I ❤ HR
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It’s been 10 years since Fast Company magazine ran its infamous "Why We Hate HR" cover story. Over the years, HR continues to be the function people love to disparage — except for those who really get how great HR is and what it brings to corporate zip and zing. So, with February being "heart month" for all the obvious reasons, we’re celebrating HR with the theme:"I ❤ HR"
And, in carrying out the theme, we asked six Texas HR RockStars to answer a few questions about the state of the profession and why they love it! We want to remind ourselves and each other how important and wonderful HR really is. And we’ve always known how very passionate these six have been about our profession.
Kristin Ruff, SPHR, Director of Global Team Member Services (HR)
Whole Foods Market (Austin)
Kristin currently serves as the Director of Global Team Member Services (HR) at Whole Foods Market responsible for providing HR leadership to global support team members located primarily in the Austin global offices, but also in several remote locations dispersed throughout the world.Her teams provide direction and support with talent management/succession planning, talent sourcing, all recruiting social media, building leadership capabilities and managing team member relations.
No small task as Whole Market Foods has grown from one small store in Austin to become the world’s leader in natural and organic foods, with more than 400 stores in North America and the UK.
Whole Foods Market opened its first store in 1980 and ever since that day, Whole Foods Market has worked to establish a better way of doing business.According to Kristin, "Whole Foods exists to make a profit like any other business, but we also see our company as part of a larger community whose welfare and long-term survival are unalterably linked."
Kristin, what is a ‘day in the life’ like for you? And, what about your day do you believe is most impactful?
We have established the development of a robust talent management/succession planning program to be critical in supporting our future blueprint for growth.Within the scope of this work, we have identified a critical need in building and developing our leaderships’ capabilities and helping senior leaders identify key talent.We are currently re-engineering our Onboarding program to better support team leaders throughout their entire journey at Whole Foods Market.
In addition, we are developing a rigorous program of leadership programs and tools to help team leaders be better coaches and leaders.Finally, we are creating a talent management/succession plan to better identify future leaders and help assess any development gaps that may be barriers to their continued development and growth within the organization.
This work is extremely impactful as it helps support our future growth and the sustainment of our company.We pride ourselves on promoting from within and have an extremely tenured population of team members.Our priority is to ensure these future leaders are well equipped to lead us into the future.
How will HR touch the future?
HR will touch the future by ensuring it stays "in the future."We have to be business visionaries, anticipating organizational changes and quickly assessing how to support employees through these changes.HR will touch the future by continuing to push itself out from behind the desk and taking initiative to get involved with the "business of the business."
Kristin, what advice would you give to a fellow HR professional who didn't have a good day yesterday?
Every profession has good and bad days.The main point is whether you were able to add value to your organization, your team, or to yourself.If you aren't doing things that add value for these stakeholders, stop doing them!
What is the single-most rewarding aspect of your career in HR?
The most rewarding aspect of my career is being able to make a difference in someone else’s career.Whether it is adding value to one person’s development or helping a leader make a more informed company-impacting decision, these opportunities provide the most reward.
Susan Welbes, SPHR, Director of Human Resources
The Woodlands Township (The Woodlands)
For 18 years, Susan has been the Director of HR for The Woodlands Township.The Township is a special purpose district, not a city, that acts as the governmental service provider for the master-planned community of The Woodlands, Texas.As a member of the Executive Management Team, Susan has been in a unique position to participate in the organization’s tremendous growth and changes over the years.
Susan, how did you get started in HR?
While at UT, I needed some electives in college and signed up for Industrial Labor Relations and Economics of Labor Relations – the only courses listed for a minor in Personnel Administration. Several recently laid-off air traffic controllers were in these classes, and I loved hearing about the dynamics between employees and management. I was hooked and knew I wanted my career to be in Human Resources.
In your opinion, where is the true power of HR today?
The ability to influence the culture of the workplace through innovative recruitment, onboarding, training, and employee relations.
What is the single-most rewarding aspect of your career in HR?
When I’m able to help turn around an employee rather than taking the easy way out and exiting them from the company. I work with employees today that years ago, I wouldn't have expected them to be here. Through coaching, mentoring, course correction, HR and their supervisors helped them change. And that’s very rewarding.
