With a career trajectory that veered from finance to HR, Stephanie Manzelli is a seasoned professional who has mastered the art of aligning people and business goals. Her journey, marked by a stint as a temp worker and a pivotal moment in the world of mergers and acquisitions, has shaped her into a strategic leader who can transform organizational chaos into a synchronized symphony.
Manzelli’s expertise spans a wide range of HR functions, from talent acquisition to employee engagement. Her ability to navigate complex business landscapes and build high-performing teams is evident in her track record of success across diverse industries. But it’s her passion for people and her knack for turning challenges into opportunities that truly set her apart.
Currently, she serves as SVP of HR & DEI at Employ, a people-first recruiting solutions provider. Manzelli’s role in bridging cultural divides and creating a harmonious work environment is akin to choreographing a complex dance.
As she puts it, “Hearts and minds are won and lost in the acquisition process, and once they are lost, they are lost. That’s when I knew HR was my calling, turning chaos into cohesion and making the whole process feel like a well-choreographed dance instead of a stampede of wild horses.”
In our latest Faces, meet Stephanie Manzelli.
How did you get your start in the field?
I truly realized this was the space for me after I started really digging into M&A. I quickly noticed a significant gap in the post-acquisition integration phase. Two company cultures coming together needed more than a simple transition plan—it required someone to bridge the divide and ensure a seamless blend.
Who is/was your biggest influence in the industry?
From an influencer perspective, I follow all the big names in the HR space, Simon Sinek, Adam Grant, Kim Scott, etc. But I take my biggest influence from business leaders instead of HR influencers. CEOs, marketers, and financial leaders, including Sara Blakely, Reshma Saujani, Sheena Hakimian, Indra Nooyi, and Warren Buffet. If my role in HR is to support the business in the most strategic way possible, to do that effectively, I need to become a student of the business that I am serving. My advice, guidance, and support need to be aligned with the way my clients think, feel, and process information. If it’s not, it’s just HR mumbo jumbo.
In the Art of War, Sun Tzu discusses the value of understanding both your own capabilities and those of your opponent. By doing so, you can devise strategies that consider another way of thinking and where there are gaps while leveraging your own strengths at the same time.
What’s your best mistake, and what did you learn from it?
There have been a million mistakes in my career. Regardless of the specific incident, failure is an essential ingredient for growth and development. It’s through our missteps and setbacks that we uncover our limitations, refine our strategies, and build resilience. Failure teaches us invaluable lessons that success cannot, offering opportunities for self-reflection and improvement.
Embracing failure as a steppingstone rather than a setback allows us to innovate, adapt, and ultimately achieve greater success. It’s a powerful reminder that growth often springs from our most challenging experiences. The trick is to make sure you fail fast and recover faster. Don’t wallow; pick yourself back up, diagnose the misstep and account for it in the future.
What’s your favorite part about working in the industry? What’s your least favorite part, and how would you change it?
Favorite: The opportunity to make a tangible impact on people’s lives and careers. Whether it’s helping individuals find the right job, fostering a positive culture, or developing strategies that drive organizational success, the ability to contribute to both personal and professional growth is incredibly fulfilling.
Another part would be strategically aligning HR initiatives with business goals which allows me to play a key role in shaping the future of the organization while ensuring that employees thrive. I love being a ninja behind the scenes helping facilitate change.
Least Favorite: I’ve watched my peers leave in-house HR leadership roles to become fractional leaders. The reason they’ve done this is due in large part to C-Suite business leaders not appreciating or integrating the HR strategy into the company’s overall roadmap. Watching employees leave for reasons we can fix, not spending a few dollars to gain ROI on productivity, needless spending that results in RIFs; they got tired of stomping their feet and having no one listen to them. There is an antiquated caricature of what HR is and what they do for a business. It’s simply not true. Breaking through that perception is critical to the success of any HR leader.
In HR it’s important to help people feel safe and comfortable. How do you go about promoting that?
Promoting psychological safety in the workplace is crucial for fostering an environment where employees feel valued, respected, and free to express themselves without fear of negative consequences. There isn’t one single action. For me, I believe a human-centered approach is the best approach. Open communication, inclusive leadership, productive AND constructive feedback, empowerment and accountability add to the comfort and safety for people to bring their best selves to work each day.
How can HR most effectively demonstrate its value to the leadership team?
I don’t do HR speak. I ensure that the primary focus of my team(s) always aligns with the company’s strategic objectives. Be sure to leverage metrics as much as possible to provide actionable insights and highlight the data on employee turnover, engagement, productivity, and the impact of HR initiatives to illustrate how your strategies contribute to overall business performance.
The rest falls into place from there—strategic planning, change management, talent management.
Where do you see the industry heading in five years? Or are you seeing any current trends?
I think the argument of where and how people work will continue for a few more years to come. I also see HR leaders who find ways to adopt AI within their businesses will be infinitely more successful. The last thing I am seeing is the resurgence of the American Dream – you see this in skills-based hiring, inclusion efforts and human-centric hiring approaches.
What are you most proud of?
Hands down, the leadership development programs I have built and implemented for organizations. By taking adult learning principles and marrying those with equal parts best practices and proprietary processes, I was able to build programs that helped organizations see real results with their employee base and leadership skills.
Do you have any advice for people entering the profession?
People fall into HR. No child grows up planning to be a CHRO or an HRBP. There is a calling, and that calling usually sides with the employee and building a utopia. Never let go of utopian thinking, but remember, this is the same reason so many are leaving the profession. It is extremely important that you find ways to authentically balance the interest of the business with the advocacy of employees. The more balanced you are, the more results you can accomplish. Your strategies should not slow the business down, you must learn to work alongside them. Speak their language and learn their metrics. The benefits will seep out.