From Party Planner to Strategic Leader with Brendan Nicholls

Having a growth mindset is one of the biggest things I think HR should just really lean into.

The Shift in HR's Role

I’m thrilled to announce the latest episode of Culture Conversations, where we dive deep into the evolving role of HR with my incredible guest, Brendan Nicholls. Over the past decade, we've witnessed a significant shift in how HR is perceived and how it operates. No longer just the department responsible for planning office parties, HR is now at the forefront of driving organizational strategy. Brendan emphasized the importance of HR professionals adopting a business mindset, leveraging data and technology to make informed decisions that align with company goals. This transformation is crucial for HR to be seen as a valuable partner in business growth.

Tease Key Insights

• The Power of Data-Driven Decision Making: Brendan emphasizes how technology, particularly AI and cloud-based software, has revolutionized HR. By leveraging data, HR professionals can now track key metrics like turnover rates.

• Building Business Acumen: One of the most significant skills HR professionals need to develop is the ability to build a compelling business case for change.

• The Importance of Community and Networking: HR can often be a lonely profession, but Brendan reminds us of the power of community. He shares his experience of creating a supportive network for HR professionals, where they can share challenges and seek advice.

  
  

Why this Matters?

Titles can open doors, but they don’t guarantee influence. In today’s workplaces, people are looking for leaders who are consistent, human, and committed to service. Brendan’s perspective is a powerful reminder that culture thrives not when leaders tell others what to do, but when they show others how to lead—by example.

Listen Now

This episode is essential for anyone who wants to move beyond positional leadership and cultivate authentic influence. Brendan’s insights provide a roadmap for leading with integrity, service, and trust in a way that lasts.

Brendan Nicholls

Employee Benefits Consultant at HUB International

With 17 years in HR and HR technology, Brendan Nicholls brings a wealth of real-world experience to his role as an employee benefits broker at HUB International. He partners with HR teams to craft benefit plans that do more than just check a box—they help organizations attract and retain talent, boost workplace culture, and manage costs with proactive, hands-on support.

Outside the office, Brendan keeps busy by giving back. For a decade, he’s served on the HRA of Greater Oak Brook Board (including six years as President), leads an HR mastermind group, and is currently Director Elect for Illinois SHRM. He’s known as a “connector”—always bringing people and ideas together, staying ahead of HR trends, and acting as a strategic partner rather than just another vendor.

Whether supporting a local nonprofit or advising Fortune 500 clients, Brendan thrives on building relationships and making a positive difference in people’s lives.

Full Episode:

Megan:

Hello and welcome to Culture Conversations, the podcast where we explore the people side of work. I'm your host, Megan Robinson. For years, I've found myself deep in discussions about workplace engagement with industry experts. Now I get to share this wisdom with all leaders, new and experienced, on their journeys to build cultures that maximize potential. We spend so much of our lives at work. Let's make it a place where our teams can grow and succeed. Hello and welcome to Culture Conversations. My name is Megan Robinson and I am thrilled for today's conversations. I have a fabulous guest, Brendan Nichols. I've known him personally for years. I am always impressed with his insights, his connections, his ability to truly drive at the heart of what makes HR tick. And today we are going to talk specifically about some of those transitions in HR, what that looks like from an organizational perspective, and how they've really moved from that party planner and fun leader into more of that leader that has a seat at the table. Brendan has had over 2,000 conversations with leaders at all levels in organizations, and he's really been able to distill some of those insights and trends and themes that we can learn from. Brendan is a incredible community builder, as I mentioned before. He has really built up HR hot seat. He's been working with Shurm for a number of years, award winning. chapters in that aspect as well. And beyond his work with communities and making those connections and truly being a force to reckon with in the networking community, and especially with HR professionals, he is also a top performer professionally. I've seen him rise through the ranks in incredible ways, hitting incredible metrics and numbers, and really supporting very strong strategic business growth. Now he's transitioned into more of an insurance role, and he's taken his best abilities to partner with organizations, partner with those leaders, to really find solutions that address some of their biggest costs, as well as taking care of those people. So, Brendan, thank you so much for joining me, and welcome.

Brendan:

Thank you, Megan. I'm so happy to be here. Thanks for having me, and looking forward to our conversation today.

