Latest / Beyond the Paycheck / Conner Shaw, SVP, HR Business Partners & Total Rewards at LVT

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Conner Shaw, SVP, HR Business Partners & Total Rewards at LVT · Beyond the Paycheck

• Kelsey Willock (00:00) And today we are speaking with Connor Shaw. We are so beyond excited to have you. He is the senior vice president of HR business partners and total rewards at LVT. So Connor, so, so excited to have you. Before we dig in, we'd love for you to share with our audience today a little bit more about who you are and your background. Conner Shaw (00:19) Yeah, yeah, thanks Kelsey. So ⁓ my name is Connor Shaw. Like Kelsey said, I work in HR specifically overseeing the HR business partner functions and total reward functions at Live View Technologies. Some people know us by the name LVT. ⁓ If you have ever parked in a parking lot and you see a mobile security unit with a solar panel and a camera unit on top of a mask with a blinking blue light, that is us. ⁓ And so that's kind of where a lot of people have seen us. So ⁓ been there about a year, been in the tech space about nine years, and then prior to that worked for a couple of years ⁓ in oil and gas. And I'll try to weave in some experiences with each of those companies into our conversation. Kelsey Willock (01:07) Wonderful. And I always like to set the scene. Where are you calling in from today? Conner Shaw (01:12) Yeah, so I'm about 15 miles north of Salt Lake City in Utah. I'm kind of born and raised here and lived here most of my life. our office is quite a drive for me. It's about 50 miles, more than 50 miles south of me. So I work a couple days remote and ⁓ have four kids with my wife, very busy kids sports schedule. So that keeps us busy. Kelsey Willock (01:38) So exciting. Well, thank you for sharing that with us. So really, before we dive into compensation's benefit and all of the great impact that you're making, I want to share with our listeners a little bit more about you. And I'm going to ask you some questions about your personal money story. So to kick off, can you share with us your earliest money memory? Conner Shaw (02:03) Yeah. So my family still jokes about this when we get together. ⁓ and I remember doing this a little bit as well, but like when I, from the time I was three or four, I've always been fairly good at math, probably why I went into compensation. like when we would go to a drive-through, like Wendy's or McDonald's, I would sit there and calculate how I could get like the most food for the least amount of money. And so my family will still talk about. going through the drive through and I'm sitting there calculating off the dollar menu, like how can I get three or four items for the least amount of money? And I kind of still do that today, like when my family goes out to eat, but ⁓ I distinctly remember doing that as a kid and they still talk about it as well. Kelsey Willock (02:49) And how do you think it shaped how you see security, freedom, or even responsibility? Conner Shaw (02:55) Yeah, I think, ⁓ you know, I'll, I'll try to talk about this throughout our conversation and, and, you know, my relationship with money and how I see it, and how I weave that into my role as well. But I'm a firm believer that like money isn't going to solve every problem and it's, and it's not going to just automatically make you happy. But I think, you know, you, you mentioned the word responsibility. I think if we take responsibility for our money, our finances, our budget, our careers, and what that can do for our financial freedom, nobody's going to do that except for us, right? And, you know, I've kind of always been that way, seeing myself as a steward of my finances and it can either become a stressor or it can be, you know, a liberator for me in my life. things that money can do for you again. not saying money is the only thing that makes you happy or whatever, there are certainly a lot of life stresses that you can avoid or manage by managing money appropriately. Kelsey Willock (04:05) Yeah, I love that. One of my favorite lines is that your money is really a conduit to your version of a rich life, whatever that might be. So it sounds like that was something that you may or may not have even known, but at a young age, it was a conduit to getting more out of just that drive through. That's probably held true in many other circumstances in your life. Can you tell me about your first job and what you did with your first paycheck? Conner Shaw (04:14) Exactly. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, mean, you know, beyond the chores and mowing the lawn growing up, I actually kind of started my own business. This is, this would have been when I was like junior high, early high school, but I grew up playing the drums and I started teaching lessons. I went around to kids, families in the neighborhood and, made a flyer and I had, I don't know, six, seven, eight students on a weekly basis and You know, I had this little invoice book and I'd send them home with an invoice once a month and they'd come back with a check from their parents. ⁓ so I did that. And then around the same time, ⁓ my family owned and ran a construction business. So I worked on a cement crew, ⁓ which was an awesome, opportunity. And, ⁓ you know, going back to that story I told about being young and with the money. Like I didn't really ever spend my paychecks. ⁓ my friends used to make fun of me. They still do when we get together in high school. Like if I was the one driving to like in a way basketball game, I would charge them. Like I would split it up like, okay, you owe me a dollar 30, you owe me a dollar 30. And they still joke about that. I'm kind of not proud of it, but it's just how my brain was wired. And so I, it was always hard for me to spend my hard earned money teaching drums, finishing cement, you know, that that's hard