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HR Party of One is brought to you by BerniePortal.

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I work alongside overwhelmed Human Resources professionals every day, and many of them ask

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me the same thing. “Do you follow any HR people who share good tips or resources?”

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I’ll admit I am a little biased toward HR Party of One and our blogs, e-books, community forum,

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and more. But I also enjoy reading posts from HR “influencers,” or leading voices

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in this profession, to see what other people out there are thinking about.

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And let’s be honest—some of these people aren’t

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just for career building or HR know-how. They are FUNNY.

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So, in this episode, I’m going to share five of the BerniePortal team’s favorite

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HR voices of today. This list isn’t exhaustive because there are so many great people out there!

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If you think we left someone out, head over to the community page, which is linked, to tell us about

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them. For now, let me tell you about: Heather J. Younger,

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Hebba Youssef, Madeline Mann,

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Hanner The HR Lady, and Jamie Jackson.

Heather Younger

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Let’s get started!

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Who Is Heather Younger? Heather—can we call her

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Heather if she spoke at our conference, Weekdays with Bernie?—is a rockstar. She founded Employee

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Fanatix, contributes to LinkedIn Learning courses, speaks to thousands nationwide,

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consults, and is a celebrated author. Oh, and she is an adjunct professor

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at a law school. I hope she has an Executive Assistant, because WOW, that is a full plate.

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Here’s what I particularly love about Heather: she’s real, with real solutions

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that can shift your paradigm. Many influencers suggest strategies that are GREAT for a large

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employer with limitless resources to improve their culture. But I work with small employers,

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and an HR Party of One’s capacity is very limited. When you lack the time

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and resources to overhaul your culture completely, you should turn to Heather.

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Heather has books out that are perfect for HR professionals looking to improve their outlook

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and make a positive impact on their culture in measurable, reasonable ways. With a deep

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focus on empathy and active listening, Heather’s thought leadership drives

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organizations to change their culture on an atomic level to bring about transformation.

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And that first atom is in you, the Human in the Human Resources role.

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My favorite Heather Younger quote: “Include, include, include!” I love this quote because it’s

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something my company lives by. Every intention is shaped by how it impacts your own role,

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your team, your client, your partner, external stakeholders, and the company as a whole.

Hebba Youssef

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Who Is Hebba Youssef?

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Hebba Youssef is not only the Chief People Officer at Workweek. She’s also a lean,

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mean, resource-creating machine, and she’s putting a Mean Girl spin on HR.

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And by that, I mean she’s been working on the ultimate HR Burn Book. She’s a proud Millennial,

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and we are loving the references in her content and on LinkedIn. It’s fresh,

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funny, and up-front. She often says the quiet part out loud.

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Let’s face it, how many times have you thought to yourself, “I hate it here.”? HR is a tough

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and sometimes thankless job. Hebba’s awesome niche is leaning into the ugly,

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mean side of how real HR professionals may feel about their role.

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Be raw. Be honest. People won’t always like you, and you’ll make difficult decisions that leave you

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feeling a little hollow sometimes. In Hebba’s newsletter, aptly titled “I Hate It Here.”,

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she covers the strategies, reminders, and fun pieces to get you through a tough week.

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The tagline is literally “a safe space for jaded, overworked, and emotionally burned

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out HR/People Operations professionals who need a little inspiration to tackle the newest dumpster

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fire of the week.” If you want to subscribe, I left a link for you in the description.

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My favorite Hebba Youssef quote: “The beautiful thing is you can be

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frustrated and inspired at the same time! Look at that, dualities do exist.” So, I read this

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statement in a LinkedIn post. Ironically enough, the context of the post was about

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making sure you follow real HR influencers and not analysts with a large following.

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Oftentimes, business-minded folks end up speaking in HR spaces. You’re business-minded, too,

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but I’m talking about the finance people who wanna discuss employee

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relations tactics. It’s hard for someone outside of HR to truly understand that a

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moment of frustration can simultaneously be a breakthrough. Hebba brings HR down to earth,

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and when you subscribe to her newsletter, you’ll see just how relatable she is.

Madeline Mann

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Who Is Madeline Mann? You know what I said about the

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business-minded person? Sometimes, you get the industry insight AND the HR expertise.

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Madeline is close to our BerniePortal hearts. Like Heather, she spoke at Weekdays with

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Bernie. In 2024, she joined our audience to explain why your applicants and employees are

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accepting outrageous advice from people online to try and advance their careers.

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And Madeline knows a thing or two about advancing careers! She begin her early work as an HR Party

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of One herself, but has since branched into owning her own businesses. Her TikTok, LinkedIn,

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and other platforms show off her energetic personality and incredible insight into HR,

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recruiting, career development, resume building, and interview strategies.

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If you’re looking for an influencer that has experienced the tumult of an HR role

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and is keen to help you succeed in each career phase, Madeline is it. Check out her website,

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linked for you in the description, and some of her other content for a fun and

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informative time. Oh, and definitely check out our interview with her!

Hanner The HR Lady

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Who Is Hanner the HR Lady? So, this influencer is a little

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different. For one, she’s extremely private. How HR of her, right? Hanner the HR Lady is based

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on TikTok, where she shared sardonic clips of HR experiences. And listen, y’all—she is HILARIOUS.

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Here’s a quick example of the EXACT feeling you get when an important

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email you spent a long time on is not read by a single person: video link

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Hanner is perfect for when you need to kill 15 minutes and reset your brain. She’s funny,

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relatable, and asks nothing of you. And Hanner, if you’re watching this, know that we love you! And

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do you do stand-up HR comedy…? Who Is Jamie Jackson?

Jamie Jackson

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Jamie Jackson is like Hanner—she’s the Chief Meme Officer for @humerousresources on TikTok,

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but she also has her own website sharing information about herself and her mission.

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Jamie was led to create her channel by surviving ya-know-who (the pandemic).

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She was in HR in 2020 and experienced the calamitous events and changes that

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reshaped the modern world of work. This experience, and the shared need

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with other HR people for a laugh, has spawned multiple accounts and medias you can enjoy.

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I love her HR Besties podcast for how bright and optimistic

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it is. She also coined the best HR podcast tagline I’ve ever heard:

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“Get ready to mix business and BS with the HR Besties - your favorite watercooler crew!”

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There are thousands of unique, interesting, relatable HR influencers out there worth

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following. Many of them are on LinkedIn, or put out short-form clips on TikTok. Some,

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like us, have a YouTube channel and podcast. Learn from others,

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or have a laugh in your downtime about the similar trials and tribulations of other HR pros.

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If you have a recommendation, head on to our HR Party of One Community and tell

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everyone about them! Remember—your role is as strategic as you make it!