The Power of HR Technology Platforms

1 00:00:04,480 - > 00:00:07,040 SPEAKER_00: My name is Mark Mitford with HR Catalyst. 2 00:00:07,120 - > 00:00:09,839 And today I have the pleasure of talking to Ashley Martin. 3 00:00:10,000 - > 00:00:14,160 Ashley is with Exponent HR and she is the Enterprise Solutions 4 00:00:14,160 - > 00:00:14,640 Director. 5 00:00:14,880 - > 00:00:17,120 So with that, Ashley, how are you doing today? 6 00:00:17,359 - > 00:00:18,239 SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Mark. 7 00:00:18,640 - > 00:00:18,960 SPEAKER_00: Great. 8 00:00:19,039 - > 00:00:21,440 Well, I'm looking forward to the conversation we're going to have 9 00:00:21,440 - > 00:00:22,879 with Ashley today. 10 00:00:23,760 - > 00:00:28,000 Why don't you first of all tell me a little bit about your 11 00:00:28,000 - > 00:00:31,359 business and when did you actually start with Exponent? 12 00:00:32,000 - > 00:00:32,479 SPEAKER_02: Oh, wow. 13 00:00:32,640 - > 00:00:33,359 That goes way back. 14 00:00:33,439 - > 00:00:34,640 How much time do we have? 15 00:00:35,359 - > 00:00:38,560 I uh I I'm what they call a boomerang employee. 16 00:00:38,640 - > 00:00:42,640 So I started with Exponent back in 2010, pretty fresh out of 17 00:00:42,640 - > 00:00:42,960 college. 18 00:00:43,119 - > 00:00:46,880 Now I'm dating myself and worked here for five years. 19 00:00:47,039 - > 00:00:50,640 And then I left for another opportunity, something I wanted 20 00:00:50,640 - > 00:00:54,240 to go try, um, that lasted uh less than a year. 21 00:00:54,399 - > 00:00:57,200 And then I went to another company to work in more of like 22 00:00:57,200 - > 00:01:00,240 a project management type role, only to find out about two and a 23 00:01:00,240 - > 00:01:03,600 half years later that um there was an opportunity opening up at 24 00:01:03,600 - > 00:01:04,319 Exponent. 25 00:01:04,480 - > 00:01:07,439 And so we I got back together with the leadership team here 26 00:01:07,599 - > 00:01:12,719 and came back here in 2019 or maybe 2018. 27 00:01:13,120 - > 00:01:15,040 Um and I've been here since. 28 00:01:15,200 - > 00:01:17,840 So almost a total of 12 years at Exponent. 29 00:01:18,000 - > 00:01:19,760 I've worn a lot of different hats. 30 00:01:19,920 - > 00:01:23,760 Uh 15 years ago, my role was more of business development 31 00:01:23,840 - > 00:01:28,000 events, events coordination, uh, learning how to move uh a 32 00:01:28,000 - > 00:01:30,079 prospective client through the sales cycle. 33 00:01:30,319 - > 00:01:33,599 And then um fast forward to today, and I've had the 34 00:01:33,599 - > 00:01:37,439 privilege um uh since I've been here of also wearing a lot of 35 00:01:37,439 - > 00:01:41,439 different hats in a family-owned uh mid-sized business where I do 36 00:01:41,519 - > 00:01:45,680 uh I do serve in a leadership role on the team as well as uh 37 00:01:45,680 - > 00:01:50,319 managing all of our partnerships uh with other firms that service 38 00:01:50,319 - > 00:01:52,400 clients that are similar sizes to ours. 39 00:01:52,480 - > 00:01:54,239 Uh, and then also a little bit of sales. 40 00:01:54,400 - > 00:01:56,879 So I um there's there's not a lot that I haven't done here, 41 00:01:56,959 - > 00:01:59,680 but that's what keeps it exciting and keeps it fun and 42 00:01:59,680 - > 00:02:02,560 keeps it interesting and keeps me learning, quite frankly, and 43 00:02:02,560 - > 00:02:03,200 on my toes. 44 00:02:03,280 - > 00:02:06,480 And uh every meeting I have with a new potential customer, I get 45 00:02:06,480 - > 00:02:09,120 to learn something new about their industry and uh it just 46 00:02:09,120 - > 00:02:11,759 keeps it very engaging, keeps the world very engaging. 47 00:02:12,000 - > 00:02:12,479 That's great. 48 00:02:12,639 - > 00:02:14,960 SPEAKER_00: No, and then and Ashley and I have known each 49 00:02:14,960 - > 00:02:16,400 other for quite a few years. 50 00:02:16,719 - > 00:02:20,080 So my actual ongoing joke is that I've known Ashley since she 51 00:02:20,080 - > 00:02:20,639 was single. 52 00:02:20,719 - > 00:02:23,759 So it's a we've known each other for a couple of years because I 53 00:02:23,759 - > 00:02:25,120 know that you've got two kids now. 54 00:02:25,199 - > 00:02:27,840 So congratulations and happily married and two kids. 55 00:02:27,919 - > 00:02:29,439 So that's congratulations on that. 56 00:02:29,680 - > 00:02:30,960 SPEAKER_02: So yeah, that's true. 57 00:02:31,120 - > 00:02:34,800 I forget people know me as Ashley McMaster and not Ashley 58 00:02:34,879 - > 00:02:35,199 Martin. 59 00:02:35,439 - > 00:02:36,479 SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm one of them. 60 00:02:36,560 - > 00:02:41,680 So it's uh so what was just out of curiosity, so and we'll dive 61 00:02:41,680 - > 00:02:44,960 into uh in just a couple of minutes the HR system side and 62 00:02:44,960 - > 00:02:48,080 the and and really kind of the the heartbeat of what H Exponent 63 00:02:48,159 - > 00:02:51,919 uh Exponent HR does, but what's what was kind of the intrigue or 64 00:02:51,919 - > 00:02:55,439 the driving force behind uh joining Exponent when you did? 65 00:02:56,080 - > 00:02:59,840 SPEAKER_02: Well, in 2010, uh the world was in it, well, the 66 00:02:59,840 - > 00:03:02,400 world, the US was in an interesting economic place. 67 00:03:02,479 - > 00:03:05,599 Uh, there was not a lot of job opportunity when I graduated 68 00:03:05,599 - > 00:03:07,439 from LSU in 2009. 69 00:03:07,759 - > 00:03:10,879 So I ended up working at a small state farm agency in my hometown 70 00:03:10,879 - > 00:03:12,639 of Shreeport, Louisiana. 71 00:03:12,960 - > 00:03:17,039 And uh about a year later, I was contacted by a friend of mine 72 00:03:17,039 - > 00:03:20,159 who worked in the service group here who told me that she'd be 73 00:03:20,159 - > 00:03:23,439 happy to send my resume over to the marketing and sales side. 74 00:03:23,599 - > 00:03:25,759 And that's what kicked off the interview process. 75 00:03:25,840 - > 00:03:28,879 And I got in a car as fast as I could and drove from Shreeport 76 00:03:28,960 - > 00:03:32,479 to Dallas for the interview that day and was able to secure the 77 00:03:32,479 - > 00:03:33,599 entry-level job here. 78 00:03:33,680 - > 00:03:38,479 And I was really looking for an opportunity to learn and for 79 00:03:38,479 - > 00:03:40,400 someone to give me an opportunity to learn. 80 00:03:40,560 - > 00:03:44,000 And I was very fortunate in that uh I came in and had an amazing 81 00:03:44,000 - > 00:03:47,039 leader and mentor that uh I still give credit to today for 82 00:03:47,039 - > 00:03:49,199 everything that I know and everything that he taught me. 83 00:03:49,439 - > 00:03:53,599 And then uh after being here for five years and leaving, I only 84 00:03:53,599 - > 00:03:55,840 left because I wanted to try some other things. 85 00:03:56,080 - > 00:03:58,639 Exponent was all I've ever known. 86 00:03:58,879 - > 00:04:01,599 And what was really interesting is not only did I go other 87 00:04:01,599 - > 00:04:04,800 places and learn about their industries, but I learned a lot 88 00:04:04,800 - > 00:04:07,120 about myself and how much I enjoyed working in a 89 00:04:07,120 - > 00:04:10,719 family-owned, privately held company where it was middle 90 00:04:10,800 - > 00:04:13,199 market-based and we wear a lot of different hats. 91 00:04:13,360 - > 00:04:18,240 And I'm able to uh have a daily impact on the customers and the 92 00:04:18,240 - > 00:04:21,040 clients and the prospective clients and the partners. 93 00:04:21,120 - > 00:04:24,879 Uh, it's a it's just it's a very enjoyable for me, anyways. 94 00:04:24,959 - > 00:04:28,000 It's what drives me, the ability to have that immediate impact 95 00:04:28,160 - > 00:04:30,879 versus one of the companies I worked for in the middle was a 96 00:04:30,879 - > 00:04:34,399 company uh that had like 6,000 employees, and it was just and 97 00:04:34,399 - > 00:04:34,959 it was big. 98 00:04:35,040 - > 00:04:37,920 And um the the big companies need people too, but I just I 99 00:04:37,920 - > 00:04:40,399 really enjoy this size company and the atmosphere and the 100 00:04:40,399 - > 00:04:41,120 culture here. 101 00:04:41,439 - > 00:04:41,680 SPEAKER_00: Right. 102 00:04:41,839 - > 00:04:42,720 And that's so great. 103 00:04:42,800 - > 00:04:45,439 It's it's it's such a true point, what you just said too, 104 00:04:45,519 - > 00:04:48,800 because you could um what you mentioned there a couple of 105 00:04:48,800 - > 00:04:51,439 times, Ashley, which is interesting, is that you can 106 00:04:51,439 - > 00:04:52,560 actually make a difference. 107 00:04:53,439 - > 00:04:57,040 And within a large company, and I spent a lot of years in larger 108 00:04:57,040 - > 00:04:59,839 companies all the way up to Fortune 50. 109 00:05:00,399 - > 00:05:03,279 Um, you know, and and it's just hard to move the needle there. 110 00:05:03,519 - > 00:05:06,639 Yeah, just because you're you're trying to you're trying to move 111 00:05:06,720 - > 00:05:09,920 a you're you're trying to stare and change direction with a 112 00:05:09,920 - > 00:05:10,560 super tanker. 113 00:05:10,720 - > 00:05:13,519 So it's kind of interesting that you're that's kind of the 114 00:05:13,519 - > 00:05:16,720 driving force, a little bit of that North Star for you is being 115 00:05:16,720 - > 00:05:18,480 with a a business where you could actually make a 116 00:05:18,480 - > 00:05:18,800 difference. 117 00:05:18,879 - > 00:05:19,600 So good for you. 118 00:05:20,560 - > 00:05:26,000 Um so we're actually here today to talk about HR systems and the 119 00:05:26,000 - > 00:05:27,600 importance of what they are in the business. 120 00:05:27,759 - > 00:05:30,800 So just a level set, Ashley, because this is a world you've 121 00:05:30,800 - > 00:05:32,079 been in for a number of years. 122 00:05:32,319 - > 00:05:35,680 Why don't you just give, if you could give our audience just a 123 00:05:35,680 - > 00:05:41,120 basic definition of what a what an HR system is, uh by your 124 00:05:41,120 - > 00:05:41,759 definition? 