# In the Trenches - Caitlin Sampson

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-hr-connection-podcast-with-sabrina-baker-7359891/in-the-trenches-caitlin-sampson
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-hr-connection-podcast-with-sabrina-baker-7359891/in-the-trenches-caitlin-sampson.md
Podcast: [The HR Connection Podcast with Sabrina Baker](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-hr-connection-podcast-with-sabrina-baker-7359891)
Published: 2026-05-27T19:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://hrconnectionwithsabrinabaker.podbean.com/e/in-the-trenches-caitlin-sampson/
Audio file: https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/kp42sbwqvi4zk5z6/HRC_52526ahr10.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-hr-connection-podcast-with-sabrina-baker-7359891/episodes/in-the-trenches-caitlin-sampson
Duration seconds: 1348

## Resource

In the Trenches with Caitlin Sampson Caitlin Sampson, HR Director at Trivector, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business in Huntsville, Alabama, joins Marie for the second installment of In the Trenches. As a longtime HR department of one, SHRM chapter president, adjunct professor, and mother of two, Caitlin knows firsthand what it means to operate at full capacity with no margin for error. She unpacks the perfectionist trap common to solo HR practitioners, why employee relations is simultaneously the hardest and most rewarding part of the job, and how digging deeper into a complaint almost always reveals more than the surface issue. Her standout moment: a blue-collar, single dad called her when his son was sent home from school with a suicide note. She didn't hand him an EAP card. She made the calls, worked her network, and had a mental health appointment booked with insurance already processed before she called him back. That's small business HR, no handbook, no backup, just judgment and relationships built over time.

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## Transcript

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