America Back to Work Ep 60: Brad Eddy, HelloFresh

HR and Employee Relations in Today’s Workplace

In this insightful episode of “America Back to Work,” host Arnette Heintze is joined by Brad Eddy, a seasoned HR professional with a wealth of experience in employee relations. Currently serving as the senior manager of employee relations business Partner at HelloFresh and the owner of BHRadley, a consulting firm, Eddy shares his journey into HR and provides expert advice on navigating the complexities of employee relations in today’s ever-changing workplace.

Key Topics Covered

• Understanding Employee Relations: Brad outlines his approach to employee relations, emphasizing its critical role in fostering a supportive work environment and mitigating risk while ensuring policies are centered around employee experience and growth.
• Effect of the Pandemic on HR: The conversation delves into the immediate challenges HR faced with the onset of the pandemic, highlighting the swift transition to remote work, the importance of maintaining employee engagement, and the strategic shift towards flexibility and well-being.
• The Great Resignation & War on Talent: Brad shares his perspective on the predictable nature of the Great Resignation and how the pandemic reshaped employee expectations, leading to a significant shift in the labor market.
• Future Trends in Employee Relations: Looking ahead, Brad discusses the ongoing evolution of remote and hybrid work models, the critical focus on mental health and well-being, and the role of technology in enhancing ER strategies.
• Conflict Resolution Best Practices: Eddy offers valuable advice on managing workplace conflicts, stressing the importance of early intervention, clear and open communication, active listening, and meticulous documentation.
• Advice for HR Professionals: Brad provides actionable tips for HR professionals looking to build trust and credibility within their organizations, including the necessity of transparent communication and the development of strong, employee-focused programs.

Employee Relations Tips

• Employee Relations Perspective: “So from an ER perspective, we really focus on risk and policy, trying to have the organization create policies that are employee-centric around the employee experience, and actually focusing on their growth and well-being and satisfaction.” — Brad Eddy [00:03:42 → 00:03:59]
• The Shift to Remote Work Amidst Pandemic: “So the first thing that came to mind and when we were trying to figure out how we were going to navigate the pandemic was remote work and flexibility. A lot of organizations never had remote workforces. And from my perspective, from an ER perspective, how are we going to shift that work to be remote? How are we going to keep employee engagement, how are we going to handle employee issues and then also keep that company culture?” — Brad Eddy [00:05:54 → 00:06:23]
• Adjusting to Remote Work Challenges: “These were uncharted times for everybody. So we really had to focus on making sure that we were attending to employees’ mental health and also just making sure that they had support systems in place.— Brad Eddy [00:06:29 → 00:06:41]
• Post-Pandemic Employee Engagement Strategies: “Companies are really focusing more on improving the engagement, trying to retain that talent, making sure that they have initiatives such as career development programs and also just recognition for employees.” — Brad Eddy [00:08:25 → 00:08:40]
• The Importance of Specialized Employee Relations: “I think the need for a more specialized, eR, function becomes more apparent. It typically kind of floats to the top when routine HR functions begin to kind of overshadow strategic employee relations initiatives.”— Brad Eddy [00:10:03 → 00:10:22]
• Workplace Conflict Management: “If you see something, say something, address the conflicts properly so that they don’t escalate.” — Brad Eddy [00:11:54 → 00:12:00]
• Remote Work Engagement Strategies: “So one thing that we implemented was weekly town halls where senior leaders would come on, talk about the company, talk about updates that needed to be discussed, and then also just provide a space for employees to ask questions and just be really transparent and authentic with them.” — Brad Eddy [00:14:52 → 00:15:10]
• The Importance of Transparency in Leadership: “Again, employees want to know what’s going on. If you send an email and say something’s changing, but you don’t really tell them why or give them some insight into why the organization is going in a particular way, they’re going to make up their own stories and it’s just going to create more and more disruption on the workflow. So make sure that you have open and transparent communications when you can because transparency does foster trust.” — Brad Eddy [00:16:57 → 00:17:23]
• Workplace Evolution in the Pandemic Era: “Adoption of the remote work flexible hybrid model really helped employees kind of balance their work life and also gave them time to kind of get that satisfaction with the job.” — Brad Eddy [00:18:53 → 00:19:06]
• The Future of Work Post-Pandemic: “I think there’s still going to be an increased focus on remote and hybrid work models. Like I said, you’re probably not going to see as many remote opportunities, but you’re going to see those hybrid work models.”— Brad Eddy [00:20:22 → 00:20:36]

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