An epitome of passionate leadership, Nicole Martin is the Founder and Chief Empowerment Officer of HRBoost. She founded HR Boost with a vision to bring JOY and PURPOSE to PEOPLE through their work. It is how HRBoost serves its clients and the people that choose to join up on their visions.
Nicole considers herself an accidental entrepreneur, as she didn’t set out to create HRBoost. She simply followed her passion for helping clients understand the importance human resources can play in developing a strong business. Today, Nicole is a successful entrepreneur and an HR industry innovator who is dedicated to helping small to midsize businesses realize their potential through their employees.
Nicole considers it her number one responsibility to empower her team of Boosters, invest in ongoing education, tools, and resources to optimize her team. She has faith that they will, in turn, delight their clients. “I was truly humbled when after years of serving on the Advisory Board and being part of a winning organization in my prior roles, my own company took the stage of Best & Brightest® Companies to Work For in Chicago in 2020,” shares Nicole.
Inspired by her vision, we at Insights Success got into conversation with Nicole to learn more about her journey and how HRBoost is meeting the HR needs of businesses.
Below are the highlights of the interview:
Tell us something more about the HRBoost and its mission and vision.
As the corporate world grows, there has been an increase in employees in organizations. Managing this ever-growing workforce can be an uphill battle for companies. For effective workforce management and better business success, human resource management plays an important role.
With the vision to bring joy and purpose to people through their work, I founded HRBoost. I advocate the thought that software is not HR. And HR is more than payroll and benefits. I believe in building a high-performance culture that drives innovation and profitability, which leaders require at all levels. HR infrastructure can uphold the Culture Invitation, and once it is strategically aligned and reinforced, a company can create workforce alignment, empowering leaders to innovate amidst even the toughest climate in business.
Enlighten us on how you have made an impact in the industry through your expertise in the market?
HRBoost offers a unique view. We believe you must be tactical and strategic all at the same time. Every resource should be transactional with efficiency but effective for the long term, thus facilitating transformational work.
We offer small and midsize businesses HR services on an ala carte, project, or retainer basis. We meet our clients wherever they are on their journey to be an employer of choice and also at their pace and budget. Our Shared Services approach allows them to build HR departments from scratch and align them to the business strategy. While we see great value in the middle market, we do have some larger companies that augment their internal HR teams with strategic project initiatives from our team.
Undeniably, technology is playing a significant role in almost every sector. How are you leveraging technological advancements to make your solutions resourceful?
I recently engaged a partner to be the HR Expert on Demand, and this truly takes our bench strength to small businesses across the country via the phone or their chosen mobile device. While they prefer in-person, like everyone else these days, they have gone digital.
HR expertise is essential to any business as they grow their enterprise. Our Shared Services approach allows businesses to access strategic HR at their pace and budget all while taking a holistic approach to integrating a culture plan that enables their strategic and/or operational plans as a business.
I also believe they need both strategic and tactical resources at the same time. One human is not ideal as there are various cognitive abilities to optimize HR strategically. Our shared services approach to the middle market is the PEO Alternative.
If given a chance, what change would you like to bring to the HR industry?
The competition for skilled talent has no boundaries in our country, and virtual and hybrid approaches to working will outlive this pandemic. Our Recruiter on Demand services have increased as of Q3 2021 begins Nicole’s book “The Talent Emergency™”, Amazon Best Seller in 2015, thought written by me back in 2015 – the reality of the skills shortage- is being lived by employers now. Wellbeing, Diversity, and Inclusion became the forefront as well as Safety as an ongoing precursor. Newer measures of engagement include wellbeing and overall health to include mental health in the workplace. Businesses that showed care during this past year will retain talent, but those that failed to keep talent informed, part of the discussion, and ahead of the anxiety will see their team change and likely in a big way before year end.
What would be your advice to budding women entrepreneurs who aspire to venture into the industry?
I feel it is imperative to get hands on experience doing what you seek to learn. Make sure it brings you joy before investing time, energy, and dedicating your life to it. Enjoy the journey and be prepared to learn, unlearn, and relearn. Surround yourself with people who inspire and support you, but also don’t patronize you. Remember, even if it gets harder, or takes longer, stay diligent. Anything you love will be worth it.
I aim to lead by example and share for the benefit of all. I have published two books that really speak to women. ‘The Power of Joy and Purpose’ is my personal story, and I share my ‘7 Presence Principles’ as I get asked nearly every day, how do I do it all so joyfully? ‘NO FEAR Negotiation for Women’, a co-authored book with John Tinghitella, where I set forth a process that women can add to their list of abilities and for the greater benefit of our country. Men are about results, and Women are about effort. We need both in business.
I believe that flexibility and trust are critical to building a team of women. My business happens to be all women, and many are in their child-rearing years. I look back at how I built an intellectual playground for myself as a new mother back in 2010. Now my business serves many more who are like I once was, and they too deserve to do the work they have become skilled at and not stop earning just because they want to be mothers and/or grandmothers too.
