HR on the Frontline

WRKdefined Podcast Network

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Real people leaders with real challenges. HR on the Frontline is where experienced HR practitioners share proven, in-the-field playbooks for engagement, retention, recognition, and building culture that sticks. For teams everywhere, with a focus on frontline, deskless, and distributed workforces.

Jul 31

Can HR Actually Be Transparent with the Frontline?

Send us Fan Mail Transparency is one of the most overused words in leadership. Most organizations say they practice it. Few do when it actually matters. Frontline employees feel the impact of decisions first: Schedule changes, staffing shortages, safety pressure, and new expectations with the same resources. Too often, they are the last to hear why those decisions were made, or to have someone in the room advocating for them. That silence has a cost. When people stop trusting what they are told, they stop speaking up. When frontline voices disappear, risk goes up and performance goes down. On this episode, we are joined by Aman Malhi, Director of People, Culture, and Operations at Refrigerative Supply. Aman is an award-winning leader known for building strong cultures in complex, frontline environments where transparency and advocacy are tested every day. HR on the Frontline delivers real conversations and practical takeaways to help HR leaders navigate today’s workplace challenges and lead meaningful change. Have a topic you want us to explore on the show? Reach out anytime at marketing@guusto.com
Jul 14

Operationalizing Engagement: How Leaders Make It Part of the Work

Send us Fan Mail Engagement tools have long been treated as a “nice to have.” Something you invest in when there’s extra budget.And something that quickly gets cut when priorities shift. But the reality is that work is constantly changing. AI is reshaping roles faster than teams can adapt to the last changes, and frontline employees are being asked to do more with less.At the same time, managers are expected to drive performance while keeping people motivated. In that environment, engagement can’t just sit on the sidelines or take a timeout. Because when recognition, feedback, and connection aren’t built into how and where work actually happens, they disappear. So maybe the better question isn’t how do we improve engagement. It’s: how do we make it part of how work gets done every day? That's exactly what we dig into in the newest episode of HR on the Frontline, with Kendall Carroll, Director of Product Management at UKG, for Operationalizing Engagement: How Leaders Make It Part of the Work. HR on the Frontline delivers real conversations and practical takeaways to help HR leaders navigate today’s workplace challenges and lead meaningful change. Have a topic you want us to explore on the show? Reach out anytime at marketing@guusto.com
Jun 30

Connection, Community & Frontline Performance w/ JD Dillon

Send us Fan Mail We spend a lot of time talking about frontline performance through metrics, productivity, and turnover. But underneath all of that are people doing hard work every day, often under pressure, while trying to feel supported by the people and systems around them. Today we’re joined by JD Dillon, former Disney leader, frontline enablement strategist, and author of the new book The Frontline Enablement Playbook. One of the strongest themes throughout the book is the idea that connection and community are not separate from frontline performance. They shape whether people stay, whether teams trust each other, and whether great work is actually sustainable in these high pressure environments. HR on the Frontline delivers real conversations and practical takeaways to help HR leaders navigate today’s workplace challenges and lead meaningful change. Have a topic you want us to explore on the show? Reach out anytime at marketing@guusto.com
Jun 16

Resilient Workforces: How People Leaders Can Guide Teams Through AI and Change w/ Kat Kibben (Three Ears Media)

Send us Fan Mail Uncertainty has become the default setting of work. AI is reshaping roles faster than job descriptions can keep up. Frontline teams are being asked to adapt to new tools, new expectations, and new metrics, often without clarity on what’s coming next. Recruiters are navigating a market that swings between talent shortages and hiring freezes overnight. And leaders? They’re expected to project confidence in a future they can’t even start to predict. The conversation about uncertainty often centers on control—how to reduce it, how to automate it, or how to out-strategize it. But maybe the more important question is: how do we navigate uncertainty with confidence when certainty isn’t an option? HR on the Frontline delivers real conversations and practical takeaways to help HR leaders navigate today’s workplace challenges and lead meaningful change. Have a topic you want us to explore on the show? Reach out anytime at marketing@guusto.com
Jun 2

When Culture Becomes Reactive w/ Lia Seth (Cylinder)

Send us Fan Mail Most organizations eventually hit a moment where the employee experience starts to fray. It might happen during rapid growth, a restructuring, when new leadership comes in, or simply the slow accumulation of processes that no longer fit the reality of work. Leaders often respond reactively, patching these issues as they surface, launching new programs, rewriting policies, and trying to rebuild trust after burning that bridge. The deeper question is whether the systems underneath work for everyone in the first place. Accessibility and inclusion are often treated as optional or secondary, but in practice, they should shape whether people can perform, feel like they belong, and thrive inside an organization over time. HR on the Frontline delivers real conversations and practical takeaways to help HR leaders navigate today’s workplace challenges and lead meaningful change. Have a topic you want us to explore on the show? Reach out anytime at marketing@guusto.com
May 19

Stop Chasing Engagement and Start Fixing Recognition w/ Joey Price (JumpStart HR)

Send us Fan Mail You’d be hard pressed to find people leaders who don’t genuinely want to recognize great work.You care about your teams, but you’re also under pressure making hundreds of decisions per day. And yet, we’re surprised when one of the most powerful drivers of performance and trust slips through the cracks. Not because leaders don’t value it. But because recognition is rarely designed to succeed. It’s left to chance, memory, or moments that are too late, too small, or miss the people who matter most. So what happens when recognition stops being a nice to have and starts becoming intentional? HR on the Frontline delivers real conversations and practical takeaways to help HR leaders navigate today’s workplace challenges and lead meaningful change. Have a topic you want us to explore on the show? Reach out anytime at marketing@guusto.com
May 5

Say Less, Mean More: Internal Comms That Work w/ Pamela Kaye (PK Communications)

Send us Fan Mail Most companies think internal communication is updates, newsletters, or another Slack post that just gets ignored. But, employees experience it differently. They experience it as trust, or the loss of it.They experience it as alignment, or confusion.They experience it as proof that leadership means what it says, or that it doesn’t. In a moment defined by change, layoffs, AI disruption, and culture strain, internal communication has become one of the most underappreciated drivers of retention. HR on the Frontline delivers real conversations and practical takeaways to help HR leaders navigate today’s workplace challenges and lead meaningful change. Have a topic you want us to explore on the show? Reach out anytime at marketing@guusto.com
Apr 21

Re-imagining the world of work with AI w/ Sarika Lamont (Vidyard)

Send us Fan Mail AI is already reshaping how work gets done, and people leaders are being asked to guide teams through a shift that is moving faster than most organizations are ready for. Can leaders who take this on build cultures where technology accelerates growth, trust, and performance instead of uncertainty? HR on the Frontline delivers real conversations and practical takeaways to help HR leaders navigate today’s workplace challenges and lead meaningful change. Have a topic you want us to explore on the show? Reach out anytime at marketing@guusto.com

Real people leaders with real challenges. HR on the Frontline is where experienced HR practitioners share proven, in-the-field playbooks for engagement, retention, recognition, and building culture that sticks. For teams everywhere, with a focus on frontline, deskless, and distributed workforces.

Creator

WRKdefined Podcast Network
Years Active

2023 - 2026
Episodes

84
Copyright

© All rights reserved by WRKdefined
Show Website

HR on the Frontline