HR Leaders in Focus Series: Angela Smith, Founder and CEO of Work Nouveau

👉Spotlighting HR executives who are shaping the future of work, part of CFW Careers’ commitment to excellence in retained executive search, global executive search, and professional coaching.

Welcome to our HR Leaders in Focus blog series, where we feature conversations with HR executives shaping the future of work. These leaders share strategies, lessons learned, and insights on the evolving role HR plays in driving organizational success across industries.

At CFW Careers, we bring together the expertise of global executive search and the personalized guidance of professional coaching. Our dual practice allows us to support organizations in building strong leadership teams while helping individual leaders navigate transitions and accelerate their growth.

Angela Smith | Founder and CEO of Work Nouveau

Today we are talking with Angela Smith, the Founder and CEO of Work Nouveau, where she partners with leaders to build workplaces that balance compliance and culture while empowering people to do their best work. With more than 20 years of HR experience, she brings a human-centered, practical approach to creating respectful, healthy, and inspiring work environments for today’s modern workforce.

Q: Can you start by describing your role at Work Nouveau?

I started the company to help organizations create workplaces where people are supported and empowered to do their best work. Business founders and leaders need guidance that is both strategic and practical. They need HR thought-partnership that combines compliance and culture without unnecessary complexity.

Work Nouveau provides customized HR and people support, tools, and guidance that enables leaders to create a strong people foundation, taking the guesswork out of an otherwise obscure and confusing function. My work is centered on bringing humanity and trust back to workplaces, integrating emotional intelligence into management practices, and crafting environments that meet the needs of a modern workforce.

I have been in HR for over 20 years, leading global teams in start ups and non profits, and I am passionate about creating workplaces where intentionality drives results, and people feel confident and inspired every day. We spend so much of our lives at work, so it is crucial that workspaces are respectful, healthy, equitable, and energizing, and give people an opportunity to do work that is meaningful to them.

Q: What does “bringing humanity and trust back to the workplace” look like in action?

Bringing humanity and trust back to the workplace means creating an environment where people feel valued, respected, and can do their best work. We want to remove unnecessary bureaucracy from policies and processes. And our leadership behaviors have to prioritize transparency and empathy. Yes, policies exist for a reason, and there are laws to be followed. But we have to start with the human element as the core of our work.

This approach replaces a culture of fear, rigid control, or apathy with one of mutual respect, accountability, and care. When employees trust leadership and leadership trusts employees, the workplace becomes more humane, productive, engaged, and innovative. People show up with their full selves, they contribute ideas without hesitation, and they are invested in outcomes because they feel that their voices matter.

Leadership behaviors play a crucial role. Managers need to address challenges openly, and hold themselves accountable to the same standards they set for their teams. Small gestures matter as much (sometimes more) as large policies. Listening attentively during one-on-one meetings, checking in when workload seems heavy, and giving credit where it is due all build trust over time.

Q: Where do you see the biggest gaps between what today’s workforce needs and how most organizations still operate?

One of the biggest gaps is between the expectations of today’s workforce and the traditional structures many organizations still use. Employees today want flexibility, transparency, psychological safety, and a sense of purpose. They want to feel respected, supported, and fairly treated. They expect work environments that recognize their humanity, allow for life outside of work, and provide opportunities for growth and contribution.

Many organizations, however, still rely on rigid hierarchies, outdated policies, and compliance-focused HR practices. These structures were often designed to protect the business from risk rather than support employees fully. As a result, organizations can be reactive rather than proactive, which leads to disengagement, and missed opportunities for innovation.

Employees are seeking more than just competitive pay and benefits. They want to work in environments that are ethical, inclusive, and inspiring. They are looking for leadership that demonstrates integrity and care. 

Q: As a fractional head of HR, you are exposed to many different kinds of organizations. What do you find to be the greatest challenges facing HR professionals today?

One of the biggest challenges is the tension between compliance and culture. Historically, HR teams were responsible for ensuring that organizations follow the rules and mitigate risk. And those things are important, no doubt. But the modern HR practitioner recognizes that this has to be balanced with creating and nurturing workplaces that are inclusive, flexible, and human-centered. Balancing these priorities can be difficult, especially when resources are limited and expectations from leadership are high.

Another challenge is that employee expectations have evolved faster than many organizational structures. People want autonomy, purpose, and fairness, yet they are usually met with outdated policies, rigid hierarchies, inconsistent practices, or management that hasn’t actually been trained to effectively lead a team. HR is often tasked with bridging that gap, which requires building credibility with leadership and employees. They must be seen as strategic partners, not just operational support, even when day-to-day administrative tasks can feel overwhelming.

The speed of change is also a factor. Workplace trends, technology, the economic environment, and labor market dynamics shift quickly. HR teams have to be nimble, stay up to date on what’s happening in the market, know their business, and be able to implement solutions that balance immediate needs with long-term strategy. 

Q: It has often been said that HR needs a seat at the decision-making table. How can HR gain that critical influence?

I don’t see HR’s role as waiting for a seat at the table. Influence comes from demonstrating why it matters. HR folks earn credibility by stepping into strategic conversations with insight, solutions, and a perspective others might not have. The key is to show how thoughtful people strategy drives measurable business outcomes.

Proactivity is essential. HR can anticipate organizational challenges, present data-backed recommendations, and offer frameworks that align people practices with company goals. Influence is recognized when HR shows value in concrete ways, and when we step out of the traditional administrative function.

Q: If a company wanted to start this journey tomorrow, what is the first step you would recommend?

The first step is to pause and assess the current state of their workplace. This means reviewing policies, practices, leadership behaviors, and employee sentiment to understand where trust, support, and empowerment already exist and where the gaps are.

Once the gaps are clear, start with small, high-impact initiatives. This is going to look different for every company, but some of the common themes we see are employees looking for more clarity in their roles and organizational goals, more transparent communication channels, and receiving actionable feedback from their managers. 

It is important to remember that culture is built over time. Quick fixes alone are not enough. Initiatives have to be intentional and consistent. Leaders should demonstrate accountability and model the behaviors they want to see across their teams. 

Q: How can people connect with you and learn more about your work?

People can learn more about Work Nouveau and our approach to human-centered HR through our website, Instagram, or LinkedIn.  We’re always happy to make new connections, whether it’s to ask questions, explore partnership or collaboration, or just to say hello! 

At CFW Careers, as a firm specializing in retained executive search, we know that placing the right leaders in the right roles creates impact that lasts well beyond the hire. This series reflects our commitment to spotlighting the voices of HR leaders who are advancing the profession and shaping workplaces of the future.