Latest / Beyond the Paycheck / Expecting humans to be frictionless is where HR falls short
Transcript
- Beyond the Paycheck - Khadijah New Recorded 2026-09-25 Kelsey Willock: Welcome, Kay New, Chief Human Resources Officer at H2O America. We are so excited to have you this Friday morning. To kick us off, I'd love for you to share a little bit about your current role, where you're calling in from, and your background today. Khadijah New: All right, that is awesome. Thank you, Kelsey, and I am so excited to be here. I love listening to the podcast. I have a pretty long commute, so you're definitely on my playlist. So again, I am Khadijah New. I often go by Kay. I guess I'll kind of start with my background. If I had to just sum up my two decades in leadership, I would say it's really about helping organizations through complexity and change without losing perspective of the people involved. So I'm currently in Connecticut, but I'm originally from Ohio. Like yourself, I'm a Midwesterner. So some of my formative experience was developed there when I joined a company called SGS. They are a leading testing, inspection and verification company. Globally, they have about 100,000 employees worldwide. And I had the opportunity to lead the recruiting for one of their U.S. divisions. And that opportunity was fantastic because I was able to really partner with leaders, and I really cut my teeth within not just talent acquisition, but really being a business partner and working at the intersection of business strategy and people strategy. So then from there, I moved to Connecticut with my family, and I joined Avangrid, which is also a part of a global company called Iberdrola, but in the utility sector. So it's a utility and energy company. And I had leadership there that really trusted me, gave me more than I could handle at times, but just allowed me to gain a breadth and depth of experience in all things HR. But what was always very important to me was the employee experience and what the lived experience was for our employees. And that's really where I found my passion. And then as you mentioned, I'm now at H2O America, and I've been here for about 18 months. And it's really a culmination of all of these different experiences that I've had. This started at really a macro level, working with global organizations, looking at how we have local execution of these global strategies. And now at H2O, where it is a smaller organization, but with just as much complexity because we grow through acquisition. So now it is merging different cultures and experiences and policies and procedures and all of those things. So I've just been very fortunate to have this array of opportunities and experiences. Kelsey Willock: Okay. So I'm really excited to dig a little bit deeper into all of the amazing work that you do at H2O. But can you tell me a little bit more about the organization first before we dive into those questions? Khadijah New: Yes. So H2O America is a water utility. So it's really a network of wastewater and water utilities, primarily in Connecticut, Maine, Texas, and California. So I'm very blessed to have HR teams in each of those states except for Maine. And we just have a culture of people that are so tied to the mission and the values of the organization and providing this sustainable resource that every community needs. Kelsey Willock: Name branding couldn't have been more perfect, by the way. As a major listener of the show, you know this question is coming, and it's my favorite question to ask all of our folks that come on. Can you tell me a little bit about your first job, and if you recall, what you spent your first paycheck on? Khadijah New: So it's so funny, Kelsey. I thought about this, and it made me think about a quick funny story. So a couple of years ago, I try to volunteer when I can, and I was volunteering at my daughter's school for Junior Achievement. And we were talking about careers, and all of the kids were like, well, my father's an accountant, and my mom's a nurse, and my daughter raised her hand, and she's like, my mom works at McDonald's. And the teacher just looked a little puzzled because we had talked about my role in HR and different things like that. But it was so funny because I had recently shared with her that my first job, when I was 16, was at McDonald's. And I think she felt that was cooler than my actual job. So she's like, you know, my mom works at McDonald's. So yes, McDonald's was my first job. And it taught me so much about people and customer service and, you know, the regular folks that would come in, I would remember their orders, and they would just be so impressed. And, you know, it just made their day. So again, I think that was an early lesson for me, even as a teenager, about how people just want to be seen and want to be valued and want to know that people care. Now, on the flip side of that, I started the job around the week of my best friend's 16th birthday. So I was not able to go and hang out with her. So my first check, and I would say that we splurged, you know, and went to the movies, bought a lot of popcorn and things like that. Kelsey Willock: Absolutely love that. And how do you think now this early money story, early career development has influenced how you show up as a leader and make decisions? Khadijah New: Thank you. That is an excellent question. You know, I think that I've been very fortunate to see so many different lived experiences, right? So my grandmother was a nurse, and then she later retired from the Department of Corrections. My mom worked in customer service for many years. So, you know, when I had the opportunity to continue kind of rising the ranks and working in leadership, I always wanted to be the type of leader that they would have wanted, right? So a leader that understood the different experiences that people are having, that people have different lives, and everybody doesn't, you know, kind of have the same challenges, the same, you know, difficulties and things of that nature. And that ultimately, you know, people really want to come to work and do a good job, right? When you think of myself at 16 working at McDonald's and being able to use that paycheck to go to the movies, when there was someone next to me that needed to use that paycheck to take care of their family, right? So, again, I think that was a very early lesson in just different experiences and how we're all doing the best that we can. Kelsey Willock: You know, I think it's a really phenomenal point and segue into my next question, which is, you know, kind of better understanding how you think about supporting the whole person. Right now, we have such a multifaceted workforce. It sounds like the company and many of the previous companies that you've worked with have had diverse populations in terms of, you know, are they young people that are, you know, going to the movies or, you know, folks that are parental age, et cetera. So, when you think about this multifaceted workforce, what does supporting