Good Neighbor Podcast: North Shore
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of North Shore
Good Neighbor Podcast: North Shore
EP #49 - A People Partner: Redefining HR Through Alysa Southall’s Lens
Explore the vibrant world of HR with Alysa Southall, the inspiring force behind A People Partner, as she redefines what it truly means to be in Human Resources. Alysa's journey from agency recruiting to launching her own consulting business is a testament to her belief that HR can be more than just a company enforcer. She passionately debunks the myths surrounding the industry, advocating for HR as a supportive ally and a vital connector that nurtures positive work relationships. Through Alysa's eyes, discover how empathy and understanding are reshaping the HR landscape, making it an integral part of fostering harmony and growth within organizations.
Beyond her professional realm, Alysa's creative pursuits paint a picture of a multifaceted life. Her days are filled with writing plays, novels, and poetry, capturing moments through photography, and enjoying the company of her five beloved dogs. Alysa also candidly shares the challenges she faced in overcoming the perceptions of youth in her field, proving that expertise knows no age. Join us for a conversation that celebrates ingenuity, resilience, and the boundless possibilities when passion leads the way in both work and life.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Yvonne Godfrey.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Today, I have the pleasure of introducing Alisa Suhall, and she is the owner of A People Partner. Alisa, how are you this morning.
Speaker 3:I'm doing well. Thank you for having me today, yvonne. Wonderful, wonderful we're happy to have. I'm doing well.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me today, yuan, wonderful, wonderful. We're happy to have you here as well. Can you please tell our listeners about your company?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I specialize in HR project-based consulting. I provide recruiting services and I help job seekers, at no cost to them, with some support for resume building and that kind of thing. Okay.
Speaker 2:And how did you get into this business, Alisa?
Speaker 3:Well as most people do. We stumble into HR by accident, started off in agency recruiting and then moved into HR before realizing that there was more that needed to be done in the HR industry, so I started my own business following that.
Speaker 2:Okay, okay. And what are some myths or misconception that you've discovered in your industry?
Speaker 3:A lot of people see HR as the principal's office or a bad place to go. But in the new wave of HR we can actually be a resource and a liaison between the employee and the company and creating positive relationships and partnership not feeling like we're the place where people go to get fired.
Speaker 2:partnership- not feeling like we're the place where people go to get fired. That sounds great, okay, so what?
Speaker 3:are some myths or misconception that you've discovered in your industry. So some of those myths are that we are sort of the evil part of the organization, that we are only out for the company, that we are, you know, have no emotion, those types of things that make us look like we're not humans. A lot of us in the HR field have a lot of empathy and we have to make some pretty tough decisions or execute some pretty finalized, tough decisions that the company makes but who are here ultimately to help employees and the company together, and so as that wave changes, I think we're going to see that go a different direction. But I would say a lot of the myths and misconceptions are really about the negative way that HR is looking.
Speaker 2:It's nice if you can put a positive spin or a positive side to something that is oftentimes looked at as negative. That's great, yeah. So outside of work, what do you do for fun, alyssa?
Speaker 3:Oh man, I do a little bit of everything. So I act in plays, I write plays, I write poetry, I've written novels that I'm working on getting published. I hang out with my dogs, you know. So I do a number of different things. I'm very creatively brained, do some photography as well, so I spend a lot of time either writing, taking pictures or being with my five dogs, and then networking. I'm an avid networker. I am the president of a women's group here on the North Shore, so you know I'm always busy and I never stop. Moving is really the key.
Speaker 2:Okay, five dogs.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:Your schedule is full. Very much so. So, lisa, let's change gears. Yeah, can you describe one hardship or one of life's challenge that you rose above and can now say that because of it, you're stronger and better what comes to your mind?
Speaker 3:There are two things that come to my mind, but I'll pick one that I think most people can relate to, and that is the stigma around looking or being young.
Speaker 3:I tend to look younger than I am, and so a lot of people will misconstrue how I look for the knowledge I have in my brain, and so I often was faced with oh, you're too young, or you don't know enough about that, or, et cetera, et cetera, and that was through my HR and recruiting career and the ones that I had prior to that.
Speaker 3:And you know, I I had to start using my mouth more to to get people to understand the knowledge that I had in my brain, and once I was speaking, they were like, oh, you actually know a lot more than we thought you knew, because they were judging me by an age that they perceived me to be, versus, you know, the knowledge that I had gained over the course of my career in a variety of ways, and so I think a lot of people can relate to that. I think primarily that happens to a lot of women, although I do think it's not just gender specific but we tend to be overlooked if we're, if we look, too young or if we are too young. People don't value our experience in the same way.
Speaker 2:Well said, Elisa. Please tell our listeners one thing they should remember about a people partner.
Speaker 3:We are focused on creating people first work cultures and advocating for living wage employment, and so if there's one thing you can take away from a people partner, it's we're all about equality, equity and creating positive experiences for people, and so, if you can't feel it, my passion comes through for all of those topics, but I really encourage you to remember us for the equity we want to provide to the industry and to employers and really helping us advocate for those missions.
Speaker 2:And how can our listeners learn more about A People Partner?
Speaker 3:We're on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, all of those great channels. You can visit us at 8peoplepartnerllccom. We also have a podcast. That's been a little bit on a hiatus over the past couple of years. We will be returning, but those are really the easiest ways to get in touch with us. We have a YouTube channel as well, so we're a little bit in all the areas that you normally would go to. Beautiful, beautiful.
Speaker 2:Elisa, thank you. I really appreciate you being on the show with us today and wish you and your business all the very best moving forward. Thank you, yvonne, it was a pleasure.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNPNorthShorecom. That's GNPNorthShorecom, or call 857-703-9406.