HR Unlocked with Lisa Oakley cover art

HR Unlocked with Lisa Oakley

HR Unlocked with Lisa Oakley

Written by: People Associates & iHeartRadio NZ
Listen for free

HR Unlocked with Lisa Oakley is a leadership conversation series where thoughtful HR and business leaders share lived experience on people, risk, culture, and compliance. It is designed for business owners, senior leaders, and HR professionals across Australasia to learn from real decisions and leadership judgment. The show is a platform to honour the contribution of leaders willing to share their experience.

 Economics Management Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • Rose Powell - Vitaco | Future Skills, AI & Building Capability on the Factory Floor

    Rose Powell - Vitaco | Future Skills, AI & Building Capability on the Factory Floor
    Oct 12 2026
    What happens to the future of work if half your workforce gets left behind? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Rose Powell, General Manager People & Capability at Vitaco Health Group, to explore what future-focused People & Culture looks like inside a complex, vertically integrated organisation. Rose's leadership philosophy was shaped early in her career when she moved from a command-and-control manufacturing environment into the very different world of higher education. It was there that she began recognising empathy, care, and connection not as leadership weaknesses, but as strengths. That experience helped shape the servant leadership approach she continues to practise today. At Vitaco, Rose leads People & Capability across a workforce spanning manufacturing, distribution, science, quality, sales, marketing, and corporate functions. She explains how Vitaco's Mini Business Unit model, Pillar Fundamentals, and skills matrix give manufacturing employees a structured pathway to build capability, learn end-to-end processes, progress their careers, and increase their earning potential. The conversation also tackles a bigger question facing manufacturing: what skills should organisations be developing when technology is changing the work itself? Rose shares her involvement in industry and vocational education, why future manufacturing workers will need a different capability mix, and why organisations also have an obligation to help their existing people become more adaptable. She discusses the value of reverse mentoring, including what Vitaco has learnt from younger interns bringing new AI knowledge and ways of working into the organisation. For Rose, capability is more than knowing how to perform today's job. It means understanding how that job may need to be done differently and having the will to make that change happen. That becomes particularly important with AI. Rose warns of the risk of creating a divide between employees who sit behind desks and those who don't. With many frontline employees traditionally lacking company emails, laptops, and access to the same digital tools as corporate teams, she argues that organisations need to be intentional about democratising access to technology, information, and learning. Rose and Lisa also explore how strong cultures survive rapid growth, what constructive employer-union relationships look like, and why trust is built well before anyone reaches the bargaining table. For Rose, regular conversations with delegates and genuine relationships mean disagreement does not have to destroy trust. What You'll Learn How Rose's early career experiences shaped her servant leadership style Why empathy, care, and connection can be leadership strengths What People & Culture looks like across a complex, vertically integrated workforce How Vitaco develops manufacturing capability through its Mini Business Unit model How skills matrices can connect learning, career progression, and remuneration Why capability development needs both technical and human skills How employers and unions can collaborate on workforce development Why traditional qualifications may not always keep pace with changing jobs What future manufacturing employees will need to succeed Why existing employees need support to remain adaptable as technology changes How reverse mentoring can bring new skills into an organisation What younger workers can teach established leaders about AI Why capability is about more than knowing how to perform today's job How purpose can support innovation and organisational growth Why AI risks widening the gap between desk-based and frontline employees How Vitaco is increasing frontline access to digital information and learning Why organisations need to democratise access to technology How culture can remain strong as organisations scale Why consistency of purpose and messaging matters during rapid growth What constructive employer-union relationships look like in practice Why relationships with union delegates matter outside collective bargaining How trust allows employers and unions to disagree constructively Why People & Culture professionals need genuine commercial understanding Why frontline leaders need more than technical expertise How organisations can identify and develop leadership potential earlier Why workforce planning increasingly needs to focus on capability rather than fixed job titles Key Takeaways Empathy, caring, and connection aren't weaknesses in leadership. For Rose, recognising those qualities as strengths fundamentally changed the way she leads. Developing frontline capability works best when employees can clearly see how learning connects to their role, career progression, and earning potential. Future manufacturing capability will look different as automation, data, new systems, and AI change the nature of work. Organisations have a responsibility to develop the people they already employ, not simply ...
    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
  • Laurent Sylvestre | Leading Self, Building Trust & High-Performing Teams

