How to Build a Winning Team: HR Best Practices with My Client Kyle Yoder
Episode 8
How can YOU elevate the people side of your business?
In this episode, I sit down with my client Kyle Yoder, the driving force behind Metal Fab Manufacturing, to reveal how streamlining hiring practices, embracing pay transparency, and clearly defining job duties can transform your business from the inside out. Kyle shares his journey from managing day-to-day HR challenges to implementing systems that empower his team and free up leadership to focus on strategic growth.
In this episode: Whether you’re the founder of a start-up or leadership in a big firm, there are essential processes you need to help your company succeed and grow.
Strategic Hiring & Delegation: Discover how refining your recruitment process not only attracts top talent but also liberates leaders like Kyle to concentrate on high-level business development.
Transparent Pay Practices: Learn how introducing clear pay bands at Metal Fab boosted employee trust and engagement, creating a fair, performance-based culture.
Empowered Teams & Clear Roles: See how defining job duties and responsibilities has fostered consistency and accountability, ensuring every team member understands their impact on the company’s success.
If you're a small business owner or an HR leader looking to elevate your team's potential, Kyle’s story and these actionable insights will show you that when people succeed, businesses thrive.
🎧 Tune in or keep reading for practical, people-first strategies to help your organization thrive.
🔗 Helpful Links
🌐 Mindy’s website for business consulting: https://www.limerockcareerco.com
🎧 Listen to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts
Episode 8: Watch or Listen
Key Takeaways From My Conversation With Kyle Yoder
Embracing HR Support Is a Game-Changer for Business Owners
When Kyle realized how much time he was spending managing people issues, it was a lightbulb moment. Like many small business leaders, he initially believed HR wasn’t something his company “did”—but the truth is, if you have employees, you’re already doing HR. By bringing in outside support, he moved from juggling tasks to leading with intention.
Moving to a Strengths-Based Culture Builds Trust and Team Clarity
One of the first changes we made was implementing the CliftonStrengths assessment across his leadership team. This helped Kyle and his team better understand one another and recognize how their unique strengths complemented each other. It also encouraged more open, strengths-based conversations that have rippled through the culture of the organization.
Structured Hiring Processes Create Better Hires—and Stronger Teams
Before we worked together, Kyle was doing every interview himself. Now, he has a consistent, competency-based hiring system and empowered interview teams. Not only has this improved the quality of their hires, but it’s also given internal candidates clarity, confidence, and development opportunities they wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Transparent Compensation Practices Boost Trust and Reduce Frustration
Pay used to feel like a mystery for employees—until we developed clear role definitions, pay bands, and compensation guidelines. By moving toward pay transparency, Kyle created a culture where employees understand how compensation decisions are made and what opportunities exist to grow within the company. It’s not just about fairness—it’s about clarity.
One-on-Ones and Goal Setting Support a Performance-Based Culture
We introduced regular one-on-one meetings and aligned company, department, and individual goals to ensure every employee sees how their work contributes to the big picture. That shift has helped reduce distractions, boost engagement, and unlock a new level of performance for Kyle’s team.
Systems and Processes Free Up Leaders to Lead
Instead of being consumed by daily tasks, Kyle now spends more time using his strategic thinking strengths to look ahead and plan for the company’s future. By empowering his leaders and putting processes in place, he’s freed up valuable time—and that’s one of the most important shifts any business owner can make.
People First, Profits Follow
If you’re struggling to get leadership buy-in, here’s what I remind my clients: when the people side of the business isn’t working, everything suffers. Sales, service, retention, culture—it’s all connected. When you invest in your people, you build the foundation for long-term success. And it all starts with seeing what’s really going on behind the curtain.
🎧 Want the full story, examples, and action steps?
Listen to the full episode of The People Success Circle for more insights on building a thriving culture that drives results.
Read the full transcript
Mindy:
Welcome to The People Success Circle, your go-to source for actionable insights and strategies to create thriving workplaces and rewarding careers. I'm Mindy East, an HR leader with over 28 years of experience helping businesses and individuals unlock their full potential.
Whether you're a business leader looking to build a stronger team or a professional ready to thrive, you're in the right place. Get ready to uncover proven strategies for success, both personal and organizational. Let's dive in.
I've invited one of the business owners that I work with on the HR consulting side of my business. Kyle and I have worked together for over a year now. When Kyle first reached out to me, I quickly realized that he was knee deep—or maybe shoulder deep—in all the people side of the business as the business owner.
And we were able to work together to help him lead through his people by putting processes and systems in place. So without any further ado, I'm going to bring Kyle on to tell you about his story of elevating the people side of the business. I am so excited for my audience to hear about the great work you're doing at your company.
Kyle:
So my father, Joel Yoder, grew up in rural Northern Michigan. There were very limited opportunities. They grew up really near poverty. And one of the best opportunities in Michigan is to get into manufacturing work. That’s what he did. He started working for some companies, moved up, ended up getting into maintenance tooling, then heading up their engineering department where they started designing tooling.
In the 1990s, he and my uncle decided to start their own company building tooling because there seemed to be such a growing demand for it—machines that would be used in manufacturing for some of the companies he previously worked for.
In the early 2000s, a customer that bought these tools from him said, “Joel, you know these tools better than anyone. You know how these parts are built better than anyone. Our employees struggle with making them using your tools, and we don't believe it's because of your tools—you do great work. Why are you not a manufacturer?”
So in 2003, he started Metal Fab Manufacturing. It’s a very common product, but probably not something a lot of people think about. We do different types of automotive tubing. We’ve made millions and millions of tubes for essentially all the major automotive companies in the world at this point.
We’re a small company—30 to 40 employees right now.
