The Culture Works Podcast

Building Culture Through Change w. Carol MacKinlay

Most HR leaders talk about culture. Carol MacKinlay has had to build it from scratch, inside a crypto company under federal scrutiny, across a 2,500-person Mexican manufacturing plant, and now as CHRO at Pebble, one of the oldest and largest employer of record providers in the world. In this conversation, Carol shares what she learned about transparency when the headlines are bad, why "talent density" beats headcount every time, how customization is the future of HR, and what CHROs should be thinking about right now that they probably aren't. She also serves on the board of Exodus, which went public in January of last year. Candid, practical, and genuinely funny, this one will stay with you. Timestamps 00:00 Trust Through Transparency 00:14 Meet Carol McKinley 01:08 Culture in Crypto Chaos 04:34 Scaling With Gatekeepers 06:09 Good Versus Great Hiring 07:45 Radical Transparency Rules 09:42 Employer Of Record Explained 11:23 Avoiding Global Culture Blunders 14:10 Future Of HR Customization 17:02 Compensation Shapes Culture 17:52 Global Pay Equity 19:03 Customized Roles and Pregnancy 20:00 Values Versus Local Norms 21:08 Making the People Case 21:44 Talent Density in Cuts 23:01 Pay for Outcomes Stories 24:23 Lightning Round CHRO Advice 25:48 IPO Expectations Trap 27:11 Future of Work Customization 27:39 Where to Connect 28:14 Hosts Reflect on Hiring 32:00 Wrap Up and Call to Action Follow Chester, Adrian and Carol: Connect with Chester & Adrian:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecultureworksofficial/ Website: https://thecultureworks.com/ Connect with Carol:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolmackinlay/ Website: https://hellopebl.com/

People Are Your Brand w. Nate Brock

Most organizations treat HR and marketing as separate worlds. Nate Brock, CHRO and Head of Marketing at Lincoln One Federal Credit Union, decided to knock the wall down between them, and the results speak for themselves: record income, record mortgage production, record-low attrition, and more job applicants than they can handle in a county with record-low unemployment. In this conversation, Nate shares why word-of-mouth is still 90% of what drives trust, how the credit union model keeps money in communities, what "deskless employees" need from their leaders, and why the best recruiting strategy is never having to recruit in the first place. A practical, community-minded conversation about what happens when you put people at the center of everything. Timestamps: 00:00 Local Dollars Matter 00:14 Meet Nate Brock 01:15 Why HR Meets Marketing 03:40 People First Brand Strategy 06:22 Building Culture That Wins 09:06 Feedback Loops That Work 10:41 Credit Unions Explained 13:31 Buy Local Momentum 15:06 Talent Strategies That Stick 17:29 Next Gen Performance Reviews 19:46 Culture Challenge Setup 20:13 Recruiting Diverse Talent 21:28 Local Lift Outreach 22:39 Lightning Round Values 23:49 Ethical Sales Growth 24:53 People Over Brand 25:36 Future of Banking 25:53 Where to Learn More 26:31 Fixing Culture Tips 28:27 Host Takeaways Recap 33:56 Final Wrap and Thanks Follow Chester, Adrian and Nate: Connect with Chester & Adrian:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecultureworksofficial/ Website: https://thecultureworks.com/ Connect with Nate:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nate-brock/ Website: https://www.linconefcu.org/

Putting the Right People in the Right Seats w. Chris Mari

Most insurance companies are racing to automate. Chris Mari, CHRO of ECBM, is doing something different, doubling down on human connection while the rest of the industry consolidates under private equity. In this conversation, Chris shares how he restructured a 150-person family-owned brokerage to get the right people in the right seats, why integrity is the one cultural value he'll never negotiate on, how AI is creating opportunity (and noise) in talent acquisition, and what leading with empathy really looks like when you're managing change. A grounded and practical conversation for any leader navigating growth without losing their culture. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 01:14 Industry Change and Culture 01:56 Restructuring for Growth 03:48 Keeping Morale Through Change 05:29 Raising Leadership Expectations 08:29 Purpose and Company Overview 11:29 Culture as Differentiator 14:21 Integrity as Nonnegotiable 14:50 AI in Operations and HR 17:35 Hiring in the AI Era 18:39 Culture Challenge Burnout 20:47 Rapid Fire Leadership Lessons 22:31 Closing and Host Recap Follow Chester, Adrian and Chris: Connect with Chester & Adrian:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecultureworksofficial/ Website: https://thecultureworks.com/ Connect with Chris:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrismari/ Website: https://www.ecbm.com/

