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HR Voices is a scenario-based podcast for People Leaders who’ve actually had to make the call.
Each episode brings experienced HR and People leaders into realistic, anonymized workplace scenarios—the kind you recognize immediately. Performance issues. Messy conflicts. Investigations that don’t fit neatly into a policy box. Instead of talking about their own companies, guests react to outside cases and walk through how they’d think it through in real time.
There are no right answers here. What you’ll hear is judgment: how seasoned leaders balance risk, fairness, legal reality, and humanity when the stakes are high and the path isn’t obvious.
HR Voices is for HR, People Ops, legal, and leaders who want to hear how other smart humans actually handle employee relations—without confidentiality breaches, hypotheticals that feel fake, or a lecture on “best practices.”
Alisa & Rebecca
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[00:00:00] Welcome to HR Voices, a podcast where people leaders share their side of the story. We talk about the challenges they're facing, how they're addressing them, and what changes they hope to see as the workplace evolves. This podcast is sponsored by All Voices, the all-in-one employee relations platform.
~And I don't care if I'm late to the airport by a few minutes, they have to wait for me, so it's- Okay. That's fair. They do-- They can't talk without you, right? Exactly. And they know I have a podcast, and they still insisted on having a meeting right up to it. I'm like, "Well, I'm gonna-" So it's their fault. So- Yeah.~
~So it's their fault ... it's their fault. It is their fault. Oh, okay. Okay. I officially have us recording, and we'll edit out, like again- I hear you ... you can, like, edit things out, too. So, like, Dave and Tanner just get to watch us yap, so sorry, guys. Um Bloopers. Beep, beep, beep. No. Yeah. We're censoring ourselves, so.~
~Exactly. Um, okay. Okay. I'm gonna get us going, and, and, like, I'm getting into, like, acting mode it feels like. And it's... Ooh, okay. Okay.~ Hello, and welcome to HR Voices. My name's Rebecca Taylor, and I'm here with Alisa Di Beasi, the CHRO at PHINIA. Alisa, welcome. Thank you so much for being here. I'm so excited.
Thanks for reaching out, and I'm looking forward to our conversation today. Me too. I'm so excited. And we've been like, we've been trying to schedule this for a while, so, like, I'm so glad that we got this on the books because I think this is a really good scenario and a very timely scenario for us to go through.
So are you ready for me to read it out for everybody? I'm ready. I am ready. Okay. So we're calling this, it's basically the theme is balancing individual needs, culture, and fairness at scale. Mm-hmm. So over the past two years, this particular company has seen a steady increase in requests for workplace accommodations, particularly [00:01:00] related to mental health and flexible work arrangements.
Leaders are committed to supporting employees' wellbeing, but there's a growing inconsistency in how requests are handled across teams and regions. Some managers are highly flexible, others adhere strictly to in-office expectations. Employees begin raising concerns about fairness, transparency, and whether flexibility decisions are being applied equitably.
At the same time, leaders worry about setting precedents, cultural cohesion, and potential legal risk. As CHRO, you're asked to help the executive team define a sustainable approach that balances legal obligations, employee trust, performance expectations, and company culture, while ensuring managers are equipped to lead through nuances.
That's a lot. It feels like a day in the life of HR, though. Exactly. And it's a lot, and plus some, right? So actually, I think what we have to consider first before you can go out, revamp, create guidelines, create policies, is you have to really understand the situation in your workforce, right? Mm-hmm. So where are we located?
What do they need? How do they, what do they need to perform their jobs? [00:02:00] What's really required from us as an organization and from them? What do they actually need to be at their best? Mm-hmm. And if you enter into that frame of mind, I think you're already setting yourself up for, you know, meeting of the minds or having a successful policy or change or implementation.
I hear in your scenario a lot of angst or, Just leaders maybe being nervous they're making the wrong decision. 'Cause when I hear that, something must have happened somewhere. I don't know, right? Yeah. So, but with my organization, I can say, as a CHRO, I would ask everyone to, what do we need to do? Yeah.
What do we need to do for ourselves, and what do we need to do for the business? What do we need to do for that employee in their particular situation? So I understand sometimes it's perceived as there might be inequities or there could be unfair practices being done, but our job as an HR partner is to make sure our leaders have the right information to make the right decisions.
