A Day In The Life of a Pathfinder: Nancy Gutwein

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Who are you and when did you start working here?

I’m Nancy and I have been at Passageways since September.

What do you do here?

I lead Passageways HR functions as our People Operations Manager – that means all of the recruiting, all of the benefits administration, policy development and implementation, and making sure we maintain a strong and vibrant culture.

What is a typical workday like?

I split my time between Lafayette and Indianapolis, so on days I am in Lafayette there’s a commute since I live in downtown Indy. My Lafayette days are generally filled with meetings – whether that’s prospective candidates over coffee or a one-on-one with members of the leadership team to understand what’s going on in their corner of the organization. I spend a lot of time interviewing, both in person and over the phone. The recruiting process also involves considerable time looking at resumes, scheduling conversations, and moving people through our applicant tracking system.

I am also in charge of other various projects: like right now I am reviewing all of our benefits, making renewals for 2019 – which is a huge undertaking during open enrollment. And on top of all of that I am implementing a new candidate tracking system – so in addition to all of my day to day activities, I also have these larger and important projects I am tackling. I spend my Indianapolis days in a similar fashion, networking and interviewing – but also tend to get a little more heads down time to tackle bigger stuff.

Why did you get and what drew you into Human Resources? 

I’m a “people-person.” I love helping people make the most out of their careers, navigate tricky situations, or just find happiness and satisfaction in what they do. We spend almost a third of our lives at work, and part of that is certainly earning a paycheck, but the other half of that is enjoying what you do. In my role, if I’m able to move the needle forward for a few people I feel really satisfied.

What is your fondest memory of working at Passageways?

So I still feel new, but I got to attended Passageways annual conference PowWOW soon after I started and we had several opportunities in the evenings to go out with customers. Getting to know them helped inspire what I do, it really did – it was motivating to see the passion they have for our products and the real rapport they’ve developed with Passageways employees. It gave clarity around our purpose and I really enjoyed that experience.

What’s is the craziest or silliest thing to ever happen at work or a work event?

Also a memory from PowWOW, our incredible keynote speaker, Kevin, pulled me into his talk and called me Duckpin Nancy the entire time. It was a little embarrassing but super hilarious. Not sure I’ll live that one down any time soon!

What makes Passageways unique compared to previous jobs you have worked?

The people are really incredible and everyone has been genuinely welcoming. I mean it’s a really tough question, I’ve had the good fortune of working with wonderful people my entire career. But honestly, the people are incredibly dedicated, welcoming, and there are so many people who have been loyal to the company for so long, it’s just really impressive for me to see.