Megan:

As am I. We've been prepping and rolling around a lot because you have so much to share and you have so many insights. So I'm going to kind of just open it up a little bit. What are some of those trends or transformation that you've really seen over the last several years with that party planner to leader?

Brendan:

Yeah. And it's certainly been quite the last 10 years, right? When you think about where we are today. So we're recording this in 2025. So thinking back to, uh, you know, even 2015, um, and per your, you know, your intro and what an amazing intro it was as well, uh, all levels of HR. So from your CHRO down to your HR coordinator, uh, over the years, I mean, I've really, I really have seen the shift, uh, in attitudes towards HR change. And a lot of that is driven through society and others kind of social, uh, you know, triggers and, over time, I've also seen a change in how HR is kind of viewing themselves. So, you know, when I first started getting into, you know, like familiarizing myself with HR and getting to really know kind of what issues HR was trying to solve even 10 years ago, you know, it was, yeah, there were still employee engagement, there were still culture issues, there's still leadership issues, those things have have grown and maybe in a little bit of a different way. But technology is probably one of those biggest things that I've seen change that has had a positive impact on HR. You know, about 10 years ago, this is really when we started to see more cloud-based software, you know, gaining momentum and, you know, all of that started putting a focus on automation. And I think over the years, That's when we talk about moving from a party planner to somebody that's going to create more value for the business. Automation, looking for efficiencies, having cross-departmental collaboration are things that I've really seen take off. But technology, it's like AI currently. We're just scratching the surface. Ten years ago, HR really started to

Megan:

The adoption for it has really evolved with it. I love that you mentioned AR. I wasn't even going to go there, because I feel like there's so much saturation with it. But seeing that adoption, how does that allow them to have a bigger seat at the table?

Brendan:

Well, for a couple of reasons. One of the big ones is, when you look at HR technology, yes, at the end of the day, it needs a good user experience. But these are reporting systems, meaning you know, the data that gets put in needs to be able to get pulled out in a way that can drive actual intelligence for the business. And that's where you start to look at different HR metrics that you can just pull on the fly. Things like turnover, you know, on the recruiting side, time to fill, right? Okay, you know, how many, how many interviews are we having? Where are we getting those candidates from? Also, too, right, with Just the way that the world is becoming more complex compliance is harder and harder to keep up with. And there's no way that you manually somebody can can just go in and learn all these laws and keep things up to date, especially if they're in multiple states. So, you know, this is really where I've seen these systems start to help HR and now we have AI and those use cases are really fun. So I'm keeping a close pulse on where that's going so I can, you know, help guide HR along that journey as well.

Megan:

Well, I love this kind of perspective of looking at how technology and essentially all you can say data has really transformed the HR role where it was that party planner was all the soft stuff. And now that you've put metrics behind it and they've been really able to monitor it and I'll say manage, right, you can manage what you measure. it's now elevated that role into a more serious role or something that they need to be very much considering in a different aspect.

None:

100%.

Brendan:

Yes. And for that reason, it is requiring HR to acquire new, new skills. Um, you know, I, some of the shifts I've really liked that I've seen is, you know, the, the skills-based hiring that is going on right now, you know, when we think about, again, the last 10 years, I mean, it was shortly after, I think, 2015, we had, you know, like DEI start to really come up, we had Me Too, and that really put a spotlight on that. But again, you're right, things have changed, you know, because, you know, then you fast forward you know, to COVID. And so like all those harassment policies and trainings that were put in a few years ago, okay, now COVID hit. And this is really where HR, I feel like HR was at the center stage. I mean, that was their Super Bowl between employee safety, you know, it was engagement, it was hiring, it was firing. It was really adapting rapidly to all the changes going on. Now, in the same breath, I've also seen HR have to lay themselves off because, you know, if HR isn't taking advantage of that seat, right, or taking advantage of the ability to communicate effectively with executives, this is where sometimes HR has had a bad rap as a cost center. So that's something that HR really needs to pay attention to as we continue to move forward.

Megan:

So with that shift, I think there's two aspects to it. One is that's been so much transition the last 10 years as technology has really infiltrated the HR profession and their ability to to work and function at a higher level and the rapid skill adoption that you're seeing from that. And then forward looking as things get even faster and faster with new technology, with AI coming up, what are some of those skills that you see HR really missing or those gaps that they need to start filling out?

