Mattress Firm

Diane Hanratty

Employment Compliance Authority

Shaping HR Leadership through Experience

I have been fortunate to work at organizations with very structured processes, which have allowed me to strengthen my process muscle. After that experience, I joined a much smaller organization where I had the opportunity to build things from the ground up. Those two experiences together molded my HR leadership approach, where my team and I can question the norm and move past the traditional ways of doing things, and find the right people strategy that is compliant, engaging for our associates, and successful for our industry and the organization.

Balancing Compliance and Employee Experience

You must consistently have a learner’s mindset to ensure you have the right knowledge and information. You also must be willing to actively listen to those within your organization. These two things, combined, will help you have the right mix of information to make good decisions and provide proper advisement for your business, your customers, and your associates.

“You must consistently have a learner’s mindset to ensure you have the right knowledge and information.”

Balancing Compliance with Evolving Workforce Needs

This is where data analysis and telling the data’s story are crucial. To collaborate with business leaders, you can’t just say it’s mandatory; you have to show the business case for why the plan or the changes you are proposing are good for the business overall and how they will help the organization reach its overall goals.ls.

Redefining HR Leadership in a Changing Landscape

Two things immediately come to mind: AI and the changing talent pool. These things require HR teams to think differently and to pivot their people model to attract, train, develop, and retain associates to fit the new, rapidly changing environment.

Guiding the Next Generation of HR Leaders

Learn your company’s business. You can know all the HR knowledge in the world, but cannot be an effective partner or provide the best advice to the organization unless you understand the business from the front-line perspective.