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The HR to Who Interview: Rory Trotter, Jr.

Sometimes the best thing for a blogger is to be silent and let others speak. Sometimes it is best to ask questionsbecause you can learn so much about a person from the answers they give. This is why I've started this interviewseries and I thank Rory C. Trotter, Jr. for being the first in this interview series.

The HR to Who Interview: Rory C. Trotter, Jr.

Let’s start with the basics. Tell me about yourself.

My name is Rory C. Trotter Jr. I’m an HR leader specializing inCompensation, Talent Management, Employee Relations, andPeople Analytics. I’ve provided enterprise wide support onmatters related to base pay, executive pay, and long-termincentives for a Fortune 50 company, conducted analyses ofremuneration packages favorably reviewed at both the CEOand board levels, managed employee relations at the divisionlevel, and led recruitment efforts for hundreds of jobs spanninga wide range of functions, complexity, and scope. I have bothan MBA and a Master of Human Resources and IndustrialRelations from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ilove sushi, writing/reading/thinking about HR, learning aboutnew technical spaces via MOOCs, and watching TV showmarathons (The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Revolution,and House of Lies are my current guilty pleasures).

Why Human Resources?

Because I believe tomorrow’s economy will be driven by thosecompanies that most effectively leverage their human capital in the pursuit of innovative solutions to the 21stcentury’s unprecedented business and social challenges. To accomplish these aims, the best organizations willsuccessfully use descriptive and prescriptive analytics to recruit top talent, identify and nurture said talent’s strengths,and ensure sustained productivity and innovation through the use of initiatives that both recognize and reward highperformance.

If you had to choose another career other than HR, what would it be - and why?

I wouldn’t have guessed even 12 months ago that I would be strong in this space, but I’m actually really enjoying thelearning process here.

I’m starting to suspect that I might have been a fantastic programmer. I’m currently learning both R and Python (theformer for work-related goals and the latter for pleasure). I wouldn’t have guessed even 12 months ago that I wouldbe strong in this space, but I’m actually really enjoying the learning process here. With that said… I think that I’m inthe ideal function already. I love people management, conflict resolution, everything to do with compensation, andgreatly enjoy leveraging people data to improve both business and talent outcomes.

Tell us about your blog and what caused you to start blogging.

For this I can thank Suzanne Lucas (many know her better bythe name “Evil HR Lady”). About 18 months ago I started readingher articles online and sharing them on Twitter. From there westruck up a dialogue, and she encouraged me to start a blog toshare my thoughts on HR. I did so and loved it! I’ll have beenblogging for a year as of February 22nd 2014, and I can honestlysay that it has been an incredibly rewarding experience on both apersonal and professional level.

What do you find most challenging in life?

Time management! I have *so* many things I want to do rightnow! I’m looking to really cultivate my strengths in the dataanalytics space (because that’s one of the core areas where Ithink businesses are going to look to our function to add value going forward); I blog every day; I manage mypresence on several personal social channels; I am of course constantly looking to add value in new ways at work; Itry to stay up on all the latest studies in HR (as well as reading as many 10ks and def14a statements as I can); andI’m really trying to work on my speaking skills (the strongest leaders are great communicators). Juggling all of theabove while also trying to have a social life is extremely difficult. Some days there just isn’t enough time in the day!

How has blogging and social media changed you?

I am more disciplined. I’ve posted something HR related every day for 355+ days at this point. Setting aside time towrite about fresh topics in the HR space and curate content 7 days a week requires me to be very organized with mytime. If I’m not then I don’t have time to do anything else besides read/write/learn about HR and work! Fortunately,over time I’ve developed some very good habits that allow me to live a balanced life while also leveraging bloggingand social to both expand my network and learn all that I can about HR!

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history, who would that person be -and why?

That would have to be Abraham Lincoln, who is one of the greatest people and project managers ever. I thinkthat I could learn a lot about leadership from spending an hour with him.

Contact Rory Trotter, Jr.

Twitter - https://twitter.com/RoryCTrotterJr

LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/in/roryctrotterjr

Email - rorytrotter86@gmail.com

Website - Rorytrotter.com

About Kyle Jones

I am the Human Resources Manager at MegagateBroadband, Inc. and have been with the company since June1996. My tenure with the company has provided experiencein customer service, accounting, marketing and social mediain addition to HR.

I've served in a volunteer leadership role on both the localand state SHRM levels. I currently serve as Co-Social MediaDirector of Mississippi SHRM and 2014-2015 Social MediaDirector for South MS SHRM.

Finally, this blog is my creative outlet and doorway to theworld of Doctor Who and HR blogging. I've provided guestsposts to several HR blogs and have been featured onSocialMediaToday.com.