The HR Life Podcast

Tony Benjamin
  • 5.0 (12)
  • Management
  • Weekly

The HR Life Podcast is a show about the work-life experience of those of us in Human Resources and business leadership. This long-form podcast is a conversation, casual, and not always the corporate line. Hosts and guests touch on everything from serious or even controversial topics to the absurdity of modern American business practices. Your hosts are Tony Benjamin, owner and founder of The Grange Strategic HR Consulting, and Steven J. Smith, Author of The Hiring Tree: Laws of Applicant Attraction and all-around important guy. Guests include the best minds in the HR world. Join the show weekly.

  1. 5h ago

    EP 73 Defining Strategic HR, City Planners, and the Human Capital Barf Bag With Elisa Garn

    After roughly three million mentions on the show and a year and a half of begging, Elisa Garn finally joins Tony and Steve in the studio. She shows up shielding her eyes from the paparazzi, which is a problem when the only way out is crowd surfing. Elisa is the reason Steve holds a role she once held, the reason Tony got pulled into chairing a conference, and the reason the two of them met. So yes, you can blame her for this whole podcast. She also confesses she took her first HR job at a ski resort mostly so she could snowboard for free, which may be the most honest job application story in HR history. Then the traffic cop gets pulled over. Elisa breaks down the analogy Tony has been raving about for months: does your company need HR to be the traffic cop, the city planner, or the mayor? Nearly every CEO Elisa asked said “all three,” which is a bit like hiring one person to be your accountant, your architect, and your hype man. She digs into why that mismatch keeps churning HR seats, what AI could do to the traffic cop, and why so many HR leaders mix up a plan with a strategy. Along the way she nearly loses her lunch over the phrase “human capital,” gives her verdict on a costume that cost a guy his job, and explains why the next pandemic might make HR the most important job in the building again. So which of the three is your company really hiring for? And how many more times can Tony say “human capital” before someone needs to hand Elisa the barf bag? Learn more about Elisa Garn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisagarn/ Learn more about Warrior Rising Foundation at: https://www.warriorrisingfoundation.org/Learn more about Fantastic Tony Benjamin at: https://www.thegrangellc.com/Learn more about Steven "Big Deal" Smith at: https://thehiringtreebook.com/Learn more about the Books mentioned on the podcast at: https://thehiringtreebook.com/hr-life-podcast Learn more about Dyno Outfitters at: https://www.utahviaferrata.com/Learn more about MegastarHR at: https://www.megastarhr.com/Learn more about Pucks for Autism at: https://www.pucksforautism.com/Learn more about Thrive Life Project at: https://www.thrivelifeproject.org/

  2. Oct 27

    Ep 72 Workplace Investigations, Hostile Work Environments, Grover, and No Cat in the Empty Red Seat

    The Red Seat is Empty. The guys tease SHRM's latest jury verdict, then dive into the exciting and wonderful world of workplace investigations for small companies. Tony shares why almost everyone in an investigation agrees on almost all of the facts, including one fistfight where the only thing in dispute was who pushed whom first.  Then Grover and Yolanda move in on opposite sides of a cubicle wall, and things get complicated fast. Tony and Steve walk through when you need a formal investigation and when you are just making it bigger than it is, why the person running the inquiry can't have any skin in the game, and why moving the complainant to the night shift might feel like a fix while creating a brand new problem. Steve breaks down the interview questions that fill in the answers before the employee ever opens their mouth, and both hosts take issue with SHRM's recommended interview order. Who should you talk to second, and why does it matter so much? What happens when a group of coworkers turns the complaint process into a burn book? Should AI be anywhere near your investigation notes? And after all of that, who is really harassing whom? The answer might not be the one you picked first. Stick around for the bonus round on pre-employment assessments, too, plus the news that according to AI, Tony has never made a mistake. He has the screenshots to prove it. Learn more about Fantastic Tony Benjamin at: https://www.thegrangellc.com/Learn more about Steven "Big Deal" Smith at: https://thehiringtreebook.com/Learn more about the Books mentioned on the podcast at: https://thehiringtreebook.com/hr-life-podcast Learn more about Dyno Outfitters at: https://www.utahviaferrata.com/Learn more about MegastarHR at: https://www.megastarhr.com/Learn more about Pucks for Autism at: https://www.pucksforautism.com/Learn more about Thrive Life Project at: https://www.thrivelifeproject.org/

