Wonolo
Round three of our series of admirable HR professionals introduces us to a leader from Equifax, the oldest consumer credit reporting agency in the US. Behind those credit scores that we need for renting apartments or buying cars, works Hal Boyd, VP of HR at Equifax, where he has been making a difference from the inside out for over seven years. We got the scoop on how he thinks about the HR function and how almost all decisions made in a company have an HR related component.
Be on the lookout for more profiles of HR Heroes, and if you have someone that you think would be a great fit for this series, tweet your nomination to us using the #hrhero hashtag.
My Twitter handle is…
@Boydlio
The one piece of advice I’d give to a new manager is…
Always listen to your team. Stay close to them and make sure they know you are always close and there for them. This will build trust and it is essential to an effective Manager-Employee relationship.
I’m most proud of…
My children and what they have accomplished so far and cannot wait to see what the future holds for them.
I feel happiest when…
I am on the water. It is very healing and relaxing to me to be on the lake or beach when I have time off and am able to travel.
I started working in HR because…
I wanted to help people and HR was really at the core of all businesses. It seemed people intensive, challenging, never boring and very rewarding. And it still is.
It drives me nuts when…
Managers do not do the Management 101 Care and Feeding of employees and then wonder why someone on their team quits. People have choices, lots of them. They need to feel wanted, that they belong and they are doing work that is valued.
HR is…
The core of any business. Few if any important decisions business leaders make do not have a HR component in the framework.
I always start my day with…
The New York Times. It keeps me informed, teaches me something everyday and I never miss it.
The HR and recruiting tools that I can’t live without are…
Workday, LinkedIn. Workday has put an immense amount of data at our fingertips to help us run our business. LinkedIn has linked the world and makes it much easier to stay in touch with your network, find people you seek and learn about people you are meeting.
I believe you can improve employee retention by…
Listening to your employees and providing an environment where they can grow, be valued and feel like they are making a difference by their contribution.
I think the staffing industry is…
Is in a tremendous state of change. The combination of Social Media, the Gig Economy, influx of the Millennial Generation is changing the whole go-to-market on hiring and no one knows yet what the end state will be.
Firing someone is …
the worst part of a manager’s job, but should never be a surprise to the exiting employee.
My go-to interview question is…
Tell me about the thing you are most proud of in your last role and why and the biggest disappointment in your last role and why? It gives me a sense of balance in the person and how grounded they are in their own personal balance sheet of strengths and opportunities.
My HR Hero is…
Laszlo Brock at Google. He has brought brilliant best practices and challenged the thinking of the HR profession with his innovative ideas.
My favorite app is…
Spotify, because it lets me bring my music with me wherever I go.
Ultimately, my job is …
To be a Coach to help Leaders ensure we have the right person, in the right role, doing the right things.
The one trait I look for in a good employee is…
Curiosity broader and deeper than their current role. I have found over the years that those who seek to understand and learn more broadly than just the confines of their current job are usually those with capacity to take on much greater responsibility.
