom" don't even feel like the same thing — The pseudo-flexibility trap and what true workplace flexibility would actually look like — Why HR business partners face a specific challenge when it comes to flexible work — What Traci would change if she could wave a magic wand for every woman in her situation Connect with Traci here: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

June 9, 202639 min

280. Building Trust at Work: The Retention Strategy Nobody Talks About

This week, Traci sits down with Greg Roche, founder of Retention and Rewards Partners and author of The Fast and Easy Guide to Networking for Introverts, to explore why intentional connection is the most underrated retention strategy in any organization. Greg shares the "stepping over the line" framework he's used throughout his career in total rewards, walking through the exact moment an employee mentally checks out, why most organizations are trying to solve engagement from the top down when the real work happens between individuals, and what leaders can do right now to build the kind of trust that makes people genuinely want to stay. What We Cover: – The "stepping over the line" moment – what's actually happening in an employee's mind right before they quit – Why proximity created connection before 2020 and what we lost when it disappeared – Top-down engagement strategies vs. small intentional acts and why one actually works – The 15-minute calendar invite that could change how you're perceived in your organization – What happens in the brain when someone talks about themselves (and how to use it) – Why new leaders who skip relationship-building create stranger danger for the whole team – The one-question approach for building upward relationships without being awkward – How connection directly impacts talent reviews, succession planning, and career visibility – The Relationship First Playbook – five ways HR leaders can make connection a cultural value FREE GIFT: Download Greg's Relationship First Playbook for HR leaders at retentionandrewards.com/gift – five intentional practices you can put into place with your team today. Connect with Greg Roche: Retentionandrewards.com | LinkedIn Connect with Traci here: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

June 2, 202623 min

279. LEGO at Work: The Team Building Approach That Actually Sticks

This week's episode makes the case that your next team building session should involve a table full of LEGO bricks, and JoLynn Ledgerwood, certified LEGO Serious Play facilitator and learning and development specialist with over 25 years of experience, is here to explain exactly why. Most people have never heard of LEGO Serious Play. The ones who have? They usually want to get certified on the spot. JoLynn shares how this research-backed methodology uses hands-on building to surface what people can't always say out loud, create a genuine level playing field for every voice in the room, and reveal the limiting beliefs teams carry without ever realizing it. She also breaks down what makes LEGO Serious Play so different from the typical after-hours Topgolf outing, and why courageous leadership is the one thing every successful session requires. What We Cover: — What LEGO Serious Play actually is and why only about 100 facilitators are certified in the entire U.S. — How building with your hands activates 80% more brainpower and why that changes what comes out in the room — The tower exercise that quietly exposes every team's limiting beliefs before the session even really begins — Why introverts and extroverts finally get equal airtime in this format — How metaphor builds unlock things people didn't even know they wanted to say — What "simple guiding principles" are and how they keep momentum alive after the workshop ends — Why quarterly sessions compound the results and how new team members can catch up fast — The one thing a leader can do to kill all momentum in under ten seconds Connect with JoLynn Ledgerwood: | Elevateyourtalent.co | LinkedIn | Elevate Your Talent Blog | Connect with Traci here: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

May 26, 202631 min

278. Learning That Sticks: Why Most L&D Programs Stop at Content

This week, Traci sits down with Chris Taylor, founder of Actionable.co, a company that helps consultants prove the impact of their programs and build deeper, longer-lasting client relationships through behavior change technology, the Impact Certainty Methodology, and a global network of peers. Chris has spent 18 years making the case that the entire L&D industry is stuck measuring the wrong things, and that closing this gap is one of the most powerful levers a business has for driving real, lasting results. FREE RESOURCE: Chris's team put together a free toolkit covering everything the data shows makes learning actually stick, with nearly an hour of training included. Grab it at ⁠ toolkit.actionable.co⁠. What We Cover: The knowing-doing gap: why consuming information is step one, and what it actually takes to get people to change Why 96% of business stakeholders believe L&D impact should be measured, yet less than 4% of programs do it well The three conditions for real behavior change: knowing how, having a strong enough reason, and a path that makes change easier than staying put Starting with strategy, not tactics: how aligning learning to business priorities changes every decision that follows The content commoditization reality: why AI has made content delivery the least valuable thing a consultant or L&D team can offer Synchronous vs. self-directed learning and why async formats make sustaining behavior change nearly impossible Social scaffolding: why the people participants interact with daily outweigh top-down culture in driving change What 100,000 behavior change commitments reveal about human motivation and willingness to grow How frontline leaders can drive real development even inside organizations that aren't walking the walk Connect with Chris Taylor: LinkedIn | Actionable.co Connect with Traci here: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

May 19, 202627 min

277. Leading From Within: Self-Awareness, Collaboration, & Human Connection at Work

This episode is about authentic leadership, self-awareness, and the quiet ways competition undermines collaboration in the workplace. Traci sits down with Archana Mohan, Chief Operations and Technology Officer in the finance sector and author of The Thru Line: How Understanding Who You Are Empowers How You Lead. Archana holds a BA from Brown, an MA from Columbia, and an MBA from Yale, but her most formative credential might be what she's carried from classrooms and boardrooms alike: the experience of not quite feeling like she belonged, and choosing to build something different because of it. What We Cover: Why authentic leadership starts from the inside, not from a title The two types of self-awareness and why most leaders only develop one of them Listening as the most undervalued skill in the workplace How school conditioned us to chase the right answer instead of ask better questions Why group impact is exponential, not just additive What collaboration actually looks like versus what leaders often mistake for it The key difference between competing with someone and competing against them Why not having the answer is just as valuable as having one How creating space for others to be seen fully changes what a team can achieve Connect with Archana Mohan: Archanamo.net | LinkedIn | The Thru Line: How Understanding Who You Are Empowers How You Lead. Connect with Traci here: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed. Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.