An organization is made up of people. So how do you do right by your people from the moment they interview at your organization through their (hopefully long) career with you? This week we speak with two of our HR Directors at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) who are experts in this exact area.
The Employee Life Cycle (ft. Jennifer Grillo & Clarisce Tolston)
How to attract, engage, and inspire your people
GUEST BIOS:
Jennifer Grillo – Director of HR at AHF. Based in New York, Jennifer has been with AHF for eight years and helped the organization optimize the strength of the team and help employees make the best of their time at AHF.
Connect with Jennifer: LinkedIn
Clarisce Tolston – Director of Talent Acquisition at AHF with an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion. She’s passionate about bringing the best possible resources to the AHF family to help fuel development and personal growth.
Connect with Clarisce: LinkedIn
CORE TOPICS + DETAILS:
[4:48] – Seeing Your Impact
Finding a responsive career path
The AHF team shares how their work at the organization is rewarding because its impact is so present in their day-to-day work. There’s collaboration and the reward of seeing that collaboration measurably improve the lives of the people AHF serves. Can we all find work that brings the same types of rewards?
[7:47] – Grow Yourself, Grow Your Career
Personal growth is the hallmark of a career
Looking for a job that will help you grow your career? Look for one that will help you grow yourself. Find a place that will invest in you not only as an employee but as a human being and watch how your options open and you achieve more than you ever thought you could.
[20:37] – Your Manager Isn’t Just Your Boss
A teammate and partner in all your work
This week’s guests emphasize that a manager at any organization shouldn’t just be the person that gives you assignments and lets you know whether you’re doing a good job. They should be someone with whom you can discuss what you’re striving for, what excites you, what paths you want to pursue next— and someone who helps you achieve those things.
[22:20] – Stay Curious
Find your impact by looking
It’s easy to get into a role or career we enjoy and become stagnant. We forget that we have ideas, forget that we have impact. We forget how much our insights and perspectives matter. Remain curious and seek out opportunities to not only help grow your organization but also grow yourself. Always be on the lookout for new roles within your organization, even (or especially) if it’s something that may challenge or stretch you.
RESOURCES:
ABOUT AHFTER HOURS:
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is the world’s largest HIV/AIDS service organization, operating in 45 countries globally. The mission? Providing cutting-edge medicine and advocacy for everyone, regardless of ability to pay.
The AHFter Hours podcast is an official podcast of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, in which host Lauren Hogan is joined by experts in a range of fields to educate, inform, and inspire listeners on topics that go far beyond medical information to cover leadership, creativity, and success.
Learn more at: https://www.aidshealth.org
ABOUT THE HOST:
Lauren Hogan is the Communications Manager for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and has been working in a series of roles with the Foundation since 2016. She’s passionate about increasing the public visibility of AIDS, the Foundation's critical work, and how everyday people can help join the fight to make cutting-edge medicine, treatment, and support available for anyone who needs it.
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In Detroit, history was made when Barry Gordy opened Motown Records back in 1960. More than just discovering great talent, Gordy built a systematic approach to launching superstars. His rigorous processes, technology, and development methods were the secret sauce behind legendary acts such as The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, and Michael Jackson.
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Learn more at: DetroitPodcastStudios.com
Lauren Hogan:
Tune in for battle tested leadership skills that can be used on a day to day basis. Get the insights you need to foster change and drive business forward. These are professional development tools for immediate use that you won't want to miss.
Lauren Hogan:
AHF is the world's largest HIV AIDS service organization operating in 45 countries globally, 16 states domestically, including DC and Puerto Rico. Our mission is to provide cutting edge medicine and advocacy, regardless of ability to pay.
Lauren Hogan:
Hello and welcome to the After Hours podcast. I'm your host, Lauren Hogan, serving as your liaison to take you on a journey to learn more about AIDS Healthcare Foundation. Our topic of today is excel and elevate. Before we start the show, please make sure to remember to check out the show notes so you can follow along. Now, let's get started.
