Episode 4: Tina Zellman - From Newsletter Writer to HR Director

Tina Zellman is the HR Director at Pliant Plastics in Grand Haven, Michigan. She spent 30 years in human resources - a career that started by accident, writing a company newsletter before her first HR role had her off-boarding an entire bankrupt company in Baltimore.

In this episode, Tina talks about why being transparent means being willing to be wrong in public, how a culture can quietly fall apart in pockets even when no one intends it, and the difference between a culture you set and an engagement you can't force.

What We Cover

• From newsletter writer to HR - falling into the field by accident
• Off-boarding 1,500 people, then opening a 1,000-person facility for Saks Fifth Avenue
• Why being transparent means being vulnerable about the decisions you make
• Rolling out Michigan's Earned Sick Time Act without it landing as a takeaway
• The performance review system that made performance worse - and the honest conversation that fixed it
• "If you allow it to go unchecked, it continues to disintegrate" - how culture erodes in pockets
• Why structure matters most around the things that resist it, like innovation
• The difference between culture you set and engagement you can't force
• Wanting to be liked in a job where, a lot of the time, you aren't
• What she'd tell herself at 25 - be curious, not right

About Pliant Plastics

Pliant Plastics is a custom plastics manufacturer in Grand Haven, Michigan, serving industrial and commercial markets. Its sister division, Pliant Medical, produces components for the healthcare and life sciences industries.

Connect

• Tina Zellman on LinkedIn
• Pliant Plastics
• Pliant Medical
• The Pivot Group Network
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