Leilani Gayles speaks with Monika Hudson's students.
Despite getting only limited time with Leilani Gayles — due to familiar problems with parking on campus — this was a very enthusiastically received and enlightening classroom session. What we realized immediately, from her introduction, is that Leilani loves what she does. She asked to hear some information about every individual in the class. Considering that human resources is all about dealing with people within an organization, this made a strong impression on us. We concluded that in order for human resources to manage people effectively in a business, the people who make up this department must love working and interacting with others.
Another thing we really admired about Leilani was the type of businesses she has been a part of. She has worked for an international corporation with a small startup history — Hewlett Packard — as well as a company such as the Giants, which is surprisingly large, complex, and a very public part of the need-to-win popular culture.
When she was asked a question about managing business and family, Leilani brought up something that our guest speaker from the Philippines had also mentioned, which was the need to set up a system that insures positive critique and feedback (from Ateneo de Manila University, Professor Ricardo Mercado, who spoke about family businesses and creating a family constitution in order to facilitate the transition from one generation to the next). This made me think that not only is this a “must” for a family business but also for any type of business, family-owned or not. Without feedback, people cannot grow as individuals or as employees. I really respected the fact that Leilani felt people do not need to be managed on a micro but rather a macro level – meaning, businesses have to set up systems and procedures that enable feedback and provide positive criticism that will make the organization prosper.
Another interesting point that stuck with us from her presentation and Q and A was how working for the Giants organization, along with the team’s recent success, has changed the strategic goals and management of the business. We thought it was interesting to learn that the employees’ pay — and not just the famous players — operate on a performance-based scale rather than on a fixed salary. We believe this makes particular sense for small businesses. Rewarding employees for their hard work and dedication encourages employees to put forth their best effort and contribute work that will only positively impact the organization. In terms of small businesses, especially, employees must utilize their full potential and work towards a common goal of success for the business.
In addition, we got a quick lesson in marketing strategy as Leilani explained how the organization adapted its efforts depending on the success of the team. When things are good and there’s a positive outlook, the team’s success markets itself; however, when the team is not meeting expectations, not turning out the way management hopes (ie: literally, it’s a losing team), then marketing efforts have to change and adapt. A lesson that small businesses and/or individual entrepreneurs can take away from this presentation is that marketing and strategies must be adaptable and change according to the environment of business and consumer changes.
Another key idea that we took from interviewing Leilani is that human resources is very important for a business. Without sales the lights won’t turn on, but without human resources, the lights will not stay on. Human resources is the crucible that allows internal problems and conflicts to unfold but also to be resolved in a necessary process that improves the company. Companies actually need conflict and different personalities to prevent stagnation. Leilani is well aware of this fact and made it clear that in her management, she allows for people to think outside of the box and to offer their own contributions — which encourages them to feel a value in their work.
Attracting a qualified human resources employee can be extremely hard for a small business, but after talking to Leilani it seems clear that a small business must look for someone who is passionate about what they do. That person must also be motivated and show that their values align with the small company.
We would love to speak with Ms. Gayles again. She has a great deal of experience and knowledge in business and human resources. Not only that, but she gave the few of us who stayed to talk to her after class some great advice about employment searches. Because the job market is currently so tight, it was helpful to hear a professional explain the procedures that big firms take in looking at an applicant, including examining their Facebook and LinkedIn profiles. Her biggest encouragement to us was to stay on top of the networking game but also to look to the less obvious opportunities — like startups — for employment.
Overall it was great to get the chance to talk to such an incredibly successful individual.
Click To Read the Story of how Lelani helped some of our student entrepreneurs get special attention at AT&T Park last year.
