Talent Optimization Podcast & Blog

Bridging the gap between CEO's and HR Professionals of talent optimization for your business

EP 46: Demystifying Employee Benefit Plans with Rachel Leader

Demystifying Employee Benefit Plans There is so much involved in designing a culture within an organization where we show gratitude towards our staff day in and day out. One of the ways we can do that is through our policies and our benefit plans. Here to help us dive deep on the topic of gratitude...

EP 44: Cultivating Gratitude in the Workplace with Traci Scherck

Cultivating Gratitude in the Workplace The practice of gratitude and appreciation has started to infiltrate workplaces—and rightly so! While it might feel awkward to express gratitude to your colleagues or employees, building a culture of gratitude can impact business outcomes and lead to deeper connections with each other and to the work we’re doing. So,...

EP 42: Mental Health and Communicating Vulnerable Topics with Amee Quiriconi

Mental Health and Communicating Vulnerable Topics Despite the many differences in execution and strategy, a lot of organizational problems can be traced back to a few of the same things. Fortunately, there’s a simple place where you can begin to help alleviate many of the major organizational problems at once: improving your leadership’s mental health....

EP 40: Becoming an Advocate for Change with Brianna Goodwin

Becoming an Advocate for Change Brianna Goodwin is the President & CEO of Ver-Tex Construction, a specialty window treatment company that has been revolutionizing the industry since its inception more than 30 years ago. Throughout her career, Brianna has advocated for gender equality in the workplace, frequently being cited as an influential voice in the...

EP 39: How to Boost Employee Engagement with Traci Scherck

How to Boost Employee Engagement Employee engagement is the extent to which employees feel passionate about their jobs, are committed to their organization, and are willing to go the extra mile within their positions. But how do we ensure individuals are engaged? In this episode, I will be diving into this topic, focusing on how...

EP 38: How to Cultivate Employees with Jason Lauritsen

How to Cultivate Employees Farmers are in the business of management—they manage the growth and performance of living things. However, they do things fundamentally differently because they know that their crops will grow to their fullest potential as long as they provide an environment in which they can thrive. That is the model we need...

EP 37: Positive Performance Management with Michele Haugh

Positive Performance Management Performance management should be about having regular, open and honest conversations. It is an opportunity to learn how someone is doing, assess how they might progress to the next level in the organization and figure out how to improve a specific skillset in order to meet goals. In other words, it doesn’t...

EP 36: Leadership and Accountability in an Era of Distractions with Cheryl Johnson

Leadership and Accountability in an Era of Distractions Leaders who struggle to hold their employees accountable and improve performance in their organization are generally too harsh, too lenient, or too disconnected. So how do we ensure our leaders are not only holding their staff accountable, but also themselves in this constantly changing, distraction-filled world? To...

EP 35: Performance, Leadership and Accountability with Traci Scherck

Performance, Leadership and Accountability Leaders within our organizations have the responsibility to hold their employees accountable for their own success. However, it is still up to the employees to decide whether they want to be successful or not. So, how do we motivate our employees to do outstanding work and meet their goals every time?...

EP 33: Building Accountability to Achieve Results with Kelly Renz

Building Accountability to Achieve Results We know that leadership is a process in which an individual influences the behavior and attitudes of other people. Unfortunately, not all influence is positive. So, is there a way to ensure the leaders within our organization are setting up our employees with the right tools to succeed? In this...