Good Morning, HR

In episode 275, Coffey talks with Amy McDowell and Sasha Vaikhman about resolving workplace conflict before it grows into a complaint, a resignation, or a lawsuit.
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They discuss why workplace conflicts escalate when managers and HR avoid difficult conversations; how facilitated workplace conflict resolution differs from legal mediation and arbitration; when complaints involving harassment or discrimination belong with legal counsel instead of a facilitated conversation; how employers in Europe and Asia already use neutral facilitators to get ahead of employee disputes; running separate one-on-ones that let employees vent, feel heard, and see the impact on their team; the forward-looking question that turns a joint session into brainstorming instead of relitigating the past; modeling active listening and gently redirecting "always" and "never" language; why voluntary participation and employee buy-in drive lasting results; drafting a written agreement with specific, measurable behavioral commitments the employees create themselves; scheduling 30-day follow-ups and deciding upfront whether broken commitments carry consequences; how a documented reset supports progressive discipline without limiting the employer’s right to manage performance; what to do when the process ends in an impasse; and prioritizing facilitated resets for high-value, hard-to-replace employees so HR doesn’t become a full-time referee.
 
For HR teams who discuss this podcast in their team meetings, we’ve created a discussion starter PDF to help guide your conversation. Download it here https://goodmorninghr.com/EP275
 
Good Morning, HR is brought to you by Imperative—Bulletproof Background Checks. For more information about our commitment to quality and excellent customer service, visit us at https://imperativeinfo.com.
 
If you are an HRCI or SHRM-certified professional, this episode of Good Morning, HR has been pre-approved for half a recertification credit. To obtain the recertification information for this episode, visit https://goodmorninghr.com.
 
About our Guest:
Amy S. McDowell and Sasha Vaikhman are the co-founders of Inquiring Minds, a Houston practice providing workplace investigations, early employee conflict resolution, and HR training. Between them they have practiced more than 50 years as employment lawyers, much of it in-house in the energy sector - Amy at what was once Marathon Oil (now ConocoPhillips), and Sasha at Grizzly. Both are past Presidents of the American Petroleum Labor Lawyers Association (APLLA).
 
Amy has spent over 25 years on sensitive workplace matters, from two-person disputes to large-scale investigations, and employers rely on her for findings that are thorough, fair, and defensible. Sasha brings nearly 25 years of legal experience, the last three of them in independent practice as a workplace investigator, alongside her separate litigation mediation practice at MediationMaven.com. The combination lets her approach conflict with rigor and empathy both.
 
Together they’re a good balance. Amy is a soft-spoken diplomat; Sasha is tenacious, with an infectious laugh. Their company mascot is an octopus, because the octopus is a brilliant and creative problem solver (and modest). They don’t take themselves too seriously - just the work.
 
Amy and Sasha can be reached at https://www.iminvestigations.com, https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-mcdowell-8b3815124/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/sasha-vaikhman-b08650101/
 
About Mike Coffey:
Mike Coffey is an entrepreneur, licensed private investigator, HR consultant, and registered yoga teacher.
 
In 1999, he founded Imperative, a background investigations and due diligence firm helping risk-averse clients make better people decisions.
 
Imperative delivers in-depth employment background investigations, know-your-customer and anti-money laundering compliance, and due diligence investigations to more than 300 risk-averse corporate clients across the US, and, through its PFC Caregiver & Household Screening brand, hundreds more private estates, family offices, and personal service agencies.
 
Imperative has been named a Best Places to Work, the Texas Association of Business’ small business of the year, and is accredited by the Professional Background Screening Association.
 
Mike serves as a board member of a number of organizations, including the Texas State Council, where he serves Texas’ 30 SHRM chapters as State Director-Elect; Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County; the Texas Association of Business; and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, where he is chair of the Talent Committee.
 
Mike is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) through the HR Certification Institute and a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). He is also a Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher (RYT-200) and teaches multiple times each week.
 
Mike and his very patient wife of 29 years are empty nesters in Fort Worth.
 
Learning Objectives:
1.    Distinguish interpersonal workplace conflicts suited to facilitated resolution from complaints involving harassment, discrimination, or other potential legal claims that require counsel or an investigation.
2.    Conduct one-on-one sessions that help employees feel heard and recognize how a conflict is affecting their team.
3.    Facilitate a joint session using forward-looking questions so employees generate and own their solutions.
4.    Draft a written conflict resolution agreement with specific, measurable behavioral commitments and scheduled follow-up.
5.    Prioritize which workplace conflicts justify the time investment of a facilitated reset, including those involving high-value or hard-to-replace employees.

