The HR Connection Podcast with Sabrina Baker
The HR Connection Podcast with Sabrina Baker is a resource for all things HR in the small business world. It is designed for those wearing multiple hats—whether you're the only HR person at your company, a business owner figuring out HR as you go, or someone who just got handed the HR file. The show targets HR management in companies with 1-500 employees, often focusing on the under-100 space where most nuance and chaos exist. Each episode brings real talk, practical advice, and insights from Sabrina and occasionally other members of the Acacia team, who understand the ups and downs of HR in small businesses. It serves as an HR support system for people doing this work in a small business setting.
Episodes
The Exit Interview No One's Reading
Sabrina compares two clients with identical size (25-40 employees) and identical turnover (1-3 departures per quarter). One has a climbing engagement score. The other has been flat or dropping for two years. Same exit interview process, same data collected. The difference is what happens to the data after it's gathered.
Three questions determine whether an exit interview process functions or is ju
3 Reasons I Stopped Going to HR Conferences
Sabrina Baker, founder and CEO of Acacia HR Solutions, breaks down why she stepped back from major HR conferences after years attending as an attendee, speaker, blogger, and conference organizer, and what she recommends instead for HR practitioners in the 1-500 employee range.
Segments:
Sabrina's conference background: attendee, blogger/"blog squad," speaker, and multi-year co-chair of the Illino
The Tool Often Dismissed That Changed How My Teams Communicate
Most organizations hire, manage, and develop based on skill set alone and ignore the other half of every person: personality. In a team of five hundred, that gap gets absorbed. In a team of twelve, it becomes the culture.
Sabrina is certified in Myers-Briggs and Hogan. In this episode she addresses the science objection directly, then walks through the four ways ignoring personality damages small
The Termination I Handled Correctly That Still Ended in a Lawsuit.
Sabrina walks through a real case: a role elimination executed while the employee was on paternity leave. Every step was legally defensible. He sued anyway. The client settled, not because they were wrong, but because trial risk on a paternity-leave termination isn't worth the exposure regardless of the underlying facts.
What this episode covers:
The timing decision: execute during leave or wait
Onboarding in a Small Business: How to Make It Work When Nobody Has Time
Onboarding fails in small businesses not because no one cares but because no one owns it. This episode walks through a complete onboarding framework built for the 1–500 environment: fewer systems, less redundancy, managers executing on instinct rather than process. Covers every phase from offer acceptance through the first 30 days, and closes on the distinction that matters most, what the manager
What Happens to HR When the Owner Is the Problem
This episode started with a LinkedIn message. A practitioner at a 75-person firm, HR department of one, had been listening to episodes on toxic employees and sacred cows, and she asked the question nobody wants to ask out loud: what do you do when the toxic person is the founder? That question is what this episode is built around. Not how to manage up. Not how to influence without authority. What
Running HR Without Backup - What Actually Works
If you're managing HR alone for 100, 150, or more employees, you already know the standard advice about time management doesn't apply to you. The problem isn't how you manage your hours. It's how you classify the work coming at you.
In this episode, Sabrina breaks down the operating system Acacia uses to run high-volume HR work without burning out; a triage framework, a method for separating templ
HR Can't Fix What Leadership Won't Own
HR Can't Fix What Leadership Won't Own
Most organizations don't have a communication problem. They have a leadership problem, an accountability problem, a decision-making problem, a manager capability problem. Communication is just where those problems become visible.
In this episode, Sabrina walks through five scenarios where HR gets handed a symptom and asked to treat it like the disease and wh
The Policy Gaps That Gets Small Businesses Sued
Episode Summary
Most small businesses don't get into legal trouble because they lacked a policy. They get into trouble because they had one and didn't follow it. In this episode, Sabrina breaks down the gap between what handbooks say and what leaders actually do and why that gap is where most small-business employment risk lives.
This episode pairs with The Policy Nobody Talks About Until You Need
What No One Tells You About Being the Only HR Voice in the Room
What No One Tells You About Being the Only HR Voice in the Room
If you've ever taken a solo HR role, or you're considering one, this episode is the conversation nobody has with you before you start. Sabrina breaks down four hard truths that come with being the only HR voice in a small business, drawing on 15 years of embedded HR work with employers under 500 employees.