Brendan:

I would say a big one would be getting really good at building a business case when they're trying to implement change at an organization. And what I mean by that is you have to speak the language of the people you're trying to influence. So, when you think about metrics and things we were just chatting about, like that's the language of executives. So, executives will speak Excel and everyone else speaks Python. speaks word. And, you know, essentially, what that means is, you know, there has to be a quantifiable reason to make a change. And when I've seen HR, really understand the business, those drivers, so they can answer those questions of, okay, here's, here's why we need to change. And here's why we need to change now. And here's, you know, the whatever it is you need to change to, right? Whether it's a new vendor partner or a new initiative or, you know, anything that kind of, that's going to require some change management. I see that as a really big reason why HR needs to really hone in on that skill, which ultimately goes back to, you know, being that business partner.

Megan:

I love that example, especially because when we were talking about it, we talked about that party planner to leader. And that party planner is very impulsive. Oh, let's do this because it's fun. Let's do this because I want to do it. Let's do it because it's new. And when you start having that seat at the table, you are expected to build a business case. You're expected to have metrics and be accountable for the results for it. And without making that transition, without understanding how to speak that language or put it in a way that they're going to be able to actually use and get the approvals and buy-ins, you're going to fall flat and you will no longer be taken seriously, which is a huge challenge for them. But that very quick adoption is not always there. But for me, it really goes back to influence as a leadership skill. Or I'll say John Maxwell, leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. And when you're looking at that shift in how HR is having that seat at the table or what they're expecting from them, they have to influence that executive group in a different way. And to do that, I always think there's actually a lot of alignment between some sales skills and leadership skills, building the business cases.

Brendan:

Go ahead. Yeah, I always, I joke with HR because Right. HR, when a lot of HR folks, they don't like the recruiting function because it is fairly close to sales, but we are all in sales. And, you know, HR has such similarities with sales because they have to get a group of people that may not want to listen to them to listen to them. And for that reason, they also have to have, you know, the ability to engage influence, as you said, great communication. But also, you know, that ability to balance the needs of the business with being an advocate for the employee. You know, one of the, I think, mistakes I see when people get into the HR profession is because they love people. And I tell you what, HR is not necessarily for nice people because there are times where you have to be fair and you have to do what's right. And that doesn't always mean pleasing everybody. So sometimes that can be a hard shift as people also move up in their career and start developing and working with teams, managing them. You know, those skills, those soft skills as you go higher up, are so important because, you know, you're dealing also with egos and opinions and sometimes traditional thinking that you have to break through.

Megan:

So you're, you definitely have some of the strongest sales skills out of anyone I know, which is a pretty tough group to beat, but you were at the top. And I think you've proved that in a lot of places. How do you help your partners, or how do you give them those resources or tips you have for them to start translating into that business acumen, or start having more of that executive presence that you either overtly coach them through or support them, or things that they can take right away?

Brendan:

Yeah, so I think any time an organization is looking to improve themselves, and whatever that might be, again, it's understanding the why. I find that when you can tie things to the business goals, so your people, if you can tie your people strategy to the business goals, now you're a strategic partner. And now it's amazing when that initiative you want to get done starts getting socialized across different departments, people are really paying attention to that. But I've, you know, throughout all of my career, there's been times that I've met with folks, and they have that very clearly and well defined. And that is fantastic. They've probably also learned that through pain, through not doing that. I've also met with folks where you have different stakeholders on one call, and they are clearly still trying to figure out what it is they want. And I have ended conversations before to say, look, with this project, you need to understand what those non-negotiables are, what those nice-to-haves are, and then what those trade-offs are that you're willing to make. Because there's no vendor, there's no partner, there's nothing out there that's perfect. And I think that's where if you're listening to whoever walks in the door, and you listen to whatever they say, and you don't do the proper due diligence, that could come back and bite you. And, you know, the drawback is things like, you know, the benefit plan, the HRIS system, the training, the employees aren't necessarily saying, wow, that vendor isn't very good. Like these are representative of HR. So again, I think not leveraging your vendors enough so they can be an extension of your team of HR might be a miss. And if you're not getting that from your current partners that you're working with, It might be time to just do a quick reset and say, OK, am I working with the right team?