In episode 274, Coffey talks with Matt Taylor about how employers can use the data already sitting in their HR and payroll systems to reduce turnover, manage risk, and make better decisions.
They discuss how HRIS platforms, automation, and AI have made workforce analytics accessible to employers with as few as 25 employees; the compliance failures and costly employee turnover that most often convince business owners to start tracking people metrics; overlooked data in HRIS, payroll, and applicant tracking systems such as turnover by manager, PIP completion rates, and overtime trends; why inconsistent data entry undermines HR technology and the value of implementing systems with the end in mind; choosing the workforce metrics and KPIs that actually move the needle for a specific industry and workforce; structured 90-day onboarding goals and daily new hire check-ins as early indicators of engagement and quality of hire; how job description creep and remote work weaken employee connection and drive voluntary turnover; using knockout questions and applicant self-selection to improve quality of hire and reduce interview time; why one-on-one leadership conversations often yield more insight than employee engagement surveys; net promoter scores, values-based peer recognition, and EOS quarterly meetings that connect employees to company vision; and where AI agents can safely automate operational tasks and where human review remains essential for compliance and bias.
For HR teams who discuss this podcast in their team meetings, we’ve created a discussion starter PDF to help guide your conversation. Download it here https://goodmorninghr.com/EP274
Good Morning, HR is brought to you by Imperative—Bulletproof Background Checks. For more information about our commitment to quality and excellent customer service, visit us at https://imperativeinfo.com.
If you are an HRCI or SHRM-certified professional, this episode of Good Morning, HR has been pre-approved for half a recertification credit. To obtain the recertification information for this episode, visit https://goodmorninghr.com.
About our Guest:
Matt Taylor is President & CEO of Guardian HR, a people-first HR, payroll, and compliance partner that helps businesses simplify workforce management through expert guidance, employment law support, compliance services and integrated payroll solutions. Under his leadership, Guardian HR has helped organizations nationwide navigate the increasingly complex challenges of managing and supporting today’s workforce.
With more than 20 years of experience in human resources and workforce management, Matt works closely with business owners, executives, and HR leaders on issues ranging from employment law compliance and employee relations to benefits strategy, payroll operations, and organizational growth.
Matt can be reached at https://guardianhr.com/ and https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewtaylorhr/
About Mike Coffey:
Mike Coffey is an entrepreneur, licensed private investigator, HR consultant, and registered yoga teacher.
In 1999, he founded Imperative, a background investigations and due diligence firm helping risk-averse clients make better people decisions.
Imperative delivers in-depth employment background investigations, know-your-customer and anti-money laundering compliance, and due diligence investigations to more than 300 risk-averse corporate clients across the US, and, through its PFC Caregiver & Household Screening brand, hundreds more private estates, family offices, and personal service agencies.
Imperative has been named a Best Places to Work, the Texas Association of Business’ small business of the year, and is accredited by the Professional Background Screening Association.
Mike serves as a board member of a number of organizations, including the Texas State Council, where he serves Texas’ 30 SHRM chapters as State Director-Elect; Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County; the Texas Association of Business; and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, where he is chair of the Talent Committee.
Mike is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) through the HR Certification Institute and a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). He is also a Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher (RYT-200) and teaches multiple times each week.
Mike and his very patient wife of 29 years are empty nesters in Fort Worth.
Learning Objectives:
1.    Identify workforce metrics already available in HRIS, payroll, and applicant tracking systems that reveal turnover, performance, and compliance risk.
2.    Select people metrics and KPIs tied to organizational objectives rather than collecting data without a defined purpose.
3.    Design onboarding goals and check-ins that produce early, measurable indicators of new hire engagement and quality of hire.
4.    Compare employee engagement surveys with direct leadership conversations as sources of reliable workforce insight.
5.    Determine which tasks AI agents can automate safely and where human review must remain in place to manage compliance and bias risk.

In episode 273, Coffey talks with Karissa Pfeffer about how perimenopause and menopause quietly drive attrition among experienced women and what employers can do to recognize, support, and retain them.
 
– HRSOUTHWEST October 11-13, 2026 –
Good Morning, HR listeners can use the promo code 2026-CoffeyGMHR-100 to save $100 on an HRSouthwest full conference registration at https://hrsouthwest.com!
 
