Her Story
About Evelyn
I've been in my field for over 20 years, and my journey started in an unexpected way. I was originally supposed to interview for an accounting position at a water mitigation company, but the HR manager had a banking background, which is what I originally came from. She decided that since I had a banking background as well, people who work in banking have a certain degree of integrity, so she decided to train me on HR and payroll, and that's how I got in the field. Currently, I serve as payroll and benefits manager at Eqwal, a healthcare company that deals with orthotics and prosthetics - if you think of missing limbs, scoliosis braces, or knee issues, that's what we deal with, and we have clinics all over the United States. I've been with Eqwal since December 2023. In my role, I review and approve all of the payrolls for 30 companies that we've purchased and brought under us. I'm also responsible for our company-wide open enrollment and benefit plans, making sure that our benefit plans are up to par for our employees, because it's very important for me that the employee experience is a positive one. When I started at Eqwal, none of our companies were in our current payroll system, so I was responsible for the implementation of all of those companies to go from their payroll system to ours, as well as merging all of those benefit plans, which was over 70, under our umbrella. I created our PTO policies and serve as the administrator of our company's 401K plan. The biggest challenge in my field is that there's just not enough time in the day to do everything, and since we're technically a startup company bringing in other companies, sometimes there are hiccups during the implementation process. But I'm just that type of person - everything can be fixed, just take a deep breath, it's going to be okay. Another challenge is that being the payroll and benefits manager, it's sometimes difficult to take off, so I've made it my duty to try to give myself a work-life balance and time to breathe, because I can't talk to my employees about taking care of themselves and their mental health if I'm not an example of that myself.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Evelyn
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to, one, I consider myself pretty blessed to have been brought into this field. I try to have an open relationship with employees. I try to have an open door. And I always remember, at one time, I was in their shoes. So I always try to have empathy for employees.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice that I've ever received is not to judge a book by its cover. When you're dealing with difficult employees, try to take it with a grain of salt. Now, of course, if there's a thing where they're severely disrespectful, there's a way to handle that without it going off the rails. I try to treat people the way that I want to be treated, and that advice was also given to me as well. And boundaries - setting boundaries is important.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
The biggest advice that I can give is to make sure that you have thick skin. Because you're dealing with people's money, and payroll is a thankless job. No one is going to email you and say thank you for paying me on time. But if you make a mistake, it's an earthquake outside. And what you have to realize is you don't know what that person is going through financially. And just have empathy, and just think about what if you were in their shoes. And just patience. Just understand that everything can be fixed.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge that I can have is one that is just not enough time in the day to do everything, and due to the fact that we technically are a startup company and bring in other companies, sometimes there's hiccups that occur during the implementation process. But normally, I'm just that type of person, it's just everything can be fixed. Just take a deep breath, it's going to be okay. Another thing is being the payroll and benefits manager, sometimes it's a little difficult to take off. So one of the things that I definitely made it my duty to do is to try to give myself a work-life balance, to give myself time to breathe, because I can't talk to my employees about taking care of themselves and taking care of their mental health if I'm not an example of that myself.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity is a very strong value that was taught to me as a child that has stuck to me. As I've gotten older, empathy, integrity, honesty, boundaries, and open communication are the values most important to me in my work and personal life.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · Virginia
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.