January 22, 2026 • 49 mins
Annie Andrews, VP of People at QGenda, shares how building a great culture starts with candidate experience and how to build culture for remote teams. She also shares what it's been like to grow from a Recruiting Coordinator to a VP of People role.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:46):
Thank you everyone for joining us today.
Annie Andrews is on the show.
Annie's currently in the role ofVP of People, a QGEND, but
really looking forward to justgetting to know you as a person,
Annie.
SPEAKER_00 (01:01):
Yeah, James.
Looking forward to be on theshow today.
SPEAKER_02 (01:04):
Just like putting the emphasis on getting to know
you.
And of course, like we can getinto your position, what you're
up to currently.
But where are you frominitially?
SPEAKER_00 (01:11):
I'm from Atlanta.
I've been born and raised here.
I've tried to move away twice,but always find myself back.
I currently live in the Atlantasuburbs with my husband and our
two dogs.
So we're just settled here forthe long term.
SPEAKER_02 (01:26):
Nice.
Okay, cool, cool.
So, two dogs, what kind of dogsdo you have?
SPEAKER_00 (01:30):
I have a 12-year-old black lab pit named Leo and a
seven-year-old border collie,Aussie, Bernice mix.
unknown (01:39):
Nice.
SPEAKER_00 (01:40):
All very high energy, and it's never a dull
moment in our house.
SPEAKER_02 (01:45):
You said one of them was just like staring at you in
the doorway before we hitrecording.
SPEAKER_00 (01:49):
Yeah.
He um that was Leo.
He usually likes to just sleepin here, but I guess he knew
something was happening, so hewanted to get out of the house.
SPEAKER_02 (01:57):
Yeah.
They they sort of have the sixthsense, do they?
Don't they?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (02:01):
They do.
SPEAKER_02 (02:02):
So I opened an office for my company's
go-to-market team in Rustin.
So I'm in office full-time now.
But when I was working fromhome, I have a French bulldog,
and he's deaf.
Like he can't even hear.
And he has one eye.
He's a happy, just to be clear,he's a very happy dog, but poor
little guy, he's got one eye andhe's deaf.
But I swear, it's like he knewwhen I was about to get on to
(02:23):
like an important call orsomething where I wanted it to
be quiet in the background orwhere I couldn't lean down to
pet him.
And that's exactly what he wouldcome over.
SPEAKER_00 (02:31):
Yeah, that's our border colleague, Grace.
He loves to look out my window.
And usually he just sits thereand stares.
But as soon as he sees somebodywalk by and I'm on a call, you
can I can hear him growling,getting ready to bark, while the
person that I'm talking to hasno idea what's about to happen.
SPEAKER_02 (02:50):
Yeah.
And you were just talking aboutbefore we record is funny.
It's like Zoom these days isreally good about editing out
background noise, but like ourbrains aren't necessarily still
distracting for us.
But it's it's even probablyfunnier because it's like people
may not know why I lookdistracted when OB's coming up
to me because they can't hearthem, but I can.
SPEAKER_00 (03:10):
So well, it's a great feature.
I'm assuming that occurredpost-COVID and kind of just
updating that because all of uswere most likely working from
home, distracted by kids, pets.
I know I was.
So it's nice that whoever I'mspeaking with doesn't really
hear what's going on in thebackground, even though it's
(03:33):
right here.
SPEAKER_02 (03:34):
Chaos.
SPEAKER_00 (03:35):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (03:36):
So Annie, what were you like as a kid?
SPEAKER_00 (03:38):
Oh man, I was a troublemaker, always bending,
breaking rules, creating chaosfor my parents.
I tried to do my best in school,but I found myself always
distracted by my peers or whatelse was going on versus my
studies.
I think I drove my parents alittle bit crazy.
SPEAKER_02 (03:59):
So you're really social?
SPEAKER_00 (04:00):
Yeah, really social, making friends anywhere and
everywhere.
My mom, as she's describing howI was as a child, it was I
didn't have any issues makingfriends or learning about people
who I was playing with on theplayground.
I've noticed that has driven whoI am as an adult.
(04:22):
While I am a little bit morereserved these days, and I don't
just automatically go say hi tosomebody new.
I'm still curious about peoplewhenever they're in my
environment, like closeenvironment.
SPEAKER_02 (04:37):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Um, but definitely I think a lotof people that ultimately get
into recruiting, they aredefinitely like people persons,
right?
Like they're social, they'retypically you know empathetic
and they're good listeners andthese types of things, right?
Um, not always.
SPEAKER_00 (04:50):
Yeah.
Well, as I as I sometimes seemyself as an unlicensed
therapist because for somereason, and I have no issue with
this.
I like to listen when somebodyhas a problem that they want to
solve or they just need a vent,but it seems that's how most
people gravitate towards me orwhere most of my conversations
(05:14):
seem to go with others.
SPEAKER_02 (05:15):
Nice.
So and you were like that as akid?
SPEAKER_00 (05:17):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (05:18):
So everybody would come to you and you would help
them get through trickysituations or big feelings,
stuff like that.
SPEAKER_00 (05:24):
Oh, yeah.
Sometimes they didn't want myadvice, but I would happily give
it.
SPEAKER_02 (05:30):
Yeah.
That's so that sounds like mydaughter.
She has an opinion, shedefinitely she has some some
thoughts for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (05:39):
Yeah, it's also a pre-warning that my husband has
to give me when he's ventingbecause he doesn't want a fix.
He's just getting it out there.
Yeah.
But in my brain, I'm like, ha,okay, what can he do?
What should he say?
And that's not what he wants.
SPEAKER_02 (05:55):
Yeah, you know, this actually seems to, it's coming
up a lot lately on our shows,speaking with different town
acquisition leaders.
I think a lot of people that youknow, when you get to that
director VP level, uhparticularly in the tech
industry or highly competitiveindustry that somebody's in,
it's it usually we're likereally solutions focused and
(06:17):
immediately diving intoproblem-solving mode.
SPEAKER_01 (06:20):
Yep.
SPEAKER_02 (06:21):
And I think it's interesting, it's like we're
also in a business though whereit's like very people-oriented,
and we can't really optimizerelationships and you can't
optimize it for time either.
And like listening is reallyimportant.
So I think for a lot of us, it'slike this balancing act of being
this aggressive go-getter,constantly living in okay, we
there's this gap between wherewe are, where we want to be, and
we need to get after it.
(06:42):
But then also, as you put it,right?
Like being able to just sort ofpause and listen, right?
SPEAKER_00 (06:47):
Yeah, take a step back.
I mean, I never saw myself inrecruiting.
I went to college forinternational affairs with an
intention to go intointernational politics.
That obviously did not happen.
Um, and I found myself inrecruiting.
(07:08):
I worked as a front officecoordinator for a very small
recruiting agency in Atlanta,serving executive assistants and
admin assistants across thecity.
Realized that I wanted to be arecruiter because of how they
were helping people find newopportunities, better
opportunities.
(07:28):
But that wasn't the job where Ireally got my or cut my teeth in
recruiting.
I was unsatisfied with theanswer that my former boss gave
me of how it takes a really longtime to be a recruiter.
And so that's when I realizedearly on in my career that I
needed to take charge of what Iwanted to do as a profession.
(07:50):
And all it just led to aconversation with now one of my
mentors who took a chance on meto get me into recruiting and
learning more about it.
And it's kind of just spiraledupwards since then.
SPEAKER_02 (08:05):
So your first ballster manager that said it
took a really long time to getinto recruiting.
What was the rationale?
What did they say it took solong to at that time?
SPEAKER_00 (08:15):
I didn't really dig into it.
The answer that I received wasit just takes a really long time
to be a recruiter.
And I didn't want to press itbecause it was also the owner of
the company.
And I was just dissatisfied.
I'm like, okay, well, whatshould I do then?
And that reflect on what it was.
(08:37):
But around the same time, Idon't know if you're spiritual
or the universe sayingsomething, but my now mentor,
former boss, he had reached outto me through LinkedIn with this
opportunity.
How could I say no?
SPEAKER_02 (08:51):
Yeah.
So what do you think makes agreat recruiter?
SPEAKER_00 (08:54):
Definitely someone who has good customer service,
is responsive, and understandsthe role and the team well.
They're not reading from ascript, they're actually
interested in learning about thecandidate or the person that
they're working through, theinterview process with.
(09:15):
It's difficult, but they don'tshy away from those tough
conversations.
It's also what I expect of myrecruiting team.
They should never let acandidate go through the process
without knowing how they'redoing.
If there's no update, tell thecandidate that there's no
update, but they're working onit instead of letting time go
by.
(09:35):
Because I think that just showsthe candidate that they care and
that they're trying the bestthat they can, even with as
little information that theyhave.
SPEAKER_02 (09:45):
Right.
No update is still an update orlike always overcommunicating.
SPEAKER_01 (09:49):
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02 (09:50):
I think with the hiring team as well, right?
There's particularly in tech andhigh growth environments,
sometimes hiring teams can havelike a fair amount of anxiety
over, particularly when youfirst kick off a role, like
getting those early wins.
Right.
Which I think is every townacquisition leader's nightmare.
It's like, okay, you just gottagive it like a little bit of
time.
We understand it needs to bedone yesterday, but you know,
we're on it.
So it's that thatover-communicating motion of
(10:12):
just constantly updating andsharing data.
SPEAKER_00 (10:15):
Well, that's where it's really important to have a
relationship with the hiringmanager or the hiring team and
knowing who they are.
Um, that way, as a recruiter,you go into a meeting with them,
set the expectation early on ofthe fact that the candidates not
just being interviewed by theteam, but they're also
(10:36):
interviewing the company andmaking sure that it's a mutual
fit.
And I just think if thatexpectation is set early on,
it's easier to work through theprocess.
SPEAKER_02 (10:46):
100%.
I wanted to talk to you a littlebit about just when you're
starting out and uh studyinginternational affairs.
I'm curious, what was yourfavorite class?
Just tell me about thatexperience.
What did you love about it?
SPEAKER_00 (10:59):
Oh man, that's tough.
It was always my geographyclasses, anything around people
and culture and learning aboutthe world and how different it
is from the US.
And that has also shaped how Iapproach recruiting in the sense
(11:20):
that everyone has differentbackgrounds, different
experiences.
