The Reverse Mullet with Bret Starr

Today's guest is the founder and CEO of The Starr Conspiracy, Bret Starr. The Starr Conspiracy is "is a weird mashup of analyst and marketing folks and consultants who have been working specifically in what we now call the work tech industry, which we used to call, back in 1999, the HR software industry; HR software and services."  

Not only is The Starr Conspiracy the underwriter for this year's Punk Rock HR episodes, but Bret is an infinitely interesting guest on his own. This episode talks about the distinction between HR and work, the future of human resources and how adopting the "reverse mullet" concept can increase your employees’ overall happiness. 

I love Bret for many reasons, but years ago, when I sold my domain of PunkRockHR.com, Bret got it back for me through valiant efforts. So, if you are interested in two middle-aged Gen Xers talking about the world of work and tech, and all things good about life and leadership, then I think you're going to enjoy this conversation.  

Punk Rock HR is proudly underwritten by The Starr Conspiracy. The Starr Conspiracy is a B2B marketing agency for innovative brands creating the future of workplace solutions. For more information, head over to thestarrconspiracy.com.

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The Difference Between HR & Work

Many of us try to get away from the words “human resources” and “HR,” but we always come back to them. And while that happens, it's essential to understand that there needs to be a distinction between HR and work to evolve in the future. 

Bret explains that we saw the paper clip as the center of the universe in the old system. That can mean that the success of any business or enterprise was focused only on what the enterprise could do by itself. All the systems these businesses had were pre-technology, so they optimized what was best for the company and generated products or services for its customers. However, the watershed moment came with the shift from an inventory-centered enterprise resource planning, manufacturing-centered software world to a broader world. 

“I think as we started to encounter some of these concepts, really about the same time that cloud computing was becoming a significant thing," he says. "I think the center of the universe shifted from being an individual company to being more of this like notion of the extended enterprise, where we're all collaborating in these networks of supply chains and business transactions and all that stuff."

So when it comes to separating HR and work, it's essential to take in the workplace holistically. "The work experience doesn't cover everything that work does," Bret explains. "And so increasingly, you're seeing project planning solutions and meeting management solutions, and stuff like that that’s part of the everyday fabric of how work gets done, being integrated in a more people-centric way with systems that we used to think of as financial systems or ERP systems or stuff like that. 

“So I think there's a real need to take a holistic view of what work is and the significance of the role of the human in the work, but those aren't necessarily the same thing all the time," Bret continues.

Traditional or Reverse Mullet?

Now that we have the distinction between HR and work, what exactly is the role of HR? Bret breaks it down and shares that role can be broken down into two categories, the traditional mullet or the reverse mullet.

While these terms can cause a chuckle or two, they play a significant role in a business's ecosystem. "That's a funny way of saying something very serious, which is in a business ecosystem, I think there's four things that matter," he says. "There's the employee experience, there's the customer experience, there's the shareholder experience, and then there's just social good."

So when a business has a traditional mullet in the ecosystem, "which is business in the front, party in the back, 99% of all companies are going to put shareholder experience first." The perfect example for this would be the drama “Dopesick” (which can be found on Hulu). "It's the perfect example of basically when it's all about shareholder value. Everyone else gets squeezed, and in this case, murdered, dead," says Bret.

However, with a reverse mullet, the employee's experience comes first in the business ecosystem, which many businesses now are trying to do. Bret explains that the reverse mullet means prioritizing employee experience and saying “that if we take care of our people in a real way, not in like a logo way or catchphrase way, but if we really take care of our people, they'll take care of our customers." 

And the pandemic has pushed more and more companies to improve their companies' overall employee experience to drive better results.

Reverse Mullet for Employee Happiness

This past decade has taught us a lot about the workplace and today’s systems. Most importantly, it has shown us that we have been complicit and compliant in how we treat our employees — especially when using a traditional mullet concept. 

Right now, we are at a "50-year low for happiness," Bret says. There are many contributing factors to this, but the most relevant aspect is businesses putting their shareholders first. Bret explains that while our planet is literally and figuratively on fire and employees are getting screwed over, and profits are at a hundred-year high. 

This is when HR can genuinely step in to advocate for employee happiness by holding the reverse mullet as a priority. "When you look at the role of HR, it's really the mandate. Are they there to serve the employee, or are they there to serve the shareholders?" he says. "And anyone who says, ‘well, both, and,’ no, you just don't get it, because, at the end of the day, it will always be the shareholder. Unless the organization has taken a stance and said, we will always make every decision based on a simple question, ‘is this good for the employee experience or not?’ If it's not, we're not going to do it; if it is, then we are."

We are seeing employees change jobs or even careers because of companies failing to prioritize employees' happiness. Profit is essential for the success of the business, but to drive that success, you need employees who want to be there and are happy to be there. Bret shares, "I think inherent in that companies are going to have to be comfortable making less profit because the profit situation is just out of control when you look at what our life circumstances are right now."

Glossary of Terms from the Episode

• Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO): Decisions are made by the community and not just by those riddled with power.
• Professional Employer Organization (PEO): Outsourcing firms that provide services to small and midsize businesses.
• Crypto: Basically what we are seeing all over social media! Crypto is digital money secured by blockchain tech.
• Blockchain: Where bitcoin and crypto are maintained in a peer-to-peer network.

People in This Episode

Bret Starr: LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube channel, The Starr Conspiracy website