HR Lessons: One of the Largest U.S. Utility Companies w/ about 20 years of experince | Deborah Sanchez on GroceryPulse Podcast

In this episode of GroceryPulse, host George Goodwin sits down with Deborah Sanchez, an HR consultant with nearly 20 years of experience advising C-suite leaders at one of California’s largest utility companies. From her beginnings as a young mom seeking stability to now shaping corporate HR strategy, Deborah shares powerful insights on employee retention, mentorship, workplace culture, and leadership grounded in compassion.

Whether you're managing a growing grocery team, launching a CPG brand, or navigating hiring and retention in a post-COVID world—this conversation delivers actionable advice and inspiring stories that apply across industries.

🔥 Topics We Cover:
• How mentorship drives professional growth
• Balancing AI with the human side of HR
• Why experience > education in many hiring decisions
• The ROI of compassion and appreciation in leadership
• Building workplace cultures that support inclusion and retention
• What grocery and CPG leaders can learn from corporate HR

🎯 Key Takeaways:
✅ Compassionate leadership increases loyalty & productivity
✅ Experience often outweighs credentials in hiring
✅ AI is a tool—not a replacement—for human interaction
✅ Employee growth, not just evaluations, builds culture
✅ Family-oriented culture improves morale & retention
✅ Transparency, benefits, and recognition matter more than ever
✅ Hiring local builds community connection & workplace diversity

🎧 Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction to HR and Deborah’s Journey
03:07 – The Power of Mentorship in Career Growth
05:54 – Hiring: Why Experience Beats Credentials
08:57 – What Really Drives Employee Satisfaction
12:09 – Evaluations and Feedback that Actually Help
15:10 – Work-Life Balance: Retaining Your Best People
17:57 – Post-COVID Return to Office Trends
21:09 – The Role of AI in Modern HR
24:00 – Diversity, Inclusion, and Innovation
26:53 – HR Trends Shaping the Future
43:06 – Cultivating Diversity with Integrity
45:15 – Aligning Company Values with People Needs
46:37 – Meeting Employees Where They Are
49:20 – Empowering Diverse Talent
51:49 – Traits of High-Performing Team Members
54:45 – Compassion in the Workplace
57:27 – Fire Chat Round: Rapid HR Wisdom
01:03:00 – How Data & Analytics Drive Better HR Decisions

📌 Don’t Miss These Fire Chat Topics:

• Self-checkout vs. the human touch

• Hybrid vs. remote recruiting

• High-performing team member traits

• The impact of small gestures (like keychains!)

• Compassion as a business strategy

💼 About the Guest:
Deborah Sanchez is an HR strategist, mentor, and leadership consultant with two decades of hands-on experience helping teams thrive. Her work focuses on bridging generational and cultural gaps in the workplace through inclusion, authenticity, and data-backed leadership.

🧠 Sound Bites to Share:
"Employees want to grow."
"Compassion is pretty important."
"A team can make you or break you."
"Diversity can push a company’s innovation."
"Appreciation and compassion go a long way."

🎯 Keywords / Tags for SEO (YouTube):
HR, employee satisfaction, workplace culture, mentorship, leadership in HR, AI in HR, employee retention, grocery industry, CPG team building, diversity and inclusion, remote hiring, team dynamics, HR podcast, HR strategy, GroceryPulse Podcast, George Goodwin, company culture, data analytics HR, compassion in leadership, hybrid teams, employee growth, post-COVID workplace

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