Shaunta Collier-Rankin

▶0:00IntroWelcome to the Built by People podcast, where we share the stories and insights of the world's top HR leaders. Join us as we dive deep into the minds of HR executives, uncovering their strategies, challenges, and triumphs in shaping today's workforce.

▶0:43HostI'm excited to welcome Shante Collier Rankin to the Build by People podcast today. Shante, thanks so much for joining us.

▶0:50GuestThank you for having me.

▶0:52HostAbsolutely. Hey, as a starting question, I always love to ask if you can share more about your career journey. What got you here?

▶1:00GuestWell, it wouldn't be what typically works for everybody. It's, I actually fell into human resources, and I do mean that literally fell into human resources. I have a longstanding background in training, professional development, major gift fundraising, public relations, and marketing, and happened to be in a room giving a presentation. Someone heard me and asked me if I might I have ever considered a career in the HR area, sat down, had a conversation, and that was 4 times ago, because this is my 4th time back in human resources now here at CCSI, and I am loving every single minute of it.

▶1:45HostI love that. That's awesome. Well, as you, you know, look at your current status, What's, what's your top priority this quarter then, as an HR professional?

▶1:56GuestThis quarter, top priority is honestly year-end wrap-up, and with a heavy focus on staff retention and growth. You know, truly looking at every employee where they stand. We're rolling out a career lattice professional development tie-in that will help us to achieve many of our retention goals, which Every organization out there is doing its best to make certain that we're not losing people that could be staying, right? Because many people leave sometimes not just because they're unhappy, but sometimes they'll go someplace for an extra dollar, not realizing that there's an extra $5 right here at home, right? So really doing my best to continue to be connected with all of our staff to ensure that they understand that there's a path forward for them right here at CCS.

▶2:48HostI love that. What's the biggest challenge you're currently facing in HR?

▶2:53GuestThe greatest challenge is honestly communicating and navigating systems that may not be 100% what we need. We are in the midst of an enterprise-wide system implementation project here, which means that we're backing out of our current human resource platform. And going into the unknown, right? It's unknown because we are still waiting for things to be configured. So there's a little bit of hesitancy, if you will, with regard to will it do what we currently have now. And our hope is definitely that, you know, because we're fully invested in this, that it will give us what we need, or at least we'll be able to build a workaround. Just don't want to lose any of the traction that we've gained so far over the past few years with automating a lot of our processes. And making it very easy for our staff to be able to access their own personnel information when they need that.

▶3:50HostAlong those lines, what's keeping you up at night? Or better stated, maybe what's a recent situation where things broke down and you needed to figure it out?

▶3:59GuestWell, I would just say that we've had some situations as we're navigating this enterprise-wide change where a simple change to the way that a column is headed in a file feed can delay, if not halt the processing of contributions or benefits enrollments and things of that nature. So digging to the bottom of that, getting to the bottom of that, and solving that with our current partners while also making sure that we're thinking forward about how that will integrate when we eventually do transition over. So making sure that our data is accurate and up to date and that there are no issues where we've missed an opportunity to ensure that a staff's desires for their income and benefit selections are happening in real time as they should. Because nobody ever wants to do catch-up payments, you know, if our system has failed, you know?

▶4:56HostNo, absolutely. I agree. And you mentioned, you know, kind of an emphasis there on some tools. And so my next question is around that. Which tools or partners are most critical to you today? And if I could wave a magic wand and fix one system or process, what would it be?

▶5:14GuestOh my gosh, our employee status changes that happen that need to be initiated by a supervisor. Our human resource information systems platform is— it's the lifeblood. It's the lifeblood of any HR team that's out there because everything that happens in an employee lifecycle goes through that system from their application as a new candidate for employment, through the offer stage, through the background check stage, through them actually showing up for new employee orientation, then selecting their benefits, performance management, everything in between, right? So having a partner that is responsive, that is engaged, that understands what your business needs are almost better than you do is critical for any HR person, any HR team, anywhere in the United States and beyond. Because without that, that means that we're back to the good old paper and pencil days. And, you know, that's just not a comfortable spot to be in because, as we all know, every employee wants everything done now. They don't want to wait, you know? So, those would be some of the things that, you know, that we would expect in a partner that would be working with us. And I will admit, there are— I've worked out with a couple of different platforms, a couple of different vendors. And that is still an area that needs great development because it's often the customer service component is missing. There isn't that strong linkage to that vendor seeing themselves as a full partner in the work that you're doing, because that's what's going to keep us there long-term. That's great.

▶6:59HostWell, if I came back in 12 months, Shontay, what would you hope has changed within your organization or with in your HR team?

▶7:08GuestI would say that our organization would have fully implemented the enterprise-wide system, and it's working perfectly, that everything that we need from an HR perspective is functioning better than it should, and that our staff are navigating that system without any frustration, without any hesitation. And, you know, we are fully staffed and we've been able to decrease our turnover rate by that 10% that we're aiming for this year.

▶7:39HostI love that. And yeah, that's very impactful. What parting advice would you like to share with our community or with aspiring HR professionals?

▶7:48GuestI would say that, you know, for anyone aspiring to enter into this field, you know, I would strongly encourage you to do so. Human resources has definitely come a long way from my first time in the field, you know, working at Champion Products in the early '90s to now, you know, serving as a vice president of human resources for a not-for-profit management services organization. I will say that this is business. Not-for-profit space is business. Human resources is a strategic partner. We have to make room for ourselves at the various tables in order to ensure that we're able to deliver for our internal and external customers and demonstrate the value that our teams bring to the table because we understand the complexities of people. And we're also part of the solution for bridging the gap that exists between people, helping supervisors and employees to better understand how they can coexist while getting the work done. I would just encourage them to pursue this field and know that what you bring to it is your own imagination, your own creativity, and staying focused on the solutions, no matter what it looks like right now, knowing that you have the power to make it different.

▶9:06HostI love that perspective. Thank you, Shontay. You're, you're a wonderful person. Thank you for joining us today on the Built By People Podcast. It was a pleasure having you.

▶9:14GuestThank you. It was a pleasure to be here. Thanks for the opportunity.

▶9:17HostAbsolutely.