Just like our clients, we’re growing!
Ever gone to the grocery store and came out with the life story of a stranger?
As I juggle three small children and throw semi-nutritious food in the cart, I have often pondered as to why I’m attracting these thought-provoking discussions at such inopportune moments.
As an HR person, I should be a bit more savvy about identifying this strength/curse — is it some kind of weird tell-me-your-life-story vibe that I radiate?
Or is it...gulp...the follow-up questions that I ask to get deeper into the story?
I’ve always been curious about people — they never fail to fascinate me.
This plus my 15+ years of HR experience have brought me to build a nice little business.
Today, I get to follow my intuition to match the hearts and minds of good people, making great things happen at work for my clients.
It’s not all blind luck, of course. Most of us know that a sound business strategy — and quickly growing client base — needs more than intuition to succeed.
We need excellent… well, people (surprise!).
At this point in my business, it’s time to practice what I preach and hire fun, smart, curious, and people-loving people!
One of those people that reached out to me is Meagan. She sent me a cold (yet captivating) email and asked me to coffee.
I agreed, and hired her on the spot.
So, I would like to introduce our newest team member, Meagan Senkowski. Not only is she hilarious, incredibly friendly and super sweet, she also manages to balance this with a certain type of directness, which is crucial in our HR world.
The Fozzie Bear Strategy
When asked a suite of oh-so-important questions, Meagan was not hesitant to share the that Fozzie is her favorite Muppet, because she “loves his jokes and he always has a positive attitude.”
This not only speaks volumes about her approach to life, but the “wokka wokka” factor is important, since I need people around who keep me laughing!
An HR Family
On a more serious note, she is also highly detailed- and process-oriented — a rare but vital combination for HR. Her specialties are recordkeeping and compliance, and has 13 years of HR leadership experience in the healthcare and business sectors.
Meagan has a natural aptitude for all things HR — her dad is also an HR professional.
“My dad is inspirational in many ways," she says. "He is always positive and supportive. He has been me and my sister's #1 fan all our lives.”
People skills, of course, are essential, and she credits a favorite school course, psychology, for helping her learn about why and how “...everyone thinks and feels differently," since "understanding that everyone has a different, but equally important point of view really helps when you are an HR professional.”
And it is not uncommon for her to call me and excitedly tell me that she has met a “new best friend,” which is usually one of our candidates!
The Personal Side
If you want something done, ask a busy person. ~ Benjamin Franklin
No one exemplifies these wise words more than Meagan, who has a pretty big workload with twin one-year-olds and a 6-year-old at home! I’m sure it helps that she says her favorite job — other than being an HR director — is being a mom.
It’s easy to believe that she’s a great mom since she says the first thing she likes to do in the morning is “see her kids’ smiling faces.”
Helping Others Succeed
We asked Meagan if she would be willing to share an interesting or poignant HR story, something that stands out as an accomplishment.
“About 7 years ago, I hired a gentleman for a manager position at ResCare [a home care company]. He did not have a lot of experience but I really liked him and wanted to give him a chance. I knew he was special because he was kind and had integrity. He won over his staff and jumped right in. He has consistently moved up in the company and is now the QA Director for the Cincinnati branch. I loved that I was in a position to give him the opportunity to succeed in a field that he was passionate about.”
How lucky are we that she chose us? Welcome aboard, Meagan!
Feel free to reach out to Meagan about all of your HR needs or just to say hello! You can connect with her at meagan@asliceofhr.com or on LinkedIn.