Épisodes

  • The Business Case for Investing in Employee Well-Being | Jeri Hawthorne

    The Business Case for Investing in Employee Well-Being | Jeri Hawthorne
    Oct 13 2026
    In this episode of People Multiple, Gia Ganesh sits down with seasoned HR executive Jeri Hawthorne to explore why human capital decisions are often harder to connect directly to business performance and how people leaders can build a stronger case for the investments they know matter.Drawing from her experience as CHRO of Aflac and across financial services, energy, insurance, and private equity-backed organizations, Jeri explains why the impact of people decisions often has a long tail. The challenge is not simply proving that people matter. It is identifying the business problem, defining success metrics, understanding the investment, and demonstrating how a human capital solution can improve business outcomes.Jeri shares real examples of turning people initiatives into business solutions. At Aflac, employee wellness programs, on-site healthcare services, childcare, and career development resources helped address challenges such as absenteeism, turnover, employee engagement, and workforce availability. In another organization, a recruiting technology pilot designed to solve hiring bottlenecks ultimately generated nearly half a million dollars in savings while improving time to fill and candidate quality.Learn more about Jeri Hawthorne:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerihawthorneThe discussion also tackles questions…How can HR leaders use low-cost pilots to prove the value of larger people investments?How can HR identify the right business champion for a new people initiative?Why should companies treat employees as a strategic business investment?How can employee retention create a competitive advantage?How can recruiting technology improve time to hire and reduce costs?How should HR measure the ROI of recruiting technology?How is AI changing the way organizations define work?Should companies use AI to replace work or enable employees to work differently?How will AI affect entry-level jobs and early-career development?What is AI-driven skill atrophy, and why should business leaders care about it?Should employee performance be measured by AI adoption as well as output?What human skills will remain important as AI becomes more capable?How should organizations redesign jobs and performance metrics for the age of AI?How should leadership assessments influence executive hiring decisions?Why do companies invest in employee assessments but fail to use the results effectively?How can organizations build stronger internal leadership pipelines?What are the risks of relying too heavily on external executive hiring?What people metrics should CEOs monitor most closely?Why should CEOs focus on turnover among critical talent rather than overall turnover?How should employers evaluate rising healthcare costs and their impact on employees?Should CHROs own AI transformation?How should HR and technology leaders collaborate on AI transformation?How can people decisions influence the success of mergers and acquisitions?How can companies preserve the right culture and talent during an acquisition?Key takeaways:Human Capital Investments Should Be Evaluated With the Same Rigor as Other Business InvestmentsHR Leaders Must Connect People Decisions to Measurable Business OutcomesEmployee Well-Being Investments Can Reduce Absenteeism and Strengthen Workforce PerformanceSmall HR Pilots Can Build the Business Case for Larger Strategic InvestmentsRetaining Critical Talent Creates a Long-Term Competitive AdvantageRecruiting Technology Can Improve Hiring Efficiency, Candidate Quality, and Return on InvestmentAI Should Enable Human Work, Not Simply Replace ItAI Adoption Requires Organizations to Rethink Performance Metrics and Employee DevelopmentPreventing Skill Atrophy Will Become Critical as AI Takes Over Foundational TasksSuccessful Mergers and Acquisitions Require Deliberate Decisions About Talent, Leadership, and CultureSimilar episodes: The People Decisions That Make or Break M&A: https://youtu.be/wdzKjihV8BI?si=rPwpZDQcLdpBtkfsHow One People Leader Increased Employee Retention from 30% to 80%: https://youtu.be/McDXzlcptN8?si=2W-WZkuBrnUxlekO After 45 Acquisitions, These Are the Leadership Red Flags She Never Ignores: https://youtu.be/zRdL7itzrVc?si=KbXjpC9Hta6dcZXs ProductionProduced by: The AGN GroupHost: Gia Ganesh Producer: Katie HartWebsites: https://peoplemultiple.com/ Social Media Channels:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepeoplemultiple/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepeoplemultiple LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/people-multiple TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@people.multiple Want to be a Podcast Guest?If you are interested in being a guest on the podcast, email us at gia@peoplemultiple.com
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    56 min
  • The People Decisions Nobody Recognizes Until Later

