It’s a bird… It’s a plane… It’s “Super-HR-man”

Penshorn-SuperHRmanIn one of his bits, the great comedian Jerry Seinfeld let the world in on a deep dark secret about men:  “…as men are growing up and they’re reading about Batman, Spiderman, Superman; these aren’t fantasies, these are options.”  Well, Jerry was onto something… and, full disclosure, I’ve never quite let go of that super hero dream. Though I can’t leap tall buildings in a single bound and I’m not faster than a speeding bullet, it turns out M3 has helped me discover my own brand of superpower – the ability to help others.  As an HR professional, I have always believed it is my job to “enhance the culture of M3” and I set about that task by always putting “People First” – I guess you can call that my super hero creed.

Putting “People First” means helping each employee in the manner that is valuable to them in order to help to meet their individual needs. At M3, putting “People First” may look like:

  • Providing a flexible schedule so a parent can be present for his/her children as needed
  • Creating connections for our employees to help them get involved in supporting our community
  • Helping an employee develop a career plan to realize his/her professional goals

But, whatever the individual action is, the outcome is the same: a happier, better-rounded employee who feels valued – and inspired to contribute to M3’s overall culture in a positive way.

While I can’t fly – and a cape is only something I’m just considering – I do have one thing in common with Superman: we both help people. Those grand ‘save-the-world’ moments are amazing, but they only happen here and there. Real change largely happens one person at time. That’s what putting ‘People First’ is all about.

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Zachary Penshorn, PHR is the Vice President of Human Resources at M3.

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