Leading with Purpose: Insights from Michelle Fitz-Henley || EP. 170

[00:00:00] I was willing to take that challenge and it presented something new and an opportunity for me to grow as an individual.

[00:00:08] And again, going back to the story of wanting to be a part of a bigger picture, not just one aspect and how I could then impact or make an impact.

[00:00:20] This is Inspiring Women and I'm speaking with Michelle Fitz-Henley and she is the Group Human Resources Manager at the Jamaica Boilers,

[00:00:31] Broilers Group. And Michelle, I'm so excited to be speaking to you. You said you've been up since 3am this morning from Jamaica to get here to Chicago for the SHRM conference. So that's where you're from? I'm from Jamaica?

[00:00:45] That's right. I am from Jamaica. Actually, I flew in a little early on Saturday to ensure I'll be open ready for Sunday. I was going to say for somebody who was up at 3am you look quite well rested today. Thank you. That's credit to a lot of coffee.

[00:01:01] You always need a lot of coffee at these conferences. So Michelle, let's talk about your organization, the Jamaica Broilers Group. So first of all, what is that organization? What do you do?

[00:01:13] Okay. So I am the Group Human Resources Manager. So managing HR for the group of companies and at Jamaica Broilers Group we're an agri-processing company and we're vertically integrated. So from the eggs, table eggs, layers, the feed and to the final product, the bird or the chicken.

[00:01:39] And we also further process the chicken as well into Frank's, your burgers, the pepperoni slices that you see on your pizza and enjoy. How large is this organization? So it is, are all, is it farms or you know, all these chickens? What is this business?

[00:02:01] Okay. So we're quite unique in terms of our structure. We don't own the farms but the farmers are contracted to us. So the company is based in Jamaica but we do have a company here in the U.S. Okay. And we're located across several states.

[00:02:22] And so as the HR leader for this organization, and you're also an attorney as well, is that correct? That's correct.

[00:02:29] Okay. So I want to ask you about that but for the Jamaica Broilers Group, like how many team members do you have across whether it's the United States Company as well as your Jamaican Company and all of the organizations that you contract with?

[00:02:42] Sort of like, you know, can you give us a sense of the size of the organization? Sure. So in Jamaica it's approximately 1,000 employees. Yep. But as we, if we speak about the U.S., it's about the same if not more. Yep.

[00:02:57] And that's not including the farmers and other contractors that we work alongside. Okay. Okay. So I have to imagine as the leader of HR you have a lot of interesting issues that you have to deal with.

[00:03:10] I want to get into some of those but let's start, Michelle, with you in terms of like, you know, as an attorney, as an HR professional, what is a little bit of your career trajectory that got you to this particular position?

[00:03:23] Well, I would say it's not the traditional brute. Not at all. Well, I, you know, I, my passion was law growing up. I knew from very early that that's what I wanted to do. And in fact, my dream was to become a judge one day. Okay.

[00:03:40] Well, it was two things either a judge or to be in a position of influence as it relates to me making recommendations or amendments for law. Mm hmm. And didn't quite work out that way as life would have it.

[00:03:56] And after I finished law school, I wanted to change.

[00:04:00] I wanted to be a part of the bigger picture, whether it was in law in particular, but part of a company that I could see or start a project from start to end and very often you don't get that if you're working, let's say, in a strictly legal sense.

[00:04:19] Yes. Capacity. Mm hmm. I think the judges offered that. Well, offered that opportunity for me. In fact, I'm not hired as the attorney at Jamaica broilers group. And they're primarily in the HR role. But I wouldn't change anything.

[00:04:40] If we think about so the role of an HR leader. Okay. So, you know, as a judge, I think that is a very important part of the job.

[00:04:51] I think that is the role of an HR attorney want to be a judge professional mindset and as somebody who intends to have an impact. What drew you to HR in terms of, I mean, that is most certainly an area of impact.

[00:05:08] So how do you think about that in terms of, you know, what, what do you enjoy about it? I think earlier what I started the there wasn't a role when I applied Jamaica broilers. Okay. I was invited.

[00:05:23] I, there was an, I had just finished school and I was sending my resumes to a number of companies and they sent it to someone there and they said, Oh, this looks like an interesting candidate. Can you come in and have a chat with us?

[00:05:40] I had several interviews. And at the end of it, and they said they'll call me back. And the call I got was like, Hey, we have an opening in HR. Would you be interested?

[00:05:52] And I said, Okay, well, I've never thought about that role at all much alone knew what it really encompassed. But I was willing to take that challenge. And it presented something new and an opportunity for me to grow as an individual.