The Smartest HR Hire You've Haven’t Considered w. Libbie Lamott

The real cost of getting HR wrong isn't the consultant. It's the drift. Chester Elton and Adrian Gostick host Libbie Lamott, market president at HR Edge Consulting and part of the Peak Road fractional CHRO practice. Lamott explains how fractional HR works: senior-level HR support on a flexible, pay-for-hours basis, with engagements averaging about 25 hours per month. The model helps companies assess retention, operating systems, and leadership blockers, then build frameworks and even transition to internal staffing. Lamott describes supporting founders who don't want to "play therapist," and makes the case for measurable HR impact through tools like applicant tracking systems, engagement surveys, and metrics such as time-to-fill and hiring cost reductions. She shares how she scaled a company from $8M to $32M using EOS and hiring assessments like the JPTI to match sustained energy and culture fit. The conversation closes on scaling culture by embedding values in hiring, rewards, and performance reviews, and on compliance as a frequent blind spot. Lamott warns the real cost is organizational "drift." Timestamps: 00:00 HR Isn't Here to Tell You No  00:10 Meet the Hosts  00:29 Introducing Libbie Lamott  01:48 What Fractional HR Means  03:12 When Fractional Works Best  04:25 Engagement Hours and Staffing  05:41 Founders Stop Playing Therapist  06:43 Scaling With EOS and Hiring  07:35 Assessments for Culture Fit  10:11 Measuring HR Impact  12:04 Cut Hiring Costs With Tools  14:19 Coaching Lab: Scaling Culture  16:18 Common Pitfall: Compliance  17:34 Lightning Round Takeaways  19:44 Where to Connect  20:22 Hosts Debrief Key Takeaways  24:20 Final Wrap and Thanks Follow Chester & Adrian and Libbie: Connect with Chester & Adrian:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecultureworksofficial/ Website: https://thecultureworks.com/ Connect with Libbie:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-lamott/

Owning The Room w. Jim Scarfone

Most HR leaders say they want a seat at the table. Jim Scarfone says if you have to ask for it, you haven't earned it yet. As Chief Human Resources Officer and Human Capital Operating Partner at Mid-Ocean Partners, Jim has spent four decades building people infrastructure at companies you know — Toys R Us, Kind Healthy Snacks, Duane Reade, and Ulta Beauty — and now applies that experience to help mid-market private equity portfolio companies build the talent foundations that actually create value. In this conversation, Jim breaks down what PE firms consistently get wrong about human capital, how he scaled Kind's "hungry and kind" culture without losing it, why first-line managers are the single most important variable in any organization, and what it really takes for HR professionals to stop being support players and start running the business. If you're an HR leader who wants to lead differently, this episode is a masterclass. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction01:28 - What is a Human Capital Operating Partner?05:23 - The first 90 days: why diligence starts before acquisition08:07 - What PE gets right vs. wrong about people09:36 - "How do you get to know the unknowable sooner?"11:04 - Scaling KIND's "hungry and kind" culture without losing it14:50 - The fundamentals of high-growth HR: finding your voice16:13 - Embedding values across every HR process18:25 - Why training first-line managers is the highest-leverage program20:23 - Lessons from negotiating union contracts at Duane Reade24:09 - Culture Challenge: expanding internationally for the first time26:37 - Lightning round: what's changed in HR over 40 years28:08 - "The future of work is unpredictable"29:21 - Where to find Jim and MidOcean Partners Follow Chester & Adrian and Jim: Connect with Chester & Adrian:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thecultureworksofficial/ Website: https://thecultureworks.com/ Connect with Jim Scarfone:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-scarfone/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-scarfone/] Website: https://midoceanpartners.com/ [https://midoceanpartners.com/]