Megan Johnson entered HR by conducting layoffs she never saw coming on fresh-out-of-college money, almost left the field entirely, rebuilt her conviction through a consulting firm that showed her what HR could actually look like, and spent five years in oil and gas learning to be disruptive from a mentor who told her to go figure it out and come back with the results. When a LinkedIn job posting caught her eye at a drinkware brand she'd never heard of, she took a leap from a stable insurance company to become Simple Modern's first in-house HR director — and she's been building ever since. She's now Director of People and Culture at Simple Modern.

✨ Key Insights You'll Learn:
Conducting mass layoffs at Chesapeake Energy fresh out of college and what that did to her view of HR
The consulting firm that showed her HR could be fun and how two women there saved her career
Five years at a second oil and gas company and the mentor who taught her to take the meeting without the boss and fail forward
Four years building sales compensation expertise at American Fidelity and why it turned out to be exactly what Simple Modern needed
Why Simple Modern exists to give and what that mission does to the energy inside a company of under 100 people
The giving summit: how employees vote to allocate charitable dollars and why every staff member donates to their own cause each year
Moving from a PEO model to full in-house HR and what the level of service actually changed
What Rippling gave them that the PEO couldn't — and why birthday lunches were an immediate win
Hybrid schedule, catered lunches twice a week, 12 weeks paid maternity leave, and a childcare stipend — and why none of it compromises profitability
JumpScore: the cheer competition software platform Megan has been building since maternity leave

🌟 Megan's Key Mentors:
Two Women at the HR Consulting Firm: Showed her that layoffs can lead to growth and that HR done right can be fun — she's still having lunch with one of them
Kelsey (Leader at Second Oil and Gas Company): Gave her full permission to be disruptive, fail forward, and build relationships with executives without a chaperone
John Coulman (Hiring Manager, Simple Modern): The LinkedIn post that caught her eye and the leader who brought her into a company she now can't imagine leaving
Mike Beckham (CEO, Simple Modern): Built a company around generosity from day one and creates the cultural permission for everyone else to follow

👉 Don't miss this conversation about what it looks like to build an HR function from scratch inside a company where the mission is giving, why loose culture and serious profitability are not opposites, and how a people-first approach to water bottle sales ends up changing how every employee shows up on Tuesday morning.

🎧 Liked this one? Watch The Evolving Landscape of HR Services: Laurel Cline's Perspective next.

🔗 Connect with Megan Johnson:
Website: simplemodern.com
Website: jumpscoreofficial.com

📤 Transcript Available: Megan Johnson Started Her Career Doing Layoffs, Now She Runs a Culture Built on Generosity
📺 Watch on YouTube: Inspired Stories Podcast
🌐 Our Website: The Inspired Stories Podcast
📤 Special Thanks to Anthony Codispoti & AddBack Benefits Agency — Providing innovative employee benefits solutions that improve employee well-being while optimizing your bottom line. Website: addbackbenefits.com

⏱️ Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
2:46 Starting in HR during company layoffs
9:30 Growing through mentorship in oil and gas
14:31 Joining Simple Modern
16:42 Simple Modern's mission to give generously
22:07 Building an in-house people and culture team
28:27 Culture, flexibility, and employee benefits
39:11 Building a cheer and dance competition platform

#HRLeadership #CompanyCulture #SimpleModern #EntrepreneurJourney #PeopleFirst #InspiredStoriesPodcast

#simplemoderndrinkware #peopleandculturedirector #hrgeneralistcareer #givingcompanyculture #peotoinhousehr #ripplinghris #salescompensationdesign #oklahomacitybrand #maternityleavebenefits #worklifebalanceculture #jumpscorecheerplatform #goodeverywhereinitiative

Brian Shunia did not build Wing Snob because wings were trending. He built it because simple done exceptionally well always wins.

Subscribe for weekly conversations with CEOs, founders & entrepreneurs on the Inspired Stories Podcast.

#BusinessShorts #FoodBusiness #FounderStories #EntrepreneurMindset #FranchiseBusiness

Brian Shunia rewrote his core values from scratch after one question exposed a gap he could not ignore. Here is why it changed everything.

Subscribe for weekly conversations with CEOs, founders & entrepreneurs on the Inspired Stories Podcast.

#BusinessShorts #LeadershipAdvice #EntrepreneurMindset #FounderStories #BusinessGrowth

Contractors promising Monday and showing up Thursday. Kory Cutler built a traveling crew model that eliminates the problem entirely.

Subscribe for weekly conversations with CEOs, founders & entrepreneurs on the Inspired Stories Podcast.

#BusinessShorts #ConstructionBusiness #FounderStories #EntrepreneurMindset #BusinessGrowth

Kory Cutler calls him Yoda in a Cleveland Browns jersey. Randy Brown never told him what to do. He just asked questions until Kory found his own answers.

Subscribe for weekly conversations with CEOs, founders & entrepreneurs on the Inspired Stories Podcast.

#BusinessShorts #LeadershipAdvice #EntrepreneurMindset #FounderStories #BusinessGrowth