125 00:05:43,839 - > 00:05:44,399 SPEAKER_02: Sure. 126 00:05:44,800 - > 00:05:48,079 Uh an HR platform, it can be many different things. 127 00:05:48,160 - > 00:05:49,839 Um they're all going to have different features and 128 00:05:49,839 - > 00:05:50,399 functionality. 129 00:05:50,560 - > 00:05:52,399 They're all going to be meant for different sized 130 00:05:52,399 - > 00:05:52,959 organizations. 131 00:05:53,040 - > 00:05:55,839 They're all gonna, they're all going to solve for different 132 00:05:55,839 - > 00:05:56,319 problems. 133 00:05:56,480 - > 00:05:59,680 But in a nutshell, if I needed to give you a textbook answer to 134 00:05:59,680 - > 00:06:03,519 that, I would say that an HR platform should absolutely 135 00:06:03,519 - > 00:06:07,199 support all of your uh HR functions, uh, in addition to 136 00:06:07,199 - > 00:06:09,519 all of your payroll functions and your benefits 137 00:06:09,519 - > 00:06:10,079 administration. 138 00:06:10,160 - > 00:06:11,199 That's kind of core. 139 00:06:11,360 - > 00:06:14,399 You have to have those three functions to operate as a 140 00:06:14,399 - > 00:06:14,800 business. 141 00:06:15,040 - > 00:06:18,079 And then as you grow and expand and need more functionality, 142 00:06:18,240 - > 00:06:22,240 you're gonna see systems that also add in applicant tracking 143 00:06:22,240 - > 00:06:25,519 and onboarding and employee self-service and manager 144 00:06:25,519 - > 00:06:27,839 self-service and time and attendance, along with cost 145 00:06:27,839 - > 00:06:28,959 allocation and scheduling. 146 00:06:29,040 - > 00:06:32,079 And there, I could name 20 other features that can come along 147 00:06:32,079 - > 00:06:33,600 with an HR platform. 148 00:06:33,759 - > 00:06:38,160 But in general, the definition of an HR platform should be 149 00:06:38,160 - > 00:06:40,399 something that's gonna be in place that's gonna help you 150 00:06:40,399 - > 00:06:44,399 automate a lot of what otherwise would be manual processes on the 151 00:06:44,399 - > 00:06:47,360 payroll side, on the HR side, and on the benefits side. 152 00:06:47,519 - > 00:06:50,959 If it's not helping you automate anything, then I wouldn't really 153 00:06:50,959 - > 00:06:53,199 call it an HRIS, so to speak. 154 00:06:53,360 - > 00:06:56,319 Um, and I know we'll talk about this in just a little bit, but 155 00:06:56,319 - > 00:07:00,000 the there are great very simple payroll only tools that fit a 156 00:07:00,000 - > 00:07:02,319 certain company, but at a certain point, when you get to a 157 00:07:02,319 - > 00:07:04,800 certain size of employee, you really need to consider having 158 00:07:04,800 - > 00:07:06,079 an HRS in place. 159 00:07:07,680 - > 00:07:09,920 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so actually that just that segues really 160 00:07:09,920 - > 00:07:13,680 nicely into our next question, which is because I know that um 161 00:07:13,920 - > 00:07:16,480 you know I'm a small business owner, so we use QuickBooks. 162 00:07:16,959 - > 00:07:19,920 We use QuickBooks, but we don't have to do a lot of work on so 163 00:07:20,000 - > 00:07:25,839 when so from a business owner perspective or the CFO or 164 00:07:25,839 - > 00:07:30,079 controller perspective, when do they need to start thinking 165 00:07:30,079 - > 00:07:34,879 about actually getting a what I would consider a real HR system? 166 00:07:35,120 - > 00:07:38,639 You know, is there is it employee size, company revenue? 167 00:07:38,879 - > 00:07:43,680 What what when you're talking to um organizations that are that 168 00:07:43,680 - > 00:07:47,439 are that are reaching out to you, uh what are what what kind 169 00:07:47,439 - > 00:07:49,680 of things do you mention to them there or try to find out and 170 00:07:49,680 - > 00:07:52,959 didn't maybe in a discovery call regarding whether they're ready 171 00:07:52,959 - > 00:07:56,079 for a full a full uh full-blown HR system? 172 00:07:56,399 - > 00:07:59,680 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, uh that's a great uh good question and 173 00:07:59,680 - > 00:08:00,959 always a good consideration. 174 00:08:01,120 - > 00:08:03,040 So I have a couple of magic numbers. 175 00:08:03,120 - > 00:08:05,519 There's 50 and then there's a hundred and then there's a 176 00:08:05,519 - > 00:08:08,160 hundred and above, kind of all the way up to 2000. 177 00:08:08,319 - > 00:08:11,920 There are some really great products out there, HR platforms 178 00:08:11,920 - > 00:08:14,879 with self-service that have great mobile functionality for 179 00:08:14,879 - > 00:08:17,439 groups that are about 50 employees and below. 180 00:08:17,759 - > 00:08:22,480 And um, what I've seen for what we do specifically is that when 181 00:08:22,480 - > 00:08:26,879 someone hits between 50 and 100 employees, they really are ready 182 00:08:26,879 - > 00:08:31,040 at a certain point to let's call it level up and bring on, you 183 00:08:31,040 - > 00:08:34,000 know, bring about more automation in their workflows. 184 00:08:34,320 - > 00:08:38,159 So employee count is part of it, but also complexity. 185 00:08:38,320 - > 00:08:42,080 So a 50-person company that's highly distributed across 13 186 00:08:42,080 - > 00:08:46,000 different states with a bunch of job costing and different 187 00:08:46,000 - > 00:08:49,279 activity that they're doing that we're trying to track versus a 188 00:08:49,279 - > 00:08:52,799 company that's the same size that's all in the state of Texas 189 00:08:52,879 - > 00:08:55,519 and they're all in the exact same building doing the exact 190 00:08:55,519 - > 00:08:58,240 same activity for a flat pay rate. 191 00:08:58,399 - > 00:09:01,279 One of those companies may need a system sooner than the other 192 00:09:01,279 - > 00:09:02,000 one does, right? 193 00:09:02,080 - > 00:09:03,200 The one that's more complex. 194 00:09:03,360 - > 00:09:06,080 And so there's definitely some different factors to look at. 195 00:09:06,240 - > 00:09:08,399 Um, I think that scalability is a huge thing. 196 00:09:08,559 - > 00:09:10,879 I think that's what the numbers have to do with is up to about 197 00:09:10,879 - > 00:09:13,440 50 employees, you can usually kind of have one person handle 198 00:09:13,440 - > 00:09:13,840 it all. 199 00:09:14,000 - > 00:09:17,279 But when you get above 50 employees, you really have a 200 00:09:17,279 - > 00:09:21,120 choice to make, or in that, in that number, that range, you're 201 00:09:21,120 - > 00:09:24,320 either going to have to hire somebody else, another person to 202 00:09:24,320 - > 00:09:27,519 come in and keep up with all the work from an HR payroll and 203 00:09:27,519 - > 00:09:31,679 benefit standpoint, or it's time to evaluate technology and get a 204 00:09:31,679 - > 00:09:32,639 good system in place. 205 00:09:32,799 - > 00:09:36,159 I've had a group, uh, I had a group that evaluated us, uh, 206 00:09:36,639 - > 00:09:39,679 this was a couple months ago, that was us uh on the, there 207 00:09:39,679 - > 00:09:42,720 were about 35-ish employees, and we demoed them and we showed 208 00:09:42,720 - > 00:09:44,639 them our proposal and everything we could do for them. 209 00:09:44,799 - > 00:09:46,240 But quite frankly, it was too much. 210 00:09:46,399 - > 00:09:49,200 And I that it was too much from a cost and value standpoint 211 00:09:49,279 - > 00:09:51,200 because they weren't going to use everything that we had to 212 00:09:51,200 - > 00:09:51,519 offer. 213 00:09:51,679 - > 00:09:54,399 So they ended up going with a partner of ours that really 214 00:09:54,399 - > 00:09:56,399 helped meet them where they needed to be from a budget 215 00:09:56,399 - > 00:09:58,559 standpoint and for what functionality they were going to 216 00:09:58,559 - > 00:09:59,200 be using. 217 00:09:59,440 - > 00:10:02,559 But I've also had a group that was 60-ish employees, and this 218 00:10:02,559 - > 00:10:03,039 was last year. 219 00:10:03,120 - > 00:10:06,720 They're now a client of ours on one of those platforms that they 220 00:10:06,720 - > 00:10:08,799 started on when they were 10 employees and they were still on 221 00:10:08,799 - > 00:10:09,919 it and they had just outgrown it. 222 00:10:10,000 - > 00:10:11,200 And it was time for something new. 223 00:10:11,279 - > 00:10:14,159 And while they had great things to say about that platform, they 224 00:10:14,159 - > 00:10:17,840 still needed more functionality, more support to support some of 225 00:10:17,840 - > 00:10:21,039 the complexities that they had going on as a business and for 226 00:10:21,039 - > 00:10:22,080 how fast they were growing. 227 00:10:22,159 - > 00:10:24,559 And they really were setting up or they are setting up for 228 00:10:24,559 - > 00:10:25,200 future growth. 229 00:10:25,279 - > 00:10:29,200 So I would say somewhere between 50 and 100, uh, it's really time 230 00:10:29,200 - > 00:10:31,759 to start looking for a more sophisticated system. 231 00:10:31,919 - > 00:10:33,840 Again, depends on complexity as well. 232 00:10:34,000 - > 00:10:35,919 But those are the two things that I would focus on when 233 00:10:35,919 - > 00:10:38,240 you're thinking about whether or not you're ready for an HR 234 00:10:38,240 - > 00:10:38,879 platform. 235 00:10:39,840 - > 00:10:42,399 SPEAKER_00: So what are, you know, so when you think about 236 00:10:42,879 - > 00:10:47,360 from and being in this world for a number of years, how what are 237 00:10:47,360 - > 00:10:50,960 some of the important things that, you know, I don't I don't 238 00:10:50,960 - > 00:10:54,799 want to say a selling proposition, but just the value 239 00:10:54,799 - > 00:11:00,080 proposition for an organization that has, let's say, 75 or 80 240 00:11:00,080 - > 00:11:00,799 employees. 241 00:11:01,200 - > 00:11:05,200 What are some of the key things that you would say the rationale 242 00:11:05,200 - > 00:11:07,120 for why they need a good HR system? 