And it's just taking time tolearn a little bit more about
that and what makes them happy.
It was less about the politics.
I guess I didn't really enjoythat much as I thought I would,
but it's more, it's always beenabout the people.
SPEAKER_02 (11:38):
Yeah, it's uh it sounds really interesting.
And I'm wondering too, how muchdo you feel like what you
studied in school influences howyou think about people and
recruiting and buildingcompanies today?
SPEAKER_00 (11:50):
Again, it goes back to the people, how I learned
about different cultures,histories, and religion, but we
won't get into that.
Um, and how that shapes a personin general.
And taking that into how Iapproach recruiting and just
understanding that the person infront of me has gone through
(12:13):
something that I probablyhaven't gone through, or they've
learned something that Ihaven't, and learning that from
them.
But also it's taught me to kindof put myself in their shoes.
I've also been a candidate, youknow.
Um, I have interviewed at jobsor companies where I didn't get
(12:35):
the role, but it always camedown to how I felt about the
interaction.
And I don't want, I don't everwant a candidate to feel like
they were ghosted or they didn'thave the right or enough
feedback or they had a reallynegative experience with the
hiring team.
It really just comes down tolike relationships and building
(12:59):
that throughout the time that Ihave with that other person.
SPEAKER_02 (13:03):
So, how do you get your team when you're hiring at
a larger level of scale, right?
To really focus and maintainrelationships while there's also
has to be an emphasis onsystems, right?
How do you strike that balanceand keep that really human
element in place and strongcandidate experience?
SPEAKER_00 (13:22):
That's a great question.
Um, well, again, I was just likesetting expectations with the
team on what my expectationswere in the fact that they
should be offering a high levelof customer service to whoever
they're working with.
It's not just the externalperson, it's also the internal
(13:43):
team.
We have internal and externalcustomers.
We've we have to understandwhat's going on at all times.
But it is a high-paceenvironment or fast-pace
environment, if you call it.
We're continuously hiringthroughout the year.
And thankfully, we havegreenhouse to keep us organized,
um, where it keeps all of therecruiters kind of on top of
(14:09):
where they are with each rolethat they own.
And so I haven't had much of anissue over the time that I've
been here with recruiters notgetting back to their teams.
Of course, there are slip-ups.
Not everybody's perfect.
We all do get very busy.
(14:29):
And it's just that friendlyreminder like, hey, don't
forget, let's follow up withthis person.
SPEAKER_02 (14:34):
It seems like almost more than um systems, too, just
like every other world we hirefor hiring the right recruiters
that have that top of mind thatseem to really care and have
maybe a high level of empathyand understanding and
accountability too, right?
It's not only just caring aboutpeople's experience, but it's
also just like that performancemindset and self-accountability
(14:56):
to deliver and and you know,over-communicate and all these
types of things, right?
I mean, how do you think aboutthat when you look at hiring
recruiters?
Like, how do you evaluate orwhat are you looking for?
SPEAKER_00 (15:07):
So you kind of just mentioned it accountability.
It's one of the values that Ihave as a person, a leader, and
my expectation of all of my teammembers is to really own up to
their responsibilities and theirmistakes.
And it's also what I look forwhen I'm hiring because I know
(15:33):
nobody's perfect.
I have also found myself in aposition that I've almost lost
my role for it.
But it's understanding like, didthey take accountability?
What did they learn from it?
And have they actuallyincorporated that into their
habits?
But also integrity, you know, Idon't think anybody likes to be
(15:58):
lied to, but it goes back toaccountability is like being
honest when it happens.
Like it's okay to make mistakes,it's figuring out how you move
on from it, being open andhonest about it.
SPEAKER_02 (16:11):
How do you create a culture where your team feels
comfortable?
I mean, it's it's again, it's alot of tiring the right people
that just hopefully there's likethis innate hopefully comfort or
they have enough experience orwhatever to open up in that way.
But I'm just wondering as aleader, how you think about
creating that type ofenvironment.
SPEAKER_00 (16:31):
For me, it's coming with a sense of vulnerability,
is having the same mindset,showing my team, especially when
I made the mistake and sayingthat openly or sharing a story
from a past or one of my pastroles where I made a mistake and
(16:54):
what happened.
And usually it encourages myteam to open up when something
like that happens.
I do find myself kind of justrepeating, like, it's okay,
share with me what's going on.
And I think that comes back tojust being that therapist for
folks and kind of just givingthat space to like open up.
SPEAKER_02 (17:17):
Yeah, I think so.
It's um making sure that youalso investing time in the
one-on-one relationships withevery person on your team.
Is that oh, absolutely?
SPEAKER_00 (17:26):
Not just learning about, you know, what their
strengths and weaknesses are asa professional, but it's also
learning about the person, whatmakes them tick, what do they do
outside of work?
What do they care about?
Because work makes money, butit's not everything.
And it's important to get thatholistic sense of who they are
(17:48):
as an individual.
SPEAKER_02 (17:49):
Yeah.
So speaking of which, I would becurious to learn more about
maybe some of the most impactfulpersonal experiences that you've
had that you feel like influencehow you work with people today
and how you think about hiring.
Is there anything that reallystands out throughout your life
as something that's been reallyimpactful and how you operate
today as a leader?
SPEAKER_00 (18:09):
Oh, that's tough.
I know we talked about thisbefore.
Um, and I've had some reflectionto do.
It's still really difficult tofigure out what those moments
were.
One that sticks out, especiallyon how I approach hiring, is
just when I was laid off fromone trust and had to find
(18:30):
another opportunity quickly,despite seeing myself at that
company for a really long timeand applying to roles, going
through the interview processall the way to the final
interview, only to find out thatI didn't get the opportunity.
And along the way, actually, Iwas ghosted so many times, and
(18:52):
that hurt.
And so I never want anyone tofeel, especially if they're
coming to interview at thiscompany, that they're not
getting what they need.
Again, nobody's perfect.
We do get quite a fewapplications, and I only have a
very small team of three goingthrough each application to fill
(19:17):
the roles that are open.
But for whoever's in process,I'm hopeful that they're getting
a positive experience with therecruiters.
SPEAKER_02 (19:26):
So when you were going through that job
transition and so things didn'twork out at one trust, and you
were actively interviewing andgoing through the ups and downs
of how challenging that can be,um how did you navigate that?
That's something that a lot ofpeople are going through, these
like layoffs and jobtransitions, probably now more
than ever, the last five yearshave been, I think a lot of
(19:48):
people would define as sort ofcrazy in the job market, uh,
particularly within tech.
So, how did you stay on top ofyour psychology and go through
the ups and downs anddisappointments and really stay
focused?
I mean, what was your processfor navigating that?
SPEAKER_00 (20:05):
Good question.
Um, thankfully, I had a goodsupport system, my husband, but
also kind of just staying activeat the gym, being outside.
It was during summertime.
So it was also a good time tojust reset and take a step back
to understand what I was lookingfor in the next company that I
(20:26):
joined.
Thankfully, we did have quite afew summer plans that kept my
mind off of the difficultiesthat I was having throughout
interviewing until getting theopportunity that I'm now at with
QGENDF.
SPEAKER_02 (20:42):
Where did you get to travel?
SPEAKER_00 (20:43):
We went up to Washington, DC.
For 4th of July.
Went to 30A with my mom.
It's an annual trip.
Where else do we go?
SPEAKER_02 (20:55):
You said 30A?
SPEAKER_00 (20:56):
Yeah, so Destin, Miramar in Florida.
SPEAKER_02 (20:59):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (21:00):
If you haven't been, I highly recommend it.
SPEAKER_02 (21:03):
What's it like?
SPEAKER_00 (21:04):
It is like turquoise waters, really peaceful,
although it's gotten morepopular over the years.
So you're gonna run intomultiple crowds.
But even during the off season,it's just relaxing.
We always get a condo on thebeach or facing the beach where
we can open the balcony to hearthe water.
(21:27):
And it just, I don't know, it'slike the best place on earth.
SPEAKER_02 (21:31):
Well, so look, I you know, I'm excited to learn also
just more about what you'rebuilding now at QDenda.
You're in this role now whereyou have made it to a VP of
people, as far as I understand,overseeing talent acquisition
and people ops, is that right?
Yes.
Okay, cool.
What is your team looking toaccomplish over the next year?
And just it'd be cool tounderstand what those goals are.
(21:53):
And then we can also talk aboutyour own professional
development and personaldevelopment and how you plan on
accomplishing those goals.
I'd love to have thatconversation.
SPEAKER_00 (22:01):
Kind of what we're working on right now,
specifically, is a core valuesrefresh.
We've had our core values forquite some time, figuring out if
those values still suit where weare as an organization.
So we're still early on in theprocess.
(22:22):
We're gonna go into focus groupswith employees across the
organization to get theirperspective, but also getting
leadership perspective as welland marrying those two together.
But the other one is justfiguring out how we can help
support re-energizing QGENDA'sculture.
(22:43):
Post-COVID, it's beenchallenging to manage an
employee base that's remote andin office here in Atlanta.
And then we have the additionalchallenge of the company that we
acquired last year, who's basedin Ohio, and kind of making sure
that they're integrated into ourculture, but understanding what
(23:08):
motivates employees outside ofcompensation.
Everyone wants to be paid well,I get it.
But how do we foster better teamcollaboration to solve problems
that can move the businessforward?
So that's what we're working on.
SPEAKER_02 (23:27):
So specifically collaboration in a largely
remote culture, that'schallenging.
And you know what's interestingis so I opened an office
recently specifically to build ago-to-market team for my
company.
And the rest of my company isremote.
And it's been fascinating to seereally just how much faster
we've been able to move and howmuch easier it is to collaborate
(23:51):
being in person.
And it's sort of I've kind ofgone like full circle on remote,
where at first I was all aboutit.
I was like, Oh, we don't need tomeet.
SPEAKER_00 (24:00):
Yeah, well, there are pros and cons, right?
Right to everything.
And having a remote workforce,it builds a door where you're
able to access more talent.
However, it is very difficult toget those employees feeling
connected to the culture whenthey're not in person.
SPEAKER_01 (24:23):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (24:24):
And that is something that we're
recognizing.
I don't think we're the onlycompany going through these
challenges at all, but it iseasier to collaborate in person
because everyone's just rightthere.
