Shaunta Collier-Rankin
Vice President of HR
CCSI
Episode 28
From Cost Center to Growth Engine: The Strategic Evolution of HR
Current chapter: Build by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleOctober 16, 2025 · 9:18
Thesis
“HR is a strategic business partner that plays a critical role in bridging the gap between employees and supervisors, fostering career growth, and delivering value through robust, user-friendly human resource information systems.”
Show notes
Summary
In this episode of the Built By People podcast, Shaunta Collier-Rankin shares her unique journey into human resources, emphasizing her focus on staff retention and growth. She discusses the challenges of navigating system implementations and the importance of having responsive HR tools. Shantae also highlights her aspirations for the future of her organization and offers valuable advice for aspiring HR professionals, stressing the strategic role of HR in business.
Takeaways
- Shaunta fell into human resources unexpectedly.
- Her top priority is staff retention and growth.
- Navigating system changes is a significant challenge.
- The HR platform is essential for employee lifecycle management.
- Responsive partners are critical for HR success.
- She hopes for a fully functional system in 12 months.
- HR is a strategic partner in organizations.
- Aspiring HR professionals should pursue their passion.
- HR professionals can bridge gaps between employees and supervisors.
- You have the power to make a difference in HR.
What you'll take away
- 1Prioritize staff retention and growth by rolling out clear career development pathways, such as a 'career lattice professional development tie-in.'
- 2Invest in responsive and engaged HRIS partners who understand your business needs to ensure seamless employee lifecycle management.
- 3HR must actively make room for itself at strategic tables to demonstrate value and act as a strategic partner, understanding people complexities.
- 4Carefully manage enterprise-wide system implementations, paying close attention to data accuracy and configuration to avoid process delays and maintain employee trust.
What most organizations get wrong
- •Many employees might leave for a marginal pay increase without realizing there are greater growth and financial opportunities within their current organization if career pathways are clearly communicated.
- •Despite the critical role of HRIS platforms, the customer service component and true partnership from vendors are often missing, highlighting a need for better vendor-client relationships in HR tech.
In Shaunta's words
“I actually fell into human resources, and I do mean that literally fell into human resources.”
Highlights an unconventional path into a senior HR role, showing diversity in career journeys.
“This quarter, top priority is honestly year-end wrap-up, and with a heavy focus on staff retention and growth.”
Clearly states a core business objective for a senior HR leader, emphasizing key strategic areas.
“The 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...”
Pinpoints a common and critical pain point for HR leaders: managing complex technology transitions.
“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...”
Emphasizes the foundational and indispensable importance of a well-functioning HRIS for all HR operations.
“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.”
Articulates a strong vision for the strategic role and inherent value of HR within an organization.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Difficulty communicating and navigating enterprise-wide HR system implementations that may not fully meet current needs.
- •Risk of losing progress in process automation and ease of employee self-service during transitions to new HR platforms.
- •System configuration issues (e.g., a simple column heading change) delaying or halting critical processes like contributions or benefits enrollments.
- •Ensuring data accuracy and preventing missed opportunities for staff income and benefit selections during system changes and ongoing operations.
- •Lack of responsive, engaged, and partner-oriented customer service from HRIS vendors, hindering long-term partnership.
- •Inefficient processes for supervisor-initiated employee status changes within HRIS platforms.
In this episode
Build by People podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Build by People
I actually fell into human resources, and I do mean that literally
What Got You Here?
CS is in the midst of an enterprise-wide system implementation project
What's the biggest challenge in HR?
A simple change in a file feed can delay processing of contributions or benefits
What's Keeps You Up at Night?
Shontay: Having a partner that is responsive is critical for HR
What's Your HR IT System of the Future?
What parting advice would you like to share with our community or with aspiring HR professionals
A Distinguished HR Professional's Last Words
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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