Mike Winkler · Chicago

HR business partnering and practical systems work.

I help HR teams with organization changes, performance, and Workday processes through project consulting and one-on-one HRBP coaching.

16 years in HR. 10 years as an HRBP. Workday HRIS experience.

Mike Winkler, HR advisor and HRBP coach
HRBP for Product and Technology at Marqeta. Previously Chime, CB2, and CareerBuilder.About me

HR work I’ve led

Selected work from my employment experience.

Chime

2023–2024

A performance model scaled to 1,400 employees

Scaled a redesigned performance-management model from a 200+ employee group to all 1,400 employees.

Manager, People Partner · Company-wide performance management.

Read the example

Chime

2023–2024

Headcount decisions made with Finance

Built a structured headcount model with Finance and rebuilt career ladders and competency frameworks for Operations & Member Experience.

A 500–600-person portfolio across Risk and Operations & Member Experience.

Read the example

CB2 · Crate and Barrel

2019–2021

Organization design and store compensation

Redesigned roles, career paths, and reporting lines for 130 Photo Studio Operations associates and built the first formal store-compensation structure.

Brand-wide HR leadership across stores and corporate operations.

Read the example

Career examples and figures are documented in my LinkedIn experience.

How I can help

Project work for HR teams. One-on-one help for individuals.

HR process review

Work through a people or process problem with the HR team and managers involved, then decide what needs to change.

A process map and a short list of changes to make first, including whether AI would help.

Workflow redesign

Redesign how the work gets done: who provides the information, who approves, and who finishes the task.

A new process map, a review template, approval rules, and tests for likely mistakes.

AI pilot review

Check a pilot before more people start relying on it.

A written review of the results, required fixes, and whether to expand, change, or stop.

I do not build tools that make employment decisions. Read the scope and limits.

How I test AI-assisted HR work

Independent work · HR Mission Control · Private prototype

Testing how an HR task gets from a source to a finished action.

I built HR Mission Control to track public compliance updates through review and follow-up.

In one test, changing a source page’s title opened a duplicate case. The earlier review and owner were still attached to the first record.

I changed how it identifies the issue and added a test for the mistake.

Follow an HR case from evidence to decision

Read the case study
HR Mission Control prototype showing public compliance items beside a decision packet with source provenance, two highlighted information gaps, and a separate Human decision step

Look closer

Source attached

The source-provenance card keeps the public URL in the packet. A reviewer can open the original instead of relying on the summary alone.

Gaps called out

The yellow card says data classification has not been captured. A second warning flags missing competing interpretations. Both gaps remain visible before a decision or execution.

Person still decides

Human decision is a separate step before Execute and Verify. The packet prepares a review; it does not approve its own conclusion.

Public-source test material, August 2026. Yellow cards flag missing information.Open image at full size

64/64 repeatable checks passed in the local test suite on . These are prototype checks, not evidence of production reliability or client results.

Local test results and their limits

The checks use public or made-up data.

64/64 · Repeatable checks passed
The same expected behaviors held across the local test suite.
10/10 · Known items found
The workflow found every item in a small source set I had already checked by hand.
240 · Local requests completed
The prototype completed 240 requests without a failure during a five-minute test.
AI for HR Community session announcement

Made-up example · No employee data

When two policies disagree

A manager attaches an older policy. The shared library has a newer version. Here is where I would stop and check.

Manager’s attachmentOlder policyEarlier effective date
Shared policy libraryNewer policyLater effective date
Hold
The versions conflict.

Check which version applies before drafting a response.

Human review required

The policy owner confirms what applies. Nothing is sent automatically.

See the full example and review brief

Recent writing

All articles

AI Definitions for HR, Part 2

Follow a policy review to understand tools, APIs, MCP, scheduled tasks, workflows, agents, and harnesses—and where human approval belongs.

Before we talk

Can you help with HR work that does not involve AI?

Yes. HR consulting and HRBP coaching are central to my work. We can work through an organization change, a performance issue, or a difficult conversation. We do not need to add AI or a new tool.

Can I book just one AI coaching session?

Yes. Sessions are $150/hour. Email me with what you want to work on, and we’ll agree on a session length before scheduling.

What happens on the first call?

Tell me what is happening and what you have tried. I’ll ask questions and suggest how I could help. We agree on the scope and fee before any paid work starts.

What do you need help with?

A few sentences about the task and what you have tried are enough to start. Please do not send sensitive employee information.

Book a conversation Or email mike@mikewinkleradvisory.com