Hum-an Stories: Q&A with VP of HR Priscilla Gordon
This interview is part of Hum-an Stories, a Q&A series with Hum Capital leadership providing a look under the hood at what drives Hum and its Intelligent Capital Market.
Joining in Fall 2021, Priscilla Gordon is the VP of Human Resources at Hum Capital. At Hum she is responsible for delivering strategic processes, policies, and programs for the support of employees.
Throughout her career, Priscilla has lead HR and operations at larger financial institutions such as PAAMCO Prisma and KKR Prisma, and is looking forward to the challenge of leading and continuing to develop the HR practice at a startup like Hum.
In this Q&A, Priscilla discusses why she decided to join Hum, company culture programs and initiatives, and what excites her about what Hum is building.
Q: Why did you decide to join Hum and what excites you most about what Hum is building?
I was first drawn to Hum by a friend and former colleague, someone I worked with for 14 years. When he told me about the work his new company (Hum) was doing, I was interested. Having been an entrepreneur myself, I see the value in what Hum is building and how it will help entrepreneurs, and small business owners, navigate the world of fundraising without the intimidation the finance industry can bring.
Q: How has your experience leading HR and operations at larger financial institutions prepared you for leading and continuing to develop the HR practice at Hum?
I understand what taking care of your talent and your people looks like. I have seen what tailoring benefits to enhance your ability to draw the best and brightest to your organization can yield. My goal is to bring the best of what I’ve learned and tailor it to work here at Hum.
For example, every summer we did a team building event – one year it was a scavenger hunt through NYC, another year it was a team cooking challenge. The idea was to spend the day, as a team, doing something fun while creating memories and strengthening bonds. With a fully remote workforce, team building events are more challenging to coordinate, but still important. We’ve had to get creative but we have some ideas in the works!
Q: As a remote-first company, maintaining a strong and spirited company culture certainly has its challenges. Can you talk a little about some of the programs and initiatives you and the team are working on?
Our team is spread out among 11 states here in the US and 5 states in Mexico. We have provided all employees with access to co-working space to encourage the team to meet up and work together. Every Thursday in New York, you can find members of our team working together in midtown Manhattan. We have started to do the same in San Francisco, Austin, TX, and Mexico.
In fall of 2021 our CEO Blair Silverberg started a project – Personal Notion Pages. We asked each employee to create a personal page and share information about themselves and what they’re working on/responsible for here at Hum. The pages have been a great way to get to know our colleagues. Complete with pictures of families and pets, we are a team with a wide variety of interests and hobbies. We have a beekeeper among us!
Q: What are some of Hum’s greatest strengths and greatest areas of opportunity?
Hum’s greatest strength is our team and I’m not just saying that because I lead HR. It always surprises me the difference a single individual can make. We have a diverse group of people here at Hum. Diverse in their backgrounds, in their life experiences, and in how they choose to live their lives. As we bring all of those differences and perspectives together at work, it makes us that much stronger as a group.
As our company continues to grow and evolve, how do we implement policies and procedures that help streamline our work while allowing us the space to remain creative? I’ve worked at really great places and it’s important to stay true to the vibe and the culture that exists there. Hum is special.
Q: What are you looking forward to seeing Hum accomplish in 2022?
We are learning and refining our work every day; retros from our sprints, conversations with our customers, feedback from our team. I am looking forward to seeing how we put all of that back into what we are building and the next iteration of Hum.
