Navigating Workplace Concerns With Hr

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Opinions expressed in this episode are personal. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this streaming platform. [00:00:10] Speaker B: Good day, everyone, and welcome to another edition of let's Be Diverse. I am your host, Andrew Stout. This episode is dedicated to all my loved ones who supported me through this journey. Those who have left us will always be in our hearts and will never be forgotten. Today we're going to discuss or dive into a topic that's too super interesting to me, navigating workplace concerns with hr. And my guest today, I'm super honored to have this individual. He is somebody who I think super highly of and especially in the industry. His name is Jason Forehand. Jason, welcome to the show. It's a pleasure to have you on here today. [00:00:46] Speaker C: I appreciate it very much. And it's always good to talk to you in any shape, form, or fashion, even if we're recording. So I love that we're able to get together today. [00:00:55] Speaker B: So, yes, me as well. And you're very welcome. How are things with you? What's going on in your world? Give us the tea, give us the deets. Give us it all. What's going on? [00:01:04] Speaker C: Well, we're. We're in the process of finalizing a deal to open up a transformation kitchen in Beacon, New York, with an amazing organization that I'm gonna not say right now until we get everything done. And then we also are meeting today. I'm meeting with an organization that's in hauling New York. So we have two organizations in the Hudson Valley. There are three total that we're talking to, but two that look like we are going to open those TKs before the end of the year, which is super exciting. I thought we would open one in New York by the end of the year. We may end up opening three before the end of the year. And, you know, we want to open 10, excuse me, 20 tks next year. It's very aggressive. We've already opened our first TK in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. And so this is just adding into our ability to reach out to people and to break cycles of poverty, homelessness, and food insecurity. So I'm stoked. [00:02:13] Speaker B: It sounds like. It sounds like you got some amazing things going on there. You always have some very cool projects and stuff going on. So happy to hear that that's going on. And I love the secrecy, and that's okay. We know in ho, you know, we can only give certain information on certain things. So I totally get that. It's understandable. And I'm just excited to hear when everything is all going and we're all. You're all set to go. So super excited to hear about that. [00:02:40] Speaker C: That's very cool. And our buddy Sarah o', Brien, as our director of student wellness, like, can't wait to let her know about where the students are coming from and how she's going to incorporate. She's been chomping at the bit for us to. To really explode, and so I'm thrilled to have her with us. [00:02:59] Speaker B: Yeah, she is a super individual. I cannot say enough good things about that individual. She is. I highly recommend her to anybody for sure. So glad that you guys are able to collaborate and work together. So before we get things going here, Jason, I always have a fun, thought provoking question to ask my guest to get things going. Are you ready for yours today? [00:03:19] Speaker C: Yeah, let's do it. [00:03:20] Speaker B: Okay, so I've asked this question a few times in a couple of episodes, and I thought it would be a fun one to. To ask you as well. So if you were to design the ultimate sandwich, what would it be and what would it consist of? [00:03:32] Speaker C: Well, first of all, it's got to start with amazing bread. Like, I mean, I love this question because I'm always with my wife and I, I am always searching for creating, like, the ultimate sandwich. Like, even just having a little slice of it, you're just like, yeah, this is the thing. And so I'm always trying to perfect that. But it starts with the bread. It starts with this amazing bread that's not overly doughy. It's crisp on the outside, so it can hold everything in. And it's, you know, light and airy. So I love a lot of Italian breads, but I've used ciabatta before and other things like that. And then I'm a big fan of deli mustard. That's that high grain, you know, yellow mustard. And then it's got to have a whole array of veggies. So I've got to have my. I've got to have either pepperoncini, some sort of sweet and sour pickle. I've got to have avocado on there. I've got to have some lettuce or arugula. I love that. So it's got to have something substantial from a veggie point of view and then piled with, you know, meats and cheeses. I don't do red meats, so I'm looking at, like, turkey and chicken. And I love boar's head. Makes this incredible, like, I think it's called Sausalito chicken. So it's almost got all these herbs and spices on the outside, but it kind of seeps in through the whole thing, and you get that slice. And then I love Swiss cheese. I absolutely love Swiss cheese. So you pile this sucker high and then you cut it into pieces. Pieces. So