
What the HR! is an award-winning podcast. Presented by TCSHRM and hosted by Mike Thul & Jessie Novey. The podcast provides insights, strategies, and anecdotes that explore how to build better businesses through modern people practices and approaches. Topics covered include Organizational Development, Employee Engagement, Listening Strategies, Succession Planning, Performance Management, Company Culture, Transformation, Talent, and Leadership. INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP? Please email sponsors@tcshrm.org.
Episodes

Monday Mar 17, 2025
Episode 99: 2025 Employee Experience Trends Report
Monday Mar 17, 2025
Monday Mar 17, 2025
Dr. Benjamin Granger is Chief Workplace Psychologist and Head of EX Advisory Services. He has over a decade of experience building Experience Management (XM) programs across the globe and leads EX thought leadership and research initiatives across Qualtrics and the XM Institute.
Report: https://www.qualtrics.com/ebooks-guides/2024-ex-trends-report/
Guest:
Benjamin Granger: Chief Workplace Psychologist | XM Institute
linkedin.com/in/benjamin-granger-7147991b
Hosts:
Mike Thul - linkedin.com/in/thulmichael
Jessie Novey - linkedin.com/in/jessienovey
INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP? Please email sponsors@tcshrm.org.
Twin Cities Society For Human Resources: Recognized as one of the nation's largest SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) chapters, TCSHRM is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. With an ongoing calendar of events, we are an active SHRM group always looking to promote, influence, and educate our members through multiple channels.
Join Us! Become a TCSHRM Member. https://www.tcshrm.org/
Thank you for listening, and if you enjoy our podcast episodes please consider leaving a review, as it helps us reach more listeners.
© MMXXIII TCSHRM. All Rights Reserved. For Personal Use Only.

Monday Mar 03, 2025
Episode 98: Loneliness in HR
Monday Mar 03, 2025
Monday Mar 03, 2025
With over 15 years of experience in human resource strategy, organizational effectiveness, and talent development, Bethany Kurbis helps leaders and organizations reach their potential and accomplish their unique missions. As an experienced people leader, she works with clients across various sectors to develop strategies that align their daily practices with their core values and guiding principles. She also supports them in developing self-awareness, understanding their patterns and habits, and unleashing their potential to achieve personal and professional goals.
Guest:
Bethany Kurbis: Professional Certified Coach (PCC) | Career Coach | Forbes Coaches Council
Hosts:
Mike Thul - linkedin.com/in/thulmichael
Jessie Novey - linkedin.com/in/jessienovey
INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP? Please email sponsors@tcshrm.org.
Twin Cities Society For Human Resources: Recognized as one of the nation's largest SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) chapters, TCSHRM is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. With an ongoing calendar of events, we are an active SHRM group always looking to promote, influence, and educate our members through multiple channels.
Join Us! Become a TCSHRM Member. https://www.tcshrm.org/
Thank you for listening, and if you enjoy our podcast episodes please consider leaving a review, as it helps us reach more listeners.
© MMXXIII TCSHRM. All Rights Reserved. For Personal Use Only.

Thursday Feb 20, 2025
Episode 97: Imposter Syndrome
Thursday Feb 20, 2025
Thursday Feb 20, 2025
Teresa Sande is the CEO and Founder of Mirror Mirror Strategies, an organizational strategy & talent development consultancy focused on cultivating effective, inclusive leaders and high-performing organizations. With 25 years of experience in global corporate settings—including executive roles at Intel, Capital One, Cargill, and UnitedHealth Group—Teresa has dedicated her career to helping organizations identify, develop, and elevate top-tier talent.
Guest:
Teresa Sande: Talent Executive | Coach | Consultant | Author | Fierce Finder
Hosts:
Mike Thul - linkedin.com/in/thulmichael
Jessie Novey - linkedin.com/in/jessienovey
INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP? Please email sponsors@tcshrm.org.
Twin Cities Society For Human Resources: Recognized as one of the nation's largest SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) chapters, TCSHRM is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. With an ongoing calendar of events, we are an active SHRM group always looking to promote, influence, and educate our members through multiple channels.
Join Us! Become a TCSHRM Member. https://www.tcshrm.org/
Thank you for listening, and if you enjoy our podcast episodes please consider leaving a review, as it helps us reach more listeners.
© MMXXIII TCSHRM. All Rights Reserved. For Personal Use Only.

