An interview with Emily Minner, Director of Operations

Getting Back to Work

Emily went on maternity leave in 2018. She came back to a promotion and a new role. While that sounds like a good return, many of the tasks were complex, long-neglected, and much-needed. Here is a discussion about how she returned from leave, stopped sleeping, and still got a ton of important work done.

Interview by Brad Flowers

BF You have had a big year.

EM Well, yeah. I was the Project Manager for four years. I feel like I came back from maternity leave with two babies. Both have certainly kept me up at night.

BF That is funny. Tell us about the transition and some of what you are working on.

EM At the end of 2018, I was promoted to Director of Operations, a newly created role. As Director of Operations, I have focused on setting up Human Resources best practices, running employee quarterly feedback review sessions, staying on budget, and establishing our recruiting/hiring process. I also serve as Bullhorn’s Integrator; helping with communication, solving problems, and executing business plans.

BF How has that changed what we do day-to-day?

EM The biggest change was eliminating most standing meetings and narrowing the focus to two weekly office-wide meetings. On Tuesdays, we discuss how to grow the business and on Thursdays, we critique our work. We can improve our communication by opening up business discussions to the entire office, and we can improve our work in the same way.

BF What has been a highlight?

EM Well, the most rewarding improvement has been opening up our recruiting and interview process to cast a wider net. Bullhorn has great connections that have set us up with most of our current employees. But in order to become a more diverse workplace, we need to recruit outside of our own circle. In 2019, we implemented a new hiring process and hired a new Language Director. We posted the position on our own website and social media but also on LinkedIn, AIGA, and B Corp job boards. We had many qualified applicants and it was difficult to narrow those down and only hire one person.

BF What are you going to take on next?

EM I am thinking about how we work together, remotely. We have the new office in Louisville. We also have another remote worker in Washington, DC. With a more decentralized staff, we will need to improve communication and work even harder to ensure our culture remains intact. We have made investments in tools that encourage this type of communication.

BF The cultural part is tricky, though. Right?

EM It is definitely a challenge. I am excited to dig into it, though.