HR Leader Podcast Network – Details, episodes & analysis

The year 2024 provided numerous examples of underpayment and wage theft violations, with a number of employers facing repercussions. Yet in 2025, the consequences for these indiscretions will be much harsher – with jail time not off the table.

In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Smart WFM founder and chief executive Jarrod McGrath about what the new wage theft criminalisation laws – which are set to come into place next year – mean for Australian HR leaders and senior organisational executives.

McGrath describes the vital function that correct payroll systems have when it comes to underpayments, with the vast majority of these contraventions being a by-product of flawed payroll systems that permeate errors. McGrath also expounds on the widespread trust issue that can arise as a result of underpayment of even a single employee, as workers often lose faith in their employer when incidents like this take place. Finally, McGrath dives into the intricate details of the new laws that will, without a doubt, have a huge effect on the job role of HR teams in 2025.

A “tsunami” of wellness workplace issues could be coming for Australian businesses, highlighting the importance of redesigning environmental structures to better ensure optimal outcomes for staff and team objectives.

In this episode of The HR Leader Podcast, host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Elemental Coaching and Psychology chief mental health adviser Kate Connors about how well Australian workplaces are faring on the wellness front post-pandemic, the headline consequences for teams that are not functioning at optimal levels, market factors exacerbating poor wellness at present, and the urgent need to redesign workplace structures.

Connors also delves into the questions that businesses and leaders need to ask in redesigning such structures, what works and doesn’t work in undertaking a redesign, practical implementation, the need for evaluation, avoiding looking for quick wins, and the role of HR in ensuring a return on investment.

In this special episode of The HR Leader Podcast, produced in partnership with Cornerstone and Pinpoint HRM, we dive deep into the pressing concerns surrounding workforce readiness. Join us as we explore practical strategies that businesses can adopt to remain agile and adaptable in today’s rapidly changing environment.

Host Jerome Doraisamy speaks with Paul Broughton, Cornerstone’s APJ Group Vice President and Managing Director, and Katie Mangraviti, Cornerstone Practice Head at Pinpoint HRM. They discuss recent research on the workforce readiness gap, how the rapid pace of change over the last few years has impacted organisations and the critical questions businesses must ask to move forward effectively. The importance of gaining visibility over key areas of concern, leveraging technology to enhance operations, and optimising one’s tech stack. The extent to which businesses are ready or not for looming changes and trends (and the consequences of a lack of readiness), implementing the right practical and transformational steps and the role of HR in better supporting your business to succeed in the future.

To learn more about the workforce readiness gap, click here. To learn more about Pinpoint HRM, click here.

Nicole Karagiannis is the chief people and culture officer at Harrison.ai. She spoke with The HR Leader about her career as an HR professional, her interest in coaching and executive leadership, and the importance of DEI and belonging in HR’s outlook.

Ms Karagiannis shared with listeners how being trilingual has enhanced her HR work, including being able to speak clearly and plainly to a diverse group of people. She commented on the role of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in Harrison.ai’s workplace, including why it’s important to tailor recognition to individual employees.

Seeing HR as a “commercial business partner” is key for Ms Karagiannis, who demonstrated in the podcast discussion how HR could be a commercial contributor outside of what’s thought of as the traditional HR role.

Listen to the full podcast to also discover Ms Karagiannis’ tips for those in the tech industry currently experiencing workforce challenges.

Dave Ulrich is referenced in this podcast discussion. For more information, see the links below: 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/five-hr-competencies-actions-enable-renewal-through-human-dave-ulrich/

https://www.rbl.net/insights/videos/hr-from-the-outside-in

James McIlvena, LHH Australia and New Zealand’s managing director, talked to The HR Leader for this podcast in partnership with LHH. Examining the LHH Global Workforce of the Future Report, the discussion ranged from skills to salary conversations, career development and more.

Mr McIlvena spoke about what LHH’s findings revealed regarding skills, employee demand for career progression, and why new tech like AI is driving human workers to maintain relevance.

It’s rare for an organisation and its employees to agree that both sides feel salary levels are spot on, but Mr McIlvena shared some of the ways businesses can mitigate this disconnect.

Diving into the phenomenon of “quitfluencers”, the podcast also discussed what organisations could do to stem the tide if one employee’s decision to leave sparks others to also consider their options.

And the conversation wouldn’t have been complete without delving into worker wellbeing. Mr McIlvena did this through a lens of understanding what businesses can do to encourage their people to take regular breaks.