243 00:11:08,159 - > 00:11:09,919 SPEAKER_02: Uh well, one of them I kind of already mentioned 244 00:11:10,000 - > 00:11:11,440 that, and then that's scalability. 245 00:11:11,519 - > 00:11:14,480 Because as soon as you hire a second person to come in and 246 00:11:14,480 - > 00:11:17,759 take over those tasks, you're not just paying them a salary. 247 00:11:17,840 - > 00:11:20,480 It's salary and burden and all the payroll taxes and the 248 00:11:20,480 - > 00:11:21,679 benefits you're going to be offering. 249 00:11:21,759 - > 00:11:24,799 And I think that sometimes that's overlooked, the people 250 00:11:24,799 - > 00:11:25,919 aspect of it. 251 00:11:26,159 - > 00:11:28,639 So you want to make sure that that you can scale your 252 00:11:28,639 - > 00:11:32,240 organization if you're truly trying to build out uh to grow 253 00:11:32,240 - > 00:11:32,799 your business. 254 00:11:32,960 - > 00:11:34,559 So scalability would be the first one. 255 00:11:34,639 - > 00:11:38,080 But the second one, kind of going back to my previous 256 00:11:38,080 - > 00:11:39,440 comment, is compliance. 257 00:11:39,600 - > 00:11:42,320 So think about that company that's in that's 60 employees, 258 00:11:42,399 - > 00:11:44,000 but they're in 13 different states. 259 00:11:44,159 - > 00:11:45,759 Well, what states are they in? 260 00:11:45,919 - > 00:11:49,600 And what's going on in those states from an overtime and tax 261 00:11:49,600 - > 00:11:50,080 standpoint? 262 00:11:50,159 - > 00:11:54,080 And is someone paying attention if they're using maybe something 263 00:11:54,080 - > 00:11:56,960 as simple as a QuickBooks, is QuickBooks going to be able to 264 00:11:56,960 - > 00:12:00,879 keep up with the different tax regulations and over, you know, 265 00:12:01,039 - > 00:12:04,399 the tax calculations in uh California and keeping up with 266 00:12:04,399 - > 00:12:07,519 the tax and reciprocity rules between New Jersey and New York 267 00:12:07,519 - > 00:12:09,600 and Ohio and some of those more complex states. 268 00:12:09,759 - > 00:12:12,159 So you've you've got to make sure again that you're looking 269 00:12:12,159 - > 00:12:14,960 at your workforce and that you're um you're ready to be 270 00:12:14,960 - > 00:12:17,840 compliant in whatever states you decide to do business in. 271 00:12:18,000 - > 00:12:21,039 Uh, the third reason that I believe companies at that size 272 00:12:21,039 - > 00:12:25,759 should start looking at uh NHRIS is because is really for data. 273 00:12:26,000 - > 00:12:29,600 Because if you don't have, you know, a lot of people think it's 274 00:12:29,600 - > 00:12:31,679 all about self-service and how the system looks and the 275 00:12:31,679 - > 00:12:32,399 employee experience. 276 00:12:32,480 - > 00:12:33,679 And yes, all that's important. 277 00:12:33,840 - > 00:12:37,759 But at the end of the day, if that CEO or that CFO doesn't 278 00:12:37,759 - > 00:12:40,639 have the dashboards and the reporting to show them, hey, 279 00:12:40,720 - > 00:12:42,000 what does our labor cost look like? 280 00:12:42,159 - > 00:12:44,480 What does our labor cost look like by department? 281 00:12:44,639 - > 00:12:46,000 What does it look like by division? 282 00:12:46,159 - > 00:12:48,799 Why is it that in this department, where Bob's the 283 00:12:48,799 - > 00:12:51,679 manager, overtime is twice as much as it is everybody 284 00:12:51,919 - > 00:12:52,559 everywhere else? 285 00:12:52,720 - > 00:12:56,159 Is it because Bob needs to hire another employee or is it 286 00:12:56,159 - > 00:12:59,600 because Bob is giving all the overtime to Mark, who's been 287 00:12:59,600 - > 00:13:02,320 there the longest, who has the highest rate of pay because 288 00:13:02,320 - > 00:13:04,000 Mark's trying to put two kids through college? 289 00:13:04,720 - > 00:13:07,919 The data will take you, it'll show you things that you would 290 00:13:07,919 - > 00:13:09,279 have never known otherwise. 291 00:13:09,440 - > 00:13:13,279 If you don't have a system in place, you're not gonna know 292 00:13:13,279 - > 00:13:14,879 what's going on in your business. 293 00:13:14,960 - > 00:13:18,240 And so when you get between that 50 and 100 employees, it can be 294 00:13:18,480 - > 00:13:21,759 extremely valuable beyond what you're gonna be paying for the 295 00:13:21,759 - > 00:13:23,840 platform because it's an investment and you're gonna pay 296 00:13:23,840 - > 00:13:26,159 to implement and and have a platform in place. 297 00:13:26,240 - > 00:13:28,879 But the data that it gives you, making sure it's meaningful to 298 00:13:28,879 - > 00:13:31,919 you and that you're utilizing it is gonna take your business a 299 00:13:31,919 - > 00:13:32,559 long ways. 300 00:13:33,840 - > 00:13:36,559 SPEAKER_00: That's interesting, you know, and it's uh that I 301 00:13:36,559 - > 00:13:40,639 didn't even think of just some of those nuances and and for uh 302 00:13:40,639 - > 00:13:43,759 people that are listening to just those the extreme 303 00:13:43,759 - > 00:13:47,039 differences in state law and regulatory law and state some 304 00:13:47,039 - > 00:13:50,799 states have income tax, all these things that you really 305 00:13:50,799 - > 00:13:54,240 need to you need to check, you know, you need to make sure that 306 00:13:54,240 - > 00:13:56,480 your T's are crossed and your I's are dotted there. 307 00:13:56,559 - > 00:13:58,639 So that's really fascinating that you brought that up. 308 00:13:58,879 - > 00:14:00,639 SPEAKER_02: Well, and that's not going, I mean, it's only gonna 309 00:14:00,639 - > 00:14:01,919 get it's not going away. 310 00:14:02,159 - > 00:14:04,080 It's not gonna get any easier, right? 311 00:14:04,320 - > 00:14:05,759 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, it's not. 312 00:14:06,000 - > 00:14:06,240 Yeah. 313 00:14:06,399 - > 00:14:08,639 SPEAKER_02: Well, and post-pandemic, a lot of people 314 00:14:08,639 - > 00:14:09,120 moved. 315 00:14:09,200 - > 00:14:11,519 You know, a lot of people went 100% remote. 316 00:14:11,600 - > 00:14:13,759 Now they went to live in the mountains or they went, you 317 00:14:13,759 - > 00:14:17,279 know, of Colorado, where there's different uh uh paid leave 318 00:14:17,279 - > 00:14:17,759 requirements. 319 00:14:17,840 - > 00:14:19,279 I mean, it's it's all across the board. 320 00:14:19,360 - > 00:14:22,480 There's a there's a lot of things to think about from an HR 321 00:14:22,480 - > 00:14:23,679 and compliance standpoint. 322 00:14:23,919 - > 00:14:25,440 So that's important. 323 00:14:26,000 - > 00:14:26,320 SPEAKER_00: Right. 324 00:14:26,480 - > 00:14:29,919 I know, and then sometimes even in in my world on the HR 325 00:14:29,919 - > 00:14:32,720 consulting side, I always think, you know, you got to remember 326 00:14:32,720 - > 00:14:35,840 where they reside, where their where their state of residence 327 00:14:35,840 - > 00:14:39,759 is really gonna trump where their job is, quote unquote, 328 00:14:39,840 - > 00:14:42,960 because so many people, like you said, they're in a hybrid or 329 00:14:42,960 - > 00:14:44,960 remote situation, so that's fascinating. 330 00:14:45,120 - > 00:14:48,240 So um with that, Ashley, we'll take a short break, and for our 331 00:14:48,240 - > 00:14:50,879 audience, we'll take a short break, and we will be back in 332 00:14:50,879 - > 00:14:51,919 just a just a minute. 333 00:14:52,240 - > 00:14:52,879 Thanks so much. 334 00:14:54,720 - > 00:14:57,360 SPEAKER_01: You want to grow your business, but people issues 335 00:14:57,360 - > 00:14:58,399 are getting in the way. 336 00:14:58,720 - > 00:15:02,480 Managing the people side of your business is complex and can feel 337 00:15:02,480 - > 00:15:03,200 overwhelming. 338 00:15:03,679 - > 00:15:04,799 Does this sound familiar? 339 00:15:05,200 - > 00:15:08,799 At HR Catalyst, People Strategy is our business. 340 00:15:09,120 - > 00:15:12,639 We create and implement a people strategy with you so you can 341 00:15:12,639 - > 00:15:14,320 give back to growing your business. 342 00:15:14,879 - > 00:15:19,120 HR Catalyst was founded in 2013 with the goal of bringing the 343 00:15:19,120 - > 00:15:22,559 best-in-class HR practices to small and middle market 344 00:15:22,559 - > 00:15:23,120 companies. 345 00:15:23,519 - > 00:15:26,399 We are your outsourced strategic people experts. 346 00:15:26,720 - > 00:15:29,519 We help you solve the people issues in your business that are 347 00:15:29,519 - > 00:15:30,320 slowing you down. 348 00:15:30,799 - > 00:15:34,480 If you have HR concerns, you can schedule a complimentary call on 349 00:15:34,480 - > 00:15:37,600 our website at HR Catalystconsulting.com. 350 00:15:39,759 - > 00:15:42,639 SPEAKER_00: Thanks everybody for uh for joining us again. 351 00:15:42,720 - > 00:15:44,720 And now we're just uh we're still talking we're talking to 352 00:15:44,720 - > 00:15:46,960 Ashley Martin right now and having a great conversation 353 00:15:46,960 - > 00:15:52,000 regarding HR systems and the whole system side of the human 354 00:15:52,000 - > 00:15:55,360 resource platform and all the solutions that are out there. 355 00:15:55,519 - > 00:15:58,080 So um so Ashley, let's see. 356 00:15:58,159 - > 00:16:00,720 I was gonna ask you a couple of more questions here. 357 00:16:00,960 - > 00:16:05,759 So uh so once a company decides or they think they need an HRAS 358 00:16:05,759 - > 00:16:08,559 system, which is and let me just clarify too, I'm using this 359 00:16:08,559 - > 00:16:09,200 acronym. 360 00:16:09,519 - > 00:16:12,879 So HR information system, so HRAS system. 361 00:16:13,519 - > 00:16:17,440 Um you know, what are some things they should be looking 362 00:16:17,440 - > 00:16:20,960 for to make sure they're they're making the right decisions for 363 00:16:20,960 - > 00:16:23,039 the systems because they have a lot of choices. 