Workforce Therapy Files

Jim Ray
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Management
  • Semimonthly

This podcast is designed for business leaders and human resource professionals who are challenged with expanding their workforce. Workforce Therapy Files, an Employer Solutions Podcast, is hosted by 3 separate business owners who operate in the staffing and human resources space. They'll provide perspectives, tips and advice (along with a little humor) to help you prepare for and manage your workforce challenges. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help. You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: • Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com • Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com • Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com We hope you find it insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!

  1. 4d ago ·  Bonus

    KYSHRM 2026 - Jacenda Rupe of Abel Construction Company

    Jacenda Rupe, Senior HR Business Partner at Abel Construction Company, joined hosts Jamie Swaim and Molley Ricketts at the 2026 Kentucky SHRM Conference.  She shared her insights as an HR department of one overseeing approximately 110 office employees. Bringing 11 years of HR experience and a background in psychology, Jacenda highlighted that her primary passion is employee relations. She embraces both the rewarding and difficult sides of employee interactions, striving to solve problems while helping employees have their best possible experience at work. Though Abel Construction is signatory to unions for its field workforce, Jacenda focuses on supporting office personnel and creating a trusting, approachable environment. For a hypothetical KYSHRM keynote walk-up anthem, Jacenda selected James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)", her wedding reception entrance song, for its confidence-boosting energy. Paying it forward, she left a thoughtful question for the next podcast guest, asking what wisdom they would share as a mentor and what advice they wish had been passed to them earlier. Thanks for speaking with us Jacenda! To Learn More about Abel Construction Company: Website:  www.AbelConstruct.com That's where we'll leave the conversation for today. Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you. Jamie Swaim:            www.ParcelKnows.com Molley Ricketts:        www.IncipioWorks.com Jason Heflin:             www.CrowdSouth.com We hope you found this insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

  2. Oct 19 ·  Bonus

    2026 KYSHRM: Interview with Erica Harris of Goodwill Kentucky

    Erica Harris, MSM, SHRM-CP, Total Rewards Manager at Goodwill Kentucky, joined hosts Jamie Swaim and Jason Heflin at the 2026 Kentucky SHRM Conference to discuss her role overseeing benefits, compensation, and wellness. She kicked off the conversation by reflecting on conference keynote speaker Maggie Harlow, praising her as a true business leader in addition to being Jack Harlow's mother. On the operational side, Erica revealed that she has spent two years leading a massive system implementation to transition Goodwill Kentucky to ADP as a new HCM vendor, balancing this project alongside her daily HR responsibilities. When asked about a hypothetical forced karaoke scenario, she selected Chappell Roan's "Pink Pony Club," explaining that she and her daughter love singing it together during car rides. For her personal keynote walk-up anthem, Erica chose T.I.'s "Bring 'Em Out" to bring high energy to the stage. Passing a question along to the next podcast guest, she proposed asking what single superpower they would want. She shared that her own choice would be teleportation to keep up with her two active kids' sports and cheer schedules across town. Erica, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! To Learn More about Goodwill Kentucky: Website: www.GoodwillKY.org To Watch the Episode Recorded at the Goodwill Opportunity Center: Website:  https://www.workforcetherapyfiles.com/podcast/womens-health-is-a-workplace-issue-what-leaders-cant-ignore/   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.   Jamie Swaim:  www.ParcelKnows.com Molley Ricketts:  www.IncipioWorks.com Jason Heflin:  www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening!

  3. Oct 12 ·  Bonus

    2026 KYSHRM: Interview with Chris Dietrich, Simple VMS

    Chris Dietrich, Sales Executive with SimpleVMS, joined hosts Jamie Swaim and Jason Heflin at the 2026 Kentucky SHRM Conference to discuss how modern technology transforms contingent workforce management. Based out of Cincinnati, Ohio, SimpleVMS has served North America for 15 years with a 96% client retention rate under month-to-month agreements while preparing for global expansion next year. Many companies still manage temporary agency programs using spreadsheets and email chains, creating severe visibility gaps. SimpleVMS modernizes this process by delivering a single platform that streamlines four key operational areas: job posting, timekeeping, reporting and analytics, and consolidated invoicing. Additionally, the platform provides multiple layers of protection to mitigate complex co-employment risks associated with managing temporary staff. When asked for his hypothetical keynote walk-up song, Chris selected "We Are the Champions" by Queen. He concluded his appearance by asking future guests about their favorite Louisville spots, recommending the pretzel beer cheeseburger at Monnik Beer Co.. Chris, thanks for stopping by to speak with us! To Learn More about SimpleVMS: Website:  http://www.simplevms.com/  That's where we'll leave the conversation for today. Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments. We'd love to hear from you. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help. You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: • Jamie Swaim, SPHR – http://www.ParcelKnows.com • Molley Ricketts – http://www.IncipioWorks.com • Jason Heflin – http://www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!

