We hear a lot about leadership today, but what does it actually take to be a leader?  Leaders are not necessarily born with the needed characteristics to lead, they can be intentionally cultivated.  Let’s take a closer look and break it down to the most basic concepts.  

Today my guest is J. Lee Whittington, Ph.D., Dean & Professor of Management at the Gupta College of Business at University of Dallas. He focuses his teaching, research, and consulting in the areas of Leadership, Organizational Behavior and Spiritual Leadership. 

His research has been published in The Leadership Quarterly, Journal of Management, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Journal of Managerial Issues, Journal of Business Research, Journal of Business Strategy, and the Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management. 

His book, Biblical Perspectives on Leadership and Organizations was published by Palgrave-Macmillan in August 2015. He is also a co-author with Tim Galpin and Greg Bell of the book, Leading the Sustainable Organization. His newest book, Enhancing Employee Engagement: An Evidence-Based Approach was co-authored with DBA students Simone Meskelis and Enoch Asare, Gupta professor Sri Beldona.

Prior to joining the University of Dallas, he served on the faculty at Texas Wesleyan University and The University of Texas at Arlington. He has received multiple awards for his excellence in teaching and research. While at UTA he was twice recognized as the Outstanding Undergraduate Professor and nominated for The Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. At Wesleyan, J. Lee was named the MBA Professor of the Year, received the Heads Above the Crowd award, and named a Guardian of the Golden Shears. 

J. Lee’s industry experience includes over twenty years in manufacturing and distribution. He has held executive positions in marketing, logistics, and general management. His consulting experience includes executive coaching and leadership development engagements with Life Church, Nokia, FedEx-Kinko’s, RadioShack, Siemens, Penson Financial Services, Vendor Resource Management, Reynolds Metals, Ball Container, Camp Fire Boys and Girls, Valor Telecom, City of Arlington, City of Southlake, and the US Army Corps of Engineers. 

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst, www.hrcatalystconsulting.com

Employee development may be more important than ever in today’s changing job market. Employee development is mutually beneficial for both employees and businesses as employees improve existing competencies and develop new skills while supporting the goals of business and filling skill gaps.  

We are talking with our guest Christina Rossini about some of the employee development initiatives happening at her company.  Christina graduated from University of Oklahoma before returning home to Dallas for a B2B sales career in the telecom industry.  After ten years of serving small and mid-sized companies’ IT departments, she left the corporate world and spent the next five years running two start-ups: first, importing and distributing specialty Mexican coffee, and later re-launching her family’s electrical contracting business, R Squared Electric.  In 2023, she joined commercial interior design firm Go Studio as its inaugural Chief of Staff, supporting business operations and company strategy.  Christina is former chair of Conscious Capitalism Dallas, a member of Vistage, and serves on the advisory council for St. Cecilia Catholic School in Dallas.  Christina lives in Oak Cliff with her husband Mark and two blue heelers.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

In this episode,  we are talking about how to build a great company culture.  You may have heard the saying "Culture is King."  Having a great culture gives your company a solid foundation for success in all other areas.  

Today, HR Problem Solver's guest is Trey Thompson, President of Star Industries who has long valued maintaining a strong company culture and believes it is critical to business success.  Trey has grown businesses through year over year sales growth, completing successful acquisitions, designing innovative marketing initiatives, and creating scalable processes that manage capex and human capital. As president of a highly successful company, Trey has led teams that increased sales over 35 percent in 12 months while designing and implementing operating and manufacturing processes that dramatically increased net income while improving customer loyalty.  He has created and led a start-up company, orchestrating the design and release of eight product lines, while building a successful sales organization that achieved $8 million in sales in three years. Trey believes in developing strong relationships and team synergies that promote a high level of performance and productivity.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Talent management when done well leads to a high performing workforce by attracting, selecting, developing, promoting and retaining the right employees to lead your company to success.  This processes continues throughout the employee life cycle.  Get some great tips here on building your talent management strategy as we talk with Talent Management expert, Julie Chance.

