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Wendy Edgar is an HR veteran with almost 30 years’ experience leading total rewards and enablement at EY. Creating people programs that benefit her colleagues brings her joy, and she loves hearing stories from coworkers about how her work has impacted their lives for the better. Edgar has worn many different hats during her career and recommends HR pros make an effort to understand their businesses beyond “just people” in order to be real partners with executive leaders.
How would you describe your specific job to someone who doesn’t work in HR?
I say that I have the best job at EY. I am a strategic business partner with the responsibility of developing and aligning the talent priorities at EY to our overall growth and business objectives. My work is to create a positive, high-performance culture at EY, which ranges from implementing well-being benefits to enhancing our recruiting efforts.
What’s the best change you’ve made at a place you’ve worked?
I’m proud of the projects I’ve led that ultimately improve the overall well-being of our people. I helped institute the summer and winter breaks at EY, which empower our people to disconnect together. Our entire US firm closes for these, and they have been widely considered as one of the most popular benefits…When it comes to supporting our people, we know it’s critical to offer benefits that meet their unique needs. I helped implement and then expand our “pathways to parenthood” benefit, which provides EY US employees with a lifetime maximum of $50,000 per family to cover expenses related to infertility, surrogacy, egg and sperm preservation, and/or adoption that are not covered by medical insurance.
What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job?
It can be inaccurate to assume that to be in HR you just have to be good with people. In reality, to be an effective HR leader, you need to have strong business acumen, lead strategically, and have the skill to lead through change. The talent team is often on the frontlines of an organization and HR professionals are acutely aware of the current and evolving needs of their people. It’s up to HR to ensure that the needs of the business and its people are aligned.
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What’s the most fulfilling aspect of your job?
My role is special because I get to make a direct impact on people’s lives. I am fulfilled any time I receive messages from our people about how EY has supported them through various stages in their lives. For instance, just recently I received an email and picture from a new dad sharing the joy of his new baby, thanking me for our 16-week fully paid parental leave. I also recently received a call from someone I hired 25 years ago. He called me to thank me for the tremendous career he has been able to have at EY.
What trend in HR are you most optimistic about? Why?
Years ago, employee engagement was the “new” area that influenced business outcomes. Today, it’s all about the importance of well-being. We’re beginning to see a growing number of organizations realize its importance to our people and our business.
Tell us one new or old HR tech product or platform that’s made your life easier, and why.
Although not specific to HR, virtual meeting tools have transformed our way of working. Not only did we need [them] during the pandemic to operate our business, but it has changed the way we can work together. For me personally, that means less travel, which of course makes life easier, but it also means I can connect with more of our people across our Americas region.
One of the most important responsibilities of HR professionals is to analyze data to provide better insights for our business leaders. Another tool that has accelerated my day-to-day work is our people insights tool. By a click of a button, I can now see data and reports that used to take days for team members to prepare, pulling information from various sources and systems.
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