In this episode of Transform Your Workplace, host Brandon Laws sits down with Jennifer Watson, a seasoned expert in Human Resources. The two discuss Jennifer’s remarkable journey from a career in education to her current role in HR. After her time in education, Jennifer spent a decade with a Fortune 100 retailer before stepping into a leadership role within an HR department at a small business, all while navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Don’t miss this episode all about the power of saying yes to new opportunities, building strong relationships, and taking a proactive approach to HR.
GUEST AT A GLANCE
Jennifer Watson is the VP of HR for Lasso HR. With experience in both education and human resources, Jennifer is poised to help, teach, train, and guide others to thrive at work.
A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST
🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, sponsored by Xenium HR
🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws
📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”
A NATURAL TRANSITION
The fields of education and human resources are more alike than they seem at first glance. Both involve helping people make better decisions, providing teaching and training on various topics, and ensuring compliance with rules and policies. In HR, like in teaching, there are rules and guidelines for behavior.
For guest Jennifer Watson, the similarities between these two fields made for a natural transition from her teaching career to her role in HR. And after a decade at a successful Fortune 100 retailer and a later move to heading up an HR department at a small business, Jennifer has encountered just about anything that an ever-shifting workplace could throw at her, including a global pandemic. In the early days of teaching, Jennifer had to learn to think on her feet, and this skill has served Jennifer well in her thriving career as a highly sought-after HR expert.
PODCAST EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Keeping an Open-Mind
“When I started there, there was very much the mindset of ‘Find the talent, train the skill.’ And to be honest, I was a teacher. I had no skill in HR, […] so I always said yes. I did anything they asked or I put my name out there for [any opportunity] because I thought, ‘If I can just at least try it, I can figure it out.’ I got to dabble, and my goal was to meet people in different areas. So I did that through different councils or partnering with field partners, things like that, getting connected. You have to put effort into it. But I think that’s what helped me move my way around the company.”
The Pandemic’s Chaos
“I had a team of thirty, and their roles [didn’t change] too drastically. It just became a little more volatile because tensions were high, and you’re dealing with customer interactions, right? So people are stressed. They still have to get the things that they need, but they’re freaking out understandably because nobody knows what’s going on. So everything was just exacerbated. […] And everything seemed to be at a level 100 because it was so emotional. […] From my side, it was developing the processes.
How do we legally protect our employees? How do we legally protect ourselves?”
The Power of Connection
“Building relationships — that’s one of my biggest strengths, I will say. It’s something I prided myself on because I knew — and I’ve always known — that you don’t need the relationship until you need it. And if you don’t already have it, you’re not going to get it.
[…] By the time this rolled around, it was just, ‘Okay, let’s roll.’ I didn’t have the foresight to ever see a pandemic coming, but it definitely helped.”
A Proactive Approach
“When I came into the department, I said, ‘Enough is enough of us just working cases and being caseworkers.’ Like that is part of the job, yes, but that is a skill you can teach quickly. The bigger part is how do we become proactive business partners? So I, as an employee relations manager can say, ‘Hey, Brandon, you’ve had six cases of workplace violence in your district this past year. Here’s some training that we can implement. Let’s get ahead of it.’”
A Leap of Faith
“I always had this idea that if I ever got the opportunity to do my own thing with an HR department and have an impact on a smaller company, I would take it. So then the opportunity comes, you know, the universe tests you and says, ‘Prove whether you’re ready or not — you might not get another chance at it.’ Would I say I was completely ready to take on this role personally and professionally? Probably not, now knowing what I know. But again, I think if the opportunity comes up, you have to go for it.”
Staying Quiet and Taking Stock
“My biggest thing whenever I come into a new role or […] a new position is shutting up. I mean, I hate to say it, but you can always come into a position and think you know everything, and you know exactly what should be done. You don’t, and you’re not going to know for the first days. So your only job is to offer value where you can get an assessment of what’s going on and then really make sure that what you’re doing is aligned with where we see the team going.”
What People Want Out of Work
“And I think people aren’t going to take no as an answer anymore. We have a world where, if you get told no, you can find five other places to get it. […] I say you can still get to yes or figure out a resource or some way to support them or whatever that is. It’s so funny. I think people hate coming to HR because they feel like they’re going to be the moral police or get told no, or it’s going to be some type of fight. That’s not my fight. I don’t care. I just want to help figure out what you want and let’s get there.”
LEARN MORE
Connect with Jennifer Watson on LinkedIn and keep up to date with the latest in HR.