Meet the Buffalo #HRCommunity! COVID-19 has no doubt been a challenging time for most HR professionals to navigate. I am so grateful to the amazing HR Community for showing up for each other and offering information and support. You all are the best! I want to introduce my network to some of my connections who rock and who are rocks for their organizations! Stay tuned for multiple posts in this series – all from HR pros practicing in different industries. If there’s anything I can help you with, please send me a message on LinkedIn or through the contact me area here on my blog.
Meet Kayla! I currently have the pleasure of working with Kayla at Unifrax! Kayla partners with the local plant leadership team to advance the business forward through HR initiatives. She also takes the lead on multiple HR projects to help us upgrade and streamline our processes to better serve the business. She is so helpful and so much fun to work with! Thanks for all you do for us Kayla!
Introduce yourself
Hello! My name is Kayla. I am a born & raised Buffalonian! I went to Canisius College for by Bachelor’s Degree and MBA and have worked in HR in the WNY area for just over 6 years. I am a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan and can’t wait to see them win a Super Bowl.
Describe your current position and in what industry do you work
I work at Unifrax as an HR Manager for our 3 Western New York plants. We manufacture specialty fibers that are then used in a multitude of ways to help make our environment greener and cleaner.
How has COVID-19 impacted you the most?
COVID has been an incredibly challenging time for everyone. Professionally, as HR we have to have tough conversations with employees that will undoubtedly impact their lives tremendously and help them navigate these new waters and meanwhile, personally we are all in the same boat learning how to deal with the changes in our own lives and with our families. It’s a balance, we must help our employees as much as we can.
What are you doing to practice self-care?
Walking and trying to stay active even though the gyms are closed. I find that if I get out for a walk at the park or even setup my laptop on the treadmill (it’s a great balancing act) it helps me be more productive and feel more ‘normal’ in these different times.
What has been your favorite part of your HR career?
I love that HR gets to be involved in all areas of a business. You can really make a difference in a variety of ways to a business and, in return, each business and areas of the business teaches you in different ways about being a better HR leader. I don’t think you find that in many other career paths!
What is a word of advice or encouragement you’d give to other HR pros?
That’s a good question! My advice would be, Rome wasn’t built in a day and we don’t need to solve every problem before the day ends. (Maybe that’s just what I need to tell myself lol!)
What can the HR community do to support/help you right now?
Share best practices, what is working for other companies, what’s not working; we are all in this together so the more we share the better off we’ll all be!
Share something fun about yourself
I got married last month and I could eat ice cream 3 times a day, 7 days a week!
Claire is Coaching 