Lauren Hogan:
So welcome everybody who After Hours, the podcast. I host, Lauren Hogan, and I am so excited to be doing this episode this week called, Excel and Elevate. And I have two very, very special guests with me today. My very miss Jen Grillo, as well as the beautiful Clarice Tolston. Welcome, guys. Welcome.
Clarice Tolston:
Welcome. Thanks for having us.
Jennifer Grillo:
Hello. Happy to be here.
Lauren Hogan:
So, we just want to give some brief introductions, so that way our listeners know who you guys are and what your relationship is to AHF. And of course, of those that you don't know, AHF stands for AIDS Healthcare Foundation. So Jen, let us know who you are.
Jennifer Grillo:
Sure. Well, thanks everybody for listening in, really happy to speak with you today. My name is Jennifer Grillo. I'm one of the directors of human resource here at AHF. My home is New York, so shout out to anybody listening from New York today, along with the rest of the AHF family. I've been with AHF a little bit over eight years, and I'm really happy to speak today about some things related to our team members and how to make the best out of your time here, developing yourself and your career at AHF.
Lauren Hogan:
Clarice, let us know who you are.
Clarice Tolston:
I'm super excited to be here with Jen. I am the Director of Talent Acquisition, and I also cover diversity, equity, and inclusion. We have a national team here that covers all of AHF. And so we just really want to bring some good resources and tools to our HF family, when you're thinking about a career and you're thinking about development. Or if you are thinking about recommending someone to join the organization, we're going to kind of lay out the foundation. So, stay tuned with us for this entire podcast so that we can elevate and educate.
Lauren Hogan:
Most definitely. And just to give some background for those that don't know, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, we are a global nonprofit based in 16 states, domestically, 45 countries, globally. And we have a mission of cutting edge medicine and advocacy, regardless of ability to pay. So, we are the largest AIDS service organization in the world, and we are always helping those that are in need.
Lauren Hogan:
So to get started, we are talking about employee life cycle, mainly what you, Jen, and Clarice really handle on the AHF front. So you gave us your introductions and kind of why you guys are here, but just to start, what really attracted guys to come to AHF in the first place?
Jennifer Grillo:
So, I can start. Myself, what I found really wonderful, when I did some research on AHF, was clearly the work that we did for those people around the world that may not be able to take care of themselves or their family members independently. And being in an administrative function in HR, you don't always get the ability to help people directly. But I knew that the work that I did and what I would be able to help, as far as the staff and the team members that are working directly with our patients and their families, would be huge. And that would be a nice and nice thing to be able to say that I did on a day to day basis. So, that was really what attracted me to join AHF, as a whole.
Clarice Tolston:
And I'll follow up with what Jen said. I've always been attracted to nonprofit and mission-driven work, so this was kind of a natural fit for me, to join the organization. And my role at AHF was also pretty exciting because we were starting out with talent acquisition and we were building this team out. So, I kind of had a blank canvas to kind of build out a team as well as focus on retention. And then now, we're focusing on automation and technology tools, software resources, and looking at diversity. So, it was a natural fit for me to join the organization. And I just... We'll get into it probably later than the podcast, but I'm super excited to share some of the things Jen and I have been working on.
Jennifer Grillo:
Yeah. And what's cool is, somewhere like AHF, you're able to really touch and feel the impact that you make. Most of us here have come from larger organizations where we're not able to make as big as an impact or as quick of an impact. So, it's nice. And Clarice and I collaborate a lot on things that we'll talk about today. Just that, being able to get something in front of team members quicker than maybe a bigger organization would be able to do. So, it's been very rewarding.
Lauren Hogan:
So, the title of this episode officially is, Employee Life Cycle. So I want to just start by, can you guys break that down and give us some insight to what does that refer to?
Clarice Tolston:
Well, I'll jump in and start the process because talent acquisition is the beginning of the life cycle. Right? So, we are the gatekeepers on how the organization finds talent, retains talent, and attracts talent. Right? So the beginning of the life cycle actually starts the very first day someones accepts the offer. So as soon as someone joins the organization, accepts the offer, that party starts right then and there. And that party doesn't end until the person either resigns from the organization or retires from the organization.