364 00:16:23,120 - > 00:16:26,879 So what are from your expertise, what are some things they need 365 00:16:26,879 - > 00:16:29,679 to be thinking about to make sure they're actually getting 366 00:16:29,679 - > 00:16:32,159 the the system that should actually work for them the best? 367 00:16:36,720 - > 00:16:39,440 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so I I compare this, and I have this 368 00:16:39,440 - > 00:16:40,559 conversation all the time. 369 00:16:40,799 - > 00:16:46,240 I compare purchasing an HRIS or an HCM platform to purchasing a 370 00:16:46,240 - > 00:16:46,559 roof. 371 00:16:46,639 - > 00:16:48,639 So how often do you purchase a roof, Mark? 372 00:16:49,600 - > 00:16:50,639 SPEAKER_00: Hopefully not that often. 373 00:16:50,879 - > 00:16:53,759 Once every 10 years, let's say probably, let's say on Avalon, 374 00:16:54,159 - > 00:16:56,080 let's say let's say 15 years. 375 00:16:56,320 - > 00:16:58,399 So let's say every 15 years, maybe seven years. 376 00:16:58,720 - > 00:16:59,440 SPEAKER_02: Every 15 years. 377 00:16:59,759 - > 00:17:00,000 SPEAKER_00: Yeah. 378 00:17:00,320 - > 00:17:02,080 SPEAKER_02: Every 15, yeah. 379 00:17:02,320 - > 00:17:05,200 Every 15 years, you're not going to remember what questions to 380 00:17:05,200 - > 00:17:05,519 ask. 381 00:17:05,680 - > 00:17:08,400 And the industry's probably changed, and the relationship 382 00:17:08,400 - > 00:17:10,640 with insurance providers has probably changed. 383 00:17:10,880 - > 00:17:12,319 So I see this a lot. 384 00:17:12,480 - > 00:17:15,519 People are like, I know I'm in pain, but I don't really know 385 00:17:15,519 - > 00:17:16,240 where to start. 386 00:17:16,319 - > 00:17:18,000 And somebody told me to call you. 387 00:17:18,079 - > 00:17:20,799 And that's kind of the type of referral that we typically get. 388 00:17:20,960 - > 00:17:23,759 And so my conversation is usually a little bit less about 389 00:17:23,759 - > 00:17:27,039 an exponent and more about, okay, well, let's let's talk 390 00:17:27,039 - > 00:17:27,599 about you. 391 00:17:27,680 - > 00:17:30,160 Um, and I'll start, you know, peppering with discovery 392 00:17:30,160 - > 00:17:31,839 questions and trying to extract some pain. 393 00:17:32,000 - > 00:17:34,240 And then in a minute, I'll tell you kind of what I really hone 394 00:17:34,240 - > 00:17:35,279 in for hone in on. 395 00:17:35,440 - > 00:17:38,400 But what I recommend to people typically is hey, if you're 396 00:17:38,400 - > 00:17:40,480 going to go through an evaluation process, let's keep 397 00:17:40,480 - > 00:17:40,960 it simple. 398 00:17:41,119 - > 00:17:43,759 Let's say, you know, the who, the what, and the how. 399 00:17:44,319 - > 00:17:46,319 Most people skip over the who. 400 00:17:46,559 - > 00:17:48,160 Who are you doing business with? 401 00:17:48,319 - > 00:17:52,319 And they gravitate towards any sales rep that's called on them 402 00:17:52,319 - > 00:17:55,279 recently, knocked on their door, brought them a pie over 403 00:17:55,279 - > 00:17:58,000 Thanksgiving, sent them a gift, sent them a LinkedIn message, 404 00:17:58,079 - > 00:17:59,119 whatever it may be. 405 00:17:59,279 - > 00:18:00,960 And it's because that's who's in front of them. 406 00:18:01,039 - > 00:18:02,319 And that's why sales works. 407 00:18:02,400 - > 00:18:04,480 That's why outbound sales works, is it's because they're saying, 408 00:18:04,559 - > 00:18:06,480 oh, well, this person says they have a solution. 409 00:18:06,720 - > 00:18:08,960 Now, you could get to know that person and get to know their 410 00:18:08,960 - > 00:18:10,960 company, and they may have a fabulous solution. 411 00:18:11,200 - > 00:18:15,359 But really dig in behind that salesperson and say, who's the 412 00:18:15,359 - > 00:18:16,880 leadership at this company? 413 00:18:17,359 - > 00:18:20,960 Uh, who is the uh what type, you know, what's the company 414 00:18:21,119 - > 00:18:21,680 structure? 415 00:18:21,839 - > 00:18:23,279 Uh, is it privately held? 416 00:18:23,440 - > 00:18:24,880 Is it a public company? 417 00:18:25,200 - > 00:18:27,599 Do I know the employees that I'll be working with? 418 00:18:27,759 - > 00:18:30,319 Or do I know uh the size of the companies? 419 00:18:30,400 - > 00:18:31,440 And is that important to me? 420 00:18:31,519 - > 00:18:34,400 Because it also may not be important to you, but a lot of 421 00:18:34,400 - > 00:18:37,039 times because of marketing and advertising and the way the 422 00:18:37,039 - > 00:18:40,400 outbound sales is, people gravitate towards some of these 423 00:18:40,400 - > 00:18:43,920 big names, um, which all have fabulous platforms. 424 00:18:44,000 - > 00:18:47,119 And, you know, again, we're all good fits for different types of 425 00:18:47,119 - > 00:18:47,680 companies. 426 00:18:47,759 - > 00:18:51,119 Um, but I just think it's really important to ask that who 427 00:18:51,359 - > 00:18:52,799 question, who am I doing business with? 428 00:18:52,880 - > 00:18:54,880 Because we're about to be processing payroll through this 429 00:18:54,880 - > 00:18:55,119 company. 430 00:18:55,200 - > 00:18:57,759 So the who is kind of first and foremost. 431 00:18:57,920 - > 00:19:01,279 Uh, I had a client one time, and this has been several years ago, 432 00:19:01,359 - > 00:19:04,400 but I maybe I heard this through our service team that uh 433 00:19:04,640 - > 00:19:07,599 something had happened and they had changed banks and someone 434 00:19:07,599 - > 00:19:08,799 forgot to notify us. 435 00:19:08,960 - > 00:19:11,359 So we went to draw their payroll and it just bounced. 436 00:19:11,680 - > 00:19:15,200 And um, the good news was that before it bounced, they had 437 00:19:15,200 - > 00:19:16,319 called us to let us know. 438 00:19:16,480 - > 00:19:18,960 Hey, look, we switched banks, we forgot about it. 439 00:19:19,119 - > 00:19:20,559 Here's direct wire information. 440 00:19:20,640 - > 00:19:21,359 We've got your pair. 441 00:19:21,519 - > 00:19:23,920 So we have that working relationship with our clients 442 00:19:24,000 - > 00:19:26,400 that they know that if they call, they can get somebody. 443 00:19:26,480 - > 00:19:29,200 We've got that partnership and they know who they're doing 444 00:19:29,200 - > 00:19:31,519 business with and that they have access to us and that they can 445 00:19:31,519 - > 00:19:31,839 call us. 446 00:19:31,920 - > 00:19:34,160 And I'll talk about customer service here in just a little 447 00:19:34,160 - > 00:19:34,319 bit. 448 00:19:34,400 - > 00:19:36,160 But I think the who is really important. 449 00:19:36,319 - > 00:19:40,480 Now, the what is I think what people get most hung up on 450 00:19:40,640 - > 00:19:45,279 because what they think is I need an RFP, I need a feature 451 00:19:45,279 - > 00:19:48,960 list, I need 300 features listed to make sure it can do 452 00:19:48,960 - > 00:19:49,519 everything. 453 00:19:49,759 - > 00:19:53,599 But I'll I'll say this again: a feature list is a dead end, and 454 00:19:53,599 - > 00:19:55,200 it's gonna be a dead end every time. 455 00:19:55,359 - > 00:19:58,160 A feature list is just that, it's a feature list. 456 00:19:58,319 - > 00:20:01,599 And if all you're doing is sending out a feature list or 457 00:20:01,599 - > 00:20:05,839 you're checking boxes, at the end of the evaluation, you're 458 00:20:05,839 - > 00:20:08,079 just gonna have a whole bunch of feature lists that have 459 00:20:08,079 - > 00:20:10,640 different boxes checked, and you're not really gonna know 460 00:20:10,640 - > 00:20:11,759 where to go from there. 461 00:20:11,920 - > 00:20:14,000 So, this is my recommendation on the what. 462 00:20:14,079 - > 00:20:17,599 Before you decide to go out and evaluate, sit down with your 463 00:20:17,599 - > 00:20:21,279 finance leaders, your CFO, sit down with your operations 464 00:20:21,279 - > 00:20:23,440 leaders, your COO, ask the questions. 465 00:20:23,519 - > 00:20:26,640 Hey, we're gonna go to market, we're gonna look for a human 466 00:20:26,640 - > 00:20:28,079 capital management platform. 467 00:20:28,319 - > 00:20:30,079 Where are we hurting in the business? 468 00:20:30,240 - > 00:20:32,720 Let's come up with our three to five, keep it simple. 469 00:20:32,960 - > 00:20:35,119 Three to five biggest pain points. 470 00:20:35,279 - > 00:20:36,720 What do we need to solve for? 471 00:20:36,799 - > 00:20:38,799 And what's going on in the business? 472 00:20:39,039 - > 00:20:42,240 And it might be that your COO says, oh my gosh, the time 473 00:20:42,240 - > 00:20:43,039 clocks are terrible. 474 00:20:43,119 - > 00:20:46,079 We're having to do job costing on the backside because the time 475 00:20:46,079 - > 00:20:47,200 clocks don't work. 476 00:20:47,359 - > 00:20:49,359 And that might be something that you need to consider. 477 00:20:49,440 - > 00:20:51,759 It's impacting the business and impacting his or her team. 478 00:20:51,839 - > 00:20:54,480 It might be that the CFO says, Well, I don't really like the 479 00:20:54,480 - > 00:20:55,359 pricing model, right? 480 00:20:55,519 - > 00:20:57,759 I don't know how to predict what our costs are gonna be because 481 00:20:57,759 - > 00:20:59,440 we're getting nickel and dimed for this and that. 482 00:20:59,519 - > 00:21:01,440 And maybe that's one of the things that we want to solve 483 00:21:01,440 - > 00:21:01,599 for. 484 00:21:01,759 - > 00:21:04,480 And then, of course, with HR benefits and payroll, you're 485 00:21:04,480 - > 00:21:07,440 gonna have maybe even a longer list of three to five, but try 486 00:21:07,440 - > 00:21:10,000 really hard to narrow it down because if you don't narrow it 487 00:21:10,000 - > 00:21:13,279 down to what's most important, what's gonna happen is you're 488 00:21:13,279 - > 00:21:16,160 gonna get into a sales process with a bunch of salespeople, and 489 00:21:16,160 - > 00:21:18,400 I'm gonna pick on them because I'm one of them, and we're gonna 490 00:21:18,400 - > 00:21:21,039 woo you and we're gonna come in and get you excited about our 491 00:21:21,039 - > 00:21:24,799 product, and we're going to uh, you know, send you a gift and 492 00:21:24,799 - > 00:21:25,519 get to know your family. 