Honest HR – Details, episodes & analysis

Over 70 million Americans have incarceration records that make finding work after serving time extremely difficult. In today’s tight labor market, overlooking this vital talent pool could be a costly mistake.   Judge Songhai Armstead (Ret.) — now director of the Los Angeles County Justice, Care, and Opportunities Department — explains how HR teams can embrace second-chance hiring for these individuals. Learn how to recognize the skills justice-involved candidates bring, navigate fair and comprehensive background checks, and reimagine recruitment and retention practices to match these often-neglected workers to the right roles at your organization.   

Amid today’s talent shortages, older workers remain one of the most overlooked sources of skill and experience. Isaac Agbeshie-Noye, Ed.D., of the SHRM Foundation joins Nicole Belyna to share how HR teams can overcome biases, engage older talent, and reimagine recruitment, retention, and development strategies for a rapidly growing segment of the workforce.   This podcast is approved for .5 PDCs toward SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP recertification. Listen to the complete episode to get your activity ID at the end. ID expires October 1, 2026.   Subscribe to Honest HR to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/voegyz --- Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

With SHRM research revealing leadership development as a top priority for HR leaders in 2025, this episode dives into strategies for sourcing and nurturing executive talent. Host Nicole Belyna is joined by Jeremy Eskenazi, managing principal of HR consulting firm Riviera Advisors, to share actionable insights on aligning executive roles with business goals, attracting quality candidates, and fostering leadership growth.   This podcast is approved for .5 PDCs toward SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP recertification. Listen to the complete episode to get your activity ID at the end. ID expires July 1, 2026.   Subscribe to Honest HR to get the latest episodes, expert insights, and additional resources delivered straight to your inbox: https://shrm.co/voegyz --- Explore SHRM’s all-new flagships. Content curated by experts. Created for you weekly. Each content journey features engaging podcasts, video, articles, and groundbreaking newsletters tailored to meet your unique needs in your organization and career. Learn More: https://shrm.co/coy63r

This week we are continuing our rebroadcast of our popular three-part mini-series on business acumen. This is part three of that mini-series, Strategic Planning for HR Teams.Katie Powers, Director of Human Resources at Path Forward, an organization that empowers US healthcare providers with technology solutions, discusses the BIG topic of strategic planning. How it's a necessity for your plans to be fluid and flexible, what that looks like, and keeping your team on track with top-level business goals. /////EARN SHRM RECERTIFICATION PDCs FOR LISTENINGHonest HR podcast episodes will help you build your competencies while you earn professional development credits (PDCs) toward your SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP recertification! The Honest HR podcast is only one of SHRM's podcast offerings. And currently, it is the only one approved for recertification PDCs./////This episode is part 3 of a three-part series on business acumen.  The other two parts of this series are "Becoming the Sought-After HR Pro and Understanding the Business of Your Org feat. Parker McKenna, SHRM-SCP" and "Transformation Over Transaction: Using Lean and Six Sigma in HR feat. Robin Chapekis, SHRM-SCP"/////When you listen to all parts of the series, you are eligible to receive PDCs for your participation. All relevant details, including the Activity IDs, are provided during the podcast recording itself.

This week we are continuing our rebroadcast of our popular three-part mini-series on business acumen. This is part two of that mini-series and is called Transformation Over Transaction: Using Lean and Six Sigma in HR.During this episode the founder of Svelte HR, Robin Chapeskis, talks process mapping, and process improvement methodologies. The future of HR is going to involve more metrics and more analytics - if it isn't already for you. Our goal with this episode is to help you expand your vision./////EARN SHRM RECERTIFICATION PDCs FOR LISTENINGHonest HR podcast episodes will help you build your competencies while you earn professional development credits (PDCs) toward your SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP recertification! The Honest HR podcast is only one of SHRM's podcast offerings. And currently, it is the only one approved for recertification PDCs./////This episode is part 2 of a three-part series on business acumen. The other two parts of this series are "Becoming the Sought-After HR Pro and Understanding the Business of Your Org feat. Parker McKenna, SHRM-SCP" and "Strategic Planning For HR Teams feat. Katie Powers, SHRM-SCP"/////When you listen to all parts of the series, you are eligible to receive PDCs for your participation. All relevant details, including the Activity IDs, are provided during the podcast recording itself.

