Robin Schooling
People + Work Strategist | HR Leader | Author + Speaker | Drive Thru HR (podcast) Co-Host | Making sense of the art, angst + absurdity of modern work
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
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Robin Schooling is an HR leader, author of Real HR, and People + Work Strategist with advisory firm Velvet Cubicle where she helps teams and organizations turn people strategy into something real, practical, and human. She’s an accomplished HR executive, strategist, and advisor with over two decades of experience shaping people practices across a wide range of industries, including healthcare, gaming, hospitality, logistics, and professional services. She’s led people and culture work, from talent acquisition to employee relations, and has a particular love for diving into the middle where strategy and everyday work collide.
She’s co-host of the long-running Drive Thru HR podcast (on the air since 2010 and close to 1,700 episodes!), a frequent speaker to HR, Talent and business audiences around the world (3 continents thus far), and has, somehow, never stopped HR blogging. Her second book, Real Work, will be released in 2026.
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Human Centered HR. No Disclaimer Needed.
Too often, “human-centered” gets written off as a nice-to-have - something you sprinkle on after the business decisions have already been made. But the best HR leaders know how to pair data with dignity, metrics with meaning, and policies with purpose. They lead through tension. They navigate nuance. And they show up, fully, because the work demands it.
This session digs into what it really means to be a human-centered HR pro without becoming a pushover - or a burnout case. We unpack how self-awareness fuels better decisions, how compassion strengthens - not weakens - credibility, and why strategy with soul is the most potent leadership combo out there.
The Art, Angst and Absurdity of Work
Modern workplaces are caught in a contradiction that's quietly eroding organizational effectiveness, and we've become experts at the “performance” of good work culture while struggling to deliver the substance. Leaders sense something's off but often lack a clear framework for diagnosing what's both broken and fixable.
This session cuts through the noise to examine some fundamental truths about contemporary work including how well-intentioned workplace rituals inadvertently erode the very trust they're designed to build. We’ll explore practical employee experience design principles that bring an impact including how to outline clear expectations, ensure meaningful autonomy, provide visible connections to outcomes, and communicate in a manner that respects people's intelligence.
Participants leave with a grounded approach to building environments where people do their best work - without the corporate theater, performance anxiety, or exhaustion that plague so many organizations today. Work, after all, when approached with clarity and humanity, can be incredibly meaningful and satisfying. For everyone.
Navigating Change: Building Support for HR Initiatives
Effective HR change demands open communication and collaboration between willing and motivated parties across the organization. HR professionals, using their knowledge of the business environment and possessing a deep understanding of organizational culture, are the catalyst for ensuring that change initiatives win the support of employees.
In this session we walk through a successful change initiative at a mid-sized organization that included a new performance management process coupled with new technology adoption.
Attendees will learn actionable strategies that can help them increase company-wide buy-in, promote successful employee adoption, and ensure enduring support for both small-scale and large-scale change.
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