  3. Oct 20

    EP 71 Employee Discipline for Small Business in the Empty Red Seat

    The Red Seat is empty again, so Steve opens with the story of waiting twelve hours in line at Wrigley Field during the 2016 World Series and somehow landing ten rows behind home plate, right next to Javy Baez's family, while his wife and Javy's mom chatted like old friends. Tony counters with a Steelers stadium tour where the only rule anyone enforced was don't touch the grass. Then the guys roll up their sleeves for an episode on how to properly give employee discipline.   This episode is a crash course in doing discipline right: why the best verbal warning never uses the words "verbal warning," why every manager needs a notebook (Tony could not remember what to call it, and Steve could not stop helping), and how an AI bot might spot a pattern before a lawyer does. Tony shares a game called Bet Your Life that could end with the manager getting written up instead of the employee. Steve lists the five offenses that can justify skipping straight to termination. Why does half of Reddit think a PIP means you are already halfway out the door, and are they right? Does an employee's signature mean they agree with the write-up? And is "we're an at-will state" the legal force field so many managers think it is? Stick around to the very end, too. Tony shared the secret to life, and Steve missed the whole thing.  Download a sample Disciplinary form at: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1F99mk1JfoKScGea7wMlFhmboNlr-oLVh?usp=sharingLearn more about Fantastic Tony Benjamin at: https://www.thegrangellc.com/Learn more about Steven "Big Deal" Smith at: https://thehiringtreebook.com/Learn more about the Books mentioned on the podcast at: https://thehiringtreebook.com/hr-life-podcast Learn more about Dyno Outfitters at: https://www.utahviaferrata.com/Learn more about MegastarHR at: https://www.megastarhr.com/Learn more about Pucks for Autism at: https://www.pucksforautism.com/Learn more about Thrive Life Project at: https://www.thrivelifeproject.org/

  4. Oct 13

    EP 70 HR Is a Rorschach Test, the U of U Drops 600 HR Jobs, and Michael Jordan's Black Corvette in the Empty Red Seat

    The Red Seat sits empty this week, which means nobody is there to keep Tony and Steve on task, and it shows. Steve finally tells the story of the day Michael Jordan pulled up in a black Corvette and wanted to know why a couple of kids were photographing his fence. Tony counters with Donny Osmond, a fan who could be heard from seventy-five yards away, and the time J.R.R. Tolkien told an editor to stop citing the dictionary because he helped write it. Somewhere between Steve admitting his AI agent summarizes Tony's texts so he never has to read them, and Tony cheerfully shoulder-tapping a total stranger at the Utah Work Elevated Conference, the guys get around to the news. And the news is a lot. Disney is telling employees that spouses and domestic partners with access to other coverage need to go get it there, and Tony has thoughts about what that means for two-income households and the mom and pop shop down the street. The University of Utah paid consultants millions for a plan to cut staff, and HR is first in line, with plans to shrink a 900-person HR team to 300. Then the conversation turns to Gen Z. Tony brings a Simon Sinek take that might make you rethink every eye roll you've aimed at a 23-year-old, and Steve brings proof that employers have been calling the next generation lazy for centuries. Is Gen Z entitled, or did they just watch their Gen X parents get laid off and do the math? Why does Tony think HR is a Rorschach test, and what does your company see when it looks at the inkblot?  A Link to the UofU story: https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2026/09/15/university-utah-plans-lay-off/A link to the video of Simon Sinek talking about Gen Z: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1CEkpqG8W1/Learn more about Fantastic Tony Benjamin at: https://www.thegrangellc.com/Learn more about Steven "Big Deal" Smith at: https://thehiringtreebook.com/Learn more about the Books mentioned on the podcast at: https://thehiringtreebook.com/hr-life-podcast Learn more about Dyno Outfitters at: https://www.utahviaferrata.com/Learn more about MegastarHR at: https://www.megastarhr.com/Learn more about Pucks for Autism at: https://www.pucksforautism.com/Learn more about Thrive Life Project at: https://www.thrivelifeproject.org/