This week we are rebroadcasting our very popular three-part mini-series on business acumen. This is part one of that mini-series and is called Becoming the Sought-After HR Pro and Understanding the Business of Your Organization.A conversation on HR influence with Parker McKenna, an expert with 18-years of experience under his belt. Parker has always taken the approach, regardless of his HR title, from the perspective of being an organizational leader first. And second as a professional who is in HR. It's easy to get hung up on titles, but this can actually slow down career growth. Its what's on the inside, and in the workplace how you relay that, that matters. /////EARN SHRM RECERTIFICATION PDCs FOR LISTENINGHonest HR podcast episodes will help you build your competencies while you earn professional development credits (PDCs) toward your SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP recertification! The Honest HR podcast is only one of SHRM's podcast offerings. And currently, it is the only one approved for recertification PDCs./////This episode is part 1 of a three-part series on business acumen. The other two parts of this series are "Transformation Over Transaction: Using Lean and Six Sigma in HR " and "Strategic Planning For HR Teams."/////When you listen to all parts of the series, you are eligible to receive PDCs for your participation. All relevant details, including the Activity IDs, are provided during the podcast recording itself.

This week we are continuing our rebroadcast of our first two-part mini-series on leadership and navigation and communication. This is part two of that mini-series.This episode featured guest Brittany Hanson, a Talent Acquisition Consultant for UW Credit Union in Madison, Wisconsin. You'll hear about the time Brittany, brought humor to a strategic workplace meeting - let's just say it involved purple post its. The reality is not everyone's most authentic self meshes with their entire office. How do you keep from losing yourself when friction presents itself and to build resilience instead./////EARN SHRM RECERTIFICATION PDCs FOR LISTENINGHonest HR podcast episodes will help you build your competencies while you earn professional development credits (PDCs) toward your SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP recertification! The Honest HR podcast is only one of SHRM's podcast offerings. And currently, it is the only one approved for recertification PDCs./////This episode is part 2 of a two-part series on leadership and navigation, and communication. The first part of this series is "Entry Level to Next Level: Bouncing Back from Feedback and Failure and Knowing Your Worth feat. Sam Arpino, M.S."/////When you listen to both parts of the series, you are eligible to receive PDCs for your participation. All relevant details, including the Activity IDs, are provided during the podcast recording itself.

This week we are replaying for you our Honest HR season 2 opener. On this episode, Callie and guest Sam Arpino, previously the Talent & Culture Manager of DoSomething.org and currently the Director of People Operations at the Trevor Project, discuss what it means to "develop an authentic professional version of yourself".  One that you're proud of while understanding there are parts of your personality that may not set you up for success right when you're starting out. /////EARN SHRM RECERTIFICATION PDCs FOR LISTENINGHonest HR podcast episodes will help you build your competencies while you earn professional development credits (PDCs) toward your SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP recertification! The Honest HR podcast is only one of SHRM's podcast offerings. And currently, it is the only one approved for recertification PDCs./////This episode is part 1 of a two-part series on leadership and navigation, and communication. The second part of this series is "Authenticity: Exclamation Marks in Email & Egocentrism feat. Brittany Hanson, MBA"/////When you listen to both parts of the series, you are eligible to receive PDCs for your participation. All relevant details, including the Activity IDs, are provided during the podcast recording itself.

This week on Honest HR, Callie we have a bonus conversation with HR pros Jon Thurmond and Wendy Dailey, from The HR Social Hour Podcast, on networking and communication. If you enjoyed their recent episode, Finding Your Comic Book: Defining Yourself as a Professional, you'll definitely want to hear more!  ---EARN SHRM RECERTIFICATION PDCs FOR LISTENINGHonest HR podcast episodes will help you build your competencies while you earn professional development credits (PDCs) toward your SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP recertification! All you have to do is listen to a full mini-series to earn PDCs! All relevant details, including the Activity IDs, are provided during the podcast recording itself.The Honest HR podcast is only one of SHRM's podcast offerings. And currently, it is the only one approved for recertification PDCs.---This episode NOT apart of a series and is NOT eligible for SHRM recertification PDCs.

On this episode of Honest HR, Erich Kurschat is back! He and Callie continue their conversation on communication and the all too relatable struggle of networking. Networking is hard, and not everyone likes it. But it can be both enjoyable and fruitful. For Erich, that meant reframing what success looked like in a way that was genuine and authentic to his personality style.  Listen in as two self-described introverts discuss shifting your perspective on the uncomfortable world of networking, to focusing on the value of connecting with people in a way that's natural (and maybe even a little fun!). Key episode takeaway: "Anytime you're going to make a connection with someone, whether it's face to face or in some virtual capacity, it's more meaningful if you provide some sort of context."---EARN SHRM RECERTIFICATION PDCs FOR LISTENINGHonest HR podcast episodes will help you build your competencies while you earn professional development credits (PDCs) toward your SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP recertification! All you have to do is listen to a full mini-series to earn PDCs! All relevant details, including the Activity IDs, are provided during the podcast recording itself.The Honest HR podcast is only one of SHRM's podcast offerings. And currently, it is the only one approved for recertification PDCs.---This episode is Part 2 of a two-part series. When you listen to all parts of the series, you are eligible to receive PDCs for your participation.