The Q4 Scramble: Setting Boundaries Before Budgeting & Open Enrollment Begin

The Q4 Scramble: Setting Boundaries Before Budgeting & Open Enrollment BeginHost: Sabrina Baker SummarySeptember is the Sunday evening of the business calendar—summer vacations end, executive energy surges, and suddenly every department wants everything finished before December 31st. For small business HR leaders (1–500 employees) operating without a bench of specialists, handling Open Enrollment, 2027 budgeting, and performance reviews all at once can lead straight to severe Q4 burnout.In this episode of HR Connection, Sabrina breaks down how to move away from telling leadership "we're too busy"—a phrase executives often misread as a lack of time management—and start defining "busy" with concrete calendar data. Learn how to build Quarterly and Annual Roadmaps, translate HR initiatives into "time in weeks," navigate budget requests whether you have a formal HR budget or not, and execute Q4 scrappily without dropping the ball. Topics include:Use a quarterly roadmap to visualize workload and tradeoffsBuild an annual roadmap to anticipate heavy periods and resource needsCreate more structure and stronger boundaries around open enrollmentConnect HR investments directly to time and capacity gainedStreamline and automate performance review processesAvoid changing major HR processes right before launchTreat capacity management as a leadership responsibility 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. 

Is the Culture You Have the Culture You Think You Have? How to Read the Culture SignalsHosts: Steve Boese and Trish SteedGuest: Meisha-ann Martin, Ph.D., VP of People Research at Workhuman SummaryIn this episode of the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve and Trish are joined by Meisha-ann Martin, VP of People Research at Workhuman, for a conversation about moving beyond stated values and getting a clearer picture of how culture actually shows up across an organization.The conversation explores one of the biggest sources of cultural disconnect: what organizations say they value versus what they actually reward and reinforce. A company may say it values efficient execution while celebrating heroic firefighting. It may promote innovation while only recognizing successful outcomes, unintentionally discouraging thoughtful risk-taking. Or it may tolerate harmful behaviors because an employee delivers strong business results.Meisha-ann shares how recognition data can give leaders a much richer view into these patterns. She also explains how advances in people analytics and natural language processing are making it possible to uncover insights that traditional engagement surveys alone could not provide—from identifying differences in how employees are recognized to detecting language that may serve as an early warning signal for burnout.Ultimately, Meisha-ann encourages HR and business leaders to approach culture with greater intentionality: define the outcome you want, understand the behaviors that lead to it, measure what is actually happening, and continually refine the system based on what the data reveals. Topics include:Why culture is more than the values written on the wallThe gap between organizational intentions and employee experiencesHow organizations can unintentionally reinforce the wrong behaviorsThe relationship among vulnerability, recognition, and psychological safetyHow language data can uncover burnout risk, bias, and cultural misalignmentWhy recognizing behaviors—not just outcomes—can improve performanceConnecting leadership behaviors to organizational outcomesWhy measurement should come before analytics 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. 

Ghosting the Ghost Jobs: Navigating Today’s Hiring NightmareHosts: Jack McFarlane and Nicholas Schlemmer SummaryIn this episode of The Play by Play, Jack and Nick dig into the increasingly complicated world of modern job hunting, beginning with the rise of ghost jobs - job postings that remain online even when an organization may not actually be hiring for the position.Jack shares his own experiences navigating job postings and discusses why organizations may keep positions listed, while Nick offers a different perspective from the golf industry, where professional credentials and industry-specific hiring networks can make the recruiting process much more targeted. Then the conversation turns to AI.With job seekers able to automate applications at massive scale and employers relying on applicant tracking systems and AI tools to sort through growing applicant pools, Jack and Nick explore what happens when hiring becomes a bot-to-bot cycle. The result can be frustrating for everyone: candidates struggle to stand out while recruiters face enormous volumes of applications from people who may not actually be qualified. So what can job seekers do differently?They talk about the continued value of human connection in the hiring process, from referrals and networking to directly contacting an organization or hiring manager. They also discuss why demonstrating an actual body of work, accomplishments, and professional presence may become increasingly important as AI makes traditional resumes easier to create and harder to evaluate. And, of course, it wouldn’t be The Play by Play without a little competition. Jack puts Nick to the test with a round of Real or Fake Job Posting, featuring some job descriptions so outrageous that figuring out which ones are legitimate turns out to be much harder than expected. TakeawaysWhat ghost jobs are and why they create frustration for job seekersHow AI is changing both sides of the recruiting processWhy AI-powered screening can make hiring feel like AI competing against AIHow networking and direct outreach can help candidates stand outWhy a visible body of work may matter more in an AI-driven hiring environmentWhy staying human may be one of the most important advantages in the modern job search 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. 

