Greenhouse Open: Talk with Pattie Money, CPO at SendGrid

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As a Talent professional, you’re doing something remarkable every single day. Whether you’re recruiting, onboarding or developing your team, you’re shaping your company’s culture and policies, creating an environment where your People can thrive and your business can skyrocket.

At Greenhouse OPEN 2019, we’re celebrating people just like you – the Talent Makers who have figured out how great hiring drives business growth. One of the Talent Makers we can’t wait to welcome to the stage is Pattie Money, Chief People Officer at SendGrid, who brings over 25 years of HR leadership experience to the table. In her current role at SendGrid, Pattie’s responsible for building and implementing the People strategies and programs that support ambitious growth and evolving organizational needs while preserving and enhancing the company’s core culture. We caught up with Pattie to talk Talent Making in this exclusive interview.

Greenhouse: We're so impressed with your 25 years of HR leadership experience. What led you on the path to HR?

Pattie Money: My original career plan was to be an account executive with a major advertising agency, but shortly after graduation, my husband and I relocated and the new market wasn't a hot one for advertising. I decided to work as a temp to see what was out there, which led to an offer as a recruiter for the temp firm and I never looked back. I fell in love with HR and the idea of helping people find meaningful work. That then morphed into going beyond helping people land a job to helping people thrive in their roles.

GH: What's your advice for any Talent Maker who's hoping to effect change in their organization? Any lessons from your career you can share with us?

PM: Know the business deeply! I know this seems like common sense, but too many times I've seen people who didn't really understand the business, the competitive environment, the true value proposition and how the company makes money. Without that context, change initiatives can fall flat and not address the real issues that need to be addressed. Many times Talent Makers let the business say, "Here's what we think needs to happen" vs. going deep, challenging assumptions and driving the real change needed in the organizations they serve. I've fallen into the trap of being too busy to dig as deeply as I should and know that results have fallen short of what they could have been if I had dug a bit more.

GH: As Chief People Officer at Twilio SendGrid, you've been instrumental in implementing People strategies that support ambitious growth. What sort of challenges have you been faced with when rolling out initiatives for an evolving organization?

PM: In a growing company, there is always more to do than you have hours in the day. High-growth organizations are demanding and the amount of change people are already dealing with can feel overwhelming. Then we add new People processes and programs on top of managers’ already demanding calendars and wonder why they are having difficulty adopting the new initiatives.

What I've found is that although all of the initiatives we are rolling out are necessary and important, sequencing is critical. I've been guilty of trying to do too much at one time, so now I try to take first things first, execute a great rollout including manager education and then work toward real adoption before moving on to the next thing.

GH: Why do you think it's important that Talent leaders have a seat at the table in a business's decision making?

PM: If you're not part of the discussion, you will miss out on the context and nuances that will be important to the People strategy needed to support the business decision. Talent leaders also bring a unique lens to the discussion and that diversity of thought, along with the consideration for the impact to People – both those currently within the organization and those that will be required to deliver your plan – is what will lead to the best decision possible for the business.

GH: What's one tip, strategy or statistic you hope attendees will take away from your session?

PM: Attracting and retaining great Talent is a team sport. The Talent leader can drive the right programs but they can't "own" the outcomes. They need to be shared with leadership at all organizational levels collectively and then by each manager. It's together that we create great cultures and great teams, which is what leads to great organizational performance.

Pattie Money will be speaking on June 12 at the sessionTalent Making -- The Art of Aligning Business and Talent. Don’t miss it! You can check out the full agenda and register for Greenhouse OPEN 2019 here.