And it sounds like in your scenario, they're missing [00:03:00] pieces or something happened. Mm-hmm. Um, so with that, we would create a safe space for a meeting of the minds to come together. What is it that we need to do, um, as far as either offering flexibility, offering a changed work schedule, offering something different- Yeah
um, that works out for both parties. And it's always about what's the, and what is the best end result for- Yeah ... everyone involved, right? So- Yeah ... it's not about, again, just demanding policy and everybody has to be in from this time to this time, 'cause not every role needs- Yeah ... to be sitting in a desk or cubicle or on the line, I would say that's most likely different, but- Yeah.
Yeah. There's-- And that's kind of like, you know, I love that you're calling out that there's just different types of workforce that just need different things. Like, some jobs can be done from home, some can't. Can't. And it sounds like in this scenario, and this is a fabricated scenario technically, but it also feels like it's something that is kind of just happening in a lot of places because flexibility is becoming a lot more of a [00:04:00] common conversation.
But then there's also the organizations that are sort of preaching flexibility, and then there are a lot more that are now kind of going to the more rigid five days in office even for- Mm ... white collar work, right? Yeah. Um, having people live closer to their, move closer to their office locations if they're not already there.
So there is sort of a lot of nuance in how we're thinking about working. Mm. So I'm curious you know, there's a difference sometimes between figuring out what are the legal accommodations you have to do in certain scenarios. You-- Then you're balancing between flexible work as a talent strategy, like something that's, you know, a feature not a bug, right?
And then figuring out those role-based requirements. So when we talk about, accommodations or even flexibility as a strategy, like how do you sort of weigh some of these competing priorities? I mean, I have my two cents, but I wanna hear from you. We talk a lot about it, so actually it's always, it's always on the table.
It's a always an open discussion. You know, we have some folks who [00:05:00] work one day a week in the office, some that work once every few months in the office, some that work four days a week in the office, and then we have folks who work five days a week, some six. So we're globally located around the world, and all the needs, they-- it's hard to balance.
Yeah. Nobody says we have to, right? We're just doing the best, and we really are. We're looking at the positions and the requests coming in saying, "You know, I can't. I, I live four hours away from home. I took this job at one particular time." Well, how can we make it work for the organization and you?
And it's really about having those conversations. If you did a peanut butter spread, uh, across the table and said, everybody in this role has to be in at this time to this time," that doesn't work. It doesn't work. Actually, it doesn't work for us as an organization because we're also asking them to be flexible, travel sometimes for us, be on a late-night call.
We're a global organization. There's gonna be times we're also asking something of them, so it's not fair for us to also offer some flexibility. So again, as long as we're [00:06:00] looking at each situation independently of another, we've always landed in a pretty safe space. I mean, we haven't been... And, and we've been fortunate enough that our folks have either liked to work from home or remote or wherever it is and also come in.
So we've heard it both ways. Actually, more recently, we've heard from the younger generation coming in that they wanna be in more than less. I've heard this too. They want to learn from. Yeah. So you know, they've, they've actually said, "Unfortunately, I'm only coming in two days a week. It doesn't help me.
I'm not able to become you. I'm not able to act like that person there because I don't know how to do it. I don't know how to say hi to someone in the hallway." Yeah. So you know, we also, we also look at things through their lens, and then some of our other folks, some- myself at one particular time. I'm trying to juggle three kids, two dogs, a husband, uh, being a, a great mom, having a pretty big job, and then trying to fly to one [00:07:00] location to the other.
I need the flexibility as well. I need to be able to say, "I have a, uh, an appointment in the morning, but I'll be on the call at, at later tonight so I can address the calls of my age or Asia region," for example. Yeah. But every situation is different. Yeah. And we look at it like that. We, of course, we have guidance.
We have guidelines. Yeah. We have, you know, things, "If this happens, what should we do?" And we work really closely with our leadership, our employees when there is a need, and legal, our functions, right? So, you know, is this an unreasonable request? We're a big company. Can we afford to manage, uh, an accommodation, for example?
Yeah. Yeah. Um, is it unreasonable? You know- Yeah ... someone saying they could only live on a seaside beach resort in a very isolated town for their health and wellbeing probably isn't gonna pass the s- the sniff test, if you will. I mean, same. I would love that to be me, but yeah. No, and I say that not to be facetious.
I say that- Yeah ... because I've heard in my other CHRO realm- Yeah ... some of these requests do come in, and- Yeah ... [00:08:00] we haven't had that. Yeah. So we haven't, we haven't had abuse, um, but we're a fairly newer organization from an older organization, if you will, and we just haven't seen that. Our, our people, we treat them fair, well enough, and we're concerned with their wellbeing and their, what they need.
