🗣 Did HR give you trust issues?

👋🏽 Hey, I’m Cassidy and you’ve made it to the right place.

Yo. You’re on Mute was created for you all. A place where voices are heard and you get the fun opportunity to enter the mind of the “HR lady” who rocks her Air Jordans everyday and may need a Snickers often (🤬). Along this journey, I’ll be asking how I can support you IRL + feedback on what you want to see more of. 

Essentially, this is a safe space where culture meets career and connections are made. As an HR/People Operations professional, my mission is to unlock superpowers inside the workplace - but I want to take it step further. As a sneaker collector, I want to show you how creative expression, culture, and style can fuel your passions + purpose. Titles don’t f*$king matter here.

Ultimately, we all want to show up authentically in anything we do. Just know that being your best at work can look different on any given week (or day). So, let’s get into it.

⛽️ Fueling creativity + community + connections ⛽️

🗣 Special Sound Off: there is a lot going on in the world I want to say that it’s okay to feel upset, sad, or even confused. Not going to lie - my heart has been in shambles. My support and understanding goes out to anyone that has been impacted and is feeling like you need community. I am happy to be an active listener. Always.

If this email was forwarded to you, tap in and join the cool collective.

I’ve worked in Human Resources my whole adult life. And… I can’t say I blame anyone for having trust issues.

But how did we get here?

Once upon a time in a magical far away land - we were once the pizza party production squad and so much more.

No. But seriously, HR (aka People Operations aka POPs) has been in a challenging spot for quite some time. We sit in a unique position of upholding our due diligence to protect businesses, but also at the forefront of advocating for employees. This may feel difficult because, at times, those two areas are in the ring and ready to rumble with each other at any given moment.

With recent years of mass layoffs across a multitude of industries and racism taking center stage, HR has had a full plate of responsibilities that aren’t exactly unfamiliar to us. We are now educating employers on the art + science of things we knew all along - put people FIRST. This gets even more complex when you work in HR while also being part of an underrepresented group of people. Boom.

Lowkey Highkey, the job can be exhausting. I don’t write this to form a pity party where champagne is served perfectly chilled. I write this from the lens of even in the midst of being misunderstood as a profession and as a woman of color - I get where this stigma of HR can drive employees to give us the side eye.

✋🏽 One root cause for broken trust between employees and employers is lack of transparency. 

Confidentiality is part of the gig. However, we do have an opportunity to help employees understand how decisions are made within an organization. When internal comms becomes a chaotic cluster (or doesn’t even exist), it can create a sense of exclusion which erodes trust.

As orgs go about navigating the muddy waters of decision-making processes in an ever-changing business landscape, we can encourage our leaders to effectively communicate the reasons behind the changes or even involve employees in the decision-making process. I don’t believe the intention would ever be to cause a lack of psychological safety in the workplace (I’m a glass half full type of gal).

HR can support rebuilding trust by…

• promoting open and honest communication

• ensuring that employees are kept informed about important decisions

• providing opportunities for feedback and input

• keep it real about what we can/can’t talk about as well

✋🏽 Another root cause for broken trust is inconsistent or unfair treatment.

When employees perceive favoritism, bias, or unequal opportunities within the organization, it undermines trust in the employer. If employees voice concerns, they expect some type of change. Has an employee ever said to you “I’m coming to you about something, but don’t want to do anything just yet.” 🚩🚩🚩

HR can support rebuilding trust by…

• implementing fair and transparent policies and procedures

• auditing + ensuring equal opportunities for all employees

• addressing any concerns or complaints in a timely and unbiased manner

• layer in F*&#ING training for managers on all the power (people) skills + fundamentals !!!

time to sound off.

Let’s put away the fun titles of policy police and forge a path forward through grace + space for the HR folks in the room. While managers have a heavy lift in how they run their teams, we are here to enable the strategy for success.

