In this episode of the Transform Your Workplace podcast, Lacey Partpilo, Director of HR and Client Success at Xenium HR, delves into the evolving role of HR in today’s business landscape. As key members of strategic leadership teams, HR pros are now responsible for much more than just enforcing the rules. Lacey dispels common misconceptions about HR and offers insights into fostering positive employee experiences and successful client interactions. Not sure whether you need to invest in HR? Give this episode a listen to learn why you can’t afford not to.
GUEST AT A GLANCE
Director of HR and Client Success at Xenium HR, Lacey Partipilo is our go-to source when it comes to business advice and HR expertise. She is all about relationships and building connections with not only her team at Xenium but also her many business clients.
A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST
🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, Sponsored by Xenium HR
🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws
📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”
A CHANGED LANDSCAPE
Over the years, HR has transformed significantly, with these professionals now integral members of leadership teams. Modern businesses recognize the importance of HR in strategic decision-making, so it’s more commonplace to see HR professionals as key players “at the table.”
With the rise of hybrid remote work, the responsibilities of HR pros have come to include aspects such as compliance, inclusion, and DEI, broadening from traditional tasks like creating handbooks and job descriptions. Today’s HR professionals, according to our guest, are “smarter, savvier, and really have to be true generalists.”
PODCAST EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Managing Expectations
“Think about the number of generations that are in the workplace, too. So you’ve got these newer, really smart, tech-savvy employees who have that expectation of the one-click process stuff, but you might also have an older generation of employees who like their paper, who want to do things the way they’ve been doing it. And so how do you build processes and systems that can support the needs of all of your employees — and make it not five different things for different groups of employees… because that’s not going to be efficient. So I think there’s just a lot of pressure.”
Some Common Misconceptions
“People think that HR makes the decisions, and so I think when policies change — or people are let go from organizations or maybe they’re not let go from organizations — I think employees and sometimes leaders think that HR was making that call. And actually, that’s not ever the role that I’ve taken. I really see myself as an advisor, presenting options and risks. […] So I think people think HR is the one who writes the rules and enforces the rules and makes the decisions. I don’t think that’s true all the time. I also think it can be an underutilized function. So there are some ‘necessary evil’ things that HR has to do. And if you’re one in-house person, you could be bogged down by those things that have to get done. […] So you might not get to do some of that strategic work that actually makes an impact. So I think there’s a misconception just around the value of the time that an HR person spends on different tasks.”
Cutting to the Core
“I figured out that I could actually get to a decision quicker and actually produce better outcomes by literally just asking this one question before we get started: I want to know what is the outcome that you’re hoping to achieve through this. Then, we just cut through all the crap, and we can still ask the questions: What are the risks? And how long have they worked there? And send me your documents. But I’m looking at all of that through the lens of the best outcome for the organization. […] The client knows that I care about what they want to do — that that is actually the most important thing. And I think, too, I’m going to try to create a path forward to get us there.”
The First HR Hire
“I think people wait too long. I think many organizations feel like they’re handling it fine themselves. They’re maybe having their CFO or accounting team member taking care of onboarding new hires. And I think those organizations, in my experience, are often thinking about HR from a process, new hire, onboarding, recruitment mentality, and I actually think if an organization has funding to fund an HR position or outsource to an organization like Xenium, we can actually help shape the culture of the organization as an HR person, whether you’re internal or you’re the consultant in developing systems and processes that are aligned with core values and the growth plans of the organization.”
Investing in HR
“In this client success role, I’ve noticed there’s a correlation for when teams here at Xenium are thriving and there’s just positive employee experience, those teams are also getting a lot of positive feedback from clients. And so, as a business owner, if you’re thinking about, ‘Is it worth it? Should I really invest in this?’ I would say ‘Uh, yeah’ because when employees are unhappy, your customers are going to feel it. Even if they’re maybe not frontline interacting with customers, their care about the quality of the work that they produce out on the shop floor, as an example, goes down. Their attendance goes down. People literally call in sick to work at organizations that have low employee satisfaction levels.”
Lifelong Learning
“There are just so many different things that happen in a given day that you can’t help but learn. […] Even after 17 years of working here, I’m literally learning on the job. I think, for me, my focus right now is really around that strategic leadership. Having just recently had the opportunity to join our senior leadership team has been a blessing and learning more about some of the ins and outs of how our organization works, […] learning how to take teams that are functioning and bring those teams together. So continuing to just build on some of the cross-functional work that I’ve already done, I think, is going to be a big focus for me. There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not learning something new or different, which sounds cheesy, but it’s really true.”
CONNECT
Find Lacey Partpilo on LinkedIn or connect with her through email at lacey.partipilo@xeniumhr.com.
* The content on this show is strictly for general information and educational purposes only so that you can transform your workplace in a positive way. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed on the show are the guest’s own and don’t represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of either Xenium HR, the sponsor of the show, or the host, Brandon Laws. Additionally, Xenium HR or myself, Brandon Laws, don’t endorse any guests, their business, or any organization they represent, so discretion is advised. We encourage you to work with a trusted advisor to find a custom approach that fits your organization’s needs. Thanks for tuning in to today’s episode.