How would you describe your role?
I’ve been described by a few coworkers as the conscience of the company. So, my role here is to serve as an advisor to our leadership, and to keep the company on the right track. I am responsible for ensuring we remain compliant with state and federal employment laws, and I also manage our employee welfare activities. This includes regularly reviewing and evaluating our benefits to ensure that we’re offering our employees the best benefits at the most reasonable costs. And finally, I manage the activities that keep our employees engaged.
How would you describe your leadership style?
I believe in leading by example. What that means to me is that I will never give someone on my staff a task that I’m not comfortable handling on my own. I believe in working collaboratively with my team to put them in a position for success and in a place where we are always learning from one another.
What’s something new you’ve learned recently?
I am in the very early stages of learning how to ski.
How would you describe Ridgeline’s culture?
There is a sense of community and team connectedness here that I’ve never felt at any other employer. We are empowered to do the best work we can in our jobs, and I genuinely believe that our leaders learn a little from each of us.
Can you tell us about a time when you were inspired or impressed by the work of another Ridgeliner?
I’m fortunate to have an amazing team, and one example that stands out is when I encouraged an employee on my team to pursue an HR certification. When she first joined Ridgeline, she didn’t have an HR background, but as she grew with the company, she transitioned into an HR role. I believed that obtaining the certification would help her build a stronger foundation and deepen her understanding of HR principles. She made it one of her professional goals, and I’m proud to say she successfully completed the certification. Watching her work hard to prepare for the exam and then achieve her goal has been incredibly inspiring, and it’s a moment of pride for all of us as she continues to grow as an HR professional.
What makes Ridgeline unique?
When I first started here, close to the start of the company, there were some challenges with individuals getting hired and not really having a sense of direction. Meaning, they didn’t always get a chance to sit down with a supervisor to have a conversation about direct responsibilities, goals, things like that. So, many people felt lost. And when Ridgeline recognized that they weren’t doing this effectively, they took steps to change it, and one of those steps was hiring me.
Ridgeline had never had an HR professional before, and Erik was frank about this with me. He really wanted me to tell him what it is we should be doing here. So, I appreciated the fact that I had the trust from our founders and senior leadership from the get-go to do my job instead of hearing from them how they think it should be done. At many employers, you get a job description and you don’t color outside those lines. I feel that Ridgeline trusts its employees in their own areas of expertise and to shoot for the stars so that Ridgeline gets the most out of their work and we get the most out of our time at Ridgeline.