  4. Oct 7 ·  Bonus

    2026 KYSHRM: Interview with Dana Syme, Incipio Workforce Solutions

    Dana Syme, Director of Client Experience at Incipio Workforce Solutions, joined hosts Jason Heflin, Jamie Swaim, and Molley Ricketts as the first guest at the 2026 Kentucky SHRM Conference. In her role, Dana acts as the bridge between clients, internal teams, and service partners to ensure an outstanding client experience across all operations except invoicing. Core challenges she solves for clients revolve around finding the right talent and keeping employees engaged over time. While organizations often make grand promises during recruitment, retention suffers when the daily workplace reality fails to align with that advertised culture. Drawing on a diverse career path spanning talent acquisition, employer branding, marketing, and HR consulting, Dana brings broad industry expertise to her work. She considers her ultimate superpower to be a connector who lives by the motto "I don't know, but I know who knows," connecting clients to specialized experts when complex issues arise. Continuing the podcast's tradition of connecting guest insights, Dana asked the next participant what their walk-up song would be if they were a KYSHRM keynote speaker? She shared that her own personal hype song is "So What'cha Want" by the Beastie Boys. Dana, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!   That's where we'll leave the conversation for today. Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments. We'd love to hear from you.   Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help. You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: • Jamie Swaim, SPHR – http://www.ParcelKnows.com • Molley Ricketts – http://www.IncipioWorks.com • Jason Heflin – http://www.CrowdSouth.com   We hope you found this file insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!

