About Jen
I’m a systems thinker who brings a consultative, collaborative approach to all my engagements. As a long time generalist with specialized expertise in human resources, talent and people operations, I’ve guided countless organizations through high growth cycles, problem resolution, and significant change.
Most recently, I served as Talent Director for Ad Hoc and 18F, Chief of Staff for the Technology Transformation Services, and as an HR advisor to DigitalUndivided. This gave me a lot of experience working with distributed/remote teams. I’ve also led major consulting projects for much of the federal government, FedEx, Nationwide Insurance, Delta Airlines and The Nature Conservancy. This gave me a wealth of understanding and practices to draw from in support of your custom needs.
I often speak about organizational development and inclusive talent practices at conferences including Lean Start Up, HR TechFest, Code for America, Grace Hopper and Leadership by Design. I’m also the author of You’re Not Pretty Enough, which sparked a self-esteem movement for women and girls as highlighted in the Washington Post, Marie Claire and Good Morning America, among other outlets.
She/Her
Areas of Expertise
Through micro engagements or interim partnerships, I can help you deliver successful, measurable programs around eight key dimensions, below.
Common reasons we’d work together:
You need to establish or refresh your people policies and practices
You’re in growth mode and your current methods aren’t scaling well
You need to fix a problem, seize an opportunity, or address employee feedback and you’re unsure how to confidently go about it
You aren’t ready to expand your full-time team, but would benefit from a seasoned individual contributor to ship a desired initiative
You need a coach to be your sounding board, truth teller, cheerleader and guide
Strategy & Change Management
There’s no better path to achieving your goals than creating a plan, and working the plan (with continual feedback and iteration along the way). I can help you establish a theory of change that clearly conveys the what, why and how and steadily guide employees/users through that change through direct and transparent communications.
compensation philosophy & structure
Compensation is highly personal and increasingly more transparent. Employees share salaries with each other and free online tools provide insights that closely approximate market value. I’ll help you you build a model that’s sustainable, competitive and a key tool in attracting and retaining employees.
retention, engagement & culture
Organizations thrive when culture is built with intention around a set of values and desired behaviors. Culture impacts how employees engage internally, and with customers, which has an impact on retention, and your bottom line. Climate surveys can help your organization identify where alignment is and isn’t to keep engagement and retention high.
organization structure
Organizational structures demonstrate how power and responsibilities are distributed across the organization. I’ll help you thoughtfully design a structure that enables high performance with strong communication and coordination channels.
learning & development
You need a program that empowers employees to learn and grow while also closing skills gaps that impact mission achievement. I’ll help you assess those needs and design a multi-channel program that is equitable, rewarding and easy to manage/see ROI.
Performance management
Performance planning and evaluation doesn’t need to be cumbersome. But it does need to be clear, transparent and equitable. I’ll help you translate your organizational strategy into a people performance strategy that makes clear what’s expected of employees and demonstrates how they’ll be evaluated and rewarded for going above and beyond.
talent acquisition
I look through five lenses when helping you evaluate opportunities to improve your recruitment and onboarding process: time-to-fill, quality of talent pool, diversity of talent pool, candidate experience, and the engagement of those on the hiring team. Through a holistic approach, your next iteration can elevate you as an employer of choice and attract the talent you want.
diversity, equity & inclusion
Often, DE&I initiatives are managed by working groups whose members have full-time duties already assigned. I’ll help you create a sustainable program that captures and prioritizes ideas, and translates them into meaningful products and services without burning out the team.
Let's Chat.
Contact me at jennifer [dot] tress [at] gmail. OR: use the form below.