The way HR talks about its work shapes how that work is understood, valued, and included in business decisions. Language carries assumptions, signals priorities, and frames the role of the function long before outcomes are evaluated. In this episode of HR Wine Bar, host Amy Luckenbill, President of the Human Resources Association of the Midlands, welcomes Beth Trejo, CEO of Chatterkick, for a conversation focused on how language influences perception and influence inside organizations.

Titled Words Matter: Language, Leverage, and Lambrusco, this episode continues the HR Branding and Image Series by examining how HR describes the work it does. The discussion explores how familiar terminology, often carried forward from earlier models of the function, can position HR in ways that limit its ability to shape strategy and contribute to decision-making. Even as the scope of the work has expanded, the language surrounding it has remained relatively static.

Through structured discussion and real-world scenarios, the conversation looks at how language influences how HR is interpreted by leaders and employees, how internal vocabulary shapes experience over time, and how framing can either strengthen or dilute the connection between HR and business outcomes. It also considers what it takes to examine the words we use, reconsider how the work is described, and align language with the impact the function is designed to have.

This episode builds on the series by moving from examining systems to examining how those systems are communicated. It invites listeners to reconsider how language shapes perception and how more intentional choices can strengthen alignment, influence, and inclusion.

If you lead, support, or influence HR work, this conversation provides a lens for evaluating how your language reflects the work you are doing and how it positions you within the organization.

Cheers to HR!

Podcast produced by Todd Studer (Loess Hills Media)
Jingle recorded by Mad Honey
Jingle produced by Kyle Knapp (Dry Creek Studio)

There are patterns in HR work that professionals recognize immediately, yet rarely name directly. Processes continue because they have always existed. Systems remain in place because they feel familiar. Workarounds become embedded over time, shaping how work gets done without addressing what needs to change. In this episode of HR Wine Bar, host Amy Luckenbill, President of the Human Resource Association of the Midlands, and co-host Jennifer Tritz welcome Dr. Scott Cawood, CEO of World at Work, for a conversation focused on examining why we are still doing what we do the same way we've always done it.

Titled Say it With Your Full Chest: Hot Takes, Hard Truths, and Haut-Médoc, this episode opens the HR Branding and Image Series by stepping back from perception and influence and looking first at the systems that define the profession. The discussion explores how HR continues to rely on legacy processes, inherited technology, and long-standing assumptions that have not been meaningfully re-evaluated, even as workforce expectations and organizational needs have shifted.

Through structured discussion and real-world scenarios, the conversation examines how compliance guardrails, leadership expectations, and organizational incentives shape how HR work is designed and delivered. It highlights how patterns persist when they remain unexamined, how workarounds evolve into the process itself, and how leadership preference can influence whether systems are challenged or maintained.

This episode invites listeners to question how HR work is structured, how decisions are made, and where the function has the opportunity to reimagine rather than let stability turn to stasis. It positions HR as both the observer of system effectiveness and a contributor to how those systems evolve. To Scott's point, "HR is the table."

If you lead, support, or influence HR work, this episode provides a lens for examining the practices you have inherited and the choices available to move them forward with greater alignment and intention.

Cheers to HR!

Podcast produced by Todd Studer (Loess Hills Media)
Jingle recorded by Mad Honey
Jingle produced by Kyle Knapp (Dry Creek Studio)

Benefits decisions shape behavior earlier than most organizations recognize. Data exists, reports are reviewed, and costs continue to rise. In Episode 18 of HR Wine Bar, host Amy Luckenbill, President of the Human Resource Association of the Midlands, welcomes Kevin Handzlik, VP of Employee Benefits at Ellerbrock-Norris Insurance, for a focused conversation on self-funding, transparency, and what it actually means to use data in benefits strategy.

Titled What Are We Funding: Benefits, Behavior, and Brunello, this episode examines how organizations move from managing plans to operating a system. The discussion explores how access to claims data and cost drivers increases visibility, but does not create change on its own. Through real-world scenarios and practical application, the conversation clarifies how benefits design influences employee behavior, how cost drivers become visible, and how HR can translate data into decisions that impact both spend and experience.

If you support benefits, total rewards, or financial planning, this episode sharpens your understanding of how benefits function as a system and where your influence begins. It positions HR as the connector between data, design, and decision-making, ensuring that one of the organization’s largest investments produces measurable outcomes.

Cheers to HR!

Podcast produced by Todd Studer (Loess Hills Media)
Jingle recorded by Mad Honey
Jingle produced by Kyle Knapp (Dry Creek Studio)