In this episode of HR Storytellers, Heather Deyrieux, SHRM-SCP, explains how her passion for volunteering and the successes and fulfillment she achieved helped lead her from a career in strategic planning to human resource management. Deyrieux, human resources manager for Sarasota County Government, past president of the HR Florida State Council and current SHRM Southeast Member Advisory Council representative, joins host Tony Lee to share her HR story.
In this episode of HR Storytellers, Heather Deyrieux, SHRM-SCP, explains how her passion for volunteering and the successes and fulfillment she achieved helped lead her from a career in strategic planning to human resource management.
Deyrieux, human resources manager for Sarasota County Government, past president of the HR Florida State Council and current SHRM Southeast Member Advisory Council representative, joins host Tony Lee to share her HR story.
HR Storytellers is sponsored by BambooHR.
Heather Deyrieux:
So, a lot of people always ask me how I got involved in HR and specifically HR Florida, and now SHRM and my various positions, and it was by saying, "Yes."
Speaker 2:
HR Storytellers is sponsored by BambooHR. BambooHR is easy to use HR software that helps your employees know they can count on you, whether it's through on time, every time payroll, or asking for unflinchingly authentic feedback.
Tony Lee:
Welcome to the HR Storyteller podcast series from the Society for Human Resource Management. I'm your host, Tony Lee, Head of Content here at SHRM, thank you for joining us. Our HR Storyteller podcast feature practitioners and thought leaders in human resources, sharing stories about why they love HR, what motivates them, and what's moved them in their careers. Today, we are joined by Heather Deyrieux, Manager of Workforce Planning and for Sarasota County Government in Florida, also known as HD. HD, welcome.
Heather Deyrieux:
Thank you. Glad to be here.
Tony Lee:
Yeah, so thrilled to have you. So you have a story you'd like to share with us.
Heather Deyrieux:
I do. So, a lot of people always ask me how I got involved in HR and specifically HR Florida and now SHRM and my various positions, and it was by saying, "Yes." And I was working for OrlandoJobs.com. Your city, your jobs, local job board, many, many moons ago. I think it was back in 2006, 2007 that I started with them. And we attended our local HR Florida State Conference in Expo as exhibitors at the time. And the sponsor exhibitor team reached out to my boss, Roger Lear, and said, "Hey, we'd like you to join our team. We think you'd do really well with this. It's a great opportunity to continue networking." And he was on the team and they had a team meeting coming up in Daytona Beach, and he was going to be in St. Martin. I know, tough life. And he said, "Hey, HD", can you go over to Daytona and just provide this report to the conference team for me?
I said, "Okay, sure. I can drive to Daytona and give a report." So I remember opening the report because I wasn't allowed to look at it ahead of time, and he's like, "Yeah, I'm sitting on the beach in St. Martin enjoying a beer. Sorry, you guys are stuck there in Daytona instead. And here's how we're doing on sponsors and exhibitors." Well, during the course of the meeting, we found out that the sponsor chair was going to be about eight months pregnant by the time the conference rolled around, and while she was still going to be there and still helping out with everything, she's like, "I might not be as mobile as I was planning on."
So the conference director reached out to Roger and I and said, "Hey, could you be Amy's legs during this event and whatever other special projects come up?" And that started my HR Florida career. And that turned into a new position where they created a Conference Chair Role to be in training for the Conference Director position, and then moving on to the EC, and eventually President of HR Florida in '19 and '20. So that was some interesting times. And then the coveted role of Immediate Past President for '21 and '22. And because of the timeline working out perfectly to that and throwing my hat in the ring, I was able to become the Southeast Mac Rep as well, to help the other wonderful states in our region.
Tony Lee:
Wow, that's wonderful. So you're into volunteering?
Heather Deyrieux:
Oh yes, yes. It's a volunteer career, as I always talk about. It's a very much full-time job depending on the position and what you're doing, but it's truly a passion that fulfills me in great ways. But I also tell people on a regular basis, I would not be who I am today or where I am today without the volunteer roles and the opportunities that SHRM and HR Florida and my local chapters have provided to me.
Being able to dive in and really look at a P&L and understand the budgeting process for a multimillion dollar organization in my free time with a bunch of other volunteers, and presenting on a stage to 2,500 of my closest friends, and now having a conversation on a podcast or an intimate chat of 5 or 10 people is no big deal when you can do it to 2,500 and try to be very welcoming and warm and at bringing people in.
