[00:00:00] Producer 1: In today’s episode, we dive deep into what it really means to lead with purpose in a people centered profession. Jess Harrah from KinderCare reminds us that at its core, this work isn’t about policies or paperwork, it’s about fostering a culture of engagement.
[00:00:16] Jess Harrah: We’re a relationship business, so that doesn’t mean be there and
[00:00:21] Jess Harrah: come into a center for an hour. It means literally sitting alongside teachers and center directors, talking to them about what they need, when they need it, how they need it. Those little moments where our leaders are supporting their team and, and that kind of is really so critical to our culture of engagement.
[00:00:41] Producer 1: Jess oversees HR operations for KinderCare’s 35,000 employees nationwide. Since joining in 2005, she’s held roles from staff attorney to SVP of hr. A passionate advocate for childcare access and educator support, Jess champions workplace strategies that serve both families and early childhood professionals.
[00:01:01] Producer 1: In this episode, Jess and host Nicole Alvino discuss the importance of employee engagement, the impact of offering childcare benefits, and the strategies KinderCare implements to maintain a positive work culture. On cruising altitude, we talk about employee experience lessons from leaders at companies with over 30,000 employees.
[00:01:20] Producer 1: A lot like reaching, cruising, altitude at 30,000 feet. Things look a little different when you’re managing 30,000 people. On this podcast, we bring you insights from leaders who inhabit that rarefied air. Today’s episode features an interview with Jess Harrah. But first, let’s hear a word from our sponsor.
[00:01:39] Producer 2: Thank you for listening to this episode of Cruising Altitude. This episode is brought to you by Firstup, the company that’s redefining the digital employee experience to put people first. And lift companies up by connecting every worker everywhere with the information that helps them do their best work.
[00:01:54] Producer 2: Firstup, has helped over 40% of the Fortune 100 companies like Amazon, Ford, and Pfizer stay agile and keep transforming. Learn more@firstup.io
[00:02:06] Producer 1: And now your host. Nicole Alvino, CEO and Co-founder of Firstup.
[00:02:10] Nicole Alvino: Hello everyone and thanks for joining us on Cruising Altitude. I’m Nicole Alvino, founder and CEO of Firstup, super passionate about ensuring that every worker feels connected and engaged with their employer.
[00:02:23] Nicole Alvino: Firstup is a SaaS platform used by 40 of the Fortune 100 to provide an exceptional employee experience for every employee. When we do this, we retain and grow our people and increase efficiency and adoption of organizational initiatives, all part of driving a high performance culture. So our mission today is to help you learn about how we can retain top talent, improve organizational culture, and drive your business outcome.
[00:02:55] Nicole Alvino: Welcome to this episode of Cruising Altitude. I’m thrilled to be joined by Jess Harrah, who is the Chief People Officer at KinderCare. Welcome Jess.
[00:03:07] Jess Harrah: Hi, Nicole. I’m so happy to be here with you today.
[00:03:10] Nicole Alvino: Good. So when we have new employees join, Firstup, we have them share three fun facts as a way to better get to know them.
[00:03:18] Nicole Alvino: So I’d love to start by asking you your three fun facts.
[00:03:23] Jess Harrah: Ooh, that’s a good one. Well, let me start by saying I am a mom of two boys who make me very fun. They are 18 and 14 freshmen in college and freshmen in high school and a huge part of who I am. And let’s see, I grew up in a really small town, about 1700 people on the Oregon coast.
[00:03:45] Jess Harrah: And one of the things that I love about that is I feel like it’s such a foundation. It gave me such a foundation for who I am today. So that’s a fun fact. And then how about my first job was at McDonald’s. I started as a fry cook, as I think you do at McDonald’s, and ended the summer work and drive through, which was really fantastic.
[00:04:05] Nicole Alvino: I love that. Those are great, fun facts. I’m a mom of three boys, slightly younger, but yes, that definitely earns a fun fact status.
[00:04:13] Jess Harrah: They keep you on your toes, you know?
[00:04:14] Nicole Alvino: Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, good. Can you share with some of our listeners who aren’t familiar with KinderCare, a little more about the company as well as your role?
[00:04:25] Jess Harrah: Yeah, absolutely. So KinderCare is the largest early childhood provider in the United States. We operate in 41 states and have about 1500 community-based centers throughout the country. We also have before and after school programs through champions, and we have onsite childcare centers for businesses through our for employers business.