What Signals is Your Culture Sending Out into the World?Hosts: Steve Boese and Trish SteedGuest: Saima Rashid, Chief Marketing Officer at Workhuman SummaryIt’s easy to point to a careers page, recruiting campaign, company values, or social media presence. But ultimately, an employer brand is shaped by something much harder to manufacture: what employees actually experience inside the organization.In this episode of the HR Happy Hour, Steve Boese and Trish Steed welcome Saima Rashid, Chief Marketing Officer at Workhuman, for a conversation about the evolving role of employer brand and how recognition data can provide a much more authentic view of workplace culture. Saima describes employer brand as the external expression of the internal employee experience. That means organizations need real examples that demonstrate how people collaborate, contribute, support one another, and live company values every day - and recognition data can help uncover those stories.Because recognition happens in the flow of work and comes from employees across teams, roles, and functions, it can provide leaders with real-time insight into the behaviors, skills, relationships, and contributions shaping the organization. It can also reveal where recognition is missing - giving leaders an earlier indication of potential disconnects before they appear in traditional measures such as engagement, retention, or employee referrals.Steve, Trish, and Saima also explore how recognition can help new leaders understand their teams, bring greater context into performance conversations, strengthen employee advocacy, and give organizations authentic stories that employees actually want to share. And with AI making it possible to analyze large amounts of unstructured recognition data, organizations have an opportunity to uncover even deeper insights about skills, leadership, culture, and whether business values are truly showing up in the way work gets done. Topics include:Why employer brand is ultimately shaped by the lived employee experienceThe difference between promoting company values and demonstrating themHow recognition data provides real-time, human insight into how work gets doneWhy specific employee stories can be more powerful than traditional employer-brand messagingHow recognition can help leaders uncover skills, contributions, and relationships they may not otherwise seeWhy authentic employee advocacy must be earned rather than orchestratedHow organizations can compare their stated values with the behaviors employees actually recognizeHow AI can help uncover new insights from recognition dataThank 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. 

Reclaiming the Plot: HR’s Role in the AI TransformationHosts: Mervyn DinnenGuest: Dr. Kelly Monahan, Future of Work and AI Advisor SummaryIn this episode of HR Means Business, Mervyn welcomes Dr. Kelly Monahan, future of work and AI advisor and author of Reclaim the Plot, for a conversation about what it means to redesign organizations for a world where humans and AI increasingly work together.Kelly argues that many organizations are approaching AI transformation too narrowly - focusing on efficiency and automation without thinking deeply enough about how work, organizational structures, skills, leadership, and value creation need to change. Listen in for a thoughtful conversation about AI, leadership, workforce transformation, and why HR has an important opportunity to help organizations reclaim the plot. Key TakeawaysWhy AI transformation may increasingly become an HR responsibilityHow organizations can move from short-term workforce reduction thinking to longer-term workforce redesignWhy HR professionals need greater exposure to how the broader business creates valueThe importance of keeping humans accountable for decisions, exceptions, and moments where judgment mattersHow leaders can approach workforce reductions with greater transparency and humanityWhy inconsistent AI adoption and invisible workflows are creating new challenges for managersHow principles, learning, and shared experimentation can provide better AI guardrailsWhat the HR function could look like as human and AI work become increasingly integrated Thank you for your continued support of the show and 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.

Rebuilding Pathways to Work: Removing Barriers for Overlooked TalentHosts: Steve Boese and Trish SteedGuest: Dr. Lee Bowes, CEO of America Works SummaryIn 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 incomeThe practical barriers that prevent willing people from returning to workTransportation challenges facing workers in suburban and rural communitiesHow complicated online applications and limited digital skills can restrict accessWhy employers and frontline managers also need support when hiring overlooked talentThe importance of coaching, communication, and early intervention in employee retentionWhat 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 ItHosts: Steve Boese and Trish SteedGuest: KeyAnna Schmeidl, Chief Human Experience Officer at Workhuman SummaryWork 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 shortThe shift from reporting what happened to understanding what is happeningWhy simply replacing a departing employee with the same role may no longer make senseHow recognition data can uncover hidden contributors, connectors, mentors, and emerging leadersThe role recognition can play in succession planning, internal mobility, and identifying future leadership potentialWhat "dark spots" in recognition can reveal about culture and employee visibilityHow 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 SummaryWhat 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 managersThree major risks created by untrained managers: wage and hour violations, documentation gaps, and mishandled accommodation or leave conversationsHow seemingly small manager decisions can create significant legal and financial exposureThe difference between how trained and untrained managers respond to common workplace situationsHow to create a simple set of first-30-day manager compliance guardrailsWhy 15-minute tactical micro-training sessions can be more effective and realistic for small organizations than traditional leadership programsHow consistent manager training can improve the way performance, employee concerns, and compliance issues are handled across the organizatioThank 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 2026Hosts: Steve Boese and Trish Steed SummaryIn 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 hearThe growing expectations Gen Z employees have around feedback, recognition, connection, and leadershipCan longtime leaders successfully adapt as workplace expectations changeThe danger of asking employees for input when the final decision consistently ignores their perspectiveWhat the DCC audition and selection process can teach employers about recruiting, evaluation, rejection, and candidate experienceHow peer leaders and experienced team members often perform critical coaching, encouragement, and culture-building workWhy 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 ZHosts: Jack McFarlane and Nicholas Schlemmer SummaryIn 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. TakeawaysWhat prediction markets are and how they workThe connection between Gen Z, financial anxiety, investing, and instant gratificationThe financial and behavioral risks associated with gambling and speculative tradingJack and Nick's approach to responsible bettingThe first-ever Play by Play Prediction MarketCollege football conference and national championship predictionsA 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.