HR Unfiltered - brought to you by SOPEOPLE

Tom Emery, author and coach behind the CHRO coaching framework, discusses his book People People and a composite CHRO named Joanna. They explore why a seat at the table is not enough. Topics include commercial curiosity, enterprise leadership, human-centred change, mindset shifts, setting boundaries, and a simple Monday 9am reset to regain agency and influence.

In this episode of HR Unfiltered, we take a long-overdue swing at one of HR’s most sacred cows: best practice. It sounds sensible. It feels safe. And in today’s complex, exhausted, fast-changing world, it’s quietly doing more harm than good. We walk through where best practice came from, why HR clings to it, and why copying what worked elsewhere is increasingly failing organisations now, especially under the pressures of AI, burnout, public-sector strain, and fragile trust. We draw a clear line between what’s safe to copy and what absolutely isn’t, challenge the confusion between compliance and best practice, and argue that risk and governance are strategic choices, and not excuses to stop thinking. Most importantly, we remind practitioners that there is a perfectly viable alternative - best fit - and we bring contemporary guidance on how to do this in a way that's fit for today. In our view, it's a design-led, commercially grounded way of doing HR that starts with the real problem, the real context, and the real constraints, not someone else’s framework. You’ll hear: Why best practice protects HR personally but limits organisational impact When copying is fine, and when it’s actively dangerous The questions HR should ask before importing any “proven” solution The five components of best-fit people design in the contemporary world Why HR doesn’t get another decade of failed rollouts If you’re tired of rolling out elegant frameworks that don’t survive contact with reality, this one’s for you. TL;DR: Best practice is fine for the boring stuff. Best fit is essential for the work that actually matters.

Seb Hochmuth, a product and technology leader who has scaled startups and embedded product thinking into teams. He talks about treating HR like a product team. Short practical steps on discovery, MVPs for onboarding and hiring, ruthless prioritisation, diagnosing root causes, and metrics that prove HR impact.

In this episode of HR, Unfiltered, Dean and Sue dismantle one of HR's most hyped - but least understood - concepts: Adult culture. Neither Netflix or HR commentators invented it; the idea has been around for nearly a century. So, why are organisations still running Parent-Child workplaces while preaching autonomy, empowerment and trust?    Across almost 60 minutes of honest conversation, we explore:  - How modern organisations unconsciously design child-like systems that undermine accountability;  - How HR's templates, scripts, euphemisms and frameworks quietly reinforce dependency;  - Why leaders slip into Critical Parent or Nurturing Parent, any why employees respond in Adapted/Compliant Child;  - What adult-to-adult really looks like, with practical, laughably recognisable roleplays;  - Why regulated industries might often get adult culture more right than others;  -  How to handle mistakes, performance issues and organisational change without reverting to parent-child dynamics;  - And the truth that a fully Adult culture is impossible and undesirable - the goal is an organisation where Adult is the centre of gravity, not the *only* ego state.  This episode blends psychology, leadership practice and HR reality without jargon, without corporate theatrics, and without the empty promises of human-centric slides.  If you've ever wondered why your culture isn't as 'adult' as your values say it is, this one is for you. 

In this episode of HR Unfiltered, Sue and Dean dive head-first into one of the most weaponised, misunderstood, and fear-inducing phrases in the people profession: “Commercial HR.” What is it? Why does everyone claim to be it? Why does it terrify so many HR teams? And why is the definition still so unbelievably vague? We rip the jargon apart and rebuild it into something crystal clear: Commercial HR is HR that creates measurable value (revenue, profit, cost reduction, smarter investment cases, public value, better outcomes, risk mitigation, etc.) Everything else is admin. This episode covers: ✔️ Why HR fell for the “kids’ table” narrative ✔️ The difference between strategic-sounding and actually commercial ✔️ Practical examples from multiple sectors ✔️ How to talk to a CFO (and be taken seriously) ✔️ Why “non-commercial HR” isn’t kinder, and is arguably lower impact ✔️ The SOPEOPLE Commercial HR Cheat Sheet (3 questions that might change everything) ✔️ What to do if your CEO or business partner is on the wrong track ✔️ How HR accidentally trains itself out of influence ✔️ Why “the fluffy stuff” (psych safety, leadership, culture) is the commercial stuff ✔️ Why every HR role (yes, every single one) has commercial value Whether you’re an HRBP, HRD, CPO, L&D lead, OD partner, recruiter, ER pro, or running a people function in chaos… This episode will challenge, provoke, and reassure you; we aim to give you the language you need to step (back) into influence. This isn’t HR-bashing, it's HR-empowering and HR grown-up; welcome to a new baseline.

Dean and Sue tackle the dreaded topic of performance management. They argue that traditional annual reviews and ratings are outdated, biased, and demotivating (and efforts to revitalise have been like putting "lipstick on a pig.")

Sue and Dean explore organisational culture, using the metaphor "culture shows up in the car park." They discuss how symbols like executive parking or informal chats in the smoking shelter reveal a company's true values, often more than official statements. Arguing that culture "eats strategy for breakfast," they contrast toxic examples with healthy ones. They conclude that building a great culture isn't accidental; it requires deliberate alignment, committed leadership, and a strong employee voice to define "what it's really like to work here."

We're HR Unfiltered, a podcast hosted by SOPEOPLE founders, Dean Corbett and Sue O'Callaghan. We are new at this and a little out of our comfort zone, so bear with us - we're confident in one thing: It will get better and have more bite with each episode that we put time into creating. We're a scrappy people consultancy start up and we're bringing you an unfiltered view of key topics the HR/People space. Please stay with us as we build out episodes that we hope you come to enjoy.  

We're HR Unfiltered, a podcast hosted by SOPEOPLE founders, Dean Corbett and Sue O'Callaghan. We are new at this and a little out of our comfort zone, so bear with us - we're confident in one thing: It will get better and have more bite with each episode that we put time into creating. We're a scrappy people consultancy start up and we're bringing you an unfiltered view of key topics the HR/People space. Please stay with us as we build out episodes that we hope you come to enjoy.