    The People Decisions Nobody Recognizes Until Later
    Sep 29 2026
    In this special compilation episode of People Multiple, Gia Ganesh revisits answers to the show’s signature question: What’s a talent decision that changed a business outcome, but no one in the room recognized it as a talent decision at the time?Leaders including Lynee Luque, Steve Schloss, Marty Reaume, Payal Maheswari, Stephanie Bonnet, Michelle Byrd Robinson, Kaja Odegard, and Lynn Herrick reveal how seemingly operational and strategic choices can carry significant talent implications.Together, these stories challenge the artificial divide between people strategy and business strategy. They demonstrate how leadership, organizational design, hiring, talent management, and culture can influence execution and company performance long before the impact becomes obvious in the numbers.Watch the full interviews here:Lynee Luque: https://youtu.be/yXB7-GS0ahE?si=1mXYgYIwIX6d_rKB Steve Schloss: https://youtu.be/9nVND7lLGCU?si=mzsQgtQ0VzIH9_-B Marty Reaume: https://youtu.be/zRdL7itzrVc?si=UqWyBkYjexXAXxpn Payal Maheswari: https://youtu.be/Wx35nZdJSXc?si=yOkKm-nYzNFs3K35 Stephanie Bonnet: https://youtu.be/McDXzlcptN8?si=wvhUjqAtg8E2qbGt Michelle Byrd Robinson: https://youtu.be/s5VW1vR69Qo?si=R9sIJFqHbbakZ1XS Kaja Odegard: https://youtu.be/4ZVvZpCgEzs?si=rATsohc9ed0wwZJi Lynn Herricks: https://youtu.be/wdzKjihV8BI?si=dEhjc7AeRbzuYvvJ The discussion also tackles questions…What talent decisions have the greatest impact on business performance?How can an operational decision become a talent strategy decision?How do decision rights and ownership affect organizational speed?Are talent outcomes and business outcomes really separate?How do you decide who should lead the next stage of company growth?When should a founder or early employee transition out of a growing company?How can leaders handle an employee who is no longer the right fit for the company’s stage?How does remote work affect a company’s ability to recruit talent?What happens when leaders trust someone without traditional subject-matter expertise to lead a critical initiative?How can one strategic hire influence company culture beyond the role itself?How do hiring decisions affect representation and leadership opportunities?How can people strategy serve as an early indicator of business performance?Key takeaways:Talent decisions are business decisions, even when they are not labeled that way. Choices involving leadership, organizational structure, workplace strategy, hiring, and decision-making authority can have lasting effects on business performance.Operational decisions can quietly reshape a company’s talent strategy. Lynee Luque’s experience shows how a real estate decision ultimately expanded access to talent beyond San Francisco and enabled a distributed workforce.Clear decision rights can improve organizational speed and execution. Kaja Odegard explains how clarifying ownership and involvement helped unlock greater velocity, even though the underlying challenge was not initially viewed as a people issue.People strategy and business strategy should not operate as separate functions. Michelle Byrd Robinson argues that talent outcomes and business outcomes are interconnected, with major people initiatives aligned directly to organizational objectives.Choosing who leads the next stage of growth is one of a company’s most consequential talent decisions. Marty Reaume highlights leadership selection during scaling, transformation, and M&A integration as a people decision with significant business implications.Leadership potential is not always defined by subject-matter expertise. Steve Schloss’s experience with the U.S. Open demonstrates how organizations may create better outcomes by identifying the person with the right skills to facilitate a critical process, rather than simply choosing the obvious expert.The talent that helps build a startup may not always be the talent it needs to scale. Payal Maheswari discusses the difficult reality that an early employee’s skills or working style may no longer fit as the organization evolves.Managing employee transitions with respect can protect both people and the business. When someone no longer fits the company’s stage, leaders can acknowledge that person’s contribution while helping them separate their identity from the organization and move toward what comes next.One strategic hire can influence company culture far beyond a single role. Stephanie Bonnet describes how hiring a woman into a male-dominated engineering environment generated greater excitement around representation and influenced leadership’s approach to future hiring.The full impact of a hiring decision may not be measurable on a spreadsheet. Lynn Herrick’s decision to hire the best candidate while she was eight months pregnant ultimately changed how women within the company viewed leadership, family, and their own opportunities, even though Lynn could not draw a direct line from that decision to financial ...