Today, HR Problem Solvers’ guest is Julie Chance, founder of Action Strategies By Design.  Her extensive background includes nearly two decades spent in leadership positions combined with an acute understanding of human behavior, uniquely positions Julie to support leaders in building high-performing teams and creating workplace cultures where individual contributors, leaders and the organization itself thrives. Julie is a certified Executive and Business Coach and a Neuro-Linguistic Programing Master Practitioner. She is also an accredited facilitator for the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team™ and a certified Everything DiSC® Workplace facilitator. 

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused. Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages. Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions. During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco. Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas. He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management. In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success. You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Have you been thinking you need to polish up your performance management process or maybe you need to implement one for the first time?  Either way you are going to be equipped with great information and pointers on what it takes to have an effective performance managment process at your company as we talk with performance managment expert Kay Nadel.

Today, HR Problem Solvers’ guest is Kay Nadel who has 15+ years experience in designing and facilitating leadership training and has had the pleasure of starting human resources and talent development divisions within several companies. Kay has a passion for coaching new managers and leaders to grow themselves and their teams as well as anyone that wants to explore their strengths and navigate the transitions in their careers.  As a certified Gallup Strengths Coach, she believes if we look at our strengths and what we naturally have within us, we can solve any problem that stands in the way of meeting our goals.

 Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

We are talking with employee engagement expert, Tom Horne today and taking an in depth look at all things employee engagement.  What it is, what it is not, how to get it, how it changes, how to get a good read on it at your company and more.

Today’s podcast guest is Tom Horne - An HR leader with People Element who is passionate about driving retention, culture, employee engagement, and improving the workplace for employees. With 20 years of people leadership and management, Tom is all in on helping move the employee experience forward. Tom believes HR is not an administrative function, it is a key driver of a company's success and should be empowered, trained and utilized to its full potential.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Today, we take an indepth look at Leadership Develepment and the importance of strong leaders building strong teams to carry your business forward.  Good leadership makes a huge difference in the workplace as it improves morale, increase employee retention and employee engagement and raises productivity.  Everyone can learn how to lead more effectively and impact those around them and those they are responsible for leading.  Some may be natural-born leaders, but most people need training and development to hone these skills and there is always room for growth.

My guest in this episode is Amanda Connelly, VP, Talent Development for Career Management Partners (CMP), Certified Executive Coach,  Certified Leadership Coach, and Certified Master Cognitive Behavioral Practitioner who offers a dynamic coaching approach coupled with assessment tools that promote authentic leadership in her clients. Amanda’s guidance has allowed her to inspire leaders through her broad expertise as a talent management industry leader.  She has partnered with executives and emerging leaders to drive operational effectiveness in the healthcare, hospitality, oil and gas, technology, non-profit and financial services industries.  She combines validated assessments and proven techniques to create personalized, performance driven coaching programs that result in increased enterprise leadership and acceleration of business goals.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Strategic Planning helps you look ahead and define where you want to be three to five  years in the future and then you can understand the steps that you need to take today in order to achieve your goals. So many businesses and business owners operate day-to-day without thinking about what the future holds.  Strategic planning is taking a step back from working in your business and clarifying where you want to go with your business.  Because once you have a clear direction then you can communicate that direction to your employees, then everybody can help row the boat in the same direction.  Strategic Planning is the basis of growing your business and defining your course going forward.  Figure out where you are going and then drive with intent to get there!

Today, I visit with Tom Bronson, Founder and CEO of Mastery Partners.  Tom knows what it takes to prepare a business for transition because he’s literally completed 100 transactions in his own businesses.  Now, he’s passionate about helping other business owners achieve the same success..  Mastery Partners developes exit strategies for its clients worldwide . Tom willingly shares his knowledge with everyone who will listen through his books, his podcast -Maximize Business Value podcast, his blogs and the free content on his website – MasteryPartners.com.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Today we discuss the basics of compensation that every business owner needs to know.  We are talking with David Garza, Sr. Principal at HR Catalyst on the key components to build a compensation strategy, why you need to make sure you are paying competitively against the external market, and finally how you integrate this into your overall HR strategy.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Here we cover some of the basics of HR that can have a huge impact on the operation of your company and are many times overlooked when businesses are trying to keep up with the day to day business.   You will get a better understanding of how to cover your HR basics and set your company up for success. 

