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
Shaunta Collier-Rankin fell into HR. Her words, not ours — and she means them. But what she discovered when she landed in the function was something she hadn't expected: a role that's simultaneously about the most technical parts of organizational infrastructure and the most human parts of working life. That combination has kept her in it, and now as VP of HR at CCSI, it drives everything she's building.
Her current priority is retention — and not through the usual mechanisms. She's developing what she calls a "career lattice professional development tie-in," a structured pathway that makes it explicit to employees what growth looks like inside the organization. The insight behind it: many employees leave for a marginally higher salary at another company because they don't see a path forward where they are. They're not leaving for money. They're leaving because nobody showed them the map.
She's also in the middle of an HRIS implementation — a common challenge that reveals an underappreciated truth about HR tech: the platform is only as good as the vendor relationship behind it. Responsiveness, genuine partnership, and willingness to solve problems aren't nice-to-haves in an HRIS vendor. They're table stakes. When those qualities are absent, even a feature-rich system becomes a liability.
What you'll learn:
- How CCSI's "career lattice" approach gives employees a visible path forward — and reduces attrition
- Why employees leave for marginal pay increases when they don't see internal growth opportunities
- What to look for in an HRIS vendor relationship — and what happens when you don't find it
- How to manage data accuracy during enterprise system implementations to maintain employee trust
- Why HR must actively earn its seat at the strategic table — not wait to be invited
- The "bridge" function of HR between employees and supervisors — and what it takes to do it well
Built by People is presented by Previ — the free tool that helps HR teams boost internal communication engagement.
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
Expand transcript (0 words)
Transcript is not available yet.