Rooted in People

About Rooted in People

What happens when people decisions meet business reality? Michelle Tilley, Strategic HR Advisor and founder of ElleTree HR Consulting, explores the human side of building a growing business. No jargon. No fear. Just clarity, kindness, and practical guidance. Human first. Always. elletreehr.substack.com (https://elletreehr.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Michelle Tilley | ElleTree HR Consulting

Category

business · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

15 May 2026

Latest episode

3 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

11 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   3 Sept 2026

   Live with Michelle Tilley | ElleTree HR - Day 4 The ElleTree 27 HR Solutions Vault

   Just wrapped Day four of the vault, quick one today. Today’s problem is the one nobody wants to name out loud: the person who hits every number and makes everyone around them smaller. Managing them means holding two true things at once, they’re valuable, and they’re doing damage. Most leaders pick one and lose on the other. The bit that changes everything: you don’t have to pick. Structure lets you hold both. Recording’s above. Today’s diagnostic and scripts are in the vault, access the vault here: The ElleTree 27 HR Solutions Vault (https://vault27.elletreehr.ca) Have you got someone like this on your team right now? See you for Day 5 tomorrow! Michelle 🌿 Get full access to Rooted in People at elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe (https://elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

2. 

   2 Sept 2026

   Live with Michelle Tilley | ElleTree HR - Day 3 The ElleTree 27 HR Solutions Vault

   Access the vault at https://vault27.elletreehr.ca Get full access to Rooted in People at elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe (https://elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

3. 

   1 Sept 2026

   Live with Michelle Tilley | ElleTree HR

   Get full access to Rooted in People at elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe (https://elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

4. 

   28 Aug 2026

   Live with Danielle Shroyer

   Get full access to Rooted in People at elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe (https://elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

5. 

   31 Jul 2026

   Episode 6: The Quiet Exit (Succession Planning)

   Links Book a free 30-minute discovery call (https://connect.elletreehr.ca/Book-a-call) LinkedIn Group: Human First. AI Second. For HR Pros and Leaders (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/22060037) Next Episode: the series finale. Performance management, and the conversation nobody wants to have. Get full access to Rooted in People at elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe (https://elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

6. 

   24 Jul 2026

   The Number That Isn't Just a Number

   A payslip is not a number. It's the most honest message your business ever sends about what you think someone is worth. In this episode, Michelle Tilley, Strategic HR Advisor and founder of ElleTree HR Consulting, digs into why compensation is one of the six people decisions that should never be handed to AI alone. In this episode: how Canada's pay transparency rules changed the game in 2026, what Michelle learned testing the AI candidate experience herself, where AI genuinely helps with compensation and where it quietly encodes old bias into new numbers (including Alberta's gender pay gap), plus four practical foundations for pay your team can trust. This is the series for founders and leaders who want to grow their business without losing their people. Links mentioned Book a free 30-minute discovery call: https://connect.elletreehr.ca/Book-a-call (https://connect.elletreehr.ca/Book-a-call) Human First, AI Second for HR Pros (LinkedIn group): https://www.linkedin.com/groups/22060037 (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/22060037) Next episode: succession planning. The quiet exit, and why the org chart is not the organisation. Get full access to Rooted in People at elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe (https://elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

7. 

   7 Jul 2026

   Episode 4 | The Decision Nobody Wants to Make

   The Decision Nobody Wants to Make (Ep. 4 | Rooted in People) Workplace conflict is one of the most common, and most avoided, people challenges in growing businesses. In this episode, Michelle Tilley, Strategic HR Advisor and founder of ElleTree HR Consulting, breaks down why conflict resolution is one of the six people decisions that should never be handed to AI alone. In this episode: the real cost of letting conflict simmer, two anonymised consulting stories, four things that actually work in conflict resolution, and an honest breakdown of where AI helps and where it doesn't. This is the series for founders and leaders who want to grow their business without losing their people. Links mentioned •      Book a free 30-minute discovery call: https://connect.elletreehr.ca/Book-a-call (https://connect.elletreehr.ca/Book-a-call) •      Human First, AI Second for HR Pros (LinkedIn group): https://www.linkedin.com/groups/22060037 (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/22060037)•      Webinar Registration link: https://webinar.elletreehr.ca/ai-hr-toolkit (https://webinar.elletreehr.ca/ai-hr-toolkit) Get full access to Rooted in People at elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe (https://elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

8. 

   12 Jun 2026

   Episode 3: The Decision That Starts Before Day One

   Episode 3: The Decision That Starts Before Day One Before you can ever let someone go, you have to bring them in. And the hiring decision is one that's being quietly handed over to AI at a rate that should give all of us pause. In this episode, Michelle shares two very different first-day experiences — one that tainted years of working life, one that set the standard for what great onboarding looks like — and traces the direct line from how you hire to how long people stay. We talk about where AI genuinely helps in hiring, where it quietly causes harm (and why the bias problem is structural, not malicious), why 'culture fit' is one of the most dangerous things an AI can attempt to assess, and what responsible AI-assisted hiring actually looks like in practice. Plus: the one question every leader should ask before they open a single application. This is Episode 3 of The Six People Decisions You Must Never Hand to AI Alone. LINKS Book a free discovery call: Book-a-call (https://connect.elletreehr.ca/Book-a-call) LinkedIn group: Human First. AI Second. | HR Leaders & Founders (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/22060037/) ElleTree HR Consulting: elletreehr.ca (https://elletreehr.ca) Get full access to Rooted in People at elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe (https://elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

9. 

