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America Back to Work: Amanda Haddaway, HR Answerbox
Unlocking the Secrets of Effective Communication and Conflict Resolution
In this week’s episode of America Back to Work, Arnette Heintze sits down with Amanda Haddaway, the managing director of HR Answerbox, to discuss the multifaceted world of employee relations and workplace culture.
She shares her journey from an accidental entry into HR to becoming a seasoned expert in the field. She highlights the importance of fostering a positive employee experience, managing workplace disputes, and the significant risks organizations face when they ignore employee relations issues.
Key Discussion Points
- Successful Employee Relations
- The importance of the entire employee experience.
- Strategies successful companies use to build productive and supportive workplace cultures.
- Common Issues in Employee Relations
- Types of disputes and serious situations Amanda and her team handle.
- The consequences of adopting a “head in the sand” approach to employee issues.
- Culture and Systemic Issues
- How workplace culture impacts employee relations.
- The importance of mission, vision, values, and intentional leadership in fostering a positive culture.
- Red flags that indicate workplace culture problems, such as high turnover and absenteeism.
- Core Values and Beliefs
- The significance of core values in an organization.
- The process of defining and promoting core values.
- Employee Engagement & Retention
- Insights into what motivates employees and strategies to retain talent.
- The return on investment for companies that invest in employee relations.
- Training and Development
- The role of HR Answerbox in providing management training and support.
- Training approaches for newly promoted managers and leaders.
- Workplace Investigations
- The process and importance of conducting thorough workplace investigations.
- Amanda’s approach to handling complex issues and her legal background that aid in collaboration with law firms.
Quote Highlights
- “It all boils down to workplace culture.”
- “Taking care of their people… what gets your employees out of bed in the morning?”
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S2Verify is one of the leading, privately held, pre-employment background screening companies in the United States.
Arnette Heintze is co-founder and chief strategy officer at S2Verify. Before establishing S2Verify, Arnette spent more than three decades working at the highest levels of federal, state, and local law enforcement.
He served more than 20 years in the United States Secret Service as a special agent and senior executive,—oØ where he planned, designed, and implemented security strategies to protect U.S. Presidents, world leaders, events of national significance, and our nation’s most sensitive assets, including financial infrastructure.
After retiring from the Secret Service, Arnette focused on building the growth and performance of innovative start-ups and SMBs. In 2004, he established Hillard Heintze, a globally recognized strategic security risk management and investigations firm.
In 2009, along with Bill Whitford and Jim Zimbardi, Arnette established S2 Verify with an approach and methodology that delivers fast, accurate, compliant, and affordable background screening insights crucial to better managing insider risks, threats, and vulnerabilities.