Day in the Life: HR Business Partner
Meet Jamie, the HR rockstar whose mission is to help RVers on our Banking & Cards teams perform at their full potential, grow in their careers – and have fun while doing it.
Jamie is a Director, HR Business Partner at Red Ventures. She was previously the HRBP for Financial Services at the time this article was originally published.
I’m a morning person, so my day usually starts at about 6am when I get up to walk my dog and check my email/Slack at the dog park. I know that might sound crazy to some people, but I really like to take a minute for myself and prepare for the day before I’m actually in the office with a full slate of meetings. With that said, I’m not a night person at all. I’m usually asleep on the couch by about 9pm… so don’t expect late night emails or Slacks from me. 😴
After my morning coffee, I’m hopping from one zoom meeting to the next. I I always have a weekly HRBP team meeting, a weekly resourcing meeting with HR/Recruiting, plus weekly 1:1s with my manager and my direct reports. This may seem like a lot, but it’s so important to have regular time set aside to talk about business priorities, project statuses, performance, and development.
I also attend the Senior Leadership Team meetings for the businesses I support and have regular 1:1 meetings with leaders on those industry groups. These meetings help me stay aligned with business goals (which have a tendency to change pretty often) and help me understand how to best support my teams.
In the midst of all this, I have about 20 Slack conversations happening at any given time. My role spans across organizational design, performance management, employee relations, leadership/management coaching, compensation, employee development, and resourcing (whew!), so I’m always collaborating with RVers across our HR, L&D, Recruiting, and business teams.
How’d you end up at Red Ventures?
I feel like I had a whole life before working at Red Ventures! I studied theater at NYU and when I first graduated I spent about 5 years as a film/TV casting director, working on various productions in New York City. (Really – I have the IMDB page to prove it.) I loved the function of casting, auditioning actors every day, and helping people achieve their dreams, but I didn’t enjoy the very unglamorous side of showbiz. So, I transitioned my skills into becoming a Recruiter.
Recruiting and casting are essentially the same thing – people just don’t sing and dance when they go in for most job interviews.
After transitioning into HR, I worked at Time Inc. and David Yurman in NYC but was ready for a change and moved to Charlotte to join Red Ventures. Charlotte is such a great city and making the move down here has been a fantastic transition. (I also didn't mind leaving the New York winter behind.)
What’s the best part of your job?
The people at Red Ventures are amazing! Not only is it fun to work with incredibly smart and talented people at all levels of the organization, but I love how deeply people care about their coworkers and their community. People at RV really spend the time to get to know each other on a personal level, which helps us work better together and foster an environment of collaboration and support.
I also really enjoy working with people across multiple functions and locations – it keeps things interesting. One minute I could be talking about Bankrate content with our New York team, the next I’m having a conversation with our tech team in Austin, and then I’m in a meeting with our entire People Operations here in Charlotte. Our video conferencing tech has always been my best friend since I worked with teams across different locations before COVID – big thanks to the IT team for that one!
What’s one thing that would surprise people about your job.
You’re not bothering me.
So many people start their emails, Slacks, or meeting invites with “I’m so sorry to bother you but…”. I love working with people, I love solving problems, and I love making Red Ventures a great place to work. So, when you reach out and need help with something, you’re not bothering me. That doesn’t mean I’m always able to reply immediately (or after I’ve fallen asleep on the couch at 9pm), but I’ll get back to you as quickly as I can to answer your questions or point you in the right direction.
What advice would you give someone thinking about joining RV?
Just do it! Red Ventures is challenging, it's fast paced, and it's in a constant state of evolution. That’s what makes it an incredible place to work. I wake up every day excited about the opportunities ahead. There’s never a dull moment.
Want more Day in the Life? See what it's like to be the behind-the-scenes voice of @ThePointsGuy social media. (And share an office with three insta-famous French Bulldogs.)