Mindy:
Your company and the work that your people do—I’ve had the privilege of going to your company a few times—and when you say rural, it's rural. A very small town in a very small county in Northern Michigan. One of the things I’ve been most impressed with is just how well your employees work together and how much they really care about the process they’re doing.
Tell me what prompted you to reach out to me in the first place?
Kyle:
As my dad started the company and it grew, I got involved in later years and continued to take on a bigger and bigger role. We went from three employees at the beginning to about 80 employees at our largest.
I was working with a consultant as general manager and was talking about some of the challenges I was facing. He stopped me during that conversation and said, “Kyle, do you have any clue how much HR you're doing?” I said, “You know what? I never really thought about it that way.”
And he said, “You know there are professionals who can help you with that, right?” That was a lightbulb moment. I reached out to someone who recommended you, Mindy, and it all started from there.
Mindy:
Last January, when I started working with you, I conducted an HR audit. That’s the first thing I like to do so I can fully understand what’s going on—not in a judging way, but to understand what systems and processes are in place and what we could prioritize.
What were some of the key findings that came out of that audit?
Kyle:
We had a handbook and policies, but it meant a lot to have a professional go through it. One of the biggest takeaways was how much of an investment this was in our people. You recognized our good culture and gave us suggestions to strengthen it.
One of the first things we did was shift to a strengths-based approach. I used to think HR was just about keeping you out of trouble. But you helped us see that being proactive and investing in our people would bring long-term value.
Mindy:
You had a good starting point—strong values and loyal employees. It was about putting systems in place to be proactive instead of reactive.
You mentioned moving to a strengths-based culture. I’m a Gallup-certified strengths coach. What did that look like at your company?
Kyle:
It’s something we still talk about regularly. We started with the CliftonStrengths assessment. Heidi, who has taken on a lot of HR responsibilities, and I had very different strengths—mine are 100% strategic thinking; hers are more relational.
The strengths tool gave us a framework to better understand each other and sparked great conversations. More employees got involved, and it’s really helped us communicate and collaborate better.
Mindy:
Once we had those strengths results, I facilitated a team session and noticed your team values structure and process. That insight guided the next steps—building out your hiring and selection process.
Walk me through what that was like before and after.
Kyle:
Before, I did 100% of the interviews. If you were hired at Metal Fab, it was probably through me. I liked it, but it wasn’t scalable. My team values consistency and structure, and we didn’t have that in our hiring process.
You helped us define what we’re looking for in candidates and how to evaluate them using competency-based questions. That made a huge difference. Now we have interview teams, and people who previously weren’t comfortable with interviews now ask to join them.
I hardly do interviews anymore, and that frees me up to focus on higher-level things.
Mindy:
That shift is so important. It frees you up, empowers your team, and develops their leadership skills.
How has that process helped with internal hires?
Kyle:
It’s been great. People believe in the process. They recognize it’s rigorous and fair. Even employees who don’t think they’ll get promoted are going through the process for experience. It’s helped us grow leaders internally.
Mindy:
That’s such a powerful way to build bench strength.
Let’s talk about another major shift—compensation. We worked together on job titles, responsibilities, and creating pay bands. What was that experience like for you?
Kyle:
It was one of the areas I was most hesitant about. But it was really helpful. People used to get vague titles and unclear compensation. Now we’ve clarified roles, created pay brackets, and introduced a level of pay transparency.
People know how compensation is determined, where they fall within a band, and how to grow. It’s been well received and adds clarity. It also gives our managers confidence when having those conversations.
Mindy:
Yes—when pay is tied to the role instead of the person, it removes a lot of confusion and emotion. I’m so glad you took that step, even before it’s required by law in your state.
Let’s shift to culture. You mentioned earlier the importance of a performance-based culture. What has that looked like?
Kyle:
It started with regular one-on-ones and goal setting. We set company-wide goals and then asked each department director to set team goals that aligned. Then individual employees created their own goals that supported the department and company goals.
Now everyone can see how their role connects to the bigger picture. That alignment has brought a lot of focus and energy.
Mindy:
That’s so powerful. I can’t wait to see what happens over the next year.
Let’s talk about your own growth as a leader. How have you evolved?
Kyle:
I’ve gained confidence by understanding my own strengths and learning to step back. I used to want to be involved in everything because I’m a learner. But I realized that wasn’t good for me or the company.
Now, I empower others to lead and use my strategic strengths to think ahead rather than always solving problems in the moment.
Mindy:
You’ve come such a long way. You’re leading at a higher level and giving your team what they need to succeed. That’s what it’s all about.
You know my slogan is “People first, profits follow.” How has that resonated with you?
Kyle:
It fits perfectly. It’s something we’ve always believed in, but working with you helped us put it into action with systems and processes. Investing in people has been the biggest driver of our success.
Mindy:
I love hearing that. And I want other companies to know that they don’t have to do everything at once. You and I have been working together for over a year, taking it step by step.
Kyle:
It’s been an eventful year, but our team really believes in the work we’ve done. It’s positioned us to tackle even bigger things ahead.
Mindy:
Thank you so much for being on the show and for sharing your journey. It’s been a joy working with you, and I know our listeners will be inspired by what you’ve built.
Kyle:
Thanks again for having me, Mindy. I really appreciate everything we’ve done together.
Mindy:
I’m passionate about helping businesses of all kinds elevate the people side of their business. If anything in this episode resonated with you and you’d like to explore how I can help your company, reach out! My information is in the show notes, and you can also find me on LinkedIn.
And remember—when we put people first, profits follow.
Thanks for joining me on The People Success Circle. If you enjoyed today’s episode, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who could benefit. Until next time—when people succeed, businesses thrive.