Tony Lee:
Yeah. So clearly, it's altruistic to volunteer, but there are personal career benefits that come as well.
Heather Deyrieux:
Absolutely, absolutely.
Tony Lee:
You want to talk a little about how people can benefit that way too?
Heather Deyrieux:
Sure. So it was back in 2015, I believe it was. I decided to leave Orlando Jobs, just had reached my career potential with the organization, still great friends with them, wonderful people, great org. But decided I needed to do something else. And it was because of my event planning background and experience that I gained through HR Florida as being Conference Director and being involved in so many other roles, that I was able to move over to the Director of Strategic Development for the International Business Innovation Association, and do event planning and HR and a whole host of other things.
Helping entrepreneurs and the EDCs and early stage companies, and going back to my entrepreneurial roots that I really liked. And after that, diving directly into an HR position as the Director of Talent with Dental Care Alliance. But during that time, I was continuing education, I achieved my master's degree with a concentration in human resources, and just fell in love more and more with the field and the people and the impact that I could make.
Tony Lee:
Yeah. So you've got a big job managing workforce planning.
Heather Deyrieux:
Yes.
Tony Lee:
What does that entail?
Heather Deyrieux:
So that is our recruiting and talent acquisition arm, as well as retention and all of the other things that could fall under the employee experience. So we have about 2,200 team members at Sarasota County, and about 1,100 regular volunteers. We could not survive without our volunteers. Pre-Covid, we actually had a 5 to 1 mix of 5 volunteers to 1 paid staff in our libraries. So our volunteer base is something that is near and dear to us, and we appreciate all the value that they provide to the organization and to our wonderful community.
So recruiting's been fun right now. It's always fun, it's real fun right now. But yeah, it's a wonderful opportunity. It was my first entry into the public sector, but it was because of the relationships that I had made, again, through the local chapters and through HR Florida, that I had many clients and friends that were working in the public sector before. So before I made that move, I made a bunch of phone calls and said, "Tell me the pros and cons. What have you learned during your career and do you think this would be a good fit for me?" Because government can be very different than the private industry, and in a lot of positive ways, which I enjoy because it's not about profit, it's not about the bottom line, it's how can we make an impact for our residents and our visitors? And that was what I was looking for in that step for my career.
Tony Lee:
Yeah, that's terrific. You brought up something that we haven't spent a lot of time talking about. So it's obvious managing employees, everybody knows what that's about. But managing volunteers-
Heather Deyrieux:
Oh yeah.
Tony Lee:
... Is HR usually managing volunteers? And if so, what's involved with that?
Heather Deyrieux:
It definitely varies from organization to organization, but because of my HR Florida experience of managing volunteers, that was definitely something I felt more comfortable with. One of the associates on my team is actually our Volunteer Program Coordinator. So she has more of that on day to day basis of working with them. And we have department volunteer coordinators that actually help hands on with most of those volunteers. So from the HR aspect for this role is really more of the recruitment, the background checks, fingerprinting, and taking care of that so that we're consistent with our volunteers and our employees, because they're all interacting with the public on behalf of Sarasota County. So we want to make sure that we're providing that same level of service and integrity.
Tony Lee:
Yeah. And do you engage and motivate them the same way you do employees?
Heather Deyrieux:
I certainly try to. So we do a lot of volunteer recognition, so I'm sure everyone watching or listening to this knows that April is National Volunteer month. So we do a lot of recognition throughout the year, but that's really our big time is in April. We also look at the volunteer value, so there's always a dollar value that's associated with the volunteer hours. And then we present a big check to our County Commission for those value of the volunteer hours. And it's typically anywhere between 6 or 7 million dollars of value that those volunteers are providing back to the community.
Tony Lee:
Wow.
Heather Deyrieux:
But we do recognition pins, we do different parties for them, wonderful certificates and different meet and greets, and anything that we can do to make their lives easier.
Tony Lee:
Yeah. So what's it like having a difficult conversation with a volunteer versus an employee?