  5. Sep 22

    Women's Health Is a Workplace Issue | What Leaders Can't Ignore

    File 43: Recorded before a live audience at the Goodwill Opportunity Center in collaboration with LeadWell, File 43 of the Workforce Therapy Files features nurse practitioner Gaby Jaggers discussing the critical intersection of women's health and workplace retention. Jamie Johnson introduced LeadWell's mission to destigmatize topics like burnout, the sandwich generation, menopause, and fertility in professional settings. Gaby debunked prevalent health myths regarding severe period pain, postpartum recovery, and menopause, noting that 100% of women experience hormonal transitions that directly affect their productivity and well-being. She urged business leaders to take accountability by actively asking employees what they need through anonymous feedback rather than allowing chronic stress to drive turnover. Through integrative medicine, Gaby advocates for discovering root causes of symptoms rather than relying on quick pharmaceutical fixes. Essential interventions discussed include comprehensive lab testing, whole-food nutrition, and targeted supplementation with magnesium, vitamin D, and methylated multivitamins. Additionally, the episode stresses that executive leaders must model healthy boundaries and enforce real PTO usage to foster sustainable organizational cultures. All ticket proceeds from this live recording were donated directly to support the Goodwill Opportunity Center. Episode Transcript: Molley Ricketts: Thank you all for coming in, getting your breakfast. I hope it was delicious. The folks at Black Coffee put amazing food together and their coffee is spot on. So we'll let everybody get their seats and then we'll kick off. Jamie Swaim: Molley, before we do that. Molley Ricketts: Yeah? Jamie Swaim: I have a confession. This is also my first live podcast recording, so we're going to get this unlocked together and I'm excited about that, but I'm a little bit nervous about it. I don't know about everybody else. This is an ad hoc conversation. If you ever spent any time with us, sometimes we spitball… Molley Ricketts: And wing it? We're not going to wing it though, once we start. Jamie Swaim: We actually had one recording where we had to start over. So that could happen today too because whenever we're together, we like to laugh and sometimes we need to edit that out. You know what I mean? Molley Ricketts: Because the laugh's a little too much. Jamie Swaim: That's right. So there might be some things that we need to do that today. We'll try not to, but… Molley Ricketts: Yeah. Jamie Swaim: Alright. Molley Ricketts: Okay. Jamie Swaim: Everybody's taking a seat. Molley Ricketts: Good morning and welcome to the LeadWell Live Audience podcast recording with Ms. Gaby Jaggers. Yay. We are so excited that you're here. And before we kick it off, I would like to introduce a dear friend, Ms. Jamie Johnson, and she's going to let everybody know a little bit more about LeadWell and how this all came about. Jamie Johnson: Yes. Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here. I'm excited to hear the conversation today, because I think this is much needed. So LeadWell was really started about a year and a half ago. There's a group of seven women that we came together and decided that there's things that we need to talk about that are not discussed in the workplace. There's a lot of things that women have to deal with that men do not. There's the burnout, the mental load of taking care of everyone else. There's the sandwich generation right now where a lot of women are not only taking care of their own kids, but their parents too, and how that affects us showing up to work. Menopause, fertility issues. I mean, the list doesn't end. So we just wanted to create a safe space where women could come together and talk to each other about what's going on, find solutions, and really just empower you to know that you can still show up to work, be your authentic self. So we're excited today for the women's health conversation because that is one piece that I think is not talked about a lot at work. Molley Ricketts: I agree. I think we can all agree with that one, right? So before we kick off in our interview with Gaby, I'd like to give a special shout out to a few of our sponsors and one in particular today, our presenting sponsor, She Knows Best. We've got our table set over here in the room, the international bestseller that I'm so proud to have been a part of with another group of amazing women that I have in my circle. And that's truly what it's about. It's lifting your circle for that next season of life that we all tend to find ourselves in. And here's the other page. It's on the other side. Nothing like live audience for that. Many of our sponsors such as Junior League of Louisville. So grateful for your commitment and the support of this community that we've had from Old National Bank, V-Soft, United Healthcare, Humana, USI Insurance. We appreciate you investing in these critical conversations because like all of us in the room, the more we know, the better that the workplace culture can be. So looking forward to prioritizing women's health and the life that we lead. As we're also going through our in-kind sponsors for today's event, obviously we're in this huge, amazing Goodwill Opportunity Center here off of West Broadway. It is an incredible space. If this is your first time here, I highly encourage you to take a tour, learn more about the facility. It's a great space to be and hold events just like this. The Print Refinery for all of the paper that you see and the signage that we have, they're a great partner for us. The florals, these are incredible. Jamie Johnson: I could have never done that before. Molley Ricketts: No. I though it was fake. Jamie Johnson: Yeah, it's real. Molley Ricketts: That's incredible. Jamie Johnson: I didn't know that was part of the event. That's gorgeous. Molley Ricketts: It's great. Yeah. And Robin, she's around here shooting her camera. Thank you. Thank you. All right. So for this live podcast experience, are we ready? Gaby Jaggers and Jamie Johnson: Let's do it! Molley Ricketts: And now I love that. That was great. That wasn't planned. That wasn't planned. All right, so without further ado, I'm excited to kick off today's podcast in front of a live audience and introduce our special guest and a great friend of mine. I'm so stoked that she's here. Today's topic, women's health. Unfortunately, we only have about 30 minutes to talk, but I know that this is going to create so much curiosity for all of us to continue to learn more. So with that, women's health isn't a moment. It's literally a span of many, many careers. Workplaces should be treated based on retention, performance. Leaders can't afford to ignore the opportunities that we have and that we need today, right? So I'm excited to introduce Gaby Jaggers. Gaby Jaggers is a nurse practitioner with nearly 20 years of nursing experience, passionate about helping individuals optimize their personal health from inside out. Gaby specializes in integrative and functional medicine, hormone health, wellness optimization, and aesthetic treatments. She believes true wellness begins with intentional living, and I can say as her friend, she really does. Real food, movement, mindset, spiritual wellbeing, and creating conditions for the body to heal and thrive. All right. Jamie Swaim: Welcome, Gaby. Gaby Jaggers: Thank You. I'm so happy to be here. Jamie Swaim: Yes. Well, I like to kick this off because we are going to get to know all kinds of things about you while you're here, but we're going to play a little game called Fact or Cap. Gaby Jaggers: Okay. Jamie Swaim: Cap is what the kids are saying for "lies", or they were at least five years ago. I don't even know if they still are using that one. Gaby Jaggers: Define this for me earlier because I had no idea what Cap meant. Jamie Swaim: Well, let's go back and call it something that might be more generationally appropriate. This is myth-busting. Gaby Jaggers: Okay. Jamie Swaim: How about that? Gaby Jaggers: I got that. Jamie Swaim: Okay, great. So I'm going to throw out some statements that I believe there are still some people that anchor really hard to, and I want you to tell me whether or not they should or whether or not it's cap. Gaby Jaggers: Okay. Jamie Swaim: Okay. So the first one is severe period pain is just something women have to deal with. Gaby Jaggers: Cap. Definitely not right. You don't have to deal with it. Jamie Swaim: Even through your different phases. Gaby Jaggers: Yes. Jamie Swaim: Yeah. Gaby Jaggers: Totally. Jamie Swaim: I think it's one of those things where people don't really know that those things can change throughout your life and how, hey, if it starts feeling really hard, you don't necessarily have to work there. Gaby Jaggers: I think that people, women in general, we think that we are supposed to be dealing with certain things and that it's just normal for us to be fatigued or in pain or just feeling totally awful all the time. And I don't think that that's true. Jamie Swaim: Yeah, because Jamie gave this amazing list of all the things that women navigate. I think the part that I would add to it to complement that list is that, and you have to get up at 8:00 AM and act like it's not happening. Gaby Jaggers: Oh yeah. Jamie Swaim: Right? Yeah. Okay. All right. Number two, menopause is basically just hot flashes. Gaby Jaggers: No, definitely not cap. Jamie Swaim: Cap. Gaby Jaggers: I forgot. I'm supposed to say cap. Jamie Swaim: You supposed to cap. Okay. Yeah, cap. Yeah. So tell us more about some of the things that might impact how women work going through menopause. Gaby Jaggers: Well, menopause is not just hot flashes or night sweats. I mean, we all, or if you have no