If you have a whiteboard, youcan have a full discussion,
write things out.
You're also able to read likehow people are feeling versus
(24:46):
being on Zoom.
SPEAKER_02 (24:48):
Yeah.
How do you help people becomemore connected when they're
remote?
What does that really look like?
Because it's it is it's reallychallenging, right?
SPEAKER_00 (24:56):
Yeah, no, it definitely is.
So currently, we offer monthlyand quarterly events that invite
remote employees to joinvirtually through learning about
like whatever our culture vibepatrol has planned for the month
in learning about MLK, BlackHistory Month, or some type of
(25:22):
heritage month.
But also we have gosh, what elsehave we done?
We've done a holiday event forour remote employees, actually,
where we invited all of thecompany to join.
We had dueling pianos andtrivia.
A lot of people were engaged.
It was fun.
It's always a hit.
(25:43):
Um, but then we also have twoevents for our sales or
go-to-market team and our proddev team, where they have an
annual summit that allows remoteemployees to come here in person
as well.
So there are differentopportunities that we try to
keep our remote folks engaged.
(26:05):
It's not perfect, um, but we'restill working through how to
make that better.
SPEAKER_02 (26:11):
Well, yeah, and it's great that you do essentially an
annual event where all of yourremote team does come in person.
So, I mean, I think that that'sreally important too, right?
Like doing an off-site or havingsome kind of annual event with
whether it's an SKO or somethinguh that pulls everybody
together.
SPEAKER_00 (26:27):
Yeah.
I mean, SKO is going on rightnow.
It's the second day.
SPEAKER_01 (26:31):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (26:32):
Uh, where our sales marketing and marketing team are
together to look forward to thisyear and how do we improve from
the last?
SPEAKER_02 (26:42):
Yeah, for sure.
Um, that that is uh in Atlanta.
SPEAKER_00 (26:46):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (26:47):
Are you basically it is how big is the team in
Atlanta?
SPEAKER_00 (26:52):
Oh gosh.
Uh probably about 425.
SPEAKER_02 (26:58):
Okay, that's a fair amount.
And then um remotely.
SPEAKER_00 (27:01):
Remotely, about half of that as well.
Actually, take it back.
We have over 500 employees herein Atlanta.
Some about 425 come into theoffice on any week within any
week.
And then we have some Atlantaremote folks that live near the
office, but they're on a teamthat doesn't really require it.
SPEAKER_01 (27:23):
Got it.
SPEAKER_00 (27:24):
But then the other third of the company is fully
remote.
SPEAKER_02 (27:28):
So that's actually what I was gonna ask you is how
does your team determine whetheror not when you're opening new
roles, whether or not it shouldbe in Atlanta or remote?
SPEAKER_00 (27:35):
So previously it really depended on the team and
what their needs were.
However, coming into this year,we have adopted more of an
Atlanta first mindset where wewant people here in Atlanta.
So the only times that we'll goremote from this point forward
(27:59):
is if it's a role that isextremely hard to fill, like a
development role or an example,where the team should have
exhausted and the very diversetalent pool here in Atlanta
first before considering goingexternally.
And that's where we had theconversation about it.
Yeah.
But previously, it was reallyany team that had remote folks
(28:24):
and figuring out like if it didmake sense for them to be
remote.
SPEAKER_02 (28:27):
Yeah, yeah, it makes sense.
And so it's primarily, would yousay, more so on the engineering
side?
SPEAKER_00 (28:33):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (28:33):
Yeah, okay, cool.
What about international?
Like what any presence there?
SPEAKER_00 (28:38):
Or no, we are just here in the US.
SPEAKER_02 (28:41):
That makes things a little easier, I guess, right?
SPEAKER_00 (28:44):
It does.
I have hired internationally,and it's always fun um to learn
about different employment laws.
SPEAKER_02 (28:52):
Yeah, well, I guess now it's a little easier.
They have like deal and some ofthese other, but I guess when
you're getting to around companysize that uh you're at right
now, I don't know if you canstill leverage companies like
Deal or if that's more of an SMBor a smaller SMB solution.
I'm assuming it just gets morecomplicated the bigger the
company gets, right?
SPEAKER_00 (29:11):
It does, but it's always a good challenge to have.
I don't think we've really hadany issue of finding good talent
here in Atlanta either.
SPEAKER_02 (29:19):
Well, that's good.
That's great.
That's also one of the reasonsit's like the employer branding
candidate experience is soimportant for working like
within one market.
Yeah.
Particularly if it's one market.
I mean, even if it's not, butyou know, you really want to
have strong relationships withthe market and even with the
candidates you may not hireinitially.
You might want to circle back orthey might know people.
(29:40):
It's just like it's a smallworld's always smaller than we
think when it comes to creatinggood experiences.
SPEAKER_00 (29:48):
No, uh, very, very true.
Even when I was navigatingthrough my own job transition, I
leveraged my network quite abit.
And it also made me realize howimportant it is to invest in
certain relationships becauseyou never know who they're gonna
know or who you're gonna runinto that knows them.
(30:10):
And it also kind of goes intomaking sure that we're providing
a good experience to whoever'sinterested in the company
because they might be morewilling to refer somebody that's
a better fit if they've acceptedanother opportunity or they know
somebody again that just mightbe more qualified.
SPEAKER_02 (30:33):
Yeah, yeah, I think so.
I think you're doing it rightwhen it's uh you know, even
Glassdoor these days, you canpeople can leave reviews for the
quality of the interviewprocess, even if they're not
hired, right?
SPEAKER_00 (30:42):
Um yeah, and I will have to say, like it used to be
the bane of my existence,Glassdoor.
Oh, yeah.
Especially because most peoplewho are likely to leave reviews
are the ones who have had anegative experience.
Seriously, and it's less likelyfor positive reviews unless
(31:05):
they're encouraged to, and atthat point, it almost doesn't
feel genuine.
SPEAKER_01 (31:10):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (31:11):
So I try to ignore them unless there's something
that is glaring that needs to beaddressed.
And it usually is, especiallywithin here.
SPEAKER_02 (31:24):
So your team, you don't ask employees to leave
glass door reviews because youfeel like if you ask, then it
excuse it or what I feel like itdoes.
SPEAKER_00 (31:35):
It is important.
Uh while, yes, I would encourageemployees if they're having a
positive experience here atQGenda to leave a review, but
we're not going to push itconstantly where it feels
disgenuine.
SPEAKER_02 (31:52):
Yeah, for sure.
So it has to be done in a like atasteful way.
Um, I think it's interesting.
One way that I've I've thoughtabout doing, I've implemented
this uh before at companies isto have it somewhere like in the
employee lifecycle, theonboarding life cycle, it can be
three months is like theabsolute earliest, but even at a
(32:12):
12 months check-in or a sixmonths check-in or something
where it's like a timing triggerwhere after a certain period of
time, something is sent outlike, hey, we'd love to hear
from you.
SPEAKER_00 (32:22):
Yeah, so we actually have that here.
We we implemented LeapSum twoyears ago as our primary survey
tool to get a feel for howemployees are feeling within
their journey at the company.
So the earliest survey that theyreceive is an onboarding survey
(32:44):
that's sent 30 days afterthey've started with a company.
And then again at 12 months tosee how their first year has
gone.
But then there are two times peryear where we do a poll survey
to get a good idea of how ourentire employee base is feeling.
(33:05):
We actually just did one at theend of December.
Probably a terrible time to doit because most people are
trying to wrap up for the restof the year or they're already
on holiday vacation, but itstill gave us a good insight
because we launched the firstpoll survey at the beginning of
(33:26):
the year, and it was a goodpicture to build on where we
ended.
SPEAKER_02 (33:30):
So at this point, right, you've been in the VP of
people role for QGenda, and Ithink you've been there for
what, I think like close to wasit three years or four years?
SPEAKER_00 (33:40):
So I'm coming up on four years this August with
QGenda.
I've realistically only been inthe VP of people role since the
end of June of last year.
Oh, okay, cool.
And it has been a fun journey.
Nice um because I seem to findmyself in positions where I have
(34:05):
to learn very quickly and beable to execute.
For sure.
Um at that time.
Well, like which role did youwere you in before that and then
so I've had um I've hadessentially three roles since
joining QGenda.
It seems I've done somethingevery single year.
(34:28):
I joined as the director oftalent acquisition until our HR
director left and I spoke withour chief people officer through
a career conversation of tellingher where I saw myself in 10
years, which was in a rolesimilar to hers, chief people
officer.
And being the director of peoplein talent, where I oversaw
(34:50):
recruiting still, but also ourHR business partner team, it
gave me an opportunity to reallydig into the employee experience
lifecycle for the company, fromhow we're hiring to when
somebody leaves andunderstanding how that person
felt as they were leaving andwhy.
(35:10):
And then I'm grateful for theopportunity.
Um, but when our chief peopleofficer left, they promoted me
to this role.
And it's been a fun journeysince then.
SPEAKER_02 (35:21):
So when you're looking at your future and who
you want to becomeprofessionally and as a leader,
what are you focusing on rightnow?
Like what how are you focusingon growing and continue to
improve?
SPEAKER_00 (35:34):
Yeah.
So for me right now, it'slearning about the areas that I
don't have a lot of experienceor knowledge in, which is total
rewards.
So learning about compensation,learning about benefits, um, and
how to shape that for employees,but also making sure that it
(35:55):
makes sense for the company.
Everything that I'm working onright now is juggling between
the employee experience andmaking sure that it makes sense
for the business, which isincredibly tough.
SPEAKER_02 (36:10):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (36:12):
Um, but also just as a leader and as a person, what
I'm working on is speaking upmore.
I realize when I'm in situationsor rooms where I'm unfamiliar
with the topic or the people inthe room in general, I'm usually
more reserved and quiet.
(36:32):
It's often noticed or it hasbeen brought up to me in the
past.
And what I'm working on is kindof gathering my thoughts quicker
so that I'm able to speak up inthe room.
SPEAKER_01 (36:44):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (36:45):
And that I don't understand why, but that's
always been really tough for me.
And so because I know that'stough for me, I know that might
be tough for some people on myteam who, whenever we're in the
room together, they're lesslikely to say something.
So it's making that consciouseffort to call them out and to
get them to open up becauseeveryone has an opinion or
(37:08):
perspective on something.
