HR Leader Podcast Network

In this special episode of The HR Leader Podcast, produced in partnership with Dynamic Leadership Programs Australia (DLPA), we explore the new and emerging risks and hazards for workplaces to contend with in times of technological change and what the HR function can do about them. Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with DLPA chief executive Karlie Cremin about AI adoption-inspired psychosocial risks and what HR needs to observe, the extent to which businesses are on top of such issues right now and the need to be proactive, what regulators will be looking for, the nexus between these issues and burnout and overwork, best practice steps for HR and leadership to take, and opportunities for leaders and HR to step up in challenging times. To learn more about DLPA, click here.

Longer negotiations, harder lines, and a new arbitration pathway offering relief from prolonged industrial deadlock – but not without cost. Once a rarely used mechanism, intractable bargaining workplace determinations are now arising more frequently where enterprise bargaining stalls and agreement proves elusive, bringing protected industrial action to a halt while transferring control over the remaining contested issues to the Fair Work Commission. In this special episode of The Legal Brief, produced in partnership with Kingston Reid, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Kingston Reid partner Lucy Shanahan about how intractable bargaining workplace determinations are reshaping enterprise bargaining strategy, and what organisations need to be thinking about to manage their exposure, right from the beginning. In an industrial relations landscape that is becoming more complex and contested, organisations that recognise the implications of these shifts and proactively manage bargaining risk before positions become entrenched will be better positioned to retain control over outcomes. Those that do not may find that the endgame is decided for them. To learn more about Kingston Reid, click here.

In this special episode of The HR Leader Podcast, produced in partnership with MoleMap, we unpack the prevalence of skin cancers among workers across the country and the duties incumbent upon employers to take a holistic approach to wellbeing. Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with MoleMap chief business officer Jaime Schell about the work of the specialist provider, why it is so essential for Australians, the lack of dermatologists across the country, why employers have a duty to look after workers' skin health, how aware businesses are about such duties, and the barristers standing in the way of employers and HR teams offering better support. Schell also delves into the findings of MoleMap's recent report into skin cancer risks and corporate responsibility in the wake of its findings, the ROI of better looking after staff, the impact of a box-ticking approach rather than genuine duty of care, the necessary practical steps to be taken, the relevance of ESG in such conversations, and transitioning beyond mere compliance. To learn more about MoleMap, click here.

In workplaces where staff are exposed to higher levels of emotional distress from clients, the pressures upon HR are amplified. Here, we unpack how to manage those pressures and better support the workforce. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Resolve Divorce human resources manager Rebecca Kennedy about what it's like to manage the HR function of a family law firm, her perception of the challenges facing HR in 2026, how the role will shift in these 12 months, what constitutes a high-emotion workplace, and how such environments can amplify the pressure on HR. Kennedy also delves into the issues that HR must grapple with in high-emotion workplaces, managing those issues alongside upskilling in new technologies and AI, taking a deliberate approach to such emotional workplaces, the need for proactivity, why proper management is so essential right now, practical steps that HR can and should take, and the need for a "bottom-up" approach, and what she's learnt about herself – personally and professionally – from managing a high-emotion workplace.

Reshoring – the process of bringing manufacturing, production, or services back home – may well be critical in ensuring that Australia and its workforce are more resilient, skilled, and sustainable. In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Steve Kuper, lead of Momentum Media's defence and aerospace brands, about his background as a government staffer and his career pivot to media, what reshoring is and the context driving the need for such a national pivot, and Australia's level of economic complexity relative to other nations. Kuper also discusses the broader economic and geopolitical arguments in favour of reshoring in particular industries and sectors, how and why younger workers have lost critical life and workplace skills as a result of the current technological landscape, what governments need to do to reshore the economy and workforce, and how businesses can respond to the current climate.