Episode 384: ‘Is HR Your Friend?’ With Franky Rhodes, People Operations Partner at TravelPerk

Jessica Miller-Merrell: What is the worst mistake you see companies make when it comes to DEI initiatives? Franky “Tank” Rhodes: Not starting. There’s so many layers to, to this. And lack of inclusion has been a massive thing. This isn’t new. It’s just new because there’s more exposure to it on social media and all these other things, especially, again, heightened in the last 3 to 5 years. But I think not starting is the biggest mistake with these internal conversations where employees might have brought this to your attention, that they’re not feeling good about a variety of things and doing absolutely nothing about it. Episode 384: ‘Is HR Your Friend?’ With Franky Rhodes, People Operations Partner at TravelPerk   Welcome to the Workology Podcast, a podcast for the disruptive workplace leader. Join host Jessica Miller-Merrell, founder of Workology.com as she sits down and gets to the bottom of trends, tools, and case studies for the business leader, HR, and recruiting professional who is tired of the status quo. Now here’s Jessica with this episode of Workology. Jessica Miller-Merrell: [00:01:05.79] Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not new ideas in the HR and corporate arenas, but in recent months, the importance and significance of DEI in the workplace has gotten leaders throughout corporate America to think about what they’re doing and what the right thing in the workplace looks like. And for that community. And to be honest, we’re falling short still. So it’s important to amplify inclusivity and hold corporate leaders accountable for the lack of it. There are so many ways to do this, and today’s podcast guest is setting the bar pretty high. This podcast is powered by Ace The HR Exam and Upskill HR. These are two of the courses that I offer for certification prep and recertification for HR leaders. But before I introduce our guests, I want to hear from you. Please text the word “PODCAST” to 512-548-3005 to ask questions, leave comments, and make suggestions for future guests. This is my community text number and I want to hear from you. Today I’m joined by Franky “Tank” Rhodes, People Operations Partner at TravelPerk. You may know Tank as @hrsagentofchaos on TikTok. Nearly 40,000 followers strong. Representing HR’s “Black Air Force Energy.” That’s where I found him. He is an HR professional with five+ years of experience with leadership, including People Ops manager at Lola.com and as the Senior HR Associate at Capital One. But you really need to head up his TikTok, where he speaks his mind and holds LinkedIn career coaches and influencers accountable for bad job search advice and with no shame. Tank, welcome to the Workology Podcast. Franky “Tank” Rhodes: [00:02:45.39] Thank you very, very much. I’m very excited to be sharing this space with you and I appreciate the opportunity. I want to introduce my co-star for the day as well. This is Samuel Peppers. He got his name because of all of the little freckles all over him. So this is Sam. He might have something to say somewhere down the line during this show. Jessica Miller-Merrell: [00:03:08.49] I hope he does. And for those who are just listening to the audio. Sam is a black and white cat feline, so kind of a tuxedo, but he has spots all over him a little bit. Franky “Tank” Rhodes: [00:03:18.42] Yeah. It’s interesting. I’ve never seen a cat that looked like a Dalmatian before. Jessica Miller-Merrell: [00:03:24.69] He does. And he’s been, he’s been good so far. So I’m a fan of, of pets. I told you, I have four cats.