People-centred Programs with Lisseth Zouhbi

“There’s an increasing need for organizations to focus on developing people-centred programs that focus on the values and culture of the organization.”
- Lisseth Zouhbi

What does people-centred describe to you? How do you actually make your HR and Talent programs even more people-centred?  Today’s guest shares her philosophy on this, as well as some practical examples of how she is putting it into action.

My guest is Lisseth Zouhbi. As the Chief Human Resources Officer at Child Care Resource Center, Lisseth Zouhbi brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to her role with over 20 years of experience in Human Resources. Lisseth has demonstrated a proven track record of success in developing and implementing HR strategies that align with the company’s objectives and goals. Joining CCRC in 2022, Lisseth manages talent acquisition, Total Rewards including payroll, organizational and performance management, recognition programs, compliance, training and organizational development, workplace policy, DEI and employee relations for over 1,000 employees. 

Her passion for HR began early in her career, where she gained hands-on experience in all aspects of HR, predominantly in the hospitality industry. Prior to joining CCRC, Lisseth was the Global Vice President of Human Resources at Oakwood Hospitality and oversaw the global HR operations for properties in Asia, Europe and the U.S. Her global HR experience started with Rosewood Hotel Group where she held the position of Sr. Corporate Director of HR for Americas and Europe.  

Lisseth holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Business Management from California State University, Fullerton. She also holds several human resources certificates including her most recent completion of the CHRO certification through the Wharton University. Lisseth is an active member in local HR associations and is currently a member of the DEI Council for the National Human Resources Association Los Angeles. 

In this episode of Talent Management Truths, you’ll discover:

• A sense of what is both similar and different for HR between profit and non-profit organizations
• A window into an HR departments transformation into the People and Culture department
• Some examples of both horizontal and vertical professional development and how experiences outside a person’s core role usually results in empowerment 

Links

• Lisseth Zouhbi on Linkedin: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisseth-zouhbi-33406a9/ 

Book: 88 Assignments for Development in Place by Michael Lombardo and Robert Eichinger (Center for Creative Leadership)

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Transcript

LM Ep 109

 [00:00:00] What does people-centered describe to you and how do you actually make your HR and talent programs even more people-centered, today's guest shares her philosophy on this as well as some practical examples of how she's putting it [00:01:00] into action. I. My guest is Lizza Zubie. Lath is Chief Human Resources Officer at Childcare Resource Center in Los Angeles, California.

She brings over 20 years experience and her current portfolio spans a large number of departments. In this episode of Talent Management Truths, you'll discover a sense of what is both similar and different for HR between profit and nonprofit organizations. A window into an HR department's transformation into the people and culture department, and some examples of both horizontal and vertical professional development and how experiences outside a person's core role usually results in an increase in empowerment.

I hope you enjoy the episode. Thank you for listening. 

LIsseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate1: Hello, and welcome back to Talent Management Truce. I'm your host, Lisa Mitchell, and today I am joined by Lizeth Zubie. Lizeth is the [00:02:00] CHRO of Childcare Resources Center out of California USA. Welcome to the show, Lizeth.

Lisseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate2: Thank you, Lisa. I'm very excited to be here and get the opportunity to share with you a little bit more about me and our organization.

LIsseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate1: Beautiful. I'm excited too. Well, let's get started. let's begin by sharing with listeners a little bit about your career journey before you got to, to CCRC.

Lisseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate2: Yes, thank you. Actually I've been in human resources for over 20 years my career. History predominantly started in hospitality. When I was gonna college, I was focusing on a finance degree and I was looking for an opportunity that had the flexibility in working hours. And stumbled across an opportunity with hotels and started in, in operations.

Then did finance. And in 2001, the director of HR at the property that I was working at, share with me that they were doing some restructuring and that my role was gonna [00:03:00] be combined with human Resources. So it was half payroll, half human resources coordinator, and that's how I got introduced to the field of Human Resources.

He was such a great mentor. And really taught me a lot about what HR was and the more that I learned about the function of human resources and the passion for helping the employees, I, I fell in love with the field and so I decided to shift my degree and focus on international business and got my bachelor's international business.

And at that time when I was done with college, I got promoted to a management role and then just had a, a very. You know, great opportunities within, I work for Starwood Hotels for Fairmont, Langham Rosewood and Oakwood Hospitality and you know, focused on all areas of [00:04:00] human resources. Worked in luxury, predominantly in luxury hospitality.

