The HR L&D Podcast

HR gets handed the problems nobody else wants to own. The restructure, the grievance, the engagement survey that came back badly. And then gets asked why people are leaving. I'm Nick Day. I run an HR recruitment agency, which means I spend most of my week on the phone to HR directors, HR leaders and people leaders talking about what the job is actually like rather than what's written on the job spec. This HR Podcast came out of those calls. I kept hearing things worth repeating, and nobody was repeating them. Every week I sit down with HR leaders, chief people officers, L&D specialists and the occasional academic who has changed how I think about work and people engagement. We get into leadership, and what happens when someone brilliant at the technical side gets promoted into managing humans. Employee engagement past the survey score. Diversity, equity and inclusion in a climate where saying those words out loud has become a decision in itself. Pay transparency, talent management, reducing bias in hiring, HR digital transformation and the HCM systems everyone is being sold. And of course we cannot forget HR AI tools and platforms that are flooding the landscape as AI in HR becomes a hot topic every people leader is keen to understand and leverage. Wellbeing comes up constantly, and it usually turns into the same question. Who looks after the HR team. I'm not an HR practitioner and I don't pretend to be. I'm the person who hires them, which puts me in a useful position. I get to ask the obvious question that everyone in the room already knows the answer to and nobody says. No script and no polite version. Mostly it's the conversation you'd have with someone doing your job at a different company, if you ever got the chance to sit down with them. If you work in HR, people management or L&D, or you're building a career in it, start by subscribing to The HR L&D Podcast. We have had guests including Stephen Covey, Alan Stein Jnr, Andrea Wareham and Dr. Thom Mayer among other HR Leaders who are shaping the future of work and leadership. Need HR staff? I run JGA Recruitment, an HR and payroll recruitment agency. www.jgarecruitment.com or info@jgarecruitment.com Want to be on the show? Nick@jgadigital.com If payroll is closer to your world, I also host The Payroll Podcast, the most listened to payroll show in the world. Topics include HR leadership, workplace culture, retention, people management, employee engagement, diversity, equity and inclusion, DEI strategy, AI for HR, AI recruitment tools, talent management, HR digital transformation, HCM, staff wellbeing, pay transparency, reducing bias, L&D and HR recruitment.

The HR L&D Podcast is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 0 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts The HR L&D Podcast, a business show with 0 episodes published.

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  Episode #193

  Workplace Culture & Psychological Safety | The HR Leadership Blind Spot with Seema Bansali

  Sep 2, 202647 min

  What if the biggest barrier to innovation isn't a lack of confidence but a workplace culture that quietly punishes people for speaking up? This episode is sponsored by Deel. Hire, manage and pay – anyone, anywhere: https://www.deel.com/nickdayhr/ In this episode of @thehrldpodcast Nick Day is joined by Seema Bansali, author, strategist, attorney, and former Fortune 500 people and culture executive. With over two decades of experience across high stakes environments, from supporting US Congressman Steve Israel to senior leadership at Henry Schein, Seema reveals why psychological safety fails in most organizations and the specific hr leadership behaviors that are silencing your talent. Discover how to flip the script before your best people go quiet. Seema challenges the assumption that confidence training solves the problem of employees holding back. Together, Nick and Seema explore why the brain treats speaking up as a genuine risk, why environments rather than individuals are usually the real barrier, and why this issue starts far earlier in life than most leaders realize. This conversation unpacks what the silence tax actually costs an organization, from lost innovation to hidden attrition that never shows up until it is too late. Nick and Seema discuss the difference between building confidence and building psychological safety, why rotating who gets to speak matters more than who is naturally confident, and why the loudest voices in the room are not always the smartest ones. They also explore Seema's forthcoming book, Hit the Buzzer, and the science competition story that inspired its title. In a world increasingly shaped by AI adoption, fast decision making, and the risk of losing talent quietly rather than loudly, this episode delivers practical frameworks every HR and L&D professional needs in 2026, including how to build a no repeats rule into leadership presentations, how to treat voice as infrastructure rather than personality, and how to make speaking up less costly for everyone. A must-listen for HR leaders, L&D professionals, and anyone ready to stop asking people to be braver and start building cultures where being heard does not carry a hidden cost. Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thepayrollpodcast for more great content! Guest and Host: Connect with Seema Bansali: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seema-bhansali-esq-principal/ Nick Day's LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/nickday Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/919cf6b9ea Sign up to the HR L&D Newsletter: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/23e7b153e7 Stay tuned for the next episode of the HR L&D Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon! Timestamps: (00:00) Introduction: Exposing the Silence Tax (01:28) What Human Resources Really Means to Seema (03:36) Why Accomplished Women Go Silent in the Room (06:49) The Behaviors Behind Muted Cultures (09:10) The Neuroscience of Silence and Why Confidence Training Fails (15:11) Naming the Silence Tax and Its Cost to Retention (18:43) Systems vs Individuals: Who Is Really Responsible (21:42) Making It Safer to Challenge Leadership (25:18) The Real Cost of Silence: Innovation in the AI Era (28:39) Building a Practical Open Voice Culture Framework (34:56) Command and Control, and the Story Behind Hit the Buzzer (45:06) Rapid Fire Questions and Closing Thoughts