Monday Jan 13, 2025
Episode 96: Does Your Candidate Experience Match the Employee Experience?
Monday Jan 13, 2025
Monday Jan 13, 2025
Jay is a Talent Acquisition and HR leader with over 20 years of experience. He is passionate about driving success through collaboration and communication, and he is always looking for ways to improve the way things are done. Believing in continuous improvement and a growth mindset, Jay has a proven track record of leading, building, and rebuilding Talent Acquisition teams in a variety of environments, including Corporate, RPO, and Agency.
Guest:
Jay Olson: Director, Global Talent Acquisition | Medtronic
Hosts:
Mike Thul - linkedin.com/in/thulmichael
Jessie Novey - linkedin.com/in/jessienovey
INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP? Please email sponsors@tcshrm.org.
Twin Cities Society For Human Resources: Recognized as one of the nation's largest SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) chapters, TCSHRM is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. With an ongoing calendar of events, we are an active SHRM group always looking to promote, influence, and educate our members through multiple channels.
Join Us! Become a TCSHRM Member. https://www.tcshrm.org/
Thank you for listening, and if you enjoy our podcast episodes please consider leaving a review, as it helps us reach more listeners.
© MMXXIII TCSHRM. All Rights Reserved. For Personal Use Only.

Monday Dec 23, 2024
Episode 95: Revolutionizing How We Live and Work
Monday Dec 23, 2024
Monday Dec 23, 2024
Leah Pitzenberger is a psychologist by training, but spent almost a decade in various HR roles at Target Corporation, before focusing her career on start-ups and scale-ups in innovative, high-growth industries as their CHRO, including time as the Head of HR at the Minnesota Wild. Now, she is the founder of A People Revolution, helping organizations and leaders thrive in the future of work. She appeals to the non-believers, the nay-sayers, the skeptics. Her strategies are grounded in logic, truth and practical application. Her approach isn’t fluffy or ambiguous. It’s simple, clear, backed by science, and filled with her own experience and truths. She is changing how leaders and organizations think about delivering results … and is on a mission to create a world where Mondays don’t suck.
Guest:
Leah Pitzenberger: CEO, A People Revolution
Hosts:
Mike Thul - linkedin.com/in/thulmichael
Jessie Novey - linkedin.com/in/jessienovey
INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP? Please email sponsors@tcshrm.org.
Twin Cities Society For Human Resources: Recognized as one of the nation's largest SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) chapters, TCSHRM is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. With an ongoing calendar of events, we are an active SHRM group always looking to promote, influence, and educate our members through multiple channels.
Join Us! Become a TCSHRM Member. https://www.tcshrm.org/
Thank you for listening, and if you enjoy our podcast episodes please consider leaving a review, as it helps us reach more listeners.
© MMXXIII TCSHRM. All Rights Reserved. For Personal Use Only.

Tuesday Nov 19, 2024
Episode 94: Pay Transparency
Tuesday Nov 19, 2024
Tuesday Nov 19, 2024
Sharona is a global HR consultant with expertise in global total rewards. Her specialties are compensation, benefits, HR operations, HRIS, performance management, and global mobility. Her experience spans a variety of industries including tech services, healthcare, manufacturing, venture capital, market research, and insurance. She has spent much of her career leading global total rewards for small- to mid-sized companies experiencing significant growth and transformation through both steady-state and M&A phases. She enjoys helping her clients by leveraging strategic, data-driven expertise with tactical support and robust change management to solve business challenges.
Sharona is SPHR certified and is a board member and treasurer of the Chicago Compensation Association and a founding member of The People Collective. She received her Bachelor’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and her Master’s in Labor and Industrial Relations with a concentration in Human Resources Management from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). In her free time, she enjoys her family and hiking the outdoors. She also has a slight addiction to pickleball.
Guest:
Sharona Abramson: Founder at Inflection Point Total Rewards, LLC
Hosts:
Mike Thul - linkedin.com/in/thulmichael
Jessie Novey - linkedin.com/in/jessienovey
Engineer:
Chris Mueller - linkedin.com/in/cjmueller86
INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP? Please email sponsors@tcshrm.org.
Twin Cities Society For Human Resources: Recognized as one of the nation's largest SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) chapters, TCSHRM is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. With an ongoing calendar of events, we are an active SHRM group always looking to promote, influence, and educate our members through multiple channels.
Join Us! Become a TCSHRM Member. https://www.tcshrm.org/
Thank you for listening, and if you enjoy our podcast episodes please consider leaving a review, as it helps us reach more listeners.
© MMXXIII TCSHRM. All Rights Reserved. For Personal Use Only.