work. Kelsey Willock (05:42) Thank you. Conner Shaw (05:55) And so I was pretty stingy with my. Kelsey Willock (05:59) I think that leads me to my favorite next question. Can you tell me about a recent embarrassing purchase that you've made? Conner Shaw (06:07) Yeah. And this will make sense now that you've heard me ask you questions. So outside of my work attire, I basically have 10 colors of the same shirt. It's like a one pocket Carhartt t-shirt. It costs like $80 and my wife and kids are always, you know, making fun of me about, about my shirts that I wear. Cause I, again, you see me outside of work. It's one of those 10 shirts, different color with Kelsey Willock (06:22) Hahaha! Conner Shaw (06:36) with Levi's or whatever. so, you know, every now and again, I have to graduate a few of them to yard work duty. They're not nice enough to wear out and about. My wife would tell you they're not nice enough. None of them are nice enough to wear out and about, but I like them. So I routinely have to replenish, you know, different colors at various times. Kelsey Willock (06:56) three Steve jobs of you. Conner Shaw (06:58) Yeah, I, you know, you gotta simplify life where you can. Simplify decisions and choices. I've got enough decisions to make, my wardrobe doesn't need to be one. Kelsey Willock (07:05) Right. So kind of this is a really wonderful kind of segue into thinking about pay and benefits. How do you think the money story that you have and the one you shared with us has influenced how you think about pay and benefits for your employees? Conner Shaw (07:26) Yeah, you know, I joke about these answers to the questions, but, you know, coming into my adult life and after getting married, I realized like, I didn't have a great relationship with money for a long time, even into my marriage. And the issue, hopefully you can see kind of through my answers was, I was always stressed about it. Like even spending a few dollars here and there on things that just weren't absolutely necessary, it really weighed me down. Like emotion just stressed me out. Kelsey Willock (07:53) Mm-hmm. Conner Shaw (07:56) And again, like I said, not all problems can be solved by just having more money. But one thing I really try to do in my capacity as an HR leader is to create paths and opportunities for people to increase their earning potential ⁓ through the processes and programs that I work hard with my teams to build and train leaders to effectively engage in those processes and lead their team members through it. That's something that I'm passionate about. It's what I've spent my career doing. ⁓ Kelsey Willock (08:10) Hmm. Conner Shaw (08:25) And some of that is financially based. Obviously there's financial outcomes that come with progressing in your career. There's more intrinsic motivators that are just as important, probably more important. ⁓ And so if the things that I'm working on can directly influence someone's stress or lack thereof when it comes to finances, then that's really rewarding for me. Kelsey Willock (08:49) Sounds like you may have read the psychology of money, that language around intrinsic motivations. ⁓ Where do you think comp and benefits break down most often today, whether it's pay equity, transparency, understanding total rewards, particularly within your organization and more broadly? Conner Shaw (08:56) Yes, exactly. Yeah, I think, you know, what I've seen in the companies I've been in, I think one of the key areas of breakdown is really people understanding potential and paths. You you come into an organization, you have no idea what job level you are, ⁓ what your comp range is, how do you move up, what opportunities there are. And so, you know, I guess you could chalk all that up to be, to transparency. And so, Kelsey Willock (09:25) Mm. Conner Shaw (09:41) One of the things that I like to do, I just talked about building programs and processes, but I really work to create environment where those questions aren't a mystery. You know, we have a responsibility as employers and especially as HR teams to give people the tools, kind of give them the map and the resources, and then put it in their hands. And I like to create environments where people's progression and growth ceiling is as high as they want to make it. And it's a function of their own responsibility and hard work after we've done everything we can to create that for people. Kelsey Willock (10:17) And are you seeing the program that you've created really affect folks from those versus the people that feel empowered versus those that feel stuck? In other words, are you seeing the program really work and unstuck those folks? Conner Shaw (10:32) Yeah, certainly, you know, more work to do. but so we do a quarterly EMPS survey, like a lot of companies do, ⁓ internal survey and the, just finished up our total reward cycle and let me back up. I came into this organization about a year ago and one of the things that we've been trying to do is really create and change and evolve the compensation programs to to be able to grow at scale with the company. And so we've spent the last nine, 10 months working on all these things. And we kind of just finished up this first cycle of doing them this way. And we just ran an EMPS survey and the comments have been incredible. You see, we just reviewed this this morning as an internal HR team. The comments we're reading, people saying, hey, I now feel like I have a path here. It's not a mystery. I feel like I can go and talk with my leader. and have a fruitful development conversation and I know what to expect when the programs run, how they work, how I'll be evaluated. Like to me that is validation for what we've been trying to do. Give people the information and the resources and let them manage their career with their leader. Kelsey Willock (11:47) What incredible feedback and seeing all of the hard work you put into place, really be measured