Her Story
About Courtney
Courtney Washington brings more than 15 years of experience to her human resources career, currently specializing in benefits and leave administration while also overseeing learning and development and employee engagement initiatives. Her path into HR began after being laid off from a manufacturing role at Mercedes-Benz in Vance, Alabama, prompting her to pursue operations management studies at the University of Alabama. After relocating to Mobile, Alabama, with her husband, she attended the University of South Alabama, where an HR elective sparked her interest in the field, leading her to roles focused on recruiting, onboarding, and eventually benefits administration. Washington holds a bachelor's degree in business administration, an MBA, a master's in human resource management, and is in the final year of the Juris Master's program at Florida State University, with aspirations to earn a doctorate in legal and policy studies. She achieved her SHRM-CP certification, which she considers the greatest moment of her career, and maintains active memberships in SHRM, SALGBA, PASRA HR, and the Alabama Employer Consortium. Washington attributes her success to her faith, humility, strong family values, and a commitment to treating others with integrity, honesty, fairness, and consistency, while advising others to seek mentors and stay current through continuous learning.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Courtney
01What do you attribute your success to?
My relationship with my creator is one. I'm very humble, I have a strong family background. I just try to treat people how I want them to treat me. I try to also remember that if you're coming to see me, you have a need. So I try to make sure I keep that at the focal point of whatever we're doing.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Just step into it in an entry-level position, kind of get you a mentor, because I do have a mentor. Her name is Ken Washington. She has been very instrumental in my career. Just find somebody that you can lean into to help you grow, because HR is ever-evolving. I'm always reading up on the latest in human resources, the latest regulatory issues. I'm also always watching webinars, I'm always going to conferences and training, just trying to make sure that I stay sharpened in my expertise.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Retaining good talent is something that we have been faced with. I came into an organization that was heavy with the tenure. They had a lot of people that could leave within like the 30-day time frame, so trying to replace that institutional knowledge has been very, very difficult. They had so many people that had been here for like 30, 40 years. And those people are irreplaceable, so right now we're trying to get that information that's in their head, we're trying to get that down on paper, create SOPs, standard operating procedures.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity. Honesty. I try to treat everybody fair, I try to be consistent in how I apply things. I just treat you like I want to be treated.
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