Colleen McCreary on Layoffs, M&A, and Recruiting the Best Talent

“HR Heretics” | How CPOs, CHROs, Founders, and Boards Build High Performing Companies

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Colleen McCreary on Layoffs, M&A, and Recruiting the Best Talent

HR Heretics

Oct 26, 2023

Transcript

Colleen McCreary, a seasoned Chief People Officer (Zynga, Credit Karma, EA, Twilio) -turned-venture capitalist at Ribbit Capital, sits down with Kelli Dragovich and Nolan Church. This insider conversation covers tactical advice for navigating Mergers and Acquisitions (she’s been through multiple), layoffs, recruiting top talent, and transitioning from an HR leader into the world of the board room. Before the interview, Nolan and Kelli also discuss the recent negative press for Carta's CEO Henry Ward, and offer listeners a behind the scenes understanding of executive departures and settlement packages. If you’re looking for HR software that drives performance, check out Lattice https://www.lattice.com/hrheretics

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SPONSORS: Lattice | Continuum

✅ Discover HR software that drives performance with Lattice: https://www.lattice.com/hrheretics

High performance and great culture should never be at odds; they’re better together. With Lattice People Management Platform, companies efficiently run people programs that create enviable cultures where employees want to do their best work. Serving 1000s of customers of all sizes. Learn why companies from Slack to the LA Dodgers choose Lattice. https://www.lattice.com/hrheretics

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Have you ever had a negative experience hiring executives? Continuum connects executives and senior operators to venture backed tech companies for fractional and full-time roles. You can post any executive-level role to Continuum’s marketplace and search through our database of world-class, vetted leaders. There is no hidden cost, you only pay the person you hire. And you can cancel at any time. HR Heretics listeners get 15% off

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RECOMMENDED PODCAST:

Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to “The Riff” with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff

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KEEP UP WITH COLLEEN, NOLAN, + KELLI ON LINKEDIN

Colleen:https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleenmccrearychiefpplofficer/

Nolan:https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/

Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/

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LINKS:

- Ribbit Capital: https://ribbitcap.com/

- Henry Ward’s blog post about negative press: https://henrysward.medium.com/what-i-tell-employees-about-negative-press-7c134e7a601c

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Episode Preview

(01:43) The Carta story: executive terminations and lawsuits

(05:15) Rolling Layoffs

(13:45) Setting expectations after a layoff event

(17:49) Sponsors: Lattice | Continuum

(19:23) Employee accountability and RTO debate

(21:00) CHRO/CPO’s responsibility to be the voice for the company

(26:20) Moral challenges and breaking up with a CEO - infamous Zynga story

(31:28) Colleen’s experience being an advisor for Silicon Valley, the HBO series

(34:25) Recruiting lessons from Silicon Valley

(36:20) Colleen’s tactical lessons from multiple M&As

(43:30) Most important ‘gotchas’ to watch out for in M&A process

(47:08) Transitioning from HR to VC

(50:40) Being a long date in the interview process to create opportunities

(53:15) Navigating the choice between CPO at a big company, COO, and VC

(55:40) Colleen’s best hire(s): Mike Vernal and his crew

(58:28) Colleen’s best interview question

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HR Heretics is brought to you by Turpentine www.turpentine.co

Producer: Natalie Toren

Production: Graham Bessellieu, Michelle Poreh

For inquiries about guests or sponsoring the podcast, email Natalie@turpentine.co

Discussion about this podcast

“HR Heretics” | How CPOs, CHROs, Founders, and Boards Build High Performing Companies

After a decade+ of “blitz-scaling” companies, HR, talent, and People leaders now face an uncertain economy that has already seen big booms and busts. What will it take to construct the next generation of incredible businesses – and where can people leaders have the most business impact?

Hosts Nolan Church and Kelli Dragovich have been through it all, the highs and the lows – IPOs, layoffs, executive turnover, board meetings, culture changes, and more. With a lineup of industry vets and experts, Nolan and Kelli break down the nitty-gritty details, trade offs, and dynamics of constructing high performing companies. Through unfiltered conversations that can only happen between seasoned practitioners – Kelli and Nolan dive deep into the kind of leadership-level strategy that often happens behind closed doors.

This show is for those who are ready to ditch conventional wisdom and figure out from first principles what works for their culture, business model, and industry, with the goal of building a resilient and enduring company. You’ll come away with real guidance for seeing around corners, building enduring companies, and carving out an impactful career – plus a newly-honed bullshit detector.

Topics frequently touched on in this season include: building high performing cultures, compensation negotiation, performance reviews, company design, equity, M&As, recruiting the best talent, and how to manage your own psychology as a people leader.

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