ES&S is successful because of our people. We thought it would be fun to share some insight into those people and what makes them tick. What makes them unique? Why do they come to work? What do they look forward to when they leave the office? In this first edition of our Employee Spotlight series, we talked to the always effervescent member of our Human Resources team Ginny Curley.
We decided to kick the interview off with a few personal and fun questions …
IF YOU COULDN’T BE IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ALTERNATE CAREER CHOICE?
A journalist or writer
WHO WOULD YOUR CELEBRITY PARTNER BE ON “DANCING WITH THE STARS?”
Fred Astaire (Brilliant answer!)
WHAT’S THE FIRST THING YOU DO WHEN YOU GET HOME FROM WORK?
Change into something comfortable and take my dog for a walk.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ES&S CORE VALUE AND WHY?
Wow – good question. I love all of them but the one that stands out the most is Build Trust and Respect. To me, this is the centerpiece of the other core values. Without trust and respect, our organization will not be able to accomplish its ambitious goals—or the accomplishment will ring hollow.
Here is more of what Ginny had to say …
What brought you to ES&S?
I had been considering looking for a new opportunity and new challenges. Oddly enough, during that same time, my husband and I both had chance conversations with different colleagues and friends who each randomly mentioned ES&S – one mentioned what a great place it was to work, and someone else commented that ES&S was looking to have someone join their team and partner with their employees and managers to enhance leadership skills; someone who could help them with ongoing personal and professional development. I thought it sounded like the exact type of environment and opportunity I was looking for, so I applied.
What is one of your favorite things about working at ES&S?
Definitely the people. Everyone works hard, but also has fun. If motivates me to see how much the employees at ES&S want to do the right thing and are willing to work through stuff to figure out what the right thing is, everyone has such a strong willingness to invest themselves in new processes. I love seeing our core values come to life through the people.
So congratulations are in order as you were recently promoted Manager, Organization Development. Can you tell us a little bit about what your hopes and dreams are for yourself in this new position?
In my new role, one of my goals is to expand the perspective of how we (ES&S) can be aligned most effectively to achieve our goals – to partner with ES&S leadership and managers to make sure we have the right people in the right jobs doing the right work, and proactively helping to identify what can we do to support employees and prepare them for new challenges.
How does the work you do at ES&S impact elections?
I see a direct connection between the work that I do at ES&S and elections. For me it comes down to customer satisfaction and loyalty as well as product quality. Determining how we help employees be the best people they can be, which then helps them deliver the best product or service to our customers. It’s not even a 6-degrees of separation for me; it’s very direct. If we are training on a particular topic or opportunity, my expectation is that employees can translate that immediately into something within their power on behalf of a customer, in turn, helping them to run excellent elections. So whether it’s from a human capital aspect or skill-based attribute, I see that we’re really in-service to our customers every day.
What excites you about the elections industry?
Everything! It’s an industry in which I feel like there is always more to learn and know. It’s exciting to know that we come together with a variety of different perspectives and a variety of diverse backgrounds to focus on making better elections every day. I also get excited about the interesting changes that are always happening in this industry and determining how we can stay ahead of these transformations to ensure we then help our employees help our customers achieve their goals while navigating this dynamic industry.
The ES&S Human Resources mission statement is, “We promise to be your strategic partner who helps to maximize human capital by engaging our core values to meet your business outcomes.” What does this mission statement mean to you?
It means that we put our focus on not only the employee but the organization as a whole, including our customers. In HR, we ask ourselves all the time, “Why are we doing this? Is it the right thing to do? And just because we’ve always done this in the past do we have to keep doing it?
What do you feel is the most important thing you have learned about the elections industry since being at ES&S?
How diverse it is. By that, I mean that every jurisdiction does things differently. I am continually in awe of the fact that we have a democracy that holds fair and accurate elections, often supported by volunteers, multiple times a month.
What are you most passionate about?
People – one of my top strengths is connectedness. I am passionate about helping people see a connection and purpose in everyday occurrences. I am passionate in my belief that
What have you learned so far at your time at ES&S personally and professionally?
I have learned to be open to saying to myself, well this is how I thought this would go, but being open to rethinking about what is going to work in this situation with these people at this time. A better evolving understanding of the situation and the people as far as thinking about how to resolve situations.
Editor’s Note: Below is an overview of Ginny’s background before coming to ES&S —
Ginny is a native Omahan. She left Nebraska for a bit to attend college and earn her bachelor’s degree, but returned to attend Creighton University where she earned a master’s degree in Counseling, and then went on to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Educational Administration with a focus on Leadership. She is a Gallup-certified Strengths Coach and has a certification to administer the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. She belongs to the Association for Talent Development (ATD) and the Omaha Organizational Development Network (OmahaODN). She worked in higher education for 25 years before coming to ES&S, where she taught courses on leadership development, communication, critical thinking, etc.
Election Systems & Software’s visionary approach to election equipment, software and solutions has helped improve the voting experience throughout North America for nearly 40 years. We are committed to developing integrated voting solutions that improve the marketplace and are flexible enough to meet multiple jurisdictions’ needs and voter preferences. Learn more about ES&S at www.essvote.com and on social media @essvote.