6 Human Resources Podcasts to Supercharge Your HR Efforts
There’s so much information online about leadership, sales, marketing, and entrepreneurship that the prospect of consuming it is daunting. With tons of new business books coming out each day and a million new articles and blog entries every time we open our browser, how can we possibly keep up? It’s like bailing a boat with a teacup, and at a certain point it feels like we might be better off not bothering.
But some of the information is incredible, and just one bite can revolutionize your business. That’s especially true when it comes to human resources, where the climate evolves rapidly and it can be difficult to stay on top of the newest, most relevant information.
One of the most efficient ways of keeping up with great information in the human resources sphere is by listening to podcasts. Almost every phone makes it easy to subscribe and listen whether you’re in the car or just taking a break at your desk.
There are dozens of excellent management and HR podcasts, but here are six worth checking out to get started:
The McKinsey Podcast. McKinsey & Company is recognized perennially as a global leader in management consulting -- and their presence is just as vibrant in the HR/management podcast world. The McKinsey podcast series covers an incredible array of topics across virtually every sector and facet of management, which means you can scroll through their vast collection and find the episodes that address the HR issues you’re thinking about.
HR Happy Hour. If the name of Steve Boese’s and Trish McFarlane’s podcast alone doesn’t win you over, listening to your first episode will. Boese and McFarlane tackle HR from every angle, including the developments in learning, hiring, and technology that drive the sector. Their interviews of experts on each topic make their library of 300 episodes a tremendous resource for HR knowledge in an accessible, entertaining format.
Human Resources for Small Business. Xenium HR understands that most of us don’t run a complex, global conglomerate. For that 99.9% of us, the HR for Small Business podcast focuses on the basic HR issues we encounter daily. From legal to leadership, host Brandon Laws brings in guests who speak with authority on topics that matter to every small business owner.
The Employment Law & HR Podcast. A legal issue can be the most difficult, frustrating, and expensive thing HR has to deal with. Alison Colley tackles tough elements of HR and employment law in a way that all business owners can understand. Through nearly 100 episodes, Colley has covered sexual harassment, discrimination in hiring, parental leave, criminal misconduct, and dozens of other topics that businesses large and small encounter.
Talent Talk. How do great leaders find and develop talent? How do successful businesses maintain a pipeline of hires and training that meets their needs and positions them to grow? Chris Dyer’s Talent Talk wrangles top executives who know how to acquire and improve talent. Though it doesn’t have as many episodes as longer-established podcasts, each week’s interview sheds light on how effective leaders make it work in their organizations -- and how you can do it, too.
DriveThruHR. If there’s one podcast that understands that leaders need to make the most of their time listening, it’s DriveThruHR. Each of the 300+ episodes of “Lunch Conversation” is around 30 minutes, which allows you to grab information about HR issues on a commute or during a little bit of downtime.
Whether you use iTunes, your phone, or your browser, fire up these six podcasts and see what sticks. They’re free, they’re well-produced, and they give you access to some of the finest minds in the HR sphere.
