Remote teams sound simple on paper until you’re the one holding it together. Aubrey Yankee lives that reality every day at Biltmore Properties, where sixty scattered housing sites across Arizona depend on her to make the work feel human. Her world is federal housing, tight margins, rotating staff, and teams that rarely see each other in person. She talks about what it takes to keep people plugged in when geography is working against you. Her approach is grounded, practical, and built on the idea that engagement is not a program. It is a habit.
In this episode we talk about employee experience, remote work, communication systems, performance reviews, housing organizations, onboarding, technology, and how HR keeps culture steady when teams never share a building. Aubrey breaks down what actually keeps people connected, what tools matter, and where personal touch still beats process.
Key Takeaways:
The reality she works in is messy. Employees are spread across the state, communication changes constantly, and everyone needs something at the same time. Tools like isolved become more than software. They become the anchor that keeps people synced. Centralizing documents, certifications, and communication gives employees one place to land. When people know where to go for answers, everything gets lighter.
Personal details matter more than anyone admits. A profile photo, a few onboarding questions, a sliver of personality. These tiny signals take the edge off remote work and help people see each other as humans again. When a team is spread thin, connection comes from the smallest touchpoints. Aubrey uses them well.
Performance reviews are usually a chore. She flipped that script by removing the pressure. Let the employee talk. Give them space. Let them write without someone hovering. Supervisors stop dreading the process, employees take more ownership, and the whole thing feels less like a judgment and more like a conversation about growth.
Support is the unglamorous part of HR. Everyone leans on HR when things get heavy. Aubrey’s focus is making the workload lighter for the supervisors carrying too much. When communication flows and approvals stop clogging, supervisors breathe. Teams breathe. The organization runs cleaner because HR is solving real friction instead of policing forms.
This episode was recorded live at isolved Connect in Scottsdale.
The Heroes of HR podcast is a limited series sponsored by isolved. isolved is an HCM platform that modernizes HR, benefits, and payroll across Healthcare, Hospitality, Manufacturing, and more.
Learn more about isolved: https://www.isolvedhcm.com/
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction to Biltmore Properties and the HR landscape
02:01 Connecting sixty remote properties
04:33 Personalizing the employee experience
07:15 Rethinking performance reviews
10:22 Supporting supervisors and easing operational weight
Guest:
Aubrey Yankee, Accounting Manager and HR Leader, Biltmore Properties
Website: Biltmore Properties
Connect with Us:
William Tincup LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tincup/
Ryan Leary LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanleary/
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