Clarice Tolston:
So, the life cycle is an entire process where we can see the candidate go through the organization after the acclimation period. Right? They come in here, they have 90 days, in some cases, six months, some cases, nine months, depending on their role of responsibility within the organization. Then they have an opportunity to really seek out and become curious about opportunities that are really going to improve their daily life. Right? So, we're just not talking about skill sets that are going to improve just the work, just their job, their day to day duties, but also kind of giving them a good infrastructure to get skill sets that will kind of just help them out, no matter what organization or what skill or what jobs they get into.
Clarice Tolston:
So the life cycle is the journey, right? The whole journey as someone gets through the entire process. So from the beginning to whether they stay within the organization in their current role, or they move around or they transition. And the life cycle, like most cycles, can either go horizontal or lateral. Or it could go up and down, depending on if they decide to become a people manager. So there are several versions of the life cycle.
Clarice Tolston:
But what we're really going to talk about and what want to really encourage our AHF family to do, is really to look and to say, "Where can I grow my career development? What do I really want to do? And how do I get the resources, tools, and the mentorship to do those things?"
Lauren Hogan:
So Jen, before you go, Clarice, I just want to touch on something, because you said what you really want our AHF employees and family, like we like to call ourselves, want them to know. But from the outside, looking in, what do you want the perspective hire to know about why they might want to come and work for this organization?
Clarice Tolston:
I want people to know, outside of the organization, that... Jen spoke about this earlier, we've worked at fortune five hundreds. We've worked at large organizations. We've had a chance to really see impact. I think a lot of times, especially for talent acquisition, we get to see... our results are tangible. Our outcomes are tangible. We get to see the people we sit in the seats. Right? So we get to go and say, "Hi.", and have an actual interaction.
Clarice Tolston:
I think what AHF has such a different culture. Right? You can actually go to the clinics, you can go to the field and really interact with people and look at the programs. I love seeing... And we'll talk about this as we talk about the stages in the employee cycle. We get to go out and see people that have been promoted or people that have gotten mentorship or people that have found their place or found their groove or found their flow. I think that's the biggest part of what this whole organization is about. I think when you're looking for a job, that's not just about duties and responsibilities, but you're looking and you're focused on how having a career and growing yourself. This is a place that really is going to invest in you and we're going to nurture you. And we're going to put that extra effort into making sure that you have the tools and resources, not just to be successful in your role, but to transition when that time's available.
Lauren Hogan:
Jen, let's hear your thoughts.
Jennifer Grillo:
Oh yeah, no, thank you. Just to add on to that, Clarice shared her team is really the face of welcoming new employees into the organization, and also, when that time comes, if they retire, if they resign, they move on to something else. My team really focuses on making sure people understand that there is more to your day than just coming to work. So you come to work, you do your job, it gets boring sometimes. But as far as engagement and focusing on continued career development, the sky's the limit, and a lot of that will come from the initiative of the employee. So we'll talk more throughout this podcast just about the different ways that you can get involved in your career development, but we want people to be excited about what's next for them. It's endless.
Jennifer Grillo:
There's always different things, especially in an organization like AHF. We're very focused on being nimble and wearing tons of different hats, and something new come every day. And you are able to raise your hand and say, "Hey, I'd like to get involved in this. I'd like to further my skillset on this." And that's something that's very, very hard to come by at a lot of organizations. So I think that for our current team members, knowing that there's always more to strive for and work to achieve and also new folks coming in, you have a blank canvas of things, not just what you're bringing to the organization initially, but other things you can be exposed to and continue to develop. So it's really a very rewarding feeling, knowing that you're able to do so much, not just for our patients and your current role, but all so in the future and what your job is going to evolve to within the organization.