Worked in resorts, business, hotels, and got exposure to working across nationally and internationally. And that's really how I, I. You know, grew my career within hospitality and human resources. and then I, I made a pivot to the nonprofit. I worked, I had known a recruiter for about 10 years that reached out to me when the opportunity came open here with childcare resource center for the chief HR officer.

 and at that point, you know, I. I took a step back and I'm like, you know, I've, I've been in hospitality for, for a long time. You know, what, what are the other industries like? And so I was very intrigued by the mission of the organization and the opportunity to continue to grow the, the division and help the organization.

grOw and expand its services and that's how I transitioned from [00:05:00] hospitality to, to the nonprofit. And yeah, I've been here for almost two years now.

LIsseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate1: Okay, so, so that's, you know, interesting how our careers go, right? So this, this really long career in, in hospitality across many different companies. And for listeners, if you are in hospitality, you might wanna also check out the episode with Julie Farnsworth, who's the as OP of HR at Crescent Hotels. So for you, with this pivot to nonprofit, what, what's kind of been the.

I don't know the biggest surprise for you.

Lisseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate2: The biggest surprise, honestly, is the pivot from, for-profit to nonprofit in terms of the finance perspective. You know, obviously when with for-profit, the way you manage your, your finances and looking at the allocation of cost because you are working towards generating revenue and profit for a non-profit.

You know, we get our [00:06:00] funds from various areas, and the purpose of us getting funds is to be able to use that in the services and give that back to the community. So that was a, that was a shift, right? But the fundamentals of human resources are the same across any industry. obviously learning the business.

That for me also was the biggest change is understanding the business and the services that we provide so that I can better align the people strategy to the business and operation strategy.

LIsseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate1: Yeah. Makes sense. Okay, so, so let's, let's talk a little bit about what the CCRC does. It's not just a single center as you and I were discussing, so it's, it's geographically dispersed with. And, tell us a bit about how big the company is and what you do. What is that, mission you talked about?

Lisseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate2: Yes. We focus predominantly on providing quality childcare development and [00:07:00] education services to families predominantly in San Fernando Valley, San Bernardino. Lancaster, Palmdale. So we have continued to grow and expand our services predominantly in LA County and San Bernardino. We're currently about 1200 employees.

And we are spread out in both counties because we have various headstart site locations where we provide the educational services. We also have other offices and warehouses because of our services are so spread out and we continue to, to grow because there is a need in the community.

Especially for, you know, childcare reimbursement, the education, you know, children that need special services. And obviously with, you know, ongoing changes, you know, external factors that are impacting you know, these services to the community.

LIsseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate1: So [00:08:00] if, if if I were to visit one of the centers, so, so, what am I seeing? What, what's going on there? What are the activities like? Is it, why would a family go there? How would they get connected?

Lisseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate2: So, for example, at our headquarter site, which is in Chatsworth. It's a combination where we have the administrative support offices and where we also have families come and inquire about childcare reimbursement, signing up for some of our special programs. So, families can walk in. And inquire about those.

The services now at this location, we don't have a head start where we are offering classes to the students. So that's a different site where we have Head Start locations where it's a classroom setting, right? So it's like. Going to a, a preschool. And then some of our other office locations are combination also of support and walk-in services for families to come in and inquire about the services.

So that's our primary setup.[00:09:00] We also have warehouses where we have like our communications team. That they work on a lot of various methods of getting the communication out about our agency, the different programs some of the events that we host to raise funds for you know, providing these services to the community.

So really it's a mixture.

LIsseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate1: Hmm. Yeah, it is, it's, it's, it's, it's quite wide ranging really, it sounds like. So thanks for painting that picture for us a little bit. So I know that, you know, with, with your team, you've got a team of, well, you've grown it significantly over the two years from about 25 to 40, I think you told me. and you've been really focused on, on moving.

The team and how you support the organization from, you know, more of that traditional HR kind of side to more people and culture. I was hoping you could share with us what that means, what that looks like. Where did you focus?

Lisseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate2: Yes. I, I'm very passionate about aligning the, the people [00:10:00] strategy with the business strategy and also the, the model of human resources function has really changed and grown and evolved to, you know, being a tactical administrative function to a more modern day, focusing on people and culture and.