    Laurent Sylvestre | Leading Self, Building Trust & High-Performing Teams
    Oct 7 2026
    How do you become the kind of leader people genuinely want to follow? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Laurent Sylvestre to explore leadership, trust, human dynamics, executive development, and what it really takes to lead well. Laurent challenges the traditional view of HR and People & Culture, emphasising that leaders ultimately own people and culture, while People & Culture professionals help create the conditions for people to thrive. The conversation explores the importance of knowing your people, having meaningful conversations about skills and aspirations, and aligning individual potential with business outcomes. A key theme is congruence — understanding who you are, the leader you want to become, and whether the organisation you work for aligns with your values and ambitions. Laurent also shares his three levels of leadership: leading self, leading others, and leading the enterprise, alongside insights on high-performing teams, trust, executive wellbeing, CEO pressures, and navigating change with greater agency. What You’ll Learn Why Laurent once declared “HR is dead” and what he meantWhy People & Culture is about impact, not labels What it means for HR to act as a curator * Why leaders need to truly know their people How talent reviews can become dynamic and commercially useful Why employee aspirations should connect to business outcomes How Laurent’s experiences shaped his interest in human dynamics The difference between HR process and what happens “under the waterline” Why authenticity and congruence matter in leadership * Why difficult experiences can strengthen leadership capability How to assess whether a role or organisation is right for you Why diversity matters in high-performing leadership teams The importance of leading self before leading others How leading self, others, and the enterprise connect Key Takeaways The future of HR is not about changing the label. It is about increasing its impact on people, leadership, culture, and business outcomes.Leaders own people and culture. People & Culture professionals help curate the environment in which both can thrive.Knowing your people means understanding aspirations, capabilities, potential, and what matters to them — not just performance. Talent conversations should be ongoing and linked to organisational outcomes rather than happening once a year.Sustainable leadership requires alignment between who you are, how you lead, and the organisation you work within.Career success on paper does not automatically equal fulfilment. Before pursuing a bigger role, leaders should ask what they are actually trying to achieve. You cannot lead others well without first understanding yourself. Leading the enterprise requires self-leadership and genuine followership.High-performing teams need clear definitions of performance, strong individual contribution, disciplined behaviours, and trust.Professional intimacy helps maintain trust when performance dips because people will not always be perfectly credible or reliable.Many executive team problems are not individual capability issues, but problems with how people work together. CEOs are increasingly focused on boards, executive team effectiveness, staying connected to the organisation, and their own wellbeing. About Laurent Sylvestre Laurent Sylvestre is a leadership and human dynamics specialist, CEO, and founder who works with executives, senior leaders, and leadership teams. His career spans Human Resources, People & Culture, executive leadership, and organisational development across Europe and Asia Pacific. His work focuses on self-leadership, team dynamics, trust, organisational culture, and high performance. After a long corporate career, Laurent moved into entrepreneurship to align his work more closely with his purpose and strengths. He works particularly with CEOs, managing directors, executive teams, and senior leaders. Why This Episode Matters Leadership expectations continue to grow as leaders navigate changing markets, board pressure, complex teams, technology, employee expectations, and uncertainty. This episode brings leadership back to the individual, exploring identity, purpose, trust, relationships, and the kind of leader we want to become. Laurent also challenges HR and People & Culture professionals to look beyond processes and understand the human dynamics behind performance, conflict, trust, and change. Whether you’re an HR professional, executive, business owner, senior leader, or considering your next career move, this conversation offers practical insights for leading yourself, strengthening relationships, and helping people and organisations perform at their best. Resources & Links Laurent Sylvestre: https://laurentsylvestre.comConnect with Laurent Sylvestre on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurentsylvestre/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
    Show More Show Less
    55 mins
  • Ronel Jacobs - Access | Business-First HR, AI & Leading Through Change