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They discuss Karissa’s path from corporate finance at Rocket Mortgage to workplace menopause consulting after mistaking her own symptoms for burnout; the difference between perimenopause and menopause, typical onset ages, and surgical or chemically induced menopause; perimenopause symptoms like brain fog, poor word retrieval, fatigue, and hot flashes that undermine on-the-job performance; why managers misread perimenopause as burnout, disengagement, or declining performance in strong employees; the recognize, respond, refer framework that keeps managers supportive without diagnosing employees; how existing health plans, EAPs, and menopause benefit vendors often already cover what employees need; menopause accommodation laws and executive orders emerging in Illinois, Washington, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and the United Kingdom; the replacement cost of losing senior women leaders and why menopause support is a retention strategy rather than a wellness perk; using attrition data for women aged 35 to 55 to measure hidden workforce risk; low-cost first steps including ERG subgroups, manager training, and prescription coverage reviews for hormonal and non-hormonal therapies; and how the flawed 2002 Women’s Health Initiative study fueled two decades of fear about hormone replacement therapy.
 
For HR teams who discuss this podcast in their team meetings, we’ve created a discussion starter PDF to help guide your conversation. Download it here https://goodmorninghr.com/EP273
 
Good Morning, HR is brought to you by Imperative—Bulletproof Background Checks. For more information about our commitment to quality and excellent customer service, visit us at https://imperativeinfo.com.
 
If you are an HRCI or SHRM-certified professional, this episode of Good Morning, HR has been pre-approved for half a recertification credit. To obtain the recertification information for this episode, visit https://goodmorninghr.com.
 
About our Guest:
Karissa Pfeffer is a Workforce Menopause Consultant, Speaker, and Founder of Perimenopause Power. Drawing on more than 15 years in the finance industry, including seven years at Rocket Mortgage, she brings a business and financial lens to an often-overlooked workforce issue. Karissa helps organizations understand how perimenopause and menopause can affect retention, productivity, performance, and benefits utilization, translating women’s health challenges into measurable business impact. Her evidence-based programs equip employers with practical strategies to better support employees while strengthening workforce outcomes. Karissa has presented for organizations and professional audiences including the University of Michigan Workplace Mental Health Summit, the State of Michigan, and the National Association of Women in Construction.
 
Karissa can be reached at
Website: www.perimenopause-power.com
Email: karissa@perimenopause-power.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karissa-pfeffer/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/perimenopausepower/
 
About Mike Coffey:
Mike Coffey is an entrepreneur, licensed private investigator, HR consultant, and registered yoga teacher.
 
In 1999, he founded Imperative, a background investigations and due diligence firm helping risk-averse clients make better people decisions.
 
Imperative delivers in-depth employment background investigations, know-your-customer and anti-money laundering compliance, and due diligence investigations to more than 300 risk-averse corporate clients across the US, and, through its PFC Caregiver & Household Screening brand, hundreds more private estates, family offices, and personal service agencies.
 
Imperative has been named a Best Places to Work, the Texas Association of Business’ small business of the year, and is accredited by the Professional Background Screening Association.
 
Mike serves as a board member of a number of organizations, including the Texas State Council, where he serves Texas’ 30 SHRM chapters as State Director-Elect; Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County; the Texas Association of Business; and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, where he is chair of the Talent Committee.
 
Mike is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) through the HR Certification Institute and a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). He is also a Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher (RYT-200) and teaches multiple times each week.
 
Mike and his very patient wife of 29 years are empty nesters in Fort Worth.
 
Learning Objectives:
 
1.    Distinguish perimenopause from menopause and identify symptoms commonly mistaken for burnout, anxiety, or disengagement.
2.    Apply the recognize, respond, refer framework to support struggling employees without attempting to diagnose them.
3.    Analyze attrition data for women aged 35 to 55 to estimate the organization’s menopause-related retention risk.
4.    Evaluate existing health plan, EAP, and prescription benefits for gaps in hormonal and non-hormonal menopause treatment coverage.
5.    Monitor emerging state menopause accommodation laws that may affect single-state and multistate employers.

In episode 272, Coffey talks with Amie Fox about inclusive recruitment as a skills-first strategy — and why getting disability inclusion right across the hiring lifecycle unlocks better outcomes for all types of diverse talent.
 