[00:06:08] And again, going back to the story of wanting to be a part of a bigger picture, not just one aspect and how I could then impact or make an impact. Now, how long have you been in this role? Oh, since 2022. Okay.

[00:06:25] So a couple of years now, a couple of years now. All right. And so now you're comfortable and this leadership level that you're, I'm assuming you're comfortable. You look very, very comfortable. And you're here at the shirm conference and you're here in Chicago. What are you learning?

[00:06:39] Why do you come to a conference like shirm, you know, for your own professional development? Well, locally in Jamaica, we do have a number of associations and conferences which are quite beneficial.

[00:06:51] The sign being a member of shirm and participating in these conferences really gives you a global aspect or experience. Yep. Right. And it adds a little more color to what we're doing in Jamaica, in the Caribbean. It also gives me exposure to what's the best practices. All right.

[00:07:14] And sometimes also, well, also maybe what's the leading trends that quite hasn't made our shores yet. Yep. Right. So I could be a, it gives me an opportunity to be ahead of the game. Yep. Rather behind.

[00:07:29] Well, you're also sort of, you know, you're living proof of probably what you try to give to your team members, which is professional development and always learning your living, your living those values.

[00:07:39] So let me think about just the, you know, now that you've been in this role as an HR leader for a few years now with a desire to be impactful. What are some of the things day to day that you have responsibility for?

[00:07:51] What does, what does a day in the life for you, Michelle? What does that look like? Well, I tell everyone that no two days are the same HR. You have your list of things to do, or you think you're going to achieve, you know, items one through 10.

[00:08:08] And then something just comes rolling in that just unravels your entire day. Right. And so, but I would say our top priorities are a lot of, or maybe what I deal with on a daily basis. Managing conflict.

[00:08:24] You know, apart from the recruiting and onboarding and those, those things which are very critical and important.

[00:08:33] But it's now, I would say that shift of managing conversations and communication amongst employees and, and Sherm has a quite unique name for it, which I think I'll adapt and take back. It's about bringing civility into the workplace.

[00:08:49] And, you know, with the onset of the working from home and then hybrid and then back to work. You find that and, and the new, the integration of new systems, people lose that human element. Yes.

[00:09:04] The contact. And I think it's so important, especially, you know, people are dealing with a lot at home. Yep. And no matter what we like to think, they bring it to the workspace. Yeah.

[00:09:15] And if we don't treat others with kindness and respect, then we see what the results are in a car. Right. You get that call, you get that email.

[00:09:25] There's a conflict here. Can you help us? And so, unfortunately, those are some of the things we have to deal with from time to time. Well, probably every time to time every single, every single hour of every single day night.

[00:09:38] You're doing a good job. If we think about just, you know, the human capital is always the single largest, most important asset that any organization has.

[00:09:48] And one of the top issues in speaking with top healthcare, I'm sorry, top HR leaders like yourself, what they often are talking about is employee engagement.

[00:09:58] And, you know, and the workforce has certainly changed whether it's sort of, you know, getting through the pandemic, the, you know, not being civil anymore, those types of things.

[00:10:07] A lot has changed in just a few short years. What are your top strategies for engagement of your team members? Well, we have tried to incorporate more or retreats where in which we it's more strategic retreat.

[00:10:27] And again, engaging one on one with our team members having those important conversations. So setting the goals very early understanding what's required of them and allowing that positive that feedback on a consistent basis.

[00:10:45] So if it's not going right, let us know don't wait until six months later. Yeah. And I think that's what's missing a lot of times because what people want inherently is to feel a sense of belonging. Yes. Right.

[00:11:02] And so if we have that conversation from early, I think that's that's what's key. That's one of the key steps.

[00:11:08] How is that going? So in terms of the work that you're doing to give people a sense of belonging to provide for civility in the workplace to provide a culture that allows people to feel a sense of belonging.

[00:11:23] How are your programs, your efforts, how is it working within your organization?

[00:11:28] Well, from where I sit, I'd like to say it's working. Right. Once a year we come together. And it's really a time of, I would say, fellowship, fellowshiping, recognizing where we've come from and where we are going.

[00:11:45] Our, the company is based on Judeo-Christian principles. And so, and it's seen also in our mission statement. So with God, and everything starts with prayer at our company. Okay.

[00:12:01] So we recognize him in all we do. And so that translates into how we communicate, how we interact with our employees, how we engage with them.

[00:12:11] So that's another way that we really meet with our, meet our staff where they are. Yeah. And it's an opportunity too for them to have a conversation with the manager, you know, or a vice president and executive.

[00:12:25] And it really allows them that. So those, that's really gets to the culture in terms of how your, your entire organization is oriented. One of the things and Transcarent who are partnered with here, you know, in terms of this podcast and speaking with leaders like yourself.