Lauren Hogan:
So I'm going to break off here because I think one thing that's important to note, we're talking about the employee life cycle and what that process is like while you're in your job, so I think one thing we should touch on is why do you guys feel like AHF is special? For me, I'm also an employee while I'm hosting this podcast, but for me, what made AHF so special was the diversity of it. We have different entities like affinity groups that you can assimilate with. And I don't mean that in a negative way, but connect with in a positive way. So that's what drew me to AHF, because I was allowed to be unapologetically a Black female in the workspace. Whereas if I took another job in corporate America, I wouldn't be able to do that. So what made AHF special for you guys?
Clarice Tolston:
I'll start. Yeah, for me, I think what makes AHF special for me is that our departments, we are heard. To your point, Lauren, we're just not seen, we're not pushing paper, we're not hiring people and walking away from them. We don't know who's hired. I've worked at big organizations, 20,000 plus, so most people were just a number, numerical data. So as they joined the organization, they were just 00573. Here, people know your name, your ideas are heard. Evidence of that is doing what we're doing right now. Jen and I were collaborating, probably just going over some deliverables in our regular job, and we said, "You know what be really cool is how can we help the employees know that we are here to support them? And how can we help and educate or excel and elevate their career?" And she was like, "What about a podcast?"
Clarice Tolston:
And now we have this and we ran with it of that conversation. Yeah, we have the fruit of that conversation. And I'm pretty sure there's a lot of amazing organizations out there, but where could you work at the level where you have these types of conversations and you have of the ear of senior leadership, you have the ear of your leader, our leader, Anita Castile, who is saying, "Yeah, let's push us forward." I think a lot of places, people have great ideas, but no one gets to know what those ideas are. Here, we can really speak up and transform our ideas into actual, tangible thoughts, ideas and products and software. And so I think for me, that's what makes it special is that this job is a job, but I get to be part of advocacy, I get to be a part of the mission, and I get to have my ideas heard.
Jennifer Grillo:
Yep. And that's exactly what I was going to... Clarice basically took the words out of my mouth, which is not surprising because we do tend to do that with each other. But just-
Lauren Hogan:
Do you guys talk a lot? Is that what you're saying?
Jennifer Grillo:
Just a little bit, just a little bit. Typical morning commute, like say, "Hey, what's up? What's going on for today? But yeah, I would say AHF does a phenomenal job of empowering employees to think and have ideas, and that's what's been so attractive to me. My role has evolved a ton since joining the organization, many years ago at this point. And a lot of what we're able to do today and a lot of what we're focusing on making sure employees know, where are those resources? And if you have an idea, let's talk about it. Let's make it happen.
Jennifer Grillo:
Because there's a lot of ways to continue to develop and make people feel good each day about what they're doing and what they're working towards. And I think that that's what sets the organization apart, because the ideas are valued, change is important and encouraged, and that's not always the environment of a lot of other places. I think the more and more we continue to make sure people know and are kept up to date on what's happening, they'll push themselves to be the best they can be, to excel, to kick it up a notch, to elevate. And that's the focus of what we really want to make sure people know on how to make that happen every day.
Lauren Hogan:
No, I think that's beautiful. So going back into more of the structure of what we were talking about, so how does the current job market affect AHF's hiring current currently?
Clarice Tolston:
Oh man, Lauren.
Lauren Hogan:
Ooh, look at those faces. Wait a minute.
Clarice Tolston:
Oh man. It's a tough world.
Lauren Hogan:
Sensitive subject. I'm sensing it.
Clarice Tolston:
It is a sensitive subject, because we look at the world globally, nationally, domestically. We follow these trends. We look for the jobs report. We're following the stock market, we're following all of these indicators and drivers to tell us what is going on with the job market. One of the ideologies that has changed since the global pandemic is people's insight and outlook on work, period, overall. And it doesn't matter what job you had prior. Whether you are a physician or whether you were a nurse, whether you were an administrative assistant, whether you were a student, the way that you look at work and your concepts around work have dramatically changed throughout this process.