    Ronel Jacobs - Access | Business-First HR, AI & Leading Through Change
    Oct 5 2026
    Is there really such a thing as HR best practice? In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Ronel Jacobs, Chief People and Safety Officer at Access Partners and Property, for a wide-ranging conversation about what effective People & Culture leadership looks like in the real world. With more than 20 years of experience spanning HR, recruitment, health and safety, environment, quality, acquisitions, and organisational change across South Africa and New Zealand, Ronel has worked across organisations of vastly different sizes and industries. One of her biggest lessons is that there is no single best-practice approach that works everywhere. HR needs to understand the size, industry, culture, strategy, and commercial realities of the organisation before deciding what good looks like. Ronel and Lisa explore this through acquisitions and restructures, discussing why communication is critical, how change champions can help organisations integrate, and why genuine consultation requires leaders to remain open to outcomes they may not have anticipated. Ronel also shares how experiencing redundancy herself changed her approach to restructuring. That lived experience has reinforced the importance of remembering that organisational change isn’t simply a process to complete. Decisions can affect someone’s livelihood, family, and, for migrant workers, potentially their ability to remain in New Zealand. The conversation moves into the realities of employing migrant workers in highly specialised roles, including skills shortages, immigration uncertainty, significant investment in training and relocation, and the operational challenges businesses face when those skills aren’t readily available locally. Lisa and Ronel also unpack employment disputes and representation, including their experiences with employment lawyers and advocates, the incentives that can shape dispute resolution, and why understanding the outcome both parties actually need can help resolve conflict more effectively. AI is another major theme. Ronel describes the current enthusiasm for AI as an “AI sugar rush” and raises an important question for the future of HR: if technology removes entry-level administrative roles, where will future senior HR professionals develop the judgement, critical thinking, and communication skills they traditionally learned through those roles? She also explores how relying too heavily on AI-generated communication could dilute an organisation’s culture. From restructuring documents to employment letters, Ronel believes language needs to reflect not only the organisation, but also the person receiving it. Finally, the conversation brings together Ronel’s responsibility for both People & Culture and health and safety. She discusses why the two disciplines complement each other, the growing importance of psychological health and safety, knowing when an issue requires independent expertise, and why HR professionals need to understand what actually happens operationally rather than making decisions from behind a desk. What You'll Learn Why HR “best practice” needs to be fit for the organisationHow business acumen helps HR professionals adapt their approachWhat Ronel has learned from acquisitions and significant organisational changeWhy communication is fundamental during acquisitionsHow change champions can support successful integrationWhy some acquired organisations need more time before processes and cultures are integratedHow lived experience of redundancy can change the way HR professionals approach restructuresWhy consultation can’t simply become confirmation of a predetermined decisionThe additional human impact restructuring can have on migrant employees and their familiesThe challenges employers face when recruiting highly specialised talent offshoreWhy New Zealand needs to think seriously about developing critical skills locallyThe different dynamics Ronel has experienced with employment lawyers and employment advocatesWhy understanding incentives matters when resolving employment disputesHow AI-generated communication could influence organisational cultureWhy employment communication needs to reflect the audience receiving itWhat Ronel means by the current “AI sugar rush”Why AI could create a future HR capability gapThe importance of continuing to invest in graduates, interns, and entry-level employeesHow People & Culture and health and safety complement one anotherWhy psychological hazards require a different approach from physical safety risksWhen HR should step away and bring in independent investigators or specialist supportWhy HR leaders need to understand operations, customers, finance, and commercial realitiesHow psychological safety at the executive table supports better decision-makingWhy HR professionals need the courage to challenge senior leadersWhy HR should bring options and recommendations to the executive table, not simply problemsWhy adaptability, curiosity...
    Show More Show Less
    53 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet