Coworking with Kirstyn Rigdon

On Wednesdays, we schedule our weekly 1:1 with HR Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Kirstyn Rigdon, director of HR at Tri Pointe Homes construction, says she got her start in HR almost by chance. Rigdon told HR Brew she was working as an underwriter at a mortgage company when she started taking on HR functions and found her calling. “I was really passionate about the interactions with people: how they work, why they work, how can we serve them best in the workplace?” she recalled. Rigdon now oversees HR operations for the Carolinas, and tells HR Brew she is responsible for upwards of 200 employees.

How would you describe your specific job to someone who doesn’t work in HR? If you grew up watching Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang, you should be familiar with Lucy. She always had a pop-up stand offering services including therapy and many other life services. She was always wearing many different hats—that’s how I would describe HR!

Ultimately, HR is all about people and how we can best support them from our leaders to our employees. Sometimes, that’s an ear to listen, guidance on a situation, résumé building, employee growth, talent assessment, benefits, payroll, employee relations, succession planning, and the list goes on and on. In HR, we’re always wearing many different hats, but it’s all to serve the people and organizations we support.

What’s the best change you’ve made at a place you’ve worked? Shifting that perspective that people generally have about HR. Leaders and employees historically think HR is like going to the principal’s office, or we’re only around when someone is in trouble. When, in fact, we are here as a true resource and partner to provide guidance for employees and leaders to develop themselves, find ways to help increase engagement within all lines of business, create career paths for employees, and to strategically partner with leaders to help them reach goals within their groups. The employees and leaders I support are my job and I’ve been lucky to be part of a team that is making sure they know that.

What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job? That working in HR is only about paperwork. I don’t think there is a good general understanding of what we do as HR professionals. HR is such a robust and dynamic area to be in, no matter the company, no matter the industry, and you have the ability to make a real impact.

What’s the most fulfilling aspect of your job? Serving people. It’s what motivates me. Every scenario or situation is unique and different and I love being able to take the reins and navigate through to a resolution.

What trend in HR are you most optimistic about? I’m really excited about how corporate culture and the inclusion of DE&I teams are becoming more [of a] priority to organizations and especially how we get to be a part of implementing these things within our companies. I use myself as an example, and having my thumb on the pulse of what’s going on with the employees I support and knowing things they want to see in the workplace. People are hungry for their organizations to have a strong corporate culture, defined mission, vision, values and include DE&I in all things across their companies.

Tell us one new or old HR tech product or platform that’s made your life easier, and why. It has to be DocuSign or any cloud-based employee filing system! No more paper!

Want to be featured in an upcoming edition of Coworking? Click here to introduce yourself.