  5. Oct 6

    EP 69 SHRM Cancels National Conference At The Work Elevated Con. With a Velvet Rope

    The guys record live from the Work Elevated Conference for the second year.  The discussion starts with a true live studio audience listening to the breaking news that SHRM national has cancelled it's annual conference as it is currently structured.  The guys discuss the change with the crowd that included Kate and Scott who had been on the podcast previously along with a few others.  Then Rachel Child joins the podcast for some incredible stories about elevators and shoulder checking strangers.  She also admits she uses Steve and Tony's names to open doors.  Then they sit down and talk with Chris Healy about winning the Frances A. Hume Lifetime Achievement and Hall of Fame Award.    Bree Gnehm even joins the podcast for a few minutes and recaps a little about the conference.  A huge thank you to Joylynn Jeppson and Bree Gnehm for graciously allowing us to record from the conference.  Our congratulations on an incredible conference and a record attendance (for at least 10 years).  Learn more about the Work Elevated Conference at: https://www.utahworkelevated.com/Learn more about Utah SHRM at: https://utahshrm.org/Learn more about Fantastic Tony Benjamin at: https://www.thegrangellc.com/Learn more about Steven "Big Deal" Smith at: https://thehiringtreebook.com/Learn more about the Books mentioned on the podcast at: https://thehiringtreebook.com/hr-life-podcast Learn more about Dyno Outfitters at: https://www.utahviaferrata.com/Learn more about MegastarHR at: https://www.megastarhr.com/Learn more about Pucks for Autism at: https://www.pucksforautism.com/Learn more about Thrive Life Project at: https://www.thrivelifeproject.org/

  6. Sep 29

    EP 68 Universal Basic Income, SHRM, The Return of Britt Davies, and PhenomeCon Ghost Adventures

    Britt Davies is back, which on The HR Life Podcast officially makes her a repeat offender. She showed up on Labor Day morning with coffee in a BYU Yeti mug, while Steve drank apple cider straight from the jug.  Britt has spent 22 years in Utah HR, most recently as a CPO, and now runs Next Level HR, where she helps companies break up with their PEO. Fair warning: Tony opens with a disclaimer that this one gets a little spicy. Britt goes after Johnny C. Taylor's SHRM '26 keynote with a question that's hard to shake. If HR has been falling short for thirty years, who's been handing out the certifications that whole time?  Then the conversation gets big. Universal basic income, AI layoffs, and whether our future looks more like a Star Trek replicator or a WALL-E recliner. Britt argues for a wage floor over a monthly check. She explains why the unemployment system may punish the very people trying to retrain or start something new, and she pitches an idea about grandparents and daycare that might have you calling your mom. Tony and Steve push back, nobody storms off, and everyone still plans to hang out at Phenomicon. So who should pay for the workers AI displaces? Can HR lead AI adoption without writing its own pink slip? And the question that matters most: would you rather meet Bigfoot, or get an email from HR that says "Can you come see me?" A special shout out to PhenomeCon and the amazing crew that let the team crash the party.  Learn more about the annual event at: https://www.phenomecon.net/ Learn more about the 30 Seasons of Ghost Adventures at: https://www.discoveryplus.com/show/74a0b187-22a7-47ee-8132-bf9fd15f86cc/s30  The guys we met were the nicest people.  Thanks for letting us ambush you in the hallway and the incredible thing you did for Steve's daughter!  She wont forget, and neither will we.     Learn more about Britt Davies at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittdaviespeople/ Learn more about Fantastic Tony Benjamin at: https://www.thegrangellc.com/Learn more about Steven "Big Deal" Smith at: https://thehiringtreebook.com/Learn more about the Books mentioned on the podcast at: https://thehiringtreebook.com/hr-life-podcast Learn more about Dyno Outfitters at: https://www.utahviaferrata.com/Learn more about MegastarHR at: https://www.megastarhr.com/Learn more about Pucks for Autism at: https://www.pucksforautism.com/Learn more about Thrive Life Project at: https://www.thrivelifeproject.org/