by your employees. It's fantastic. ⁓ Can you talk a little bit more about impact? Are you seeing anything in terms of engagement, retention, equity? It sounds like you're already seeing a really clear path toward growing within the company. Are you seeing compounding effects across other categories that matter to you? Conner Shaw (12:13) Yeah, ⁓ beyond those comments, so the EMPS survey comments, certainly one of them, ⁓ beyond the comments, we're seeing our score improve dramatically. I won't share exactly what our internal EMPS scores have been versus what they are now, but ⁓ huge growth and improvement there. think one of the things that we're also doing is helping leaders think more about performance and impact when they're making compensation decisions. You the last thing I want to have compensation decisions be based on is things that they should never be based on, right? It should be based on people's hard work and merit and performance. And so that's kind of the next step that I want to see, ⁓ that I'm going to be working on next year with my team. You know, we've, we've laid the foundation now. I think it's time to optimize how leaders. lead through these programs. ⁓ You mentioned pay equity. One of the things that we'll be doing as well is installing more sophisticated pay equity analysis ⁓ so that we can dig deeper into the data and see maybe where we have pockets where there are issues that we need to work with leaders to address. Kelsey Willock (13:31) Super interesting. Can you tell me a little bit about compensation or benefits trends you think are going to shape employee experience the most within the next year or two? Conner Shaw (13:41) Yeah. Super interesting question. And maybe this is an unpopular take. I'll try to make sense of it. But I think work in people's experiencing companies is becoming more transactional. And I think about where I started my career at Chevron. It was at a refinery. I was an HR business partner here in Utah. And almost all the people I worked with there had worked at that company. you know, 25, 30, some even 40 years. And you know, that company has been around more than a hundred years. And you know, you think about like our parents and our grandparents, they would go to work for Acme corporation and start at a low level. They would retire there after 40 years on their pension. And, and that's kind of what work looked like. And, know, for, for our generation, it's just, it's very different. I think for most of us, especially if you're working in tech, know, you, you're there for two, three years and you move on to the next gig. And so back to my point, I think that relationship is becoming more transactional. You certainly see this in how people talk on LinkedIn. ⁓ There just seems to be less and less connection to the job, the company, and even coworkers in some respect, especially with what happened with remote work with COVID. And so I'm not here to say whether that change is good or bad, but I think it's happening. And it does have implications. It needs to be better understood. And where I think it impacts compensation and benefits is, you know, you have, you have the people that we're hiring for our companies and where they're, where it is a bit more transactional and where there seems to be less connection, they're very much looking at it as a transaction. And do I feel like I'm getting properly compensated and valued in this two-way relationship for, the work I'm putting into it? ⁓ I think you're seeing that same aspect show up with benefits. know, benefits are now more judged by utility and not gimmicks. When I first moved on from Chevron, I worked, I went to work for another tech company here in Utah. And like, I thought it was the coolest thing and it was, you know, there was ping pong tables and fridges. Like we didn't have that in, in the refinery with Chevron and Chevron was a great place to work as well. But when I came into tech, I was like, this is really cool. Kelsey Willock (15:49) Mm. Conner Shaw (16:10) And it is, but you soon realized like that stuff creates a fun environment, but it doesn't necessarily create engagement and job satisfaction. so those things, I just think have less value now and benefits because of the relationship that people have to work in companies and jobs now really need to be judged on their utility as part of the overall equation for people feeling like they're getting properly treated and compensated for the work that they're doing. Kelsey Willock (16:20) Mm. Conner Shaw (16:39) And so, you know, where this heads, ⁓ those are some of my thoughts. Again, I'm not saying it's good or bad, but I do think there's real implications that especially folks in HR will have to really sit and think through what does this mean for our company and the expectations that employees have in the workforce. Kelsey Willock (17:03) I want to double click on that, specifically this transactional nature of the workforce, and particularly talk about mindset. What mindset shifts are guardrails leaders need to keep pay fair and empowering, particularly in this world where these relationships feel more transactional? Conner Shaw (17:22) Yeah, I think, ⁓ I think it goes back to the point that we've been talking about with, with transparency. think the biggest mind mindset shift is moving away from this belief that. You know, pay secrecy or, or secrecy around these programs and policies, ⁓ you know, somehow gives the company leverage or protects people from finding something out that they may not like or agree with. It doesn't, it really just breeds mistrust and inequality in a lot of cases. And what's interesting is I think we all intuitively understand that yet, you know, we're still often making decisions that treat it as some secret thing that, you know, people aren't supposed to find out. so, you know, I believe transparency when it's built on logical and consistent