Kathy Rapp, Senior Vice President
hrQ (Houston)
hrQ is a professional services firm focused on national HR search work, HR interim staffing and HR consulting.With offices in Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston and San Francisco and a partner in London, Kathy’s company, hrQ, has been recognized numerous times as one of the fastest growing private companies by Inc.5000.Kathy credits the growth to their culture built on values such as meaningful relationships, self-growth, honesty, developing others, contributing to our communities and good physical and mental health.
Tell us about your current role, Kathy.
It rocks.I am the SVP and part-owner of hrQ responsible for the Texas market, national marketing and overall firm leadership.I tell people I love what I do – and I know because my Sunday nights don’t feel any different than my Friday nights!
How did you get started in HR?
After deciding in college that psychotherapy really wasn't my game, the next logical career choice was HR.Once I completed my undergrad at Texas A&M I came back to Houston to get my MBA and work (hopefully in HR).I answered a job ad in the paper for a HR Generalist role at The Four Season’s Hotel.For whatever reason they hired me, even after I bombed an attempt to interview in Spanish!
Kathy, where is the true power of HR today?
Wow, that’s an interesting question.I’m not sure I would classify it as "power" but rather impact and importance.HR has the ability to impact the business in a profound way – through talent attraction and development; workforce planning; and organizational leadership.In terms of importance, HR used correctly is an advisor to the board of directors, CEO and executive team.HR needs to be at the forefront of what’s driving talent decisions, how to use big data and how to drill down into what is meaningful for their organization, how to drive revenue and contain costs and championing without abandoning the foundational muscle that is culture.
How will HR touch the future?
HR will touch the future by being relevant today.There are certainly trends to take notice of:globalization, data analytics, workforce planning, generational diversity, free-agent workers, personal technology, biometrics and sustainability of talent.Each can have varying importance depending on the business cycle of your organization.That’s where being relevant today comes into play.HR must be hyper-connected to the state of their organization as well as future direction and how the developing trends will take shape there.They have to bring impactful data and analysis skills to the table – with a voice that is steady and a mind that is whip smart.Being relevant today means truly knowing your organization and customizing your approach so that your business moves forward because of your insight and contributions.
What advice would you give to a fellow HR professional who didn’t have a good day yesterday?
Go watch "The Big Lebowski" and indulge in a couple of white Russians."Yeah, well, the Dude abides."
What is the single-most rewarding aspect of your career in HR?
If I’m bound to just ONE aspect, it would have to be impacting the lives of people I've worked with over the course of my career and them in turn impacting me.It’s always rewarding to see people you’ve developed on your team grow into incredible HR leaders, but in HR we touch so many others outside of our own teams.It’s those who, directly or indirectly, I've been able to push further, give advice on tough issues and encourage to pursue what excites them that ultimately has been the most rewarding element of my career. I've benefited from their influence as well; in fact, I’m in my current role because of a former leader who saw something entrepreneurial and risk-taking in me and encouraged me to consider the path at hrQ!
Dr. Charles CappsIII, SPHR, Professor
Sam Houston State University (Huntsville)
Dr. Capps is a Lifetime SPHR and the founding sponsor/advisor of the Sam Houston State University’s SHRM Student Chapter. Currently the chapter has a membership of roughly 30 undergraduate SHSU HRM students.He is now a Professor of Management, after having a career as an HR practitioner which started with a role in HRD at Brown and Root.His title was a Training Coordinator B in the old Petro-Chemical Maintenance Division coordinating craft/skills, safety and supervision training in the greater Houston area based out of B&R’s headquarters on Clinton Drive.
Dr. Capps, what is the single-most rewarding aspect of your career in HR?
Teaching HR undergraduate students, and supporting their HR careers with SHRM. When I first began teaching at Sam Houston State University in 1988 there was one Personnel course.Now our Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Human Resource Management is aligned with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) guidelines and is one of 181 HR programs cited as recently realigned for 2015 - 2017.HR success today also requires solid strategic business skills in all the organization’s people persons for the HR profession to have continued respect and growth.
So, in your opinion, where is the true power of HR today?