[00:04:50] Jess Harrah: So we’re really proud of the platform that we have to serve. Working families across the country. We’ve been around for 50 plus years and really started to help working moms. Go to work and support working families. And so it’s something that, that I’m really proud of. I am the chief people officer at KinderCare.
[00:05:14] Jess Harrah: I’ve actually been with KinderCare for 20 years, so as I raised those boys, KinderCare supported me as a working mom. So it is just such a passion point for me to be able to now be in the role that I am. And not only support our 35,000 employees across our company and growing, but also support nearly 200,000 working families across the nation.
[00:05:39] Jess Harrah: So I’m the chief people officer. I’m responsible for. Everything from kind of the business partners that are out supporting our field to the recruiting, to learning and development. I even have travel and meetings, which actually kinda always makes me giggle. But in this time of remote work, travel and meetings and how we connect together, especially in a company that spans 41 states, is actually a really important and strategic
[00:06:09] Jess Harrah: part of my job and the team that does that, does it in a really intentional way. So that’s a little bit about me and my role.
[00:06:16] Nicole Alvino: That’s great. Yeah. I think about owning that kind of talent experience from hire to retire, and then all of the moments that matter, especially as you said with remote, getting people together.
[00:06:27] Nicole Alvino: It’s so important. That’s right. And then how do you think about the, your different employee personas? People probably think about childcare providers. I’m sure you have other people that you’re needing to think about as well.
[00:06:41] Jess Harrah: Yeah, that’s such a great question. So the large majority of our employee base are teachers.
[00:06:47] Jess Harrah: They are working with children every single day. It’s about. 32,000 of our, of our employees, but we also have multi-unit leaders, so think similar to other kind of multi-unit areas that that manage and lead our centers. And then we have a national support center that supports, and so think of everybody from HR to finance.
[00:07:11] Jess Harrah: I think the other group, and I just had an opportunity to spend time with them a couple weeks ago, is we actually have about. 200 facilities, techs who help manage and support our center directors for all of our centers. It’s so when you think about the wear and tear and reality of a childcare center, it’s real.
[00:07:33] Jess Harrah: And they, they really are heroes out there for helping us keep, keep the centers in great shape.
[00:07:39] Nicole Alvino: Yeah, I love that. And with that different kinda diverse set, and especially mostly people who are hands-on with the children, how do you think about reaching them, engaging them, and providing them with that great employee experience?
[00:07:55] Jess Harrah: Yeah, it’s such a great question. I mean, one of the things that we talk a lot about is so much, particularly for our teachers, they spend their day nurturing and educating children. A core part of our job, particularly in hr, but frankly across the National Support Center, is giving them the emotional energy to be able to give that to children.
[00:08:15] Jess Harrah: So I’d say a couple of different ways. One of the things that we do and started. Almost 13 years ago now at KinderCare is we measure employee engagement. We have a close partnership with Gallup, so it is really important for us to hear from our team, and that is our teachers, our center directors. We do that annually through a survey and then we action on it.
[00:08:43] Jess Harrah: But beyond that, we are constantly out doing round tables in centers. I was in centers this week in Dallas, just sitting in classrooms hearing from our teachers. It’s really important to us at whatever level, whether you’re the district leader or our CEO, that we are a part of a team and I, that is one of the things that is really, really important, and that’s not just a part of a team.
[00:09:07] Jess Harrah: On WebEx or once a year up on stage somewhere. It literally is a daily and weekly part of what we do. So I think that’s another way. And then I would also say I have to give a shout out to our learning and development team and our education team at KinderCare. We really do a lot of work on how do we, educators wanna be educated and they wanna be the best at their jobs.
[00:09:33] Jess Harrah: So everything from, we close our centers twice a year to do a full day teacher development, to, we do something that’s kind of, we call ’em quick talks, kind of like little. 15, second to minute and a half little learning moments that for our teachers and candidly to meet our teachers and how they’re consuming education.
[00:09:55] Jess Harrah: So those are just a few of the ways that we focus on it.
[00:09:59] Nicole Alvino: Yeah. I love that we talk a lot about meeting people where they are with what they need, and in those, whether it’s micro-learning, whether it’s help in onboarding or going into a new role, I think that that getting that piece right is so important.
[00:10:12] Nicole Alvino: And then how do you think about something that maybe is, is different that what you need to provide, since you do have the majority of your educators not in front of a screen and with. The children as far as making sure that you’re reaching them with, with what they need in those moments that matter, and obviously not overwhelming them and taking time away from time with children.