  6. Sep 10

    $60 Billion Hidden in Plain Sight: How Small Businesses Can Claim Thousands in Tax Credits

    File 42:  In this episode of the Workforce Therapy Files, hosts Jamie Swaim and Molley Ricketts sit down with Ben Reno-Weber, CEO and Founder of Essential Innovations, to explore how companies can unlock over $60 billion in underutilized federal tax credits and training incentives. Ben explains that while programs like the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) can provide employers with up to $2,400 to $9,600 back per eligible hire, less than 1% of small businesses take advantage due to perceived, administrative friction. Essential Innovations removes this barrier by streamlining workflows to help employers hire and retain essential frontline workers, including veterans, individuals coming off SNAP, and those overcoming past convictions. Beyond hiring incentives, Ben emphasizes the need to solve root workforce barriers such as childcare subsidies, transportation, and long-term career upskilling pathways. When building his own team, he prioritizes curiosity, optimism, and durable skills over simple technical execution. Discussing artificial intelligence, Ben explains how technology itself is a commodity and that real innovation comes from using tools to eliminate human friction rather than replacing human relationships. Key Themes: ·      Unlocking $60+ Billion: The Hidden Tax Credits Small Businesses Leave Behind ·      Hiring for Curiosity: Building High-Performing Teams in an Era of Change ·      Workforce Pell Program: A New Program for Shorter-Term Trainings ·      Breaking Workforce Barriers: Childcare, Transportation, and Upskilling Pipelines ·      AI is a Commodity: Why Human-Centered Relationships Still Drive Real Value ·      Lessons from Microsoft: Data, Automation, and the Shift Toward Durable Skills ·      Conclusion Episode Transcript Molley Ricketts: Welcome back to this episode of Workforce Therapy Files. Jamie and I are super excited to have an incredible guest with us today. None other than Ben Reno-Weber. Jamie Swaim: Yay. Welcome, Ben. Molley Ricketts: He is the CEO and Founder of Essential Innovations. We are looking forward to this episode and can't wait to get into where you're at with all of the wonderful things and follow up from a previous interview. So I'm going to kick it over to Jamie so she can catch us up to speed on where we are. Jamie Swaim: Perfect. Hi, Ben. Ben Reno-Weber: Howdy. Jamie Swaim: Ben is typing, right? All right, Ben, before we go in and dive into all the amazing stuff that we know we can talk about with you, I'm going to ask you a random question that just gets our juices flowing. But the cool thing about this segment is that we all answer it. Ben Reno-Weber: Okay. Jamie Swaim: Okay. So I want you to imagine that you're stuck in an airport for six hours. Ben Reno-Weber: Okay. Jamie Swaim: Seems like it happens. Your phone is dead. You forgot your charger. Okay. So you cannot use your phone. Ben Reno-Weber: Sounds glorious. Jamie Swaim: So you've got your laptop. What is the non-work thing that you open first? Ben Reno-Weber: It's a non-work thing on my laptop. So, I have been using AI to make art, and so I've been playing around with a couple of different things where something that I'm feeling or something that I'm experiencing, trying to use interesting prompts to make that into fun images or videos. Jamie Swaim: Interesting. I really want to see some of these. Ben Reno-Weber: So that's probably what I would be doing if it were laptop bound. Jamie Swaim: Okay. Molley, what would yours? Molley Ricketts: That's a great question. Golly. Honestly, truly opening my computer, it would be one of the other interests of business that if it weren't Incipio, then it would be one of our other businesses that we have going on probably to check in on them and make sure that we've got notes. Because like we said on a couple of conversations that we've had in the past, there's never a dull moment when it comes to the things that Molley is doing. Jamie Swaim: It also sounds like Molley cannot answer the non-work side of the question. Oh, Molley Ricketts: That's probably. Ben Reno-Weber: So can I offer a though on this? Jamie Swaim: Yes, please. Ben Reno-Weber: I think we make this artificial distinction between work and life that when I talk to my friends who live in Asia, they're like, "That is the dumbest Western concept that exists and that's a statement." Your work is part of your life. Molley Ricketts: For sure. Ben Reno-Weber: And so I think the more interesting thing is does it cost you or does it build you? Molley Ricketts: I'm that writing down. Ben Reno-Weber: Molley, if something that. I love writing pieces for LinkedIn. It gives me joy. Is it work? If you were using an accounting perspective on it, sure. But from a holistic life perspective, no, it brings me joy. Molley Ricketts: I love that. Jamie