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

HR mistakes can cost small and middle market businesses both time and money. These unintentional missteps arise when small business owners and management teams unknowingly stray from HR best practices and processes.  In this episode, we discuss ten oversights that are some of the most commonplace small business HR mistakes.

Today's podcast guest is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

All companies are experiencing compensation challenges as they struggle to retain talent in a jobseeker’s market. Get answers to many of the questions business leaders are struggling with going into next year’s salary planning cycle through this recording of our recent "Fix Your Compensation Challenges" webinar.   For the video version of this webinar go to our YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_DZbLlso1k

Today's Topics include:
• The reality of compensation challenges in today’s market
• Strategies to retain you top or key talent
• Setting you Salary planning budget for 2023
• How to use your salary budget wisely for 2023 increases
• Budgeting for off-cycle salary changes or promotions next year
• Q & A session

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Let's don't make things more complicated than they really are.  Having a great company culture can actually be rooted in the basics and made to be pretty simple.  Today, we are looking at some of the foundational elements of a great culture that every organization should have at their center.

Glen Morrell started his career in the Fortune 500 world, working in various finance and accounting roles.  Glen joined Littlestown Foundry almost 40 years ago and worked in the finance role and moved into leadership positions in the company. Glen continues to work at the foundry as a Director providing leadership oversight and counsel in several areas. Glen gives us insight into how their culture was created at the 100+ year old foundry and how it is kept alive and continues to make the foundry an employer of choice.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Some people naturally have grit and others have to develop it themselves, but everyone needs it!  Grit is the ability to keep going when the going gets tough.  The ability to suceed in the face of adversity.  Grit is a recipe and foundation for success.  Here we discuss a few tips on how you can add grit to your list of character attributes!

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

What is going on with all the hiring challeges in the current job market?  Today, we discuss the growing divide in the workforce, knowledge workers wanting 100% remote work, more job openings than there are workers to fill them, how applicant tracking systems are making it hard to apply for certain jobs, the importance of a short hiring cycle and competitive pay.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Employee retention is something that is top of mind today.   Everyone knows that spending a little time on employee retention can save the company alot of time in hiring and training new employees, but how exactly do you go about retaining your employees when so many seem to be seeking other opportunities?  Here we discuss several simple and specific ideas that can be easily implemented and make a big difference in retention. 

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

We all know about the great resignation.  What are the factors driving it and how are both employees and employers responding?  Today we take a look at some of the many aspects of the resignation, what is happening in the labor market and how the war for talent is leading to changes in the workplace.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Today we are talking about developing resiliency versus putting your head in the sand.  How do we problem solve and learn from our mistakes so that we don’t continue to use the same type of thinking that led us to the problem in the first place?  We have to always keep growing and keep developing as we work to be better 6 months down the road or 3 years down the road.  Managing our emotions and leading by example when things get tough is critical for everyone especially those in leadership roles. 

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Where do you start when you are building Foundational HR Strategy for a new or growing organization?  Today we dive into many areas to consider when building a strong HR strategy that will carry your business forward and allow it to compete in today's marketplace for hiring and retaining employees which ultimately leads to success and profitability.  We discuss ideas around embedding your core values, mission and culture into all the company's programs and strategies. The subject matter is a great overview on HR Strategy from an HR expert’s perspective. 
  

The 7 C's  strategy helps us simplify the process necessary to creating that team we all need to make our business successful.  Here we look at the process as put forth in the book You win in the Locker Room First by Mike Smith former coach of the Atlanta Falcons.  It's a great plan to build a winning team in business, sports and life .

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Flexibility has become one of the main things people are looking for in their job.  It is interesting that multiple polls are showing that flexibility is ranked above higher pay, more time off, and feeling comfortable in job security. 

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.  

