Thryv's Jennifer Sloan is creating career paths for all employees

Jennifer Sloan loves a challenge. Since starting her career 27 years ago, she has carved her path to HR executive by focusing on the next step, and is now devoted to helping others do the same.

At small-business software company Thryv, Sloan serves as the director of total rewards. Over the last year, Sloan has focused her efforts on creating clear career pathways for employees, and then identifying top talent and training them to advance. This company-wide initiative has  enhanced engagement, recruitment and retention, she says. 

"We have a lot of positions here that didn't have a career track or path, so we went in and  created career levels for all positions that warranted it," says Sloan. "There's so much competition out there; you really want to retain the top performers that you have and show that they've got the opportunity to grow with the company."

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Because of Thryv's work-from-anywhere policy, the company can now tap into a global talent pool. Employees also feel more comfortable advocating for themselves when it comes to achieving professional goals, since those goals are now well-defined by role. Citing her own professional experience, Sloan knows firsthand that inquiring with management or HR about additional responsibilities can bring about new opportunities and increase someone's value to the company.

"Sometimes there's an expectation from the employee that [after] so many years, they should be automatically promoted," she says. "My advice to employees is, raise your hand — you've got to take responsibility as well. The most successful employees are the ones who communicate. It's really important to reach out to others on your team or in other departments and volunteer to be part of different projects."

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On top of answering the call for growth opportunities, Sloan has made sure to round out Thryv's offerings to employees, ensuring that their overall well-being is a priority, too. Within the past year, the company added cognitive behavioral therapy to their mental health benefits and a fertility vendor to assist with family planning, which will also include surrogacy. This coming year, her teams are working on expanding their parental leave policy, which they refer to as "baby bonding leave," and are planning their first week-long virtual health fair to be held in September. 

"The biggest thing is to tap into what [employees] feel is missing, and if there's any way you can incorporate that, even if it's not as robust as you would like, see how you can start off small and expand," she says. "We did an all-employee benefits survey, and that's where we got a lot of feedback. We're really excited to take care of our employees."

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The future is bright for Sloan, and for those whose careers she impacts. But she's not done thinking of new ways to challenge herself and her employees to keep learning and striving for more. 

"When you get to the point in your career where you're not really learning anything or it's not a challenge, that's when you need to look and see what else you can do," she says. "The opportunity to grow and expand should always be there. If an employee is looking for advancement, they need to let everybody know they're willing to do it. It may not be what you think you want to do, but you never know what leads to something else."