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    19 min
  • How to Measure the Business Impact of People Strategy | Priti Patel

    How to Measure the Business Impact of People Strategy | Priti Patel
    Sep 22 2026
    In this episode of People Multiple, Gia Ganesh sits down with Priti Patel, a people executive at G2 with a background in finance and conscious leadership coaching, to explore how people strategy, financial thinking, and AI transformation come together to shape business performance.Priti challenges the idea that HR's primary responsibility is simply to represent the employee voice. Instead, she argues that people leaders must understand the business intimately and evaluate decisions through both a human and financial lens. From performance decisions and talent investments to compensation and organizational design, the goal is to create outcomes that work for employees while strengthening enterprise value.The conversation explores G2's integration following its acquisition of Gartner Digital Markets, which nearly doubled the company's headcount and almost tripled its revenue. Priti explains why cultural integration deserves the same strategic attention as financial, legal, product, and sales integration, and why differences in language, leadership, and decision-making can create significant business costs when they are ignored.Learn more about Priti Patel:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pritipatel1/Mentioned in this episode: G2 – Priti discusses G2's business, culture, AI transformation, talent strategy, organizational design, performance practices, and integration following the acquisition of Gartner Digital Markets.Peak by Chip Conley – The book that inspired G2's PEAK values: Performance, Entrepreneurial Spirit, Authenticity, and Kindness.Conscious Leadership – A leadership framework central to Priti's coaching background and G2's culture, focused in the conversation on presence, authenticity, self-awareness, and separating facts from personal interpretations.eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score) – Used by G2 as a recurring measure of employee experience.INPS (Inclusiveness Net Promoter Score) – A metric Priti discusses using alongside eNPS to better understand whether employees feel that they belong and can be their authentic selves at G2.The discussion also tackles questions…How can HR leaders connect people decisions to enterprise value?Why should people leaders understand financial statements and business economics?Can HR leaders balance empathy for employees with financial accountability?How can transparency make difficult performance and talent decisions more effective?Why is cultural integration critical to the success of mergers and acquisitions?How can companies successfully integrate two different organizational cultures after an acquisition?What does AI transformation look like inside the people function?How can companies measure AI fluency across their workforce?What AI skills should organizations look for when hiring talent?Do companies need full-time employees for every AI role?How can college students and apprentices become part of an organization's AI talent strategy?How should companies move from AI experimentation to measurable AI impact?How is AI changing organizational design and traditional career paths?What is a "super IC" career track, and why does it matter in the age of AI?Should AI talent be centralized or decentralized across an organization?Why does business context matter when deploying AI builders across teams?How can AI change the role of managers and individual contributors?What is the Inclusiveness Net Promoter Score (INPS), and how is it different from eNPS?How can organizations measure whether employees genuinely feel that they belong?Key takeaways:HR Leaders Must Connect People Decisions to Enterprise ValueFinancial Acumen Helps People Leaders Balance Empathy With Business PerformanceTransparency Makes Difficult People Decisions More Effective and Less SurprisingCultural Integration Is a Critical Investment in Mergers and AcquisitionsAI Fluency Is Becoming a Core Workforce Competency Across Every Business FunctionAI Talent Strategy Should Look Beyond Traditional Full-Time Hiring ModelsAI Is Creating New Career Paths for High-Impact Individual ContributorsDecentralized AI Talent Can Accelerate Transformation by Combining Technical Skills With Business ContextEmployee Belonging Should Be Measured Separately From Traditional Employee EngagementRevenue per Employee Helps People Leaders Connect Workforce Strategy to Business ValueSimilar episodes: 70% of Your Work Could Be Automated. What Happens Next?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxJbWCHm2f4From Employee #16 to IPO: Lessons Every Growth Leader Should Know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZVvZpCgEzs&t=2sHow to Redesign Work for AI Without Losing the Human Advantage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il1i_th6J3Q ProductionProduced by: The AGN GroupHost: Gia Ganesh Producer: Katie HartWebsites: https://peoplemultiple.com/ Social Media Channels:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepeoplemultiple/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepeoplemultiple LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/...
