In this episode of our podcast, Dr. Jim sits down with Katya Laviolette, Chief People Officer at 1Password, to dispel common myths surrounding HR and discuss the essential role of HR in scaling businesses effectively. Recorded live at the Transform conference in Las Vegas, this conversation explores the strategic initiatives at 1Password that enable their rapid growth and delves into the challenges of navigating market changes and talent acquisition.
Katya's insights paint a picture of an HR function that transcends the traditional boundaries to integrate deeply with business dynamics, including financials, product development, and market positioning. The conversation pivots around the need for HR to shed its outdated image as merely a policy enforcer, instead acting as a critical catalyst in fostering a culture conducive to business health and employee development. The discussion also emphasizes shared responsibilities in nurturing culture and leadership roles in advocating for people-focused initiatives.
Chapters:
0:00:00 Introduction and background of Katya and One Password
0:01:11 Unexpected challenges in scaling One Password
0:02:02 HR myth: HR as a policing function
0:02:56 HR's role in building culture and business success
0:03:51 Shifting responsibility for people, culture, and development
0:04:59 Conclusion and contact information for Katya
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Transcripts
Dr. Jim: [:
Katya, thanks for hanging out with us.
Katya Laviolette: Pleasure to be here.
Dr. Jim: Thanks for hanging out. I think one of the things that we should probably chat about before we do this, Start busting myths is get a little bit more detail about your story, the work that you're doing at one password.
Tell us what's interesting. What do you have going on in your world?
Katya Laviolette: Lots going on, Dr. Jim. I'm the chief evil officer of one password. We are a identity security company, 18 years in the making. We Take care of consumers and businesses and we protect protect their identities. And I was hired about two and a half years ago to scale the company.
We're now around:
Dr. Jim: When you talk about your scaling effort, what was the thing that you didn't expect that you encountered when you joined 1Password?
alent perspective that was in:
And then all of a sudden things started to shift in the economy and today we are privileged to be in a really great place. We have benefited opportunistically from tech companies who haven't been as lucky as us, and we've got really great opportunity to bring on a lot of talent. We've got a lot of roles open.
We're building from single product to multi product and we're in a very growing business. In short, it's like you don't expect all those turns in the market, and you have to adjust and pivot constantly.
Dr. Jim: Good [:
Katya Laviolette: I am.
Dr. Jim: We're talking to senior and executive people leaders like you. And there's a lot of leadership in HR myths that are out there. What's the one that really
annoys you and you wish would die?
Katya Laviolette: So on my way over to transform very timely. I'm sitting on the plane, and someone behind me says, Ah, HR is going to get after me. And this is so irritating. It's we are not a policing function. We are there to take care of anything people related, cultural related and we have to, we have to deal with a lot of things on the go.
It's not an easy environment, especially post COVID. But the myth around, HR just It puts blockages at every stop and so forth. It's just something that is a big irritant for me and I believe it's a big myth. And I think that the role in human resources for the professional these days is super critical to getting the business scaled, making it profitable, making it healthy and so forth.
heard HR being described as [:
Katya Laviolette: I think first and foremost, you need to understand the business you're operating in. You need to understand the dynamics of what's going on in the market, how it affects your product or your service that you're offering. And then culturally, what do you want to do to help Build the culture and make sure that it's going to resonate with ensuring that the business is profitable and performing.
So I think that an HR professional these days is tasked with everything, even including understanding the numbers. No, they're not the CFO, but they have to have a very good understanding of all the different dynamics. Financial product tech and so forth. And I think that it's very important.
We're no longer operating in just, Oh, we're just going to do programs and policies every day. We are faced with new new issues and so forth. And that's what keeps the profession interesting.
Dr. Jim: There's something that you mentioned that's interesting that I'd like you to expand on. You talked about.
. So I haven't worked in HR. [:
What are the things that. You can do to shift that responsibility so it's more of a shared responsibility versus a quote unquote HR thing
Katya Laviolette: I'm completely in agreement that it is a shared responsibility I think that we are enablers. We are subject matter experts The other thing I guess coming back to your first question that I you know always have trouble with is people just think they all know HR and HR is a profession you learn over time and it's constantly changing.
So our job to make sure that it's a shared responsibility is clearly define what are we going to do versus what is leadership going to do and how are we going to shift those shift those expectations. So role clarity is essential.
Dr. Jim: I know we're just scratching the surface here. If people want to continue the conversation, what's the best way to get in touch with you?
Katya Laviolette: [:
Dr. Jim: Thanks for hanging out with us, Katya, and busting some myths.