you could save it. But I, Man, I love this question. I'm a foodie, so I'm all about creating those things and maximizing on how they. Not only how they look, but how they taste. [00:05:17] Speaker B: Wow, I am, like, salivating here. Listen to you talking about your ultimate sandwich here. That would be an awesome sandwich. I am a sandwich guy as well, and I fully agree with you. 100 on the bread. It is about the bread. It's about the fresh bread and how fresh it is. And I think that the bread makes the difference with the sandwich. And then, of course, yeah, of course, everything put in there. I'm a big fan of turkey. I could probably eat turkey seven days a week all year round. I just love it. So when I get a chance to eat it, and especially in the sandwich, I'll. I'll go for it anytime. So sounds like a very good sandwich. And the next time we. You make that, we'll have to look for the invitation in order to check that out. [00:05:58] Speaker C: There you go. You're invited anytime, brother. Anytime. [00:06:02] Speaker B: Well, thanks so much. So why don't we start off, Jason, with you telling us about yourself and I'd love to hear about your why. [00:06:09] Speaker C: Yeah, you know what? I am a guy who all my family is in the fashion industry, and my dad got into it while he was in college and stayed in it. And so all of my family's in it. I was in the culinary industry, which led me into falling into hr because as my responsibilities grew, I was responsible for hiring, employee engagement, IAB work. A lot of things, not only for multiple locations, multiple cities, multiple states, and multiple countries. So it was something that over time, I wanted to do a better job because especially in the culinary field. And it still happens today, in 2025, you'll have. You'll have organizations of all different sizes that think that human resources is having a come to Jesus meeting out by the dumpsters and back. And I'm like, that's. That's not. That's not human resources, you know, so, yeah, I just wanted to do better. So I learned what that processes were, what the laws were. My, my. Why? Well, I should say this as well. So I am a fractional HR person for social good entities. I work with B Corps, foundations, nonprofits. And then in 2022, we created our own 501c3 charitable organization based in New York. But we do work everywhere. And my why is because I'm a guy that while I was, I've been in the Service industry for 45 years. And as I started my career, I was struggling with the demons of my childhood and fell into drugs. And that ended up impacting a place where I was homeless and I was destitute and I made a lot of poor choices. I burned a lot of bridges, I made a lot of, lot of mistakes, and I had a ton of shame that I battled for a long period of time. And it was coming out of that and having someone pay it forward to me in my career that ended up helping me become clean and then be able to do the work we do now with Transformation Kitchen, where we pay it forward to marginalized people and communities and help them thrive, not just survive. So we have a saying at Transformation Kitchen. We don't just flip eggs, we flip lives. And that's really, that's really the heart of what we are. Because there are a ton of places that teach culinary skills to individuals. We want to be different by creating a community and by building community and by having people that are holistically sound, that are getting wellness checks, that are getting all the things that they need so that they continue to thrive even after they've received training, they want to stay part of the community, either mentoring, either becoming an employee, either volunteering. And the longer you keep people in the community, the better chances they have to not go back to previous lives. And so that's really what we're all about, which is very unique and creates the environment for us to have a huge impact on others. And we also, at partner, our collaboration model is second to none. We really look for individuals and organizations alike that want to lock horns and understand they can put hubris and ego and scarcity mindset to the door, and they can see the vision of how we impact more people in our area, and those are the people we want to work with. [00:09:46] Speaker B: I just love your story here. And that first thing that jumped out at me is that thrive, not survive. And I, you know, knowing you and meeting you and interacting with you and some great conversations that we had and listening to you speak a couple of times, I could definitely see that, that model, when we think about our mission and our vision, none of ourselves, I believe that mission and vision not just goes with our company, but with ourselves as well. We fit. Our personality fits our mission and vision of what we're trying to do. And you definitely fit that mission and vision as well. And just when you're saying you, you wanted to do better and you want it to be different, I think that's very commendable for you as well. [00:10:26] Speaker C: Thank you. I appreciate it. I'm happy to be doing the work that we're doing. I'm honored at this stage in my life to be able to. To leave a legacy of