Clarice Tolston:
So now that we are revisiting, coming back into the office, and getting things back to somewhat of a work normal in the labor force, you come with those changed ideas and those changed thoughts. Nationally, we just hit a national resignation, the great resignation, as we call it, where we have people of all genres, all walks of life, all levels of organizations that are just leaving in droves, they're finding remote work or they're leaving to work in another state that has lower cost or they bought a home during the pandemic. So the way that we work and the way that we think about work has dramatically changed. On top of a global pandemic, we also have generations that are coming into the workforce that just graduated, that are coming into the workforce, who have a completely different mindset than say someone who is a Millennial or a Baby Boomer. So, we have two major conflicts going head to toe. We have a global pandemic. We have the rise of the Delta variant. I don't know when this will be aired. I don't know when this is going to be aired, but we have the rise of Delta and we have all of these things that are really changing the way and changing the mindsets of work.
Clarice Tolston:
So, as a organization, we're trying to keep up with how we're looking at things and trying to be progressive and proactive versus reactive. So the job market is changing, but AHF is also changing. So it's not just a job market is shifting. We're trying to shift and figure out how do we continue to attract talent? I mean, we just got a few awards for the best places to work. So we're like, how do we maximize that? And how do we keep our current teams engaged so that they aren't part of that great resignation? So those things we are daily... I mean, top of mind like Jen said.
Clarice Tolston:
On our morning commute, I'm like, "What do you think about this? Have you read this article?" So, I mean, I think it's a struggle for a lot of organizations that are trying to figure this out. And I don't think we've done a bad job at it. I do think we are trying to figure out different sources to make it better, but I mean, we've hired about close to about 700 people this year, and that's really high for us due to turnover, but we're able to find top talent. And now with Jen's team, with learning development, we're able to develop that raw talent and kind of turn it into productive high-functioning employee.
Lauren Hogan:
Well, Jen, let me kind of ask you this then, do you guys provide incentives for people coming into the fold and joining AHF?
Jennifer Grillo:
There's tons of opportunity to figure out where you fit in terms of what's next. So when you come into the organization, depending on the skillset that you bring, of course, there may be different incentives there. It could be a sign on bonus. It could be other incentives like commission or performance bonuses, depending on your role, which is always great because people by nature are competitive and they want to work hard and get paid. But when you're here within the organization, there's going to be opportunity to pursue maybe a transfer or a promotion, may it be special recognition. We do have a program called Above and Beyond. I know the both of you ladies are familiar with that program and you're able to participate in events. You're able to complete either our annual workforce required trainings or elective trainings to get points. You can redeem them for super cool gifts, as well as gift cards, which is super hot right now. Everybody's excited to get those points, do your trainings and cash in for Amazon.com gift card, myself included. I am guilty.
Jennifer Grillo:
So it's nice because when we put focus on a certain initiative, we do try to encourage and motivate and reward employees to do that. Just now we have a protest that's going to be coming up, and all of those individuals that participate and advocate for the causes that we're focusing on are able to get points into their Above and Beyond bank as a thank you. Thank you for taking time out of your day. Thank you for standing by us and pushing these really, really important initiatives forward.
Jennifer Grillo:
So between having incentives like that, and then also having the opportunity to be promoted, be moved into a different role, get a certification, get a different certificate to hang up on your wall. You achieved X, Y, and Z while at AHF, all those things make you feel good about what you're working towards outside of your day to day.
Lauren Hogan:
Well, on a selfish note, I'm only in the Above and Beyond thing so I can get the air fryer. Just so we're clear.
Jennifer Grillo:
Listen, it's all good. Air fryers are the best. How about I put everything in the air fryer. So that's okay.
Lauren Hogan:
Me too.
Jennifer Grillo:
Exactly.
Lauren Hogan:
So, but I'm saying that to say that we have really good gifts, outside the gift cards. You can get some pretty good stuff if you participate.
Jennifer Grillo:
There's a lot of cool stuff on there and you just bank your points and then you can get really fun things.
Lauren Hogan:
And so Jen, you kind of touched on something too. So who can employees speak to if they have ideas for training outside of what programs we currently have in place? Because we've talked about how you guys, in terms of our leadership, a lot of people are open, they're receptive to what you're saying. They want to help you. So who can employees speak to outside of maybe leadership or what do you guys advise?