Megan:

I love those two pieces with it, because they're helpful, and they're so critical for success at that level, and they're very actionable. So what I heard from you is that first is that you've really got to be able to tie something to strategic goals. You have to have a vision. You have to know why it's important. If you don't have a strategy in whatever you're doing, it's going to fall flat. It's going to die on the chopping block. It's going to get pushed in a direction that doesn't necessarily get the results that you're looking for, especially if you don't know what you're looking for. On the second half of that is when you have that clarity is making sure that you're leveraging the resources around you. You leverage the partnerships. I will say personally, I have a client that struggles to connect with the executive team. And oftentimes, I'm brought in as that extra conduit to support kind of take what they're looking for and making sure that we're aligning that so that we can both address the executive team in a way that might be more compelling or might speak more their language or has someone else as a partner to bounce it off of to support each other in that conversation. What are some of the examples that you've seen of that working really well where you've been able to leverage that partnership?

Brendan:

You know, I would say, right, with HR, you know, there are a lot of times they're not the ones that are signing the bottom line on different initiatives. But, you know, just because you're not the CEO, it doesn't mean you're not the CEO of the problem. And when I've seen HR really take ownership and accountability of certain things, not pass the buck, you know, that all that really, really come comes through. But you know, that's also where there's late nights, right? You're bringing your laptop on vacation. And now burnout in HR is a very real thing. They're still hanging over from from COVID. And, you know, that almost pushed a lot of HR people out. You know, I mean, I mean, I mean, gosh, I mean, last statistic I heard about 42% of HR HR teams are just overloaded with with work, right? And 75% of them are mired down in administrative tasks, because they haven't either taken the time to find the right partners, right, to automate resources, 100%. You know, but, you know, it's strategy. Yeah. And that's that learning mindset, where HR really needs to invest in themselves. I mean, they, they should be a business partner, but they should also be very well versed in change management, which is you know, when, when you're trying to get things done in a company, you know, I, I know a few folks, it's a very challenging job market right now where we're at. And, you know, they've got, you know, that, that new job, the bright, shiny new job. And, uh, I mean, within the last two weeks, I've heard from two different people that they were let go before 60 days. And I stepped back and I asked a couple of questions and, You know, one person, they were high energy. Megan, you would love them. But, you know, when I was asking him, wow, what do you think happened? You know, he's like, yeah, I came in to the company and, you know, they hired me for this. But, oh, I was so good at all this other stuff, I wanted to help. And I stopped and I said, hey, I don't know if that was why you're like, I was not in there, but I'm your friend. And I'll just tell you, if you came into my house, sort of rearranging all my furniture, I'd probably tell you to go and have a seat for a second. And if you didn't do that, right, I mean, get out. So there is that assessment and observation, I think, that HR really needs to have. I mean, that first 90 days, right, when they come into a company, You're watching a lot of one-on-ones, a lot of understanding, and then you can really start to kind of make those changes. But, you know, if you just start firing off at the hip and being the bull in the China shop, so to speak, some companies might like that. But historically, right, you're coming into an existing culture, and you're there for a reason, and you need to kind of slow into that.

Megan:

What I think is interesting about that, too, though, is it's probably different than other departments and teams. You can make change differently if you're in finance, if you're in operations. Yeah, we need to move this here. Here's where I see an efficiency. When it comes to HR, it is so about the people. It's about the people, no matter what. It's about the humans. And you can't make change in the same way or the same approach as maybe other people would get away with it.

Brendan:

Right. All the time I'll talk with HR folks that are saying, Hey, we, you know, we tried that. We, we tried that. It didn't work, but it's the communication. And I see this all the time, especially on benefits because benefit literacy is so low because it's confusing. And, um, you know, if you're not really honing in those communication materials, And if you're not doing a campaign throughout the year that is more chunked down, not these long, you know, 70 page, no, it's small videos, it's, you know, it's infographics, it's- It's reminders. 100%, I mean, you know, and I'm sure, you know, Megan, in the training and development space, right, when you're trying to get busy managers on the floor or busy leaders to stop and do something differently, you know, they're not going to, the traditional way isn't working anymore of learning.

