Kathryn Lopez brings over 8 years of consulting and HCM technology experience to the HRchitect team. In her role as the Director of the Ceridian Practice, Kathryn passionately leads a team of highly-skilled consultants to ensure high-quality delivery of implementation, optimization, integration, reporting, and managed concierge support consulting services to HRchitect clients that are utilizing the Ceridian Dayforce platform. She is a also proud member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
Hometown: Emmaus, Pennsylvania
Alma mater: East Stroudsburg University from which Kathryn holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management.
All-time favorite restaurant: Parc in Philadelphia
Last book you read: A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
What do you do when you’re not working? I love to travel and love to plant and tend to my garden. I love to grow heirloom varieties. Right now, I have about 80 different seed packets. I am growing 6 varieties of tomatoes.
How did you find out about HRchitect, and what made you join the company? I found out about HRchitect via LinkedIn. I joined HRchitect because they are different in all the ways that mattered to me. HRchitect values their employees and is building a reputable business that employees can be proud of working at.
How has your background impacted your experience as a consultant? My background working on the client side and on the consulting side has given me the expertise to guide my clients every step of the way. My broad experience in payroll, Human Resource Management, and HRIS allows me to be both a technical expert and a tactical leader. The #1 element that has made the most impact on my clients is that I have been in their shoes. When I worked on the Administrator side, I always wanted to have an expert by my side. I always wanted a go-to person to help me and have the answers and the solutions. Working on the consulting side has allowed me to be that person who can guide my clients through the whole implementation process. My favorite parts of my role are being able to help out our clients with the best solutions and teaching and motivating my team to provide the best service and maximum value to our clients.
In your own words, what do you do at HRchitect? Since joining HRchitect as the Director of the Ceridian practice, I have been busy hiring and organizing my team. I place great importance on mentoring and developing my team to enable them to be successful project managers in order to better meet the needs of our clients. In addition, I am building a shared partnership vision and roadmap with Ceridian, HRchitect, and our clients. I am very passionate about building a practice and our partnership where my amazing team will continue to grow to our potential and meet our clients’ needs the best way we possibly can.
What’s a typical workday like for you? I keep very busy with a lot of meetings and squeezing in some configuration work. I am involved in a lot of scoping calls with our sales team, team meetings, talking to contacts and the Ceridian partner network, and shadowing teammates to guide their professional development so that they can approach their projects with a more thoughtful, data-driven, and insightful approach. In tandem, I am continuously building our infrastructure for team collaboration and best practices.
Tell me about a project you’ve worked on that you’re particularly proud of. A favorite client that comes to mind is an insurance client. I began consulting for them just as they had a huge turnover in their HR department. I was in a position to step in and serve as their interim system administrator for their HRIS, benefits, and payroll while they reorganized. I also enjoyed configuring modules for Dr. Martens. That was a large project and a lot of work.
What’s been one of your favorite destinations to travel to for a client site visit? I enjoyed spending two months in New York City working for one of my clients. It was so fun exploring the city after the office closed each day and sampling the wonderful restaurants.
As part of a team that works 100% virtually, what technology or collaboration tools do you use to make your work life easier? Being part of a 100% remote team, our team uses Slack for collaboration and as a fun virtual water cooler. We also use Smartsheet and Box.
What motivates you to wake up and go to work every day? What really motivates me is that I can be the person that opens the doors for HRchitect, my team, and our clients. I feel my years of experience and my position allows me to always find a solution, to go where we have not gone before.
Which employee perk that HRchitect offers do you enjoy the most? Why? I love the Health Incentive program, which is a program that provides an allowance for employees to buy whatever they need to support their individual health and wellness goals. It is such a great perk and I appreciate that our health and wellness are so important to HRchitect.
Learn more about Kathryn on LinkedIn