change and to impact as many people as possible. [00:10:38] Speaker B: Okay, so why don't we get into this conversation here. So in your experience, what types of situations truly call for HR involvement? [00:10:47] Speaker C: Well, I think it depends on the type of company. But I. It just in my background in working in the service industry, there's a litany of different things where HR comes in that can be simple things like dealing with benefits, organizing time off, talking to people about their, their benefits and benefit enrollment. It could be things like going and taking time off pto, but also having sick days, managing the process of helping family members. So FMLA that we have in the United States and other different programs where we're looking to have individuals that need special, that have special needs, like so American Disability act, people that need. Need special things in order to do the job. That could be equipment, that could be circumstances, that could be a lot of different things. But there's a, there's those kinds of things that come up. But I think there's also the challenges, you know, when there's. When someone has harassed you and. Or has broken your trust, has broken through barriers that they should not have, and being able to discuss that with a human resource professional, having a trusted individual that is going to maintain that trust and is going to also allow you in a safe space to speak freely about concerns. My vision is that, you know, it says human resources and people just kind of gloss over that first word, but it's all about human beings. So I really think the biggest thing that we do in human resources is talk to people, is to listen, is to create safe spaces, is to allow them to be seen, heard, valued, and to really create scenarios where people want to be involved with the company. They want to talk to human resources. They want to share their things that are going on in their life so that they can be supported by the company and so that they can in turn support the company the best way that they can. And I. So that to me, is just some of the things. There's a whole bunch, but those are some of the things that come off top of the mind. [00:13:17] Speaker B: Yeah, it's that human first aspect. Right. We're you know, we're there to help. And I think that we'll get into this, as I'm sure as this conversation goes on, but I think that I've spoken to quite a few people who have never been involved or had a position in hr and they have a negative thought of hr, which is, which is sad because, you know, we are there to help people out whenever they need or to be able to listen to them or like you said, be seen, heard, valued, understood. We want to make sure that they are. And when they're not, then there's an issue there. So it pains me when I hear, and I hear people talk negatively about hr. And I try my best to try to put a positive spin on it, but sometimes people have an opinion, they form their opinion. I'm a firm believer that when people have an opinion, it's hard to change that opinion. That's their opinion. They're not going to change it just like they wouldn't change my opinion. [00:14:16] Speaker C: I think a lot of that comes from usually someone who has a bad connotation when they hear human resources or they think about human resource professionals. That's because someone failed them along the way. And I say that very openly because I've been that person that as I was struggling myself, but I was responsible for human resource functions. I know I failed myself. I failed other people, people. And learning from those mistakes and learning how I need to show up, that's huge because I've been that bad boss. I've been that poor leadership person that, that someone probably remembers. And by now I hope that they've forgiven me. But it's that place where you don't, you don't know the impact that you've had until you see how they respond later on to other people. And so I think that someone who's got a negative connotation is probably going, man, I've been failed by human resources. And the people that I trusted broke my trust, did not help me, push me out of the company, called me out for being honest and betrayed me. And so I think we have a unique responsibility to do good work as human resource professional professionals. And there's not enough people that want to do that work and that understand that human piece of human resources, to them, it's a job. They went, they got their certification, they did all the things, they're running and driving and maintaining and climbing the ladder, but they've forgotten that it's about human beings. And that's not everybody. There are a lot of fantastic people doing the work. But I think there's enough people out there that are struggling in the work, that are drowning in the work because of what leadership has put on them and because of what they have going on in their own lives that it's causing this debacle of people being concerned. And you us hearing those stories, Jason. [00:16:21] Speaker B: Many people hesitate to go to hr. Why do you think that is? [00:16:24] Speaker C: I think it's exactly what we just talked about. I think