HR isn’t protecting people. It’s protecting companies. But what if that’s the problem?

In this raw and eye-opening conversation, Georgia from Access HR sits down with Shane Mays, startup veteran and ER (employee relations) specialist for a brutally honest deep-dive into the real purpose of HR, why it’s broken, and how we can rebuild it from the inside out.

From his beginnings as a software engineer to leading people teams at fast-scaling startups, Shane brings a human-first perspective to the most misunderstood function in business today.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why HR still feels like the company’s bodyguard and how to change it

The hidden cost of treating ER as a legal process

How to scale employee relations without burning out

The power of playbooks, trust, and co-creation in leadership

If you’ve ever felt stuck between doing what’s “compliant” and doing what’s right, this episode will shift your thinking, for good.

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Chapters

00:00:00 – HR Is Not Here to Protect You

00:01:16 – Meet Shane: From Engineering to HR

00:03:04 – Why He Stayed in People Ops

00:04:36 – What Employee Relations Really Means

00:07:13 – Social Media, Fear & Legal Influence

00:09:17 – Why ER Needs a Human-First Lens

00:11:39 – A Manager’s Mistake: Process Before People

00:16:03 – Building a Legal Wall vs. Human Bridge

00:19:12 – Why Leaders Need a Compass, Not a Policy

00:22:18 – Make Playbooks Public. Remove the Ambush.

00:23:35 – How ER Changes as You Scale

00:25:06 – Teach People How to Eat

00:27:09 – Co-Create Your ER Strategy

00:28:59 – Flexing Your ER Muscle Without the Cases

00:30:34 – You Don’t Need a Pocket Lawyer

00:33:16 – You’ll Never Have All the Answers—And That’s Okay

00:34:26 – The One Thing Shane Would Tell His Younger Self