Being responsible for the
"Walmart is so big; you have this tremendous responsibility, but also this phenomenal opportunity to reach so many people," Light says. "What we design today might not be what we need next year, so you can't be stale in your thought processes; you have to have an innovative mindset and you have to have a future mindset."
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Light has focused her work as a benefits professional on helping people achieve financial wellness through
"We're committed to doing legacy work," says Light. "I learned about how to achieve financial independence early in life, and it's important to share that with our associates. It's not just coursework that you teach someone; it's helping them understand money."
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Light recently spoke with EBN about how she knows which benefits will be most effective, the importance of constant team communication, and how good leadership helps keep positive momentum going.
What's your secret to meeting the needs of such a large workforce?
First and foremost, it starts with the voice of the associate. We've been able to develop, design and roll out some amazing products to help our associates because we listened to them. Equally as important is delivering the products they want. Making these transactions simple and efficient is an important part of the work we're doing. The third leg is compliance, because we have to make sure that not only do we deliver it for our associates, but we're delivering in the way that it's supposed to be designed. Compliance is not the fun part that anybody talks about, but it's an incredibly important part of benefits delivery.
How do you determine if someone is a good fit for your team?
It comes down to a filtering process: Do they know the subject matter for the role I'm trying to fill? What kind of leadership skills do they display? How are they able to communicate? Do they understand the customer that we're serving? Do they understand the importance of the associate for the company? Do they have a social mission? It's really looking at those softer skills to understand if they are going to be the right fit. I think I've got a great recipe, because some of the people on my team have been with me for a very long time.
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How does the need for constantly evolving benefits impact your collaboration style with your team?
We're always looking to make sure we've got the right thing in place, so it's all-hands-on-deck, every day. It's not uncommon for us to have annual goals, but by month two, those could be off the table and we're onto something else. That's not an unusual path forward, because by listening to the associate, listening to what's out in the world, what new technologies are being developed — that can quickly redefine our goals. We're constantly communicating back and forth, and while we have regular meetings — I have weekly touch-bases with each one of them individually and then weekly team meetings — the conversations about innovation, about new ideas, can happen at any time.
You and your team stay very busy — how do you make sure no one gets overworked?
This just happened the other day: I knew somebody on my team had been working a lot on a project and I looked at the person that said, 'I'm worried that you're going to burn out. I want you to take some PTO. Go be with your family.' And they did, and I loved it because they came back refreshed.
At the beginning of the year, we talk about scheduling PTO, not waiting until the end of the year, and I do that throughout the year with everybody on my team. I'm a firm believer in taking your PTO, and when you do, you get to disconnect — I don't connect when I'm off. I've got awesome team members; they're in charge, they know what to do. Being with your family and your loved ones without work pinging you constantly is really important, and I really stress that with my team.