it's the fact that somewhere along the way human resource professionals have failed them and they've seen their trust broken and so now they, they don't want CH as the enemy, as just another corporate cog that's going to call them out and is only going to care about the company and the bottom line and not care about them. [00:16:48] Speaker B: I was having a conversation with somebody last week regarding this and they were saying that they were. Had an experience where they were, things were just so bad and they didn't know where to turn. And I said to them, I said, well, how come you didn't go to speak to somebody in hr? And they just felt like they couldn't, just felt like they were, they were on an island by themselves and they didn't feel like they could go to speak to them. And I, it really pained me to, to hear them saying that because I think we should be in a situation where we can go and speak to somebody, whether it's hr, whether it's a co worker, you should be able to go and speak to somebody. It's, it's not good to keep things like that inside or feel like you're, you're by yourself. So it was a really interesting conversation to have and I tried to be a good listener and listen. In that case I was not going to solve the problem, but just to listen to them. I think it helped. But again, it really pained me to hear them going through that. [00:17:50] Speaker C: Yeah, I imagine it did. You know, this starts at the, at the hiring process. So from the time that people are hired and they're, they're brought on, have we set a clear expectation? Are we following through with everything that we promised? Are we exceeding their expectations and giving more into them? Are from the time that we onboard people, we are reporting into them and listening to them and creating safe barriers and boundaries, but also providing for them all the tools they need to be successful in the job and to feel like they're seeing hurt and value that starts at day one. And if that's not happening, that when things start to go, if there's a Challenge or a situation that comes up, just like the conversation you have with the person, they will not feel like they can trust HR and, and have those conversations because the trust has never been built or the trust has been broken. [00:18:49] Speaker B: Yeah. I've walked into some jobs that I've had and I felt, I've said to my wife that I felt like when I walked in my building, I felt like I was home. We talk about our work life and how long we spend with the people that we work with. We spend more time there than we do at home. And it just felt like home to me, that I was just comfortable. And for me, it was a safe work environment, so a safe place for me to go into work. And, and that's what we look for. And not everybody gets that, unfortunately. But when you do, it makes life so much more fulfilling. [00:19:24] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. [00:19:25] Speaker B: What should people expect after they're after they bring a concern to hr? [00:19:30] Speaker C: Well, they should expect for that leadership to follow through, to do what they say they're going to do, and to create an environment where there is at least resolution. It may not be the resolution that you want. It may not be. Sometimes people come with expectations and they think that there's just a magical wand and, you know, it can't happen. There may be something that they're asking for or a situation that they brought forward that can't be resolved the way they want. But if we can come to some middle ground and create a situation where they see that there's effort being brought. I can't do what you need me to do. We're going to be doing this and we want you to be part of this process. We've heard you, we see you, we hear you, we understand your concerns. And now here's how we can move forward. And we want your buy in with that in order to move forward, because we want to move forward with you. And I think that's important. Again, this goes back to day one. Have you built that trust? Have you built that relationship where you know them, you know their family, you know their, their journey, you understand who they are as human beings. They've come to you and said, for example, hey, I'm going to need some extra time off. All right, well, let's look at what you have in PTO and then let's look at what we need to do from short term disability or FMLA or, you know, let's look at the options so we can take care of you, take care of your family, make sure that your job is intact and that you Feel like you can take care of the things that you need to take care of and still have the opportunity to work here and that you're taking care of and that we care about you. I think those are, I mean it's stuff like that that happens in people's everyday lives and they struggle with it because they don't want to come, because that trust hasn't been built and because they don't feel valued in their workspace. I think we have a, we have a unique job and it really revolves. [00:21:37] Speaker B: Solely around we certainly do stuff. What you've mentioned here makes total sense and I do believe it's clear expectations and I feel like I'm a firm