Monday Nov 18, 2024
Episode 93: Exploring the employee-owned (ESOP) model
Monday Nov 18, 2024
Monday Nov 18, 2024
Since 1992, Nancy has led the Human Resources team for Room & Board, a 100% employee-owned (ESOP) business with more than 1,000 staff members and annual revenues in excess of $600 million. Nancy also serves on the Board of Directors for the company.
As an omni-channel retailer of contemporary home furnishings, Room & Board strives to create exceptional experiences for their customers to help them create homes they love. Nancy’s role is to ensure that a staff member’s experience at Room & Board is equally gratifying.
Nancy guides a team whose purpose is to foster a work environment that supports a staff member’s desire to contribute to the success of the business, while creating an environment where each individual thrives because they can be themselves. Room & Board has consistently been recognized as a top employer and is proud to be a certified B Corporation.
Further, Nancy plays a key role in defining and executing Room & Board’s philanthropic strategies to protect our environment as well as strengthen the communities in which we live and work.
Nancy is a sought-after speaker at top universities and business forums, sharing expertise and innovative thought leadership in business strategy and culture-based leadership development, as well as staff member engagement and well-being. Her efforts are laser-focused on preserving Room & Board’s core philosophies and business culture while stimulating company growth.
Nancy received her MBA from the University of Buffalo. She has also held progressive HR roles in premier companies such as the Pillsbury Company as well as small start-ups.
Guest:
Nancy Greatrix Manley, Chief People Officer at Room & Board
Nancy Greatrix Manley | LinkedIn
Hosts:
Mike Thul - linkedin.com/in/thulmichael
Jessie Novey - linkedin.com/in/jessienovey
Engineer:
Chris Mueller - linkedin.com/in/cjmueller86
INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP? Please email sponsors@tcshrm.org.
Twin Cities Society For Human Resources: Recognized as one of the nation's largest SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) chapters, TCSHRM is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. With an ongoing calendar of events, we are an active SHRM group always looking to promote, influence, and educate our members through multiple channels.
Join Us! Become a TCSHRM Member. https://www.tcshrm.org/
Thank you for listening, and if you enjoy our podcast episodes please consider leaving a review, as it helps us reach more listeners.
© MMXXIII TCSHRM. All Rights Reserved. For Personal Use Only.

Tuesday Jul 23, 2024
Episode 92: The Importance of Being Coachable
Tuesday Jul 23, 2024
Tuesday Jul 23, 2024
Kevin serves as an Executive Leadership Fellow at the Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. He teaches applied leadership in several graduate courses. His current research topics include leadership coachability, executive derailment, and contemporary talent development. In 2015, he concluded a 34-year corporate career in leadership and talent development at General Electric and General Mills.
During his time at General Mills, the organization was consistently recognized for its innovative development work, highlighted by Fortune’s #2 ranking as one of the best companies in the world at leadership development, #1 listing by Leadership Excellence magazine, #1 Global Learning Elite ranking, and Training Magazine’s “Hall of Fame” designation as a top company for employee development. In 2007, Chief Learning Officer magazine selected Kevin as CLO of the year.
Kevin continues to be an active contributor to the leadership and talent development profession with business advising and writing. His advisory work includes the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), Study.com, and GP Strategies/Learning Technologies Group. In 2011, his first book, Dancing with the Talent Stars: 25 Moves that Matter Now, was published by Human Capital Media.
In 2015, Kevin served as editor of A CLO Leadership Reader: Chief Learning Officer Magazine’s Best for Today’s Learning Leader. His writing for Talent Management magazine received a national award for editorial excellence from the American Society of Business Publication Editors. His work has also been published in over a dozen books, including Coaching For Leadership, the Pfeiffer Annual on Leadership Development, and Forward Focused Learning.
While actively researching, writing, and teaching, he first and foremost considers himself a student of the game of leadership and believes there is always something new to learn.
In 2022, Kevin authored Coachability: The New Leadership Superpower.
Guest:
Kevin Wilde: Executive Leadership Fellow at Carlson School of Management
Hosts:
Mike Thul - linkedin.com/in/thulmichael
Jessie Novey - linkedin.com/in/jessienovey
Engineer:
Chris Mueller - linkedin.com/in/cjmueller86
INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP? Please email sponsors@tcshrm.org.
Twin Cities Society For Human Resources: Recognized as one of the nation's largest SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) chapters, TCSHRM is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. With an ongoing calendar of events, we are an active SHRM group always looking to promote, influence, and educate our members through multiple channels.
Join Us! Become a TCSHRM Member. https://www.tcshrm.org/
Thank you for listening, and if you enjoy our podcast episodes please consider leaving a review, as it helps us reach more listeners.
© MMXXIII TCSHRM. All Rights Reserved. For Personal Use Only.