They might have a great idea.
Why not hear it?
SPEAKER_02 (37:12):
Sure.
So for your own development,getting more comfortable
speaking up in differentsituations, environments, and
different rooms, right?
Curious, how do you go aboutdoing it?
Is it really just about making aconscious effort?
Like, okay, I'm gonna get intothis meeting and I'm gonna say
something, like I'm gonna find away to.
I mean, how how do you approachthat?
(37:32):
Because I you're right.
I think that that's very that'svery normal, right?
Um, you know, sometimes it's uhparticularly if it's a new
environment, for instance, orit's again people that you may
not know as well.
Do you is there something you doto sort of like psychologically
pump yourself up, or what do youdo?
SPEAKER_00 (37:49):
Um well, professionally, I just try to
find out what the agenda is,what we're talking about.
Is it something that I'mintimately familiar with or need
to get familiar with?
But then also before thatmeeting, I'm always listening to
some type of EDM music to likepump myself up and get myself in
(38:10):
the mood to chat.
SPEAKER_02 (38:11):
Nice, okay, cool, cool.
Okay, so any uh EDM musicrecommendations?
SPEAKER_00 (38:16):
Oh man, right now it's kind of just going back to
it feels like 2014, 2015, likeAlesso, Blau, Above and Beyond.
All right, and like some goodhouse music too.
So like Cascade, Cascade,Cascade.
SPEAKER_02 (38:37):
Is that the one that did um what was it?
Didn't I'm trying to rememberthat rings a bell, but I can't
remember.
I feel like if I looked it up, Icould find I could remember the
songs.
That's some big songs, right?
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, EDM is solid.
Also, what I like about EDM isthat it's not like negative, you
know, it's like just so happy.
SPEAKER_00 (38:58):
Yeah, it's all about positive vibes, like loving
everybody, and it's just anothertype of culture that is feel
good, yeah.
Knowing everybody's totallydifferent, but everyone's also
there for a good time.
SPEAKER_02 (39:14):
Yeah.
Edium just makes me think oflike dancing on a beach or
something.
SPEAKER_00 (39:18):
Yes, absolutely.
SPEAKER_02 (39:19):
Right, yeah, that's awesome.
It's like a good, like, pump meup.
That's um, that's a goodtakeaway.
unknown (39:24):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (39:26):
Um, okay, cool.
So it sounds like you're in thischapter now where it's you've
advanced a ton professionally.
You're also you're still lookingat this, it's almost like this
professional and personalgrowth, putting yourself out
there, right?
Um, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (39:39):
Well, I'm also now in a position.
I'm sorry to interrupt.
Um, now I'm in a position wherea lot of people look at me to
make decisions.
And so I have to be confident inwhat I'm saying.
And that's sometimes scary tothink about.
SPEAKER_02 (39:57):
Yeah, of course.
Yeah.
Particularly um when you feellike you're coming in as a
leader too, and and you want tolead by example for your team,
right?
SPEAKER_00 (40:07):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (40:07):
Yeah.
But I think the cool thing isjust being able to be open about
it, right?
Because chances are they'refeeling the same way.
Or a lot of people are.
So I think two, it's like it'sokay.
I would say it's okay whenpeople see that, right?
Because it's like it's veryhuman and it's relatable.
I think I don't know.
I think one thing that like as aleader, like I've learned to be
more comfortable sharing thingswith my team, like areas for
(40:30):
improvement that I'm working on,things that I struggle with.
I feel like maybe earlier in mycareer when I was less
experienced, I really tried toput up this.
I don't want to say a facadebecause I was genuine.
It's just like it wasn't maybesharing the full picture of who
I was, but ultimately.
What that ended up doing is itkind of put a barrier between me
and other people where I didn'thave the same type of
(40:54):
relationships that I have now,which feel a lot closer, like in
different areas of my life, too.
It's not even professionally.
And I've noticed that thatactually has led to me being
like a much better leader.
And frankly, when it comes topeople making, you even like
talk about decision making, alot more collaborative and able
to relate and understand otherpeople and like really get their
(41:15):
perspective, right?
So it's like I think to anextent, like being vulnerable
and transparent about you knowthings that we're working on,
right?
Like it actually helps us bebetter leaders.
SPEAKER_00 (41:27):
Yeah.
Even I mean, I lean on my teamwho used to be my peers for
their expertise in the areasthat I'm unfamiliar familiar
with so that they can teach mesomething.
That's where I am as a leader.
Is like, how do I keep learning?
And thankfully, like I'm veryprivileged to have a great team
(41:50):
who can do that and also shareperspectives that I might not
have thought of originally orseen it from that way.
SPEAKER_02 (42:00):
Has learning how to delegate, do you feel like
that's been a learning curve ora shift?
SPEAKER_00 (42:07):
Yes.
Yes, absolutely.
Even before stepping into thisposition, I've always been the
type of person to get thingsdone and done quickly so that I
can move on to the next thing.
I can't do that in this role.
I can't manage everything, havethe answer for everything, do
(42:27):
everything for everyone.
So learning to delegate has beenum has definitely been an
experience where, or just ahabit that I've been building in
general is like really leaningin where somebody else can take
ownership and take also take thecredit for it.
So that way it frees up my timeto think about the bigger
(42:51):
picture.
What I also don't want tohappen, it's that delicate
balance of delegation, right?
Um, not overloading the teamwith everything that they have
to be responsible for too.
But also I don't want them tofeel like they can't say no if
they're overloaded.
And so for me, it's alwaysasking the question, like, hey,
(43:13):
do you have the bandwidth?
Because I need help with X.
SPEAKER_02 (43:16):
I feel like that's part of also building the
culture, you know, making surepeople feel comfortable
admitting mistakes or asking forhelp or saying no.
It's again, it's that gettingback to even what you said, like
you're working on it's likecontinuously, maybe there's like
this sense of connection andvulnerability and sharing like
where we're at in ourprofessional journeys and
creating that environment.
(43:36):
And it sounds like it's reallyimportant to you to lead by
example there because that'swhat allows other people to feel
comfortable being able to say noto you, for instance, right?
SPEAKER_00 (43:46):
Yeah.
Although I feel like I have ateam of very high performers who
are always willing to take newthings on.
So sometimes like I'm a littlebit more clinical on when I ask
for help or if I can just getsomething done because they're
most likely to say yes.
SPEAKER_02 (44:05):
Well, yeah, there's that too.
It's um, it's like I've I'vedefinitely had situations where
I, you know, you ask somebody ifthey have bandwidth and they
even despite my best efforts tocreate a culture where people
can say no, it's um sometimes alot of people just they don't
like saying no to the boss,right?
SPEAKER_01 (44:21):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (44:22):
You always it's like having your own kind of pulse
check on the situation.
SPEAKER_00 (44:25):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (44:26):
Kind of asking additional questions to uncover,
right?
SPEAKER_00 (44:29):
Well, the other thing that I've tried doing that
is somewhat working is justasking for volunteers, like in a
group setting, whenever I'mhaving a team meeting of I'm
working on this, but really needsomebody to take ownership of
this.
And somebody usually raisestheir hand.
SPEAKER_02 (44:49):
Hopefully.
SPEAKER_00 (44:50):
Hopefully, yes.
Actually, most of the time, yes.
Um, it's very rare that I haveto tell somebody to do
something.
But no, it it it's um it's alearning process.
There are times where it's verydifficult for me to let go
(45:11):
because it's something that I'vebuilt and I feel like I need to
be involved in just abouteverything, and that's not
always feasible.
I mean, nobody likes amicromanager either.
So I try to give everyone on myteam enough space to take
accountability for their rolewithin the organization, what
(45:33):
they should be doing, but thenasking for help when they need
it.
It seems to be going well, kindof.
SPEAKER_02 (45:42):
There you go.
Well, hey, look, I also wantedto talk to you a little bit
about how your definition ofsuccess has evolved over the
years since and now you're in aVP role versus when you're
starting out.
Um, what do you think's changed?
SPEAKER_00 (45:57):
Not much.
It's still the same, making asmuch money as I can.
SPEAKER_02 (46:04):
Fair enough.
SPEAKER_00 (46:08):
Um, I think it's because I'm also a Capricorn.
If you believe in zodiacs, it'sjust natural for me to have a
hard work ethic.
But I think that just comes frommy actual background, how I was
raised, and how I saw myparents.
But it's always my version ofsuccess is how do I get to the
(46:30):
top?
And I'm not quite there yet.
I'm just getting started.
SPEAKER_02 (46:34):
There you go.
What does the top look like foryou?
SPEAKER_00 (46:38):
Chief people officer of a company.
I made that clear to my bosspreviously, and it is still the
track that I want to be on.
SPEAKER_02 (46:49):
Seems like you're on the right track.
Well on your way.
SPEAKER_00 (46:52):
I'm getting there.
SPEAKER_02 (46:55):
Yeah.
So now that you're in yourprime, you've accomplished a
lot.
Final part of our episode today.
What advice do you have forpeople earlier in their journey,
starting out and recruiting orpeople ops that you can share
with them to help them get towhere you are?
SPEAKER_00 (47:11):
Oh man.
Speaking up, talking with theirmanager about how they want to
grow their career.
And if they're unsatisfied withthe answer, do some reflection
themselves, figuring out whatthey might be missing or pushing
for more feedback.
The other thing is to reallybuild adaptability and
(47:33):
resilience.
The world is constantlychanging.
Their company and processes willalways change, but it's how they
show up the next day after thatchange happens.
And it's usually out of theircontrol.
They can either adopt a negativeattitude about it and then their
work suffers, or they can acceptwhat just happens, learn what's
(47:57):
new, and then move on.
Because at the end of the day,it's how they show up at work,
making sure that they're doingwell, getting things done, and
then figuring out what do theywant to do next.
And it could be at the companythat they're at, or it could be
at another company.
SPEAKER_02 (48:14):
I love it.
Well, Annie, this has beenreally insightful.
I know that everyone tuning incan learn a lot from you and
your progression and what you'vebeen doing over the last several
years and the relatableexperiences and growth curves
that you've gone throughthroughout your career.
So thank you very much forjoining me today on the show.
SPEAKER_00 (48:33):
Thank you for having me.
It's been a really funexperience.