believer in giving clear expectations and because you don't want to have any surprises down the road to say, oh well, you never told me that or I, I didn't understand that. So once they have a clear understanding of what you're expecting, then it's going to make things a lot easier because then they're going to understand you, you're going to understand them and I think you can build a strong relationship. I'm a huge proponent on rapport building and I think that comes from clear expectations. And when do you have those two things? I think it's smooth sailing in most facets of, of the, of the job and your day. So Jason, how can leaders and managers help create a culture where people feel safe raising issues early on? [00:22:31] Speaker C: Well, we talked about this briefly, but I mean I think it starts with day one. It starts with the hiring process and what you're saying to people during that process, allowing them to ask questions, to answer their questions and to provide exactly what you, if you said, hey, these are the things that you're going to get by being part of this organization, then you make sure that they get those things and that you're communicating with them. What do you need in order to do your job effective and, and how can we support you along the way? And then as well, you know what really coming through and being like, all right, we're going to have follow ups, we're going to have one on ones. There's going to be some group things that we do. There's also going to be the ability for us to upskill and cross train and so that you get to see the rest of the organization and understand and everybody starts to understand what is happening in the company so that you have a really good, not only do we have great relationships but also we are working together as a team and it's not compartmentalized and everybody's like, just blinders on. I don't know what the rest of the company is doing, but here's what we do. I think it's really important that you bring in, even if it's only from a conversational standpoint, bring in other divisions and other segments of your company. If you're a larger company, to be like, hey, I want you to understand what marketing is doing, what sales is doing, what communications is doing, what leadership is doing. And I think all of that starts from day one. And it's part of HR's job to really call out to both leadership and to the employees to be that ground, to say, hey, look, we've got to have this. We need this. We need this from you as a leader. We need this from the middle management. We need to be doing these things for the right company that has leadership, that's really concerned about people and their culture and building the foundations of creating, you know, a solid organization. Then they're going to listen and they're going to do the right things and they're going to care about people and they're going to see huge profits because of it. People will stay longer, they'll be happier, they'll be more productive, they'll have less time away from work, there'll be less sick days, there'll be more community, more ideas. There's so much that happens when everybody feels value seen and heard. [00:24:56] Speaker B: I'm loving this conversation, Jason, because things are coming up. Numerous things are coming up and things are being repeated. And I think it's good because a lot of organizations today are missing the boat on this, and especially on the day one. I spoke to somebody last week who was saying that they started a new job and they didn't have an orientation, they didn't have a meeting with the hiring manager. They showed up and there was a coworker that was there to meet them, and they were just thrown right into the fire. And so they had no expectations. They had no idea what was going on. They, you know, they didn't get a chance to meet people. They took it on their own. As people walk by, they introduced themselves, but I think they just missed the boat. And when I heard that story, I was like, man, I'm just hearing so many stories like this, and I don't know why it's this way, but it's something that needs to be fixed. [00:25:52] Speaker C: Yeah, absolutely. You hear it a lot in the service industry because the service industry has limited budgets and a lot of times is running. And so you Hear it a lot in the service industry. And one of the things that I talk about with nonprofits that I'm working with from a human resources standpoint is that you got to slow down. By slowing down, I don't mean like, okay, you're doing stuff at the speed you need to do it. I mean, you're taking the time to really be intentional about bringing someone in. Again, that's from. From the time you're interviewing them and on then to onboarding and day one and. And day 30 and day, you know, whatever. What are you doing to be a part of their journey with your organization? How are you impacting them? How are you showing up for them? How are you listening? And are you providing the tools they need and the resources they need in order to be productive members of your organization? If you're not, you're missing the boat. And you're going to have a revolving door. You're going to create opportunities