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Holding regularly scheduled one-on-one meetings isn't just a nice to have management practice. It is an essential component of effective leadership and a key to getting the right results from those that you lead.    It is the best way to establish accountable relationships between yourself and your employee and an important tool at the leader's disposal to influence others. 

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.  

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Pivoting your business means fundementally changing the direction of your business when you realize your products or services aren't meeting the needs of the market.  The main goal of pivoting is to help improve company revenue or survive in the market place.  There are several reasons you might need to pivot your business and we discuss some of them here.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.  

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

In today’s episode, we look at what would happen if we as organizational leaders, begin to reshuffle the tasks within job descriptions to match up to everybody's giftings/genius? If employees are working in their gifting area, they are more productive and fulfilled.  Working outside their giftings/genius leads to being frustrated and unfulfilled in their work.

 Our guest is Darin Hollingsworth.  With over 28 years in training, coaching and leadership development, both in ministry and through the corporate sphere, Darin has dedicated his career to cultivating leaders and teams.  Through RP3 Coaching & Renewal, he has led countless leadership sessions and facilitated Working Genius workshops. Darin’s background includes strategic leadership in a multi-site ministry, overseeing talent acquisition, team dynamics, and program management, as well as implementing organizational change initiatives. This diverse experience has enabled him to develop and implement comprehensive leadership systems, manage significant budgets, and foster environments of continuous learning and development for the organizations he works with.  Darin’s approach is rooted in practical leadership skills, with an emphasis on strategic planning, team building, and innovative problem-solving, ensuring leaders are well-equipped to navigate today's dynamic business landscape.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Here we discuss the model that is followed in the book Radical Candor by Kim Scott.   The book is really focused on 2 basic concepts of leadership:  1) caring personally for your employees as individuals and, 2) challenging your employees directly.    Radical Candor has become one of my favorite books and I most recently did a leadership series for a client and used this book as the foundation for the program.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.  

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Think of succession planning as having a 2nd string quarterback in the wings. No matter the size of your company, you need to have a succession plan. Here we look at the reasons for having a succession plan and how to implement one. Not having a plan in place could be a huge deficiency in your organization.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.  

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Here we take a look at the 3 levels of employee engagement and how it affects performance, productivity and profitability.  Research shows organizations with a highly engaged workforce outperform their competitors.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.  

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Making sure you have a clearly defined and consistent compensation strategy is critical to retaining, developing and motivating your employees.  Compensation involves more than just salary.   Let’s take a look at the need for external benchmarking, creating pay bands and pay grades and the importance of paying for performance.   

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.  

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

It is the job of every capable leader to bolster their employees’ and organization’s resilience.  These actions and behaviors can make you a more thoughtful and effective leader in times of crisis or the best of times.  Sometimes going back to the basics of leadership can take you a long way in forging a path forward for your organization.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.  

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – www.hrcatalystconsulting.com

The most successful companies see HR as strategic versus administrative.  Human Resources done right plays a critical role in determining great business results.  Here are some specific HR strategies that can help your company realize its full potential.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.  

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Top 10 things you can do to increase employee engagement in your organization. These simple no cost initiatives help you build the type of culture that naturally increases engagement. This translates into higher employee loyalty, job satisfaction and work productivity for your company.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.  

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

What are the most important leadership qualities to have?  Here we will discuss a number of qualities that set leaders on the right course to drive team success.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.  

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Many companies think employee on-boarding takes place the first day at the company.  If done properly, it takes place over the first 90-120 days of employment.  Employee on-boarding done right shows an employee how their role fits into the company which increases employee engagement and retention.  Implementing the ideas shared here can help decrease turn over and retain your hiring investment.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.  

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Many businesses focus most of their attention on the daily and weekly task or the “fire of the day.”  With this approach your agenda and strategy go out the window!  It is important to spend a set amount of time to work on the business, not in the business.  Take a strategic perspective by doing a SWOT analysis to learn your organizations strengths, weaknesses (internal), opportunities and threats (external).

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.  

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com.

