The Shifting People Podcast

Episode #33 Josh Liebman

Guest Experience Strategy That Sticks: Training, Shift Huddles & Service Recovery with Josh Liebman On the Shifting People Podcast, co-hosts Derek Williamson and Kathleen McDonough interview Josh Liebman, founder of Lieberman Leisure and co-host of the Attraction Pros podcast, about building sustainable guest experience culture across attractions and other service businesses. Josh shares his path from Cedar Point ride operator to roles with Disney, Universal, and luxury hospitality consulting, then into training and guest experience strategy for organizations ranging from miniature golf to museums, zoos, and aquariums. He explains how to shift frontline mindsets by recognizing guests don’t need to be there and could choose endless alternatives, then offers practical methods to exceed expectations: personalize interactions, be more enthusiastic than the guest, and anticipate needs. Josh emphasizes integrating guest experience vision from day one, reinforcing it through daily micro-trainings in shift meetings (even with staggered starts), hiring for awareness, and empowering frontline staff with effective service recovery to create stronger memories and reviews. Josh’s website: https://www.liebmanleisure.com/ [https://www.liebmanleisure.com/] Josh’s linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshualiebman/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshualiebman/] 00:00 Podcast Welcome 00:27 Meet Josh Liebman 00:54 From Cedar Point to Consulting 04:18 Building Guest Experience Strategy 07:01 Mindset Shift for Frontline Staff 09:06 Nobody Needs to Be Here 13:08 Three Ways to Exceed Expectations 16:43 When to Train Experience Skills 20:30 Guest Service as a System 27:50 Shift Meetings With Staggered Starts 30:37 Applying It Beyond Attractions 33:04 Memories Reviews and Storytelling 36:20 When Things Go Wrong 36:35 Service Recovery Hero 37:36 Recovery Paradox Explained 39:25 Empowering Frontline Teams 41:51 Why Names Drive Reviews 44:35 Avoiding Review Incentives 46:40 Podcast And Resources 49:28 Hosts Debrief Takeaways 51:45 Shifting Question Shift Meetings 53:18 Shifting Question Micro Moments 55:35 Shifting Question Recovery Permission 59:46 Final Wrap And Thanks

Stop the Shift Show: Scott Greenberg on Leading Hourly Teams and Hiring Better in Service Businesses

Stop the Shift Show: Scott Greenberg on Leading Hourly Teams, Building Culture, and Hiring Better in Service Businesses On the Shifting People Podcast, hosts Derek Williamson and Kathleen McDonough interview Scott Greenberg—author of Stop the Shift Show, speaker, consultant, coach, and former Edible Arrangements franchisee—about leading and retaining hourly workers in service and franchise businesses. Greenberg shares how a cancer diagnosis led to a speaking career, then to franchising to gain real leadership experience, revealing how motivational clichés fail with frontline teams. He explains differences between salaried and hourly work, emphasizing meeting employees where they are, flexibility, appreciation, psychological safety, and connecting jobs to employees’ goals. He outlines ways to improve recruiting by treating job posts like marketing using logos/ethos/pathos, and to improve hiring with role-specific traits and scoring rubrics instead of “gut feel.” He also discusses making mission and values practical through concrete behaviors and reinforcing culture consistently. Visit Scott's website: ScottGreenberg.com Scott's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-greenberg-1b17539/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-greenberg-1b17539/] 00:00 Podcast Welcome 00:39 Scott’s Origin Story 02:59 From Cancer to Keynote 04:02 Reality Check Franchise Life 07:01 Meet Workers Where They Are 08:41 Hourly vs Salary Mindset 12:36 What Hourly Workers Need 16:23 Franchisee Pathways 18:47 Recruiting Like Marketing 22:47 Interview Rubrics Not Gut 25:39 Why Training Misses People Skills 27:51 System Versus Culture 29:40 Cult Brands Examples 32:34 Scaling Culture Guardrails 35:45 Mission Values Early 37:22 Values Into Behaviors 40:34 Protecting Culture Daily 42:32 Wrap Up And Where To Find 43:54 Hosts Debrief Takeaways 46:32 Shifting Questions Action 52:15 Final Recommendations

Building Culture at P. Terry’s: Scaling HR, Training, and an LMS with Marisa Garcia & Kelly Cockrell