So I appreciate the invite.
SPEAKER_02 (48:38):
Yeah, it has.
Thank you everyone for joining us today.
Annie Andrews is on the show.
Annie's currently in the role ofVP of People, a QGEND, but
really looking forward to justgetting to know you as a person,
Annie.
SPEAKER_00 (01:01):
Yeah, James.
Looking forward to be on theshow today.
SPEAKER_02 (01:04):
Just like putting the emphasis on getting to know
you.
And of course, like we can getinto your position, what you're
up to currently.
But where are you frominitially?
SPEAKER_00 (01:11):
I'm from Atlanta.
I've been born and raised here.
I've tried to move away twice,but always find myself back.
I currently live in the Atlantasuburbs with my husband and our
two dogs.
So we're just settled here forthe long term.
SPEAKER_02 (01:26):
Nice.
Okay, cool, cool.
So, two dogs, what kind of dogsdo you have?
SPEAKER_00 (01:30):
I have a 12-year-old black lab pit named Leo and a
seven-year-old border collie,Aussie, Bernice mix.
unknown (01:39):
Nice.
SPEAKER_00 (01:40):
All very high energy, and it's never a dull
moment in our house.
SPEAKER_02 (01:45):
You said one of them was just like staring at you in
the doorway before we hitrecording.
SPEAKER_00 (01:49):
Yeah.
He um that was Leo.
He usually likes to just sleepin here, but I guess he knew
something was happening, so hewanted to get out of the house.
SPEAKER_02 (01:57):
Yeah.
They they sort of have the sixthsense, do they?
Don't they?
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (02:01):
They do.
SPEAKER_02 (02:02):
So I opened an office for my company's
go-to-market team in Rustin.
So I'm in office full-time now.
But when I was working fromhome, I have a French bulldog,
and he's deaf.
Like he can't even hear.
And he has one eye.
He's a happy, just to be clear,he's a very happy dog, but poor
little guy, he's got one eye andhe's deaf.
But I swear, it's like he knewwhen I was about to get on to
(02:23):
like an important call orsomething where I wanted it to
be quiet in the background orwhere I couldn't lean down to
pet him.
And that's exactly what he wouldcome over.
SPEAKER_00 (02:31):
Yeah, that's our border colleague, Grace.
He loves to look out my window.
And usually he just sits thereand stares.
But as soon as he sees somebodywalk by and I'm on a call, you
can I can hear him growling,getting ready to bark, while the
person that I'm talking to hasno idea what's about to happen.
SPEAKER_02 (02:50):
Yeah.
And you were just talking aboutbefore we record is funny.
It's like Zoom these days isreally good about editing out
background noise, but like ourbrains aren't necessarily still
distracting for us.
But it's it's even probablyfunnier because it's like people
may not know why I lookdistracted when OB's coming up
to me because they can't hearthem, but I can.
SPEAKER_00 (03:10):
So well, it's a great feature.
I'm assuming that occurredpost-COVID and kind of just
updating that because all of uswere most likely working from
home, distracted by kids, pets.
I know I was.
So it's nice that whoever I'mspeaking with doesn't really
hear what's going on in thebackground, even though it's
(03:33):
right here.
SPEAKER_02 (03:34):
Chaos.
SPEAKER_00 (03:35):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (03:36):
So Annie, what were you like as a kid?
SPEAKER_00 (03:38):
Oh man, I was a troublemaker, always bending,
breaking rules, creating chaosfor my parents.
I tried to do my best in school,but I found myself always
distracted by my peers or whatelse was going on versus my
studies.
I think I drove my parents alittle bit crazy.
SPEAKER_02 (03:59):
So you're really social?
SPEAKER_00 (04:00):
Yeah, really social, making friends anywhere and
everywhere.
My mom, as she's describing howI was as a child, it was I
didn't have any issues makingfriends or learning about people
who I was playing with on theplayground.
I've noticed that has driven whoI am as an adult.
(04:22):
While I am a little bit morereserved these days, and I don't
just automatically go say hi tosomebody new.
I'm still curious about peoplewhenever they're in my
environment, like closeenvironment.
SPEAKER_02 (04:37):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Um, but definitely I think a lotof people that ultimately get
into recruiting, they aredefinitely like people persons,
right?
Like they're social, they'retypically you know empathetic
and they're good listeners andthese types of things, right?
Um, not always.
SPEAKER_00 (04:50):
Yeah.
Well, as I as I sometimes seemyself as an unlicensed
therapist because for somereason, and I have no issue with
this.
I like to listen when somebodyhas a problem that they want to
solve or they just need a vent,but it seems that's how most
people gravitate towards me orwhere most of my conversations
(05:14):
seem to go with others.
SPEAKER_02 (05:15):
Nice.
So and you were like that as akid?
SPEAKER_00 (05:17):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (05:18):
So everybody would come to you and you would help
them get through trickysituations or big feelings,
stuff like that.
SPEAKER_00 (05:24):
Oh, yeah.
Sometimes they didn't want myadvice, but I would happily give
it.
SPEAKER_02 (05:30):
Yeah.
That's so that sounds like mydaughter.
She has an opinion, shedefinitely she has some some
thoughts for sure.
SPEAKER_00 (05:39):
Yeah, it's also a pre-warning that my husband has
to give me when he's ventingbecause he doesn't want a fix.
He's just getting it out there.
Yeah.
But in my brain, I'm like, ha,okay, what can he do?
What should he say?
And that's not what he wants.
SPEAKER_02 (05:55):
Yeah, you know, this actually seems to, it's coming
up a lot lately on our shows,speaking with different town
acquisition leaders.
I think a lot of people that youknow, when you get to that
director VP level, uhparticularly in the tech
industry or highly competitiveindustry that somebody's in,
it's it usually we're likereally solutions focused and
(06:17):
immediately diving intoproblem-solving mode.
SPEAKER_01 (06:20):
Yep.
SPEAKER_02 (06:21):
And I think it's interesting, it's like we're
also in a business though whereit's like very people-oriented,
and we can't really optimizerelationships and you can't
optimize it for time either.
And like listening is reallyimportant.
So I think for a lot of us, it'slike this balancing act of being
this aggressive go-getter,constantly living in okay, we
there's this gap between wherewe are, where we want to be, and
we need to get after it.
(06:42):
But then also, as you put it,right?
Like being able to just sort ofpause and listen, right?
SPEAKER_00 (06:47):
Yeah, take a step back.
I mean, I never saw myself inrecruiting.
I went to college forinternational affairs with an
intention to go intointernational politics.
That obviously did not happen.
Um, and I found myself inrecruiting.
(07:08):
I worked as a front officecoordinator for a very small
recruiting agency in Atlanta,serving executive assistants and
admin assistants across thecity.
Realized that I wanted to be arecruiter because of how they
were helping people find newopportunities, better
opportunities.
(07:28):
But that wasn't the job where Ireally got my or cut my teeth in
recruiting.
I was unsatisfied with theanswer that my former boss gave
me of how it takes a really longtime to be a recruiter.
And so that's when I realizedearly on in my career that I
needed to take charge of what Iwanted to do as a profession.
(07:50):
And all it just led to aconversation with now one of my
mentors who took a chance on meto get me into recruiting and
learning more about it.
And it's kind of just spiraledupwards since then.
SPEAKER_02 (08:05):
So your first ballster manager that said it
took a really long time to getinto recruiting.
What was the rationale?
What did they say it took solong to at that time?
SPEAKER_00 (08:15):
I didn't really dig into it.
The answer that I received wasit just takes a really long time
to be a recruiter.
And I didn't want to press itbecause it was also the owner of
the company.
And I was just dissatisfied.
I'm like, okay, well, whatshould I do then?
And that reflect on what it was.
(08:37):
But around the same time, Idon't know if you're spiritual
or the universe sayingsomething, but my now mentor,
former boss, he had reached outto me through LinkedIn with this
opportunity.
How could I say no?
SPEAKER_02 (08:51):
Yeah.
So what do you think makes agreat recruiter?
SPEAKER_00 (08:54):
Definitely someone who has good customer service,
is responsive, and understandsthe role and the team well.
They're not reading from ascript, they're actually
interested in learning about thecandidate or the person that
they're working through, theinterview process with.
(09:15):
It's difficult, but they don'tshy away from those tough
conversations.
It's also what I expect of myrecruiting team.
They should never let acandidate go through the process
without knowing how they'redoing.
If there's no update, tell thecandidate that there's no
update, but they're working onit instead of letting time go
by.
(09:35):
Because I think that just showsthe candidate that they care and
that they're trying the bestthat they can, even with as
little information that theyhave.
SPEAKER_02 (09:45):
Right.
No update is still an update orlike always overcommunicating.
SPEAKER_01 (09:49):
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02 (09:50):
I think with the hiring team as well, right?
There's particularly in tech andhigh growth environments,
sometimes hiring teams can havelike a fair amount of anxiety
over, particularly when youfirst kick off a role, like
getting those early wins.
Right.
Which I think is every townacquisition leader's nightmare.
It's like, okay, you just gottagive it like a little bit of
time.
We understand it needs to bedone yesterday, but you know,
we're on it.
So it's that thatover-communicating motion of
(10:12):
just constantly updating andsharing data.
SPEAKER_00 (10:15):
Well, that's where it's really important to have a
relationship with the hiringmanager or the hiring team and
knowing who they are.
Um, that way, as a recruiter,you go into a meeting with them,
set the expectation early on ofthe fact that the candidates not
just being interviewed by theteam, but they're also
(10:36):
interviewing the company andmaking sure that it's a mutual
fit.
And I just think if thatexpectation is set early on,
it's easier to work through theprocess.
SPEAKER_02 (10:46):
100%.
I wanted to talk to you a littlebit about just when you're
starting out and uh studyinginternational affairs.
I'm curious, what was yourfavorite class?
Just tell me about thatexperience.
What did you love about it?
SPEAKER_00 (10:59):
Oh man, that's tough.
It was always my geographyclasses, anything around people
and culture and learning aboutthe world and how different it
is from the US.
And that has also shaped how Iapproach recruiting in the sense
(11:20):
that everyone has differentbackgrounds, different
experiences.
And it's just taking time tolearn a little bit more about
that and what makes them happy.
It was less about the politics.