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    46 min
  • What GovCon Leaders Get Wrong About Talent Strategy | Halai Shukran

    What GovCon Leaders Get Wrong About Talent Strategy | Halai Shukran
    Sep 15 2026
    In this episode of People Multiple, Gia Ganesh sits down with Halai Shukran, an HR executive and COO whose career journey took her from broadcast journalism to talent management, people leadership, and ultimately business operations. Drawing from her experience in commercial technology, venture-backed companies, and government contracting, Halai explains why people leaders create greater business impact when they understand how talent decisions connect to revenue, delivery, margin, client risk, and growth.Halai shares how developing systems thinking and business fluency helped her expand beyond traditional HR responsibilities into IT, quality, marketing, contracting, and operations. Rather than bringing HR activity to the executive team, she argues that people leaders should translate workforce issues into business choices and clearly articulate the trade-offs behind those decisions.The conversation explores the unique economics of talent strategy in government contracting, where people are the product, recruiting capacity can protect revenue, and long procurement cycles require leaders to balance retention, overhead investment, delivery risk, and future growth. Halai also explains why employer brand matters even when employees leave, and how transparency can create alumni who refer talent, return to the organization, and strengthen its reputation.Learn more about Halai Shukran:Halai’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/halai-shukran/Pluribus Digital’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pluribusdigital/Pluribus Digital’s Website: https://pluribusdigital.com/The discussion also tackles questions…How can HR leaders transition from people leadership into broader business operations and COO roles?What skills do HR leaders need to become effective business operators?How can people leaders translate HR decisions into revenue, margin, delivery, and business outcomes?Why is systems thinking an important skill for HR and people leaders?What business and financial knowledge should HR leaders develop to earn greater influence in the C-suite?How should people leaders communicate workforce risks and opportunities to CEOs and executive teams?How can companies effectively cascade business strategy as they scale?Why does clarity become increasingly important during organizational growth?How does talent strategy differ between venture-backed companies and government contractors?How do long government contracting procurement cycles affect hiring and workforce planning?How can government contractors manage employees who are temporarily on the bench?How do employee retention and employer brand affect business performance?Why can recruiting capacity be considered revenue protection rather than simply an HR cost?When should a growing CEO begin delegating people and operational responsibilities?Why do early managers become a company's operating system before a formal HR function exists?Key takeaways:HR Leaders Create More Business Value When They Translate People Problems Into Business OutcomesSystems Thinking Is a Critical Skill for HR Leaders Moving Into Business OperationsBusiness Acumen Helps HR Leaders Earn Greater Influence in the C-SuiteClarity Is One of the Most Important Principles for Scaling an OrganizationEarly Managers Become a Company's Operating System Before a Formal HR Function ExistsTalent Strategy Must Reflect the Economics of the Business ModelRecruiting Capacity Can Be Revenue Protection, Not Just an HR CostEmployer Brand Is Built Through Transparency, Including When Employees LeaveAI Can Strengthen People Strategy, but It Cannot Replace Human JudgmentCuriosity Is One of the Most Undervalued Leadership CompetenciesSimilar episodes: 70% of Your Work Could Be Automated. What Happens Next?: https://youtu.be/DxJbWCHm2f4 How to Redesign Work for AI Without Losing the Human Advantage: https://youtu.be/il1i_th6J3Q Startup Hiring Lessons from Google: https://youtu.be/28bkrOkZU7w ProductionProduced by: The AGN GroupHost: Gia Ganesh Producer: Katie HartWebsites: https://peoplemultiple.com/ Social Media Channels:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepeoplemultiple/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepeoplemultiple LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/people-multiple TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@people.multiple Want to be a Podcast Guest?If you are interested in being a guest on the podcast, email us at gia@peoplemultiple.com
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    55 min
  • 70% of Your Work Could Be Automated. What Happens Next? | Shlomit Gruman-Navot

    70% of Your Work Could Be Automated. What Happens Next? | Shlomit Gruman-Navot
    Sep 8 2026