Heather Deyrieux:
So I've told people, "I've fired more volunteers than I have employees in my life," which it's even a harder conversation I think at times, because we're like, "Yeah, we know we're not paying you, but you're still not cutting it and we're going to have to say goodbye." Just like an employee, you have to set those expectations up front and there has to be accountability. And when we are interviewing people for volunteer roles, the volunteer career or the paying career, I try to scare people off. And I know that might be a little taboo to say.
Normally it's like, "Oh, somebody wants to volunteer? Yeah, come on, get involved." And that's the initial reaction because the more the merrier. But we really want to make sure that we're finding the right fit for somebody and that they have the bandwidth to do the job well. And that it's a right time in their personal and professional life that they can give back to whatever that position is. And hey, if now's not the time, that's cool, and maybe we can do something in the future, or maybe it's a different role that would be a better fit for them, as maybe a committee member rather than a chair position, so that they can ease into it and make sure that they do have that availability to deliver.
Tony Lee:
Yeah. So let's pivot a little bit.
Heather Deyrieux:
Pivot.
Tony Lee:
Pivot. There you go. So you mentioned talent shortages and recruiting. It sounds like where your heart really is.
Heather Deyrieux:
Absolutely.
Tony Lee:
Any big secrets? Boy, everybody is struggling right now, aren't they? So anything that's working well for you guys?
Heather Deyrieux:
Sure. So I shared a little personal story at the Board of Directors presentation earlier this week, and very happy to share that with SHRM's Getting Talent Back to Work Initiative, the HR Florida State Council recently welcomed the Florida Department of Corrections to one of our state council meetings as part of our workforce planning. And after a very informative conversation, I was able to reach out to the representative, and then to the local contacts, to talk about future employment opportunities for those returning citizens to our community.
And being two government agencies, we had some hurdles and different things that we had to work through of, "Okay, how can we make this happen?" But it's incredible the different training programs that they are offering to help people get back into their communities and to find great roles that can help them with their future. And so between customer service skills or carpentry and a whole host of other things, we're comparing our openings to their skill sets, their release dates, what part of town they're in, their background and education experience that they had before being incarcerated, and then working through to say, "Okay, we can do a fillable PDF application," because they don't have internet access, and we can interview via teams or Zoom so that those can take place while they're still incarcerated, but knowing that they have a release date coming up in maybe 30, 60, 90 days. So we expect to get some resumes either this week or next week, and hopefully we'll be able to have some success stories the next time we chat.
Tony Lee:
Oh boy, that's wonderful. Untapped talent. Lots of different types of untapped talent, right?
Heather Deyrieux:
Absolutely.
Tony Lee:
We're returning veterans and people with disabilities. Are you looking at initiatives across the board like that?
Heather Deyrieux:
Absolutely. So we are definitely a veteran-forward organization and try to provide wonderful opportunities. And a good portion of our employment base at the county is definitely veterans that have served in all sorts of different fashions, as well as their families, because people sometimes forget about the family members that move with their veterans.
We're lucky enough to have MacDill Air Force Base just about an hour north of us, so a lot of people like to stay in that area because they fall in love with Florida, because why not? And we're able to attract some of that talent down to join our organization. But we're looking for talent everywhere, and I'm really excited to see what SHRM's doing with the new alternative credentials and moving into that area, and how can we coach our hiring managers on those differences.
And we're going through a big job description project at this time with one of our summer interns. We love our interns. And really asking the questions about education that, okay, the current classification for this role, or the current job description says they need a two year or four year degree. Do they really? Or would experience count for that? Or is there something else that they could obtain to show that they've got those qualifications and could do an awesome job for us? So very exciting times.
Tony Lee:
Yeah. That's wonderful. Well, Heather, HD, thank you so much for your insights. We really appreciate it.
Heather Deyrieux:
Thank you, Tony.
Tony Lee:
And you can hear all of our HR Storyteller podcasts by visiting our website at shrm.org/podcast. Thanks so much for listening and thanks for joining us.
Heather Deyrieux:
Thank you.
Speaker 2:
HR Storytellers is sponsored by BambooHR. BambooHR is HR software that lets you hear your employee's stories. How they're performing, how they're growing, and how they're working together to accomplish a shared vision. Its intuitive design helps connect everyone in your organization and build trust, whether it's through on time, every time payroll, or asking employees for unflinchingly authentic feedback. Start hearing your employees stories with a free demo. Visit bamboohr.com/storytellers to learn more.