I guess I didn't really enjoythat much as I thought I would,
but it's more, it's always beenabout the people.
SPEAKER_02 (11:38):
Yeah, it's uh it sounds really interesting.
And I'm wondering too, how muchdo you feel like what you
studied in school influences howyou think about people and
recruiting and buildingcompanies today?
SPEAKER_00 (11:50):
Again, it goes back to the people, how I learned
about different cultures,histories, and religion, but we
won't get into that.
Um, and how that shapes a personin general.
And taking that into how Iapproach recruiting and just
understanding that the person infront of me has gone through
(12:13):
something that I probablyhaven't gone through, or they've
learned something that Ihaven't, and learning that from
them.
But also it's taught me to kindof put myself in their shoes.
I've also been a candidate, youknow.
Um, I have interviewed at jobsor companies where I didn't get
(12:35):
the role, but it always camedown to how I felt about the
interaction.
And I don't want, I don't everwant a candidate to feel like
they were ghosted or they didn'thave the right or enough
feedback or they had a reallynegative experience with the
hiring team.
It really just comes down tolike relationships and building
(12:59):
that throughout the time that Ihave with that other person.
SPEAKER_02 (13:03):
So, how do you get your team when you're hiring at
a larger level of scale, right?
To really focus and maintainrelationships while there's also
has to be an emphasis onsystems, right?
How do you strike that balanceand keep that really human
element in place and strongcandidate experience?
SPEAKER_00 (13:22):
That's a great question.
Um, well, again, I was just likesetting expectations with the
team on what my expectationswere in the fact that they
should be offering a high levelof customer service to whoever
they're working with.
It's not just the externalperson, it's also the internal
(13:43):
team.
We have internal and externalcustomers.
We've we have to understandwhat's going on at all times.
But it is a high-paceenvironment or fast-pace
environment, if you call it.
We're continuously hiringthroughout the year.
And thankfully, we havegreenhouse to keep us organized,
um, where it keeps all of therecruiters kind of on top of
(14:09):
where they are with each rolethat they own.
And so I haven't had much of anissue over the time that I've
been here with recruiters notgetting back to their teams.
Of course, there are slip-ups.
Not everybody's perfect.
We all do get very busy.
(14:29):
And it's just that friendlyreminder like, hey, don't
forget, let's follow up withthis person.
SPEAKER_02 (14:34):
It seems like almost more than um systems, too, just
like every other world we hirefor hiring the right recruiters
that have that top of mind thatseem to really care and have
maybe a high level of empathyand understanding and
accountability too, right?
It's not only just caring aboutpeople's experience, but it's
also just like that performancemindset and self-accountability
(14:56):
to deliver and and you know,over-communicate and all these
types of things, right?
I mean, how do you think aboutthat when you look at hiring
recruiters?
Like, how do you evaluate orwhat are you looking for?
SPEAKER_00 (15:07):
So you kind of just mentioned it accountability.
It's one of the values that Ihave as a person, a leader, and
my expectation of all of my teammembers is to really own up to
their responsibilities and theirmistakes.
And it's also what I look forwhen I'm hiring because I know
(15:33):
nobody's perfect.
I have also found myself in aposition that I've almost lost
my role for it.
But it's understanding like, didthey take accountability?
What did they learn from it?
And have they actuallyincorporated that into their
habits?
But also integrity, you know, Idon't think anybody likes to be
(15:58):
lied to, but it goes back toaccountability is like being
honest when it happens.
Like it's okay to make mistakes,it's figuring out how you move
on from it, being open andhonest about it.
SPEAKER_02 (16:11):
How do you create a culture where your team feels
comfortable?
I mean, it's it's again, it's alot of tiring the right people
that just hopefully there's likethis innate hopefully comfort or
they have enough experience orwhatever to open up in that way.
But I'm just wondering as aleader, how you think about
creating that type ofenvironment.
SPEAKER_00 (16:31):
For me, it's coming with a sense of vulnerability,
is having the same mindset,showing my team, especially when
I made the mistake and sayingthat openly or sharing a story
from a past or one of my pastroles where I made a mistake and
(16:54):
what happened.
And usually it encourages myteam to open up when something
like that happens.
I do find myself kind of justrepeating, like, it's okay,
share with me what's going on.
And I think that comes back tojust being that therapist for
folks and kind of just givingthat space to like open up.
SPEAKER_02 (17:17):
Yeah, I think so.
It's um making sure that youalso investing time in the
one-on-one relationships withevery person on your team.
Is that oh, absolutely?
SPEAKER_00 (17:26):
Not just learning about, you know, what their
strengths and weaknesses are asa professional, but it's also
learning about the person, whatmakes them tick, what do they do
outside of work?
What do they care about?
Because work makes money, butit's not everything.
And it's important to get thatholistic sense of who they are
(17:48):
as an individual.
SPEAKER_02 (17:49):
Yeah.
So speaking of which, I would becurious to learn more about
maybe some of the most impactfulpersonal experiences that you've
had that you feel like influencehow you work with people today
and how you think about hiring.
Is there anything that reallystands out throughout your life
as something that's been reallyimpactful and how you operate
today as a leader?
SPEAKER_00 (18:09):
Oh, that's tough.
I know we talked about thisbefore.
Um, and I've had some reflectionto do.
It's still really difficult tofigure out what those moments
were.
One that sticks out, especiallyon how I approach hiring, is
just when I was laid off fromone trust and had to find
(18:30):
another opportunity quickly,despite seeing myself at that
company for a really long timeand applying to roles, going
through the interview processall the way to the final
interview, only to find out thatI didn't get the opportunity.
And along the way, actually, Iwas ghosted so many times, and
(18:52):
that hurt.
And so I never want anyone tofeel, especially if they're
coming to interview at thiscompany, that they're not
getting what they need.
Again, nobody's perfect.
We do get quite a fewapplications, and I only have a
very small team of three goingthrough each application to fill
(19:17):
the roles that are open.
But for whoever's in process,I'm hopeful that they're getting
a positive experience with therecruiters.
SPEAKER_02 (19:26):
So when you were going through that job
transition and so things didn'twork out at one trust, and you
were actively interviewing andgoing through the ups and downs
of how challenging that can be,um how did you navigate that?
That's something that a lot ofpeople are going through, these
like layoffs and jobtransitions, probably now more
than ever, the last five yearshave been, I think a lot of
(19:48):
people would define as sort ofcrazy in the job market, uh,
particularly within tech.
So, how did you stay on top ofyour psychology and go through
the ups and downs anddisappointments and really stay
focused?
I mean, what was your processfor navigating that?
SPEAKER_00 (20:05):
Good question.
Um, thankfully, I had a goodsupport system, my husband, but
also kind of just staying activeat the gym, being outside.
It was during summertime.
So it was also a good time tojust reset and take a step back
to understand what I was lookingfor in the next company that I
(20:26):
joined.
Thankfully, we did have quite afew summer plans that kept my
mind off of the difficultiesthat I was having throughout
interviewing until getting theopportunity that I'm now at with
QGENDF.
SPEAKER_02 (20:42):
Where did you get to travel?
SPEAKER_00 (20:43):
We went up to Washington, DC.
For 4th of July.
Went to 30A with my mom.
It's an annual trip.
Where else do we go?
SPEAKER_02 (20:55):
You said 30A?
SPEAKER_00 (20:56):
Yeah, so Destin, Miramar in Florida.
SPEAKER_02 (20:59):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (21:00):
If you haven't been, I highly recommend it.
SPEAKER_02 (21:03):
What's it like?
SPEAKER_00 (21:04):
It is like turquoise waters, really peaceful,
although it's gotten morepopular over the years.
So you're gonna run intomultiple crowds.
But even during the off season,it's just relaxing.
We always get a condo on thebeach or facing the beach where
we can open the balcony to hearthe water.
(21:27):
And it just, I don't know, it'slike the best place on earth.
SPEAKER_02 (21:31):
Well, so look, I you know, I'm excited to learn also
just more about what you'rebuilding now at QDenda.
You're in this role now whereyou have made it to a VP of
people, as far as I understand,overseeing talent acquisition
and people ops, is that right?
Yes.
Okay, cool.
What is your team looking toaccomplish over the next year?
And just it'd be cool tounderstand what those goals are.
(21:53):
And then we can also talk aboutyour own professional
development and personaldevelopment and how you plan on
accomplishing those goals.
I'd love to have thatconversation.
SPEAKER_00 (22:01):
Kind of what we're working on right now,
specifically, is a core valuesrefresh.
We've had our core values forquite some time, figuring out if
those values still suit where weare as an organization.
So we're still early on in theprocess.
(22:22):
We're gonna go into focus groupswith employees across the
organization to get theirperspective, but also getting
leadership perspective as welland marrying those two together.
But the other one is justfiguring out how we can help
support re-energizing QGENDA'sculture.
(22:43):
Post-COVID, it's beenchallenging to manage an
employee base that's remote andin office here in Atlanta.
And then we have the additionalchallenge of the company that we
acquired last year, who's basedin Ohio, and kind of making sure
that they're integrated into ourculture, but understanding what
(23:08):
motivates employees outside ofcompensation.
Everyone wants to be paid well,I get it.
But how do we foster better teamcollaboration to solve problems
that can move the businessforward?
So that's what we're working on.
SPEAKER_02 (23:27):
So specifically collaboration in a largely
remote culture, that'schallenging.
And you know what's interestingis so I opened an office
recently specifically to build ago-to-market team for my
company.
And the rest of my company isremote.
And it's been fascinating to seereally just how much faster
we've been able to move and howmuch easier it is to collaborate
(23:51):
being in person.
And it's sort of I've kind ofgone like full circle on remote,
where at first I was all aboutit.
I was like, Oh, we don't need tomeet.
SPEAKER_00 (24:00):
Yeah, well, there are pros and cons, right?
Right to everything.
And having a remote workforce,it builds a door where you're
able to access more talent.
However, it is very difficult toget those employees feeling
connected to the culture whenthey're not in person.
SPEAKER_01 (24:23):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (24:24):
And that is something that we're
recognizing.
I don't think we're the onlycompany going through these
challenges at all, but it iseasier to collaborate in person
because everyone's just rightthere.
If you have a whiteboard, youcan have a full discussion,
write things out.