493 00:21:25,599 - > 00:21:27,759 I mean, it's you know, we're building relationships, we're 494 00:21:27,759 - > 00:21:30,640 building trust, it's what we're doing, but you have to stand 495 00:21:30,640 - > 00:21:34,000 true to hey, these are the three to five things that we have to 496 00:21:34,000 - > 00:21:36,720 solve for because this is what's most important to our business, 497 00:21:36,880 - > 00:21:39,200 because there's not one salesperson that's gonna have 498 00:21:39,200 - > 00:21:41,759 one system that solves uh for everything. 499 00:21:42,079 - > 00:21:44,640 And so you've got to make sure you hone in on those three to 500 00:21:44,640 - > 00:21:45,039 five things. 501 00:21:45,119 - > 00:21:46,000 So that that's the what. 502 00:21:46,079 - > 00:21:49,119 That's that's my uh that's my kind of two cents on the what. 503 00:21:49,279 - > 00:21:51,440 The how is all about the experience. 504 00:21:51,680 - > 00:21:55,200 So once you have the what down, hey, this this company can meet 505 00:21:55,200 - > 00:21:57,599 our five needs, five top needs and pain points. 506 00:21:57,839 - > 00:21:59,440 What's my experience gonna be like? 507 00:21:59,519 - > 00:22:02,720 It's one Thing to say, well, I need a payroll system, but if 508 00:22:02,720 - > 00:22:04,960 you look at three or four different payroll systems and 509 00:22:04,960 - > 00:22:07,839 you talk to three or four different references, you're 510 00:22:07,839 - > 00:22:09,920 probably going to hear about three or four different 511 00:22:09,920 - > 00:22:10,720 experiences. 512 00:22:10,880 - > 00:22:13,599 And one payroll system might do things completely different in 513 00:22:13,599 - > 00:22:14,559 another payroll system. 514 00:22:14,640 - > 00:22:18,319 So you've got to dig into what is my experience going to be 515 00:22:18,319 - > 00:22:19,839 like using this system? 516 00:22:20,079 - > 00:22:22,799 What is my experience going to be like with their customer 517 00:22:22,799 - > 00:22:23,359 service? 518 00:22:23,599 - > 00:22:25,599 Uh, you know, how are they going to support the product? 519 00:22:25,680 - > 00:22:27,039 And then how are they going to implement? 520 00:22:27,200 - > 00:22:29,920 What is my experience going to look like from an implementation 521 00:22:29,920 - > 00:22:30,640 standpoint? 522 00:22:30,880 - > 00:22:34,319 And the only thing you can do to really do your due diligence on 523 00:22:34,319 - > 00:22:36,400 that is to just make sure you talk to references. 524 00:22:36,640 - > 00:22:38,319 I'm really big on references. 525 00:22:38,480 - > 00:22:40,960 When we have a client that's going through an evaluation or a 526 00:22:40,960 - > 00:22:44,720 prospective client, I will introduce references via email 527 00:22:44,720 - > 00:22:47,920 and really force people to talk because they need to be able to 528 00:22:47,920 - > 00:22:51,039 have a conversation with another human being to say, here's what 529 00:22:51,039 - > 00:22:53,519 we went through, here's because there's no such thing as a 530 00:22:53,519 - > 00:22:56,000 perfect implementation, you're going to have a blip in the 531 00:22:56,000 - > 00:22:56,640 road, right? 532 00:22:56,799 - > 00:22:59,759 Here's what happened, here's how we overcame it, here's how we 533 00:22:59,759 - > 00:23:03,519 work together, or hey, here's what we went through and it was 534 00:23:03,519 - > 00:23:05,359 terrible and we don't recommend this. 535 00:23:05,440 - > 00:23:06,880 And you hear that sometimes too. 536 00:23:07,039 - > 00:23:10,240 So um it's just really important that you check references, 537 00:23:10,400 - > 00:23:12,319 figure out what that experience is gonna look like. 538 00:23:12,400 - > 00:23:16,400 But to recap who you're doing business with, um, what's the 539 00:23:16,400 - > 00:23:19,200 product and does it meet your top three to five business 540 00:23:19,200 - > 00:23:19,519 needs? 541 00:23:19,680 - > 00:23:20,400 And then how? 542 00:23:20,480 - > 00:23:21,920 How are they gonna deliver the product? 543 00:23:22,000 - > 00:23:24,640 What's that experience gonna look like from an implementation 544 00:23:24,720 - > 00:23:27,200 and then customer service and partnership standpoint long 545 00:23:27,279 - > 00:23:27,519 term? 546 00:23:28,160 - > 00:23:28,720 SPEAKER_00: Wow. 547 00:23:29,519 - > 00:23:30,880 That was a great explanation. 548 00:23:31,039 - > 00:23:33,759 So that was very that was very helpful. 549 00:23:33,920 - > 00:23:40,880 So it's um so on a some it's a similar type of um question, but 550 00:23:40,880 - > 00:23:42,480 of course just a little bit different here. 551 00:23:42,559 - > 00:23:46,400 So if a company, so they they currently have a system, whoever 552 00:23:46,400 - > 00:23:50,799 that's whoever their their their their HCM or you know HR system 553 00:23:50,960 - > 00:23:55,440 is currently, and they're just finding that this system it's 554 00:23:55,440 - > 00:23:58,799 becoming a really frustrating, whatever the criteria is for 555 00:23:58,799 - > 00:24:02,160 their frustration or there's a lot of pain with a system. 556 00:24:02,720 - > 00:24:06,000 What are some drivers they should really they should 557 00:24:06,000 - > 00:24:08,559 seriously consider actually moving to another system? 558 00:24:10,720 - > 00:24:14,000 SPEAKER_02: So, you know, there's a lot of different ways 559 00:24:14,000 - > 00:24:18,079 to look at this, but I would say this HR platforms have a lot of 560 00:24:18,079 - > 00:24:18,880 functionality. 561 00:24:19,440 - > 00:24:23,359 If the basics aren't working, go evaluate. 562 00:24:23,519 - > 00:24:27,599 And by the basics, I mean your payroll and your taxation needs 563 00:24:27,599 - > 00:24:30,240 to be accurate, and you shouldn't be putting out payroll 564 00:24:30,240 - > 00:24:31,920 and tax fires every day. 565 00:24:32,079 - > 00:24:34,720 It's not uh it's not a good use of anybody's time. 566 00:24:34,880 - > 00:24:37,599 And it creates a terrible experience for employees, for 567 00:24:37,599 - > 00:24:38,079 end users. 568 00:24:38,240 - > 00:24:40,559 They're not paid correctly, they're not being taxed 569 00:24:40,559 - > 00:24:41,119 correctly. 570 00:24:41,279 - > 00:24:44,319 So if you have anything uh when it comes to just the basic 571 00:24:44,319 - > 00:24:48,480 blocking and tackling of payroll taxation, none of the other 572 00:24:48,480 - > 00:24:51,119 feature sets matter until payroll and taxes are correct. 573 00:24:51,200 - > 00:24:53,200 So, number one for sure, payroll and taxation. 574 00:24:53,279 - > 00:24:55,920 If you're having pain points with that, it's probably time to 575 00:24:55,920 - > 00:24:56,559 move on. 576 00:24:56,720 - > 00:24:59,440 Uh, in a similar realm, if you're having pain with that and 577 00:24:59,440 - > 00:25:03,200 you can't get a hold of anybody at your uh at your vendors in 578 00:25:03,200 - > 00:25:06,319 your vendor's customer service group, uh, you should start 579 00:25:06,319 - > 00:25:07,440 looking for another vendor. 580 00:25:07,599 - > 00:25:10,079 There are really great technology platforms out there 581 00:25:10,079 - > 00:25:11,279 with good service groups. 582 00:25:11,440 - > 00:25:13,440 And when you call, a human being answers. 583 00:25:13,519 - > 00:25:16,079 I know everybody's trying moving towards AI and looking at how to 584 00:25:16,079 - > 00:25:17,680 use AI better and AI bots. 585 00:25:17,839 - > 00:25:21,920 And not that any of those things are bad, but it's at the end, 586 00:25:22,000 - > 00:25:26,559 this is such a um, this industry is, I'm trying to think about 587 00:25:26,559 - > 00:25:27,200 the right word. 588 00:25:27,279 - > 00:25:28,880 There's so many nuances to it. 589 00:25:28,960 - > 00:25:31,279 And you've got to be able to, like, especially with payroll 590 00:25:31,359 - > 00:25:32,799 because of how time sensitive it is. 591 00:25:32,960 - > 00:25:35,519 Hey, I'm trying to calculate an overtime adjustment for this 592 00:25:35,519 - > 00:25:38,000 employee before I click process on payroll. 593 00:25:38,079 - > 00:25:39,440 Um, can you help me do that? 594 00:25:39,519 - > 00:25:42,559 That has to be solved for right then at 4:30 on a Tuesday. 595 00:25:42,640 - > 00:25:45,119 There's no extra time to wait for that, and there's no two 596 00:25:45,119 - > 00:25:47,039 business days to wait for a response on that. 597 00:25:47,200 - > 00:25:50,160 So, customer service, uh, there's always room to look for 598 00:25:50,160 - > 00:25:52,400 better customer service providers in HR Tech. 599 00:25:52,640 - > 00:25:54,880 And then also I would say, and I'm I'm giving these 600 00:25:54,880 - > 00:25:57,440 recommendations because this is what I hear a lot of times from 601 00:25:57,440 - > 00:25:58,400 prospective clients. 602 00:25:58,480 - > 00:26:01,119 And it's interesting, just over the last couple of weeks and a 603 00:26:01,119 - > 00:26:04,559 couple of the new ones I've met with, a lot of it's been about 604 00:26:04,559 - > 00:26:06,480 just disjointed modules. 605 00:26:06,799 - > 00:26:10,559 And I think that's pretty common in this industry where, hey, I 606 00:26:10,559 - > 00:26:13,440 have to go set up a new earnings code and I have to go set it up 607 00:26:13,440 - > 00:26:16,720 in four different places, and it takes me three hours to do it, 608 00:26:16,799 - > 00:26:19,359 and then I get stuck and have to call service and wait for them 609 00:26:19,359 - > 00:26:20,480 to get back with me two days. 610 00:26:20,559 - > 00:26:24,160 And the experience is just really poor because it's because 611 00:26:24,160 - > 00:26:28,079 the systems are more modular than they are truly one system, 612 00:26:28,160 - > 00:26:30,880 one data set, uh, you know, one application that they're 613 00:26:30,880 - > 00:26:31,839 operating in. 614 00:26:32,079 - > 00:26:35,519 So I would say if you've got different modules that aren't 615 00:26:35,519 - > 00:26:38,720 speaking to each other, there are better solutions out there 616 00:26:38,799 - > 00:26:42,960 uh than systems that are uh modular and disconnected. 617 00:26:44,079 - > 00:26:45,359 SPEAKER_00: No, that's so fascinating. 