In this episode, we are discussing the People Equation and the 5 R’s of HR in relation to the employee life cycle.  The 5 R's which include recruiting, ramping, rewarding, retaining and removing are significant to the journey of each employee within the company and the overall success of your business.  Remember, your employees are your most valuable asset and how you leverage their talents and capabilities during their employment will be the difference in your company being good or great.     

Our guest today is Mike Rose, founder and CEO of Return On Energy, Inc.  He is an accomplished speaker, author and entrepreneur.  He possesses a unique gift for conveying complex ideas in a manner that is both accessible and engaging.  Mike’s knowledge and experience spans over 25+ years with a dedication to driving a positive and profitable culture which has earned him numerous accolades and recognition.  Before his successful business exit as CEO of Mojo Media Labs, his company was a three times INC 5000 fast growing company in America, INC Best Workplaces in America, American Marketing Association agency of the year and a Forbes Small Giant winner.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
 During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   
 
 In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

It is vitally important for companies to identify high and low performers among the employee group. Your handful of top performers are the jewels of your organization. These are the people who are driving the success of your business. There are effective strategies for managing these two employee populations. Properly managing your talent pool will raise the performance bar in your organization and bring a higher level of productivity and financial success for your business.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.  

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Today we are talking about what it looks like to have a healthy leadership strategy in your organization.  Leading through influence – not authority which creates a healthy culture for growing leaders.  We discuss various components of having an intentional strategy as being a differentiator for your business and the core characteristics of a healthy leader.

Our guest is Justin Winstead, CEO and Leadership & Improvement Coach. Justin grew up in a rural area with meager means and could have easily given up on his goals. Instead, he chose to use his circumstances as motivation to create a better life for himself. He pursued an education, attended seminary, and started his own successful business. Justin's story is an inspiration to anyone who has faced adversity in their lives, showing that with a clear purpose and a productive mindset, anything is possible.  Today, Justin is a leader in his field, having sold his successful insurance company to pursue his passion for coaching and consulting full-time. Through the Improver Group, Justin is helping other faith-driven business owners and leaders to achieve their goals and reach their full potential. His insight-focused coaching, consulting, and training has  helped countless individuals and companies to be better versions of who they were meant to be.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
 During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   
 
 In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Most people are not born a great  leader.  They have to grow into it with time, effort, development and training.  Today, we discuss some key areas of developing leadership tools that can take you to the next level.

Our guest in today's episode is Richard Best, President/CEO of Lead Executive Consulting.  Richard serves as an executive coach and consultant with extensive experience coaching senior executives and high-potential leaders. He specializes in developing leadership behaviors and emotional intelligence, exchanging less desirable behaviors for those exemplifying true leadership. Richard helps clients strengthen their interpersonal effectiveness and leadership impact, resulting in increased opportunities for their career and personal success. He has coached executives to identify development areas, create fresh perspectives for growth and overcome obstacles in making measurable and sustained changes. Richard has extensive experience working with executives from a variety of industries.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
 During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   
 
 In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

Today we are looking at using behavioral assessments for more successful hiring outcomes. When evaluating candidates, hiring teams tend to focus on hard skills like computer proficiency or technical aptitudes, but even a highly qualified candidate can be wrong for a job if they lack the right soft skills such as emotional intelligence, collaboration and problem-solving.   Here we discuss how behavioral assessments can be used to help hiring teams support decision-making to determine who can work most effectively in the organization.
 
 Our guest today is Melanie Shaffer, President/Founder of Talent Suite. She has spent over 16 years in the Talent Management space both in a boutique firm setting and in a national publicly held recruiting firm where she received numerous awards for her national rankings and client feedback. She has always had a passion for partnering with her clients to understand their business challenges, values and culture allowing her to become a trusted advisor in developing meaningful and measurable talent performance strategies.  Melanie equips her clients with the ability to align, measure & design optimal human capital performance for selecting and managing talent by providing turnkey solutions, processes, training and coaching.
 
 Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
 During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   
 
 In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com

There is a lot of talk about the changes that have taken place in the job market over the past few years, but how is that affecting the search for talent and what should a good recruiting process look like?  We are looking at the current job market and the importance of having a strategic, repeatable, and scalable process to get the right talent in your organization.  It is no longer just the job candidate proving themselves to the company, but the company now needs to sell themselves to the candidates at the same time.  We discuss how successful interviewing looks at skills and experience along with evaluating the candidate as a good fit for company culture and core values.  