So the requests come in, and we're, where we're able to meet them, we meet them. Yeah. I think it sounds like, too, in this scenario, is that there are managers who are kind of just making decisions that- That keep them the safest or that sound the safest. Mm-hmm. Which I've found, you know, when I had managers who were trying to navigate accommodations for the first time, they're just, you know, especially when you talk about accommodations for mental health and things like that, managers don't want to, take on legal risk or they're just kind of like, "Sure, whatever you wanna do."
But sometimes, that can be, I don't wanna say intentionally taken advantage of 'cause that's the-- but I don't have a better term for it, but that can be- Uh-huh ... kind of, you know, misused maybe even with good [00:09:00] intent. So most times I've found that organizations that have sort of some guidelines for accommodations as a starting point help so that managers have something to look at, and then they can kind of navigate nuances from that baseline structure that's there.
Mm. Like, do you have that too, or do you kind of look at every accommodation as kind of its own nuanced situation? Yeah. So with mental health, right, that's really particular, and it's a, it's taboo in some places, unfortunately, right? Yeah. So for us, we started about a year back these wellbeing councils that address mental health, and we have a lot of managers involved.
We have line personnel, we have salaried personnel, we have these, these groups. We have about 30 location-- so we have over 40 locations a-across the globe, and about 30 of our sites have these wellbeing councils, and they address things, just what you're saying. Mm-hmm. Um, how do you deal with mental wellness in a different light than, uh, an accommodation that you would [00:10:00] see on someone that you need, right?
Or how do you deal with the gray area, if you will, as a, a leader, as an employee? And we've really brought this group to the table with training, with identifying, with addressing with offering... It's not an EAP. We have EAP. Yeah. We have coaching. We have health practitioners. Some of our offices have psychiatrists, some have doctors, some have counselors.
Yeah. So this is a group led by employees that are trained in a particular way to offer help and support and coaching back to the employee to say, and to a manager or to a leader, you know, "Let's bring them in. Let's talk to them. Let's talk about, you know, what you're facing with right now and how can we help you through that.
How can we navigate you through that?" So- Yeah ... again, these are groups that are led by employees- Mm-hmm ... um, that are staffed with or have employees and leaders and executives on the team. So again, there's about 30 across the globe. And there's no, there's no book that tells you how to handle- Yeah
someone's severe depression today or [00:11:00] someone's child's depression, right? Yeah. There's no book. This is what, this is the reality of HR. Yeah. These are the things you have to deal with every day, right? So- Yeah ... this group helps the coworkers and colleagues and friends, you know, work families, if you will, get through that with offered resources, providing- You know, during work sessions and lunch and learns, and sometimes it's just about taking a walk, talking about how can we remedy it together as a group- Yeah
as a team. So there's never gonna be a one-size-fits-all, but these groups, and we offer guidelines. Of course, we can policy it up, but we're- Yeah ... we don't wanna do that. Yeah. Yeah. It's not the right time for us. We're-- At least what we can see for employees coming in, the parents, the spouses, the kids, the next generation, the leaving generation, and you just wanna have a safe space that you can go to and talk to some f- s- some great colleagues that can help you, you know, get to a [00:12:00] safer space, at least- Yeah
find something. Yeah. I think it's a really cool kind of culture approach, too, 'cause you're looking at, there's accommodations for mental health situations where someone might need less time in the office, maybe because being in the office is overstimulating, it gives them anxiety, they can't work that way.
Um, there's, you know, there are accommodations for someone's sick spouse or their own illness, right? There, those exist. But what I think you're talking about that is really interesting is sort of just a culture of inclusion is, is a word I wanna use, but also just, like- Sure ... in culture and accommodation almost as a strategy of the culture.
Sure. You know? Just the reality of, like, people just might need different things at different times, and- Mm ... it doesn't need to be a big deal, but it does need to be fairly and consistently applied. Is that fair to say? Mm-hmm. It is, and we actually-- I know everybody cares about their employees, and I know employees care about their employer for the most part, right?
It's like we're so lucky that people choose to work with us for [00:13:00] a period of their career journey or their work journey. Why not make it something for them that they can count on as a safe space- Mm-hmm ... as a place they can go to and receive the help that they need at the right time? So it doesn't have to be, you know, a flavor of the month activity.