for people to leave. You're going to create opportunities for people to not feel seen, heard, and valued and to find other places to go. Or whether. I don't necessarily love this term, but whether it's quiet quitting, where they're just showing up and they're sitting in the chair and they do the minimal amount that they have to, that costs company millions of dollars. So why not really be part of their journey from day one so that you have less of that going on and that's. That really is the case. I mean, I think that there's a ton of that. I also think, you know, from taking an onus standpoint, there are times when things are a poor fit somehow. What's happened, you know, not blaming anyone, but whether it's the human being that was applying and going for the job, or it's the hiring team that brought this person in, there are missteps. And in those missteps, you have this misalignment of some. Someone being in a position they should not be in that they're not really, or being in an organization that they're not aligned with. And I think that that's important to really do that work ahead of time. But when you make the mistake, be honest about the mistake and do the work to try to fix that. If that's a job situation and a position situation, is there a way for you to correct that? [00:28:28] Speaker B: Hey, I don't. [00:28:31] Speaker C: Based on what we've seen from you so far and the conversations we've had and the work that we see you do, we think this over here, this job, this position. This part of what we do is really more suited to what you do. So having those conversations, being open to hearing that from the employees, from the people that are working with you as well, and then the conversations that are, hey, this is a complete misalignment. We've both kind of misstep having the courageous conversations with them about what do we need to do now? And I think people fear that, and I think it is unfortunate that you get to a place where missteps have happened. But that's part of the fact that we're all human and being human beings, we're all going to make mistakes. So we've got to be. We have to be aware of taking onus for our mistakes, raising our hands and doing what's right by people, trying to be the best steward of taking care of people that we possibly can, being servant leaders, being people that care about other humans and providing them the best opportunity for them to thrive and allowing the company to have people that are aligned and want to thrive within the organization. [00:29:49] Speaker B: I love everything you said there. And what really caught my attention is, which is what you're saying was communication. I think the organization can communicate, but I also think the, the. The candidate can. Can communicate as well. My wife and I go to a restaurant and we sit down and we have a bite to eat and whatever it is, the meal comes cold or if we didn't get what we wanted or the waitress didn't come around or, or what have you, I always bring over the manager and I just let them know, not to as a complaining aspect, but to give them an opportunity to, to train and to work with that employee. And I believe that if we, if you never tell a manager in a service industry, but in anywhere what's going on, they're gonna have no idea because they're concentrating on other stuff as well and they're not going to see everything. So if you let them know what's going on and communicate that, then that allows them to fix it or an opportunity to fix the situation. If you don't tell them, then how are they going to know? [00:30:56] Speaker C: Yeah, they're never going to. [00:30:57] Speaker B: And then they can't fix it. Right. So it's super important. So, Jason, as we wrap up here, what is one key takeaway you'd like the listeners to remember from this episode. [00:31:06] Speaker C: That we all can work together to create environments where, where people thrive. [00:31:11] Speaker B: That sounds. That is a. It is a great message that I talk about all the time. Working together, collaborating. You can't go wrong with doing that as well. Jason, I want to take first of all, I wanted to let our listeners know to like share and follow this episode. And also I want to take the time to thank you for coming on today. Jason. I admire your humility, your determination, your ability to lead and your ability to thrive. Those are the things that have caught my attention today, but also in our conversations that you and I have had one on one. And I will always admire those things about you. And it's a pleasure to have this conversation with you today and I look forward to further conversations with you going down the road. [00:31:52] Speaker C: Andrew, thank you for having me on the show and I appreciate the questions and I appreciate the conversation. [00:31:58] Speaker B: You're very, very welcome on behalf of myself and my guest Chase, and I'd like to thank you all for listening today. And until next time, be safe. And remember everyone, when we all work together, we can accomplish anything you have been listening to. [00:32:11] Speaker A: Let's be diverse with Andrew Stout to stay up to date with future content. Hit Subscribe.