Profile of a Business Owner: Kristin Scott
Kristin has been serving in the HR field for over 22 years bringing her passion and desire to help others succeed with recommendations that will advance your organization. Scott Human Resources has two areas of focus: 1) We do what you don’t want to i.e. compliance, employee handbooks, performance management and much more. 2) Growing your people, grows your business i.e. executive and management coaching combined with team training and leadership development.
TK: If you were stranded on an island, what 3 items would you be sure to have with you?
KRISTIN:
Bible for reading and growth
Journal to write and document
The last one is the toughest because there are soo many “essentials” of life and I know the question asks for an item, but I would have to say my husband, because he is a hunter, so he would help with protection, food and companionship. We could do anything together!
TK: What inspired you to start your business?
KRISTIN: My husband gave me the courage and support to start my business over 12 years ago, which gave me the freedom to pursue what I love: the ability to come along side others and help them solve problems for growth.
Tell about a failure that helped move you to growth, innovation or success?
KRISTIN: Without failure, you will never succeed. It is what you do with failure that determines your future. Failures come in many shapes and sizes. I try to approach failures with evaluation of what went wrong and how we can improve for the future. While we serve at the pleasure of our clients’, there are times when clients’ choose or request a particular course of action that backfires.
That happened several years ago. We were under deadline to finish processing something and we allowed the deadline to influence our decision rather than decide to take a step back and ask, what might be the employees perspective and what is the collateral damage or risk to employee relations. We have learned, it is better to take a step back, sleep on the issue- sometimes for multiple days before taking action. If you look at the issue from multiple perspectives, you will make a best decision for all parties involved.
TK: When you’re considering partnering with another person or business, what factors are deal-breakers for you?
KRISTIN: It’s all about the relationship! Our desire is to build lasting relationships with our clients and community partners. We believe that putting the relationship first helps us make wise decisions and offer solid advice. A deal breaker is when you realize that your priorities do not align. If we seek to improve businesses and our approach does not align with the client’s “true north”, the recommendations will not be valued nor appreciated.
TK: How do you encourage creativity in your business?
KRISTIN: Continuous self-learning and seeking input from others allows us to bring leading edge thought processes and solutions to the table. Some may say, we create change and to a point that is true. I don’t believe in doing things the same way we have always done them. With the evolution of technology, software, etc. we must continuously evaluate processes for efficiency while maintaining the human element. Reading books is the one thing that gets my creative juices flowing- the key to success is taking the knowledge and implementing it; finding or setting aside the time to brainstorm and determine what is best for each client, their culture and how to best guide them to achieve their objectives.
When working with team members, it is good to listen to their ideas and challenge them as to how that has worked other places or ask them to test it out. As a leader, we must be open minded and not think that we are the only ones with great ideas, some of the best ideas can come from others. Collaborate together and see how you can add value to current processes, policies and practices.
TK: What advice would you give someone wanting to move-up?
KRISTIN: Growing others is a sincere passion of ours. There are several things that will help individuals advance their careers: learn from your mistakes, embrace constructive feedback, be positive (always finding the silver lining in each situation), and lastly- don’t take it personal.
