HR and GovTech Innovations with Carrie Cisek, Granicus

Discover the transformative power of HR leadership in the GovTech sector with our guest, Carrie Cisek, Chief Human Resource Officer at Granicus.

Carrie shares her journey from the fast-paced world of a SaaS company during the dot-com era to her role at Granicus, where she is shaping workplace cultures and enhancing government-citizen communication.

Learn how Granicus's innovative software solutions are revolutionizing federal agency engagement by streamlining processes, sending millions of messages, and creating user-friendly online services. Kari offers an inside look at the tech hiring landscape in the public sector, emphasizing the unique mission-driven opportunities available for prospective candidates.

Join us as we explore the dynamic and diverse global workforce at Granicus, where remote work has become a powerful tool for fostering varied perspectives. We delve into the meaningful outcomes achieved through collaborations with government clients, such as supporting vulnerable children. Carrie also discusses HR priorities like fostering a sense of belonging and rolling out a cultural ambassador program to enhance internal processes. Ready to learn more? Connect with us and explore Granicus further through our website and LinkedIn. 

This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of government communication and employee engagement!

Chapters

• 0:03 Exploring HR Leadership and GovTech Mission
• 7:32 Global Workforce and GovTech Priorities

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome to the HR Chat Show, one of the world's most downloaded and shared podcasts designed for HR pros, talent execs, tech enthusiasts and business leaders. For hundreds more episodes and what's new in the world of work, subscribe to the show, follow us on social media and visit hrgazettecom.

Speaker 2: 0:26

Welcome to another episode of the HR Chat Show. Hello listeners, this is your host today, Bill Bannam, and joining me on this episode is Kari Ciesek, Chief Human Resource Officer over at Granicus. With over 15 years of HR leadership experience, Kari has a wealth of experience in transforming workplace cultures, driving employee engagement and implementing cutting-edge HR strategies. Carrie, welcome to the show today.

Speaker 3: 0:54

Hi, thanks, Bill. It's a pleasure to be here.

Speaker 2: 0:57

So listeners, carrie did say to me before we hit record it's my first time, bill, I haven't done a podcast before so we're going to go easy on her. Okay, we're going to go easy on that. Ok, we're going to go easy. Let me know gotcha moments in this episode. Why don't you start, Carrie, by introducing yourself and telling our listeners a bit more about the mission of Granicus?

Speaker 3: 1:16

Sure, so I'm Carrie Chiswick, as you've introduced myself. I have listened to some of your podcasts, bill, and I've noticed you've had some heavy hitters on this show. I would say I'm more of the garden variety level HR leader. So in the trenches, I have been in this position at Granicus, as you said, for over 15 years. It's a PE-backed organization. All those years, and prior to that, I was the head of HR for over five years at a SAS, an early SAS based company, and they eventually went, weathered the dot com boom and bust and had a successful outcome. So it was a good sort of training ground for me in terms of the HR space. And then I had a stint professionally in between those professional opportunities to actually be a middle school teacher, which I think has been incredibly helpful in terms of building resiliency as a professional and also being more adaptable. So that's a little bit about me, granicus.

Speaker 3: 2:20

So what we do, I think, may be a bit unique. We're in the GovTech sector and our mission is to help government better engage with the people that they serve. So, while we may not be in the government entities themselves, we work very closely and support those who are in those positions to actually serve the people that the government serves. So it's very mission-driven organization and I think it's something that differentiates us from a lot of businesses out there today. Thanks for listening to this episode of the HR Chat Podcast. If you enjoy the audio content we produce, you'll love our articles on the HR Gazette. Learn more at HRGazettecom. And now back to the show.

Speaker 2: 3:10

OK, wonderful, thank you very much. So I was reading a bit about Granicus ahead of this call today trying to do my homework. It does seem like quite a unique topic organization. Actually, I've not seen anything quite like this before. I'm still a little bit confused about the mission. Can you expand it a little bit for me please?

