The Small Business HR Podcast
Ep. 12
12. Giving Your Talent Lifecycle the TLC It Deserves w/ Ariel Leonard
Ariel Leonard
Chief Human Resources Officer
Can your HR department demonstrate its ROI? Ariel Leonard, Chief Human Resources Officer at RugDoctor, says you can—especially as it pertains to filling the gaps and supporting the talent lifecycle.
We sat down with Ariel to learn about her experience in HR and how, when she joined RugDoctor, she needed to ramp up her team before she could deliver on the vision she had for the organization. It took some convincing, but she knew giving the talent lifecycle (and ultimately, employees) the TLC it deserved would get the results she was after.
We also talked about:
- Why she used to have a love/hate relationship with HR—and the role that finally won her over
- Why more businesses need to ensure HR is built to support business leaders
- What she recommends small businesses do to improve their talent lifecycles and give them a bit more TLC
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The only way for a business to get ahead is for HR to support them as a partner.”
HR and the business can often have communication issues—when one is not clued in to the other or how well they could be helping each other.”
If HR is done right, it makes an immediate impact on the business. The ability to hire the right people relies heavily on the talent lifecycle working properly. And if it's not, it directly impacts the operational side of the business.”
You have to make sure your people know where they are on the talent lifecycle. The job of every manager is making sure their people know what’s ahead and what’s expected of them.”
As an HR leader, my biggest concern is whether I have all parts of the talent lifecycle covered. But there will be limitations to that, such as resources and the size of my team. When I joined RugDoctor, I had to explain why we needed to invest in HR like never before, in order to fill the gaps in supporting the talent lifecycle.”
Unlike any other function, HR has a road map (the talent lifecycle). And it doesn’t change. We’re always going to focus on attracting, developing, and retaining talent.”
HR shines when we’re able to help the business think about the people side of getting things done.”
HR is everyone’s job, whether it’s in your title or not. Hone in on your leaders and make sure that they are set up to support the talent lifecycle. Because it’s not for HR’s benefit; it’s to help leaders onboard, develop, engage, and retain their people.”
HR supports the internal customer—employees. Find multiple ways to listen to your employees and find out what’s on their minds. And every time you do, identify one or two things to focus on that you can commit to improving.”