618 00:26:45,440 - > 00:26:49,039 And I know I've I I've seen systems like you mentioned where 619 00:26:49,039 - > 00:26:50,480 they're just not that integrated. 620 00:26:51,599 - > 00:26:55,039 So even though they're they they have all the bells and whistles, 621 00:26:55,680 - > 00:26:58,319 in several cases, you know, you've got to you've got to 622 00:26:58,319 - > 00:27:00,160 enter into multiple fields. 623 00:27:00,799 - > 00:27:05,119 And I would say from a just a user experience, the end user, 624 00:27:05,200 - > 00:27:07,839 it's very frustrating because it's taking you so long. 625 00:27:07,920 - > 00:27:10,799 And of course, a lot of times it's like, oh yeah, no, we're 626 00:27:10,799 - > 00:27:11,519 fully integrated. 627 00:27:11,599 - > 00:27:14,880 Well, fully integrated could be unfortunately could mean a lot 628 00:27:14,880 - > 00:27:16,400 of different things to a lot of different people. 629 00:27:16,480 - > 00:27:19,519 SPEAKER_02: So yeah, integration's a big word. 630 00:27:19,920 - > 00:27:24,640 We say I had I had a had a a a wise mentor when words have 631 00:27:24,640 - > 00:27:25,599 meaning, right? 632 00:27:25,759 - > 00:27:28,640 What is the word what does the word integration mean? 633 00:27:29,279 - > 00:27:30,079 Is it real time? 634 00:27:30,240 - > 00:27:33,119 Do I have to wait till tomorrow to make sure the data sets are 635 00:27:33,119 - > 00:27:33,519 syncing? 636 00:27:33,680 - > 00:27:35,839 I mean, it's uh, and those are all the questions, right? 637 00:27:35,920 - > 00:27:38,640 You mentioned the evaluation, how do you go about it that you 638 00:27:38,640 - > 00:27:40,640 may not know to ask because you haven't done it in 10 years or 639 00:27:40,720 - > 00:27:42,000 you haven't done it in 15 years. 640 00:27:42,079 - > 00:27:44,000 So it's important to ask questions like that. 641 00:27:44,160 - > 00:27:46,160 Okay, you say it's fully integrated, but what does that 642 00:27:46,160 - > 00:27:46,400 mean? 643 00:27:46,559 - > 00:27:49,440 And then of course follow up and verify by speaking to references 644 00:27:49,440 - > 00:27:51,039 to make sure the experience is a good one. 645 00:27:51,279 - > 00:27:51,680 SPEAKER_00: Right. 646 00:27:52,079 - > 00:27:53,279 That's so great. 647 00:27:53,519 - > 00:27:58,799 Um so if there are some business owners or you know, your your 648 00:27:58,799 - > 00:28:03,440 natural target audience of business owners, uh CFO, 649 00:28:03,680 - > 00:28:09,279 controllers, head of HR, um, and they're thinking about this is 650 00:28:09,519 - > 00:28:12,720 kind of like a this will be a thought-provoking or thought 651 00:28:12,880 - > 00:28:14,160 starter for them. 652 00:28:14,640 - > 00:28:17,759 What are some reasons they need to be starting to think about 653 00:28:17,759 - > 00:28:18,880 this project now? 654 00:28:19,119 - > 00:28:22,880 If they are starting to either look they're they're brand new 655 00:28:22,880 - > 00:28:27,519 to having a sophisticated HR system, or they're they found 656 00:28:27,519 - > 00:28:29,839 that they're done with the current system, they have the 657 00:28:29,839 - > 00:28:30,480 incumbent. 658 00:28:30,799 - > 00:28:33,599 What are some reasons they need to start doing this, uh working 659 00:28:33,599 - > 00:28:34,880 on this project now? 660 00:28:36,480 - > 00:28:38,000 SPEAKER_02: I've I've mentioned a few of them. 661 00:28:38,079 - > 00:28:40,079 I think one for sure is scalability. 662 00:28:40,160 - > 00:28:44,160 If they have plans for growth, it is going to pay off big time. 663 00:28:44,480 - > 00:28:45,920 Get a good system in place. 664 00:28:46,000 - > 00:28:55,599 Uh, get your, you know, you work on some of the projects around, 665 00:28:55,680 - > 00:28:57,759 you know, get everything in place day one. 666 00:28:57,839 - > 00:29:00,559 I I had a client one time that came to me, they had three 667 00:29:00,559 - > 00:29:03,119 employees, and we have some minimum pricing in place. 668 00:29:03,200 - > 00:29:05,039 So it was gonna be a little expensive on the front end, but 669 00:29:05,039 - > 00:29:06,400 they were on the acquisition trail. 670 00:29:06,559 - > 00:29:10,559 But this particular CEO uh knew, hey, we're gonna get the system 671 00:29:10,559 - > 00:29:12,160 in place, we're gonna make the investment, we're gonna 672 00:29:12,160 - > 00:29:13,519 implement it, we're gonna implement it well. 673 00:29:13,680 - > 00:29:15,599 And that way when we start bringing employees on board, 674 00:29:15,680 - > 00:29:17,839 everything's set up and we're ready to rock and roll. 675 00:29:18,000 - > 00:29:20,640 So um, I would say that's the first one is just making sure 676 00:29:20,640 - > 00:29:22,799 you're setting up to scale if you're planning to grow. 677 00:29:22,880 - > 00:29:25,759 Uh, be thinking about getting a system in place in advance, as 678 00:29:25,759 - > 00:29:28,000 opposed to, hey, let's just see how long we can make it buy on 679 00:29:28,000 - > 00:29:28,640 QuickBooks. 680 00:29:28,880 - > 00:29:32,960 And maybe in 60, you know, not 60 days, but maybe in six months 681 00:29:33,039 - > 00:29:34,480 or so, we'll then look at converting. 682 00:29:34,559 - > 00:29:36,240 Well, then you're talking about data conversion. 683 00:29:36,319 - > 00:29:38,640 So again, just depends on how fast they plan on growing. 684 00:29:38,799 - > 00:29:41,440 We've talked about compliance, really important. 685 00:29:41,519 - > 00:29:44,319 Again, if you're going to grow and have a distributed workforce 686 00:29:44,319 - > 00:29:48,240 from, you know, the Department of Labor and the IRS and and and 687 00:29:48,240 - > 00:29:49,839 paying employees in different states. 688 00:29:49,920 - > 00:29:53,119 There's a lot in that that if you're on something as simple as 689 00:29:53,119 - > 00:29:56,079 a QuickBooks or if you're on a platform that's not welcome 690 00:29:56,240 - > 00:29:59,119 working well for you or keeping you in compliance, it's time to 691 00:29:59,119 - > 00:30:00,160 start thinking about that. 692 00:30:00,319 - > 00:30:03,440 And then the last one we talked about as well is uh is really 693 00:30:03,440 - > 00:30:04,720 just access to data. 694 00:30:04,960 - > 00:30:07,519 You should know what your labor costs look like. 695 00:30:07,680 - > 00:30:11,279 You should know why are people leaving my company to go work 696 00:30:11,279 - > 00:30:12,000 someplace else? 697 00:30:12,160 - > 00:30:15,279 And are they leaving because they are finding better 698 00:30:15,279 - > 00:30:17,119 opportunities from a pay standpoint? 699 00:30:17,279 - > 00:30:21,200 Or are they leaving because um maybe all the employees that are 700 00:30:21,200 - > 00:30:24,400 leaving came from a very specific recruiting source that 701 00:30:24,400 - > 00:30:26,559 maybe isn't productive for us and we're spending a whole bunch 702 00:30:26,559 - > 00:30:29,200 of money on and we shouldn't be because internal referrals are 703 00:30:29,200 - > 00:30:31,839 bringing us better candidates and we can save money by just 704 00:30:31,839 - > 00:30:33,039 doing internal referrals. 705 00:30:33,119 - > 00:30:35,759 So there's a lot of really great business decisions you can make 706 00:30:35,759 - > 00:30:37,279 when you have data in front of you. 707 00:30:37,359 - > 00:30:40,720 And the longer you put off having a system in front of you, 708 00:30:41,039 - > 00:30:45,279 you just you're you're you're kind of flying blind in a way as 709 00:30:45,279 - > 00:30:46,079 a business owner. 710 00:30:46,400 - > 00:30:47,039 SPEAKER_00: That's so true. 711 00:30:47,200 - > 00:30:51,599 And it's a and and then some of the clients that that that I 712 00:30:51,599 - > 00:30:54,880 work with and then HR catalysts, it's amazing that so many there 713 00:30:54,880 - > 00:30:58,079 are they're not small organizations and they still 714 00:30:58,079 - > 00:30:59,839 have paper employee files. 715 00:31:00,319 - > 00:31:04,400 And sometimes they have 75, 100 people and they have here's all 716 00:31:04,400 - > 00:31:07,599 the active files, here's the terminated files, and I'm like, 717 00:31:07,680 - > 00:31:08,559 oh my gosh. 718 00:31:08,799 - > 00:31:12,319 And they actually kind of cringe because I'm like, oh, I'm sure 719 00:31:12,319 - > 00:31:15,599 there's some very interesting things that are in the personnel 720 00:31:15,599 - > 00:31:16,880 file that there should be. 721 00:31:17,039 - > 00:31:17,519 SPEAKER_04: Oh yeah. 722 00:31:17,759 - > 00:31:20,160 SPEAKER_00: Versus having it all uploaded and stored in a 723 00:31:20,160 - > 00:31:23,519 beautiful system that should have a pretty high, high level 724 00:31:23,519 - > 00:31:25,359 of security versus a paper file. 725 00:31:25,680 - > 00:31:27,200 SPEAKER_02: Well, and I I probably wouldn't have said this 726 00:31:27,200 - > 00:31:30,319 10 years ago, but I would also say just if it's if I'm a 727 00:31:30,319 - > 00:31:33,759 business owner and I'm looking to grow a business, in the world 728 00:31:33,759 - > 00:31:36,480 that we live in today with cell phones, everything's at our 729 00:31:36,480 - > 00:31:39,279 fingertip, employees are expecting a level of 730 00:31:39,279 - > 00:31:40,160 self-service. 731 00:31:40,559 - > 00:31:44,799 So if an employee, uh, let's call it somebody young, you 732 00:31:44,799 - > 00:31:48,319 know, gener Z and the upcoming, right? 733 00:31:48,480 - > 00:31:50,559 They're expecting to pull up their phone and be able to look 734 00:31:50,559 - > 00:31:53,119 at a pay stub and see their PTO balance. 735 00:31:53,279 - > 00:31:56,799 And if you don't have a system in place that's gonna support 736 00:31:56,799 - > 00:32:01,599 that um natural just expectation of that employee, you're not 737 00:32:01,599 - > 00:32:04,079 gonna be able to keep good talent and develop good talent. 738 00:32:04,160 - > 00:32:06,640 And so a lot of it has to do just with the retention of 739 00:32:06,640 - > 00:32:07,279 people as well. 740 00:32:07,359 - > 00:32:08,240 It's it's expected. 