Speaker 3: 3:29

Sure. So I think it's easier to think about the software that we provide and services that we provide to government, and so one easy way to get your head around what we do is we send out millions of emails. It's through our software and they're sent out. We don't necessarily write the messages, but we send the messages on behalf of the government. So if you're looking for information from the Veterans Administration on how to get information on new programs or services that they're offering, it could be through our platform that those messages are going out. We have a lot of federal agencies that we work with closely, and another one is Affordable Care Act. So if you're a US, if you're based in the US and you're receiving messages and are interested in understanding when open enrollment is, it's through our software that those messages are going out, and we do also work with we have a division inside of Granicus that can help to craft those messages so that we can actually reach more potential subscribers, and in the case with Affordable Care Act, we ultimately are trying to help them reach more people and to have more to increase enrollment, and so it's usually. We're usually trying to help through the software that we provide.

Speaker 3: 4:44

In only the GovTech space. We don't service any other industries or sectors and we want to make sure that our tools and our services are customized and software customized to help them deliver and to achieve whatever it is that they need to achieve in that space. So from the emails to text messages to we also have we help design websites. We also have things actually. There's another product that we do that actually will help. If you don't want to do anything in going into the office to perhaps get a permit, say you could do. We have the software to actually build that capability inside of a website so that you can go to the website to renew your driver's license, get a fishing permit, a permit for the park in your local community, so that you don't have to actually go down to the office. It streamlines those processes and builds efficiencies in also for the government. Hopefully that helps is that?

Speaker 2: 5:43

it. That is very Thank you. Now I feel enlightened. Thank you, carrie. Sometimes it takes a little while for it to stick with me, so I appreciate that. Okay, so, as a senior HR leader within this space, what does the current public sector technology hiring landscape look like?

Speaker 3: 6:03

So the hiring for our organization, I think, given that we are mission driven, it's, I think, a more compelling, potentially it's a more compelling position or place to work, given the work that we do and the clients that we support, and so I think it again is a, it's a differentiator for us in terms of talent that we're talking to, or candidates for us in terms of talent that we're talking to, or candidates that we're engaging with, and so I think it's easy for them to understand the value of what we're doing and to be interested in the mission and the delivery and to support that.

Speaker 3: 6:38

So I would say one thing I forgot to mention earlier is that we are a global organization and so we have over 21 employees, 2,00 employees, and we're across 10 different countries, and so this has come to us through a lot of these pockets of teams have been brought to us through different acquisitions that we've had over time, and so we have teams in Costa Rica and Canada, uk, armenia, spain, we now have Norway, india, new Zealand and Australia, and so on a hiring landscape. Coming back to that original question, we actually have a global talent that is available to us and that actually makes it another, it sort of adds another dimension where we feel like there is great talent globally and we're able to tap into that too.

Speaker 4: 7:32

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the HR Chat Show. Iea training provides professional development to a changing workforce with changing needs, and we're proud to support this episode of the HR Chat Podcast. Iea offers lots of courses, webinars and on-demand training to meet our students where they are and help them reach their goals. We're proud of our contribution to better risk analysis and high operating standards in the industry. Learn more at IEATrainingorg. And now back to the conversation.

Speaker 2: 8:05

Okay, so you guys are across 10 countries. Do you get to travel much? Have you been to Costa Rica? And now back to the conversation. Okay, so you guys are across 10 countries. Do you get to travel much? Have you been to Costa Rica, canada, the UK?

Speaker 3: 8:13

Australia, new Zealand. Actually, I'm packing my bags right now to go to India, and so I'm really excited to spend time with the team there next week.

Speaker 2: 8:22

Rock and roll. That's a big affirmative. I'm guessing, then, that you've got a perspective that it doesn't matter where you are in the world, it doesn't matter what time zone you're on. If you've got the skills, if you've got the aptitude, if you've got the right attitude in terms of what a company culture is looking for, you can work anywhere. Is that fair to say?

Speaker 3: 8:39

Absolutely One hundred percent. I feel like there are brilliant people around the world and I think we actually benefit as an organization. I think it brings a richness and deepness to the teams and the interactions, the problem solving, solutioning, and so I think that we have benefited tremendously from having a global footprint in terms of our employee base.

Speaker 2: 9:01

Carrie, I like you and I agree with you. I think one of the silver linings from the pandemic although it was a dark and terrible time was the fact that it opened people's eyes up to the fact that, yes, you can have a global workforce. It doesn't really matter where you are. It doesn't matter, people don't need to be in offices. We're not children. Anyway, this is not an interview with me, it's an interview with you. Let's get through um, but in 60 seconds or less. What is unique about working within the government space?

