The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville. We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.

Jason and Jamie were joined by Corina West, an HR Assistant for Grace Health in Corbin, Kentucky. Corina shared her insights on working for a comprehensive healthcare organization that provides family medicine, dentistry, and behavioral health services. Despite only being in her role for a little over a year, she is part of a small three-person team responsible for managing a large workforce of 465 employees. Corina now leads the one-day orientation for all new hires, where she coordinates speakers to cover topics like HIPAA and risk compliance while ensuring new employees understand the "expectancy" of company policies. She noted that their unique leave structure—accruing 6.15 hours of PTO every two weeks instead of having paid holidays—is a key policy she has mastered and often uses to help applicants determine if the role is a good fit.

Corina spoke very highly of her Director, Kim Bingham, whose open-door policy and willingness to handle any task herself have made Corina's transition into HR seamless. While she currently manages the tasks that "everyone else hasn't already had their hands in," she is eager to grow within the department and take on higher-level responsibilities. She finds the work intimidating but deeply rewarding and was excited to be attending her second KYSHRM conference. To keep the conversation moving, she left this thoughtful question for the next participant: "What was the best decision that you've made in your current role and what was the outcome of it?"

To learn more, visit:

· Website: www.gracehealthky.org

Corina, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!

That's where we'll leave the conversation for today. Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments. We'd love to hear from you.

Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals?

We're here to help. You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions:

· Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com

· Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com

· Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com

We hope you found this file insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville. We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.

Jason was joined by Sharlis Montgomery, the Learning and Development Manager at the global law firm Hogan Lovells. Sharlis shared how she supports over 2,500 non-lawyer staff members across the globe. With eight years at the firm, Sharlis focuses on upskilling "business teams" in areas like leadership and interpersonal skills through a structured competency framework. She is passionate about making training fun and innovative, ensuring every employee leaves her facilitation sessions with something valuable. One of her favorite aspects of the role is championing major investments in her team's growth, such as providing access to certifications from prestigious institutions like Harvard and Yale. When asked about retaining talent, Sharlis stressed the importance of truly listening to staff through post-surveys and "real, raw" focus groups to understand their development needs. She noted that many companies actually offer great benefits, but employees often leave simply because those opportunities weren't marketed internally well enough. Recognizing she is an expert in learning, not marketing, she advocates for cross-departmental collaboration to ensure staff are fully aware of the resources available to them.

Sharlis believes that engaging directly with departments helps her identify and expand the training options that contribute most to long-term retention. She wrapped up the session by emphasizing that HR and marketing must work together to effectively share value with the organization. To challenge the next guest, Sharlis left the question: "If there was one thing that they could change about their role, what would that be?"

To learn more, visit:

· Website: www.hoganlovells.com

Sharlis, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!

That's where we'll leave the conversation for today. Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments. We'd love to hear from you.

Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals?

We're here to help. You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions:

· Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com

· Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com

· Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com

We hope you found this file insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville. We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.

Jamie and Molley were joined by Boutaïna Ettaki, a Talent Acquisition Specialist at Seven Counties Services. She shared her enthusiasm for working in the nonprofit sector, where she finds fulfillment in supporting her community and underserved populations. Drawing on her professional background in sales, she views recruiting as a process of "shopping for people" by identifying specific skills to fill a hiring manager's unique needs. When it comes to attracting a younger workforce, Boutaïna emphasized that Gen Z looks for relatable content, such as real employee testimonials and videos, to get a true sense of a company's culture. She warned that this generation will "snoop" through an organization's website and social media, making it essential for companies to remain relevant or be left behind.

Boutaïna also highlighted that these candidates heavily rely on reviews from sites like Glassdoor and Indeed, often scrolling through comment sections before deciding to apply. To improve retention, she suggested that leaders should communicate directly with team members to discover what they need to stay, rather than starting the expensive hiring process over again. She noted that losing a "best friend at work" creates a trickling effect on morale and can lead outsiders to assume a workplace is toxic. Boutaïna believes it is often more cost-effective to offer a small pay increase to a current employee than to spend thousands searching for a replacement. Finally, she encouraged employers to ask the right questions to understand the root causes of turnover within their organizations. To wrap things up, she left this vital question for the next guest: "What will you do to retain talent within your organization?"

To learn more, visit:

· Website: www.sevencounties.org

Ettaki, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!

That's where we'll leave the conversation for today. Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments. We'd love to hear from you.

Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals?

We're here to help. You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions:

· Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com

· Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com

· Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com

We hope you found this file insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville. We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.

Cooper Tyra, an Account Executive at Houchins Insurance Group, sat down with Jason Heflin and Molley Ricketts to explain how his firm serves as the "risk subsidiary" for a massive employee-owned conglomerate. Based in their Louisville satellite office, Cooper works as a single point of contact for private equity firms and manufacturing companies, handling both property and casualty insurance and employee benefits. He highlighted that Houchins stands out because it is an ESOP, part of an umbrella of 25 operating companies that employ over 20,000 people across the region. Although he started his career in project management and finance, Cooper found his stride in insurance after grad school because he enjoys the hands-on, consultative nature of building relationships. He shared that he loves making a tangible impact on employees' lives by improving their healthcare options and overall well-being.

When it comes to engaging with company leadership, Cooper believes the best strategy is to lead with "the numbers". He explained that while HR teams often manage the plan structures, executives usually want to cut through organizational complexity to see the long-term story told through spreadsheets. This "straight to the point" approach ensures leaders understand the funding strategies that drive their business forward without getting bogged down in unnecessary details. Cooper finds that daily problem-solving and navigating the constant changes in the insurance market are right in his "wheelhouse". To wrap up his time at the conference, he left this forward-looking question for the next guest: "Heading into next year, what do you think is going to be the biggest impact on the younger workforce and being able to attract and retain them with so much changing regarding flexible work schedules?"