– HRSOUTHWEST October 11-13, 2026 –
 
Good Morning, HR listeners can use the promo code 2026-CoffeyGMHR-100 to save $100 on an HRSouthwest full conference registration at https://hrsouthwest.com!
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They discuss inclusive recruitment defined as removing intentional and unintentional barriers so the best-skilled candidate can move through the process without obstruction; honest, specific job descriptions that reflect actual role requirements rather than aspirational proxies and that allow unqualified candidates to self-select out; disability as the inclusion starting point — with the disability community twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled peers despite being frequently over-educated; the average $300 cost of a reasonable accommodation in the US and available government funding through state and county workforce boards to offset it; skills-based hiring as the most equitable screening approach because it focuses on demonstrable job-relevant competencies rather than credential proxies; AI and assistive technology as equalizers for candidates and employees with disabilities, enabling participation and independence in ways previously unavailable; designing the application process intentionally — including accessibility of job postings, assessments, and office environments — to remove barriers before the interview stage; how to handle disability disclosure in interviews, ask practical accessibility questions, and kick the elephant out of the room without legal risk; the medical model versus social model of disability and why moving past fear of offense is the key to unlocking genuine inclusion conversations; and onboarding as the most critical retention tool — including pre-start communication, 90-day planning, accommodations setup before day one, and maintaining connection so new hires know where the bathroom is.
 
Good Morning, HR is brought to you by Imperative—Bulletproof Background Checks. For more information about our commitment to quality and excellent customer service, visit us at https://imperativeinfo.com.

If you are an HRCI or SHRM-certified professional, this episode of Good Morning, HR has been pre-approved for three quarters of a recertification credit. To obtain the recertification information for this episode, visit https://goodmorninghr.com.
ABOUT OUR GUEST
 
Amie Fox is the Founder of A Fox Consulting, a trainer and keynote speaker who helps founders, HR and operations leaders in growing organisations build practical people systems that improve employee engagement, manager confidence, and business performance. She moved into this work after a portfolio career across communications, training, fundraising, corporate responsibility, and operations exposed her to how differently people experience workplaces. A key turning point was struggling to find early employment as a visually impaired woman, which shaped her understanding of hidden barriers, workplace design, and the importance of systems that help people perform at their best.
 
Her credibility is grounded in recent and current roles: she set up A Fox Consulting, serves as a non-executive director at Vision Ireland, and has held senior CSR and operations roles at organisations including SCOPE Eyecare & Healthcare. Through her consulting, communications, fundraising, and inclusion work, she has contributed to projects with organisations such as McDonald’s, Telefonica, Deloitte, Novartis, Abbott, Newstalk, and John Sisk & Sons.
 
Amie’s work is built around the employee life cycle as the foundation for better people performance. She supports leaders and managers through coaching, training, and mentoring designed to maximise employee engagement and performance across each stage of that life cycle. Her book Mind the Blind Spot: Decision to Done and her FoxBuzz framework are practical manifestations of her central thesis: when people feel good, they perform at their best — but that idea only becomes useful when translated into clear routines, structures, and systems that work in boardrooms and in daily operations.
 
Amie can be reached at:
Website: www.afox.ie
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amie-fox-a3420333/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/consultingafox/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AFoxConsulting
 
ABOUT MIKE COFFEY
 
Mike Coffey is an entrepreneur, licensed private investigator, business strategist, HR consultant, and registered yoga teacher. In 1999, he founded Imperative (https://www.imperativeinfo.com/), a background investigations and due diligence firm helping risk-averse clients make well-informed decisions about the people they involve in their business.
 
Imperative delivers in-depth employment background investigations, know-your-customer and anti-money laundering compliance, and due diligence investigations to more than 300 risk-averse corporate clients across the US, and, through its PFC Caregiver & Household Screening (https://pfcinformation.com/) brand, many more private estates, family offices, and personal service agencies. Imperative has been named a Best Places to Work, the Texas Association of Business’ small business of the year, and is accredited by the Professional Background Screening Association.
 
Mike shares his insight from 25+ years of HR-entrepreneurship on the Good Morning, HR podcast (https://goodmorninghr.com/), where each week he talks to business leaders about bringing people together to create value for all stakeholders. Mike has been recognized as an Entrepreneur of Excellence by FW, Inc. and has twice been recognized as the North Texas HR Professional of the Year.
 
Mike serves as a board member of a number of organizations, including the Texas State Council (https://texasshrm.org/), where he serves Texas’ 30 SHRM chapters as State Director-Elect; Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County (https://workforcesolutions.net/); the Texas Association of Business (https://txbiz.org/); and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce (https://www.fortworthchamber.com/), where he is chair of the Talent Committee.
 
