The world, as we know, is changing. The world of HR is changing too. While we can remain cynical about all things HR, Lars Schmidt offers a different perspective. 

Lars is the Founder of Amplify and Co-Founder of HR Open Source. He’s spent 20 years in HR and recruiting building talent strategies for a broad range of companies and industries. He’s a writer with regular columns covering 21st Century HR in Fast Company and Forbes, co-author of Employer Branding for Dummies (Wiley, 2017), global speaker, and host of the 21st Century HR podcast. And he recently joined me on Punk Rock HR. 

Lars’s approach to HR and even PTO solutions is what I like to call HR-positive. Here is what he had to say about it:

“I tend to interview leaders in companies that are making an impact and are doing innovative stuff. I’m not necessarily taking a 360-view of the field of HR, because I’m not interested in talking to people in legacy-oriented companies. I’m not interested in old-school HR. I don’t want to highlight what that looks like and how that feels. I want to focus on where things are going. I’m on the rosier side of the field. And that allows me to be more HR-positive.”

Leaders must be willing to change, adapt, accept modern practices and mindsets. 

For example, leaders should be willing to be real, vulnerable, and relatable. The willingness to be real and vulnerable allows leaders to make connections with their employees and teams that traditionally HR leaders just never did. Some of the topics that Lars mentioned during our conversation, fertility well-being, wellness, mental illness; these are not only corporate issues. These are personal issues, which are being discussed and addressed in today’s workplace. 

Lars and I talk about the concept of 21st Century HR and what it means to be a leader in today’s modern workplace. Have a listen