Swaim: Okay, that's fair. Molley Ricketts: I think too, I have always leaned into what I feel like I'm best at, and I feel like I'm really good at working. Ben Reno-Weber: I agree. My experience of you is that it brings you joy. Molley Ricketts: Yeah. Ben Reno-Weber: Not all the time. Every job has dirty diapers, but you're a joyful warrior in my experience. Molley Ricketts: Thank you. Thank you. So thank you for helping me be okay with that and not guilty. Ben Reno-Weber: Or maybe I'm just making excuses for my own workaholism. I'm willing to acknowledge that possibility too. Jamie Swaim: I think the spirit of the question is just trying to understand something about you that's not work- related because we also have multitudes and I know Molley is one of those that contains that. In fact, last night my husband and I were having a conversation about whether or not Molley likes to drive fast cars. Did my face freeze? Molley Ricketts: No. I'm just scared of what you're going to say. Jamie Swaim: No, you're talking about how Molley likes to drive fast cars, right? So it would not surprise me to hear Molley talk about like, "Oh, I would be Googling my next opportunity to go and go to a track and drive a fast car. She also enjoys travel." So it's meant no judgment because I'm so glad that I'm surrounded by people that are doing work that fills their bucket. But I was also just trying to learn those kinds of things. Yes. Molley Ricketts: What about you, Jamie? What's yours? Jamie Swaim: Oh, I do not do things that necessarily build me in my free time, Ben. Sometimes I spend way too much time reading books that offer no intellectual value or for just pure entertainment. And I think it's because the life that I have is serious. There's so much. I guess it does build me because it adds a little levity, a little bit of ridiculousness. So I watch TV and I read books. That's what I would be doing on my laptop. Molley Ricketts: Nice. Unlocking $60+ Billion in Tax Credits and Programs Jamie Swaim: Yeah. Okay. So Ben, the last time you were with us, it was in a loudy conference space. It was a really loud conference space, and we were talking about this company that you established to really solve some problems. So I want to give a couple of highlights and then we're going to dive deeper because we felt like our time together just wasn't long enough. Okay? Cool. So here's the highlights that we captured and you feel free to edit any of them. The first one though is that there is $10 billion hiding in plain sight. That was evident when we met last year. Okay. Ben Reno-Weber: Yes. More than that, but yes. Jamie Swaim: Okay. There's over $10 billion in available tax and training credits like the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) that companies could be claiming for hiring essential workers, yet less than 1% of small businesses take advantage of it. That was something big that we took away from our time together. Number two, that it's not about awareness though, it's about friction. People think about it being this really hard thing to go and get those credits, and the main reason employers leave that money on the table is because they either don't know it exists or that the time commitment and paperwork would be too much to go and get it. Molley Ricketts: Truth. Jamie Swaim: Okay. And then the third piece is that the math is surprisingly good for a surprisingly small lift when a company like Essential Innovation enters the chat. Around 10 to 15% of typical workforce is work opportunity tax credit or WOTC eligible. That includes veterans who can qualify for up to $9,600 and people coming off SNAP or long-term unemployment. Most eligible hires net up to $2,400 back, and the setup takes about an hour, with just one extra form plus your monthly payroll expert. Ben Reno-Weber: You can come do my pitch anytime. Hiring for Curiosity Jamie Swaim: Okay, fantastic. Well, the good thing is we're going to dive a little bit deeper today and ask you a couple of questions that we put together, but we also want to make sure that we close one essential loop from that chat. You left us a question for our next participant. You asked whether or not what the 10 out of 10 hiring attribute that an individual would look for? And now we have to turn it back to you because that feels like fair play. What is it that you look for in building the right team to do all of these amazing things? Ben Reno-Weber: Curiosity. Jamie Swaim: Tell us more. Molley Ricketts: Interesting. Ben Reno-Weber: I think in the innovation ecosystem where we live right now, where what used to be hard in many ways is now easy, the number one thing I look for in people that I want to work with is, are they curious and interested in learning with us around what the next set of things are? I find associated with curiosity is generally an optimism and a positivity, and there's lots that come with that, but beyond the dura