Building a People-First Culture at P. Terry’s: Scaling HR, Training, and an LMS with Marisa Garcia & Kelly Cockrell @ShiftingPeoplePodcast Co-hosts Derek Williamson and Kathleen McDonough welcome Marisa Garcia, VP of Culture at P. Terry’s Burger Stand, and Kelly Cockrell, Director of Training and Development at P. Terry's Burger Stand, to discuss scaling people operations while protecting culture. Marisa shares her hospitality and HR background, why P. Terry’s reputation for treating employees well drew her in, and how she became the first HR professional to modernize compliance, handbooks, payroll, and online onboarding to reduce manager paperwork. Kelly describes her training and leadership development experience and outlines how they approached selecting and implementing an LMS: defining outcomes first, scripting vendor demos, aligning with a holistic “learn anytime, anywhere” philosophy, and supporting internal growth. They cover success metrics, field feedback via the FRIES advisory committee, high internal promotion rates, and P. Terry’s community giveback days supporting local nonprofits. P. Terry's Burger Stand Website: https://pterrys.com/ [https://pterrys.com/] P. Terry's Burger Stand LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pterrys [https://www.linkedin.com/company/pterrys] Marisa Garcia's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisagarcia1/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisagarcia1/] Kelly Cockrell's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellycockrell/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellycockrell/] JUNE 6, 2026: P. Terry's Giveback day is this Saturday June 6, 2026 -    "One of the things I just love about P. Terry's is our commitment to serving our communities. Each quarter, we'll pick a Saturday, and the profits for that day will go to a local charity. Our giveback day is only a few days away on June 6th, and this month, we will be giving to Hungry Souls in Austin, Childsafe in San Antonio, and East End Human Needs Ministry in Houston. So come on out on Saturday, have the best burger, amazing fries, and a s'mores shake, and support your local charities" 00:00 Podcast Welcome 00:27 Meet The Guests 01:04 Marisa Career Journey 02:45 Why P Terrys Culture 04:19 Kelly Background Story 06:25 A Culture Of Care 07:59 Marisa And Kelly Partnership 11:53 First HR Hire Challenges 17:42 Process Wins For Managers 19:31 When You Need An LMS 21:56 Running The LMS RFP 23:32 Learning Beyond The Job 26:37 Open Access Training Model 28:50 Rolling Out With Feedback 29:13 Team Naming Rituals 30:19 Crew Growth Pathways 33:07 Culture Role Rebrand 36:58 LMS Success Metrics 38:07 FRIES Feedback Loop 41:33 Quarterly Give Back Days 44:51 Community Relief Stories 46:46 Episode Wrap Up 47:11 Hosts Debrief Highlights 50:00 RFP Philosophy Questions 53:03 Process Impact Lens 55:03 Final Takeaways Sign Off

Income Advance Loans Reduce Financial Stress, Turnover and Lost Productivity- Rhino Foods Foundation

How Income Advance Loans Reduce Financial Stress, Turnover, and Lost Productivity | Rhino Foods Foundation On the Shifting People Podcast, co-hosts Derek Williamson and Kathleen McDonough interview Christina Blunt (executive director) and Chris Hines (income advance program manager) from Rhino Foods Foundation about the employer-sponsored Income Advance program, created at Rhino Foods in 2007 with North Country Federal Credit Union. The foundation works to expand affordable small-dollar credit so workers can handle unexpected expenses with dignity. They explain how the program partners employers with lenders to offer up to about $2,000 loans repaid via payroll deduction, using employment tenure rather than credit scores for eligibility, with credit reporting and an automatic savings pathway. They contrast this with earned wage access products that can resemble payday lending when used beyond short-term timing needs, discuss employer ROI via reduced turnover and productivity losses from financial stress, share examples including a Maine hospice/home health employer, and note current expansion across New England, New York, Chicago, and Southern California. Rhino Foods Foundation Website: www.rhinofoodsfoundation.com ROI Calculator: https://www.rhinofoodsfoundation.org/income-advance-roi-calculator [https://www.rhinofoodsfoundation.org/income-advance-roi-calculator] Christina Blunt’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinablunt/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinablunt/] Chris Hynes’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishynes2/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishynes2/] Rhino Foods Foundation LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rhino-foods-foundation/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/rhino-foods-foundation/] 00:00 Podcast Welcome 00:32 Meet Rhino Foods Foundation 01:37 Christina Background 03:02 Chris Background 06:10 How Income Advance Started 09:33 Program Mechanics Today 13:02 Credit Building And Savings 16:42 Earned Wage Access Risks 23:00 Employer ROI And Benefits 28:40 Success Stories In Action 37:18 Where The Program Operates 40:38 Wrap Up And Resources 42:07 Post Episode Debrief 43:45 Shifting Questions Takeaways 49:54 Final Links And Goodbye

Robotics to Frozen Yogurt: Vaishali Patel on Hiring for Character, Community, + Cross-Training Teams

From Robotics to Frozen Yogurt: Vee Patel on Hiring for Character, Community, and Cross-Training Teams On the Shifting People Podcast, co-hosts Derek Williamson and Kathleen McDonough interview Vee Patel, Executive Director at Wize Computing Academy and KGS Foundation and a Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt franchisee. Patel shares her journey from growing up in India and moving to the U.S. in 2007 to building multiple businesses after gaining experience in banking and retail. She explains launching Wize Computing Academy to teach kids robotics and coding (including LEGO robotics, Minecraft Python, Roblox AR/VR, and AI) and preparing students for FIRST LEGO League competitions, then acquiring an existing Menchie’s location and rebuilding trust with staff after absentee ownership. Patel discusses hiring for character and presence over technical skills, using mock classroom scenarios, training and shadowing, creating customer-service culture through intentional language, cross-training employees across both businesses, prioritizing consistent scheduling, and building non-transactional community partnerships that support recruiting, retention, and referrals. Visit Vaishali's LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vaishali-patel-243b98287/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/vaishali-patel-243b98287/] 00:00 Podcast Welcome 00:27 Meet Vee Patel 00:54 From India to US 03:09 Entrepreneur Mindset 04:35 Launching Wize Academy 06:30 Adding Menchies Franchise 07:47 What Wize Teaches 08:37 Hiring Great Instructors 12:40 Taking Over Menchies 13:44 Building Staff Trust 17:29 Culture and Training Reset 20:32 Customer Service Language 24:18 Cross Training Both Teams 29:13 Growing Employees Careers 32:10 Scheduling and Belonging 32:44 Leading With Love 35:27 Community as Operating System 38:35 Authentic Partnerships 41:17 Kindness Over Transactions 42:39 Where to Follow Vee 44:56 Hosts Reflect on Model 47:55 Shifting Question Community 51:36 Shifting Question Curiosity 56:14 Final Wrap and Goodbye