Episodes
7 days ago
The New Rules of AI for People Leaders
7 days ago
7 days ago
The New Rules of AI for People Leaders!
In this episode, we are unpacking our long-boiling thoughts about the use of AI by People teams. When there are so many options out there, which one to use? How do we know what is best for us? How do we talk about it openly with others without judgment?
Olya Yakzhina's thought partner in this episode is Hernan Chiosso, CSPO, SPHR 💡, Founder of Productise HR and creator of HR Innovation newsletter: https://productizehr.substack.com.
If you're a People-person, or part of a company that's navigating the wild, slightly overwhelming world of AI in HR, this episode is for you. Especially if you're thinking: how do we actually use this stuff in a way that’s smart, strategic, and not just a flashy experiment that fizzles out?
#AI #PeopleTeam #PeopleStrategy #AIinHR
Monday Apr 14, 2025
People Health Metrics & How To Measure Your Culture
Monday Apr 14, 2025
Monday Apr 14, 2025
This podcast episode is for People professionals and organisations experiencing growth or preparing to scale. It explores how to build a strong culture framework, become a standout People function, and scale without losing the energy of a young startup. Key insights will cover the role of People Metrics, including different types, how to choose the right ones for your business, and how to use them to drive sustainable growth.
Thursday Jul 25, 2024
Menstruation at Work - How To Empower Your People
Thursday Jul 25, 2024
Thursday Jul 25, 2024
In this episode of The Modern Employer podcast we are unpacking the taboo subject of menstruation at work and how it impacts and enables performance of people who menstruate.
We touch on the ways the employer can build an environment where they thrive as well as their allies. This episode bring in a Woman's Health Mentor Carmen Amador Barreiro, who uses a unique perspective to shift the stigma and enable you to be a better organisation when it comes to accommodating and empowering your employees.
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
How to be a Female People Leader at a Senior Table
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
Tuesday Jan 23, 2024
In this episode, we will explore what it feels like to be a female people leader and how hard it can sometimes be to navigate our career development and growth in a male-dominated senior leadership world.
We are here on this journey, we have the space to be here - we already made it so! and we have the right to be ourselves and bring the value we have inside of us to the world!
Today, you will be hosted by me, I am Olya Yakzhina and the Head of People at Switchee, and to unpack this wonderful sentiment with me is Ruth Penfold-Brown the coach and mentor and founder of Bloom! And Natasha Norman, from m3ter (said meter)
Thursday Jan 04, 2024
How to Build a Transparent Culture
Thursday Jan 04, 2024
Thursday Jan 04, 2024
With Adam Horne from Open Org and with Thomas Forstner from Juro, Olya Yakzhina is discussing the ins and outs of transparent culture as a concept and as a potential project for a progressive People leader to embark on.
Tune into this episode to learn more about:
- The Business Case for Transparency and how to built one
- Using Open Org as your independent accreditor and all they ask you to comply with - how on earth to get this done?
- What outcome do you get internally and externally for having been accredited
Enjoy!
Thursday Jan 12, 2023
Culture Engineering
Thursday Jan 12, 2023
Thursday Jan 12, 2023
Culture as a Product
In this episode, we are chatting with the Founder of Sapien, Luke O'Mahoney.
Who is this for: People-people who wish to approach employee experience as a product and learn product engineering ways so they can adopt it. How do you even talk about agile ways of working without sounding like you are out of your depths?
Monday Sep 05, 2022
Cancer At Work
Monday Sep 05, 2022
Monday Sep 05, 2022
Cancer at Work...A difficult topic.How do People teams support employees when they approach them after a diagnosis?Karthika Biju MSc, MCIPD has been brave and compassionate to share her personal story with cancer.This episode comes almost 8 months after our last and I am sure you can deduce the reason for that from the title of this episode.The episode will be useful for:- Employees who are dealing with cancer- People professionals who need to support employees with cancerKarthika is offering your insights and personal experience from both perspectives...and I (Olya Yakzhina) am just humbled to be the one asking her to open up about it on this episode.Disclaimer:Every journey is different. This episode covers some sensitive content surrounding cancer. Please listen with open ears and hearts. We realise the comments may come flooding in but be kind and mindful.
Saturday Aug 06, 2022
How to Scale with People at Heart?
Saturday Aug 06, 2022
Saturday Aug 06, 2022
One of our favourite topics discussed with an awesome and knowledgeable guest Jack Villiers, the Founder & CEO of KULA!This episode will bring the most value to People-people and organisations who are going through a period of growth in their companies or planning for scale and scope.We will discuss how to stay driven as an organisation in a world of building processes and structure. How to create an inspiring workplace and ensure we have the right people on board with us as we grow.As always this podcast is hosted by Olya Yakzhina & Karthika Biju MSc, MCIPD, the People - people :)
Saturday Aug 06, 2022
Salary Benchmarking Made Easy
Saturday Aug 06, 2022
Saturday Aug 06, 2022
The Modern Employer is back from a much-needed rest! We missed you so much and decided that the first podcast should focus on something incredibly current, practical and necessary - Salary Benchmarking!In our newest episode "Salary Benchmarking Made Easy" we will talk about:- Why salary benchmarking is important and at what stage it becomes more relevant?- What to watch out for when conducting salary benchmarking?- Practical tips and advice that you can implement tomorrow.Cozy and friendly chat with Olya Yakzhina & Karthika Biju MSc, MCIPD
Saturday Aug 06, 2022
Making Processes People will Actually Follow
Saturday Aug 06, 2022
Saturday Aug 06, 2022
MOBILISING TEAMS & EFFECTIVE PROCESSES?Gee, those are some big words right there. Let's unpack them with our wonderful guest Ghilaine Chan as we jump into the world of young startups that scale!If you are a leader who is trying to make processes that people will actually follow while maintaining your values and beliefs - jump on this podcast and get some valuable and actionable advice for where to start and what to consider!As always this podcast is hosted by Olya Yakzhina & Karthika Biju MSc, MCIPD, the People - people :)*Find The Modern Employer #wildcards podcast is now on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Castro and Soundcloud. Download and listen later.

The Modern Employer
The Modern Employer Podcast was born out of frustration with the current state of play in People functions. Olya Yakzhina asked: Why isn’t the function taken seriously by leadership? Why do employees often have no idea what the People team is there to do? Why has "HR" become a scary word, and why are people with that title often seen as unapproachable?
Determined to challenge and change this narrative, Olya created a podcast channel focused on how to build a future for People functions that is progressive and transformational. The hashtag #wildcards became a symbol of refusing to conform to the outdated norms still too common in the industry.