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  Episode #192

  Fertility and Workplace Culture | The Staff Wellbeing Gap HR Misses with Jennifer Elworthy

  Aug 19, 202650 min

  Most organizations think fertility is a private matter. It is not. It is a silent talent drain hiding in plain sight. Employees quietly step back from opportunities, and by the time HR notices, the resignation letter has already been written. This episode is sponsored by Deel. Hire, manage and pay, anyone, anywhere: https://www.deel.com/nickdayhr/ In this episode of @thehrldpodcast, Nick Day is joined by Jennifer Elworthy, a career and fertility coach and Director of Engagement at Fertility Matters at Work. Jen's own path into this work began in 2015, when a ruptured ectopic pregnancy, a miscarriage, and a second ectopic pregnancy left her navigating PTSD while working at a senior level in the media industry. Despite it all, with the right manager and the right support in place, she was promoted, and she now spends her career helping organizations turn good intentions into meaningful workplace policy. That lived experience, paired with the research she leads at Fertility Matters at Work, is exactly what she brings to this conversation. Nick and Jen explore why fertility remains one of the least discussed issues on the HR agenda despite affecting one in six people globally, and why the myth that it is not happening in your business is quietly costing UK employers an estimated 217 million pounds a year. They unpack the four questions every manager should ask when an employee discloses a fertility challenge, why 87% of managers have no training despite being the first point of disclosure for 70% of employees, and why a policy sitting in a dusty folder means nothing without a culture of psychological safety to back it up. They also dig into why fertility is not a women's issue, the hidden struggles of the childless not by choice community, the often overlooked reality of pregnancy and parenting after loss, and why career ambition and fertility treatment are not mutually exclusive, no matter how well meaning the advice to just relax might be. In a world where 38% of employees have left or considered leaving a role due to lack of support, this episode makes the case that the real barriers were never about policy documents. They are about silence, stigma, and managers who want to help but were never given the tools. A must-listen for HR leaders, L&D professionals, and anyone responsible for building a workplace where employees don't have to choose between their career and their fertility journey. Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thepayrollpodcast for more great content! Guest and Host: Jennifer Elworthy's Website: www.jenniferelworthy.com Jennifer Elworthy's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferelworthy/ Fertility Matters at Work: fertilitymattersatwork.com Nick Day's LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/nickday Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/919cf6b9ea Sign up to the HR L&D Newsletter: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/23e7b153e7 Stay tuned for the next episode of the HR L&D Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon! Timestamps: (00:01) One in Six Face Infertility, Yet It's Still Hidden at Work (03:24) Jen's Story: Ectopic Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and a PTSD Diagnosis (10:05) What Real Support Looks Like: Policy, Manager Training, and Culture (13:17) Why Fertility Is Missing From the HR Agenda (17:27) Coaching From the Scar: What HR Never Hears in the Coaching Room (20:32) Quiet Quitting and the Hidden Cost of an Unsupported Workforce (24:28) Why 87% of Managers Have No Training for This Conversation (26:17) The Four Questions Every Manager Should Ask (29:14) Fertility Is Not a Women's Issue: Protecting Career Ambition (35:01) When IVF Doesn't Work: Supporting the Childless Not by Choice (37:45) Becoming Fertility-Friendly: Accreditation and the Power of Storytelling (41:28) Life After Loss, the Future of Work, and Rapid-Fire Vault Questions