  7. Sep 3 ·  Bonus

    WTF is Back for the 2026 KYSHRM Conference!

    The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2026 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville.  We took the opportunity to interview over 25 professionals who stopped by our booth.   At the 2026 Kentucky SHRM Conference, the Workforce Therapy Files team is broadcasting live as the only podcast at the event. Hosts Jason Heflin (CEO of CrowdSouth), Jamie Swaim (HR Professional at Parcel), and Molley Ricketts (Head Honcho of Incipio Workforce Solutions) are inviting attendees to record quick sessions about the work they do and the problems they solve. This appearance marks the podcast's third year broadcasting from the Kentucky SHRM event. This is the group's 3rd consecutive KYSHRM conference. Because these live sessions are brief, the hosts remind guests that they can easily schedule longer, more in-depth interviews to elaborate on their ideas. Listeners who want to hear from specific professionals can also suggest future guests by reaching out via the contact details in the show notes. To make participation even easier, the podcast has recently adopted the ability to conduct interviews remotely via Zoom, or in person. The team closes by wishing everyone a great show and expressing their hope that these brief episodes prove helpful to the audience. Finally, be sure to watch or listen to each of this year's interviews at WorkforceTherapyFiles.com, and wherever you go for your favorite podcasts. That's where we'll leave the conversation for today.  Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments.  We'd love to hear from you.  We hope you found this file insightful and helpful.  Thank you for listening! Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help.  You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: ·      Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com ·      Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com ·      Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com

  8. Aug 27

    The Death of Paper Time Cards | How Agentic AI is Revolutionizing Construction Payroll