741 00:32:08,319 - > 00:32:11,599 When I started exponent 15 years ago, it wasn't necessarily the 742 00:32:11,599 - > 00:32:12,160 expectation. 743 00:32:12,240 - > 00:32:14,799 It was like, wow, look at that PTO, it's online. 744 00:32:15,200 - > 00:32:17,119 Um, but now it's expected. 745 00:32:17,440 - > 00:32:18,160 SPEAKER_00: Right, sure. 746 00:32:19,839 - > 00:32:20,640 That's so true. 747 00:32:20,799 - > 00:32:25,279 So, but um any any final thoughts, Ashley, that you 748 00:32:25,279 - > 00:32:27,519 wanted to share with the audience before I ask you a 749 00:32:27,519 - > 00:32:29,440 couple of couple of things about you. 750 00:32:31,680 - > 00:32:32,640 SPEAKER_02: Oh gosh. 751 00:32:32,960 - > 00:32:39,119 Um I don't I I I think for me, I I will share this one final 752 00:32:39,119 - > 00:32:39,599 thought. 753 00:32:40,160 - > 00:32:42,880 I would, and I've seen this so for whatever reason, 754 00:32:43,119 - > 00:32:45,519 post-pandemic, I've seen so much more of this. 755 00:32:45,759 - > 00:32:46,799 Work as a team. 756 00:32:47,119 - > 00:32:51,119 I understand that a lot of times payroll will roll up underneath 757 00:32:51,119 - > 00:32:54,720 HR, or HR and finance will work closely together, but operations 758 00:32:54,720 - > 00:32:55,440 is kind of separate. 759 00:32:55,519 - > 00:32:58,400 When you go through an evaluation, just don't leave 760 00:32:58,400 - > 00:33:02,000 anybody out of the discussion and hold fast what you guys 761 00:33:02,000 - > 00:33:04,079 decide as a team that you need. 762 00:33:04,319 - > 00:33:06,559 And I think that's going to get you the best result. 763 00:33:07,039 - > 00:33:09,119 A lot of times I'll see companies go through an 764 00:33:09,119 - > 00:33:11,920 evaluation and we're only talking to HR and not finance, 765 00:33:12,000 - > 00:33:14,319 or we're only talking to finance and not HR. 766 00:33:14,480 - > 00:33:17,599 And it's not addressing the needs and benefiting the 767 00:33:18,079 - > 00:33:19,359 organization as a whole. 768 00:33:19,519 - > 00:33:22,319 And if people inside their organizations would work 769 00:33:22,319 - > 00:33:25,039 together as a team and collaborate through this 770 00:33:25,039 - > 00:33:28,720 evaluation, I think that there would be optimal results for 771 00:33:28,720 - > 00:33:29,599 everyone involved. 772 00:33:29,680 - > 00:33:33,440 And so I would just encourage to not make it uh to kind of think 773 00:33:33,440 - > 00:33:36,559 outside of yourself, so to speak, in your role and what 774 00:33:36,559 - > 00:33:39,279 you're trying to accomplish and make sure you're involving 775 00:33:39,279 - > 00:33:42,319 everybody that could uh, you know, touch the system or be 776 00:33:42,319 - > 00:33:45,200 impacted by the system or its data that it's generating for 777 00:33:45,200 - > 00:33:45,440 you. 778 00:33:45,759 - > 00:33:46,000 SPEAKER_00: Right. 779 00:33:46,160 - > 00:33:47,200 Okay, that's great. 780 00:33:47,359 - > 00:33:50,559 So um a couple of other just kind of fun things. 781 00:33:50,720 - > 00:33:58,400 So um books, podcasts, any place you get good information 782 00:33:58,400 - > 00:34:01,759 regarding your, you know, anything that have been helpful. 783 00:34:01,839 - > 00:34:04,000 You even mentioned something earlier about mentoring. 784 00:34:04,079 - > 00:34:07,519 What are some things you've done just to stay kind of stay 785 00:34:07,519 - > 00:34:11,199 current and just to continue to grow and develop in your career? 786 00:34:11,519 - > 00:34:14,159 SPEAKER_02: Yeah, um, thank you for giving me all the options. 787 00:34:14,480 - > 00:34:17,440 Uh I am not much of a reader or a podcaster, and I'll tell you 788 00:34:17,440 - > 00:34:17,599 why. 789 00:34:17,760 - > 00:34:19,760 I'm not sure I have the patience for books. 790 00:34:19,920 - > 00:34:22,079 Uh, I have I have I've worked on that. 791 00:34:22,239 - > 00:34:26,079 Uh podcasts I listen to off and on, but I also don't have a long 792 00:34:26,079 - > 00:34:26,639 commute. 793 00:34:26,719 - > 00:34:30,000 I've lived since I moved to Dallas in 2010 to start with 794 00:34:30,159 - > 00:34:33,039 Exponent, I've lived within 10 minutes of this building in 795 00:34:33,039 - > 00:34:33,599 Addison. 796 00:34:34,079 - > 00:34:37,199 So um I have time for like one song and one phone call, and 797 00:34:37,199 - > 00:34:39,119 that's it on my way in and out of work. 798 00:34:39,360 - > 00:34:40,719 Uh here's what I've done. 799 00:34:40,800 - > 00:34:42,800 I've I've been busy raising kids for the last eight years. 800 00:34:42,880 - > 00:34:43,440 I've got two of them. 801 00:34:43,519 - > 00:34:44,559 They're eight and five. 802 00:34:44,719 - > 00:34:47,679 Uh, I've not done a lot of books, podcasts, but I will say 803 00:34:47,679 - > 00:34:52,639 this I am big on uh mentorship, meeting with uh individuals like 804 00:34:52,639 - > 00:34:52,800 you. 805 00:34:52,880 - > 00:34:55,119 Like, you know, I've known you for 15 years now. 806 00:34:55,280 - > 00:34:59,599 I've been uh I've been, it's been a huge blessing for me to 807 00:34:59,599 - > 00:35:02,400 form a lot of the relationships I formed with business owners, 808 00:35:02,480 - > 00:35:04,960 even in my first five years at Exponent, because I still talk 809 00:35:04,960 - > 00:35:05,840 to them today. 810 00:35:06,079 - > 00:35:09,599 The other thing that I'm real big on that I think is huge, if 811 00:35:09,599 - > 00:35:12,800 you don't have time to read the books or listen to the podcast, 812 00:35:13,119 - > 00:35:17,760 if you're raising kids, um, take some time to find a career 813 00:35:17,760 - > 00:35:21,360 coach, take some time to find a mentor, take some assessments. 814 00:35:21,440 - > 00:35:23,119 Uh, you'll change over time a little bit. 815 00:35:23,199 - > 00:35:25,840 Now, some of the assessments don't change, but I will throw 816 00:35:25,840 - > 00:35:26,880 out a couple of my favorites. 817 00:35:26,960 - > 00:35:29,519 I took a Strength Finders, uh, the Gallup Strength Finders 818 00:35:29,519 - > 00:35:32,880 assessment last year, kind of rocked my world, put it back 819 00:35:32,880 - > 00:35:35,360 into perspective, what I should be spending my time on every 820 00:35:35,360 - > 00:35:35,599 day. 821 00:35:35,679 - > 00:35:38,320 I had an amazing career coach that I worked with on that. 822 00:35:38,559 - > 00:35:39,840 I still work with them today. 823 00:35:39,920 - > 00:35:42,639 I've taken culture index, I've taken predictive index. 824 00:35:42,800 - > 00:35:45,360 And every time I take one of those assessments, I learn 825 00:35:45,360 - > 00:35:46,719 something new about myself. 826 00:35:46,960 - > 00:35:50,960 And when I learn something new about myself, it helps me focus 827 00:35:50,960 - > 00:35:53,920 my daily activities on the things that fill my cup. 828 00:35:54,000 - > 00:35:56,480 And it helps me relate to others and understand. 829 00:35:56,559 - > 00:35:58,079 I like to see other people's assessments. 830 00:35:58,159 - > 00:36:00,639 It helps me be a better employee, it helps me be a 831 00:36:00,639 - > 00:36:03,679 better friend because I know, okay, that person communicates 832 00:36:03,679 - > 00:36:05,760 that way because of this, or they're asking this question 833 00:36:05,760 - > 00:36:06,559 because of that. 834 00:36:06,719 - > 00:36:10,400 Uh, that's been a huge growth point for me in the last several 835 00:36:10,400 - > 00:36:10,960 years. 836 00:36:11,280 - > 00:36:14,239 And um primarily that's what I've done. 837 00:36:14,320 - > 00:36:17,039 If I had to pour a book out there, um, there's a book 838 00:36:17,039 - > 00:36:19,840 called, I think it's the five dysfunctions of a team that's 839 00:36:19,840 - > 00:36:20,239 really good. 840 00:36:20,320 - > 00:36:23,199 I did listen to that one, uh, an audio book. 841 00:36:23,280 - > 00:36:25,760 Uh, and then I listened to a leadership podcast, it's been a 842 00:36:25,760 - > 00:36:28,800 couple of years, but I'm real big on leadership and just in 843 00:36:28,800 - > 00:36:31,599 servant leadership and how do we serve others and you know, 844 00:36:31,920 - > 00:36:34,000 circling all the way back to the very beginning of our 845 00:36:34,000 - > 00:36:34,639 conversation. 846 00:36:34,880 - > 00:36:37,760 If I don't wake up every day and have the ability to positively 847 00:36:37,840 - > 00:36:41,519 and positively impact the life of someone else, because that's 848 00:36:41,519 - > 00:36:43,199 what I we should be doing, right? 849 00:36:43,280 - > 00:36:43,679 Every day. 850 00:36:43,840 - > 00:36:45,599 That's that's our calling, that's what we should we should 851 00:36:45,599 - > 00:36:45,920 be doing. 852 00:36:46,079 - > 00:36:49,360 And I mean, I just yesterday, or maybe it was this morning, I 853 00:36:49,360 - > 00:36:53,119 sent a resume over for someone that um hadn't had a job in a 854 00:36:53,119 - > 00:36:56,079 while, just kind of been dealt a tough hand the last, I mean, 855 00:36:56,239 - > 00:36:56,719 year or so. 856 00:36:56,800 - > 00:37:00,880 And I sent his resume over to for an opportunity in a an HR 857 00:37:00,880 - > 00:37:01,199 role. 858 00:37:01,280 - > 00:37:04,159 And and it's like, okay, even if he doesn't get the job, there's 859 00:37:04,159 - > 00:37:05,440 an opportunity for him, right? 860 00:37:05,519 - > 00:37:07,920 Like I've positively impacted him in that day. 861 00:37:08,079 - > 00:37:10,559 And and um, I think that's what we're called to do. 862 00:37:10,719 - > 00:37:12,480 So that's what I spend my time on. 863 00:37:12,800 - > 00:37:13,679 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's awesome. 864 00:37:13,840 - > 00:37:14,159 Good for you. 865 00:37:14,320 - > 00:37:17,280 No, it's it's great because as as we mentioned a couple of 866 00:37:17,280 - > 00:37:18,800 times, we've known each other for a few years. 867 00:37:18,880 - > 00:37:22,000 So it's kind of fun to watch you and honestly kind of watch you 868 00:37:22,000 - > 00:37:24,239 and kind of grow and develop in your career. 