   6 Jun 2026

   The Decision You Can Never Undo

   In this episode we’re talking about terminations. The one people decision that has no undo button, no matter what happens next. I recorded the first half of this outside in my garden in the sunshine — and then a very enthusiastic neighbour started their lawnmower. So I finished it indoors. Real and raw, which feels appropriate for the subject matter. We cover why kindness in a termination isn’t weakness, it’s leadership. What a legally sound process actually looks like. Where AI gets this dangerously wrong. And why a dishwasher explains everything you need to know about how AI really works. If you missed episode one, go back and start there — it sets up the whole series. 🌿 Book a call: https://connect.elletreehr.ca/Book-a-call (https://connect.elletreehr.ca/Book-a-call) 🌿 Human First. AI Second. LinkedIn community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/22060037 (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/22060037) Steady, not shake. 🌿 Get full access to Rooted in People at elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe (https://elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

10. 

    28 May 2026

    What AI Should Never Decide Alone

    Everyone keeps asking what AI can do in HR. I think we’re asking the wrong question. In this first episode of Rooted in People, I talk about the people decisions AI should never fully own - from hiring and performance management to layoffs, leadership, and culture. Not from a fear perspective, but from a human one. Because people decisions don’t land inside spreadsheets. They land inside real lives. If you’re navigating AI, leadership, people systems, or workplace change, I’d genuinely love to keep the conversation going. 🌿 Connect with me on LinkedIn:Michelle Tilley | ElleTree HR Consulting (https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-tilley/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3BQZcQ4AfLSL%2B2wklZ3Iqs6A%3D%3D) 🌿 Join the LinkedIn group:Human First. AI Second. | HR leaders & Founders (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/22060037/) 🌿 Website:www.elletreehr.ca (http://www.elletreehr.ca)🌿Email: michelle@elletreehr.ca New episodes of Rooted in People coming regularly.Human first. Technology second. Always rooted in people. 🌿 Get full access to Rooted in People at elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe (https://elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

11. 

    15 May 2026

    Even Superheroes Need a System.

    AI isn't replacing HR professionals. It IS, however, making a mess of the ones who implement it badly.If you're an HR superhero (cape optional, spreadsheet addiction compulsory) trying to figure out where AI actually fits in your people work, this replay is your starting point.I am Michelle Tilley, founder of ElleTree HR Consulting, and in this webinar I walk you through the Human Systems AI™ framework: design the human workflow first, identify where things break down, and only THEN layer in AI tools. Because "efficient chaos" is not a strategy. What's covered: * Why AI in a messy people system doesn't fix the mess, it just moves faster through it * A practical framework built on the principle that AI recommends, humans decide * Three real workflows you can use this week: * AI-assisted job descriptions (live Sprout demo included) * Employee survey theme extraction without spending a week reading verbatim responses * Retention risk analysis that gives managers something to actually act on * Ethics, data privacy, and bias: the governance stuff you need to think about before (not after) you adopt AINo hype. No fear. Just practical, human-centred HR that happens to have some very useful tools in it. Tools and Links: * 🌱 Sprout (AI-powered Job Description Writer): clear, inclusive job descriptions in minutes * Use code SPROUT25 for 25% off (valid until May 31, 2026)https://tools.elletreehr.ca/Sprout (https://tools.elletreehr.ca/Sprout) * 🌱 Rosie (HR Roots Assessment): https://tools.elletreehr.ca/rosie (https://tools.elletreehr.ca/rosie) * 🧭 AI for HR Readiness Check: https://tools.elletreehr.ca/AI-Readiness-Check (https://tools.elletreehr.ca/AI-Readiness-Check) * ☕ Book a Call (https://connect.elletreehr.ca/Book-a-call) Join The People Orchard (https://people-orchard.elletreehr.ca/orchard) group for HR Professionals and Leaders A calm community for founders, people leaders, and HR professionals who believe people are the roots of every thriving business. Practical, people-first HR, leadership support, and human-first AI guidance. Built for growing teams navigating the messy middle. Inside you’ll find: • Support for real people challenges • Weekly Orchard Check-Ins • Live Q&As on hiring, culture, and leadership • Guidance rooted in kindness, clarity, and judgement • Tools and AI support that reduce overwhelm, not add to it No noise. No judgement. No corporate armour. Just real people, thoughtful growth, and steady roots. 🌱Click here (https://www.skool.com/the-people-orchard-4402/about) to join for free Connect with Michelle at ElleTree HR: Website: elletreehr.ca (https://elletreehr.ca)Email: michelle@elletreehr.ca Rooted in People. Kindness as Strategy. Always. Get full access to Rooted in People at elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe (https://elletreehr.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)