    In this episode of People Multiple, Gia Ganesh sits down with Shlomit Gruman-Navot, former Chief People Officer at OLX and Miro and co-founder of Prakti, to explore what real AI transformation looks like inside an organization. Drawing on 25 years of experience across HR, organizational transformation, and operating model design, Shlomit explains why leaders need to look beyond AI tools and usage metrics and focus instead on workflows, business outcomes, and value creation.Shlomit challenges the traditional organizational chart as a way of understanding where work and accountability live in an AI-enabled company. As workflows increasingly move between humans and AI agents, she argues that leaders need to understand who owns the workflow, what should remain human, what can be augmented by AI, and what can be fully automated.The conversation also examines the difference between AI adoption and genuine AI productivity. Shlomit explains why efficiency gains do not automatically translate into ROI, why AI can actually increase cognitive load when work is not redesigned, and why one of the most important questions leaders can ask is, “What have we stopped doing?”Connect with Shlomit Gruman-Navot:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shlomit-gruman-navot/Join Practi: https://community.practicommunity.com/join?invitation_token=0ece52bfb59ed763a8ea48c9d28a29d690073f72-6470e37d-4722-4495-bb23-1cae56f02f63 Shlomit’s cohort for HR/People leaders called AI-Ready HR Leaders: https://practi-hr-leaders.lovable.app/ The discussion also tackles questions…How can companies tell the difference between real AI transformation and AI adoption theater?Why is AI adoption a poor metric for measuring business impact?How should boards measure the ROI of AI investments?What is the difference between AI-driven P&L impact and AI return on investment?How can companies redesign workflows around humans and AI agents?What work should remain human, what should AI augment, and what can be fully automated?Why are traditional organizational charts becoming less useful in AI-enabled organizations?What should leaders look at instead of the org chart to understand how work actually gets done?How can organizations determine whether they have the operating model required to execute their strategy?What should companies stop doing after implementing AI?Can AI increase employee workload instead of reducing it?How should HR leaders redesign performance management for an AI-enabled workforce?Key takeaways:1. AI Adoption Does Not Equal AI Transformation2. Real AI Transformation Starts With Workflow Redesign, Not New Tools3. Leaders Should Ask, “What Have We Stopped Doing Because of AI?”ys Human, What AI Augments, and What AI Automates6. AI ROI Should Be Measured Through Business Outcomes, Not Productivity or Usage Alone7. HR Must Shift From Designing for Stability to Designing for Adaptability8. AI Is Changing How Organizations Should Recognize and Reward Talent9. Strong Talent Cannot Overcome a Fundamentally Broken Operating System10. Many Business Problems Are Ultimately People ProblemsSimilar episodes: The People Decisions That Make or Break M&A: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdzKjihV8BI The CEO Wanted a 5-Minute Layoff Call. She Said No.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx35nZdJSXc The Recruiting Engine Every Growth Company Needs: https://youtu.be/s5VW1vR69Qo?si=iKUUZ14lYBKptuFU ProductionProduced by: The AGN GroupHost: Gia Ganesh Producer: Katie HartWebsites: https://peoplemultiple.com/ Social Media Channels:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepeoplemultiple/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepeoplemultiple LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/people-multiple TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@people.multiple Want to be a Podcast Guest?If you are interested in being a guest on the podcast, email us at gia@peoplemultiple.com
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    58 min
  • The People Strategy Behind a $24 Billion Integration | William Ingham

    The People Strategy Behind a $24 Billion Integration | William Ingham
    Sep 1 2026
    In this episode of People Multiple, Gia Ganesh sits down with Will Ingham to explore how operating models, culture, leadership effectiveness, and people decisions directly influence business performance and enterprise value.Drawing from his experience across organizations including Visa Europe, Oracle, Clorox, and his advisory work, Will explains why people are too often treated as a cost rather than a business asset. He shares how leaders can identify organizational friction by examining decision-making, information flow, leadership behavior, meeting structures, and what an organization chooses to reward.Will also breaks down why an operating model is much more than an organizational chart. Governance, rewards, communication, decision architecture, rhythms and routines, and organizational structure all determine whether strategy can actually translate into execution.Learn more about William Ingham:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willingham2030/Website: www.wewilltransform.comMentioned in this episode: Culture: The Asses, The Alchemists, and AI by Will InghamThresholds by Dr. Andrew White and Andy RumblesMoonshots with Peter DiamandisThe discussion also tackles questions…What do CEOs and boards misunderstand about the relationship between people strategy and enterprise value?How can leaders identify organizational friction before it compromises execution?What is the difference between normal growing pains and unhealthy organizational friction?How can organizational friction be measured?What does an effective enterprise operating model look like?Why is an operating model more than an organizational structure?How should talent strategy be integrated into business strategy and financial planning?How could AI reshape the operating model of the future?What does it mean to use dignity as a design principle during AI-driven workforce transformation?How should companies rethink severance and support employees displaced by AI?What signals indicate that a founder is becoming a bottleneck to organizational growth?How can