Mike is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) through the HR Certification Institute and a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). He is also a Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher (RYT-200) and teaches multiple times each week. Mike and his very patient wife of 29 years are empty nesters in Fort Worth.
 
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 
• Define inclusive recruitment as a skills-first, barrier-removal process and apply a five-stage framework — advertising reach, accessible information, application design, interview structure, and onboarding — to identify gaps in an existing hiring process.
 
• Explain why disability inclusion serves as a foundation for broader inclusive hiring, and describe how accommodati...

In episode 271, Coffey talks with Mallory Herrin about recent workplace news stories involving AI note-takers, executive accountability, sex discrimination, and performance feedback.
–HRSOUTHWEST October 11-13, 2026 –
Good Morning, HR listeners can use the promo code 2026-CoffeyGMHR-100 to save $100 on an HRSouthwest full conference registration at https://hrsouthwest.com!
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They discuss how an AI meeting transcript became evidence in a gender discrimination lawsuit; why vague termination explanations invite employees to assume discriminatory intent; the admissibility and reliability of AI-generated transcripts in litigation; the board ouster of Better.com CEO Vishal Garg after $1.5 billion in losses; why leader behavior and judgment are legitimate, quantifiable performance criteria; an Arkansas hospital's loss in a sex discrimination case brought by a male surgical tech barred from deliveries; why bona fide occupational qualification defenses rarely survive inconsistent application; how third-party referral sources pressure employers into unlawful employment decisions; survey data showing 43% of managers entered employee names, performance details, or PII into public AI tools; the difference between consumer AI accounts and enterprise agreements with zero data retention; why AI chat logs are discoverable in employment litigation; the need for written AI policies, training, and HR support; why subjective feedback like "executive presence" fails employees; and why continuous real-time coaching beats annual performance reviews.
For HR teams who discuss this podcast in their team meetings, we've created a discussion starter PDF to help guide your conversation. Download it here https://goodmorninghr.com/EP271
Good Morning, HR is brought to you by Imperative—Bulletproof Background Checks. For more information about our commitment to quality and excellent customer service, visit us at https://imperativeinfo.com.
If you are an HRCI or SHRM-certified professional, this episode of Good Morning, HR has been pre-approved for half a recertification credit. To obtain the recertification information for this episode, visit https://goodmorninghr.com.
About our Guest:
Mallory Herrin is an experienced human resources consultant and industry recognized thought leader, serving as HerrinHR's CEO and Principal HR Consultant. She is a frequent speaker at HR conferences and the author of Intentional HR: A Revolution in Strategic Thinking.
With over 20 years of HR experience, she holds certifications from both HRCI and SHRM. She is also the recipient of DallasHR's 2024 HR Executive of the Year Award - Small Company, and the 2025 Best Places to Work HR Impact award.
Mallory is also the co-host of the fast-growing podcast 'Breakthrough with Mallory and Julie'.
Mallory can be reached at:

https://herrinhr.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/malloryherrin/
About Mike Coffey:
Mike Coffey is an entrepreneur, licensed private investigator, HR consultant, and registered yoga teacher.
In 1999, he founded Imperative, a background investigations and due diligence firm helping risk-averse clients make better people decisions.
Imperative delivers in-depth employment background investigations, know-your-customer and anti-money laundering compliance, and due diligence investigations to more than 300 risk-averse corporate clients across the US, and, through its PFC Caregiver & Household Screening brand, hundreds more private estates, family offices, and personal service agencies.
Imperative has been named a Best Places to Work, the Texas Association of Business’ small business of the year, and is accredited by the Professional Background Screening Association.
Mike serves as a board member of a number of organizations, including the Texas State Council, where he serves Texas' 30 SHRM chapters as State Director-Elect; Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County; the Texas Association of Business; and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, where he is chair of the Talent Committee.
Mike is a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) through the HR Certification Institute and a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). He is also a Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher (RYT-200) and teaches multiple times each week.
Mike and his very patient wife of 29 years are empty nesters in Fort Worth.
Learning Objectives:
1. Evaluate the legal and evidentiary risks created by AI note-takers and meeting transcription tools in employment conversations.
2. Distinguish between subjective personality-based feedback and objective, actionable performance criteria that hold up under scrutiny.
3. Develop written AI use policies that protect confidential employee data and address the discoverability of chat records.