Laurie Ruettimann is a former HR leader who’s spent the last two decades challenging how work works. She’s the voice behind Punk Rock HR, author of Betting on You, and host of one of the top HR podcasts in the world. Laurie’s mission is to help people take control of their careers and build more honest, human workplaces. We talked about how HR can rebuild trust and shift from enforcing rules to truly advocating for people.
1. What broke the trust between employees and HR in the first place, and what’s keeping it broken today?
HR didn’t break the trust. Executive leadership did. HR just got stuck enforcing the fallout. For decades, HR was told to prioritize legal risk over human experience. We became the face of layoffs, bad policies, and pointless engagement surveys. Employees started to see HR as the corporation’s watchdog instead of their advocate.
What’s keeping it broken is that same system. HR is still judged on compliance instead of trust or impact. We’re stuck trying to humanize work from inside a structure that dehumanizes people.
2. If HR teams want to rebuild trust, where should they begin (practically and emotionally)?
Practically, start by listening. Not town halls with pre-cleared questions. Also, pay people fairly. Be transparent about promotions, layoffs, and decisions. Fix your own house before preaching culture.
Emotionally, HR needs to grieve a little. Let go of the idea that we can fix everything. The job is complicated and messy. Rebuilding trust means showing up with humility, curiosity, and consistency. Not perfection, just honesty.
3. How can HR professionals push back against “check-the-box” cultures and drive more human-centered decision-making?
Start small and ask clear questions. Why are we doing this? Who benefits? What happens if we don’t make the changes that our leadership team wants?
Document what’s broken. Track real outcomes. Share stories, especially the ones that make people uncomfortable. Make your case with data. Fight for people with your gut. And when something’s wrong, say so. Your job isn’t to make it sound nice. It’s to make it better.
4. What does a future-ready HR team look like to you?
It looks like a team that doesn’t center itself. A group that builds infrastructure so employees can lead themselves. One that’s fluent in data and obsessed with trust. That knows how to say no, not yet, or let’s try.
Future-ready HR isn’t about having the right tech or policies. It’s about showing up as people-first professionals in a system that still treats work like a machine. We’re not compliance robots. We’re ethical stewards. And the future of work depends on whether we act like it.
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