In this episode:
Truth #1: Y
In the Trenches - Caitlin Sampson
In the Trenches with Caitlin Sampson
Caitlin Sampson, HR Director at Trivector, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business in Huntsville, Alabama, joins Marie for the second installment of In the Trenches. As a longtime HR department of one, SHRM chapter president, adjunct professor, and mother of two, Caitlin knows firsthand what it means to operate at full capacity with no margin for error.
Paying People Right When You Don't Have a Comp Team
Compensation problems in small businesses don't announce themselves. They build quietly, starting with offer-time decisions that made sense at the time and were never revisited, until pay gaps have compounded long enough that someone finds out and tells everyone.
This episode is for HR practitioners who need to do comp work without a dedicated team, a purpose-built tool, or a large budget. Sabrina
The Policy Nobody Talks About Until They Need It
Most leave policies were written once and never revisited. The result: legal exposure, manager improvisation, and employees navigating a crisis without clear guidance.
In this episode, Sabrina and Marie break down why leave of absence is the HR area most likely to catch small employers off guard — and what to do about it.
What's covered:
The three-layer compliance problem: federal law, state law,
Performance Management That Doesn't Make Everyone Hate You
This episode of the HR Connection addresses the breakdown of performance management in small businesses and the cost of avoidance. Many organizations fall into two patterns: leaders who avoid difficult conversations entirely or leaders who escalate too aggressively. Both create risk, damage culture, and lead to reactive decision-making instead of structured management.
Sabrina Baker and Marie Rols
In the Trenches: Ivette Mills
HR isn't a spectator sport, and neither is this series.
In the Trenches is a monthly feature on the HR Connection where co-host Marie Rolston sits down with HR practitioners working inside organizations with 1 to 500 employees. No consultants, no theorists, just the people actually doing the work.
In our debut episode, Marie speaks with Ivette Mills, HR Director at 4Cs of Sonoma County, a nonprofi
Hiring Without a Recruiting Team
Recruiting in a small business rarely lives in a neat, dedicated function. More often, it gets layered on top of an already full HR workload. In this episode, Sabrina and Marie break down what that actually looks like in practice—and how to make it manageable.
The conversation focuses on how to approach recruiting when time, resources, and structure are limited. Instead of trying to build a perfec
The Handbook Nobody Reads — And How to Fix That
Most employee handbooks fail for three reasons: wrong tone, no real training on how to use them, and outdated information employees already learned not to trust.
A handbook that sounds like legal boilerplate will be ignored regardless of how complete it is. A handbook is infrastructure for consistency.
When it works, managers stop improvising, employees stop getting conflicting answers, and HR sto
The HR Audit Framework Small Business Practitioners Actually Need
If your most popular episode told you what intentional HR looks like, this one tells you how to actually build it. Sabrina and Marie get tactical with the HR audit process Acacia uses with every new client, no matter what the client thinks they have in place.
In this episode, they walk through the three-pillar audit framework (compliance, infrastructure, and strategy), explain why the order of tho
HR Support Options Most Small Businesses Don't Know About
What does under-resourced HR actually cost? Sabrina and Marie break down the math and walk through every support option available to small business HR.
The HR Tech Guide Nobody Made (So We Did)
Finding reliable HR tech reviews for small businesses is nearly impossible — most resources are built for enterprise, and the comparison sites are either outdated or pay-to-play. In this episode, Acacia's Payroll and Operations Manager Penelope walks us through the HR Tech Guide she's been building specifically for small employers: what she's testing, how she's scoring it, and what she's already f
When the World Is on Fire, HR Still Has to Show Up
HR Department of One? This Cohort Was Built for You
Eight years in the making. In this episode, Sabrina and Marie pull back the curtain on the HR Department of One Cohort which is a 10-week live program built specifically for HR professionals running solo inside small and growing companies.
They talk through why they built it, what the survey data told them, and what makes this different from every webinar or self-paced course you've already forgot
Employee Documentation: The Simple HR Habit That Can Save Your Company
Documentation is one of the most overlooked habits in small business HR, but it’s also one of the most important. In this episode, Sabrina and Marie break down what HR documentation actually means, why it protects both employees and employers, and the four situations that must always be documented. They also share practical tips for building a documentation habit without creating unnecessary burea
DIY HR vs Intentional HR: Where Small Employers Go Wrong
Episode 3: If HR Feels Broken, Start Here
If you’ve ever stepped into an HR role and felt like everything was a mess, you’re not alone. In this episode, Marie and Sabrina share how to recognize when HR is truly “broken” and what to do next.
