Bringing the Human back to Human Resources

In part two of the four-part layoff series, Traci addresses what often goes unspoken in layoff conversations: the toll on the HR professionals managing them, and how to take care of yourself while taking care of everyone else.
What We Cover:
— The grief HR professionals carry that nobody talks about— Numbness as a warning sign, not a badge of honor— How to structure your day when the conversations are relentless— The end-of-day ritual that actually creates separation— Where to find HR peer support when you need people who get it— What survivors are feeling after the dust settles— Rebuilding morale without forcing it
Connect with Traci here:https://linktr.ee/HRTraci
Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed.
Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

Traci sat down with Jena Dunay, founder of Recruit the Employer, to talk about conducting layoffs with dignity. We're bringing this one back as the first episode of our four-part layoff series because it's just as relevant now as it was when it first aired.
What We Cover:
Offboarding as seriously as onboarding
What's at stake when there's no plan in place
What outplacement actually is (hint: not George Clooney in Up in the Air)
The communication plan every HR leader needs before they ever need it
Legal landmines to think through before a single conversation happens
Survivors' guilt and what leaders can actually do about it
What owning leadership mistakes publicly really looks like
Why middle management is the make-or-break layer in post-layoff recovery
Connect with Jena Dunay: RecruittheEmpoyer.com | Recruiter Unlimited | LinkedIn
Connect with Traci here:https://linktr.ee/HRTraci
Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed.
Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

This week, Traci sits down with the co-founders of Flora Fertility to talk about why employer-sponsored fertility coverage is broken and what the first individually owned fertility insurance solution is doing to fix it.

Dr. Christy Lane is a global leader in InsureTech, an investor, founder, and award-winning health scientist with expertise in AI, digital health, and wearable devices. She is the co-founder of Flora Fertility and the Stanford Wearable Health Lab, and a venture partner with IA Capital in New York. A mom of three who went through IVF herself, Dr. Lane has built her career in women's health research since the 1990s.

Laura McDonald is the co-founder and CEO of Flora Fertility, the first individually owned insurance solution for fertility and women's health. She previously founded, scaled, and sold Canada's largest financial media company focused on women and wealth, and is the author of two bestselling personal finance books. A mother of four, Laura brings deep expertise in insurance, direct-to-consumer AI models, and bringing new financial products to market.

What We Cover:
Why fertility benefits tied to your employer are a risk most employees don't see coming
The underwriting model that makes Flora unlike any fertility product on the market
What most people get completely wrong about IVF and the fertility treatment spectrum
Egg freezing vs. Flora and why it might not be the either/or choice you think it is
How employers can offer Flora without open enrollment, utilization risk, or complicated admin
The recent federal guidance that could change how fertility benefits are offered at work
Connect with Dr. Christy Lane and Laura McDonald: HeyFlora.com | LinkedIn | IG: @heyflorahealth
Connect with Traci here: https://linktr.ee/HRTraci

Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed.

Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

This week, Traci sits down with Steve Cadigan to explore what the future of work actually demands from HR leaders and why most organizations are still building for a world that no longer exists.
Steve is a globally recognized talent strategist, advisor, author, and founder of Cadigan Talent Ventures. Best known as LinkedIn's first CHRO, he helped scale the company from 400 employees through its IPO. His book Work Quake debuted as Amazon's #1 Hot New Release and a graduate-level course at Stanford was built around the culture he helped create.
In this conversation, Steve shares the frameworks, hard lessons, and contrarian thinking that have shaped his career and what they mean for HR leaders navigating today's workplace.
What We Cover:
Why high turnover might actually be your competitive advantage
The two things every HR leader must have and why you can't have one without the other
What LinkedIn taught Steve about building HR completely from scratch
Why working yourself out of a job makes you more valuable, not less
The happiness trap that's quietly leading organizations toward mediocrity
Why "Head of Diversity" might be creating more problems than it solves
Where AI delivers the greatest leverage in HR right now
Connect with Steve Cadigan: LinkedIn | TikTok | Podcast: Workplace Weekly |  Workquake: Embracing the Aftershocks of COVID-19 to Create a Better Model of Working
Connect with Traci here:https://linktr.ee/HRTraci

Disclaimer: Thoughts, opinions, and statements made on this podcast are not a reflection of the thoughts, opinions, and statements of the Company by whom Traci Chernoff is actively employed.

Please note that this episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products or services. Individuals on the show may have a direct or indirect financial interest in products or services referred to in this episode.

This episode is about how the language we use to describe people at work is quietly shaping both workplace culture and the future of AI. Joshua Berry, author, speaker, and Director of Iconic, brought this conversation to the podcast last year and it has only gotten more relevant since.

The business terms you've been using on autopilot (headcount, right-size, prospects) aren't neutral. They're belief systems, and they're being baked into the AI your organization will rely on tomorrow.

What We Cover:
Words are a symptom of your unconscious beliefs about people
"Headcount" isn't neutral, and neither is "right-size"
Your internal messages are actively training the next generation of AI
We're at an inflection point where conscious language can reshape what AI believes about human value
What HR professionals actually need to hear about AI and their jobs
The custom ChatGPT setting that flags dehumanizing language before you hit send

Connect with Joshua Berry: LinkedIn | Iconic Website | JoshuaBerry.com

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