Modernizing HR Practices With Brielle Ware

On this episode of the Profit Roadmap podcast, Ryan chats with Brielle Ware, Human Resources Director at Xplor Technologies.

In this episode, Brielle talks about:

• The importance of effective onboarding for new employees
• Developing a strong company culture
• Handling workplace conflicts and communication issues
• Budget-friendly ways to train and develop employees
• The role of technology in modern HR practices
• And so much more!

From Target to HR Director

Brielle Ware’s journey into human resources began with a simple desire to work at Target when she was 13 years old. 

At 16, she got her first job at Target and her boss recommended her for an HR assistant position at a new store opening. 

This experience led Brielle to change her concentration to human resources, and she’s never looked back since.

Now, with nearly 15 years of experience in HR, Brielle serves as the Human Resources Director for Xplor Technologies, the parent company of FieldEdge and Service Autopilot.

Creating a Welcoming Environment for New Employees

Brielle talked about the importance of making new employees feel comfortable even before their first day. 

Here are a few tips she recommends:

1. Stay in touch with new hires between offer acceptance and start date
2. Provide clear information about what to expect on the first day and week
3. Make introductions to team members and stakeholders
4. Assigning a “culture champion” as a buddy for the new employee
5. Use an orientation program to help understand the big picture of the company

At Xplor Technologies, they have the “Explore Liftoff” program, which gives new team members a deep dive into the company’s structure, divisions, and products within their first month.

Developing a Unique Company Culture

Brielle defines company culture as “the personality of an organization.” 

To develop a strong culture, Brielle says it is really important to involve employees in creating company values. 

This can be done through roundtable sessions with employees from different areas of the business. 

The goal is to establish values that employees can identify with and live day-to-day, and there should be real-life examples that show this.

Handling Workplace Conflicts

Even the best companies can still face internal conflicts between employees.

Brielle recommends understanding that each person prefers to communicate differently. 

She focuses on facilitating introductions and connections between team members to improve understanding. 

When conflicts do happen, it’s important to approach them with the assumption of good intentions and take time to understand the situation before reacting. 

Brielle also talked about building trust and maintaining confidentiality in tough situations like this. 

She also recommends using team-building activities to improve understanding and cooperation between team members.

Budget-Friendly Employee Training and Development

To help employees learn and grow without breaking the bank, Brielle recommends creating an interactive orientation program involving employees from different departments. 

She likes to offer job shadowing opportunities and utilize in-house experts for system and software training. 

Partnering junior employees with senior employees for mentorship can be really helpful too.

The Role of Technology in HR

Brielle also talked about several HR tech tools that can make a huge difference including payroll systems with integrated HR modules, employee survey tools for gathering feedback, and performance management software. 

She also mentioned benefits management systems, document libraries for employee files, and Learning Management Systems (LMS) for ongoing training. 

Lastly, Brielle says it is important to have an onboarding system (or bot) to provide new employees with reminders and information throughout their first few months.

The Most Inspiring Aspect of HR

For Brielle, the most rewarding part of working in HR is connecting with people from different backgrounds and unique personalities. 

She finds joy in seeing employees grow in their careers, even when they move on to other opportunities. 

Brielle believes that HR provides a unique opportunity to connect with every employee and help solve problems across different teams.

Want to learn more about Brielle’s work at Xplor? Just visit Xplor’s website to learn more.

Related: Mowing Down Inefficiency with Jason Thomas

The following music was used for this media project:

Music: Summon the Rawk by Kevin MacLeod

Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/4434-summon-the-rawk

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