[00:10:38] Jess Harrah: Yeah, it’s such a, it’s such a great question. I think probably the two biggest things that I would point to is we do have kind of a cubby newsletter that goes out and, but then we really. Depend on our center directors and our district leaders who are the local leadership to really be there. And again, we’re relationship business.
[00:11:01] Jess Harrah: So that doesn’t mean be there and come into a center for an hour. It means literally sitting alongside teachers and center directors, talking to them about what they need, when they need it, how they need it. And one of the examples I love to give is. We had a center director and I talked about measuring engagement, who was struggling in engagement.
[00:11:22] Jess Harrah: And he spent some time thinking about, you know, what do I need to do to really connect with my teachers? And he decided that for a year he was going to go into a classroom every day and empty their garbage and just talk to ’em. And so, and I love that example because it’s an example of, yes, he’s, he was talking and he was connecting and making sure he had interaction with his team every day.
[00:11:45] Jess Harrah: But he was also doing something for them. And so I think it’s those little moments where we really, we have kind of our more typical, again, newsletter and that sort of thing, but those little moments where our leaders are supporting their team and, and that kind of is really so critical to our culture of engagement.
[00:12:03] Nicole Alvino: Yeah, I love that example. And I’m just curious, since you’ve been at KinderCare for 20 years, what you’ve seen change the most, as far as the needs of your people and also how leadership can show up in those sorts of situations.
[00:12:20] Jess Harrah: Yeah, it’s such a great question.
[00:12:20] Jess Harrah: When I think about the needs of our people, I think one of the things that COVID brought, and maybe even a little bit before that was
[00:12:31] Jess Harrah: the need to balance kind of work and life, or, I like to say integrate work and life. And so when I first started, it was very much you were gonna work for 40 hours a week, and that was the employee base that we hired. Now what we’re seeing is a lot more of our teachers who maybe wanna work. 20 hours, maybe 15 hours, they may be going back to school.
[00:12:56] Jess Harrah: This may be a job for them that works well with their family responsibilities. And so really thinking about how do we meet our team and our workforce where they are, and also be able to create a really great experience for families. And so I would say that is a place where. We’ve needed to get creative about what that looks like and how we deliver a really quality experience while also being able to meet our employees where they are to, to your point.
[00:13:27] Nicole Alvino: Yeah. That’s so great, and I think you, you obviously have a, a great platform to do that. And then I think you’ve done some work just with other CHROs and try to help that narrative and help other large employers do the same thing. Do you wanna touch on some of the research that, that you’ve done and share any experiences you have kind of beyond your walls?
[00:13:49] Jess Harrah: I’d love to speak to. So one of the things that we have. Recently looked at is how are CHROs and actually companies able to best support their teams and meet their teams where they are. And one of the, in particular, one of the things, not surprisingly we’ve looked at is what is childcare and offering childcare look like?
[00:14:12] Jess Harrah: And what we’re finding is that actually for Gen Z offering childcare as an employer is actually more important. Than offering healthcare as A-C-H-R-O. That surprised me. But the reality is as, as we unpack that a little bit, I think part of that is this narrative of work-life integration and the ability to say, you see me as a full human.
[00:14:39] Jess Harrah: Both here at work, and I’m gonna show up in my best possible way here at work, but I think for all of us who are parents, there’s an understanding that the ability to do that is knowing that your children are thriving and that your company supports you in making sure that your other big responsibilities and lives are taken care of.
[00:14:59] Jess Harrah: And what we’re seeing is that that is increasingly what employees are asking for from their companies and their leaders.
[00:15:08] Nicole Alvino: Yeah, I think it’s such an important point. That’s probably a big trend right? I’ve seen too, just as far treating the employee as a whole person with other needs. And we have to, and I’m curious what you’re seeing too with the return to office.
[00:15:21] Nicole Alvino: It would seem to me that it’s even more important to have those types of benefits or even onsite care to be able to meet the employees where they are.
[00:15:33] Jess Harrah: Yeah, I think that’s exactly right. And one of the things that, that we talk a lot about and talk with companies about at KinderCare, and I talked a little bit about it at first at KinderCare, we have a huge footprint across the country that I think allows us to be able to talk to companies around, Hey, what could a offering be as part of benefits for your employees?