Jennifer Grillo:
Yeah, no, that's an awesome question. Thank you for asking that. So the first thing I would say is speak to your manager, tell them what you're looking to accomplish, tell them what you're striving for, what excites you, what do you want to do next? And then between having that conversation with them and they can partner with us in on the HR side, on the HR team, we can decide what that looks like for you.
Jennifer Grillo:
Currently we have a lot of resources we try to push out. It could be something like a virtual webinar training. We do have in-person trainings when we're not in a global health pandemic, but hopefully soon we'll be able to have more of those classroom in-person setting trainings. But we also have memberships to different organizations. There's different ways to get knowledge and experience in learning. May it be career development and self-reflection and betterment, it could be specific skills that were related to your job or what your next step within the organization may look like.
Jennifer Grillo:
And we also have education assistance. So that will help you financially work towards whatever that next degree is for you. That may get you a leg up for that next future position as you grow within the organization. So manager, HR, we can all talk about getting you what you need to accomplish those goals. And there's a lot of different ways to do that. So we'll brainstorm together.
Lauren Hogan:
So Clarice, let me ask you. Why is it important for all levels of staff to focus on their education and development? Because I think that's one clear message that you guys have kind of constantly been pushing throughout. You know what we've been speaking about? So again, why is it important for all levels of staff to focus on their education and development?
Clarice Tolston:
I think in order for you to grow your career, you have to stay curious. I think what happens sometimes we get really stagnant because we forget that we have ideas. We forget that we have impact. We forget that we matter. And so it's to the core of our human nature to be curious and go out there and start seeking those opportunities.
Clarice Tolston:
I think for us, career development and no matter what level you are. For us at AHF, we have different lines of business. So we have retail, we have our healthcare centers, we have our pharmacies and then we have our administrative offices everywhere. Whenever I get a chance to go out and do site visits at the OTC, I always tell them check for corporate jobs. Check for admin jobs, check for roles that you just got degrees in, check for roles that you... Be curious. Stay on the site, look at opportunities.
Clarice Tolston:
Now I'm saying that within reason. So don't be here six days and start going on the age of career site. Be realistic. But give yourself an opportunity to really develop yourself because we are at work so much. We spend so much of our time and energy and effort in a work environment all the time. So we want to make sure that we're making the most of it. And it expands, like Jen said earlier, it expands outside just of the lines of our jobs, duties, responsibilities, and bullet points. We want people to have a full life. It's a life cycle. We want people to have a full cycle when it comes to work.
Clarice Tolston:
I want people to grow. I want people to learn. I want people to stay curious. I want people to know about every aspect of the organization so that they can feel empowered in their current roles, but also so that they can look forward to saying I may not be at the leadership level, but this is really something that I crave. This is really something that I want to do and I just need some mentorship. I need some support. I need some resources so I can start building those blocks and building that infrastructure so that I can be successful in the role. And so I think a part of career development and why it's important to our staff and anyone who's joining the organization is we want people to stay curious and we want people to add value to their daily responsibilities. Yes, you may push papers, yes, you may answer the phone, yes, you may do charts during the day, yes, you may deal with patients, but as an organization, we can only grow if we stay curious and stay embedded into the work. And I think it empowers you as an employee when you have an environment that supports that.
Jennifer Grillo:
Well, and just to add on to that, I think what's so important is people forget that leaders need development as well. So you focus a lot on new people coming in, new grads or new to the role and wanting to give them tools to be successful. Leaders need to continue learning and being curious as [inaudible 00:24:56] said as well because it's going to be a reflection in the team. And when employees see their leader taking time to make sure that they're sharpening their skills, what they have in their toolkit to help their team be successful and happy and engaged in the work that they do and with the organization and stay with us because that is our goal, to keep employees with us to be able to be happy for a long time. That does start from the top down.
