Join America Back to Work, a weekly podcast, video, and blog series that covers timely and relevant topics affecting the labor market and workforce with industry experts. The series includes recruiting, hiring, retention, employee satisfaction, customer service, background screenings, and more.
America Back to Work: Lauren Winans, Next Level Benefits
HR Strategies for Managing Workforce Changes
On this week’s episode of America Back to Work, host Arnette Heintze chats with Lauren Winans, the CEO of Next Level Benefits, about the evolving landscape of HR in America.
Lauren shares her journey from a seasoned HR leader at companies like General Nutrition Centers and American Eagle Outfitters to founding her consultancy in 2019.
She delves into the unique business model of Next Level Benefits, which provides companies with on-demand HR expertise. She highlights the importance of flexibility and adaptability in today’s HR strategies.
Key Topics Discussed
- Lauren explains the model of embedding HR consultants with client teams to tackle specific projects, which fosters knowledge transfer and reduces employee burnout.
- Insights into how HR teams are evolving post-pandemic with a focus on leaner, more flexible structures and the integration of part-time help and consultants.
- Recommendations on avoiding assumptions and actively listening to employees to better assess team needs.
- Current trends in HR, including increased focus on career development, leadership coaching, and readiness for more agile work environments.
- Lauren emphasizes the importance of conflict resolution training, soft skills development, and understanding AI’s role in future workplaces.
Memorable Quotes:
- “HR expertise is pretty transferable.”
- “We can embed an HR expert into the group so everyone benefits.”
- “There’s a different way to go about things…leaders are taking the time to figure out what’s going to work best.”
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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.