HR is expected to model professionalism, consistency, and neutrality in every interaction. Over time, that expectation has shaped a recognizable image - one that establishes authority, but can also create distance. In this episode of HR Wine Bar, host Amy Luckenbill, President of the Human Resource Association of the Midlands, and co-host Jamie Mohrman, Director Elect for HR Nebraska, welcome style and color consultant Nickaela Schroeder of House of Colour for a conversation on authenticity as a component of professional presence.

Titled Authenticity is Everything: Presence, Perception, and Prosecco, this episode examines how HR professionals are is subject to the prejudgments that come with the profession and how that interpretation influences trust, access, and credibility. The discussion explores the tension between representing the organization and showing up as an individual, and how defaulting to a “safe” version of professionalism can reinforce the perception of HR as controlled and difficult to approach.

Through real-world scenarios, including first impressions, informal workplace interactions, and the balance between leadership influence and employee access, the conversation connects presence directly to the work of HR. It introduces the idea that authenticity is not a departure from professionalism, but a more intentional alignment between role, environment, and individual presence.

If you lead, support, or influence teams, this episode sharpens your awareness of how you are being read before you speak and what that means for your effectiveness. It positions HR as a function that is not only responsible for communication, but one that is constantly interpreted through presence as well as action.

Cheers to HR!

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

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)

Generational conversations are happening in real time across today’s workplace, often framed as differences in mindset, expectations, or work style. 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 Tami Williams, Ed.D., for a conversation that reframes what HR should be paying attention to.

Titled Informing Employee Identity: Generations, Gaps, and Grenache, this episode shifts the focus away from generational traits and toward the systems shaping how work actually gets done. The discussion examines how organizations often attribute tension to generational differences when the underlying issue is inconsistency in leadership, communication, and expectations. It highlights how managers define daily experience and how variation at that level creates misalignment that is often mislabeled as generational conflict.

Through real-world scenarios, including flexibility expectations, feedback gaps, and communication differences, the conversation connects what organizations are observing to how work is structured and led. It positions generational dynamics as a reflection of system design rather than a standalone problem to solve.

If you lead, support, or influence teams, this episode sharpens your ability to move beyond generational shorthand and focus on the structures that actually drive behavior. It provides a clearer lens for understanding how expectations are changing and what that means for leadership in the moment.

Cheers to HR!

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

In this episode of HR Wine Bar, co-hosts Jamie Mohrman and Amy Luckenbill turn inward to the role that carries the people agenda at the highest level: the CHRO.

Speaking CHRO isn’t about title or hierarchy—it’s about mindset. This conversation explores how CHROs think at the enterprise level, balancing advocacy and accountability, culture and risk, long-term sustainability and immediate pressure. Jamie and Amy unpack what differentiates functional HR leadership from CHRO-level leadership, and why influence, judgment, and credibility matter more than authority.

The episode examines the realities of leading HR from the inside: navigating competing priorities, coaching leaders without overstepping, and making decisions that shape culture long after the moment has passed. Through applied scenarios and practical leadership tools, listeners are invited to think beyond their role and begin developing CHRO-level perspective wherever they sit today.

If you’re aspiring to senior HR leadership—or already carrying the weight of people decisions without the title—this episode offers language, perspective, and clarity to help you lead with confidence and integrity.

Cheers to HR!

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

In this episode of HR Wine Bar, co-hosts Jamie Mohrman and Amy Luckenbill focus on one of HR’s most critical operational partnerships: the COO.

Speaking COO requires a different lens than speaking CEO or CFO. This conversation explores how operations leaders think about flow, execution, constraints, and consistency—and how HR can align people strategy with the realities of day-to-day work. We unpack what COOs listen for, what frustrates them, and where HR can either accelerate results or unintentionally slow things down.

Jamie and Amy discuss how HR decisions show up on the floor, in schedules, in processes, and in productivity—and why credibility with operations is built through clarity, follow-through, and practical problem solving. Through real scenarios and applied judgment calls, this episode offers tools for translating HR priorities into operational language that earns trust and partnership.

If you want stronger collaboration with operations, fewer disconnects between policy and practice, and a clearer understanding of how HR fits into execution—not just strategy—this episode will help you speak COO with confidence.

Cheers to HR!

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

How to Speak CFO: Budgets, Benchmarks, and Barolo explores how HR professionals can build stronger partnerships with finance by speaking the language of impact, risk, and return. Co-hosts Jamie Mohrman and Amy Luckenbill break down what CFOs actually listen for, where HR conversations often miss the mark, and how to translate people strategy into business results. If you want more buy-in, better questions, and fewer budget battles, this episode is your guide.

Cheers to HR!

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