Meet Elizabeth Bodie, PHR, Vice President of Human Resources. Today, Liz gives her thoughts on creating employee-centered cultures and why creating safe spaces for employees is so important. Learn about how she’s shaping the employee experience at PureSpectrum and what her goals are in the years ahead.
Q: What attracted you to working in HR?
A: Growing up, I spent a lot of time at my parents’ auto parts store and learned firsthand what it takes to be an entrepreneur. I saw them make tough decisions and develop interpersonal skills that built a strong team. At my core, I’ve always been somebody who truly cares about people and wants to help and make a difference. To me, HR is kind of the blend of both. I get to help drive a business in revenue and cross-functional communication and assist business solutions. And on top of that, I can make an impact on people’s lives by being empathetic, an advocate, and giving them the empowerment to do their job to their full capabilities.
Q: What made you want to join the PureSpectrum team?
A: From the moment I started interviewing with various executive team members, their energy was contagious. They all had a common vision and goal. They were determined and driven, and it’s difficult to not want to join a team that is that passionate and that has such great energy in executing that goal and vision. As I learned about PureSpectrum’s company values, I knew that’s where I wanted to be next in my career.
The goal of PureSpectrum is to make everyone’s jobs and lives easier. For our clients and our colleagues. This isn’t a goal that’s ever finished because we’re continuously innovating, adapting, and evolving. It seems like a lot of companies say that their employees are the backbone, but they don’t live it or follow through. PureSpectrum does. We want to be the greatest place to work and we’re willing to work towards that every day.
Q: What have been some of your favorite highlights and aspects of your role here so far?
A: It’s interesting because I was given a blank canvas to create what HR should feel and look like within PureSpectrum. While that could scare some people, it doesn’t scare me. I’m invigorated by the passion of the employees and want to mirror that passion in our HR initiatives. It’s an exciting time to be not just within HR at PureSpectrum, but to be a PureSpectrum employee. Looking ahead at the continued growth and exciting things we’re expecting this next year, we’re going to have a really fun time doing it.
Q: What can companies do to create an employee-centered culture?
A: I’m of the strong belief that employees need to feel safe and respected at work. So the question is always, how do you get there? It seems easy enough to do, but a lot of companies fall short on this. A company can’t just assume that employees will speak up when something is amiss. Organizations need to be proactive about feedback. It’s their responsibility to create a dialogue with employees so they feel heard. At PureSpectrum we now host employee round tables, enabling the CEO to have a conversation with every single employee. A state of the nation with different executives is another way to do that.
Creating the space so that employees can be free of retribution or fear of speaking up is the goal. When an employee is given a safe space to communicate and it’s heard and received, they’re more likely to act or speak up again when asked, because they trust that the company’s going to do something with it. So it’s not just about hearing them, but taking action after they’ve spoken up.
Q: How does this correlate with fostering talent and leadership?
A: We have such a great team at PureSpectrum and are focused on building leaders from within. You never fail as a company when you invest in your colleagues. It’s recognizing the more leaders that come from different areas of the company, the better we are going to be. That means offering executive coaching, conferences, workshops, and mentoring. This improves skills, direct knowledge, and overall bench strength.
Everyone can be a leader. It’s providing consistent and timely constructive feedback. I purposefully don’t use “constructive criticism” here because there is such a negative connotation behind that. But constructive feedback fosters a positive change within our work. Knowing where to improve, providing solutions and how to do better is critical to get those A-plus leaders to develop.
I think leaders sometimes also forget to be empathetic. My goal is always to provide feedback with grace. By that, I don’t just mean kindness. I encourage our team to take into consideration what people may be going through. When an employee feels seen and understood, it builds trust, which in turn builds leadership.
Q: What are your goals for PureSpectrum in 2022?
A: Completely building out PureSpectrum’s Human Resources. I feel like there’s so much that I want to get my arms wrapped around! It’s my ongoing goal to enable PureSpectrum to continuously attract and retain the industry’s best talent. Implementing our first global HRIS system which will streamline onboarding, training, and various processes.
I’m also looking forward to partnering with our leadership team on HR and company initiatives at the upcoming leadership summit. As I expressed earlier, it’s so important for a team to collectively buy into the build-out of employee engagement, culture, and onboarding processes. I’m excited to watch PureSpectrum grow in 2022 and beyond!
Interested in joining our team? Learn about our current openings and connect with us on LinkedIn.