Jolene Risch of Risch Results is our guest today.  Jolene’s philosophy is that a business is only as successful as the workforce that supports it. She has spent the better part of the last 25 years devising process consulting and staffing, performance and leader management solutions. Jolene is President and Founder of Risch Results, a certified women’s business enterprise.  She is passionate about helping businesses build, cultivate and nurture workforces that are in alignment with the company’s goals and growth objectives. 

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com 

We know there has been a shift in the world of work which means there also needs to be a shift in how leadership is responding and leading.  Employees have shifted from wanting a boss to really wanting a coach, from focusing on their weaknesses to focusing on their strengths, from prioritizing the paycheck to prioritizing purpose.  Join us as we discuss proven ways to shape leaders in this new work world.  

 Today, we are talking with Lee Colan, author of Healthy Leadership – How to Thrive in the New World of Work.  Lee tells us that healthy leadership is like a cultural magnet that attracts people to your team and the cultural glue that makes them want to stay. He describes how healthy leadership starts with the leader, but it’s really about the people you serve. As a leader, when you help others grow, you grow and growing people fuel growing, healthy organizations.  Lee Colan is the co-founder of The L Group, a leadership advisory firm that has been encouraging and equipping leaders for healthy growth since 1999. His firm has worked with virtually every industry including retail, energy, services, financial, manufacturing, healthcare, education and faith-based organizations. Lee is an organizational psychologist and CEO advisor. He applies a rare combination of skills as a corporate executive, business consultant, thought leader, prolific author, artful facilitator and engaging presenter.  Lee has authored 16 popular leadership books that have been translated into 10 languages.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.
 
During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst Consulting with the goal of helping small to mid-market companies in growth or change and in need of Human Capital leadership to drive their continued growth and success.  You can reach us through our website – hrcatalystconsulting.com 

Great HR technology makes a real difference for organizations.  Every company needs people, processes, and technology to work well.  As an organization grows it needs more than a payroll system.  A good HRIS (Human Resources Information System) can store employee files, do payroll, support the hiring process, store employee reviews and track vacation time all in one system. Our discussion will give you a great overview of what you need to think about when moving to a comprehensive HR system for your company that can truly support the company, its managers and employees.

My guest for this podcast is Ashley Martin, Enterprise Solutions Director with Exponent HR.  Ashley is a results-driven Director of Sales with extensive experience in the SaaS technology sector, specializing in building and nurturing executive relationships to drive revenue growth. Experience developing strategic initiatives and collaborating with C-suite executives to align sales strategies with company objectives. Adept at identifying market opportunities, cultivating partnerships, and delivering tailored solutions to meet complex client needs. A dynamic leader committed to fostering a culture of excellence.

Your HR Problem Solver host is Mark Mitford, a strategic HR leader who is business and HR focused.  Mark is a management team advisor with 20+ years working as an HR executive in mid-size to Fortune 50 companies. He brings in depth, hands on experience successfully leading and advising company and business leaders through all life cycle stages.  Mark is viewed as a key advisor to C-Level Executives and has strengths in Improving Company Culture, Performance Management, Compensation Benchmarking, Employee Engagement, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Coaching, Succession Planning and Mergers and Acquisitions.

During his career, Mark has successfully held HR executive positions in companies such as PepsiCo, Ericsson, Nortel, Telmar, Texas Instruments and Safeco.  Mark has also worked for private equity backed organizations, S Corporations, and publicly traded firms and has lived and worked extensively overseas.  He has led several Enterprise wide transformations including Cultural Change and IT transformational change at Fortune 500 companies. He holds two Masters’ degrees, one in Organizational Psychology, and an MBA in Strategy and International Management.   

In 2013, Mark transitioned from a Corporate HR career to start his own HR Strategic consulting company, HR Catalyst, www.hrcatalystconsulting.com