[00:12:40] One of the things that we're very, very focused on are some of the issues that we see in here where is that many team members don't have access to high quality health and care, high quality and affordable health and care.

[00:12:54] And that actually becomes one of those engagement issues for team members. So from your perspective, how, how does to the, you know, with the benefits or the what you're providing in terms of health and care to your team members? How is that going? Do you see that as a top issue that you're concerned about for your team members?

[00:13:15] What are your thoughts there?

[00:13:16] Well, one of the, I would say in most of our interviews, a lot of persons say that they, one of the reasons they apply and they want to work with us is because of the benefits that we offer. And at Jamaica Broilers Group, we are not solely focused on the, the work is important.

[00:13:40] Yes. But that we are concerned about the whole person. So the mental, the health and their family. It's very important at our core as well. Because if everything, if things are not right at home or with the person, then the whole person doesn't show up at work.

[00:14:01] Right. And then it's, it's not a productive workspace. And so we believe that our health, the, the health benefit that we offer is, is sufficient. Of course you have those that will say it could be a little better. Yes.

[00:14:15] But we are always in constant dialogue with our provider, reviewing the benefits provided and, and seeing where we can improve and offer new benefits. Of course it comes at a cost.

[00:14:27] But the company pays for the health and life insurance for all our employees at a minimum. And they, they pay the cost for dependence. We also, we also provide what we call, which we are part of a program and employee assistance program. Yeah.

[00:14:47] So we facilitate free count access to counseling for the employee and their family. Yeah. And in a, and we also have a counselor that visits each location. Oh, okay.

[00:15:02] And so we have both. So employees have access to either one. And then also we have a clinic with a resident doctor or doctors. No, as we're growing in size, we have a team of nurses as well. Nice.

[00:15:18] So we always travel from each location to each location to visit with the staff. They have their regular checkups, they know the staff intimately. And so we find that it's helped a lot because everyone's busy in their lives. Yeah.

[00:15:34] They can't leave as they would like to. Right. We are in some remote areas as well. Yeah. And so we found that this has really helped the employee experience.

[00:15:43] And it's one thing I think that makes us an attractive employer. Yep. And these things are so important, you know, for, for most people their employer is the place that they go in terms of what access they might have to health and care so that you can

[00:15:58] think about the team member as a whole person, whether it's their mental health, whether it's their home well-being, whether it's if there's a cancer diagnosis, there's a navigator that there is somebody who is there to provide that care throughout a very complex care journey.

[00:16:14] These are critical things. That's a lot of what Transcarence certainly is thinking about and with leading organizations, you know, like yourself that's let you're thinking about it that way.

[00:16:24] I mean, that's just terrific. So, Michelle, but let's go back to you as a leader. And, you know, as a leader now in the role responsible for many different people thinking about many different aspects of HR, whether it's talent development,

[00:16:40] culture, civility or other things. If you could wave your magic wand, okay, and solve some of the most complex issues that you would like to solve for, for your team members, what might that be?

[00:16:53] You have a magic wand. It's magic. You can wave it, you can solve anything. There's so many things that's going on in my mind. I know. I know. Is there a power? How do you choose this one?

[00:17:11] You know, everyone wants to be more productive and have more hours in the day. And if I guess if that one thing I could accomplish is for everyone to have that work life balance. You know, it seems so mystical. Yes.

[00:17:27] You're always trying and chasing, but can never quite achieve it. And so I think if that's something I could change, I would love to give everyone that, you know, that ability to be very productive, be a great wife or partner.

[00:17:45] You know, if you have children to be there too or to care for your aging parents and still be great at what you do in shock every day.

[00:17:53] And the gift of time is magical. I think that is a very powerful use of your magic wand. So that leads me to the question about, you know, the future AI is here. We're all talking about it.

[00:18:04] We're all finding applications for AI. So whether it is, you know, at your organization or in the HR realm that you have responsibility for, where do you see the applications that you're excited about for AI? Is there anything there?

[00:18:20] Well, so this, this was another great takeaway from Sherm. You know, Johnny Taylor this morning said we have to run into the storm and run fearlessly. And that's something that really hit home for me. One being here today. So I took those words literally.

[00:18:41] But secondly, with AI, we don't use a lot of it. No, it's not regulated and you know you have those concerns and people are apprehensive.

[00:18:50] But I think it's something we have to embrace because it's coming whether we like it or not. Yes. And at Sherm I learned a lot about some of the useful tools that we can implement and that I think I'll be taking back to talk to our security infrastructure managers.