869 00:37:24,320 - > 00:37:25,119 So good for you. 870 00:37:25,280 - > 00:37:27,840 So um last question. 871 00:37:28,000 - > 00:37:32,400 So, what advice now that you're you're much more wise, so what 872 00:37:32,400 - > 00:37:36,239 advice would you give your 16 with your 16-year-old self? 873 00:37:36,480 - > 00:37:40,880 SPEAKER_02: Oh man, uh I'd give myself a lot of advice. 874 00:37:41,039 - > 00:37:43,199 I'll start with it. 875 00:37:43,360 - > 00:37:46,320 It is so easy to be short-sighted as a teenager. 876 00:37:46,480 - > 00:37:50,239 My 16-year-old self, I think back to just being 16 and and 877 00:37:50,239 - > 00:37:54,639 how hard it is, and you know, being not concerned about the 878 00:37:54,639 - > 00:37:56,719 future, but not sure about the future, but you're also not 879 00:37:56,719 - > 00:37:58,480 really thinking about the future, you're thinking about 880 00:37:58,480 - > 00:37:59,119 today. 881 00:37:59,360 - > 00:38:02,800 I I you know just think long-term, right? 882 00:38:02,960 - > 00:38:05,119 As much as you can in long-term decisions. 883 00:38:05,199 - > 00:38:07,840 And some of that has to do with, I mean, something really simple. 884 00:38:08,000 - > 00:38:10,880 I know it sounds silly, but set up a LinkedIn profile. 885 00:38:11,039 - > 00:38:15,519 I came to interview for this job when I was 23, and um, Fidel 886 00:38:15,679 - > 00:38:17,840 Baca, chief marketing officer, he said, Do you have a LinkedIn 887 00:38:17,920 - > 00:38:18,159 profile? 888 00:38:18,239 - > 00:38:19,280 And I said, What's LinkedIn? 889 00:38:19,679 - > 00:38:23,360 And he's 23, and like, you know, that's so just the little 890 00:38:23,360 - > 00:38:26,320 things, you know, step toward that career, set up a LinkedIn 891 00:38:26,400 - > 00:38:29,519 profile, start connecting with your friends' parents who have 892 00:38:29,519 - > 00:38:30,239 jobs. 893 00:38:30,480 - > 00:38:34,239 Um, uh, I will also say, I know 16 is young, but if I could say 894 00:38:34,239 - > 00:38:40,320 something to my 16-year-old self, uh uh value learning and 895 00:38:40,320 - > 00:38:42,719 be curious, ask lots of questions. 896 00:38:42,880 - > 00:38:45,840 I think about the babysitting I used to do when I was young. 897 00:38:46,000 - > 00:38:49,119 I kind of think back and wish, man, if I had just like asked 898 00:38:49,119 - > 00:38:51,599 the mom or the dad, like, what do you do for a living? 899 00:38:51,760 - > 00:38:53,039 Uh oh, what does that mean? 900 00:38:53,199 - > 00:38:55,760 I probably could have learned some things at a younger age. 901 00:38:55,920 - > 00:38:58,639 Just be curious about business if that's what you're interested 902 00:38:58,639 - > 00:38:59,280 in getting into. 903 00:38:59,440 - > 00:39:00,800 Ask questions, connect. 904 00:39:00,880 - > 00:39:02,079 You're never too young to learn. 905 00:39:02,239 - > 00:39:05,679 And uh coming, trust me, coming from someone who's been having 906 00:39:05,679 - > 00:39:08,719 kiddos for the last eight years, you you're not gonna be as sharp 907 00:39:08,719 - > 00:39:10,239 at 40 as you are at 16. 908 00:39:10,320 - > 00:39:14,239 So as much information as you can take in at that young age 909 00:39:14,320 - > 00:39:18,480 when you have the energy and the brain capacity, uh, it's it's 910 00:39:18,480 - > 00:39:18,880 huge. 911 00:39:19,119 - > 00:39:23,679 So um the the the last thing I would mention, this is probably 912 00:39:23,679 - > 00:39:26,079 less for a 16-year-old and more for a 22-year-old. 913 00:39:26,320 - > 00:39:29,360 Uh when you're looking for a job, do not look for money. 914 00:39:29,519 - > 00:39:33,360 You have to look for a person, a mentor, a leader that's gonna 915 00:39:33,360 - > 00:39:36,960 pour into you and teach you and mentor you uh in your 20s. 916 00:39:37,039 - > 00:39:38,239 And I think that's huge. 917 00:39:38,320 - > 00:39:42,159 Uh obviously you've got to pay bills, yes, but in your first or 918 00:39:42,239 - > 00:39:46,000 you know, first job, second job out of college, do the best you 919 00:39:46,000 - > 00:39:48,800 can to get on a team with somebody that's truly gonna help 920 00:39:48,800 - > 00:39:49,199 you grow. 921 00:39:49,280 - > 00:39:52,639 And I think that is really in for me personally, is has been 922 00:39:52,639 - > 00:39:54,800 what has set me up for success in my life. 923 00:39:55,119 - > 00:39:56,960 Is is starting here at Exponent. 924 00:39:57,199 - > 00:39:57,440 Yeah. 925 00:39:58,000 - > 00:39:58,480 SPEAKER_00: That's great. 926 00:39:58,559 - > 00:39:59,039 Good for you. 927 00:39:59,119 - > 00:40:01,679 That's that was that was a great response. 928 00:40:01,760 - > 00:40:04,239 I'm just saying this just just because of hearing this. 929 00:40:04,320 - > 00:40:08,159 And you know, it is because it's a you know, when you start your 930 00:40:08,159 - > 00:40:11,840 career or when you're 16 or what have you, whatever age, when 931 00:40:11,840 - > 00:40:14,559 you're you when you're younger to whatever level and just 932 00:40:14,559 - > 00:40:20,079 really starting uh a career, I think just a lot of a lot of 933 00:40:20,079 - > 00:40:23,679 people are um just a little bit disillusioned. 934 00:40:24,559 - > 00:40:28,079 And they are they're chasing the dollar and the big buck and this 935 00:40:28,079 - > 00:40:32,559 and that, and they're really in a situation to where they you 936 00:40:32,559 - > 00:40:34,159 know, within a year or two, they're miserable. 937 00:40:34,719 - > 00:40:34,960 SPEAKER_04: Yeah. 938 00:40:35,280 - > 00:40:37,199 SPEAKER_00: Or for whatever reason, or within, you know, 939 00:40:37,280 - > 00:40:39,760 two, three, four years down the road, they're like, I changed 940 00:40:39,760 - > 00:40:41,119 jobs, I hated my job. 941 00:40:42,320 - > 00:40:45,599 So, like you said, just finding a place where you can learn, 942 00:40:45,840 - > 00:40:48,159 yeah, you know, be curious, I think is huge. 943 00:40:48,320 - > 00:40:51,280 And and the ability to learn is a gift. 944 00:40:51,760 - > 00:40:52,000 SPEAKER_04: Yeah. 945 00:40:52,320 - > 00:40:54,480 SPEAKER_00: And also just finding, you know, whether it's 946 00:40:54,480 - > 00:40:57,039 in your side your company ideally, but also outside, 947 00:40:57,199 - > 00:41:01,280 finding a good mentor, a good coach, a good person you can 948 00:41:01,280 - > 00:41:05,119 bounce ideas off of and not not be worried about if the 949 00:41:05,119 - > 00:41:08,320 question's silly or if it's gonna make you feel like, oh, 950 00:41:08,480 - > 00:41:09,360 well, that's a dumb question. 951 00:41:09,440 - > 00:41:11,760 I'm like, well, there's always there's no such thing as a dumb 952 00:41:11,760 - > 00:41:12,079 question. 953 00:41:12,159 - > 00:41:13,360 SPEAKER_02: So yeah, yeah. 954 00:41:13,599 - > 00:41:16,079 Well, and I know I'm gonna sound like an old soul when I say 955 00:41:16,079 - > 00:41:21,360 this, but um I also big time believer in I'm all about a 956 00:41:21,360 - > 00:41:24,880 hybrid work environment, but these full-time remote jobs for 957 00:41:24,880 - > 00:41:28,000 young people, find an office to go to, just learning through 958 00:41:28,000 - > 00:41:30,159 osmosis and the people that you're gonna be around. 959 00:41:30,239 - > 00:41:33,519 Uh, I I think since pandemic, we've swung back into the office 960 00:41:33,519 - > 00:41:36,079 a little bit more, uh, which means we're working as teams 961 00:41:36,079 - > 00:41:38,159 together and we're able to impact, you know, the younger 962 00:41:38,159 - > 00:41:38,719 workforce. 963 00:41:38,960 - > 00:41:41,920 But uh when it comes time to find that first job 964 00:41:41,920 - > 00:41:43,599 post-college, be well networked. 965 00:41:43,760 - > 00:41:46,960 Look for somebody who's gonna be a teacher and help you grow. 966 00:41:47,199 - > 00:41:48,320 SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's awesome. 967 00:41:48,480 - > 00:41:52,239 So uh so how can people find you, Ashley, if they'd like to 968 00:41:52,239 - > 00:41:55,599 talk to you about uh, you know, like to find out a little bit 969 00:41:55,599 - > 00:41:57,599 more about you, find out a little bit more about your 970 00:41:57,599 - > 00:42:01,519 organization and payroll systems, how and HRIS systems. 971 00:42:01,920 - > 00:42:03,840 How can they how can they find you online? 972 00:42:04,960 - > 00:42:07,440 SPEAKER_02: Uh online on uh LinkedIn. 973 00:42:07,599 - > 00:42:10,480 I uh um you should be able to find me under Exponent HR, 974 00:42:10,559 - > 00:42:11,360 Ashley Martin. 975 00:42:11,440 - > 00:42:14,239 Uh could be if sometimes it's easier if you type in my maiden 976 00:42:14,239 - > 00:42:16,239 name too, Ashley McMaster Martin. 977 00:42:16,320 - > 00:42:17,679 Uh online is fine. 978 00:42:17,760 - > 00:42:20,239 I also believe I'm on the Exponent website. 979 00:42:20,480 - > 00:42:23,599 I'm not sure if my contact information is there or not, but 980 00:42:23,599 - > 00:42:26,239 if anyone has questions or just wants some bounce some ideas off 981 00:42:26,239 - > 00:42:29,440 of me about maybe going through an evaluation, um, I've I've 982 00:42:29,440 - > 00:42:30,960 helped a lot of clients do that. 983 00:42:31,199 - > 00:42:34,639 And um yeah, just feel free to reach out. 984 00:42:34,719 - > 00:42:36,159 I'm always open to connecting. 985 00:42:36,559 - > 00:42:36,960 SPEAKER_00: Great. 986 00:42:37,119 - > 00:42:37,440 Okay. 987 00:42:37,519 - > 00:42:39,280 Well, thanks a lot for your time, Ashley. 988 00:42:39,360 - > 00:42:40,639 This has been really insightful. 989 00:42:41,840 - > 00:42:42,559 SPEAKER_02: Thank you, Mark. 990 00:42:42,639 - > 00:42:43,599 I appreciate the opportunity. 991 00:42:44,239 - > 00:42:44,800 SPEAKER_00: You're welcome. 992 00:42:44,880 - > 00:42:45,119 Thanks. 993 00:42:45,199 - > 00:42:45,599 Take care. 994 00:42:45,679 - > 00:42:46,239 Bye bye. 995 00:42:46,880 - > 00:42:47,199 SPEAKER_02: Take care. 996 00:42:47,360 - > 00:42:47,679 Bye bye.