Melissa Johnston, Director of L&D at First Orion: “Everything you experience in life teaches you something”

Earlier today we published an article about chaotic working and malicious compliance, two workplace trends that we don’t think will be happening at First Orion. That’s at least in part thanks to Melissa Johnston, Director of Learning and Development at First Orion, who has helped to build an award-winning workplace culture. A fact recognised by Great Place to Work for seven consecutive years and featured in the 2022 Inc. Best Workplaces list.

How did Melissa and the team achieve this? “The key is equipping leaders to know the signs and to be able to have conversations about where they see their team members’ engagement,” to quote one of her responses in the interview below.

But as always it’s about thinking about the people in your organisation, equipping them with the right tools (AI is on its way, says Melissa) and providing a structure that works for both employees and the business. And that’s capable of change.

Read on to find out more.

Related reading: Hiring for success: the case for skills and attitude

Tell us about your role at First Orion

I am the director of learning and development at First Orion, the leading provider of branded communication solutions. We’re developing and bringing some of the most innovative technologies to the market, changing how businesses and consumers experience the phone call.

I focus on creating an environment where people can learn, be successful and enjoy their work. We understand the value of having positive employee experiences at every stage of the employee life cycle and how that impacts our ability to push the telecommunications industry forward.

What made you pursue a career in HR? And what advice do you have for anyone considering a career in HR?

I know it sounds cliché, but I am a “people person!”

My passion for helping people led me to a career in HR. At the heart of everything I do is my desire to contribute to other people’s success and help them grow personally and professionally. Human resources just happens to be the way in which I do that.

My advice for someone considering a career in HR is to learn from your life experiences and be open to the challenges and opportunities that come your way. Everything you experience in life teaches you something. I can look back at most of my life experiences and see how they have prepared me for the job I have now.

For example, teaching at a university taught me to provide very clear expectations and how to hold others accountable. Working in healthcare with physicians and nurses taught me to be assertive and confident in my communication. At Acxiom, I was out of my comfort zone working for a data and technology company where I had to be willing to learn new things and work at a different pace.

Throughout my career, I have learned to be patient and enjoy where I am. My advice to others is to be patient and enjoy the journey. You will land where you are supposed to be. 

We hear about terms like quiet quitting, indicating a shift in employees’ approach to work post-pandemic. Is this something you’ve seen at your work? And how are you reacting to it? 

These trends are not new for organisations, we just have a new name for them. Perhaps the workforce has seen more of it since the pandemic, but organisations have always had situations where, at some point, an employee will quietly disengage from their work and the organisation.

The key is equipping leaders to know the signs and to be able to have conversations about where they see their team members’ engagement.

In addition, organisations need to foster a culture where employees feel comfortable with these conversations and don’t feel the need to “quietly quit”. Sometimes the leader can turn the situation around and reengage the employee and understand what the employee needs to stay engaged and sometimes we find the role or company is not a good fit.

Either way, it benefits everyone if these conversations can be transparent and give leaders and HR teams an understanding of what employees need to prevent them from disengaging. 

Related reading: what is quiet quitting?

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received and how has it shaped your career?

The best piece of advice I have received is to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room, you just need to know how to leverage the people you surround yourself with.

Our People Operations team at First Orion is made up of people who are the smartest in their field. Each person brings a unique skill set and talents to their role. I learn something from each of them every day that helps me in my role. 

What are the top three challenges HR professionals face today?

Rethinking what employees value, strengthening the leader-employee relationship and managing uncertainty are three challenges HR teams face today.

Work has fundamentally changed due to the pandemic and larger social issues. This has created a change in people’s expectations of the employee experience. Sure, people still want competitive pay, benefits, training, retirement, etc, but they expect more. They desire a holistic experience that includes career growth, skills development, inclusion, trust and wellness.

Changes to work also mean changes to relationships, most importantly, the leader-employee relationship. Leaders need new skills to be able to foster relationships in a hybrid work environment and across multiple generations. Inherent in all organisations is uncertainty due to internal and external factors.

HR teams need to manage morale and provide appropriate transparency during times when people may feel varying degrees of uncertainty. We provide security by helping employees see their value and new ways they can contribute to the business. 

What do you think has been the most significant way in which technology has impacted HR?

Technology has allowed HR teams to become stronger strategic partners to our leaders and employees. We use technology to automate more manual, administrative tasks which frees us up to be able to foster strategic relationships. Workforce analytics allows us to better understand the trends of our employee base which can help inform how we advise our leaders and create initiatives to support our employees. 

What do you perceive are some of the risks of deploying AI in the workplace?

I think AI can benefit a company. We are just beginning to see the role AI will play at First Orion.

From an HR perspective, AI can help to reduce time in recruiting efforts, design training programs, create development plans, etc. Where I think we have risk, is removing the human element from these activities. For example, a leader can use AI to write a performance plan for an employee, but it will not consider the environmental factors and personality associated with that employee’s performance. You need the human perspective to help make sense of that. 

What is an HR initiative you’ve spearheaded that you are particularly proud of?

I am very proud of the work my team has done to create a more strategic view of career development for our employees.

We listened to feedback from our employees who told us they want more direction and focus on career development. We realized that while we had initiatives for career development (performance feedback, training, career levels) they were all done in isolation and did not allow employees to have a clear strategy for growing their careers.

We now have Chart Your Course which is our career development strategy that focuses on four areas critical to career growth at First Orion: First Orion Knowledge, Self-Development, Feedback and Career Planning. Each of our career development initiatives fits into an area of the Chart Your Course strategy.

We didn’t have to create a lot of new things, we just needed to paint a clearer picture of career growth at FO. This model has helped to change the perception of career development at First Orion by giving employees the tools to own their own careers and talk differently with the leaders about career development. 

More great content for HR professionals

Our thanks to Melissa for finding the time for this interview. Here’s what we think you should read next:

• What is rust-out – and how to help your staff avoid it
• What’s behind TikTok’s work trends? Burnout and low pay