May Huffer joined HRchitect in 2013 as a Regional Sales Manager and leads the sales efforts in the 24-state eastern region of the US as well as eastern Canada. May has worked with clients from mid-market to enterprise scale, who have deployed solutions ranging from Core HR systems to Workforce Management. She enjoys helping organizations choose the right mix of consulting services from HRchitect to ensure their upcoming HR technology projects are successful. Get to know more about May in this month’s HRchitect spotlight.
Hometown: Although I lived in various places as a child, I consider my hometown to be Las Vegas, Nevada, because it is where I spent most of my school years before attending college.
Alma mater: The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)
All-time favorite restaurant: Buca di Beppo, an Italian restaurant with locations throughout the United States. My family and I have celebrated a lot of special occasions there. We would usually rent out the Pope Room in honor of my Catholic Grandma. Going to Buca always reminds me of my Grandma.
Last book you read: Fortune and Glory by Janet Evanovich, which is the 27th book in the Stephanie Plum novel series, and Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline.
One song you can listen to on repeat. That is a hard decision. There are so many great songs. I’d say “You are Always in My Heart” in honor of my Grandma, because that was her favorite. I always find myself asking my Amazon Alexa devices to play that song when I’m thinking about her, as she is no longer with us.
What do you like to do when you are not working? I am currently an Assistant Soccer Coach for my daughter’s Pre-K soccer team. I do not know a lot about the sport, but I help make sure the kids are excited, learn about teamwork and run in the right direction. That keeps me busy after school and during the weekends.
How did you hear about HRchitect? I was referred to HRchitect by a contact who was in the industry.
What was it about HRchitect that was appealing to you? At that time, eight years ago, I was excited to get into an industry that was completely new to me and away from commodity sales. I was fascinated to learn that all this technology existed around HR. I was so excited to take on a new venture in this industry and glad I did.
What is your role at HRchitect? I am responsible for business development and relationship management in the Northeast and Southeast regions of the US and Canada.
What does a typical day look like for you? A typical workday involves a lot of prospecting internally and externally with clients, partners, and resources. I utilize our CRM system for leads. A lot of my days consist of prospecting for both sides of our business, from strategic services to implementation support. I work a lot with the marketing team, strategy team, answering, creating, submitting many RFPs, daily calls, moving leads, bids, and projects to get them through the sales process.
What is the most common question you get about working with a consulting firm?
Why should we work with a consulting firm? I get a lot of questions about why someone should work with a consulting firm instead of the vendor directly. A lot of clients don’t understand the benefit of a consulting firm. The vendor is focused on selling their software, but what we do at HRchitect is provide consulting services every step of the way through the HCM technology journey. We help our clients choose the right HCM platform, help them through the RFP process, evaluation & selection, implementation, Go-live and beyond. Our team of senior consultants averages over 15 years of experience and most are former HR practitioners, holding SHRM-CP, PHR, PMP, and HRIP credentials. On top of that, our consultants are certified by the vendors themselves to implement the vendor’s systems, which all adds up to a phenomenal client experience.
What HCM consulting services are you seeing in the highest demand in 2021? Right now, I am getting at a ton of interest around Strategic Services. Much of my pipeline has been around strategy, evaluation & selection, and RFPs for strategic services. I feel that right now, many organizations are taking the time to evaluate or re-evaluate their current HCM technology landscape. They are also evaluating their budget, recognizing that it is worthwhile to bring in an HR consulting company to help them understand what they should do with their HR technology to create the best employee experience and boost productivity, whether that tie into Onboarding, Talent Acquisition, Learning Management Systems, or something else.
What motivates you to get up to work every morning? I have a 4-year-old. My life centers around my child. I want her to thrive. My child motivates me to wake up every morning and work!
What is the best employee perk that HRchitect offers? That is super easy to answer: work-life balance and working from home. It is easy to stay connected with peers through calls, lunches with those who live close to me, and fun virtual events that we have regularly.
Learn more about May Huffer