Working in a tech startup in sneakers is no easy walk in the park, and I LOVE sneakers LOL. As a company that is predominately people of color, we have understandably brought workplace trauma with us. To shift the way we look and think about HR/People Operations, our team made it a point to actively communicate how our role boldly sits at the intersection of human behavior + biz results. We also collaborated with team members on how that happens IRL. Ultimately, everyone just wants to feel heard, seen, and that they BELONG. Remember as kids, we just wanted to fit in?

🗣 Community is a key secret sauce to the recipe.

I’ve seen firsthand how community is built through shared experiences, true support, and authenticity. I don’t ever claim to know it all. I do know when I enter into rooms that weren’t historically designed for me (and imposter syndrome decides to be an a$$hole), the support of a community feels like a warm embrace.

An intentional HR/POPs person will work to understand the harmony between their responsibility to the company and how to advocate for employees in the thick of it. If you’re not too sure how to do that or you’re struggling, please reply to this email so we can chat.

A quick TL;DR moment.

what we are.

• Strategic Leaders

• Bridge Builders x Dot Connectors

• Culture Architects (but not SOLELY responsible 🙃)

• Employee Experience (EX) Product Owners

what we aren’t.

• Magical Mind Readers

• The Babysitters Club

• Captains of the Fun Police

reasons why YYOM exists.

💫 To create a judgment free zone for the hard things at work.

💫 To provide easy access to resources and unfiltered insights.

💫 To introduce you a network of talented humans.

💫 To find your next cool pair of sneakers (let’s say they are for work of course).

🗣 LET’S COME OFF MUTE + CONNECT

Supporting the small biz/brand owner is important to me. Each newsletter, I’ll introduce you to some talented people in my network and beyond.

• One of the greats in the sneaker industry, Bimma Williams, hosts workshops on becoming a freelance creative. Stay connected.

• To bloom in any season is a gift. Check out Bree Clarke’s The Plant Project and how she’s creating floral workshops to build community.

• If you’re in my home city of Houston, get connected with Oqupi. An incredibly dope collective of creatives changing the game.

⚡️QUICKSTRIKE HR + OUT OF THE BOX NEWS

The HR/People Operations landscape is evolving. As the HR World Turns 🌎 could be its own show. Check out some of the happenings below.

• If you’re in need of a Safe Space HR community, tap in and join us here.

• I’m loving the framework of applying product management principles to the employee experience. I’ve been reading Jessica Zwaan’s book ‘Built for People’. [chef’s kiss]

• It’s Q4 and burnout is the real deal. Tap into Cassandra Babilya’s newsletter ‘Making Work Suck Less’ to grab the gems you need.

• Tap into the latest Lattice podcast episode on ‘Building a Strong CPO-CEO relationship with Ethena’s VP of People Melanie Naranjo’.

👟 ONE TO ROCK, ONE TO STOCK

Some HR people may like pilates and shopping trips to Ulta. You could say my thing is sneakers + streetwear. If you enjoy sneaker culture - this section is for you.

• CNK Daily got to vibe with the Jordan Women’s Collective. See how the ladies are dreaming bigger. Inspiring AF.

• Kick Confessions 👟 I had to come out of the sneaker buying sabbatical for this WMNS Air Jordan 1 ‘Satin Bred’.

• SneakHER Style 🏆 around the internet goes to Ashley Simone 🔥

• The Graceful Laces Sneaker Ball is back in Houston this week. It’s for charity and I guarantee you’ll have a TIME. Get your tickets here.

🎧 A SONG I DIDN’T SKIP ON MY PLAYLIST TODAY

This one is self-explanatory and fitting for today. 😎

Now that we have formally met, why don’t you stay a while? Sharing is caring, and I’d love if you shared this newsletter with your BFF (or 3).

Stay tuned for more POPs point of views + how it’s going in the startup space + more on why I’ve been loving sneakers since free lunch.

From the proverbs of Dr. Dre, let’s get ready for the next episode…