The HR Connection Podcast with Sabrina Baker

If you removed every HR process, system, and tool… what’s the one lesson that would still hold everything together?

This episode breaks that down through one story, one truth, and one question to carry into any year:

People don’t burn out because they’re doing too much; they burn out because they’re doing too much that doesn’t make sense.

In small businesses where priorities shift fast, and everyone is juggling multiple roles, ...

Every small business says they want an HR strategy, but most don’t realize their “strategy” is really just a list of HR tasks. In this episode, Sabrina walks through five diagnostic questions that reveal what’s actually standing between your business goals and your people, your real people dependency.

You’ll learn how to identify where your growth is stalling because of capacity, capability, retention, management consistency, or a...

If your idea of HR is a few templates you found on Google and a payroll system that runs itself, you’re not alone. Most small businesses start that way. But at some point, DIY HR stops saving you money and starts costing you growth.

In this episode, host Sabrina Baker, CEO of Acacia HR Solutions, breaks down the five signs your “figure-it-out-as-you-go” approach to HR is holding your business back. She explains why HR is often the ...

PEOs promise peace of mind, one invoice, one system, one solution for all your HR headaches. But what if that convenience is quietly costing your business tens of thousands of dollars a year and holding you back from growing through your people?

In this episode, Sabrina Baker breaks down the real PEO price tag,  what you’re paying for, what you’re losing, and how to know when it’s time to move away from a one-size-fits-all HR model...

In every small business, there are a few people who quietly hold everything together — the ones who show up even when budgets are tight, systems aren’t perfect, and no one’s watching.

In this episode, Sabrina Baker reflects on the unsung heroes of small business — the employees who fix problems before they escalate, steady the team under pressure, and keep culture alive through consistency and care.

Sabrina walks leaders through si...

If your small business growth has hit a ceiling, it might not be your marketing or sales strategy, it might be your people.

In this episode, Sabrina Baker reframes company culture, not as a “nice to have,” but as the foundation of small business growth. She breaks down the three pillars of a thriving employee experience, Connection, Consistency, and Care, and explains how cracks in any of them create ripple effects that hurt perfor...

Not every messy workplace is a toxic one — but when it is, HR often sees it first. In this episode, Sabrina Baker reflects on 14 years of small-business HR experience and the lessons learned from surviving (and helping fix) toxic work environments.

From learning the difference between dysfunction and true toxicity to figuring out how to influence change without authority, this episode blends real stories with practical advice for ...

Do you know what happens when pay isn’t planned in a small business? Chaos. Two employees in the same job can end up making wildly different salaries, and once they find out, gossip, resentment, and turnover follow.

In this episode of The HR Connection, I walk you through the step-by-step process to fix compensation chaos and build a fair, consistent pay structure in your small business. And Penelope, our Payroll and Operations Par...

At 100 employees, the duct-tape approach to HR — spreadsheets, Google Forms, and manual processes — stops being “good enough” and starts hurting your credibility with employees and candidates.

In this episode of The HR Connection, Sabrina Baker breaks down the five HR tools every growing small business needs and why integration is the real ROI.

At scale, HR systems aren’t just about efficiency — they’re about reput...

If you’ve been in HR for even five minutes, you’ve probably heard it: “HR is not your friend.”

In this episode, Sabrina breaks down where that phrase came from, why employees still believe it, and how to answer confidently when it comes up. From a quick HR history lesson to real-world insights from other practitioners, you’ll learn how to reframe this narrative and shift the focus from “friendship” to “trust.”

Are your employees working hard… but not on the things that actually move your business forward? That’s the silent killer of growth in small businesses — and the root cause is often poor performance management.

In this expert voice episode, Sabrina Baker shows you how to transform performance management into a true growth driver by combining two critical tools:

1. The Goal Alignment Cascade – cascadin...

The number of interviews doesn’t equal confidence. Clarity does. And clarity starts long before the job post ever goes live.

In this episode, Sabrina breaks down how small businesses can create a lean, repeatable hiring process that actually helps you make strong, confident hiring decisions — without dragging candidates through endless rounds.

She’s joined by Acacia HR Business Partner Marie Rolston, who shares how this process wo...

If you’re handling HR in a small business — officially or unofficially — chances are you're overwhelmed. Not because you’re bad at time management… but because you’re spending time on things you shouldn’t have to.

In this episode, Sabrina Baker breaks down the real reasons HR leaders in small companies feel stretched thin — and why AI alone won’t save you.

Instead, she shares:

• How to leverage simpl...

Pop quiz: What’s one thing employees look for in a job besides pay? You guessed it—benefits. But for small businesses, the traditional “big company” benefit model often isn’t realistic. So how do you build a package that employees love without breaking the bank?

In this episode, Sabrina sits down with Acacia HR’s resident benefits expert, Christine Kopp, to break it all down. From creative benefit solutions to common pitfalls and...