You're also able to read likehow people are feeling versus
(24:46):
being on Zoom.
SPEAKER_02 (24:48):
Yeah.
How do you help people becomemore connected when they're
remote?
What does that really look like?
Because it's it is it's reallychallenging, right?
SPEAKER_00 (24:56):
Yeah, no, it definitely is.
So currently, we offer monthlyand quarterly events that invite
remote employees to joinvirtually through learning about
like whatever our culture vibepatrol has planned for the month
in learning about MLK, BlackHistory Month, or some type of
(25:22):
heritage month.
But also we have gosh, what elsehave we done?
We've done a holiday event forour remote employees, actually,
where we invited all of thecompany to join.
We had dueling pianos andtrivia.
A lot of people were engaged.
It was fun.
It's always a hit.
(25:43):
Um, but then we also have twoevents for our sales or
go-to-market team and our proddev team, where they have an
annual summit that allows remoteemployees to come here in person
as well.
So there are differentopportunities that we try to
keep our remote folks engaged.
(26:05):
It's not perfect, um, but we'restill working through how to
make that better.
SPEAKER_02 (26:11):
Well, yeah, and it's great that you do essentially an
annual event where all of yourremote team does come in person.
So, I mean, I think that that'sreally important too, right?
Like doing an off-site or havingsome kind of annual event with
whether it's an SKO or somethinguh that pulls everybody
together.
SPEAKER_00 (26:27):
Yeah.
I mean, SKO is going on rightnow.
It's the second day.
SPEAKER_01 (26:31):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (26:32):
Uh, where our sales marketing and marketing team are
together to look forward to thisyear and how do we improve from
the last?
SPEAKER_02 (26:42):
Yeah, for sure.
Um, that that is uh in Atlanta.
SPEAKER_00 (26:46):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (26:47):
Are you basically it is how big is the team in
Atlanta?
SPEAKER_00 (26:52):
Oh gosh.
Uh probably about 425.
SPEAKER_02 (26:58):
Okay, that's a fair amount.
And then um remotely.
SPEAKER_00 (27:01):
Remotely, about half of that as well.
Actually, take it back.
We have over 500 employees herein Atlanta.
Some about 425 come into theoffice on any week within any
week.
And then we have some Atlantaremote folks that live near the
office, but they're on a teamthat doesn't really require it.
SPEAKER_01 (27:23):
Got it.
SPEAKER_00 (27:24):
But then the other third of the company is fully
remote.
SPEAKER_02 (27:28):
So that's actually what I was gonna ask you is how
does your team determine whetheror not when you're opening new
roles, whether or not it shouldbe in Atlanta or remote?
SPEAKER_00 (27:35):
So previously it really depended on the team and
what their needs were.
However, coming into this year,we have adopted more of an
Atlanta first mindset where wewant people here in Atlanta.
So the only times that we'll goremote from this point forward
(27:59):
is if it's a role that isextremely hard to fill, like a
development role or an example,where the team should have
exhausted and the very diversetalent pool here in Atlanta
first before considering goingexternally.
And that's where we had theconversation about it.
Yeah.
But previously, it was reallyany team that had remote folks
(28:24):
and figuring out like if it didmake sense for them to be
remote.
SPEAKER_02 (28:27):
Yeah, yeah, it makes sense.
And so it's primarily, would yousay, more so on the engineering
side?
SPEAKER_00 (28:33):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (28:33):
Yeah, okay, cool.
What about international?
Like what any presence there?
SPEAKER_00 (28:38):
Or no, we are just here in the US.
SPEAKER_02 (28:41):
That makes things a little easier, I guess, right?
SPEAKER_00 (28:44):
It does.
I have hired internationally,and it's always fun um to learn
about different employment laws.
SPEAKER_02 (28:52):
Yeah, well, I guess now it's a little easier.
They have like deal and some ofthese other, but I guess when
you're getting to around companysize that uh you're at right
now, I don't know if you canstill leverage companies like
Deal or if that's more of an SMBor a smaller SMB solution.
I'm assuming it just gets morecomplicated the bigger the
company gets, right?
SPEAKER_00 (29:11):
It does, but it's always a good challenge to have.
I don't think we've really hadany issue of finding good talent
here in Atlanta either.
SPEAKER_02 (29:19):
Well, that's good.
That's great.
That's also one of the reasonsit's like the employer branding
candidate experience is soimportant for working like
within one market.
Yeah.
Particularly if it's one market.
I mean, even if it's not, butyou know, you really want to
have strong relationships withthe market and even with the
candidates you may not hireinitially.
You might want to circle back orthey might know people.
(29:40):
It's just like it's a smallworld's always smaller than we
think when it comes to creatinggood experiences.
SPEAKER_00 (29:48):
No, uh, very, very true.
Even when I was navigatingthrough my own job transition, I
leveraged my network quite abit.
And it also made me realize howimportant it is to invest in
certain relationships becauseyou never know who they're gonna
know or who you're gonna runinto that knows them.
(30:10):
And it also kind of goes intomaking sure that we're providing
a good experience to whoever'sinterested in the company
because they might be morewilling to refer somebody that's
a better fit if they've acceptedanother opportunity or they know
somebody again that just mightbe more qualified.
SPEAKER_02 (30:33):
Yeah, yeah, I think so.
I think you're doing it rightwhen it's uh you know, even
Glassdoor these days, you canpeople can leave reviews for the
quality of the interviewprocess, even if they're not
hired, right?
SPEAKER_00 (30:42):
Um yeah, and I will have to say, like it used to be
the bane of my existence,Glassdoor.
Oh, yeah.
Especially because most peoplewho are likely to leave reviews
are the ones who have had anegative experience.
Seriously, and it's less likelyfor positive reviews unless
(31:05):
they're encouraged to, and atthat point, it almost doesn't
feel genuine.
SPEAKER_01 (31:10):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (31:11):
So I try to ignore them unless there's something
that is glaring that needs to beaddressed.
And it usually is, especiallywithin here.
SPEAKER_02 (31:24):
So your team, you don't ask employees to leave
glass door reviews because youfeel like if you ask, then it
excuse it or what I feel like itdoes.
SPEAKER_00 (31:35):
It is important.
Uh while, yes, I would encourageemployees if they're having a
positive experience here atQGenda to leave a review, but
we're not going to push itconstantly where it feels
disgenuine.
SPEAKER_02 (31:52):
Yeah, for sure.
So it has to be done in a like atasteful way.
Um, I think it's interesting.
One way that I've I've thoughtabout doing, I've implemented
this uh before at companies isto have it somewhere like in the
employee lifecycle, theonboarding life cycle, it can be
three months is like theabsolute earliest, but even at a
(32:12):
12 months check-in or a sixmonths check-in or something
where it's like a timing triggerwhere after a certain period of
time, something is sent outlike, hey, we'd love to hear
from you.
SPEAKER_00 (32:22):
Yeah, so we actually have that here.
We we implemented LeapSum twoyears ago as our primary survey
tool to get a feel for howemployees are feeling within
their journey at the company.
So the earliest survey that theyreceive is an onboarding survey
(32:44):
that's sent 30 days afterthey've started with a company.
And then again at 12 months tosee how their first year has
gone.
But then there are two times peryear where we do a poll survey
to get a good idea of how ourentire employee base is feeling.
(33:05):
We actually just did one at theend of December.
Probably a terrible time to doit because most people are
trying to wrap up for the restof the year or they're already
on holiday vacation, but itstill gave us a good insight
because we launched the firstpoll survey at the beginning of
(33:26):
the year, and it was a goodpicture to build on where we
ended.
SPEAKER_02 (33:30):
So at this point, right, you've been in the VP of
people role for QGenda, and Ithink you've been there for
what, I think like close to wasit three years or four years?
SPEAKER_00 (33:40):
So I'm coming up on four years this August with
QGenda.
I've realistically only been inthe VP of people role since the
end of June of last year.
Oh, okay, cool.
And it has been a fun journey.
Nice um because I seem to findmyself in positions where I have
(34:05):
to learn very quickly and beable to execute.
For sure.
Um at that time.
Well, like which role did youwere you in before that and then
so I've had um I've hadessentially three roles since
joining QGenda.
It seems I've done somethingevery single year.
(34:28):
I joined as the director oftalent acquisition until our HR
director left and I spoke withour chief people officer through
a career conversation of tellingher where I saw myself in 10
years, which was in a rolesimilar to hers, chief people
officer.
And being the director of peoplein talent, where I oversaw
(34:50):
recruiting still, but also ourHR business partner team, it
gave me an opportunity to reallydig into the employee experience
lifecycle for the company, fromhow we're hiring to when
somebody leaves andunderstanding how that person
felt as they were leaving andwhy.
(35:10):
And then I'm grateful for theopportunity.
Um, but when our chief peopleofficer left, they promoted me
to this role.
And it's been a fun journeysince then.
SPEAKER_02 (35:21):
So when you're looking at your future and who
you want to becomeprofessionally and as a leader,
what are you focusing on rightnow?
Like what how are you focusingon growing and continue to
improve?
SPEAKER_00 (35:34):
Yeah.
So for me right now, it'slearning about the areas that I
don't have a lot of experienceor knowledge in, which is total
rewards.
So learning about compensation,learning about benefits, um, and
how to shape that for employees,but also making sure that it
(35:55):
makes sense for the company.
Everything that I'm working onright now is juggling between
the employee experience andmaking sure that it makes sense
for the business, which isincredibly tough.
SPEAKER_02 (36:10):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (36:12):
Um, but also just as a leader and as a person, what
I'm working on is speaking upmore.
I realize when I'm in situationsor rooms where I'm unfamiliar
with the topic or the people inthe room in general, I'm usually
more reserved and quiet.
(36:32):
It's often noticed or it hasbeen brought up to me in the
past.
And what I'm working on is kindof gathering my thoughts quicker
so that I'm able to speak up inthe room.
SPEAKER_01 (36:44):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (36:45):
And that I don't understand why, but that's
always been really tough for me.
And so because I know that'stough for me, I know that might
be tough for some people on myteam who, whenever we're in the
room together, they're lesslikely to say something.
So it's making that consciouseffort to call them out and to
get them to open up becauseeveryone has an opinion or
(37:08):
perspective on something.
They might have a great idea.
Why not hear it?
SPEAKER_02 (37:12):
Sure.