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  Episode #191

  Psychological Safety Is the Missing Piece of Your AI Strategy with Jamie Bykov-Brett

  Aug 3, 202649 min

  Most organizations think they have an AI tool problem. They do not. They have an AI behavioral problem. The licenses get bought, the workshops happen, and by Monday morning, people are back to working exactly as they did before. This episode is sponsored by Deel. Hire, manage, and pay anyone, anywhere: https://www.deel.com/nickdayhr/ In this episode of @thehrldpodcast Nick Day is joined by Jamie Bykov-Brett, an AI transformation strategist, TEDx speaker, and co-founder of the Executive AI Institute. Jamie's path into AI started in youth work, supporting young people from marginalized backgrounds into STEM careers. It was there, back in 2014, that he began forecasting how automation would reshape the workforce, discovering along the way that technology adoption rarely fails because of the tools themselves; it fails because people were never taken through the change. That change management lens is exactly what he brings to AI training and organizational transformation today. Nick and Jamie explore why one-off AI workshops rarely create lasting behavior change, and why real transformation starts with human-centric skill development, not the tools. They unpack the "eliminate, automate, delegate" framework for deciding where AI actually belongs in a workflow, why psychological safety is the missing ingredient in most AI rollouts, and how legacy failed change projects can quietly sabotage adoption before training even begins. They also dig into why your most resistant employees might be your best future change agents, why highly technical people sometimes struggle most with AI adoption, why organizations should expect a temporary dip in performance during rollout rather than instant ROI, and what it actually looks like to design an AI learning intervention that turns AI into a daily working habit rather than a novelty. In a world where organizations are under pressure to prove AI adoption is working immediately, this episode makes the case that the real barriers were never technical. They are emotional, cultural, and behavioral, and the organizations that address that will be the ones that actually get results. A must-listen for HR leaders, L&D professionals, and anyone responsible for making AI adoption actually stick inside their organization. Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thepayrollpodcast for more great content! Guest and Host: Jamie Bykov-Brett's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamiebykovbrett/ Jamie Bykov-Brett's Website: bykovbrett.net Nick Day's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickday/ Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/919cf6b9ea Sign up to the HR L&D Newsletter: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/23e7b153e7 Stay tuned for the next episode of the HR L&D Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon! Timestamps: (00:01) Why AI Training Fails: The Behavior Problem, Not a Tool Problem (03:27) Jamie's Journey: From Youth Work to AI Transformation Strategist (09:05) The AI Adoption Gap: Rising HR Burnout Despite AI Investment (10:47) AI as a Mirror: Why Technology Reflects Your Organization's Culture (14:30) Human-Centric Skills First: Curiosity, Creativity and Critical Thinking (20:31) The Eliminate, Automate, Delegate Framework (23:09) Designing AI Interventions That Actually Fit Your Organization (27:43) Turning Resistant Employees Into Change Agents (33:11) The Hidden Fears Driving AI Resistance (37:03) Case Study: How Insights Achieved a 9.7 NPS on AI Training (39:59) Why L&D Should Expect a Performance Dip Before AI Pays Off (45:43) Rapid Fire: Career Advice, Leadership, and HR's Future