There is an increasing need for organizations to really focus on developing people-centered programs that focus on the values and the culture of the organization. Inclusion compassion, transparency, communication. So it's really shifting of that tactical. Just administrative function to really understanding what are the needs of the employees, what are the needs of the organization, you know, what is our culture like and how do we align that to be able to help support the organization grow and thrive?

And so that for me. Has been very important. And [00:11:00] the, the strategies that I've evolved and transformed into is really focusing on three key areas, the people, the culture, and the business strategy.

LIsseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate1: Okay. All right. So, so it's, it is interesting, right? How, how, you know, we evolve as individuals, organizations evolve, and then departments evolve in terms of how they, how they see themselves position themselves. So this is really sounds like a live example of moving along the HR maturity continuum. sO with, so maybe you could say a little bit more about these three key areas, the people, culture and business strategy, and what, what were some of the things that, projects, initiatives that you're proud of that helped create this shift?

Lisseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate2: tHere's a couple of things One of them, a big piece is the technology. And, you know, looking at the user end experience of the processes that we have in place. And we're currently going through the process of implementing Workday at the organization. So we, the, the [00:12:00] company recognized over two years ago that embracing technology and becoming much more.

driven by the utilization of. The technology softwares and combining them to get more accurate data improving our processes and the user end experience. We made the decision to implement a new software and we're almost at the finish line. So that's been a big piece. A second piece is organizational structural changes.

Aligning it to how the business is, is evolving. So we've made a lot of structure changes. To pivot to how the business is growing. And then the third big area is looking at. The culture transformation, and this is one that I'm, I'm very passionate about and where there's still a lot of work in progress and projects that we are working on, but looking at the employee lifecycle, looking at it, all the key touch points and how do [00:13:00] we pivot from a transactional to a transformational experience?

The inclusion, our DI initiatives we brought in the DI team into the people and culture. We changed from human resources to people and culture, looking at development programs to help grow Our employees and help them develop into their next roles. We're looking at how are we assessing the skills?

How do we determine what are those essential skills that, are key to various functions and you know, not just looking at individuals with specific background and specific industries, but looking at those skills that are important and that's gonna help us drive those goals and strategies to be able to grow and provide, you know.

A wider range of services to the community. Communications essential, and looking at our performance piece and how does that align with our [00:14:00] internal growth as well. So those are some of the key areas that, that we're working on.

LIsseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate1: Okay. So a lot going on there. So, so Workday, I, I know some listeners are sitting there even going either going Yeah, going, oh my God, been there, done that. Right. You know, I know several of my own clients have worked through a, a Workday implementation or other similar one like Oracle and so on.

So, so you've got Workday happening going in at the end of the year. Organizational structure changes was the second thing you mentioned. Now you mentioned that what was involved there was trying to align you know, your team and so on, and how you operated to how the business is evolving.

And I was wondering if you could share a specific example with us. 

Lisseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate2: in, in part of our, our, our growth strategy again, is looking at, you know, what are the skillset that. Our current team need, and as we hire new people, what are that skill sets and, you know, problem solving, agility, you know, innovation. [00:15:00] Those are all key skills that are essential because a. The world is changing.

That's constant change. You are experiencing changes within, you know, program offerings within fundings that we get. And you know, there's times where, we are approached by other, agencies, organizations, you know, what other programs can we provide? And so, you know, as we look at how we are structured, we need to be able to pivot very quickly to provide new new programs, you know, problem solving.

I think that's. Across all the organizations. And, innovation, you know, how do we leverage what we have now and provide new programs to enhance those services to the community? 'cause at the end that is our mission [00:16:00] is cultivating, um. externally, our families. And so, you know, then I look at it, how do we cultivate our employees?

So that's how I, I started looking at our people strategy is if our mission is to service our families by cultivating and enhancing their lives. How do I turn our, how do we turn that around and pivot that from the employee perspective? And so as I look at the programs that we provide to our associates, I'm trying to shift with that mindset of how do we cultivate our employees by whether it is a total reward strategy by learning and development to be able to cultivate them so that. It brings out the best in them and being able to do what they do in their roles. All the roles are critical to the organization, [00:17:00] whether you are, you know, directly dealing with families or whether you are, you know, dealing directly internally with other employees.

LIsseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate1: So it really goes back to what you were saying about the employee experience, right? Creating program offerings that, help move that employee experience, you know, as people move through from, from transactional to transformational. So I, I I just wanna go back on the structure change piece 'cause I'm still not, I'm just curious 'cause you mentioned the organizational structure changes and I'm thinking like, does that mean.

You know, from a, from a, from an organizational design perspective, that you changed roles or changed how people were aligned to different business units, or how does that work for your team?

Lisseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate2: So. It's capital. It's happened in different phases. When I joined the organization I joined at a time where there were making some organizational changes, predominantly around the programs division, right? Because some programs were had grown[00:18:00] and expanded very rapidly. And so we needed to kind of break 'em apart from a division into other areas, right?

So, looking again at. You know, these programs first, and then looking at how we're supporting these programs. So specifically within, you know, my, my division of, of hr. Looking at the area of organizational development and, and learning. This was a new division for us that we created this year because there is a need for us to have that continuous look at.

Our processes how our functions are set up, you know, what's working efficiently, where there's opportunities because it's a, a complex environment, because of the very unique program and services that we provide. We felt that there was a, a need for us to have this structure. And so we're starting to build upon that [00:19:00] and we've created frameworks of all the critical steps that need to happen.

When making organizational changes and. All of our divisions in, in our area are experiencing structural changes because of our growth, right? But we need to have a strategy in order for us to grow and building those fundamentals. So one of the other projects that we are working on as we've embarked with the transition of Workday is looking at how we define our job families, our organizational structure, and, the way we used to operate prior to Covid is different than during Covid and to what it's now. And because we've gone through those phases, it's also given us the opportunity to assess, does this structure make sense? We've, you know, grown. I think in, you know, almost two years I've been here more than, you know, [00:20:00] 10%, 15%.

So it's, it's been a very rapid, you know, rapid growth and we're projecting to you know, continue to grow with the same trajectory over the next, you know, five years. So for me, it's important to understanding where we're now, where we need to go. What structures we need to build in place to get there to be able to rebuild some of those key foundations so that as we grow.

We have these structures into place. So redefining what are the different job levels? Redefining the scope of responsibilities, right? And so, it's a work in progress. You know, we're not, we're not done but we're reassessing all these fundamentals and taking it apart and rebuilding them to be able to help us grow and be able to sustain that growth.

LIsseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate1: Scale, right? Like yeah, take it from where you are to where you wanna be for for sure. So, yeah, so [00:21:00] I think it, it's you know, interesting just the, you know, the picture you're painting of an organization. And that's, you know, stable and, a known quantity, so to speak, and is going through this ever present evolution, right?

Sort of like this change, chuck it away on the tracks, you know, moving and changing as it goes. So you know, something you'd mentioned to me earlier when we were in the green room just chatting is, is how passionate you are about development of people and that that. Comes through very clearly. And something you talked about, and it's come up in a, in a, in a recent interview I did as well, I think, is that you believe in horizontal development, not just vertical.

And I would agree with you wholeheartedly. Could you share with us a little bit your philosophy there and what, what does that actually mean to you and in your organization?

Lisseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate2: For me the growth horizontally means, you know, giving special products. Assignments you know, temporary maybe interim roles when there's opportunity where [00:22:00] there's vacancies. It's being able to give opportunities to associates that are outside their normal day-to-Day responsibility. A perfect example right now is Workday.

 WE have a key core team of associates working on Workday and the skills that they are developing with just the implementation of Workday is a perfect example of horizontal development. They're learning project management. They're learning navigating and troubleshooting. How to align the processes to, to the technology they're learning on how to create new processes.

Identifying, you know, where we can find those, those sufficiencies, cross collaboration with other individuals that maybe they normally, Worked on day-to-day working on a strategy, an execution strategy they're also gonna be facilitating training, so enhancing their [00:23:00] training skills.

So. This project, even though it's been very intense, has also given those that have been involved in the project ability to expand and learn other skill sets that they can take into their next level. And also learn some of these tools that help them either on new projects, right? And so it is helping them develop new skills, get out, get outside their comfort zone. And really help 'em with their thought process and expanding beyond what they normally would. Right. And, and those opportunities when they come to you. I always, I'm a strong proponent of you, you have to go out and, you know, seek these opportunities. And. Take them and learn from them and grow them.