Jennifer Grillo:
And I can speak from myself. At a director level role, I can never stop learning. I'm more than happy to hear different ways to think of things and different scenarios and how to handle situations. And that may just be part of the HR side of me always liking the continued education, but I think that all of our leaders all the way up to our senior managers can benefit from being exposed to ways to be stronger and more successful leaders and teaching those coming up within the organization to be just that as well. So that piece is important. It doesn't mean you have to be unexperienced or new or green to focus on training and continued development. Everybody should be able to make that a part of their life at AHF.
Lauren Hogan:
And I think that's also something that's really important that you guys touched on because millennials these days are very different from some of the older people we may have in leadership. So I think that it's a great acknowledgement for you guys to say that even leadership can learn new things. And even some trainings are provided in terms of how to engage with the younger demo because things are just not the same anymore and sensitivities are very high, emotions run very high. So making sure that we kind of acknowledge that this can potentially be a problem I think is definitely important in terms of making sure that an organization is growing and really doing what they're supposed to do. So I think that's really great that you guys touched on that as well. And two, just to say, that's what makes AHF special, right? We're very unique in a lot of ways.
Jennifer Grillo:
Exactly.
Lauren Hogan:
So you got to keep your finger on the pulse. Things are always changing. So last thing because we're almost running out of time. So the last question I'll ask to you both, we talked about education and development and things that you can do in that space, but how does one get started? Like how do you start developing or focusing on developing yourself while at AHF?
Jennifer Grillo:
So we do encourage our managers and our employees to have an annual career development discussion. And the way we like to put that in is you should be having regular check-ins with your manager. That could be manager-initiated or employee-initiated. You both are in a place where you can say, hey, let's come together and chat a little bit. What's next? How am I doing or how is the employee doing? And having that discussion at least once a year around how are things going? What would you like to see for yourself? And how can I help you? That's going to set the stage for let's find those resources. Let's do what we have to do to get this employee or this manager the tools they want and need to be able to continually develop themselves. So it's taking that initiative to have that conversation at least on an annual basis. That's the recommendation.
Clarice Tolston:
And if you don't particularly follow that route, right? Say there is for whatever reason, we do do cross training. There are a lot of opportunities. Talent acquisition meets with finance. We do do a lot of cross-training in our organization. Also finding yourself a informal mentor I think is a good way for people to kind of grow and figure out what kind of pathway they want to take. But I think the formal process is the way that we, Jen and I can support you is if you go through your process with talking to your manager, having that conversation and being able to start building out what it is you want to do so we can make sure you have all of the resources.
Jennifer Grillo:
I was going to say, if you see something that we don't have already, it doesn't mean that we can't get it. So it's always just making sure that you raise your hand if something does come up that's attractive to you.
Lauren Hogan:
Well, the tutoring of my own horn was I started at AHF as an intern and I can now say I'm a manager. So I can attest to everything that's being said in this space in terms of what the process and procedure has been and the mentorship and just being heard in this space. So this is not puff and fluff is what I like to say. This is factual... We have so many individuals that are testaments to what AHF as an organization does to really build you up and help to develop and advance your career.
Lauren Hogan:
So I think that we are at time. And I have to say, thank you both so much for coming on the podcast, sharing your truths and just really talking about the importance of career development. I think we are in a time and a space that jobs are few and sometimes hard to find these days, ones that are meaningful that are just not in the corporate space. So being a unique entity like AHF, this is something very special. So thank you guys for joining After Hours and we will see you soon with the next episode.
Jennifer Grillo:
Bye guys.
Clarice Tolston:
Thanks so much.
Lauren Hogan:
AHF is special and that we are open and receptive to what you say. Your voice matters. So if you have ideas for trainings, what you want to do next, how you want to grow, we encourage you to speak to your manager, or you can simply reach out to your HR team directly. We are here to help and we will brainstorm together to create your path. The employee life cycle starts the day the person accepts the offer and lasts until the day that person leaves. At AHF, it's important to us to continue to develop employees throughout their entire time here. As an employee at any level, it's important to stay curious and continue to grow.
Lauren Hogan:
Thank you so much for joining us. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the show, please subscribe, share it with your friends, like, post about it on social media, or leave a rating and review. Follow us on Instagram @afterhours, and see you next time.