Speaker 3: 9:33

what is unique.

Speaker 3: 9:34

So I think, um, really it's, uh, it's the way that we're able to help the clients, and so often, I think, um, government entities they're not necessary, they're usually resource constrained um, and so they are the level of help that we can provide and the appreciation, I think, for how we work with them and what we're able to, how we're able to help them in their positions, I think is unique.

Speaker 3: 10:00

They're also, I think, what's unique working in government is what they're trying to accomplish, and so we can actually work with teams that are helping, you know, children to get lunches over the summertime, for example, or meals that they may not have access to. It's the outcomes in which that we are working to help deliver is really incredibly meaningful, and so that I think you know I'm not sure if I'm answering the question, but I've got myself sort of wrapped around here but I think that that particular sector, working with this particular client base, really again has it adds. It can help illuminate sort of what's happening in pockets and corners of the world that you may not have access to, say, if you're at, you know an organization that's delivering widgets, for example gary, don't worry, you're doing a sterling job here.

Speaker 2: 10:52

Okay, just to just to reiterate this is gary's first podcast and she is good work, good work, okay. So what are some of those other current priorities for the Brannicus HR team?

Speaker 3: 11:08

So one thing I didn't touch upon, but you did, bill, was you know, and maybe it goes without saying, being a global workforce is that we are remote, fully remote, and so we have definitely leaned in to and embraced being a remote organization, remote organization, and with that comes figuring out ways in which to continue to create connections and community across our global organization. So for us that's a priority and I would say you know we work hard also on recognition and so we want to make sure that we have different opportunities and ways to recognize and reward the employees that are doing this good work inside of Granicus. So those are a couple of our priorities. We're also we are still focused on and I know that this is a bit of a touchy subject at the moment, but we definitely still lean in hard on belonging. We want all of our employees to feel a sense of belonging at Granicus and to also foster a sense of belonging with the teams and other employees that they're working with.

Speaker 3: 12:10

So those are some priorities for us and I had mentioned earlier about the recognition and the connections and in a remote environment. We also are working on a cultural ambassador program, which has been we did a pilot of that this year it's been incredibly successful. So there are folks that are inside of our organization who have access to information and systems and processes and tools and see opportunities to improve what we're doing and to amplify that, and so we've created a program that actually can help to elevate those ideas and thoughts inside of granicus so we can continue to improve what we're doing and to improve it from um just different perspectives of different people in the organization one last question for you.

Speaker 2: 12:57

It's a doozy, uh. How can our listeners connect with you? Is that in? Is that email? I'll bet you're super cool and all over instagram and tiktok and places. And, of course, how can folks learn more about granicus?

Speaker 3: 13:10

um, so certainly encourage folks to um head to the granicus website. So granicuscom is one area if you want to learn more about granicus and what we're doing. There's a lot of great information there and different use cases, and so that is one opportunity. I am on linkedin and I would be more than happy to connect with anyone that is interested in learning more about what we're doing at Granicus and connecting. I have had being in a private equity firm or backed sorry, being in a private equity backed company. I have had a fantastic network of HR professionals to connect with along the way, and so I'm always happy to connect with anyone that's interested in brainstorming, troubleshooting. Just shooting, I was going to swear I'll hold that one in. So I'm happy to connect with anyone that's interested.

Speaker 2: 14:00

Shooting the poop there we go.

Speaker 3: 14:01

Yes, there you go.

Speaker 2: 14:06

And, by the way, just before you and I started chatting today, I sent you a connection request on that's right, that's fantastic, uh, you are in minnesota, st paul. I have not been to minneapolis, uh, yet minnesota yet. I've done other 36 states, carrie, but uh, that is not one of them, not, not yet. It's on my list, okay. I'll just have to come over and check you guys out over there, but for now that just leaves me to say, Carrie, thank you very much for being my guest.

Speaker 3: 14:37

It has been my pleasure. Thank you for making my first podcast very enjoyable.

Speaker 1: 14:49

And listeners as always. Until next time, happy working.