Because that's how you learn and grow. You know, I, I was, I've been very blessed to have a lot of, have had a lot of these great [00:24:00] opportunities, which has helped me to get to where I'm at. Because, you know, there was opportunities like, you know, who wants to volunteer for this? You know, I raised my hand or you seek them out, right?

 and even just the fact of. You bringing something to my attention of saying, Hey, what do you think about if we were to do something in a different way? I'm like, great. Why didn't you run with it? Right. And it's also empowering them to be able to use their creativity, their passions, their skills, and coming up with whether it's new programs, new processes, to use their skillset and, they're experts and what they do and what better ways to improve their day-to-Day work and the impact to whether it's the employees or the organization. Then leveraging what they know and using their recommendations. 

LIsseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate1: And it's, it's, it's learning on the job too. It's very powerful. And through their peers, you know, I'm [00:25:00] smiling because when you were listing. All of the, you know, the new skills that these people working on the Workday project are acquiring project management, troubleshooting, cross collaboration strategy, training, facilitation.

So 25 years ago I was seconded to a project. It lasted for about two years. And you know, my husband and I, this is so strange. It's the whim whims, as my dad used to say that you bring this up because we were just talking the other night about how. Up until that time I had kind of let my career happen to me.

You know, I started as a teacher, you know, thought that was the path I met, was meant to be on, did it went, oh, not for me after two years and kind of fell into something else and then fell into the next thing. And, and then when the secondment happened somebody had sort of tapped, I learned all those things and ended up, you know, leading this, this project team.

It has been the most instrumental thing in my career. I came out of that experience so incredibly empowered that I wrote a business case to become the manager of l and d and create this new department [00:26:00] and got my way. So, you know, everything you say, I think there's, I think this is an underutilized.

Technique for development is to because it takes creativity and everybody's so busy and in so many meetings it is tricky. But this is where magic happens. When we can give people exposure beyond their typical day-to-day, right. And help them kind of, you know, experience it and learn through the experience.

Lisseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate2: Exactly. Exactly. And, and that's what you know, helps you individually grow. And then you can also figure out, I like this. I don't like this. Is, and these are all part of your, you know, growth and development. So I, I take those opportunities, you know, very, you know, important and, and my employees, I also wanna make sure that they have the tools and the resources and I constantly look for, [00:27:00] whether it's webinars or seminars or you know, articles where it gets us thinking outside of the norm.

And I think if we don't challenge and, question, how else can we improve? We become stagnant. And then it just becomes a routine and you're not, you know, leveraging the opportunities to continue that growth. And so I'm very much about the mindset of that constant growth and improvement. It's like, great, what else can we do?

Or what's not working? Well, we tried something new, but let's talk about it. You know, what went well, what didn't go well, and learning from it. That's how we grow. You know, you, you learn from mistakes, you learn from, you know, opportunities. And then you, you leverage that to be able to take that to whether it's your next project or your next position.

LIsseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate1: And you know, the, the growth and the learning happens on that [00:28:00] outside edge of the, of your comfort zone, right? Like you have to kind of put some toes over the edge in order. Or to in order to move beyond where you are. So I, I, I completely appreciate what you're saying. It's actually, you know, that makes me think of.

Part of the reason I do this show is I find the majority of the, the leaders that I approach to, to come and guest on are like, oh, that's a little outta my comfort zone. I'm not sure about that, but I really believe it's an excellent platform for people to, you know, step very clearly into their own thought leadership and sort of say, Hey, I.

Geez, I have some really valid and important experience and knowledge and, and here's what I, what I know to be true, right from my own experience. I think saying it out loud is, is so important. And, I think we could do more of that internally in organizations as well for for all associates, all employees.

Lisseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate2: Yes, I would agree. And, and getting outside my comfort zone, and taking risks. And being okay with change. And I [00:29:00] lo I know change is scary for a lot of people, but it is constant and it is something that we all need to learn to adapt and use that as a way for us to grow because that's the world that we live in.

Change is constant and those that can adapt well to change are more successful.

LIsseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate1: Absolutely. Absolutely. It is key. Change is the only constant. Well, thank you so much for coming on the show today, Lizeth, and, and sharing with us, you know, giving us a little bit of a peek behind the curtains at the transformation that you've been undertaking at the CCRC. It's really been a pleasure.

Lisseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate2: Well, thank you for your time and I appreciate it and look forward to reconnecting again.

LIsseth GMT20231003-151348_Recording_separate1: Likewise, [00:30:00]