The HR Leader Podcast Network connects you to the brightest and best in HR and people leadership, exploring new ideas so you can deliver more value for your business. These conversations will influence, shape and lead change, overcoming HR's top concerns and roadblocks. Tune in for the thinking that will shape tomorrow's workplaces, inspiring and enabling you to engage with your people in new and innovative ways. For more, visit hrleader.com.au
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June 15, 202626 min
Creating more caring leaders
With nearly one in two workplace leaders experiencing severe stress week to week, there is an urgent need to build leaders' sense of self and have them embrace self-care, so they are better placed to identify and support workers who are struggling themselves. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with R U OK? founding director and author Graeme Cowan about what his career has taught him about leadership and wellness, the urgent need to improve leaders' health in the workplace, the prevalence of severe workplace stress, how difficult it is to be a manager right now, what leaders must be asking of themselves moving forward, what it means to care in the workplace, the three arms of care, and how HR teams can better support leaders' holistic wellbeing.
June 10, 202621 min
Ensuring workplace culture is fit for purpose
Ensuring the workforce is engaged does not simply bolster team culture; it also strengthens the collective focus on the business's objectives. Here, we unpack how to strike the right balance. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Ensign Laboratories head of human resources Grant Wyatt about his journey in the HR space, concerns around workforce engagement, whether engagement is harder to come by than ever before, what constitutes a strong workplace culture, navigating generational differences, what works and doesn't work in bolstering culture and a focus on objectives, meaningfully prioritising optimal culture in a time of voluminous change.
June 3, 202624 min
Shifting leadership expectations in a changing working world
At a time when demands for productivity are greater than at any point in recent memory, human leadership is more important than ever. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Human Leadership Lab founder and chief executive May Samali about the evolving nature of leadership, leaders' cognisance of the need for human-centred approaches, whether workers retain the same reverence for leaders as in years gone by, the headline challenges facing leaders right now, the need to be more holistic in managing staff, balancing short-term issues against taking a longer-term approach to the business, and what HR's role is in all of this.
May 27, 202621 min
The Legal Brief: The rise of AI advocates and trends in collective employee claims
More claims. More complexity. Higher stakes. How AI and rising civil penalties are reshaping workplace litigation and what employers need to do to keep pace. In this special episode of The Legal Brief, produced in partnership with national law firm Kingston Reid, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Kingston Reid partner James Parkinson about two emerging trends currently reshaping the conduct of workplace litigation in Australia. Artificial intelligence is increasingly being deployed in legal proceedings, and this trend shows no sign of abating. The rise of the "AI advocate" is driving a surge in rights-aware self-represented litigants, with generative AI capable of producing legally framed claims. While this presents a perceived expansion of access to justice, it also places significant pressure on courts, tribunals, and employers who are required to navigate AI-generated materials in order to respond to claims. The presenters explore how Australian jurisdictions are responding, through evolving guidance notes and procedural guardrails, and why a recalibration towards more traditional, oral advocacy may be on the horizon. Against this backdrop, our presenters also explore the growing prominence of collective employee claims. With significantly higher civil penalties and intensified regulatory scrutiny, the economics of enforcement have shifted. Resolution is no longer confined to employee remediation, and may increasingly involve consideration of payments to prosecuting parties, including unions. For employers, the implications of these developments are clear: compliance must be proactive, remediation swift, and litigation strategies rigorously stress-tested. In a system being rapidly reshaped in the wake of new technology, organisations that recognise these shifts and act early to address issues will be best placed to navigate a more complex and costly disputes landscape, whereas employers who fail to adapt risk being outpaced: procedurally, financially, and strategically. To learn more about Kingston Reid, click here.
