What's Your Why?

People often ask me why I like what I do.

A fair question – workflow, compliance and benefits?isn’t?everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s something I’m passionate about.

The reason? Because I’ve been personally affected by the outcomes of well-run companies and thoughtful systems, as well as the repercussions of poor payroll practices and benefit options, which has greatly affected my personal and professional “whys.”

I was waiting on a jetway recently and got to talking to the gentleman in front of me. He shared that he consults on AI to strategically help companies get where they want to go, thoughtfully and differently.?

As one of my incredible sales trainers says: It’s easy to be good, it’s hard to be different.

Then he asked me what I do.??

Perfect moment to practice my elevator pitch…or in this case, jetway pitch!

So I did, and he said, and you love it, but why?

How do you know I love it, I asked?

He said, no one smiles that much when asked what they do unless they love it…

So?I told him: I like what I do because I get to help business owners focus and grow their companies, AND help their employees be happy, healthy and successful.

I asked him a bit more about himself, and he asked me more about what TriNet does for companies.??After touching on HR software, consultative services, insurance and (exemplary) customer service, we got to talking about job interviews, comp packages and benefits, and he asked me what happened to me, to make me care so much.

(If you've traveled, you know that this is what plane rides can do to people – we got deep, and were still only on the jetway. Turns out a door was jammed and they couldn't let us in yet!)

It's a long story, I said, but good and bad work experiences, good and bad benefits.?

We talked about how interviewing, negotiating, accepting a position and then actually thriving in a role is not just about the dollars that hit your bank account. It’s about the total package being presented: pay, health benefits, culture, work location, and so much more.

You have kids, he asked?

A question that would have reduced me to tears from 2015 - 2020.

Because the why behind why I care so much is anchored around an 8-year fertility journey. It was grueling, horrifically expensive and I felt very alone and frustrated at almost every turn of it. But I always wanted to be a mom, and my husband (an entrepreneur and business owner himself) a dad, so it was what we worked towards and were determined to achieve.

I showed him my phone screen - 2 beaming faces with their dad and dogs.

I do, I said. He smiled a big, happy "isn't it the best" smile, and nodded. And we kept on chatting.

But back to the why - one of the companies I worked for during that journey didn’t give a lot of thought to fertility or IVF coverage, so it was very much out of out of pocket.

While another company during our journey covered over half.

One team I worked with sent me a food delivery gift card and flowers when my child was born, while another company was repeatedly late to run payroll when I had a big hospital bill to pay, incurred as a result of my micro-preemie's asthma + their poorly thought-out single health insurance offering.

I could go on, but I'd rather move on and be a part of a solution!

Where you work matters, on many levels.?

How you manage your company matters, on many levels.

I want to give?entrepreneurs the best chance to succeed.?I believe capital allocation and financial responsibility/decision making is a big key to success. But I also feel there is no need to sacrifice care and benefits for your employees, whether a start up or a small,?medium?or large company. Because they lead to your success, too.?You can be a financially savvy entrepreneur, but you can also be a respected leader, mentor, AND support employees to grow, thrive, be their best, AND stay with you. And a big part of that is educating and empowering business owners to develop their companies thoughtfully and value their employees.

At TriNet, I get to do that.

Offering the employees you see as a fit for your company a solid foundation of technology, resources, great benefits and peace of mind so they can get up every morning, competently, confidently and successfully do their work, afford or work towards their house/family/dreams, and go to bed proud and calm.

So it’s not that I always loved talking about benefits and fertility and payroll and an employee’s relationship with their HR team, but I have a very different perspective on things now.

Because of what I’ve experienced, I’m on a mission to help empower business decision makers to run better companies - advance their missions and be compliant, while also doing the best they can for their employees.

To attract and retain great talent by doing things differently; differently than how they used to do it, as well as how their competition does it.

Because if an employee is worried about their pay and health benefits, I bet you their productivity will suffer.

If they don’t have to worry about their benefits, on-time state-compliant payroll, safety in the workplace clearly outlined in an employee handbook, they’ll have a clearer mind to focus on their work, be more productive, and loyal.

If a business owner doesn't have to worry about constant turnover, handling payroll compliance, benefits questions, and time-consuming HR tasks, they can focus on positively affecting growth, quality of resources, culture and reputation, which attracts great employees and top talent, who will expect and appreciate enterprise-level benefits, and make the company more successful.?

If I can be a part of making that happen by taking on the complexities of those tasks efficiently and differently with TriNet’s solutions and expertise, that means I'll be helping business owners like my husband and employees like me, and that will be fulfilling.

My why behind anything I do will always be my family.

My why behind why I love my work and my passion for communicating the importance of better HR is that I’ve personally experienced the good and bad, and know it can be done well.

But not just done well, done differently, with TriNet.