So for your own development,getting more comfortable
speaking up in differentsituations, environments, and
different rooms, right?
Curious, how do you go aboutdoing it?
Is it really just about making aconscious effort?
Like, okay, I'm gonna get intothis meeting and I'm gonna say
something, like I'm gonna find away to.
I mean, how how do you approachthat?
(37:32):
Because I you're right.
I think that that's very that'svery normal, right?
Um, you know, sometimes it's uhparticularly if it's a new
environment, for instance, orit's again people that you may
not know as well.
Do you is there something you doto sort of like psychologically
pump yourself up, or what do youdo?
SPEAKER_00 (37:49):
Um well, professionally, I just try to
find out what the agenda is,what we're talking about.
Is it something that I'mintimately familiar with or need
to get familiar with?
But then also before thatmeeting, I'm always listening to
some type of EDM music to likepump myself up and get myself in
(38:10):
the mood to chat.
SPEAKER_02 (38:11):
Nice, okay, cool, cool.
Okay, so any uh EDM musicrecommendations?
SPEAKER_00 (38:16):
Oh man, right now it's kind of just going back to
it feels like 2014, 2015, likeAlesso, Blau, Above and Beyond.
All right, and like some goodhouse music too.
So like Cascade, Cascade,Cascade.
SPEAKER_02 (38:37):
Is that the one that did um what was it?
Didn't I'm trying to rememberthat rings a bell, but I can't
remember.
I feel like if I looked it up, Icould find I could remember the
songs.
That's some big songs, right?
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, EDM is solid.
Also, what I like about EDM isthat it's not like negative, you
know, it's like just so happy.
SPEAKER_00 (38:58):
Yeah, it's all about positive vibes, like loving
everybody, and it's just anothertype of culture that is feel
good, yeah.
Knowing everybody's totallydifferent, but everyone's also
there for a good time.
SPEAKER_02 (39:14):
Yeah.
Edium just makes me think oflike dancing on a beach or
something.
SPEAKER_00 (39:18):
Yes, absolutely.
SPEAKER_02 (39:19):
Right, yeah, that's awesome.
It's like a good, like, pump meup.
That's um, that's a goodtakeaway.
unknown (39:24):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (39:26):
Um, okay, cool.
So it sounds like you're in thischapter now where it's you've
advanced a ton professionally.
You're also you're still lookingat this, it's almost like this
professional and personalgrowth, putting yourself out
there, right?
Um, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (39:39):
Well, I'm also now in a position.
I'm sorry to interrupt.
Um, now I'm in a position wherea lot of people look at me to
make decisions.
And so I have to be confident inwhat I'm saying.
And that's sometimes scary tothink about.
SPEAKER_02 (39:57):
Yeah, of course.
Yeah.
Particularly um when you feellike you're coming in as a
leader too, and and you want tolead by example for your team,
right?
SPEAKER_00 (40:07):
Yes.
SPEAKER_02 (40:07):
Yeah.
But I think the cool thing isjust being able to be open about
it, right?
Because chances are they'refeeling the same way.
Or a lot of people are.
So I think two, it's like it'sokay.
I would say it's okay whenpeople see that, right?
Because it's like it's veryhuman and it's relatable.
I think I don't know.
I think one thing that like as aleader, like I've learned to be
more comfortable sharing thingswith my team, like areas for
(40:30):
improvement that I'm working on,things that I struggle with.
I feel like maybe earlier in mycareer when I was less
experienced, I really tried toput up this.
I don't want to say a facadebecause I was genuine.
It's just like it wasn't maybesharing the full picture of who
I was, but ultimately.
What that ended up doing is itkind of put a barrier between me
and other people where I didn'thave the same type of
(40:54):
relationships that I have now,which feel a lot closer, like in
different areas of my life, too.
It's not even professionally.
And I've noticed that thatactually has led to me being
like a much better leader.
And frankly, when it comes topeople making, you even like
talk about decision making, alot more collaborative and able
to relate and understand otherpeople and like really get their
(41:15):
perspective, right?
So it's like I think to anextent, like being vulnerable
and transparent about you knowthings that we're working on,
right?
Like it actually helps us bebetter leaders.
SPEAKER_00 (41:27):
Yeah.
Even I mean, I lean on my teamwho used to be my peers for
their expertise in the areasthat I'm unfamiliar familiar
with so that they can teach mesomething.
That's where I am as a leader.
Is like, how do I keep learning?
And thankfully, like I'm veryprivileged to have a great team
(41:50):
who can do that and also shareperspectives that I might not
have thought of originally orseen it from that way.
SPEAKER_02 (42:00):
Has learning how to delegate, do you feel like
that's been a learning curve ora shift?
SPEAKER_00 (42:07):
Yes.
Yes, absolutely.
Even before stepping into thisposition, I've always been the
type of person to get thingsdone and done quickly so that I
can move on to the next thing.
I can't do that in this role.
I can't manage everything, havethe answer for everything, do
(42:27):
everything for everyone.
So learning to delegate has beenum has definitely been an
experience where, or just ahabit that I've been building in
general is like really leaningin where somebody else can take
ownership and take also take thecredit for it.
So that way it frees up my timeto think about the bigger
(42:51):
picture.
What I also don't want tohappen, it's that delicate
balance of delegation, right?
Um, not overloading the teamwith everything that they have
to be responsible for too.
But also I don't want them tofeel like they can't say no if
they're overloaded.
And so for me, it's alwaysasking the question, like, hey,
(43:13):
do you have the bandwidth?
Because I need help with X.
SPEAKER_02 (43:16):
I feel like that's part of also building the
culture, you know, making surepeople feel comfortable
admitting mistakes or asking forhelp or saying no.
It's again, it's that gettingback to even what you said, like
you're working on it's likecontinuously, maybe there's like
this sense of connection andvulnerability and sharing like
where we're at in ourprofessional journeys and
creating that environment.
(43:36):
And it sounds like it's reallyimportant to you to lead by
example there because that'swhat allows other people to feel
comfortable being able to say noto you, for instance, right?
SPEAKER_00 (43:46):
Yeah.
Although I feel like I have ateam of very high performers who
are always willing to take newthings on.
So sometimes like I'm a littlebit more clinical on when I ask
for help or if I can just getsomething done because they're
most likely to say yes.
SPEAKER_02 (44:05):
Well, yeah, there's that too.
It's um, it's like I've I'vedefinitely had situations where
I, you know, you ask somebody ifthey have bandwidth and they
even despite my best efforts tocreate a culture where people
can say no, it's um sometimes alot of people just they don't
like saying no to the boss,right?
SPEAKER_01 (44:21):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (44:22):
You always it's like having your own kind of pulse
check on the situation.
SPEAKER_00 (44:25):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (44:26):
Kind of asking additional questions to uncover,
right?
SPEAKER_00 (44:29):
Well, the other thing that I've tried doing that
is somewhat working is justasking for volunteers, like in a
group setting, whenever I'mhaving a team meeting of I'm
working on this, but really needsomebody to take ownership of
this.
And somebody usually raisestheir hand.
SPEAKER_02 (44:49):
Hopefully.
SPEAKER_00 (44:50):
Hopefully, yes.
Actually, most of the time, yes.
Um, it's very rare that I haveto tell somebody to do
something.
But no, it it it's um it's alearning process.
There are times where it's verydifficult for me to let go
(45:11):
because it's something that I'vebuilt and I feel like I need to
be involved in just abouteverything, and that's not
always feasible.
I mean, nobody likes amicromanager either.
So I try to give everyone on myteam enough space to take
accountability for their rolewithin the organization, what
(45:33):
they should be doing, but thenasking for help when they need
it.
It seems to be going well, kindof.
SPEAKER_02 (45:42):
There you go.
Well, hey, look, I also wantedto talk to you a little bit
about how your definition ofsuccess has evolved over the
years since and now you're in aVP role versus when you're
starting out.
Um, what do you think's changed?
SPEAKER_00 (45:57):
Not much.
It's still the same, making asmuch money as I can.
SPEAKER_02 (46:04):
Fair enough.
SPEAKER_00 (46:08):
Um, I think it's because I'm also a Capricorn.
If you believe in zodiacs, it'sjust natural for me to have a
hard work ethic.
But I think that just comes frommy actual background, how I was
raised, and how I saw myparents.
But it's always my version ofsuccess is how do I get to the
(46:30):
top?
And I'm not quite there yet.
I'm just getting started.
SPEAKER_02 (46:34):
There you go.
What does the top look like foryou?
SPEAKER_00 (46:38):
Chief people officer of a company.
I made that clear to my bosspreviously, and it is still the
track that I want to be on.
SPEAKER_02 (46:49):
Seems like you're on the right track.
Well on your way.
SPEAKER_00 (46:52):
I'm getting there.
SPEAKER_02 (46:55):
Yeah.
So now that you're in yourprime, you've accomplished a
lot.
Final part of our episode today.
What advice do you have forpeople earlier in their journey,
starting out and recruiting orpeople ops that you can share
with them to help them get towhere you are?
SPEAKER_00 (47:11):
Oh man.
Speaking up, talking with theirmanager about how they want to
grow their career.
And if they're unsatisfied withthe answer, do some reflection
themselves, figuring out whatthey might be missing or pushing
for more feedback.
The other thing is to reallybuild adaptability and
(47:33):
resilience.
The world is constantlychanging.
Their company and processes willalways change, but it's how they
show up the next day after thatchange happens.
And it's usually out of theircontrol.
They can either adopt a negativeattitude about it and then their
work suffers, or they can acceptwhat just happens, learn what's
(47:57):
new, and then move on.
Because at the end of the day,it's how they show up at work,
making sure that they're doingwell, getting things done, and
then figuring out what do theywant to do next.
And it could be at the companythat they're at, or it could be
at another company.
SPEAKER_02 (48:14):
I love it.
Well, Annie, this has beenreally insightful.
I know that everyone tuning incan learn a lot from you and
your progression and what you'vebeen doing over the last several
years and the relatableexperiences and growth curves
that you've gone throughthroughout your career.
So thank you very much forjoining me today on the show.
SPEAKER_00 (48:33):
Thank you for having me.
It's been a really funexperience.
So I appreciate the invite.
SPEAKER_02 (48:38):
Yeah, it has.
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