For listeners who’d like to read more about the LHH Global Workforce of the Future Report, please click here: https://info.lhh.com/ANZ/HRL-CTM-global-workforce-of-the-future-2023

The Equinix Foundation is committed to digital inclusion. Sujata Narayan, its director, and Bruce Owen, its president, joined The HR Leader to share what the foundation is all about and examples of some of the great initiatives the team is involved with worldwide.

Diversity is a word that comes up a lot when talking about the foundation, and it’s apt with both Equinix employees and people from other organisations supporting the foundation’s work. The foundation is also adamant about being part of the places where they operate, with the focus in each region shifting as required to meet the needs of that area.

Ms Narayan shared insight into the work the foundation is doing in India to help women achieve digital parity when it comes to learning, as well as efforts in the US to bridge cultural and racial divides. Mr Owen spoke about a growth area of the foundation, which is to provide more support to ageing workers when it comes to digital inclusion.

Any discussion about the foundation’s work would be incomplete without covering the importance of DEI and belonging and why it’s central to what the foundation is doing – a lack of digital inclusion has many knock-on effects for people. Mr Owen concluded that they don’t pretend to have all the answers at the foundation, but they’re committed to being a part of the solution.

Subhashree Das shared with The HR Leader her experience as an HR professional moving from India to Australia, looking for work opportunities. Ms Das is now a client services officer in the contract management team at Konica Minolta, but her journey finding work in Australia was not easy.

Ms Das talked through some of the big names she’d worked with in India, organisations that any Australian recruiter would recognise. However, it was still an uphill battle for her to secure a position in Australia due to the common bias for ‘local experience’. Ms Das explained for listeners what recruiters are overlooking when they have a blinkered view valuing ‘local’ above all else.

Being more open to a diverse range of backgrounds is an asset for businesses according to Ms Das, pointing out how advantageous it is when organisations have either internal or external (or both) clients from a variety of cultures and countries. She also reminded listeners about all the soft or human skills that overseas applicants bring with them.

For anyone new to Australia looking for their first position here, Ms Das shared some tips, including focussing on continual learning, gaining local qualifications where possible.

Ms Das was assisted in finding work in Australia by atWork Australia. You can find out more about them here: https://www.atworkaustralia.com.au

Nintex’s vice-president for APAC, Christian Lucarelli, sat down with The HR Leader to share insights into his career that started in HR, moved into HR tech, and up to his current role with Nintex today. He noted that the skills he learnt in HR are now invaluable in managing and leading people.

Mr Lucarelli talked about why technology that captures business processes and knowledge is critical for organisations, citing creating ‘centres of excellence’ as one of the ways Nintex helps its customers.

Looking at the hurdles HR is facing today and into the future, Mr Lucarelli talked about why HR tech like Nintex needs to be ‘people-centric’, getting people away from spreadsheets and using technology to automate work where possible.

Aaron Goonrey is a partner at Lander & Rogers and specialises in workplace relations and safety. He spoke with The HR Leader on 24 November 2022 about some of the DEI issues Australian workplaces should be aware of.

Looking at both current and predicted DEI challenges, Mr Goonrey shared his thoughts on the barriers some organisations face in embracing DEI. 

The podcast conversation also covered Australia’s seeming preoccupation with only one area of DEI: gender, with Mr Goonrey stating: “I think in some regards, in Australia that is, we’re a little bit behind what diversity, equity and inclusion means broadly. With that said, I think we get fixated on female representation or gender representation, broadly speaking because women represent 50 per cent of the population, so have greater representation and visibility as compared with other minority groups.”

He added: “So when you look at gender and women, their representation is going to be critical in discussions about diversity, equity and inclusion. But we do have that preoccupation I think because we’re a little bit behind the game when it comes to that.”

Mr Goonrey also shared what he thinks a “truly inclusive organisation” is and why he’s personally very interested in DEI. 

“I’ve got a passion around it because I think that everyone, regardless of who you are, or where you come from ... I have a passion that those people, particularly when we’re talking about our minorities, should feel safe and confident to bring their authentic self to work and to be assured that they will be treated equally among their co-workers and by their managers,” said Mr Goonrey.

From aircraft maintenance engineer to HR professional, Adam Hill brings a unique perspective to HR. Mr Hill joined The HR Leader on 22 November 2022 to discuss how his background in aircraft maintenance engineering has been advantageous to his current HR role.

Delving into the skills that have translated from his prior work to HR, Mr Hill’s career change is inspiring for those looking for a door into HR in 2023. His story is also relevant for anyone seeking talent and needing to think differently about who’s appropriate in order to open up talent pools.

The podcast conversation culminated in Mr Hill’s insights on the top issues facing HR with an eye on the new year.