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  Episode #190

  Why Your Best People Go Quiet Before They Leave with Nick Day

  Jul 23, 202647 min

  Most HR leaders think a resignation starts the day someone hands in their notice. It doesn't. It starts months earlier, the moment someone decides it's no longer worth speaking up. And almost nobody in HR is measuring it. This episode is sponsored by Deel. Hire, manage and pay, anyone, anywhere: https://www.deel.com/nickdayhr/ In this episode of @thehrldpodcast, Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment Group, breaks from his usual format for the first time in more than 200 episodes. There is no guest this time, just Nick, a microphone, and one idea he cannot stop thinking about. After 24 years of exit interviews and placing over 10,000 professionals across 40+ countries, he has built his own coaching framework around fear. This episode is where he unpacks it in full. Nick introduces the idea of the fear tax, the invisible cost every organisation pays when people stop raising problems, ideas, and concerns out loud, and breaks down why silence looks like a wellbeing problem but spends like a balance sheet one. He contrasts a manager who unknowingly built a culture of fear with a leader whose team openly flagged a critical mistake before it went public, walks through his own fear equation of anxiety plus uncertainty multiplied by imagination, and explains why fear in capable people rarely looks like fear at all, instead disguising itself as caution, busy bravery, perfectionism, or imposter syndrome. He also shares the BOLD protocol, a four step method for catching fear in the three second window before it wins, backed by research from Stanford and UCLA, and gets personal about a lesson he learned the hard way with his own father. In a world where HR is expected to protect culture, retain top talent, and prove ROI on every initiative, this episode makes the case that the biggest lever HR has never measured is right in front of them. It is whether people feel safe enough to speak. A must-listen for HR leaders, people managers, and anyone who has ever sat in a meeting, known exactly the right thing to say, and said nothing. Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thepayrollpodcast for more great content! Nick Day's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickday/ Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/919cf6b9ea Sign up to the HR L&D Newsletter: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/23e7b153e7 Stay tuned for the next episode of the HR L&D Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon! Timestamps: (00:01) Rachel's Story: The Resignation That Started Eight Months Early (02:16) Why Nick Broke Format for His First-Ever Solo Episode (04:38) James: The Manager Who Built a Fear Culture Without Raising His Voice (07:03) Naming the Fear Tax (09:07) The Real Cost of Losing Good People (11:31) Why Your Speak-Up Culture Is Your Talent Strategy (13:55) Amy Edmondson's Research: Why Quiet Teams Aren't Healthy Teams (18:32) The Fear Equation: Anxiety Plus Uncertainty, Multiplied by Imagination (22:01) From Fear Culture to Courage Culture: James's Turnaround and Fear's Disguises (28:41) The Courage Window and the BOLD Protocol (35:15) HR's Blind Spot: Practicing Psychological Safety and Convincing Skeptical Leaders (43:14) The Monday Morning Move and Closing Thoughts

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  Episode #189

  Being 'More Human' Won't Save HR Anymore with Nelly Salinas

  Jul 13, 202640 min

  This episode is sponsored by Deel. Hire, manage and pay, anyone, anywhere: https://www.deel.com/nickdayhr/ In this episode of @thehrldpodcast Nick Day is joined by Nelly Salinas, a global HR operations leader and Director of Global HR Operations at Accertify Inc. Nelly's path into HR started nowhere near HR. She began her career in industrial engineering and IT project management before discovering that projects rarely fail because of technology, they fail because people were never aligned in the first place. That engineering lens is exactly what she brings to global HR operations today. Nick and Nelly explore why the future of HR will not belong to the most human leader alone, but to the hybrid leader who can connect people, process, systems, data, and strategy in one conversation. They unpack where AI is genuinely creating value in HR right now versus where organizations are mistaking experimentation for transformation, why AI can make recruiters lazy if it replaces human connection instead of freeing up time for it, and how homogenized AI written CVs are making it harder than ever to spot real talent. They also dig into the near impossible balancing act of standardizing HR processes across global regions without losing local nuance, why data literacy and change management are becoming non-negotiable skills, the ongoing debate over whether payroll should sit inside HR or finance, and what a realistic first step into agentic AI actually looks like for HR leaders who have not started yet. In a world where HR is being asked to improve employee experience, scale global operations, adopt AI responsibly, and still deliver measurable outcomes, this episode makes the case that technology and humanity were never competing priorities. The job has always been to bring both together. A must-listen for HR leaders, global operations professionals, and anyone trying to figure out what skills will actually matter in the next phase of HR. Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thepayrollpodcast for more great content! Nelly Salinas's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nellysalinascabala/ Nick Day's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickday/ Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/919cf6b9ea Sign up to the HR L&D Newsletter: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/23e7b153e7 Stay tuned for the next episode of the HR L&D Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon! Timestamps: (00:01) Why HR Is Asking the Wrong Question About AI (02:46) From Industrial Engineering to Global HR Operations (05:04) HR's Collaboration Gap With IT (07:13) What It Means to Be a Hybrid HR Leader (08:52) Where AI Is Actually Showing Up in HR (10:31) Is AI Making Recruiters Lazy? (15:28) Experimentation vs Real Transformation (17:56) Standardizing Global HR Without Losing Local Nuance (21:51) The Skills HR Leaders Need to Future-Proof Their Careers (26:06) HR as Strategic Partner, Not Back Office (29:59) Using AI and Data Analytics to Drive Real HR Insights (31:56) Getting Started With AI and the Future of Agentic HR

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