the whole employee look like to you? Khadijah New: Love that question, Kelsey. And I think it's something that every leader should consider. And you just hit the nail on the head, right? Like, we're in a time where there's three or four different generations, not just at the company, but a lot of times on a team, right? So, I've had teams where there's one person that is navigating parental leave, right, for their first child. And then I have someone else that is stressed every morning because their parent has, you know, recently been diagnosed with dementia and they're looking for elder care or different things of that sort. So, you know, I think that supporting the whole person requires us to have diverse benefits, diverse support, and to have flexibility, right? We can't be rigid and have this list that we're just trying to check off because 10 years ago or 15 years ago, it worked, right? Every day the future of work is changing. People are dealing with different things that they need to just manage within their personal lives and things of that nature. So, it's just having flexibility, being able to meet people where they're at, and being open and empathetic about, you know, different circumstances. Kelsey Willock: Where do you think the industry is falling short in that right now? Khadijah New: You know, I think it is expecting humans to be frictionless, right? Like, we, again, those lived experiences are not always left at the door. So, understanding that, you know, people are juggling and challenging so many things. I was talking with a colleague the other day and it's like some days, you know, the hardest choice is trying to get outside and get some sun, right? And move around and prioritize your health and well-being. And I talk with my team about that all the time. And I think that, you know, as things like AI help us become more efficient and more productive, you know, as leaders, it's our jobs to really kind of transition into that coach role that just reminds people to take care of themselves, right? Reminds people that they don't have anything to prove, they're in a safe space, and that they need to work at a level that is sustainable. And I've been very fortunate to manage a lot of top performers. And a lot of times, that's just really my role, right? We talked about my love for the Warriors, and Steph Curry is a part of that. And, you know, I always look at his relationship, even with Steve Kerr, it's like everybody can't coach a Steph or a LeBron, right? You have to be able to help them sometimes just manage their own sense of perfection and, you know, their ability to take care of themselves. So I think that's kind of where the industry falls short a little bit, is wanting to dictate, you know, how everything gets done. And sometimes you just need to move out of the way and let people do their jobs. Kelsey Willock: And I love your comment on, you know, people aren't frictionless. Right now, I think there's this massive pursuit of frictionless technology, whether it is AI, whether it is, you know, a benefit, whether it is a system in which we navigate benefits. The reality is people aren't the tech. You know, we are creating technology to support them, but expecting them to act like the technology acts is, you know, not always setting ourselves up for success because, you know, people are quite complicated, and I would argue more complicated than any algorithm could capture. Khadijah New: Exactly, exactly. Kelsey Willock: How do you think about the connection between supporting people and the quality of their output? Khadijah New: Another great question, Kelsey. I think it's directly connected, right? I always, you know, remind myself that if we take care of the people, the people will take care of everything else. And it's really just about, you know, ensuring that the workforce feels empowered, that they feel able to do the things that they need to do and have control over their day-to-day. What does that look like? Because, again, if you have, you know, strong performers, they're going to make the right choices, they're going to make the right decisions. So it's about, you know, blocking and tackling, making sure that they have the tools and the resources that they need to support the organization. And then that allows them to do their best work, and you automatically see it in the outcomes, right? You know, and HR loves to measure things. So, of course, there's always surveys and focus groups, but, you know, I kind of joke sometimes, like it's a vibe check, right? Like when you walk into a meeting, are people being collaborative? Do they have lots of ideas? Are they, you know, excited about the work that they're doing? And that's when you know that you're doing the right things, that you're supporting them in the right way. And if you have, you know, open dialogue... At H2O America, we always talk about straight talk, right? If you're having straight talk and people can walk in and tell you what's working, what's not working, and you're flexible and you have agility to, you know, quickly pivot and do the things that they are telling you they need for support, you'll often see those outcomes. Kelsey Willock: And I love how you're bringing in, you know, it's not just, you know, the quantitative assessment of if something is working. The vibe check is so real. You know, sometimes you can see if something is working and the data might not be as indicative of how well something's working. And I think that, you know, leaders like yourself reminding us of that in this world of AI where everything is becoming so technology-driven, you know, coming back to what's the connection of the qualitative output of something is still, you know, massively valuable. Khadijah New: Spot on, exactly. Kelsey Willock: Can you tell me about an experiment that you've run in a benefit strategy, you know, even at a past employer, and what you learned from it? Khadijah New: Yeah, I actually have to give credit to someone I worked with at a different company, a team, actually, when I was at Avangrid, because I've not had as many opportunities just yet to do experiments at H2O America, just where we're at in our current kind of evolution. But at Avangrid, one of the things that were implemented were actually not only did we have tuition assistance or reimbursement, but we also had tuition payback. So, you know, employees who joined the organization or current employees who had previous loans, student loans, they were able to actually, you know, receive like a monthly benefit that paid down their current student loan. And it was just amazing how many people... For one, it was just a tangible benefit where people could really see it. It alleviated some pressure, you know, where people have these high student loans and things of that nature. And for our attraction strategy at the time, it was really powerful. So that is something that I'm, you know, hoping to look towards in my current role. But that was an experiment that paid off well. Kelsey Willock: So it sounds like, you know, at that organization, it was important to combat financial stress. We know how much of a burden that student loan debt continues to be. How do you think financial stress actually shows up in the workforce? And why was it so important to do something about it at that employer? Khadijah New: Yeah. And again, Kelsey, you know, I think it goes to you have all of these different generations and different experiences that are happening at one time. So, you know, that financial stress can happen at every level, from your entry-level employees up to your executives. You know, you can have someone that is struggling with the cost of child care and another one that's struggling with trying to put their now, you know, older children through college, right? So it is something that I think touches every employee, especially when you start to think about the rising costs of, you know, medical services and your commute and all of those different things. So at H2O America, for us, you know, we don't like set our compensation strategies and then just leave them. We are consistently, you know, looking at our philosophy, looking at the market, making sure that we're being competitive. And then even, you know, our CEO has been very, very adamant about wanting to make sure that we're also looking at, you know, total remuneration and, you know, what are we doing for people when it comes to retirement, and making sure that, you know, we're really, again, considering the whole person and their employee journey and what that looks like, you know, on the other side once they do, you know, leave the workforce. So financial stress is definitely something that, you know, is often an elephant in the room because you have to manage your budget and, you know, when you're working for a utility, you have to manage affordability and things of that nature. But it is a key item to always, you know, look at, consider, talk with people about, understand what their experiences are, because it's one of those things where, you know, when people are stressed financially, it impacts their well-being, it impacts their physical health, their mental health, and how they're able to show up. Kelsey Willock: Couldn't agree more. It's, you know, it touches every aspect of folks' well-being. And to kind of highlight the point that you made, regardless of your age and where you are in your career, it impacts that. So it can make big impact in a multifaceted organization. One of my last questions for you is, you know, what is a compensation and benefits shift that you see coming that most leaders aren't ready for? Khadijah New: Another... I'm going to stop saying great question, but they are all just really good questions. I think it's a perfect segue around the financial stress, actually, because now what I'm seeing and what I think a lot of leaders who are paying attention will see is that, you know, people are really paying attention to what it costs them to work at an organization, right? So what are they investing outside of just their time? What is the commute? You know, what does it look like for them for their family commitments and different things of that nature? And, you know, I don't think that the younger generation is necessarily less ambitious, but I think success looks a lot different for them. I think, you know, a lot of folks are considering, you know, what does my whole life look like? For other generations, we have been so focused on climbing a corporate ladder and getting these different jobs, and I think for some people, you know, they're working and they're still not necessarily able to buy all the things that they want or live comfortably. So some are saying, you know what, maybe it makes more sense just for one parent to stay at home. When you start thinking about layoffs and people worry about job security, you know, some folks are going to say, well, I'll just go get, you know, a contract role or I'll, you know, kind of gig work and different things like that. So, you know, I think the podcast is aptly titled because it's really about beyond the paycheck, right? Employees want to know, what are you giving me for my investment into the company? How are you really investing in me beyond that paycheck? What happens outside of that? How do my, you know, values align with your values? What is the flexibility? How much autonomy do I have? And I think, you know, that is the thing that outside of compensation and benefits, those are the questions that we really have to answer. Kelsey Willock: Such a phenomenal answer, and I imagine so complicated, especially as we're dealing with four generations that also all have different definitions of success, different definitions of how they want to use those paychecks and what organizations are giving back to them. So it certainly requires significant creativity and thoughtfulness around how to show up for those organizations and people. Last question for you, Kay, as we sign off, is can you tell me a little bit about something that's really lighting you up right now and the last kind of message you want to leave for our community? Khadijah New: That's excellent, thank you. So a couple of things. One, as you can tell, I love talking about people. People and leadership. So I actually started a newsletter on LinkedIn. It's been very exciting just to kind of get the conversations going. You know, it's called Leading What's Next, because I do think we're in a critical time where so many things are shifting and, you know, leaders who are empathetic and compassionate... When you're people-centered, you're always looking for the best way to lead your people and to support your organization. So it's really just an opportunity to kind of share those thoughts and collaborate and get ideas. So that's been very exciting. And then also earlier this year, I published a book called AI in HR, and it really just focuses on Copilot agents and how, you know, I was able to use those to really give back time to my team. I think that it's important for HR to be at the forefront of, you know, the AI technology, because a lot of people automatically assume that AI should replace people. And I don't think that. I think that AI should restore people. It should give them their time back, an opportunity to focus on work that is meaningful and that is impactful and really focuses on the moments that matter. So, you know, I just wanted to contribute to the conversation and say, wait a minute, let's think about what this can really help us do and not help us remove. I think you have disruption, but you don't have to have destruction as part of that. Kelsey Willock: In the age of fear-mongering and AI, I think it is a breath of fresh air to take that approach, and I'm really excited to read it as well as your newsletter. So thank you so much, Kay, for being part of this conversation. It's been an absolute pleasure this Friday, and I can't wait for our listeners to tune in. Khadijah New: Thank you so much, Kelsey. I appreciate it.