[00:15:59] Jess Harrah: And it can be everything from. Looking at a discount for childcare. We call it tuition benefit at KinderCare. To actually bringing in an onsite childcare center where new working mom or dad can actually go have lunch with their child. And I think, you know, not all companies are created equal. And I think sometimes there’s this perception of, well, if we’re not a huge company, we can’t go build a childcare center.
[00:16:27] Jess Harrah: That’s true. And that may not be the best solution for you. However, what you are able to do is think about. What is the benefit that you can give your employee in the way that you look to make kind of a really diverse total rewards package? One of those increasingly should be how do you support them as a family returning to work?
[00:16:52] Nicole Alvino: Yeah. I love that I talk about drinking our own champagne in the software industry, people say, eat your own dog food. I obviously prefer champagne to dog food, but I think it’s so great that you’re able to deliver that to all of your people and really lead by example.
[00:17:07] Jess Harrah: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
[00:17:08] Jess Harrah: It is absolutely something that we do. We offer our employees a, a significant discount on childcare. And I’ll tell you one of the things, and not surprisingly, that we see is a significantly higher retention rate of employees who are using our childcare benefit. And again, as a parent, I don’t think that that will surprise you when an employee is receiving a childcare benefit.
[00:17:34] Jess Harrah: They’re not only deciding to stay at the company, they’re deciding to keep their child in a place where they’re thriving. And so there is just a powerful connection to not only the company seeing them and supporting them, but also to their ability to provide something directly to their child by staying at their current work.
[00:17:55] Nicole Alvino: Yeah. I love that. What do you think, just you personally, are some of the best employee experiences that you’ve had that have caused you to continue to stay and contribute the way you have?
[00:18:09] Jess Harrah: That’s a great question. I think one of the things that keeps me at KinderCare is our mission and purpose. The idea of being able to support working families day in and day out, and that’s why we exist.
[00:18:23] Jess Harrah: I think that is a huge component of. Why I stay, and I think, you know, I talked a little earlier about getting out into centers multiple times a month, seeing families and seeing teachers and seeing children thrive. It’s those mini experiences where, you know, a little one comes up and gives you a hug or you see them learning to read for the first time.
[00:18:46] Jess Harrah: That really kind of is an incredibly fulfilling part of my job and does keep me here. I think the other thing that I’d say, and this is a big one for me, is I love the people I work with, and we work really hard together. We do big things together and we have fun together. And for me, we spend so much of our time and our energy at work.
[00:19:09] Jess Harrah: And the idea that you love the people you work with is, I think, huge.
[00:19:15] Nicole Alvino: Yeah, it’s so important and you, you’ve had a great, a foundation from a mission-driven culture and a culture that people really connect to. And obviously part of that is bringing great people who are, you know, effectively changing the world and educating our young people.
[00:19:30] Nicole Alvino: So what is one of the biggest lessons that you’ve learned in the past, call it year or two, around the employee experience and what you need to do as a Chief People Officer?
[00:19:41] Jess Harrah: That’s a really great question. I think probably one of the biggest things that I’ve learned over the last year is how do we simplify?
[00:19:50] Jess Harrah: You know, when you have a workforce of 35,000 plus people over 41 states, what can feel simple to you as you’re thinking through it in your head as you’re developing messaging, as it you know, goes out across the country? It can feel complex. And so as we think about how do we drive focus, how do we give as much emotional energy to our team as we can, the simpler the better.
[00:20:23] Jess Harrah: And so that is really something that, that I try to focus on and that I know our team at KinderCare tries to focus on how do we just keep things as simple as possible and empower people to, to thrive in the strongest way?
[00:20:38] Nicole Alvino: Yeah. I love that. That’s also related. We are now in living in such a time of change and uncertainty, so how do you lead in those times and how do you encourage your other managers and people, leaders to lead their teams as well?
[00:20:55] Jess Harrah: For me, authenticity and vulnerability are probably the two biggest. Pieces alongside transparency. I think those three things go together. I mentioned earlier one of the things that has been a hallmark to our engagement journey and to our culture is being out in the field. Every time we’re out in the field, we do a round table and it’s with our center directors and we.
[00:21:22] Jess Harrah: Quite literally say this is a discussion and there’s no topics off limits. In fact, we want you to ask us the hard questions. We don’t want you to leave here wondering something, and one of the things I personally say is I commit to always being honest with you. You may not always love my answer, but I will always give you the honest truth.
[00:21:42] Jess Harrah: And so I think that that kind of authenticity and transparency is so important as you lead through change, because change is gonna happen and it can sometimes be tough. But I think as leaders, and this is certainly what I expect from my team. What you can do in that is be authentic and vulnerable and honest about it.
