Rachelle Diamond

Hey HR, here are 3 ideas you’ll want to steal before 2026 sneaks up on you. On the latest episode of HR Voices, I sat down with Cheryl M. Naumann, SPHR, NACD.CD, CHRO of University of Phoenix. And she packed this 20 minute episode with one actionable idea after another! Here's a sampler platter: 1️⃣ Want AI fluency? Just ask. Cheryl asked everyone on her team to send her one way they’ve used AI, work or personal. Super low lift! But it got the conversation going. She learned tons of use cases, connected the dots across the team, encouraged them to swap tips, and got the momentum going! 2️⃣ Pay for your team to use AI in their personal life Cheryl encourages (and funds!!!) AI personal use. Think meal prep, travel planning, or puppy training advice. Once people get a taste of what AI can do for them at home, it starts showing up in their work. 3️⃣ Encourage remote employees to make the first move At each company town hall, Cheryl encourages people to message a coworker and say: “Hey, I liked what you said. Want to grab a 10-minute virtual coffee?” She reminds people that getting a message like this isn't cringe, it's flattering! So be brave, and build those relationships! 🎧 Full episode with Cheryl is live. And packed with small experiments that make a big difference.

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We don’t always notice it, but trust is the quiet currency of service. As part of this series on making organizational values more than an afterthought, I’m starting with one of the most foundational: Trust. At AAA Oregon/Idaho, we define Trustworthy as acting with honesty and integrity. In practice, that means consistently choosing kindness and transparency. Even when it takes more effort. Members reach out to us in big, sometimes stressful moments: stranded on the road, planning a major trip, or navigating an insurance claim. What they need isn’t a perfect script or an overpromised timeline. What matters most is knowing they’ll be treated with honesty, clear communication, and respect. That’s where trust shines. It goes beyond roadside, travel, or insurance. It shows up in the simplest interactions and thoughtful follow-ups. When people know you’ll be transparent and kind, they’re more likely to feel comfortable, valued, and supported, even through the hard parts. Reflection: What would shift in your organization if every interaction was built on the foundation of trust? #culture #hr #leadership #values

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Back to the Basics — Knocking Doors with My Son After work today, I drove just six miles from my office in San Mateo, CA to meet up with my 18-year-old son, Jake. He just finished his first semester of college and is spending the summer doing door-to-door sales for high-speed Internet in Northern California. Jake told me he’s thinking about a career in sales, so I gave him the advice I give to many aspiring sellers: If you really want to know whether sales is for you, start by knocking doors. There’s no better crash course in customer psychology, resilience, and the fundamentals of value-based selling. So I joined him. Two hours. Dozens of doors. Plenty of rejection. A few good conversations. One sale. A buyer who was so excited she called her mom — who’s now also interested in switching to Fiber. And a few others asked us to come back later in the week. It reminded me: selling high-speed Internet on a doorstep and selling sophisticated integration platforms in a boardroom are more similar than they are different. Buyers — whether consumers or enterprises — still rely on four basic drivers to make decisions: 1. Will this save me time? 2. Will this save me money? 3. Will this make my life or work easier? 4. Do I trust the person standing in front of me? What hasn’t changed — in door-to-door or B2B enterprise sales — is this: people don’t want to be sold to. They want to be understood. They want their problems solved. And they want to feel like you’re on their side, not trying to win a commission. And maybe the most important lesson of all: there’s no shortcut to success in sales. You have to put in the reps. You have to knock the doors. You have to do the work. There’s no substitute for showing up — in person, with intent, and with something of real value to offer. As a sales leader, it was humbling (and honestly, inspiring) to watch my son start his journey by learning these lessons the hard way — face to face, rejection by rejection, one conversation at a time. The fundamentals never go out of style. Jake Lee Luke Lee

