Summary: Uber's recent controversy in regards to the multi billion dollar company's workplace culture resulted in Founder and CEO, Travis Kalanick, resigning and 20 employees fired. So what can we learn from this situation? According to Kelley School of Business Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management, Elizabeth Malatestinic, the debacle should teach start-ups the importance of the human resource role within a company. In this episode of The ROI Podcast, Liz talks about how managers can leverage their human resources department to make the company more profitable, and increase the workplace culture. Show Notes: 0:01 People want to feel like they matter in the workplace. They want to feel like their contributions are valued. 0:14 Shane Simmons and Associate Dean of Academic Programs, Phil Powell, welcome listeners back to The ROI Podcast Presented by the Kelley School of Business on the IUPUI Campus. 1:15 In this episode, Shane and Phil are talking about the recent controversy with a Silicon Valley company, and the lessons we can learn from them. 2:02 Liz Malatestinic says there is a lot of misconceptions about Human Resources. 2:56 Liz references The hit T.V. show The Office, and Michael's strong dislike of Toby, the HR employee. 3:36 Liz says Uber, under Kalanick's leadership, had a culture where Human Resources was thought of an entity only meant for recruiting new employees. 4:18 Liz mentioned how sometimes the founders of successful startups can be blinded by their own perception of the company culture. 5:33 Phil mentions a common theme he and Shane have come across while interviewing successful leaders, and that's making employees feel like they are an important part of the organization. 6:28 Liz gives an example on how to avoid issues within your company. 6:35 Liz says too often the company's leadership will make a major decision, then approach the HR department and ask that they implement the policy, without every meeting with the department before coming to the decision. 8:20 Once a company gets to about 50 employees, Liz suggests hiring an HR employee.