To learn more, visit:

· Website: www.higusa.com

Cooper, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!

That's where we'll leave the conversation for today. Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments. We'd love to hear from you.

Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals?

We're here to help. You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions:

· Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com

· Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com

· Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com

We hope you found this file insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville. We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.

Jessica Vogt, a Corporate Recruiter and culture specialist for Louisville-based Aegis Sortation, sat down with Jamie Swaim to discuss how her company is modernizing the freight and parcel industry through automation. Aegis works with major distribution centers like UPS, FedEx, and Amazon, bringing innovative technology to outdated conveyor sorting systems to make logistics more seamless. In addition to recruiting for cross-functional roles in engineering and manufacturing, Jessica is currently focused on building Employee Resource Groups and a new internship program to connect with local Kentucky colleges. She shared a key philosophy from her senior leadership: the importance of pairing high accountability with high flexibility.

As a working mother with two young children, Jessica values that her company allows personal experiences and professional responsibilities to coexist without "fearful judgment". She believes that for a company to retain employees today, it must recognize that times have changed and prioritize balancing work with lifestyle needs. This culture of transparency is reinforced by the company's COO, who chooses to sit in the "bullpen" with the rest of the staff rather than in a private office. Though Aegis is only about eight years old, Jessica is proud that they are already taking the necessary initiatives to be an employer of choice where people want to stay. She concluded by noting that while the interview was a bit nerve-wracking, she enjoyed the opportunity to share how Aegis is striving to create "raving fans" through its workplace culture.

To learn more, visit:

· Website: www.aegissortation.com

Jessica, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!

That's where we'll leave the conversation for today. Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments. We'd love to hear from you.

Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals?

We're here to help. You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions:

· Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com

· Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com

· Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com

We hope you found this file insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville. We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.

Jamie Swaim and Molley Rickets sat down with Donald Woolridge, Sr., and Paul Bolton from the Leadership Louisville Center to discuss their training and development arm, Leading Better, which takes leadership insights traditionally reserved for small cohorts and brings them to the "many". Donald shared how leadership is fundamentally universal and timeless, centered on interpersonal connectivity, empathy, and influence regardless of how global or virtual a team becomes. Paul added that leaders must bridge the gap between remote and in-person workers through transparency and dedicated one-on-one time, noting that this investment is far more efficient than the cost of replacing a person. The group also stressed the importance of updating "dusty" job descriptions to ensure companies are hiring for the roles they actually need today.

Paul compared a leader's role to that of a coach, whose job is simply to bring out the greatness that is already inside an individual. To improve employees' quality of life, Donald suggested that leaders must "pour into" their people and create environments where they have "skin in the game" and can speak freely. The group also discussed the concept that organizations aren't just hiring a headcount; they are hiring and coaching families, meaning every workplace decision has a ripple effect on an employee's life at home. This holistic view of the employee can drive a powerful cultural movement and significantly boost retention.

To learn more, visit:

· Website: www.leadershiplouisville.org

Donald and Paul, thanks for speaking with us!

That's where we'll leave the conversation for today. Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments. We'd love to hear from you.

Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals?

We're here to help. You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions:

· Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com

· Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com

· Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com

We hope you found this file insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!

The Workforce Therapy Files team attended the 2025 Kentucky SHRM Conference, in Louisville. We took the opportunity to interview over 20 professionals who stopped by our booth.

Jason Heflin, CEO of CrowdSouth interviewed Rawleigh Richardson, a member of the Kentucky SHRM State Council and the founder of HumanKind Consulting. Rawleigh shared how he is working to put the "human" back into human resources. Since launching his consultancy in 2023, he's been busy helping clients navigate reductions in force by providing career coaching and optimizing their LinkedIn profiles and resumes. He also assists organizations with complex legal hurdles, specifically helping them understand wage and hour issues, such as exempt versus non-exempt contract status. Drawing on his experience as an employee relations investigator, Rawleigh emphasizes the importance of being a "risk avoider" by balancing the protection of the organization with a fair approach to individuals involved in conflicts.

When asked for culture-building tips, Rawleigh recommended utilizing AI tools like Co-pilot to help apply a company's mission and vision to internal communication like newsletters. He strongly advocates for stay interviews, suggesting that leaders simply ask their team members what keeps them happy and why they choose to stay. Rawleigh believes that while technology is a great support, true engagement comes from direct communication and creating interest-based groups to keep people connected. He also encourages conference attendees to network and reach out to the state council board, including Chair Patricia William Key, for support. Finally, Rawleigh left this simple yet important question for the next participant: "Are you a dual member of your local chapter and the National SHRM, and what resources have you used from the National chapter?"

To learn more, visit:

· Website: www.HumanKindHRConsulting.com

Rawleigh Richardson, thanks for stopping by to speak with us!

That's where we'll leave the conversation for today. Before we close the file, we invite you to reach out to us with questions, suggestions or other comments. We'd love to hear from you.

Need Help Supporting Your Company's Recruiting and Staffing Goals?

We're here to help. You can contact us via our individual websites, depending on your specific needs or questions:

· Jamie Swaim, SPHR – www.ParcelKnows.com

· Molley Ricketts – www.IncipioWorks.com

· Jason Heflin – www.CrowdSouth.com

We hope you found this file insightful and helpful. Thank you for listening!