It just has, they just have to know that we care about them and that th- we can... If we don't know, we're not the experts. We're not doctors, right? Yeah. Some of our employees are, but we're not. Um, but we can absolutely help them find the right resources, because we're big, and we, we know who to ask. We know of, you know, s- uh, suicide prevention hotlines.
We know domestic violence hotlines. We know resources in the communities. We're really involved with all our communities. And, um, it's such a delicate-- Like I said, in some countries, it's pretty taboo, and even with some people, it's taboo. They're afraid to come and ask- Yeah ... for help. And having the conversation and letting them know we're here, they come in.
Yeah. And we're really proud about that. Yeah. And so, yeah, we-- I would love to share great stories about it, but, [00:14:00] you know, privacy and so on. Yeah. But we just, we're so lucky that or blessed or lucky or we're just- We're able to count on the workforce we have that care enough to want to do these things for the people.
There's nothing-- We're not, I'm not telling this organization to do those things. Yeah. This is our employees that see a need, feel a need, and can do something better with it. Yeah. That's culture. I mean, when people try to, you know, ask what is, you know, what is company culture, it's that. It's like no one's asking you to do anything specific.
No one... It's just people feel a need, they see a need, and they show up in a way that it needs to happen i- in, in whatever capacity they can. Like, I think that's the perfect definition of culture, if you ask me. Which is great. I mean, kudos 'cause that's, like, that's really, really hard to build, especially at a global scale.
Mm. Like, you're a superhero CHRO. I'm, I'm proud. I'm, I'm moved to tears. I mean, my team is always like, "Why are you crying now?" I'm like, "'Cause I know what we just did." Yeah. You, you-- I know what it's like to lose someone to mental health, [00:15:00] not receiving resources. I mean, I've been doing this for 30-plus years.
Yeah. You've seen it. You've heard it. A lot, yeah. And not to have... People work, you know, they're awake at work. They're here more than they are at home most of the time. Yeah. And so to offer them a place to say, " I need help with something- Yeah ... or my family needs help," and then w- us being able to do that, what a...
We're so lucky. Yeah. So, and to, to have them able to f- to raise their hand for it. I've been at companies, I've, I know other HR folks that are at companies that don't have it, have these types of resources yet. But it'll come. It's coming. Yeah. So... Yeah. As one final question, 'cause believe it or not, we're actually at time.
Oh. If you-- For the HR folks who are listening to this and are like, "Oh, my God. I wanna get to where Alisa is, but we are so far from that right now," how do you, or what kind of first step could you recommend? Like, where might people start on this journey of, of building this culture of [00:16:00] trust, support, I guess we'll call it accommodation, but not in the legal sense, right?
Yeah. I think you, it-- So for us, we started to talk to our, our people. We made more s- fireside chats and more sit-down talks and more private, intimate settings, and not just at a town hall once a quarter. Yeah. So we actually went out to locations, and we sat down with people, and we asked, you know, our talent directors and our HR partners and our benefits team, you know, "What are you seeing the claims come in at?
What, how can we help them? And what's best practice for someone else isn't best practice for us, but what could we do?" And really putting it out there for idea generation and then watching them lead through it. I didn't appoint anyone to do this. Yeah. This happened because we're in a really good place.
And you can get there. You can do the, you can do the same things. You just have to ask. You have to listen. Yeah. Ask but listen. And when you listen, you don't have to diagnose it. You just have to- You can [00:17:00] see it and you can feel it, and HR people, we know. Yeah. And when the right time is for you to offer help, I'm sure you have the right people, because otherwise they wouldn't be working for you.
So. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's true. It is. I love that. Such solid advice, just, like, listen to people, 'cause that's kind of what gets each company to sort of figure out what it is that they need individually. 'Cause, you know, any playbook that we may have used at another place might not work in the current company that you're at, uh, 'cause there's just different people, different needs- That's right
different things. So I love that. That is so solid. Well, thank you, Alisa, so much for being here and for sharing everything, and I know that, I mean, I know that we could talk for a very long time, but- Hours. Yeah. We're gonna stay in touch, and we're gonna- Yes ... keep the conversation rolling 'cause this was so fun.
Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. But thank you so much. That's part of my day today, so thank you, Rebecca, and- Likewise ... we'll talk soon, I'm sure. Yes, yes, and thank you, everybody, for listening, and I hope everybody has a great rest of your day. Bye. Bye.