I’m the daughter of an elementary school teacher and an obstetrician, both first-generation college graduates and trailblazers. I come from a family that lived a life of everyday hard work, laughter, and learning.
6:30 a.m.
A typical day consists of me weaving in and out of mom, work, and wife mode. I wake up early to the sounds of two meowing cats, then I head out for a jog in the park or join my sister and friends in a Zoom dance workout. For me, morning movement makes for a happy day. When I finish my exercise, I log my kids in for school, eat a quick breakfast, and get to work.
8:30 a.m.
At work, I meet with my team, coach, problem-solve, hash out plans, and lead group discussions. I listen for ways to advise, connect initiatives, and share progress.
As a small team serving thousands, our work is a marathon, not a sprint. We are constantly making choices about our programs, guidance, and tools to help people learn and lead regardless of their role and for benefit of the business in the long term. We are making a great place to work even better!
9:30 a.m.
Throughout the day, I’m writing, reviewing, or discussing drafts of program objectives, learning materials, or plans for new initiatives. It’s iterative work and we’re always improving for the next draft or round. Collaboration helps us move our ideas along collectively.
Booker T. Washington said, “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” At Verisk, I get to weave this notion into my work, which is extremely gratifying. Plus, I am working within an incredible human resources team that shares this mindset, not just with kind words, but in the way we challenge and support each other on behalf of the employees we serve.
12:15 p.m.
When I work from home, I love when my husband orders Bahn Mi sandwiches for lunch and we eat and chat. When it comes to family and work, the pandemic has opened the dialogue with my manager, and that’s helped me find my “both/and.” It doesn’t mean I can always do it all, but I feel like I have support.
My daughters like to sit in my work chair and imitate me: “Verisk, Verisk, Verisk!!” “Talent! Talent! Talent!!” “Well, what do you think?!” “What do YOU think?” “Excellent idea!!” I crack up when I see how they see me, and my heart is warmed by the enthusiasm of their play.
1:15 p.m.
There are always work surprises like popping in to help someone prep for a presentation or sharing a point of view on business-led employee development work.
2:00 p.m.
This is my first year at Verisk and I consider it my house-building year. That means designing or revamping new offerings, piloting and experimenting with new learning solutions with small groups, and gearing up for a richer employee offering in the medium term.
As I learn more and more about Verisk’s business lines, I am increasingly proud of what we do together as a company. Data analytics is smart work, future-focused, with a global impact on our planet and generations to come. I am proud to be a part of that.
3:00 p.m.
A few initiatives I’m excited about at Verisk are piloting a mentoring program and introducing early career development programs and peer-to-peer learning groups. Each day is scattered with one-on-ones and small group meetings to plan, share ideas, and check in on progress.
Our team is working with partners to better engage managers to develop employees and help us all work inclusively. We’re also finding ways to make performance management more appealing—or at least less worrisome!
The talent management space is exciting because our global external workforce uses innovative technology to help people learn and engage. We’re starting our journey to bring state-of-the-art tools and approaches to people, leadership, and culture at Verisk over time; we know you want them!
Our interns gain hands-on work experience, join fireside chats with senior leaders, participate in professional development workshops, and attend networking opportunities.
4:30 p.m.
Leading the Talent Management Team at Verisk is about finding ways to make work better for everyone. The question my team turns over each day is, “What can we do to help people channel their energy into growing the company and growing themselves?”
We consider this as we design and plan leadership programs, research and select learning and performance management tools, and partner with the Talent Acquisition Team to lead early career development programs.
My team wants to enable learning in every nook and cranny of Verisk. This is our dream destination, and we’re getting there by tackling it in doable chunks.
6:30 p.m.
Having dinner together is both a tradition and a priority in my family. I remember how we gathered every evening for dinner, which always ended with us puzzling over events of the day or laughing at a joke from dad.
We’d wrap up with kitchen duty, homework, or TV time, and often an early “good-night” to my dad before he worked the night shift at the hospital. Now, my family time often ends with reading sci-fi to my daughters before they go to sleep.
8:45 p.m.
As I wind down for the night, I take a few moments to reflect on what I’ve done and plan tomorrow.
If I asked my younger self what I hoped for in a future employer, I would have talked about:
- Being free to imagine and bring to life ideas that help the business
- The opportunity to support senior leaders who appreciate the value of leadership, learning, and people
- Working with great colleagues
I’ve never found these three things in one place before! But this is my reality at Verisk, and why I love my role.