May 20, 202624 min
Why work should be treated as a public health issue
Work is a social determinant of health – given how much time we spend in the workplace, it is one of the most consistent and powerful influences on our holistic wellbeing. To this end, how we view responsibility for our health and work can and should be reconsidered. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with organisational psychologist, researcher, and leadership adviser Dr Kat Page about her passion for supporting individual workers on the ground, how and why consideration of work goes beyond discussions of mental health and psychological safety, and why the volume of work undertaken means it must be considered a public health issue. Page also delves into the fact that we have less separation from work than ever before, the blurred lines between home and work that impact one's ability to disconnect, how old the idea of work being a public health issue and its resonance with key decision-makers, what the role of the HR function looks like when work is considered a public health issue, rethinking what HR looks like, and how it can bring the business along for the ride.
May 13, 202620 min
Talent attraction and retention in a rapidly changing landscape
With more generations in the workforce than ever before and against the backdrop of myriad technological and sociocultural changes, hiring the right staff is more difficult than ever. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Blue Connections IT chief people and operations officer Cassandra Eastham about having pivoted her career from biochemistry to using people skills, the people challenges facing HR practitioners, adapting one's approach to working with staff, and striking the right balance between generations. Eastham also delves into the importance of having an open mind, onboarding tech while not ignoring the human aspect of work, ensuring staff feel comfortable, what best practice looks like in attracting and retaining talent right now, employing newer and more creative strategies, maintaining a competitive edge, what's worked and not worked in her experience, and looming opportunities to reinforce the importance of the HR function.
May 6, 202623 min
Thinking outside the box when hiring
In the age of AI, "it can be very hard to ascertain the person behind the CV". Here, one CEO outlines her four-step process to recruitment to help leaders and HR pivot in a shifting landscape. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Virtual Headquarters chief executive Emma Davison about her background as a physio, what she learnt from that vocation in becoming a C-suite executive, the recruitment challenges facing businesses right now, why it's harder to recruit now than ever before, and the lessons she's learnt over the years when hiring. Davison also delves into her four-step process for hiring new staff, why such a comprehensive approach is so beneficial, the differences she's noticed since starting the new system, the inherent challenges to be overcome, and what motivates her moving forward about recruitment into the future.
April 29, 202619 min
How the HR and change management functions can work together better
Oftentimes, HR doesn't understand what the change management function does. Better appreciating its purpose and working more collaboratively with that function will ultimately benefit the entire workplace. In this week's episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with 437 Consulting director and founder Sudesh Dahiya about her background as a programmer and what it taught her about empathy in the workplace, the differences between the HR and change management functions and why they're separate, the challenges that exist in the relationship between HR and change, and how pressing such differences are for HR to help address. Dahiya also delves into how HR and change are approaching transformation differently, the consequences of HR and change not working in sync, the questions HR needs to ask itself in order to bridge the divide and practical steps to implement, overcoming inherent challenges, and why such an improvement in the relationship will benefit all.
April 22, 202621 min
How this CEO navigated his role while experiencing mental health challenges
Here, Richie Poulton reflects on the need for better top-down approaches when it comes to managing workplace wellness, the importance of leading by example, and how HR departments and C-suite executives can show greater care and empathy for their staff, particularly in the current climate. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Instantia CEO Richie Poulton about his background as a nightclub owner in Europe and the other directions his vocational journey as taken, why he's so adamant about running a business that prioritises transparency, his experiences with burnout and what it has taught him, and how he benefited from working on himself. Poulton also delves into how he manages his role as a CEO, what he's learnt about good leadership, how workforces respond to his approach, the need for a new leadership approach from the C-suite, what HR must do moving forward, and what excites him about such top-down leadership.
April 15, 202631 min
How play helps restore psychological safety
Workplaces across the board can, at times, trigger fear responses from workers. Here, we reflect on how incorporating play into not only the processes but also the mindset of the workforce can both bolster and maintain optimal levels of psychological safety for staff. In today's episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Culture Hero founder Dara Simkin about how and why play in the workplace means something entirely different from having a ping-pong table on the floor, why the incorporation of play is so essential in the current climate, how high-stakes workplaces can trigger fear responses, and the consequences of this. Simkin also delves into the compounding effects of stress both inside and outside work, the impact of constantly feeling exhausted, how play can help, the problems to be overcome, how HR can better push for the incorporation of play, how HR can support team leaders in driving change, and the need to remain human in a shifting landscape.
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