Monday Jul 15, 2024
Episode 91: Feedback Reimagined
Monday Jul 15, 2024
Monday Jul 15, 2024
Peter Berridge is an accomplished coach, facilitator, and author who utilizes the sciences of Positive Psychology and executive coaching to help leaders, teams, and organizations be more engaged and effective. Pete became a certified coach through the Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara and is faculty with the Center for Coaching in Organizations. He holds a Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) degree from the University of Pennsylvania. It is with this training that the Shift Positive 360® was born. Pete was determined to bring the benefits of Positive Psychology into the feedback process, which led him to co-create Change Positive, LLC.
Pete has 25+ years of coaching, facilitation, and Human Resources leadership experience. He’s excited to bring the Shift Positive® Method to the world as co-author of the #1 New Release Feedback Reimagined, endorsed by Shawn Achor and Marshall Goldsmith.
Guest:
Pete Berridge CEO & founder of Change Positive, LLC
(19) Pete Berridge, MAPP, PCC | LinkedIn
Hosts:
Mike Thul - linkedin.com/in/thulmichael
Jessie Novey - linkedin.com/in/jessienovey
Engineer:
Chris Mueller - linkedin.com/in/cjmueller86
INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP? Please email sponsors@tcshrm.org.
Twin Cities Society For Human Resources: Recognized as one of the nation's largest SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) chapters, TCSHRM is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. With an ongoing calendar of events, we are an active SHRM group always looking to promote, influence, and educate our members through multiple channels.
Join Us! Become a TCSHRM Member. https://www.tcshrm.org/
Thank you for listening, and if you enjoy our podcast episodes please consider leaving a review, as it helps us reach more listeners.
© MMXXIII TCSHRM. All Rights Reserved. For Personal Use Only.

Friday Jun 21, 2024
Episode 90: AI, Civility and the Future of Work
Friday Jun 21, 2024
Friday Jun 21, 2024
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., is President and Chief Executive Officer of SHRM. Recently named one of the “Most Influential People Shaping Public Policy” in our nation’s Capital by the Washingtonian Magazine, Mr. Taylor’s career spans more than 20 years as a lawyer and an executive, serving at IAC, Paramount Pictures, Blockbuster Entertainment Group and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, among other organizations. He is a Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees at his alma mater, the University of Miami; a member of the United Way Worldwide Board of Trustees; Independent Director of the Flores & Associates corporate board and a member of the corporate boards of Guild Education, and XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO). He previously served as chairman of the President's Advisory Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities and on the White House American Workforce Policy Advisory Board. Mr. Taylor is a weekly contributor to USA Today, a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources and a SHRM Certified Professional.
Guest:
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr: President and CEO of SHRM
(19) Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP | LinkedIn
Hosts:
Mike Thul - linkedin.com/in/thulmichael
Jessie Novey - linkedin.com/in/jessienovey
Engineer:
Chris Mueller - linkedin.com/in/cjmueller86
INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP? Please email sponsors@tcshrm.org.
Twin Cities Society For Human Resources: Recognized as one of the nation's largest SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) chapters, TCSHRM is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. With an ongoing calendar of events, we are an active SHRM group always looking to promote, influence, and educate our members through multiple channels.
Join Us! Become a TCSHRM Member. https://www.tcshrm.org/
Thank you for listening, and if you enjoy our podcast episodes please consider leaving a review, as it helps us reach more listeners.
© MMXXIII TCSHRM. All Rights Reserved. For Personal Use Only.
Guest:
Johnny C. Taylor, Jr: President and CEO of SHRM
(19) Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., SHRM-SCP | LinkedIn
Hosts:
Mike Thul - linkedin.com/in/thulmichael
Jessie Novey - linkedin.com/in/jessienovey
Engineer:
Chris Mueller - linkedin.com/in/cjmueller86
INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP? Please email sponsors@tcshrm.org.
Twin Cities Society For Human Resources: Recognized as one of the nation's largest SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) chapters, TCSHRM is based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. With an ongoing calendar of events, we are an active SHRM group always looking to promote, influence, and educate our members through multiple channels.
Join Us! Become a TCSHRM Member. https://www.tcshrm.org/
Thank you for listening, and if you enjoy our podcast episodes please consider leaving a review, as it helps us reach more listeners.
© MMXXIII TCSHRM. All Rights Reserved. For Personal Use Only.