Recharging HR: Employee Advocacy and Leadership with Melanie Zakrzewski at Kendall Hunt Publishing Company

In this episode of the Heroes of HR podcast, we’re joined by Melanie Zakrzewski, Payroll and Benefits Supervisor at Kendall Hunt Publishing. Melanie shares her perspective on navigating talent retention, succession planning, and creating a people-first workplace. From leveraging isolved to streamline HR processes to fostering work-life balance through mental health initiatives, Melanie highlights the importance of small wins, continuous learning, and recharging your HR battery. We dive into HR, talent acquisition, employee benefits, recruitment, work-life balance, employee advocacy, isolved, leadership, and workplace culture to uncover practical strategies for today’s HR professionals. Key Takeaways: Retention and succession planning are top challenges for HR teams. Employee education, including benefits literacy, empowers a more engaged workforce. isolved enhances HR efficiency while creating a people-first culture. Work-life balance and mental health initiatives are critical for employee satisfaction. Celebrating small wins can keep HR professionals motivated and energized. Strong leadership requires continuous learning and adaptability. Building relationships within the workplace fosters a positive, collaborative culture. Chapters: 00:00: Who is Melanie Zakrzewski, Payroll and Benefits Supervisor at Kendall Hunt Publishing? 03:41: Talent Retention and Succession Planning 06:42: Empowering Employees Through Benefits Education 08:45: Leveraging isolved for HR Excellence 09:51: Recharging Your HR Battery The Heroes of HR podcast is a limited series sponsored by isolved. isolved is an HCM solution modernizes HR, benefits and payroll across Healthcare, Hospitality, Manufacturing & more. You can learn more about isolved here: https://www.isolvedhcm.com/ Connect with Melanie Zakrzewski here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-zakrzewski/ William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/ Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/ Connect with WRKdefined on your favorite social network The Site | Substack | LinkedIn | Instagram | X | Facebook | TikTok Share your brand across the WRKdefined Podcast Network