info_outline
Crafting a Culture from Hire to Retire
12/03/2025
Crafting a Culture from Hire to Retire
Jim Hickey didn’t set out to become a Chief Human Resources Officer, but on Episode 3 of Common Threads, his accidental path becomes a lens for exploring what it really means to build culture in a fast-changing setup like Sorren’s. He tells host Heath Alloway about his working-class roots in Columbus, the turns in his career path that eventually led to Sorren, and how mergers, legacy loyalties, and the “hire to retire” philosophy collide in the real world. Jim expresses a deep connection with people’s anxieties about jobs and identity—to him, they are as real as any business plan—and this conversation is refreshingly unscripted: employee voices shape the company’s values, and the HR team is built from within, the vast majority being legacy firm members. Mental health, remote work, and the invisible weight of change are all on the table, and Jim’s advice is to embrace this transition, lean into the changes inherent in it, and remember that culture is far more than some slogan bandied about in a boardroom. It’s the sum of daily choices made by people who care enough to do the work and make the commitment. Get the full show notes and more resources at
/episode/index/show/42c51847-74c7-4bff-8406-295a2ebd8251/id/39221685