Megan:

I always joke, you can't have the conflict resolution weekend workshop. And then in three months, we all know it's not the magic wand. In three months, you're going to have the exact same amount of conflict that you did before. It's the, hey, we're going to update the employee handbook. And yeah, everyone's going to sign it because they have to. But in three months, is anyone going to remember what's in there? Is anyone going to know what's expected? If anyone knows what their benefits are, probably not. Are they taking advantage of it? Are they utilizing them to the extent that they need to? Are they supporting themselves, helping themselves with it?

Brendan:

Right. And that's where people need It's in the moment, if they don't need it, it's in one ear and out the other. It's having that real-time information. And this is where I'm excited about things like AI. Because you mentioned a company handbook, for example, right? I mean, if an employee is trying to look for a policy, or they're trying to figure out how much PTO they have, or what's the best training I should take that would develop me as a person or leader next, you know, again, HR needs to leverage tools like this. And also, I think HR also not needs to not be like, I do see a little bit of hesitation with it. And, you know, I mean, recently, I think we're hearing, like, well, you know, AI not necessarily going to take anyone's jobs. But you know, the people that learn how to use AI, Like you got to watch out for them because they're kind of right behind.

Megan:

They're dangerous.

Brendan:

Right.

Megan:

Well, I think what you're really, what I'm hearing at least from this is how do we put the resources back into human resources? Those resources aren't acceptable. The resources aren't approachable. The resources are being underutilized. And if that's the majority is human resources and you're not having the right resources in place, there's a huge gap.

Brendan:

you know, there's something like 85% of employees right now, if they could find a better opportunity, meaning a better job, they would take it. You know, voluntary quits are the lowest they've ever been in the economy right now, which means, it doesn't mean more people are happy at their job, it just means there's more people staying at their job that are unhappy. So, you know, you kind of have to balance that and this is where right in the in the market in the job market we have today yeah I know it's really hard for HR um and it's you know other professions I just happen to you know be really focused with HR but I think it's it's making us better at the end of the day um you know even things like going to get their certification updating their resume, networking. I mean, these are things I think, you know, HR is kind of having to relearn to a degree if they haven't been doing it. But, you know, to your point, inevitably, right? So they're going to, someone's going to find a job, and I'll see them in five years. All of a sudden, oh, what brings you out to a meeting? Well, I need an opportunity. Like, great. I'm here for you, but the worst time to fix your roof is when it's raining.

Megan:

Very true. Very true. And because you are so generous with your time and so generous with your network, I can only imagine how often people try to take advantage of that. And it is frustrating and challenging. Just the last question I have, because I know we're running out of time. As I say, what is the biggest misconception you're seeing with HR?

Brendan:

I think other than HR being viewed as a cost center, because HR can prevent some pretty expensive problems before they happen. And when you got the right HR team in place, that can really move mountains for a company. For example, I have a client that they have not evaluated their benefits in a number of years. They weren't getting the support they needed. They were growing. They were in multiple states. They were also in what's called a PEO, so they were leasing their employees. And, you know, they said, Hey, will you, will you kind of help us run analysis? We see some of the work you're out there doing, and you don't seem like you would, you know, like just be in it for a short term relationship if we ended up working together. And lo and behold, I, I ran analysis and next thing you know, you know, their, their company is saving close to $250,000 a year. on the benefit plan and they're getting better benefits. I cannot work that kind of magic all the time, but when HR takes that to the CFO and says, look what I did, the CFO is like, wow, that's amazing. Now I've also seen it the other way where the CFO doesn't trust HR to make those decisions and then the CFO is driving that, but is the CFO really focused on the employee to the degree that HR is, and I would argue that they're not. A misconception of HR is that it's all sunshine and rainbows. HR can be a really lonely place. That was the driver behind me starting some of these groups. I run a Friday call. It's just for HR people. And we'll get quite a few people on there. I started during COVID, a week after the pandemic. I said, you know what? Let me just throw a meeting invite out, see who joins, and we're just going to talk about what's going on. I had over 100 people join that call. I had an HR executive, I'll never forget this. She says, in 40 minutes, I'm walking in to deliver a 50% pay cut to my whole executive team. does anybody can anybody help just with my mind and you know a lot of it was just like whoa but hey we got you we're here and you know five years later that call still going strong it is my favorite part of the week and and hr as lonely as a job as it can be because where does hr turn when they have a when when they need help the community is crazy, just so close knit and tight, but also you don't get to that by sitting in your house and not participating. So, you know, I guess when it comes to, I know you're asking me if HR is a cost center, but this is where I think if HR can invest in their network, and really build their brand up to the point where, you know, people get to know them. They're out, you know, on LinkedIn expressing business acumen, engaging, showing what a great place, you know, it is that they've created. These are all things that I think HR can really, um, is doing well, but again, if HR doesn't have kind of their own board of directors, like their own HR peers to bounce ideas off of when things get hard, big, big recommendation there. And if you don't have a group and you're in HR and you're listening to this, reach out to me, I'll welcome you into mine because, you know, no strings attached. You know, Megan, you mentioned earlier about people maybe taking advantage of my network. I don't think of it always like that. You know, if I can't help someone, I can't. If things do come on, if someone is coming off that way, I think we all know that it's just not, you know, you kind of want to take a shower after that message, but you really kind of have to have that, hey, I'm here to help. And also, right, when job seekers do that too, they try to help. It's just amazing how karma works. So it's a beautiful thing.