  7. Sep 22

    EP 67 Rod Lacey, The Future of HR Consulting, and Professionally Evil Organizations

    Rod Lacey joins the guys and discusses the reality of consulting work.  They discuss what it’s like to be a consultant, the difficulties, the necessity of sales as a consultant, and the drawbacks of having a seat at the table.   What is the future of consulting? And what it takes to make it as a consultant are answered here.  Learn more about Sunstone HR at: https://sunstonehr.com/Learn more about Rod Lacey at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therodlacey/Learn more about Fantastic Tony Benjamin at: https://www.thegrangellc.com/Learn more about Steven "Big Deal" Smith at: https://thehiringtreebook.com/Learn more about the Books mentioned on the podcast at: https://thehiringtreebook.com/hr-life-podcast Learn more about Dyno Outfitters at: https://www.utahviaferrata.com/Learn more about MegastarHR at: https://www.megastarhr.com/Learn more about Pucks for Autism at: https://www.pucksforautism.com/Learn more about Thrive Life Project at: https://www.thrivelifeproject.org/

  8. Sep 15

    EP 66 Level-Funded and Self-Funded Benefit Plans, and Tony's Craw With Scott Fielding

    Scott Fielding has spent 33 years selling health insurance, survived a tree that reportedly reached out and personally assaulted him on a mountain bike trail, and somehow still has the patience to explain what a captive is to people who nod along and Google it later. He joins Tony and Steve to walk through the difference between fully insured, level-funded, self-funded, and captive health plans, which sounds like the kind of thing that could put you to sleep until you realize one wrong choice here is probably costing your company six figures a year.  Somewhere in the middle of all this, Tony gets something stuck in his craw (ask him what that even means, we dare you), the guys talk about why HR departments keep getting quietly shrunk and then quietly rehired at a discount. If your renewal has gone up every year and nobody has ever told you why, or if you've ever wondered what happens to the money between your deductible and the six-figure claim you hope never happens, this is the episode. What is your broker actually doing for that commission, and would you even know if the answer was "not much"? You can contact Scott Fielding at: scott.fielding@usi.com or (801) 455-9886 Learn more about Fantastic Tony Benjamin at: https://www.thegrangellc.com/Learn more about Steven "Big Deal" Smith at: https://thehiringtreebook.com/Learn more about the Books mentioned on the podcast at: https://thehiringtreebook.com/hr-life-podcast Learn more about Dyno Outfitters at: https://www.utahviaferrata.com/Learn more about MegastarHR at: https://www.megastarhr.com/Learn more about Pucks for Autism at: https://www.pucksforautism.com/Learn more about Thrive Life Project at: https://www.thrivelifeproject.org/

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About

The HR Life Podcast is a show about the work-life experience of those of us in Human Resources and business leadership. This long-form podcast is a conversation, casual, and not always the corporate line. Hosts and guests touch on everything from serious or even controversial topics to the absurdity of modern American business practices. Your hosts are Tony Benjamin, owner and founder of The Grange Strategic HR Consulting, and Steven J. Smith, Author of The Hiring Tree: Laws of Applicant Attraction and all-around important guy. Guests include the best minds in the HR world. Join the show weekly.

Information

  • Creator
    Tony Benjamin
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    76
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 The Grange LLC
  • Show Website
    The HR Life Podcast

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