Episode 204: Tracy Avin (Founder, TroopHR)

Listen to our recent episode with Tracy Avin (Founder, TroopHR).

We talked about how TroopHR was born, the importance of community in HR, the challenges HR professionals face in today’s business climate, and the need for support networks.

If you don't have time to check it out, read the highlights below. ⬇️

📖 TroopHR's origin story

How TroopHR Came to Life: The Origin Story

Tracy Avin didn't come from a HR background. In fact, the first 10 years of her career were spent in business development at large healthcare organizations. But like many others, she got the startup itch.

Fast forward to 2012—she's at a 10-person health tech startup, deep in the world of on-demand healthcare. And the point person she kept running into? HR leaders. That’s when her founder nudged her: “You should attend the HR roundtable for our VC and get to know some of the people leaders.”

So, she did.

One dinner turned into quarterly breakfasts and meetups with heads of people from NYC-based startups. The connections, the shared struggles, the mutual support—it sparked something. Over time, this grassroots community kept growing.

Then COVID hit, and HR leaders were reaching out for advice, navigating not just a pandemic but an entirely new work world. Tracy realized the power of what she had built and decided to scale it.

TroopHR was born with a simple but bold mission: to elevate and support HR professionals.

Now, TroopHR is an evolving community focused on content, education, and connection—crafted from interviews with 50+ HR leaders.

📉 HR is facing burn out amid budget cuts & rising workloads

HR pros are feeling the squeeze. With budget cuts and shrinking teams, workloads are piling up—but the work still has to get done.

Tracy pointed out the huge influx of fractional HR consultants stepping in to try to meet the demand. But here’s the real kicker: even though companies expect the same level of output, many are reluctant to pay HR pros what they’re worth.

Tracy’s seeing it firsthand—especially in the venture-backed space where companies are being asked to stretch an 18-month runway into 36 months. And you guessed it… that means job cuts and more work for those who remain.

The result? Burnout.

What’s the solution? Tracy admits no one really knows. It’s an ongoing conversation in the HR world—and we’re all working through it together.

🐦 MPL Live Miami: Early Bird Tickets Almost Gone

We are hosting a live podcast & meetup for HR leaders in Miami on December 10th.

The Details:

• 2 hours of live podcasting on the topic of “The Manager Dilemma” (check out the lineup below)

• 2 hours of networking. We’re structuring this in a way that you’ll be able to meet as many of your peers in HR as you can

• Our first MPL Live in Austin had amazing feedback and an NPS of 82 — let’s see if that was a fluke or if we can deliver something awesome for you again

Guest Lineup:

• Clio Knowles, Chief People Officer at SH Hotels & Resorts

• Melanie Naranjo, Chief People Officer at Ethena

• Dominic Boon, VP Talent & Org Development at Liberty Latin America

• Rosanna Durruthy, Vice President, Global DIB at LinkedIn

• Jen Fisher, Former Chief Wellbeing Officer at Deloitte

Early bird tickets are only $150, but use code MPL-LIVE-50 to snag them for just $75.

There are only a few tickets left at this price, and early bird pricing ends in two days!

👉 Grab Your Ticket 👈

❤️ Creating safe spaces for tough conversations

Tracy got real about the importance of creating safe spaces for tough conversations.

After October 7th last year, emotions were running high—both in the world and in the workplace. Tracy, who’s Jewish, shared how her friend and fellow TroopHR member Zamena Ladak, who’s Muslim, reached out with an idea: “Let’s make space for this.”

At first, Tracy was hesitant. What if someone said something hurtful? What if she said something that upset someone else? But Zamena reassured her: “We can do this, and I’ll make sure it’s safe.”

So they hosted a ‘huddle’—a space where TroopHR members could come together to talk about the emotions, the worry, and the sadness they were feeling.

The result? A powerful session where people showed up for each other. Not to argue, but to connect—even when they didn’t all agree.

And with everything going on in the world today, they’re doing it again—making space for the hard conversations and showing us all how it’s done.

🔮 The career advice Tracy would give to her 22-year-old self

"I believe you'll learn and grow the most from challenges, which is fitting considering what we just talked about. You need those battle scars to truly appreciate the success that follows."

Go listen to the full episode: Apple | Spotify

See you next week!

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