Megan:

It really is. And I love, I do want to just sink in that for a moment because I think that misconception of a cost center and building up that business acumen and having just a little bit of those sales skills from an influential perspective helps not just an HR perspective, but any professional. Every professional can benefit from that advice and that wisdom. And when it comes to building out your network, we've actually met, I think, at one of those Friday calls is how we connected. It's invaluable. It is so important, and it is always talked about as a networking, and you should have a network, and you should be doing it. And very few people know how to action that. And having a large social media following is not a network. Being void of a true connection does not mean that you have a network, and making sure that you have places and community to build that. So the service that you're doing with professionals is so important. So I will put that in the show notes. If you do want to join one of those Friday calls, sorry if you see a bunch of people showing up, but clearly you can manage over 100. Please don't just show up if you have to give pay cut riffs. There's more reasons. than that, it happens. But please do reach out to Brendan so that you are able to find that community. You have some of those resources and you can start working on some of those positionings as well. Any final thoughts?

Brendan:

You know, Megan, I have a lot of final thoughts, but then there wouldn't be final thoughts. So I'll just end on this. And you mentioned you know, things that people can do that would just transfers to every area of their life in a positive way. Having a growth mindset is one of the biggest things I think HR should just really lean into. And, you know, when things get hard, it's, it's not about having regrets, you know, it's about lessons learned. It's being able to yes, deliver feedback, but also receive feedback. It's always, you know, yes and. Always looking for that additional way. Because, you know, I think we're all fighting our own battles, right? Whether it's mental health, or maybe, depending where you are in life, you're in a care sandwich. Maybe you have older parents you need to take care of, and then you have young kids at home. I mean, that's kind of where I'm at. But taking the time to connect. You know, I reached out to a friend, about a week ago and I hadn't talked to him in four years. And I said, Tony, how are you doing? He said, I got terminal cancer. So, you know, that, and I spent two hours with him and I'm grateful for that because that's a perspective that I could not get without talking with someone going through something really, really horrible. And as I'm getting kind of goosebumps thinking about this, you know, when HR needs a turn, and they need help, again, don't go into your hole. Sometimes make yourself uncomfortable. And you know that when there's stress in your life, when those little hairs on the back of your neck are standing up, you're growing. You may not feel like it, but you're growing. And you do that enough, and next thing you know, you're where you want to be. Or maybe you get there and you decide you want to do something else. The great part about this life is that we're not trees. We can change. So I encourage everyone to just remain flexible in your pursuit of whatever it is that you're looking for. But keep that attitude up, because that's the one thing they don't teach us in school that probably makes the biggest difference in our life.

Megan:

Wise words. So please go out there, make some connection, work on that growth mindset, and find your community. Thanks. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Culture Conversations. I'm your host, Megan Robinson, founder of eLeader Experience, a professional leadership development company. Today, we shared actionable ideas to navigate the evolving workplace landscape, compete for talent, and build cultures that maximize potential. If you're looking to learn more about how to support your organization's leaders, you can learn more about our work at eLeaderExperience.com. Now get out there and contribute positively to your organization's culture with your own conversations.