investors evaluate whether a company's operating model can actually deliver its growth plan?What people risks are commonly underpriced during investments and acquisitions?What should investors look for during people and organizational due diligence?What people metrics are genuinely useful at the enterprise level?What information should a Chief People Officer present to a board to bring the same rigor as financial reporting?What signals show that an organization's culture is real rather than performative?Key takeaways:1. People Strategy Should Be Treated as an Enterprise Value Driver, Not Just a Cost2. Organizational Friction Can Quietly Undermine Business Performance3. An Operating Model Is Much More Than an Organizational Chart4. Talent Strategy Should Be Built Into Business and Financial Planning5. Culture Should Be Connected to Measurable Business Performance6. The Best Chief People Officers Focus on Operating Model, Culture, and Leadership Effectiveness7. Founder Bottlenecks Can Become a Serious Barrier to Scaling a Company8. AI Is Becoming a Fundamental Operating Model Design Question9. Dignity Should Be a Design Principle During AI-Driven Workforce Transformation10. Organizational Design Can Play a Critical Role in Post-Acquisition Value CreationSimilar episodes: The People Decisions That Make or Break M&A: https://youtu.be/wdzKjihV8BI?si=8lP6c8mfTFIOh_We Why Great Founders Struggle to Become Great CEOs: https://youtu.be/9nVND7lLGCU?si=z77d3UCIEOf1cYW4 Startup Hiring Lessons from Google : https://youtu.be/28bkrOkZU7w?si=xNYEau-d-afDk8hY ProductionProduced by: The AGN GroupHost: Gia Ganesh Producer: Katie HartWebsites: https://peoplemultiple.com/ Social Media Channels:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepeoplemultiple/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepeoplemultiple LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/people-multiple TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@people.multiple Want to be a Podcast Guest?If you are interested in being a guest on the podcast, email us at gia@peoplemultiple.com
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    1 h
  • The People Decisions That Make or Break M&A | Lynn Herrick

    The People Decisions That Make or Break M&A | Lynn Herrick
    Aug 25 2026
    In this episode of People Multiple, Gia Ganesh sits down with Lynn Herrick, a former M&A lawyer, Chief Human Resources Officer, and Chief Operating Officer who has experienced acquisitions from both sides of the deal table. Lynn brings a rare perspective: she has helped build the diligence file a buyer scrutinizes and then lived with the operational reality of the deal after closing.Drawing on her experience at GreatCall, which Best Buy acquired for $800 million in 2018, Lynn explores why traditional M&A due diligence often fails to examine how decisions are actually made, how work gets executed, and how two organizations will operate once the deal closes.Lynn argues that companies routinely budget millions for technology integration while failing to dedicate meaningful resources to people and culture integration. The result can be months of organizational friction, leadership conflict, unclear decision rights, title and compensation battles, and employees operating from fear instead of focusing on value creation.Learn more about Lynn Herrick: Facebook: Lynn Kantor HerrickInstagram: lkherrickLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnkantorherrick/Website:lynnherrickart.comMentioned in this episode: GreatCall / Best Buy Acquisition: https://corporate.bestbuy.com/2018/best-buy-acquires-greatcall-expanding-reach-in-health-space/The discussion also tackles questions…What is people due diligence in mergers and acquisitions?Why is people diligence often overlooked during M&A?What questions should companies ask about leadership during M&A due diligence?Why should companies examine how decisions are made before an acquisition?How does company culture affect post-merger integration?What causes M&A integrations to fail after the deal closes?How can companies successfully integrate two different organizational cultures?What is the "boiled frog" approach to M&A integration, and why can it create problems?How should leaders communicate organizational changes after an acquisition?How can companies reduce employee fear and uncertainty during post-merger integration?Should companies budget specifically for people and culture integration after an acquisition?How can leadership coaching improve post-acquisition integration?How quickly can people-related problems begin affecting financial results after an acquisition?What should companies do when an acquisition underperforms?Key takeaways:People due diligence should receive the same rigor as financial, legal, and technology due diligence.How a company makes decisions is one of the most important questions to ask during M&A due diligence.Companies should budget for people and culture integration as part of the M&A deal thesis.The "boiled frog" approach to post-merger integration can create unnecessary organizational friction.People-related M&A problems can begin affecting business results within two quarters.When an acquisition underperforms, leaders should revisit the original deal thesis before immediately cutting costs.CHROs build credibility when they connect people initiatives to measurable business outcomes.Workforce optimization should begin with the work, not a headcount target.AI transformation is an opportunity for CHROs to lead enterprise-wide optimization.A single talent decision can change an organization's culture