Welcome back to the A.I.M. Mutual podcast. My name is Chris Sharp and this is part of our Team Behind the Team series, which aims to take a look at some of the individuals and jobs at A.I.M. Mutual that play a vital, but often under-recognized role in the policy cycle of our policyholders. Today I have the pleasure of talking with Stacy Gendron, HR specialist at A.I.M. Mutual about her role and how her work supports the greater service efforts of the company. Welcome Stacy. Thanks so much for talking with me today.

Thanks for having me.

Absolutely. So to start off, can you just tell me a little about your background, your work as an HR Specialist and how you became part of the HR team at A.I.M. Mutual?

Sure. So I've been with A.I.M. Mutual for about five and a half years now. I started with the company in 2018 as the HR Administrator and was promoted to HR Specialist in 2021. I had been working previously in an HR role with a different company, but I was looking for a change when I came across A.I.M. Mutual and their values, the type of work that they were doing, and the community really attracted me to the position. So I knew from the moment that I met with the team that this was the place for me. I really felt welcomed and energized and felt like I was going to be able to contribute in the capacity that I wanted to, which was definitely what I was looking for. And that feeling has really stayed with me ever since. In my role now, I deal primarily with the administration of our comprehensive benefits programs, payroll and ensuring we're staying compliant with state and federal regulations. I work with different departments on various reporting and I deal with day-to-day employee relations as well.

Excellent. What would you say is the most surprising thing you've learned about the workers' compensation industry since becoming part of it?

So, for me, I would say that the amount of work, passion and really care that goes into every case and every decision, every policy, was what surprised me the most. You know, I feel like you sometimes hear the term workers' compensation and you might think there's a stigma to it. Sometimes people might think it's, you know, you are not dealing with very nice people or a decision's going to be made not in your favor, but that's really not the case here. I feel like everything we do at A.I.M. Mutual, whether it's customer facing or not, there's so much care and compassion that goes into every decision. And I really think that's a testament to the people that we have here. And again, to our purpose and our vision and our common goals of success for those people that we're serving; people truly care here and I think that's the key to setting us apart..

That's awesome. I mean, what would you say are some of the obstacles that you deal with and what's your approach to resolve them?

For HR-specific things that are really kind of obstacles that come along are some ever changing rules and regulations that we have to deal with on the state or federal level. And also an ever-changing workforce, especially in the last couple years. So how we really approach that is with a positive attitude and kind of a sense of knowing that not everything is always going to stay the same and things are often changing because something better or more beneficial is being put in place. So I think it's definitely important from the changing workforce perspective to meet people where they're at, because I think that's really going to get the best results that you're looking for and get the most value out of the working relationship and for our ever-changing rules and regulations to just kind of have to roll with it and know that hopefully what's being put in place is [viable].

And expertise with one another throughout the process.

Sure. So, within the HR department specifically, I think it's great working in a team because we're able to collaborate so often. We come together to work on a host of issues together and make decisions. And so there's three of us in our department, and we really kind of have an overview of what's going on within HR, but then also within each department, too. And I feel like that definitely helps when we're working with all departments, too. You know, different departments work on different things and we kind of have to maybe not approach one department the same way as we do another depending on the issue at hand. So I think it's really, again, meeting people where they're at and speaking to our expertise. Some of the things that we deal with in HR, it's not every employee or every department's need to be an expert in that. It's kind of ours. So it helps to work with them because they might be dealing with an issue that they're not sure how to handle, they're not sure how to proceed. So we can guide them, listen to what's going on, and give them some best practices and solutions to work through whatever's going on and, and get them over to the other side..

That makes sense. So this is kind of a long question, but do you find that the function of HR has an impact on the way that A.I.M. Mutual ultimately delivers workers' compensation insurance services as a whole? And by that, I wonder if a focus on, you know, believing in the teamwork concept and an understanding of how everyone at the company is ultimately responsible for the injured worker plays into how and who you recruit for various open positions.

It totally does. You know, a lot of our work may be behind the scenes, but it definitely impacts the lives of all of our employees. So what we do is so important to stay on top of it so that, you know, again, we're the experts in it. So the employee doesn't necessarily have to be, while it's important for everyone to take an interest in, you know, say their benefits and whatnot, we can do the legwork and we can listen to them and work hard to provide them with robust offerings so they can be their best selves and show up to do the work and do their best work. And we work with departments to provide a variety of different things that will help them again, be their best that they can be in their roles.

And I think we're also the first line in bringing people in who really walk the walk and talk the talk. When it comes to our values and our mission and our purpose, we are the ones who, especially in the recruiting process, we are the first people who usually speak with the candidates. We are the ones who get a sense of what they're looking for. We communicate to them what we're looking for. And that really helps us have a leg up in finding those candidates who really are going to work well and work well with our different departments, our different team members, and really lead in their roles with our values in mind.

Do you find that the people from all the different departments take advantage of the training and certification opportunities that A.I.M. Mutual offers?

Definitely. I definitely do. We work with all of our departments to provide a variety of not only general, but also specific trainings and certification opportunities so that employees feel empowered in their roles and in their departments and ultimately in their careers. We work to provide things that might be best for one department and then we find something else that might be better for another set of employees. And we're always welcoming employees if they find something that they're interested in or find like a training that might be beneficial for them to take part in. We're always encouraging employees to bring that to us as well and making sure that they are able to take part in coordinating anything that they need to be able to take that training on.

Excellent. And the staff at A.I.M. Mutual, I'm sure turns to HR for help in understanding benefit programs, employment law, employee relations, and putting policy into practice. But from an internal standpoint, how important are A.I.M. Mutual's core values of building empathy and displaying compassion and that notion of first we listen--how much does that fuse into kind of the culture within A.I.M. Mutual?

Sure. So I'd say especially for HR, that's pretty much everything in our role. And a lot of times the delicate nature of the situations that we might encounter and deal with, with employees, with our values of listening, with empathy, acting with compassion, doing the right thing is everything. If we don't do that, you know, I don't think the best outcome would happen for our employees. It's so crucial that with our employees, with those values in mind, it's going to produce the best outcome for everyone in situation.

I guess, can you just share some of the things that you enjoy about working at A.I.M. Mutual?

Definitely. Well, some of the things I really enjoy about working here are the people; I've had the pleasure of working with so many amazing people throughout A.I.M. Mutual that I've gotten to know in my position in HR. You get to meet, and get to know, a lot people in different departments and it's been a pleasure to get to know different people and know them not only from a professional perspective. So I think being in HR you get to know people on a personal level as well. It's really just been so enriching to be able to help people reach the best outcome with something personal or something professional [whether it’s] the best benefit choices or taking part in a new training, they need some advice on it--just coaching them through that too. That's been one of the most fulfilling things that I've taken part in my role with A.I.M. Mutual.

Very good. Stacy, thank you so much for taking the time to share your story. To the listeners, thanks for joining us today. If you'd like to hear more about the Team Behind the Team tune in to some of our other podcasts and if you have other questions about how A.I.M.Mutual can support you and your business, please don't hesitate to reach out with your specific needs. Stacy, thanks so much.

Thank you so much, Chris.