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When I joined Indeed, I reported to Chris Hyams, who at the time was leading teams across product, technology, and marketing. His words stuck with me: as an organization grows, the CEO must keep unlearning and learning. When the company has 15 people, you know everyone by name. You share meals, you share friendships… By the time you’re at 75 or 100 employees, you still recognize faces, perhaps know most of the names. But once you grow beyond that, you suddenly realize… you don’t even know everyone anymore. You definitely can’t shape culture just by showing up and being yourself. I’ll admit, I thought I could keep the same impact simply by leading in my own style. But as my company scaled, I had to accept that leadership doesn’t scale on personality alone. Building culture intentionally means surrounding oneself with like-minded players who would automatically align in terms of “how” things are done. It means making the effort to constantly talk to key players across all levels of the organization. People who may not get exposure to you… It means talking to interns (the people getting the least amount of exposure) as they disseminate what they see. It means having the ability to cut across hierarchy, and talk to people all the time! Not just to solve immediate problems, but to show them how we think, how we work, and how decisions are made. That’s how people get to see you as a culture bearer. It’s not rocket science. It’s common sense. But it took me unlearning old instincts and learning new ones. Unlearning “working with everybody all the time,” and learning “how to be a pollinator.” The takeaway: Don’t assume your impact will scale with your company. It won’t. You have to put in deliberate effort, surround yourself with like-minded people, shape culture with intention, and show up at every level of the organization.

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One of the biggest challenges CHROs face today is the growth–efficiency paradox. Leaders are being asked to drive growth while simultaneously cutting costs... and HR is expected to deliver both. This isn’t just about trimming budgets or running leaner processes. It’s about designing work and teams so that productivity scales without burning people out. The best HR leaders use data and analytics to identify where AI can augment work, and where human judgment is irreplaceable. The trend is clear: CHROs who embrace this paradox will be the ones defining the next era of business success. It's not easy, but it is possible!

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No doubt about it. AI has definitely changed recruiting. Faster workflows. Better insights. Bigger influence on hiring decisions. But layering AI on top of a stack of disconnected tools? That just creates more noise. Real progress comes from orchestration. Workflow-driven recruiting on one connected platform where every interaction, every data point, and every decision stays aligned. Less juggling systems. More focus on candidates and decisions that matter. If you’re thinking about where TA tech is headed, this ebook digs into it 👉 https://lnkd.in/eih3AgFQ

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✨ Perspectives from Talent Connect – San Diego ✨ What an incredible few days in San Diego surrounded by some of the brightest minds shaping the future of work. Every conversation reminded me why I love what I do.... helping organizations connect talent with opportunity and empowering people to thrive in this new era of AI and human collaboration. Here are five powerful themes that stood out from this year’s summit that my colleague Adeel Hasham created from reviewing what customers were sharing: 💡 1. Talent Density Over Headcount The mindset is shifting from “hire to grow” to “grow through talent.” Building talent density means focusing on upskilling, mobility, and unlocking the full potential of the people already on your team. 🤝 2. Leadership as Collaboration, Not Heroics The “hero leader” era is ending. The best leaders today create safe spaces for experimentation, encourage curiosity, and turn mistakes into learning moments. 🔑 3. Trust & Authenticity Drive Change Trust is now the currency of influence. Transparent, authentic leaders who share openly and listen deeply are the ones inspiring real transformation across their organizations. 🤖 4. AI as an Enabler, Not a Replacement AI isn’t here to replace us — it’s here to elevate us. By taking on repetitive tasks, AI frees us to focus on what makes us human: creativity, empathy, and innovation. The future is human through AI. 🧠 5. Emotional Agility & Adaptability In times of constant change, resilience means more than endurance — it’s about emotional agility, staying curious, and finding clarity even in uncertainty. I left Talent Connect feeling deeply inspired about what’s next for talent, leadership, and learning, and proud to be part of LinkedIn, helping companies build cultures of growth and purpose in this new world of work. #TalentConnect #FutureOfWork #LinkedInLearning #Leadership #AI #TalentStrategy #PeopleFirst #CareerDevelopment

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Nearly half of global execs say language barriers have cost their business financially. That’s a problem we’ve been quietly working to solve at Gong for years. And today, we’re excited to make it loud. Introducing #AI Translator: the latest Gong Agent designed to give global revenue teams a shared view of pipeline, performance, and execution, no matter the language spoken on the call. It auto-translates key deal moments and pushes insights into your CRM in your team’s standard language. No rep summaries. No waiting. No nuance lost. Whether your team’s closing in Tokyo, São Paulo, or Berlin, they now have the context they need – in the language they work in. This is what it means to scale smarter.  This is what it means to sell without borders. Learn more in the comments down below. 

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