A day in the life | Meet Edna

In this segment of our A Day in the Life series, where we recognize some of Jitjatjo’s incredible Change Agents, we meet Edna, People Lead (HR). Edna gives us a glimpse into her typical day understanding and supporting the employees at Jitjatjo. 

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Name:  Edna N.

Title:  People Lead (HR)

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“I love our Leadership's commitment towards excellence and human betterment. I am constantly inspired and driven towards our goals.”

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What do you do at Jitjatjo and how long have you been with the company?

I joined Jitjatjo the summer of 2021 as the People Lead of the Human Resources Department. I work mostly to understand and support our people (employees) at Jitjatjo. This includes creating helpful information, initiatives, and/or policies for our employees. I would say 75% of my work includes Talent Engagement and Performance Management, while 25% is dedicated to internal company assignments.

What is your typical day like? 

My morning “must do’s” are: 1. five-minute meditation; 2. workout; 3. walk my dog. Following this, almost every day of the work week is different! I typically start my day with a 30-45 minute “catch up” of information where I review all of our communication channels to understand if I can answer anything first thing in the morning, or determine if I need to move anything in my schedule to allocate more time towards a new priority item. I then have a “focus time” either following my “catch up” (when I can use my morning energy to debrief and accomplish the most) to focus on short term and long term projects, OR items that need immediate attention. The rest of my day may consist of meetings with colleagues and our HR team, followed by time to connect with our talent through the Flex chat to answer any questions. Our team dedicates most of our day to answer questions regarding our policies, to review Exception requests, and to discuss incidents with our talent. My day typically ends with an end-of-day “focus” where I start to organize my schedule for the following day, based on what I was able to accomplish.

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How would you describe Jitjatjo in 3 words? ‍

Supportive, Collaborative, Driven

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Why did you choose Jitjatjo? 

‍I chose Jitjatjo because I immediately connected with our mission and values. I knew I wanted to work in a supportive and collaborative environment where I could make a difference yet learn A LOT - and to this day, it feels great to know Jitjatjo believed in me, and chose me too!

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What do you love most about working at Jitjatjo? ‍

‍I love our Leadership's commitment towards excellence and human betterment. I am constantly inspired and driven towards our goals. It's great to know that you really are "seen and heard", and we constantly "live by" our company values. Having collaboration while in a remote work setting and a supportive environment has helped me grow so much! -- These are fundamental to helping others succeed.

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What do you think makes a great team? ‍

Understanding each team member’s strengths and weaknesses, while leveraging their strengths effectively by allowing them to focus on tasks that they are passionate about. Communication amongst the team and manager is also key. A team should also share a common department or company goals, set aside individual goals, and have an understanding of how their contributions make a difference. 

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What is your greatest achievement to date – personal or professional? ‍

Women's Business Excellence Award Recipient 2017 - UConn School of Business

• Reminds me of my goals, visions, and what I can achieve through hard work and discipline.

UConn IQ (Innovation Quest) Finalist 2019

• This was a contest I entered as an Alumni of UConn, with my brother (who was still a student).  It is a competition that provides student entrepreneurs with the opportunity of chasing after that idea they always wonder about, and actually turning it into a real business.
• It’s not only a project I became passionate about with my brother, but also one that we formulated in only 2 weeks! We were able to detail the ins and outs of our prototype, and were selected out of 100+ applicants to present our idea in front of 30 investors. 
• This achievement reminds me of how far your ideas can make it towards reaching your own excellence and success - Never give up on your dreams!

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What is the best career lesson you’ve learned so far? ‍

Never stop learning.
Never stop asking thoughtful questions.
Always remember your why. 

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What has been your proudest moment at Jitjatjo?‍

Working with the leadership and tech team to create, enforce, and automate workflow of our Talent Performance Policy.

• This consisted of many dedicated efforts, phases of evaluation, and a lot of decision making to ensure a smooth transition for our talent. 
• We were very detailed but also considerate of our talent community when creating new features and policy information for our talent.

The work continues, but this was an achievement that has begun to pave the way towards our goal of ensuring transparency and progression in our platform. I am so excited to continue helping to make improvements for our talent!

What do you hope to achieve in the coming months, year(s)?‍

Further improving the performance aspect of our platform. I plan to work dedicatedly with our teams to ensure we are recognizing our hard-working talent through more incentives. I also would love to highlight more success stories, and make helpful tips/information more easily accessible to our talent.