Livestrong Foundation VP of People Jakob Franzen takes a holistic approach to HR. Here’s why he wants to make people successful not just at work, but also at home.
By Charlene Oldham
Jakob Franzen navigates 24 miles of tangled traffic during his commute and on many mornings faces the equally daunting task of dropping off a toddler and a newborn at daycare after getting them, and their gear, ready on his own.
“By 8 o’clock every morning, I’ve done more than many people,” said Franzen, Vice President of People at the LIVESTRONG Foundation. “Now, when someone says ‘I’ve had a difficult morning with my children,’ I really know what that means.”
After years of honing his skills at for-profit companies, Franzen brings that understanding to his role as head of human resources (HR) for LIVESTRONG, the Austin-based charity that has raised more than $500 million to support, educate and improve the lives of cancer patients and survivors. And, while the goals of for-profit and philanthropic organizations may be different, Franzen has found that the people they employ share the same challenges and concerns.
“The very first thing I would have to say is that everyone matters. Everyone comes to work everyday living a life,” he said. “They’ve done daycare drop-off or had to take their car in for repair, but they all matter and they are all here to contribute.”
Tailor-Made Development
Franzen’s job is to maximize those contributions by giving people the skills they need to be successful both at home and at work. To do that, he and his team recently restructured the HR Department and added an HR Manager, Rebecca Lundquist, who focuses on compensation, benefits and recruitment processes. Franzen also brought on an Organizational Development Manager, Michael Nestor, who created and oversees LIVESTRONG U, an employee development program offering classes and speakers on everything from the latest cancer research to strategies for managing the stress that can come with commuting.
One of LIVESTRONG’s goals is to maximize the percentage of its funds directly supporting cancer patients and survivors. Currently, the organization is far above the industry average, with 82 cents of every dollar going toward such programs. Many speakers who back LIVESTRONG’s mission offer their services free to the foundation. The group also has a training budget to meet the varied needs of staff members who appreciate the opportunity to build their own enrichment programs.
“People have been able to keep a transcript of that and see their own development and growth,” Franzen said. “Depending on their job, they are really able to tailor their plan.”
Tailor-made training has helped LIVESTRONG’s relatively young workforce shape their personal skill sets. Increasingly, employees looking to improve their job performance or move into a new internal position are sitting down with their supervisor and the Organizational Development Manager. Together they can chart a career course, rather than having it mapped out for them.
“They can discover how they can grow,” Franzen said. “They can start to understand what is needed—really come in and talk about what their interests are, what the challenges of their current job are, what their skill sets are—and ask, ‘Are there any gaps, and can I move up?’”
Let People Amaze You
Franzen recognized one of the gaps in his own skill set while working on a short-term project earlier in his career. The project goal was to merge HR and technology processes. As team leader, he was focused on budgets, schedules and benchmarks and admittedly sometimes lost sight of the human aspect of the HR endeavor. Even though the team was temporary, he realizes now he should have taken the time to get to know his people on a more personal level.
“I had failed my team by not acknowledging their successes like I should have, not listening to them about their lives,” he said. “There is so much more that could have been done had I really understood and made connections with my team. Putting that investment in the emotional side makes the logical and linear stuff come out much better in the end.”
Although the initial investment can take time, it is a task Franzen will not neglect again. As a veteran HR professional, he understands how important it is to get to know people to help them recognize and realize their full career potential.
“I guess the other thing I have learned is that people are amazing,” he said. “So you don’t want to put them in a box. You want to open that box up so people have the opportunity to be amazing.”
Charlene Oldham is a freelance writer based in Saint Louis, Missouri.
Charlene Oldham
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