Freedom of Work

No One-Size-Fits-All: Building Culture Across Seattle, Bangkok & Beyond (Tannum Sullivan @ RentSpree)

Host Leah Cottham sits down with Tannum Sullivan, People Experience and Culture Senior Manager at RentSpree, to explore building authentic employee engagement across distributed teams. Tannum shares her journey from the radio industry to managing employer brands for 4 different companies under Golden Hippo's umbrella, eventually creating dedicated people experience functions from scratch. The conversation dives into practical strategies for scaling culture programs across RentSpree's Seattle and Bangkok headquarters. Tannum reveals how employee podcasts became her most successful engagement tool, creating content that works for introverted team members while building pride and connection across time zones. She discusses the challenges of measuring people experience success without traditional ROI metrics and balancing hands-on execution with strategic thinking as a team of one. Key topics covered: [00:00] Intro [02:21] From Radio to People Experience Journey [06:32] Strive for Progress Not Perfection [08:51] Creating Your Own Job Description [13:25] Employer Branding as a Two-Way Promise [15:00] Employee Podcasts Drive Engagement Success [20:35] Balancing Hands-On Work with Strategic Vision [29:20] Bridging Global Teams Through Storytelling [34:38] Measuring Success in People Experience [39:09] Maintaining Authenticity While Scaling Programs [43:42] One Size Fits All Doesn't Work [47:39] The Evolution of People Experience Functions [50:23] Be Authentic and Advocate for Yourself Discover how to maintain authenticity while scaling people programs and why asking the right questions beats assuming what employees want.

How Nadia Vatalidis Scales Remote Teams from 70 to 1000 People

Host Leah Cottham sits down with Nadia Vatalidis, Head of People at Doist, to explore the critical strategies for scaling remote organizations from 70 to 1000 people across 40 countries. Nadia brings extensive experience from GitLab and Remote, sharing practical insights on organizational design, performance systems, and the evolving nature of work in the AI era. The conversation covers essential frameworks for building flexible organizational structures that adapt during hyper growth phases. Nadia explains how companies can maintain transparency and accountability without becoming overly rigid, emphasizing the importance of continuous iteration in processes like onboarding, documentation, and communication systems. She shares specific examples from Doist's open source career framework and their innovative approach to performance evaluation that ensures equity across all roles and locations. Key topics covered: [00:00] Intro [03:40] Strategic scaling from 70 to 1000 people [07:50] What breaks structurally before culturally [10:20] Iterating onboarding every two weeks [14:30] Building for the people you work with [18:10] Defining high performance in distributed companies [20:40] Adaptability versus technical skills development [25:00] Bringing authentic self to work boundaries [28:15] Leadership accountability in tool implementation [33:50] Creating clarity without rigid job descriptions [39:15] Regular feedback culture over performance cycles [42:35] Highly leveraged specialists in the AI era [46:00] Embracing paradox with AI adoption [51:35] Performance evaluation evolution with AI integration [55:35] Never starting with perfect when scaling globally This episode provides actionable guidance for people leaders navigating the complexities of distributed team management and preparing for the future of work where AI and automation reshape traditional job descriptions and performance expectations.

Building Trust and Transparency in AI Recruitment with Katrina Kibben

Host Leah Cottham sits down with Katrina Kibben, CEO and Founder of Three Ears Media, to explore how recruiters can maintain their humanity while leveraging AI tools effectively. Katrina brings deep expertise from her work helping recruiting teams optimize their processes and her extensive research into AI's impact on the industry. The conversation tackles the biggest misconceptions companies have about AI in hiring, particularly the false belief that AI should replace human workers rather than enhance their capabilities. Katrina shares practical strategies for building experimentation cultures, creating transparent hiring processes, and fixing the fundamental problems with job descriptions that lead to poor candidate matches. She emphasizes the critical role of setting clear expectations, measuring success against defined benchmarks, and ensuring human oversight remains central to any AI implementation. The discussion covers everything from onboarding automation to ethical decision making frameworks, with actionable insights for both recruiters and job seekers navigating this evolving landscape. Key topics covered: [00:00] Intro [02:23] AI replacement misconceptions in hiring [05:17] Creating experimentation culture over fear [08:05] Recognition drives AI adoption success [11:00] Making AI feel like enabler not threat [14:13] Critical thinking beats machine outputs [16:22] Avoiding bias through human detection training [22:08] Why resumes might finally die [24:53] Human first onboarding with AI automation [27:25] Job description copy paste problems [29:55] 70 percent rule for candidate applications [33:04] 37 percent quit within 90 days [36:03] Rebuilding trust through transparency expectations [39:21] Measuring AI with clear benchmarks [43:30] Ethical AI decision making framework [45:45] Lean into community over technology Tune in for expert guidance on balancing technology with the human elements that make great hiring possible.

Can HR Remain Human in a Data-Obsessed World? (David Norman)

Host Leah Cottham sits down with David Norman, global HR leader and employee coach at Bravely, to explore how organizations can maintain the human element in HR as they scale across borders. David brings insights from his extensive experience in global people operations and his current work coaching employees through workplace challenges. The conversation tackles the tension between data-driven HR practices and authentic human connection in today's rapidly evolving workplace. David discusses why traditional engagement surveys often fall short, how cultural nuances impact everything from compensation discussions to diversity initiatives, and why the rise of AI makes human skills more valuable than ever. From management by walking around to building psychological safety across distributed teams, this episode offers practical strategies for leaders who want to create genuinely human-centered organizations without sacrificing business results. Key topics covered: [00:00] Intro [04:16] How scaling puts human elements at risk [08:01] Management by walking around concept [11:35] DEI policies losing sight of people [18:27] Why traditional HR struggles with empathy [22:14] Problems with engagement surveys [26:41] Building empathy into global programs [28:33] Compensation through Maslow's hierarchy of needs [33:16] Core common practices across regions [35:40] Manager relationships drive engagement [40:43] Biggest challenges for global leaders [47:46] Cultivating belonging across cultures [51:46] Creating authentic moments at work [53:56] Vision for human-centric strategy 2026 A must-listen for HR professionals, people leaders, and anyone building global teams who want to keep empathy and authenticity at the heart of their people strategy.

How Josh Hill Turned Jobs Into Subscriptions Employees Actually Want

Leah Cottham sits down with Josh Hill, VP People at Tier 11 and co-founder of Super Hired, to explore his revolutionary approach to employment as a subscription service. Josh brings a unique perspective from his 10 years in the Australian Army to his 4 years transforming HR practices at a 50-person digital marketing agency. He shares how treating employees as internal customers fundamentally changes hiring and retention strategies. Josh walks through his discovery-led hiring framework that prioritizes deep qualitative research over surface-level metrics. He explains why traditional one-page job descriptions and resumes create poor matches, and demonstrates how his comprehensive job maps and transparent work product descriptions act as powerful self-selection tools. The conversation covers his philosophy of first-principles thinking, the importance of continuous employee discovery, and why he believes hiring should be treated as matchmaking rather than a race to fill seats quickly. Key topics covered: [00:00] Intro [02:38] Military to HR transition insights [05:25] Early hiring lessons from army background [10:34] First principles approach to reshaping culture [16:43] Employment as subscription model explained [21:56] Features and updates employees expect [31:35] Why Josh created Super Hired [38:44] Early warning signs of employee unsubscription [45:39] High framework hiring process walkthrough [57:22] Key takeaway for reducing employee churn [58:54] Discovery habits for better leadership This episode offers practical insights for HR leaders and managers looking to build more intentional, human-centered approaches to talent acquisition and employee engagement.