The power of human resources is only limited by one’s imagination as to what is possible.To do the impossible, the creative use of HR is needed to build futures only previously dreamed of, like going to the Moon, which required extensive training.However, first you must dream and believe.
And tomorrow, how will your HR students touch the future?
HR is the future.HR represents the organization’s spirit and breathes life into all other inputs that are secondary to the inventiveness and effectiveness of good human resources.HR is what makes champions out of contenders that bring home the gold!
What advice would you give to a fellow HR professional who didn’t have a good day yesterday?
Just wait until you see what tomorrow brings!Tomorrow will always be different and exciting.HR is servant leadership that daily returns positive feedback in the lives of employees, the organization and most importantly the HR practitioner who feels a sense of real purpose: a real HR strategist.
Jessica Palacios, PHR, SHRM-CP, Associate Director of Human Resources
Texas A&M International University (Laredo)
A member of the Texas A&M University System, Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) is an international university serving as the cultural and intellectual hub of a vibrant multilingual and multicultural community, situated at the Gateway to Mexico. Jessica serves as the Associate Director of HR focused on benefits, retirement, leaves of absence and workers compensation. She’s also the Employee Wellness Coordinator for the newest campus program — Healthy U.
Her work with Healthy U is a natural fit, since Jessica started her HR career as Special Projects Coordinator for Webb County, assisting with employee benefits and organizing special programs such as safety and health fairs.
Jessica, what is a ‘day in the life’ like for you? And, what about your day do you believe is most impactful?
My day consists of ensuring our employees have a motivated and productive workday. The most impactful part of my day is when an employee fully understands the perks of the overall benefit programs offered to them as an employee of The Texas A&M University System. It is always rewarding when the employee realizes that we are indeed here to help not only the employee, but most of the time, their families too.
Where is the true power of HR today?
For us at TAMIU, it lies in the ability to have a daily impact on the life of an employee while being a strategic partner for the University and helping the organization be prepared for what the future will bring so that the University can best accomplish its important mission.
How will HR touch the future?
HR will be a strategic partner at the executive table. We will work hard to anticipate the needs for talent management, leadership development, compliance, improvement of operational efficiencies, utilization of technology and organizational strategic alignment while continuing to cultivate the requirements needed to succeed.
What is the single-most rewarding aspect of your career in HR?
It’s really very simple, I enjoy having the opportunity to truly help people.
Crystal Reich, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, Human Resource Manager
X-FAB (Lubbock)
Crystal Reich, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is the HR Manager for the Lubbock offices of X-FAB, the world’s leading foundry group for analog/mixed signal semiconductor applications.In addition to site specific responsibilities which include branding and recruiting, hiring, training, comp and benefits, employee relations and retention efforts, her role has global HR team member responsibilities, as X-FAB has 2400 employees worldwide with manufacturing sites in Germany and Malaysia.
After a career in Elementary Education, Crystal took a role as a trainer at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.And dove into her responsibilities and became very active in the Lubbock chapter of the American Society for Training and Development. She was recruited to join United Supermarkets’ Corporate Training team which just happened to be part of the HR group—and it was there that Crystal "caught the HR bug!" She earned her Master’s in HRM and accepted the Training Coordinator/HR Generalist role with X-FAB Texas in 2005. She earned her SPHR in 2007, became the Staffing Manager in 2010 and was promoted to HR Manager in early 2012.
In your opinion, Crystal, where is the true power of HR today?
For HR, the power comes with establishing and building positive relationships with all areas of the business – whether they come in the form of coaching/consulting or partnering to create new and innovative ways to make a business impact, by building trust throughout the organization – one positive experience at a time.
How will HR touch the future?
HR professionals need to stay relevant in terms of business needs, workforce needs and innovations in technology – and adjust accordingly.
What advice would you give to a fellow HR professional who didn’t have a good day yesterday?
It’s all about perspective. There are bad days and tough decisions to make, but HR professionals also have a chance to be the voice of positive change and collaboration.
What is the single-most rewarding aspect of your career in HR?
Witnessing examples of employees growing, developing and succeeding. Nothing makes me smile more than seeing a well-deserving employee earn a promotion – without having to leave X-FAB!