They walk through the exact framework they use with overwhelmed clients to move from chaos to stability: Stabilize → Streamline → Build. You’ll learn why you can’t fix everything at once, where to begi
When HR Becomes the Messenger Everyone Blames
Why does HR always end up being the “bad guy”?
In this episode of The HR Connection, Sabrina and Marie dig into a reality almost every HR professional in a small organization knows too well: being asked to deliver bad news you didn’t decide, enforce unpopular policies you didn’t create, and step into tough conversations leaders avoid.
From benefit changes and return-to-office mandates to performan
Do You Actually Need a SHRM Certification to Run HR Well?
Do You Actually Need a SHRM Certification to Run HR Well?
If you’ve ever felt pressure to get a SHRM certification just to prove you belong in HR, this episode is for you.
Marie and Sabrina get honest about why certifications like SHRM-CP are treated as a requirement and why that logic often breaks down in small employer HR and HR departments of one.
Marie shares her own experience earning the SHR
The Ripple Effect of Showing Up
This episode is about the invisible work of leadership: the days you’re tired, unmotivated, and still decide to show up anyway. Marie reflects on a year of growth and the ripple effect that comes from staying with what matters.
The One HR Lesson I’d Take Into Any Year
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 ev
How to Build an HR Strategy Around Real Business Goals
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, rete
Do I Even Need HR Yet? 5 Signs You’ve Outgrown DIY People Management
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
The PEO Price Tag: How to Know When You’re Paying Too Much for Too Little
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 awa
The People Who Carry the Business
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 car
Is It Time to Fire Them? The Real Cost of Avoiding Tough People Decisions
Sometimes, the biggest threat to your company’s growth isn’t who you haven’t hired — it’s who you’re afraid to let go.
In this episode, Sabrina Baker unpacks how small businesses can make tough people decisions with clarity, legality, and compassion, and why holding on too long often costs more than letting go.
Your Growth Problem Isn’t Strategy — It’s Culture
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 cre
14 Years in HR: Surviving and Fixing Toxic Cultures
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
When Culture Becomes Cake: How HR Can Reset the Meaning of Engagement
If you've ever spent more time planning office birthdays than reviewing a performance issue, you’re not alone. In this episode, Sabrina Baker tackles what happens when small business HR becomes the unofficial party planner, and how to start shifting those expectations without losing the heart of company culture.
How to Pay Your Employees – Compensation Basics for Small Business
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 Penel
Top 5 HR Tools Every SMB Needs
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.
Why This Matters
At scale, HR systems aren’t just abo
How to answer the question, HR is not your friend
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
Grow Your Small Business with Performance Management
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:
The Goal Alignment Cascade – cascad
How to Hire with Confidence – Without 5 Rounds of Interviews
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 Rols
Best Time Management Tips for HR Leaders that work!
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 sim
Small, But Mighty – What We’ve Learned About Small Employer HR
You don’t need a huge team, a massive budget, or some fancy HR title to do HR the right way. What really matters is knowing how HR works in a small business.
In this season finale, Sabrina’s breaking down the biggest takeaways from Season 1 — including why HR in a small company comes with its own unique challenges and what you can do about it.
Employee Relations Issues Hit Different in Small Businesses
Employee Relations Issues Hit Different in Small Businesses
It’s louder, messier, and harder to ignore. With fewer policies and less hierarchy, when things go wrong, everyone feels it.
In this episode, Sabrina sits down with Acacia HR Business Partner Marie Rolston to talk about the unique challenges of managing ER in small organizations and share practical strategies for handling issues before t
Understanding Employee Benefits: A Guide for Small Businesses
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 benef
Why Payroll Matters So Much in a Small Businesses
Payroll mistakes? They hit way harder in small businesses. One missed paycheck, one “oops” with a contractor classification, and suddenly you’re dealing with broken trust — and maybe even compliance headaches.
In this episode, Sabrina chats with Acacia’s own Payroll & Operations Manager, Penelope Angulo, about what it really takes to run payroll like a pro when you don’t have a giant HR depa
Can AI manage HR for small businesses?
Can AI manage HR for small businesses?
Sure — if we’re talking about the way most small employers handle HR today: reactive, administrative, checking boxes.
But what if your HR could be more than that?