[00:22:06] Jess Harrah: Not have to always make it look like you have it all together or talk about a party line. I firmly believe teams and our employees see right through that. So I think that is a big hallmark for us at KinderCare is that authenticity.
[00:22:23] Nicole Alvino: Yeah, I think that that’s so hugely important. Authenticity, transparency, and that’s, and that is how you guide through change.
[00:22:31] Nicole Alvino: And you need to bring all of your people along with the change, whatever it might be. And that requires that connection, emotional connection with their leaders to really believe in what they’re saying and doing. So I love that answer. So let’s switch. When we talk about, you know, cruising altitude and, and flying at 35,000 feet, for me, I get a heightened sense of clarity and perspective.
[00:22:59] Nicole Alvino: What is your place where you get your great clarity and perspective?
[00:23:05] Jess Harrah: I have probably two places where I get my clarity and perspective. One is my mornings. I really try to protect as much as possible where I’ll get up, I’ll read a little bit, I’ll go for a walk, and it’s te it tends to be when I have my best thinking and I tend to be someone who can very easily jump up and like get right on a call and start having conversations.
[00:23:29] Jess Harrah: But if I protect that first hour. That is my thought time. And so that is really important and is something that as I’ve grown as a leader, I’ve needed to commit to protecting a little more. It’s really easy to let that go and I know it’s critical to me showing up as my best self. And then I think the other place, I have a small group of really critical thought partners and they’re different.
[00:23:57] Jess Harrah: Sometimes I have someone who I know I can go to if I just need a pick me up. And can kinda lift me up, and then I have my person that I go to when I know I really need to be challenged on something. But having a community that you know you can trust to help you process through and drive that clarity, I think is a real gift and is critical to being able to have kind of those moments of clarity.
[00:24:21] Nicole Alvino: Yeah, I love that. That’s so important. And the fact that you have, you know who to go to for different things that you need is a bonus. Yeah, that’s great. So I always like to end these conversations with something that our listeners can take with them. So one thing you always do and one thing you never do.
[00:24:43] Jess Harrah: So one thing I would say I always do is live in gratitude. I literally write gratitude twice a day, and if I don’t do that, it’s easy for me to kind of lose my way a little bit. So, so living in gratitude is, is a huge part of just kind of who I am and, and so that’s really important to me. And I think one thing I never do.
[00:25:17] Jess Harrah: I don’t, I’m not gonna say I never do it, but I’m gonna say I really try to avoid it is living in negativity. I think we all have moments. It, it’s, I can’t say I never get into a place of negativity. We all do and it’s actually important, but if I live there for too long, that’s when I have to phone one of my friends or get out for a walk in my quiet space.
[00:25:36] Jess Harrah: If I live there for too long, it is. Not good for me in any sense of the word, so I’d love to say I never do it, do it sometimes, but it is a critical part of lifting up and being able to live my best life.
[00:25:51] Nicole Alvino: I love it. Well, those two go together. How about you never stay in the negativity?
[00:25:56] Jess Harrah: I never stay in the negativity. I love that.
[00:25:57] Nicole Alvino: I love it. There we go. Well, thank you so much. This has been such a great conversation. And where can our listeners find you if they wanna connect with you and continue the conversation?
[00:26:09] Jess Harrah: Oh, I love that. So I can be found at Jessica Harrah on LinkedIn. I love connecting with people and particularly
[00:26:16] Jess Harrah: leaders who are passionate about engagement, and candidly, if anyone wants to talk about the beauty of offering early childhood education as a benefit, I am happy to talk about what that has done for us in our organization. And as a working mom, I’m always passionate to talk about what it can do for your company, but also for kind of our country as a whole.
[00:26:39] Jess Harrah: So would love to continue the conversation.
[00:26:42] Nicole Alvino: Super well, Jess, thank you so much. I really appreciated the time.
[00:26:46] Jess Harrah: Thanks, Nicole. It was fun.
[00:26:47] Producer 2: Thank you for listening to this episode of Cruising Altitude. This episode is brought to you by Firstup, the company that is redefining the digital employee experience to put people first and the companies up.
[00:26:58] Producer 2: By connecting every worker everywhere with the information that helps them do their best work. First Step has helped over 40% of the Fortune 100 companies like Amazon AB InBev, Ford and Pfizer, stay agile and keep transforming. Learn more@firstup.io.
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