compensation structures and processes and rules and programs, I think it's our greatest tool for building trust. You know, compensation is, usually the first thing people go to, ⁓ when they're kind of, they're judging themselves and where they're at in their career and how well they're doing. so, you know, transparency around that it's, I think it's of the utmost importance. you know, I'm not talking about everybody knowing what everyone else makes. I'm kind of never a fan of that, but I do think it is about being open about the processes, job levels, ⁓ compensation ranges. how decisions are made, who's making those decisions, how do people's performance impact those decisions. That's what people want to understand. How am I being evaluated? And I think there's a lot of work that almost every company can be doing more with respect to that. Kelsey Willock (19:08) And you had kind of hinted that you're focused on leveraging new tools, potentially even building tools. Can you share with our listeners any of the tools or data you're using to better help measure and improve pay equity or even wellness? Conner Shaw (19:22) Yeah. So I mentioned, you know, this year was kind of a year of laying the foundation. And so, you know, using very simple things right now, for example, when leaders are evaluating pay, they didn't used to have access to compensation ranges or things like that. It was very much like an internal committee that was making those decisions, which was hard. I was part of that committee, but I'm not close to those people who are being evaluated. And so. You know, one of the best, most basic things you can do is give leaders a budget and let them make those decisions within some defined, you know, guardrails. Here's compensation ranges, teach them about the concept of comp ratio. That might be a little niche for some listening to this, ⁓ but helping people understand how to compare and contrast compensation between team members. And like I said, next year we will introduce more sophisticated models around pay equity and things like that. The other thing, and I've already mentioned this to your question, how are we measuring if we're improving pay equity or wellness, is just looking at those EMPS comments. And what we're seeing is people really feel empowered. They feel like they know what's expected now, how to navigate the processes. They feel like they have an opportunity to be reviewed and grow their career. So those are some of the things that we're looking at to know if we're hitting the mark with these changes. Kelsey Willock (20:50) And for our listeners, what's one 30-day experiment that they could try to particularly boost financial well-being or engagement? Conner Shaw (21:01) Yeah, I will. I'll give two. So one would be for ⁓ HR leaders listening. I'm a, I'm a big believer. think I read this in an HBR article early in my career. Can't remember which one, but I'm a big believer that if you go out and ask people in your company how their pay is determined and, and, you know, do they understand the structure of the policies and you go out and ask those questions. And by and large, if, people don't know how to answer that. I think you have a big problem. ⁓ I think you should spend the next 30 days going and asking those questions. Do people understand it? If they don't, what questions do they have? You'll have some amazing insights coming out of that that will give you tangible, objective things that you can go and change and improve. Even if you're doing everything right and you're not properly communicating it and people don't understand, you know, how their compensation is determined. ⁓ You know, there are lot of easy things that you can do to help with that. ⁓ the next, the next one I would give is for any individual listening, hopefully you've seen throughout this, like I love personal finance. use apps and tools and things like that. If you haven't ever been into this, most of them offer like a 30 day free trial, ⁓ to start tracking where all your harder money is going. I think you, most people would be surprised when they start doing that, seeing where it gets categorized and. you know, how much money you're spending. For example, if you're going out to eat every day, I think for most of us, we found pretty hard to eat for like less than $10 a day now, just for a simple work lunch. And you know, when it starts grouping that up and you see that the amount that you're spending month over month, I think it's pretty surprising. And you can, you can get some really easy insights into maybe where to optimize your spending habits to help your personal finance. Kelsey Willock (22:54) Well, thank you so, so much, Connor, for being with us today. I know I certainly learned a ton, particularly about fostering pay equity at the company. I want to give you an opportunity to share with our guests how they can connect with you beyond this conversation. Conner Shaw (23:09) Yeah, you know, like most people I'm on LinkedIn. I'm happy to connect with everyone and anyone, ⁓ you know, whether that's a simple connection request or if you want to chat about something, if you're a fellow HR or a compensation leader and you want to chat about something. I love chatting with people in my similar position or in the HR space and sharing best practices and what people are working on. It's always fascinating to me and I always feel like I learn just as much as I can share. love to connect with anyone that is interested. Kelsey Willock (23:43) Well, thank you so much, Connor. And also want to thank again, Aura Finance for sponsoring this conversation. If you'd like to listen to more conversations about Beyond the Paycheck, please follow us along. We also are quite active on LinkedIn and beyond and look forward to seeing you and hearing from you on many new conversations to come. Thank you again, Connor. Conner Shaw (24:06) Thanks, Kelsey.