Who are the people that our clients talk to, trust, and work with year after year? Get to know more about our agency by getting to know the people through our Employee Spotlight Series.
What do you do here at Wells?
My role as the manager of employee experience is to make sure that people have what they need to be successful in their jobs. That's our leaders, our owners, and our employees. All the way from before they start working here in the job posting candidate experience, through their full employee life cycle. That includes performance reviews, celebrating happy events with them, helping them through the not-so-happy events that come as part of your employment process, until they exit the company.
That also includes things like employee benefits, training opportunities, and performance-related coaching. Sometimes I just need to be that ear for an employee to vent. I can recommend great podcasts!
One of the ways I feel like I can really help is by helping managers navigate some of the trickier employee situations. Sometimes a manager will come to me and say, "Hey, I'm having this trouble with this employee. I'm not really sure what to do or I think I want to handle it this way. Help me sort this out." I'll help the manager navigate that process in a way that is beneficial for them, and the department keeps the relationship intact. It helps the employee get through whatever their struggles happen to be at that time.
What's your background, and how long have you been here?
I've been with Wells for two years and eight days. I just celebrated my two-year work anniversary. Before I came to Wells, I was working in an HR capacity for a civil engineering firm. I've been working in HR for almost 20 years now.
Why Wells? What brought you here?
I chose to work at Wells because I was looking for a smaller company, a place where I could come in, be very hands-on, help more people more directly. The company I worked with prior to joining the Wells team was much larger, spread out in lots of different states, six or seven hundred employees at the time, and I felt like I wasn't able to dig in and make a ground-level impact with employees. I also needed something a little bit different for my family. I knew I wanted to grow my family and couldn't sustain a travel schedule. I wanted something that was a little bit less stressful.
What's the best lesson you've learned throughout your career?
I'd say the best lesson I've learned in my career in HR has been that it's okay to not know the answer and it's okay to say you don't know. There are lots of resources out there, lots of people who are subject matter experts, and it's completely okay to say, "I don't know. Let me check that out for you. I don't know. Let me call an attorney. I don't know. Let me do a quick Google search on this and see."
What's the biggest challenge you've had in your career?
I would say my entire HR career has been a series of interesting challenges to overcome. At first it's understanding what you know and what you don't know and then understanding what your gaps in education are and how to fill those gaps, where to find your resources, where to find your subject matter experts, how to learn more about your field and become an expert. Those challenges have made themselves apparent in many different ways throughout the years. Sometimes it's doing something wrong the first time and having to learn, you know, in a really meaningful way how you messed up and then how to fix it and that lesson stays with you and helps you perform better the next time that opportunity presents itself. When you're working with people it's not an exact science. So naturally many many challenges arise. Sometimes it's a conflict of an employee's desires and what the business can reasonably support. Sometimes it's a new law that has come out that we as a company just have to accept and have to figure out the best way to to work with. We move forward even when there are some bumps and challenges that come, but we always learn more coming out the other side of those things. It's my goal to always make sure that the employees and leaders in the company feel heard and understood. There are naturally a lot of challenges that arise.
What's the first job you ever had?
My very first job was in a Kohl's department store. I was a cashier and tried to sell people Kohl's store charge cards which is really icky. Before that I'd been a babysitter for many many years.
What's the weirdest job you ever had?
The weirdest job I ever had was working for Abercrombie & Fitch in college and while it's not weird to work for a clothing store, some of the things we had to do at work were a little strange. So we would have to perfectly fold these stacks and stacks of t-shirts and then mess them up perfectly to give the perfectly imperfect image that Abercrombie was portraying at the time. In addition to that, the fragrances were overwhelming in the store. Every square millimeter of the space smelled like Abercrombie & Fitch perfume, whichever one was the most popular at the time, and it permeated everything.
All of the clothing in the store, all of my clothing, my hair when I worked there, at the time it was pretty fun but looking back it seems a little strange. As an HR professional working for Abercrombie & Fitch is kind of interesting given the HR challenges the company has faced. If I could do anything for a living I would be a professional organizer.
If you could do anything for a living, what would it be?
It's a little strange, maybe, I don't know. I love bringing order to chaos that can be in someone's personal finances, that can be in someone's pantry, in their closet, in their kids playroom. I would love to help people bring order and systems to their lives that are meaningful, sustainable, and make them feel happy.
What do you like to do when you're not working?
When I'm not working I'm spending time with my family. You can find me on the sidelines at my kids sporting events or driving the carpool to the elementary school in the morning or packing Valentine's Day treat bags for my kids classrooms or shuttling children here, there, and everywhere to their activities. Occasionally I hang out with my husband, he's pretty cool.
What’s volunteer activity/non-profit do you like to work with/support and why?
I have a special place in my heart for nonprofits that deal with feeding hungry families and that provide sustainable, reliable housing opportunities. These days I really like Habitat for Humanity. My husband works for them. They give him a paycheck, that's really fun.
What's on your bucket list?
My bucket list items are very exciting to me. I cannot wait to retire and travel. Israel, Egypt, India, Iceland is of particular interest to me. I am a slightly closeted geology nerd and can't wait to see the natural environment, the way the earth's crust moves, the volcanoes, all of the fun things that fun and interesting things that come along with the geography of Iceland. I'd also like to go to Costa Rica, spend some time hiking in the jungle, maybe seeing some monkeys in the wild, enjoying the beautiful beaches.
What is your secret super power?
My family is very very aware of my secret super talent. It's folding fitted sheets. I'm very very good at folding fitted sheets. I'm also a personal finance nerd. I can help people who feel like they don't have room in their budget to do things find that that extra space. That's a little more meaningful than folding fitted sheets, but I really do love the way a properly folded set of sheets looks in a well organized linen closet.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
My most recent accomplishment that really I feel proud of is earning my SPHR credential.
What's your biggest weakness?
My greatest weakness is probably something I don't want to talk about on camera...
Is it being on camera?
It is! I am very camera shy.
Favorite Book?
I read a lot of children's books these days and my current favorite children's book is Dragon's Love Tacos. A close second would be That's Not a Hippopotamus.
Favorite Podcast?
I love podcasts. I love all kinds of nerdy podcasts. My new favorite podcast is Murderer 101, which is really interesting and it's about how a group of students help solve a series of cold cases and find a murderer. It's really interesting and the teacher guided them through the process. I also like S-town. I was very surprised by how S-town turned out. I listen to a lot of personal finance podcasts as well. Very very nerdy things. Very nerdy things.
My Favorite TV Show?
My favorite all-time TV show is The Office. It's a comfort rewatch for me over and over. I also really enjoy How I Met Your Mother and the Big Bang Theory.
Favorite Movie?
I have several favorite movies. I'd have to say my most favorite is Shawshank Redemption.
Favorite Band?
I love music. My favorite band is The Foo Fighters.
How do you define success?
Success is different for everyone. Everyone's definition of success will be different. So I would say my definition of success is doing what you love, where you love doing it, with the people you love.
What's the best advice you've been given?
My grandmother gave me the best advice I've ever been given and she said. "If you want to be different then be different." I have used that to steer me and my life choices many many times. So when the people around me were making decisions that I didn't like, I decided to do different things and had different outcomes and I was ultimately able to push myself down a more successful path.
Shannon is a vital part of our employee experience here at Wells. If you have questions about careers or employment at Wells Insurance, please reach out to her. Shannon Nelson 910-251-5438. Or Email at snelson@wellsins.com
