Her Story
About Kayla
I've spent about five and a half years in the HR field, with my experience being specific to the PEO (professional employer organization) industry. I've worked for three PEOs throughout my career, one of which was acquired. I just recently took a promotion within a national PEO where I now serve as the manager of their national service center for employees. In this role, I personally oversee our National Service Center with a main focus on employee service and satisfaction. We have no product - our product is service. All of our employees, including client management, reach out to us and we're the first line of defense. One of my most notable professional achievements came when I was brought into a challenging situation with some sole employer charter schools in Michigan. Multiple audits were failing, and I created and implemented a system to properly audit and track everything. Since then, we've achieved 100% satisfaction. My current challenge, and why I was hired for this position, is that we're rapidly growing - sometimes growing faster than our infrastructure. I was brought in to do a re-evaluation and create new processes and structures that allow us to grow effectively.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Kayla
01What do you attribute your success to?
I believe that I have a lot of people who have given me a lot of chances. I frankly believe that God has opened up a lot of doors for me. I don't believe that I did it myself - I believe that they were given to me as an opportunity.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I've been given is that you need to have proximity and access to be able to grow. You can't grow if you just have one or the other. This has influenced me to surround myself in positions and around people that are better than me, and that also influences how I manage.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell them that instead of just trying to climb the ladder, they need to focus on being the best possible person at doing their current job that they can be, so that whenever an opportunity does come up, they're ready. In my case, it was being the best customer service specialist I can be and being really good at doing that on an everyday basis, so that when an opportunity came up, I was ready.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think one of the biggest challenges is the constant moving of technology as well as the different economic challenges. The PEO industry thrives when there is turnover of people because you get large buying power and you're able to outsource and have a lot of resources at your fingertips that you could never have before in one individual directly working for a company. For me, we're rapidly growing, and so for some things, we're growing faster than our infrastructure. My current challenge, and why I was hired for this position, was to come in and basically do a re-evaluation and create new processes and structures that allow us to grow.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I believe that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. I believe that trust is essential. Faith is very important to me, and so I believe that I work for the Lord and not for myself, and so I need to lead by serving.
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