Over the past several months, we have been doing a series of blogs on our team, our strengths, and our HR specialties.

I’m Laura North, one of Purple Ink’s HR Consultants.  As a prior HR Generalist and Benefits Specialist, this Consultant role has allowed me to dive in and use my knowledge and skills to meet the needs of our clients.  It has also allowed me to learn and build on talents I did not realize I had; we call this type of environment a JoyPowered™ workspace!

At Purple Ink, we know the strengths of our team and make sure we all have opportunities each day to use them, develop them and aim them.  I’ll be honest: I was not very familiar with StrengthsFinder, and the first time I took the StrengthsFinder assessment was late 2015, when I re-connected with the owner of Purple Ink, JoDee.  I heard her speak about StrengthsFinder at the Indiana SHRM conference, and it just made sense.  I talked with JoDee about a potential opportunity at Purple Ink during the conference too.  Although I did not start working for Purple Ink for several months, once I knew my strengths, I realized my top 5 (Responsibility, Learner, Arranger, Relator, and Belief) were not only applicable in a work setting, but very apparent in my home life too.  Ok, wow; now I’m a believer!

Alright; what do I exactly do at Purple Ink?  Lots of things, but often when a client approaches us, they are not exactly sure what they need from an HR perspective.  They might have a void in their department and they can’t decide if it needs filled, or they might have several projects to tackle but don’t know where to start.  I love being involved and assigned to work with those clients on an HR Assessment.  I get to use several of my strengths in this approach.  First, I use my Learner to come in to their department and spend a few hours or a day interviewing the HR team, executives, maybe even the payroll department.  This enables me to get a clear picture of what’s being done, what’s been overlooked, and understand their culture and goals.   I love this; I am a Relator too, so once I start getting to know the client, I want to spend as much time as possible understanding their needs and developing our relationship.

Next, I take the information and my Arranger gets to work!  I draft a report for our clients that allows them to see what’s happening in their department, what we recommend should be happening, and lastly, how Purple Ink can help make the biggest impact quickly.  As Gallup explains, I like to take a complex situation involving many factors, manage the variables, and align them until they are arranged in the most productive configuration possible.  We then present the report to the client, discuss the ideas, and brainstorm on next steps.  Sometimes this leads us to help recruit a new team member (which means I could develop their advertisement for the role, screen and interview candidates, and share my recommendations), or determine they need someone to coordinate Benefits Enrollment and I come onsite one day a week to assist during fourth quarter, or I manage their medical leave program offsite as needed.   We might identify that the client needs staff training so our team develops specific training (could be StrengthsFinder, harassment, team building, manager training, etc.) to meet their needs.  HR Assessments have been a great tool for us in understanding our clients and creating a useful point of reference as we continue the relationship.

My #1 strength is Responsibility.  You can trust that I will follow through on any commitment.  Three of my strengths fall in the executing domain.  People in this domain seem to get things done, with speed, precision, and accuracy.  Yes, I thrive on putting ideas into action and I am so grateful that Purple Ink allows me to continually execute my strengths!

If you think you could use an HR assessment, reach out to me; I’d love to use my strengths to help you identify ways to create a more positive and productive team.