Episode 4

full
Published on:

18th Oct 2023

Aligning HR Strategies with Business Goals: Insights from Matt Tipton

In this episode, I’m joined by Matt Tipton, owner of WHYHR, an HR firm catering to small and mid-sized businesses, and co-owner of Physicians Local, a marketing company serving physician-owned medical centers. Matt's journey from HR professional to entrepreneur is explored, focusing on his commitment to aligning strong HR strategies with business goals. Discussions cover the significance of education, workplace culture and addressing common HR challenges, including misclassification of employees and compliance issues.

Matt shares his journey of starting and growing his HR consulting business, emphasizing the importance of proactive HR solutions for small businesses. He discusses the challenges of remote work, employee classification, and maintaining HR compliance across different States. Matt also talks about his involvement in the Physicians Local project, a platform connecting patients with independent physicians, and his role in the direct primary care space, providing affordable and accessible healthcare options to employees.

Tune in and learn!

Key Highlights

[00:23] Matt's background

[01:33] The importance of HR for companies and why it matters

[03:09] Key HR topics for business owners and leaders in speaking engagements

[04:49] The evolution and impact of organizational culture in mainstream business discussions

[07:25] Identifying signs of culture erosion and conducting a self-check for business owners

[09:31] Leveraging stay interviews to gain valuable insights and improve company culture

[11:22] Navigating complex employment compliance challenges

[14:05] Determining the distinction between contractors and employees

[15:41] How Matt transitioned from an employee to a business owner

[19:43] Choosing between outsourcing HR to a consulting company or using a Professional Employer Organization (PEO)

[23:22] The importance of finding the right business model

[27:38] Starting "Physicians Local" and the motivation behind diversifying business ventures

[32:16] What the concept of Direct Primary Care entails

[36:57] Anticipating future changes in the job market and workplace regulations

[39:41] Navigating the challenges of hiring remotely and ensuring compliance with State regulations

Notable Quotes

● If you're going to build something for the long term, you have to have a good foundation.

● It's one thing to say, or, you know, make the top 10 list and however, you know, that may be judged that you're in that list. But the more difficult thing is when you have that one-on-one conversation with somebody who works in that company, will they support that statement? Are they going to say, yeah, this is one of the best places to work, and here's why.

● I don't think there's a business owner out there that wants to have a toxic work environment. A lot of those things happen because you're just busy.

● I always tell people when it comes to independent contractors versus employees, it never, those types of regulations get looser. So it only becomes, I would say, more strict in that we're going to see more on the, you know, falling into the employee category as opposed to an independent contractor.

Resources

Feel free to contact Matt on:

Website: https://whyhr.guru/

Email: matt@wyhr.guru

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About the Podcast

The Oklahoma Business Show
Conversations with business owners and leaders about their wins, struggles, and lessons learned along the way.
If you're anything like me, hearing other business owners and leaders talk about their experiences at a conference, a lunch, or just over a cup of coffee is always an encouraging and exciting conversation, and that's the simple goal of The Oklahoma Business Show. Listen to successful business owners as we discuss topics ranging from how and why they started their business, challenges they had to overcome that made them stronger, victories that made them hold their head a little higher, and lessons they've learned along the way.

About your host

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Chris Moroz

Who is Chris Moroz? 🧐

I started my career in IT long before launching my own business. Finding joy in learning about computers throughout my early teens and young adult years eventually led me to pursue work at Fortune 500 companies such as AOL and Dell, where I was awarded Top 5 sales awards at both companies.

Shortly after leaving Dell, I started Golden Years Computer Services, which served residential clients in their Oklahoma City homes. Within 6 months, as word began to spread of the high level of service being provided, we added small business support to our growing list of services.

Since the start of these companies in 2009, I'm flattered that I've received several nominations for OKC Biz Magazine’s Best of Business awards (and most recently nominated as best Cyber Security provider in OKC). As part of my belief that we can all improve other's lives, we've partnered with Feed The Children, and were recently able to donate a dozen computers to Bethany Public Schools to assist student transition to remote learning during the pandemic.

When I'm not busy saving the day for a small business owner, you can find me unplugging from all things tech: hiking and camping in Oklahoma’s breathtaking scenic parks, discovering new foods in locally-owned restaurants with his friends, and investing quality time with my wife, Kari, and two daughters, Gracie and Trinity.