in ways leaders may not immediately recognize.Similar episodes: The Recruiting Engine Every Growth Company Needs: https://youtu.be/s5VW1vR69Qo?si=6m2EdW15_0tBsReI How One People Leader Increased Employee Retention from 30% to 80%: https://youtu.be/McDXzlcptN8?si=V2odjMWlJCotWLNbAfter 45 Acquisitions, These Are the Leadership Red Flags She Never Ignores: https://youtu.be/zRdL7itzrVc?si=TthSmGGkof_BTt5b ProductionProduced by: The AGN GroupHost: Gia Ganesh Producer: Katie HartWebsites: https://peoplemultiple.com/ Social Media Channels:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepeoplemultiple/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepeoplemultiple LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/people-multiple TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@people.multiple Want to be a Podcast Guest?If you are interested in being a guest on the podcast, email us at gia@peoplemultiple.com
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    51 min
  • How to Redesign Work for AI Without Losing the Human Advantage | Sarika Lamont

    How to Redesign Work for AI Without Losing the Human Advantage | Sarika Lamont
    Aug 18 2026
    In this episode of People Multiple, Gia Ganesh sits down with Sarika Lamont to explore how people leaders can connect talent decisions directly to business outcomes. Drawing from her experience across government contracting, global SaaS organizations, private equity-backed companies, and AI enablement, Sarika explains why the right people strategy is never universal. It must reflect the company’s operating context, growth stage, business priorities, and the specific problems it is trying to solve.Sarika shares why cultural integration is one of the most underestimated risks in mergers and acquisitions. Early warning signs often appear long before attrition, missed targets, or customer disruption. Language such as “our team” versus “their team,” slower decision-making, increasingly crowded calendars, and unclear ownership can signal that two organizations have not truly integrated.The conversation also explores the foundations companies should establish before pursuing additional acquisitions, including job architecture, career levels, compensation philosophy, and market-aligned salary bands. Sarika explains how these structures create greater transparency, reduce financial and talent risk, and help organizations integrate employees more effectively.Learn more about SarikaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarikal/The discussion also tackles questions…How can HR leaders align people strategy with business strategy?What are the early warning signs of failed merger and acquisition integration?How does company culture affect M&A integration success?What should companies have in place before acquiring another business?Why are job architecture and career leveling important during company growth and acquisitions?How can organizations manage compensation and pay equity during an acquisition?What does AI enablement actually mean for HR and people leaders?How can companies successfully drive AI adoption among employees?How should organizations redesign workflows and jobs around AI?Which HR processes can be automated with AI?How can AI improve recruiting, onboarding, customer success, and employee productivity?What AI metrics should executives and boards actually track?How can leaders measure the business impact and ROI of AI transformation?How can HR leaders overcome employee resistance to AI?Should companies automatically backfill roles when employees leave?How should leaders rethink job descriptions and hiring requirements in the AI era?Why can delaying a decision about an underperforming leader become an expensive talent decision?How can leaders give and receive feedback more effectively?Why does trust matter when delivering direct feedback?Key takeaways: People strategy must align directly with business strategy. Cultural friction is an early warning sign of M&A integration risk. Successful M&A integration requires more than completing an integration checklist. Job architecture and compensation strategy create a stronger foundation for acquisitions and growth. AI transformation is a people transformation, not simply a technology implementation. Successful AI adoption starts with changing human behavior and building trust. AI success should be measured by business outcomes, not licenses or usage alone. Organizations should redesign work around AI before automatically eliminating or backfilling roles. Leaders must earn the right to give direct feedback. Delaying a difficult talent decision can become one of the most expensive decisions a company makes. Similar episodes: The CEO Wanted a 5-Minute Layoff Call. She Said No: https://youtu.be/Wx35nZdJSXc?si=urZnM02fwqkgiFcY After 45 Acquisitions, These Are the Leadership Red Flags She Never Ignores: https://youtu.be/zRdL7itzrVc?si=F1D5mAHqAatN7yAA Why Great Founders Struggle to Become Great CEOs: https://youtu.be/9nVND7lLGCU?si=g1Z4npjO1YQuOr9R ProductionProduced by: The AGN GroupHost: Gia Ganesh Producer: Katie HartWebsites: https://peoplemultiple.com/ Social Media Channels:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepeoplemultiple/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thepeoplemultiple LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/people-multiple TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@people.multiple Want to be a Podcast Guest?If you are interested in being a guest on the podcast, email us at gia@peoplemultiple.com
    Afficher plus Afficher moins
    56 min