The HR Hub

Building a positive work environment requires more than just corporate perks or collaboration values on a wall. Josh Block, President of Block Imaging, joins the show to discuss how focusing on "Together, Thoughtful, and Transparent" transforms company culture and employee ownership. How the "Together" principle improves major business decisions. Moving from the Golden Rule to the Platinum Rule Why pay attention to the lighting The importance of constant feedback. The 3 C's of hiring and exiting: Character, Competency, and Chemistry. 00:00 Intro 00:46 The 3 T's as a foundation 01:35 Together: Making decisions together 02:10 Thoughtful: Considering the needs of others 02:27 Transparency: Starting the trust cycle 03:33 Moving beyond silos and dictatorships 04:47 Sharpening the final 10 percent 07:03 Applying the Platinum Rule at work 07:43 Why compensation and workspace matter most 10:04 Overcoming the urge to hide information 12:31 Why clear feedback is actually kind 16:15 The 3 C's of employee exits 18:35 Transparency vs. complaining in the chain 19:32 Where to start with People Matter Find Josh Website: https://www.peoplematterwork.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-block-9a84275/ Book Titles: People Matter at Work Find Andrea (me) Website: https://thehrhub.ca/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-adams1/

Complaints from employees can be intimidating for any leader, but especially in an SMB where you don't have HR or anyone in HR with this kind of depth. This episode breaks down the immediate steps you must take when an employee brings forward an alarming complaint to avoid legal issues and protect your organization. You need to know which kinds of complaints come with legal obligations and which don't and then how to avoid making the situation worse. Key Takeaways: 5️⃣ 5 steps during the initial complaint meeting. 🇨🇦 vs 🇺🇸: Key differences between Canada and the US around which complaints trigger your obligation to investigate 🤔 How to determine if you can handle an investigation internally or if you must hire an outside expert. 🙅🏻‍♀️ Common mistakes leaders make, including "gut-feeling" decisions and mediation traps. 00:00 Five steps for the initial meeting 01:25 Categorizing the three types of complaints 04:00 US vs. Canada: Legal trigger words 05:18 When you are obligated to investigate 08:40 Formal vs. informal complaint triggers 09:30 Internal vs. external investigator criteria 12:45 Advice for self-led investigations 13:40 Common mistakes to avoid **Find Andrea (me)** Email: andrea@thehrhub.ca Website: https://thehrhub.ca/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-adams1/

There is trepidation in the learning and development community right now. With AI shifting the landscape daily, many are asking: What will the role of an L&D professional be in the future? What will the role of the function be?? I sat down with Josh Cardoz, Chief Creative & Learning Officer at Sponge Learning, to get a pulse on 2026. Josh is mostly excited - tempered with a warning for those wishing to go back to the old ways of doing things. Key Takeaways from our Conversation: - AI is a double-edged sword: Yes, AI will finally make hyper-personalization a reality. No more single course to solve a problem for 10,000 people. - A loss of community: Josh warns of a "related loss of community." If everyone is on a perfectly curated, solo AI path, we risk losing the shared standards and human connection that make a culture strong. - A shift in L&D language: L&D pros need to stop talking about "training" and "learning" and... - A business mindset: we need to talk about business problems and keep the L&D to ourselves Josh also shared some consulting tips that are gold for engaging with clients. *Connect with Josh and Sponge* https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshcardoz/Sponge Learning: https://www.spongelearning.com/ *Connect with Andrea* Website: https://thehrhub.ca/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-adams1/

~ 30% of your new hires will leave before the 90-day mark.Unless you onboard properly. You’ve already done a lot: you spent thousands on recruitment, vetting, and interviewing. You will pay for them and their training. But without a solid onboarding process, there is a high chance that your investment will walk out the door. Onboarding is quite possibly the easiest and most cost-effective retention activity you can do, yet so many businesses treat it as an afterthought. Or a tedious activity they avoid. So watch the video and make sure you do it! Onboarding isn't just a "nice-to-have" - it's a key bottom-line retention strategy. I'm an HR Consultant to SMBs. Find me at: https://thehrhub.ca https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-adams1/

Most wellness programs weren't built with parents in mind. Gym memberships and meditation apps don't help much when you're managing work deadlines while your kid is home sick. Or when you know your toddler can't wait for you to pick them up from daycare. Dr. Rosina McAlpine is back to talk about what actually works when organizations want to support working parents—not with token gestures, but with programs that address the real challenges. We discuss why working parents have the highest burnout and lowest mental health scores across the workforce, what family-friendly workplaces are doing differently, and how to measure whether any of it is making a difference. We also get into the equity vs equality question. It's not one we think about in this context, but it does work. After all, what we need is a workplace where everyone is able to thrive. * Dr. Rosina's 5-Point Guide*https://www.winwinparenting.com/closing-the-gap-in-parent-support-guide*Contact Dr. Rosina McAlpine*https://winwinparenting.com/https://drrosina.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/drrosina/*Contact Andrea Adams*https://thehrhub.cahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-adams1/

HR probably deals with more emotional situations than any other department. Angry employees storming into your office sure about what we are supposed to do, leaders who are frustrated, workplace conflicts that we are supposed to solve. And then we also need to read any room we are in.Emotions. A lot of emotions. Dina Denham Smith is an executive coach who works with senior leaders at companies like Adobe, Netflix, and Google. She's written over 60 articles for Harvard Business Review, and her book Emotionally Charged: How to Lead in the New World of Work (co-authored with Penn State psychology professor Alicia Grandey) digs into the science of emotions at work.We covered:🧠 The difference between emotional savvy and emotional intelligence (and why the distinction matters).🎭 The authenticity paradox: leaders are expected to be authentic but penalized for being too authentic.😢 Why crying at work is still risky. There's a few that are humanized by it but the rest of us are penalized/criticized.🔥 What to do when someone storms into your office in a heightened emotional stateAnd so much more. There was a LOT of usefulness in this episode. Frameworks. The importance of helping someone name their emotions. Viewing emotions as data and far more. ***About Dina***🔗 Website: https://dinadsmith.com🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dina-denham-smith/📖 Book: Emotionally Charged: How to Lead in the New World of Work***About Andrea***🔗 Website: https://thehrhub.ca🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-adams1/

Jennifer McClure founded DisruptHR 12 years ago. Since then, over 10,000 people have taken the stage at events worldwide to share ideas about work and the workplace. In this conversation, we dig into what disruption actually looks like for mid-level HR professionals who aren't always in the room where decisions get made. Jennifer shares how she went rogue to pilot new technology, why she was once told nobody wanted her in meetings, and what she learned about saying something other than "no." We also talk about AI implementation, why companies aren't seeing the efficiency gains they expected, and how HR can lead the conversation before it becomes a cleanup job. **Find Jennifer**https://jennifermcclure.net/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifermcclure/https://disrupthr.co/**Find Andrea**https://thehrhub.ca/https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-adams1/