What if it could actually drive your business forward — not just keep it compliant?
That’s where AI hits a wall.
So the real question is: Are you managing HR the way a robot could… or the way a real
Founder vs. Hired CEO: How Leadership Style Impacts HR in Small Businesses
When you’re in a small company, the CEO usually is your go-to person—but let’s be real, not all CEOs are wired the same. In this episode, we’re getting into the difference between a Founder CEO and a Hired CEO, and why your HR game needs to shift depending on who’s in charge.
Whether you’re trying to roll out a new HR system, pitch a culture initiative, or ask for budget for bonuses—how you ask ca
Preparing for Growth – Scaling HR as Your Business Expands
Today’s topic is one that comes up all the time in conversations with our clients:
“What do we need to put in place before we grow?” Or more often… “We’re growing fast and it’s getting messy—what do we do now?”
Growth is exciting. It means your business is succeeding, scaling, expanding its impact.
But growth also exposes every crack in your HR foundation.
Things that worked when you had 10 empl
The HR Tech Struggle is Real
Today we’re diving into a topic that can either be a game-changer or a giant headache—HR technology for small employers. If you’ve ever wondered how to make smart HR tech investments when your budget is tight, or how to streamline your processes without losing your mind, this episode is for you.
We’re going to talk through what to look for in a system, why we almost always recommend all-in-one pla
The Power of an HR Network – You’re Not Alone
In this episode of The HR Connection, we’re getting real about something that doesn’t get talked about enough: the loneliness of managing HR in a small business. Whether you're an HR department of one or juggling HR with five other hats, it can feel isolating — and exhausting — to navigate all the people stuff solo.
I’ve been there. From being laid off on maternity leave with no network to buildin
Building a Strong Company Culture with Limited Resources
In this episode of The HR Connection, we unpack why company culture is a retention superpower—especially in small employers where every relationship, interaction, and habit is amplified. Host Sabrina Baker shares her candid take on what culture really means (hint: it’s not snacks or slogans) and how to start curating it intentionally, even when your HR budget is tight.
You’ll learn:
Why culture i
Hiring & Retaining Talent on a Small Business Budget
Think you can’t compete with the Googles and Amazons of the world? Think again.
In this episode of The HR Connection, host Sabrina Baker debunks the myth that small employers can't win the war for talent. If you're working with limited resources (or no HR budget at all), this episode is for you.
We’ll talk about:
The real value candidates look for beyond pay and benefits
Why learning opportunit
What Are the Most Common HR Gaps in Small Employers (And How Can You Fix Them)?
In this episode of The HR Connection, we explore the HR "messes" that most small employers encounter—and the underlying gaps that lead to them. From compliance violations and inconsistent workflows to the total absence of HR strategy, we break down what’s going wrong and how to make it right.
Whether you’re dealing with outdated handbooks, reactive leadership, or wondering if your business is even
HR As A Business Partner, Not Just As An Admin
If you're an HR professional in a small business—or someone wearing multiple hats including HR—this episode of The HR Connection is for you. Host Sabrina Baker unpacks one of the most common frustrations in small companies: HR is often seen as just administrative support, not a key driver of business growth.
In this episode, you'll learn:
Why HR is frequently viewed as a cost center in small bus
What does good HR look like in a Small Employer?
Join Sabrina Baker, HR expert and founder of Acacia HR Solutions, as she dives into the essential HR principles for small businesses. In this podcast, Sabrina shares actionable insights on how to adapt HR practices to fit unique team dynamics, foster employee engagement, and build loyalty—all while working with limited resources.
Learn why personalization, generalist knowledge, and the ability to
Small vs Large Employers in HR
Welcome back to The HR Connection Podcast! In this episode, host Sabrina Baker—CEO and founder of Acacia HR Solutions—dives into what makes managing HR in a small business (think 1 to 500 employees) so vastly different from doing it in a large organization.
From the “wild, wild west” of HR structures in startups to the deeply personal, small-town feel of close-knit teams, Sabrina shares why small
HR Connection Pilot Episode -
Welcome to The HR Connection! In this first episode, Sabrina shares why managing HR in small businesses is a whole different world—and why this podcast is here to help. Whether you're HR, a CEO wearing all the hats, or someone who just “fell into” HR, you're not alone. Let’s talk real challenges, soft skills, and building the support you’ve been missing.
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