    File 41: Jamie Swaim and Molley Ricketts sit down with Nigel Coelho, General Manager of Agentic Compliance at Lumber, to discuss how agentic AI is transforming workforce management and compliance in the construction industry. Lumber is a payroll and time-tracking platform purpose-built to handle complex construction rules, such as certified payroll and union reporting. Nigel leads Lumber's agentic AI features, including a "headless" Paper Time Card Agent that digitizes handwritten paper time cards using Google Gemini's multimodal capabilities. This tool meets workers where they are, seamlessly bridging the gap between paper records and digital back-office systems like ADP. The platform also utilizes geo-fencing and biometric facial scans to prevent buddy punching, optimize labor spend, and assist with real-time job costing. Additionally, Lumber's "funding agent" automatically identifies opportunities for tax credits and federal funding by tracking apprentice ratios and prevailing wage compliance. Ultimately, these tools relieve administrative stress so subcontractors can focus on their skilled trades. Core Chapter Themes: What is Lumber? Purpose-Built Software for Skilled Trades Meeting Workers Where They Are: The Paper Time Card Agent Biometrics & Geo-Fencing: Mitigating Compliance & Buddy Punching The Skilled Labor Shortage: Apprenticeships & Infrastructure Navigating Prevailing Wage & Unlocking Tax Credits with the "Funding Agent" The Environmental Cost of AI: Water, Energy, and Task-Specific Models Episode Transcript: Jamie Swaim: Hello friends, and welcome back to the Workforce Therapy Files. We're trying a video podcast approach again for this file, and we are joined by Nigel Coelho. Hi Nigel. Nigel Coelho: Hey, Jamie. Hey, Molley. Thanks for having me on. Really appreciate it. Jamie Swaim: We really appreciate it. Molley Ricketts: Thanks for coming on the show. Jamie Swaim: Absolutely. Nigel, one of the things that you may not know is that Molley and I have both founded companies that have worked with individuals in the construction industry. And you also work for a company that basically exists to support the construction industry, correct? Nigel Coelho: Correct. Exactly. And there's just so much opportunity in construction. It's crazy. Jamie Swaim: Yeah. So the company that you work for, tell us about. Nigel Coelho: Absolutely. So I'm the General Manager for Agentic Compliance at Lumber. Lumber is a workforce management solution. Specifically think of time tracking, payroll, onboarding, scheduling. You name it, we have it. It's purpose-built for the construction industry. And the reason is there's all these nuances for compliance that need to be taken into account, like unique payroll or certified payroll reporting. Nuances, you wouldn't take into account in any other vertical. And so the idea is if there was going to be a payroll module purpose built for this, why not have those compliance rules built in? And that's exactly what Lumber is. But what I lead is a lot of the specific activities that happen outside the payroll module, specifically around the labor of reading long documents, trying to get a lot of information out. Those are perfect use cases for agentic AI. And so how do we apply that and make people do their job faster? That's my job. Jamie Swaim: Well, typically we like to get to know you as well as the company that you work for. So we're going to pivot for a second and do today's random question. Okay? Molley Ricketts: Drum roll? Jamie Swaim: Sure. Wow. I don't know if I'm ever going to ask Molley to do another drum roll. Okay. So let's imagine that you were stranded on a job site and all you have is what's in your vehicle. What would be the most useless thing in your vehicle? And what would be the thing that you would thank "past you" for putting in your vehicle? Nigel Coelho: What was the second part, again? Jamie Swaim: The most useless thing in your vehicle. Like, this isn't going to help me. And then what's the thing that you'd be like, way to go "past me"! Way to think ahead. What's the thing that you'd be most excited that is in your vehicle? Nigel Coelho: For a job site, believe it or not, if you had, for example, your time tracking app, I think that's the thing you got to take on site, partly because the amount of compliance issues we run into where people aren't clocking overtime and tracking their time correctly and how it flows in a payroll and what they get wrong. Oh my God. It's just crazy. And people don't get paid. So if I was on the job site, I wouldn't get paid if I wasn't doing my time tracking correctly, literally. Jamie Swaim: I love that you took a random question and plugged your product. Nigel Coelho: No, I'm serious. Jamie Swaim: Yes. No, I'm proud of you right now, Nigel. Nigel Coelho: It could be that because on the back end, I just see how messy it is if somebody doesn't log their time correctly. So I'm like, put me at the job site. Let me make sure I log it in correctly. Jamie Swaim: Yeah. What's the most useless thing in your car? Nigel Coelho: The most useless thing, I would say probably a wrench, because I'm not the best with the handyman kind of equipment. Jamie Swaim: Yeah. Nigel Coelho: I could do a decent job, but the idea is I'd leave it to the experts. I feel like I'm more of the back office guy