What does effective leadership and HR business partnering actually look like in practice?

In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Jill Coyle, an experienced Chief People Officer known for her pragmatic, commercial, and authentic leadership style.

With a career spanning local government, corporates, and her own consultancy, Jill shares real-world insight into leading through change, influencing executive teams, and building people strategies that actually work.

From flexible working in regional environments to the realities of HR business partnering, this conversation cuts through theory and focuses on what delivers results in complex organisations.

What You’ll Learn

• What effective HR business partnering looks like in practice

• How to implement flexible working in regional and dispersed workforces

• The leadership capabilities required to navigate change and transformation

• How to influence senior leaders without losing authenticity

• The importance of commercial acumen in HR roles

• How to balance organisational needs with employee expectations

• Lessons from leading through large-scale organisational change

Key Takeaways

• Great HR business partnering is grounded in understanding the business, not just people

• Flexible working requires intentional design — not just policy

• Leadership influence comes from trust, relationships, and credibility

• Pragmatism and authenticity are critical in complex environments

• Strong people strategies align directly to business priorities

About Jill Coyle

Jill Coyle is an accomplished executive people leader with extensive experience across local government and corporate environments.

As Chief People Officer at Napier City Council, she has worked alongside executive leadership teams to deliver strategic priorities for over 700 staff through modern, practical people strategies.

Previously, Jill led People & Transformation at Far North District Council, served as Acting Chief Executive, and supported large-scale organisational change. She is recognised for her pragmatic, commercial, and authentic leadership style, building high-trust relationships and sustainable performance outcomes.

Why This Episode Matters

If you’re a leader or HR professional navigating change, building capability, or trying to influence effectively within your organisation, this episode provides grounded, practical insight you can apply immediately.

Resources & Links

• Connect with Jill Coyle on LinkedIn

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What actually happens behind the scenes when workplace conflict escalates into investigations, mediation, or litigation?

In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with leading employment lawyer Daniel Erickson to unpack the realities of employment relations, workplace disputes, serious misconduct, and legal risk in New Zealand organisations.

With decades of experience advising employers, senior executives, and organisations across complex employment matters, Daniel shares practical insight into how leaders should approach conflict, investigations, mediation, settlement negotiations, and litigation strategy.

This conversation explores the tension between legal process, commercial realities, organisational values, and human behaviour — including why many disputes escalate unnecessarily, how ego and principle shape outcomes, and why early pragmatic decision-making often matters more than “winning”.

From serious misconduct and drug testing to cultural reviews, litigation risk, and evolving employment law reform, this episode offers grounded, highly practical advice for HR professionals, leaders, and business owners navigating difficult workplace situations.

What You’ll Learn

• What makes an effective employment lawyer and advisor

• How lawyers help organisations make decisions during workplace disputes

• When organisations should litigate — and when they shouldn’t

• Why principle, ego, and emotion often escalate conflict

• The realities of mediation and settlement negotiations

• How the recent serious misconduct law changes impact employers and employees

• The relationship between employment law and health and safety obligations

• Why cultural reviews are increasingly important in workplace investigations

• How organisations should approach bullying, harassment, and misconduct allegations

• The role AI is beginning to play in employment relations disputes

Key Takeaways

• Most workplace disputes are better resolved early rather than litigated

• Good advisors balance legal risk with commercial and operational realities

• Employment law decisions are rarely black and white

• Strong investigations require objectivity, procedural fairness, and evidence

• Health and safety obligations heavily influence employment decisions

• Principle-based litigation can become extremely costly for organisations

• Mediation is often about resolution, not “winning”

• Human judgement and pragmatism remain critical despite legal and technological change

About Daniel Erickson

Daniel Erickson is a Partner at Tompkins Wake and leads the firm’s Employment and Health & Safety practice group.

He advises employers, senior executives, and organisations across a wide range of employment relations, workplace investigations, health and safety, litigation, and organisational risk matters.

Daniel has extensive experience representing clients in the Employment Relations Authority and Employment Court, as well as advising on serious misconduct, bullying and harassment complaints, executive exits, industrial relations, and workplace investigations.

Recognised in both Legal 500 and Doyles Guide, Daniel is widely respected for his pragmatic, commercially grounded approach to complex employment issues.

Why This Episode Matters

If you’re a leader, HR professional, business owner, or people leader dealing with workplace conflict, investigations, serious misconduct, or organisational risk, this episode offers practical insight into how experienced employment advisors approach high-stakes situations.

It’s an honest conversation about the realities of workplace disputes, the importance of good judgement, and how organisations can navigate difficult issues without unnecessarily escalating cost, conflict, or risk.

Resources & Links

• Tompkins Wake

• Daniel Erickson | LinkedIn

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when organisations stop treating unions as opponents and start treating them as strategic partners?

In this episode of HR Unlocked, Lisa Oakley sits down with Phil Doak, General Manager People & Legal at Ports of Auckland, to explore high-performance, high-engagement workplaces, industrial relations, organisational transformation, and the role trust plays in driving business success.

Drawing on decades of experience in employment relations, law, and organisational leadership, Phil shares the journey behind Ports of Auckland's transformation and the practical systems used to build stronger relationships between leaders, employees, and unions.

From the concept of "365 ER" to interest-based bargaining, psychological safety, and collaborative problem-solving, this conversation challenges traditional approaches to workplace relationships and demonstrates how engagement, productivity, safety, and performance can work together.

What You'll Learn

• What high-performance, high-engagement workplaces look like in practice

• How Ports of Auckland approached cultural transformation

• Why industrial relations should be viewed as a year-round activity, not just bargaining

• The difference between positions and interests in workplace negotiations

• How to build trust and improve relationships between unions and management

• Why employee involvement drives better business outcomes

• The role psychological safety plays in performance and safety

• How leaders can create environments where people genuinely contribute

• Why collaboration is becoming increasingly important in modern workplaces

Key Takeaways

• Strong workplace relationships are built through trust, consistency, and communication

• High performance and high engagement are mutually reinforcing, not competing priorities

• Interest-based problem-solving creates better outcomes than positional bargaining

• Effective industrial relations begin long before collective bargaining starts

• Employee involvement leads to stronger safety, productivity, and business performance outcomes

• Psychological safety enables people to raise concerns, challenge ideas, and contribute solutions

• Leaders build trust through actions, not words

• Sustainable cultural transformation requires systems, structure, and ongoing commitment

About Phil Doak

Phil Doak is General Manager People & Legal at Ports of Auckland and has spent much of his career working at the intersection of employment relations, organisational performance, and leadership.

With a background in employment law and extensive experience in highly unionised environments, Phil has been instrumental in helping organisations move from adversarial industrial relations models to more collaborative, high-engagement approaches.

He is a passionate advocate for interest-based problem-solving, employee involvement, and building workplace cultures that support both business performance and positive employee outcomes.

Why This Episode Matters

Many organisations continue to view industrial relations, engagement, and performance as separate conversations.

This episode demonstrates how trust, collaboration, and employee involvement can become powerful drivers of organisational success.

Whether you're a leader, HR professional, business owner, union representative, or people manager, this conversation offers practical lessons on creating workplaces where performance, engagement, and strong relationships can thrive together.

Resources & Links

• Ports of Auckland

• Connect with Phil Doak on LinkedIn

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.