[00:19:07] And certainly the executive team on how it can help us because you cannot take away the human element. Right. And our role, I think that's the fair, the role of HR, that they're thinking that will disappear. Yeah, that's hard to imagine. And it won't. Yes. Yeah.

[00:19:27] Listen, I 100% agree with you. I think the AI technology certainly a transparent we have some AI forward technology that we're certainly very excited about and while all of that is wonderful the human element behind the scenes and knowing always that you have the ability

[00:19:45] for a human being at the ready is critical. How do you think about the issues of trust you're dealing with a population of people that may have some trust issues with technology. Is that something that you think about.

[00:20:00] And if you do what, what do you what are you thinking about? Well, definitely. I think that's one hurdle you have to surmount and manage that change. We recently implemented an HR solution.

[00:20:17] We were doing a lot of things paper based. And so we're going through that process of change management and already you're seeing, you know, you saw some apprehension, oh this is new. What if I change something here will it break.

[00:20:31] And then, you know, now to transition to a trusting the solution to AI, then help me with my role. How do I know if it's real? How do I know if the information is credible? Are they capturing data on me, you know, and, and so that's a huge hurdle we're going to have to surmount.

[00:20:52] But I think, again, having the conversations meeting with them showing them the benefits of what it can do and enhance what they're currently doing.

[00:21:01] You know, so for example, if it's going to help with with writing letters job letters, helping with the job descriptions. And I think that's a or scheduling.

[00:21:13] I think that's some useful areas that could be implemented seamlessly and still give you back time to focus on more strategy and, and other things that really get left behind.

[00:21:27] I think that you're, you're bringing it back to the application of AI for those useful things that give you back the most important thing which is time and time and the quality of time and how you can use it whether it's you know professionally to do more strategic things as a professional or

[00:21:45] whether it's just the being with family and finding more quality time outside of the, you know, confines of what can be really stressful days I mean work can be very hard. And that's just that's reality I don't think AI solving that any days.

[00:22:01] But you know, be bringing it back to that human element I just think is so, you know, it seems so obvious but it's just so very, very important I really appreciate you pointing that one out.

[00:22:14] So, um, okay so I like to talk about on inspiring women I always like to go back to, you know the time when you determine that you were a leader. And so when you started out maybe as a little girl did you envision yourself as the leader you are today.

[00:22:33] No, I don't think I not in the same way that I am now. Okay.

[00:22:39] I was as I mentioned I, I knew what I wanted to do I knew I just had that sense of purpose and I was driven and there was nothing that was going to stop me.

[00:22:53] And, you know, I came from a family of educators. And it's about excellence and and doing well and doing your best or whatever you're doing. And so inherently in that and I'm the eldest of three girls. So you have to lead. Oh yeah.

[00:23:11] I mean, I'm a middle sister. I tease her all the time because she's, she likes to be the leader. And I allow that space sometimes but you silently push back a little were necessary.

[00:23:23] So inherently I think I was always a leader. It just depended on the role that I was in at the time. So if I'm being a model, like I am now, then I know that leadership role looks different.

[00:23:38] Uh huh. In the workspace as a HR manager that looks different as well because you're trying to inspire and motivate, not by giving directives but helping people to discover that on power within themselves to grow and to one day become a leader

[00:23:56] and I hope that's what I can do in this role.

[00:24:00] So Michelle, if you think about yourself as a leader as the big sister, you think about yourself as a leader as a mother, you think about your as yourself as a leader as the manager of HR and it's almost like a servant leader type of

[00:24:13] that you sometimes play as you think about just like the next generation of women who want to be like you. What advice might you give them?

[00:24:23] Find something you're passionate about because each day you get up, there has to be something that drives you and wants you to achieve more and do more and be better and ultimately a better person.

[00:24:40] And along that journey whatever it is that you decide, I would say be your authentic self. Don't think you have to fit into a particular mold or be a certain type of person to excel. Just be yourself.

[00:25:02] And the second thing I would say is your word should be your bond because that inherently will inspire trust, gain the respect and help you in the journey.

[00:25:18] I believe to excel and to be a leader because no one is going to follow someone who they don't think is genuine or they're not going to do what they say they're going to do.

[00:25:34] I could not agree with that more. I think that is and that authenticity you're certainly bringing it to this conversation. This has been an excellent inspiring women conversation. I've been speaking with Michelle Fitzhemley and Michelle. Thank you so very much. Thank you so much. It was an honor.

[00:25:49] This has been an episode of inspiring women with Lori McGraw. Please subscribe, rate and review. We are produced at Executive Podcast Solutions. More episodes can be found on inspiring women.show. I am Lori McGraw and thank you for listening.