getting things done and the messy things organized. But if anything on the, let's just say front lines and front field, if it has to come down to the handyman stuff, I'll leave it to the experts. Jamie Swaim: I love this. Molley, what's your answer? Molley Ricketts: Well, let's see. The most useless thing in my car. Shoestring. Why? Jamie Swaim: It has a large number of applications. Molley Ricketts: It does. But at the same time, in your car? Jamie Swaim: Okay. Molley Ricketts: Yeah. Jamie Swaim: All right. Molley Ricketts: So glad that I did. Let's see. Advil. The little travel Advils. Jamie Swaim: That's fantastic. Molley Ricketts: Yeah. Jamie Swaim: Okay. So I believe that the most useful thing in my car is that I always travel with my soccer mom chair. So I don't know when I might need it, but it's actually come in handy in a number of places I didn't expect to need it. Molley Ricketts: So you really bring to the table, pull up a chair. Jamie Swaim: Yeah. And I have more than one because I'm always around somebody that doesn't have a chair. It Nigel Coelho: Always happens too as on the picnics. We always miss a chair. Now I'm seeing the value. It's high utility, right? Jamie Swaim: That's right. And there's no reason. I mean, it's not like it's taking up that much more space than I had other plans for. Okay. And then the most useless, I also have 17 pairs of sunglasses in my car. I don't know that I need them. Molley Ricketts: Do you have a bus? Do you drive a bus? Is that for all your passengers? You can hand them out. Jamie Swaim: I hand them out as people crawl in. I don't, that would probably be more practical than the way that we're approaching life. Nigel Coelho: 17's a good number. One for each day of the week and just in case kind of a switch out in case. Jamie Swaim: I mean, it's about what I'm wearing. I don't know. Okay. So your product name is Lumberfi. Is that correct? Nigel Coelho: Yeah, that's our domain name, but the actual company's name is Lumber. Jamie Swaim: Lumber. Okay. What an appropriate name. Have you been with the company since its start, Nigel, or how long have you been there? Nigel Coelho: I've been with the company since the beginning of this year in 2026. So the way I joined was through an acquisition they made. So they acquired the company I was running before. And so as a result, that was an AI company that got pulled into Lumber. And so right now I'm leading a lot of the agentic AI capabilities at Lumber. A lot of people think when they hear our name, we're a wood company. We get that a lot at a lot of conferences. We should actually start a house swag, which is like woodblocks. I don't think people could carry it home or fit it in their bag. That would be the issue. Molley Ricketts: You could do little travel Jengas. Nigel Coelho: Travel? I'm getting ideas. This is fun. I like this. I like this. Jamie Swaim: We do this. We solve problems for people on every episode. I don't know. It just randomly happens. Nigel Coelho: And you know what? Now that I'm thinking about it, they would come to our booth just by seeing the Jenga tower. It's just like we'll get a huge line going. It's funny, we tried to do something else. We try to have a open bar and then have drinks that were HR-themed. And guess what the most popular drink was? We named it something. Guess what it was? Jamie Swaim: Was it the Jamie Swamey? Nigel Coelho: That could be the second best. Guess what the first one is? It was called the "HR violation." Molley Ricketts: I like that. Nigel Coelho: People were coming up to the booth. They were like, "Give me an HR violation." I was like, "They're coming right up." And we were filling them drinks. But I think the Jenga tower might be a close second after the open bar we had. Jamie Swaim:  Yeah, I don't feel like you have to choose between them. Nigel Coelho: Exactly. Jamie Swaim: I think we just figured out the perfect formula. Nigel Coelho: Yeah.   Lumber - Purpose-Built Software for Skilled Trades Jamie Swaim: Okay. So you talked about the messiness of the construction industry. Tell us what problem the company started to solve. Nigel Coelho: Yeah. So we ended up thinking, how can we end up solving specific problems around workforce shortages in the field? The number one problem, and the founder of the company, the CEO is Shreesha Ramdas. He had started and sold several companies. So he was really ambitious with the

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About

This podcast is designed for business leaders and human resource professionals who are challenged with expanding their workforce. Workforce Therapy Files, an Employer Solutions Podcast, is hosted by 3 separate business owners who operate in the staffing and human resources space. They'll provide perspectives, tips and advice (along with a little humor) to help you prepare for and manage your workforce challenges. Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals? We're here to help. You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions: • Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com • Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com • Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com We hope you find it insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!

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