Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Work and family aren’t two separate lives—they’re one reality. Welcome to Parenting at Work, the podcast exploring the human side of business. Join us for a warm conversation with leaders redefining employee support. Each episode offers stories and strategies for building workplaces that care. This is serious coverage with serious heart.
This podcast is brought to you by Juno, the modern safety net for working families.
Learn more at junokids.com
riverside_copy_of amrita & lindsey_parenting_at work s
===
[00:00:00] Hello everyone, and welcome to Parenting at Work. I am very excited to introduce you all today to Amrita Bameck. She spent more than two decades leading HR across global organizations, including serving as chief human resources officer at Valvoline Global Operations, where she was responsible for over 3,000 employees across nearly 30 countries.
Today, she's the vice president of human resources at Team Car Care, one of the largest franchises of Jiffy Lube. Amrita operates at the highest level of HR, working closely with executive teams and boards, shaping talent strategy, total rewards, and culture across complex global businesses. And at the same time, she is also a parent navigating the same tension so many people feel, trying to show up fully at work and at home.
So today, we are going to talk about what that really looks like, how [00:01:00] she thinks about supporting employees through those moments, and where she believes the system still falls short. Amrita, welcome to Parenting at Work. Thank you so much, Lindsey. It's a pleasure to be here. Oh, I am thrilled to be speaking with you today.
I want to jump right in. I think, as the podcast indicates, Parenting at Work, we are all wearing multiple hats, and I would like to start today with the professional cap, the professional hat. Please tell me, what is your philosophy and approach to being a people leader? Oh, that's a great question.
And, after-- as you, very kindly introduced me with more than two decades of HR experience, I would think, the way I would define my people leader is, from a professional perspective is how do I enable a business or, enable a business growth and results through human capital?
So I simply think about it like that, that, that's the most, critical role as people leaders that what kind of an enabling environment or processes and, a culture that we [00:02:00] create, which, promotes people to give their best. they come into work every day thinking that, "This is an environment which will nurture my growth, and I go back feeling, feel that the organization's taking care of me, and provided me a safe and nurturing environment."
that's how at least I look at myself as a people leader and the leaders that I work with. Yeah, that is wonderful. and you mentioned, 20 years of working with Valvoline before transitioning to your current role at- ... Jiffy Lube. Working with a new company, does it feel a bit like you get to rewrite the playbook?
And is it-- do you get to reestablish your existing best practices? Tell me a bit about that. I think it's been interesting because, although, I It's been about seven, eight months in this new role i- it's a similar industry and, I'd like to specifically call that out a little bit to say that all my life I've actually worked in very intensive operational environments.
So it's been, working with teammates who necessarily don't have, I would say the privilege of flexibility because they are all operational roles. you're a store [00:03:00] employee or you're working in the manufacturing environment. You need to turn up every day. There are fixed schedules, et cetera.
So I think it's given me a completely different perspective, and also, Valvoline gave me the opportunity to work in a global role. So I saw, I feel like I witnessed and experienced that difference and a lot of similarities in all of the countries and, cultures, et cetera, that I supported.
it was a, probably to go back to your question, definitely a start, but I didn't necessarily, I think, have to rewrite the playbook quite as much. It just seemed like in a different environment with similar challenges. Yeah. You have your toolkit that you have developed, I'm sure, over the years, and it's just a matter of how to plug those all into the right people, right place, right time.
what is your biggest priority right now as someone who's closing in on your first year at Jiffy Lube? Yeah. The biggest priority for myself and the business is really en- enabling our culture to make really, to make sure that we have an environment where our [00:04:00] leaders are very strong.
And when I talk about leaders, I'm actually talking about the store general managers. people at our 450 stores who are running their operations, and they are almost like player coaches where, they're running the show, they're leading teams, and at the same time also getting under the hood.
how do we build strong leaders? How do they build a strong talent pipeline as well to keep their stores staffed, running safely, as well as with the highest level of focus on operations, and most importantly, focus on guests and our customers. So I think, that remains that's always been a challenge for the business.
It's even more now, and it's an interesting environment. and I cannot help but talk about AI and the influence on at least, most of our businesses and HR. But I think this is one industry which almost seems like AI-proof because you will need to drive in, get your vehicle serviced, and, drive out.
But at the same time we're realizing that, there is so much of, a need for good talent, to, come out of universities, come out of schools and colleges to want to do this job. And [00:05:00] how do we create strong employment value proposition to attract that talent? So yeah.
So this question plays into what you said there at the end. you're making big decisions to support your employees and their families. What do you see as the biggest trade-offs that make it hard to support families the way that you would want to? I think the first thing comes from awareness. It's interesting that there is a lot of opportunity for creating more awareness on how a frontline employee can make their lives better. And there are resources that we are willing to invest, but they're not necessarily meeting the mark in terms of adoption rates. [00:06:00]
So it's a lot more I tend to see the workforce as being far more reactive and we'll just tackle it when the issue comes. So I think it starts with building that awareness and also building a bit of flexibility in terms of what we are offering. Because I think organizations also tend to, for various reasons, budgets and consistency and other reasons, want to keep a very one-size-fits-all approach.
But I'm a big believer that, that's not going to work, you need to meet people where they are, right? So how can we be a bit more flexible in terms of our offerings. [00:07:00]
What stands out to you? I think I would say that there's been an evolution. Because I spent such a lot of time in the auto industry, it was almost like a one-size-fits-all and just some compliance check in the box. Versus really meeting people where they are and trying to be more flexible and cognizant of what stage of life they are at.
So that's the huge change that I see, and there is certainly more data, more data analysis, and more solutions which are catered to those differences. [00:08:00]
So that I think is an exciting place to be at for the industry. And then again, the difference in caregiving is really firstly acknowledging that policies are in place, but we definitely need to build in flexibility and empathy.
[00:09:00] I want to jump right in. I think, as the podcast indicates, Parenting at Work, we are all wearing multiple hats. You told me that you have one human child who is not a child anymore, and one fur baby at home. I would love if you would be open to sharing with us the most challenging or interesting time period for you balancing work and home life.
[00:10:00] I think it was a lot of, I just keep saying that it's more than a balance. It's a choice that you make at different points of your life, right? I had a very fantastic, supportive partner and family through this entire journey. And that's exactly how it worked out in terms of the entire caregiving process. It certainly was not easy.
now when she's almost 21 and I go back and we laugh about a few things. There's a school event or a sick child or something which requires attention, but you made a choice there perhaps to take a trip or attend that important meeting, and then you've been racked with mom guilt.
But I feel like there's been a lot of clarity, and we've been always very open, both my husband and I with our child to say that here's why we are doing what we are doing. We used to have rules like, okay, we'll never miss her birthday.
So even that rule went out of the window [00:11:00] after a few years where one of us would be probably traveling on her birthday. And we used to keep saying that it's not the date, it's the celebration. And I used to always use the term co-opting with her to say that, "Here's what I've got this very important meeting today. You know what I'm doing." And so when I would come back from work, she would ask me, "So, what did you do, Mom?" what was the outcome and stuff like that.
[00:12:00] And I can appreciate that it may not always be one exact moment that defines the challenge. It can be lots of little moments, and I think all of us have that parent guilt. And I love what you said about, "I might miss the birthday but we're gonna have a celebration."
You mentioned that you had managers that maybe weren't parents themselves, but they had empathy. Did you feel comfortable during this journey when you had these moments come up where you felt like you could share what was going on with your manager, with your HR professional?
[00:13:00] I would candidly say that it was a journey because, if you've seen my career trajectory, I've been in an automotive industry, which was traditionally a very male-dominated industry. I would be perhaps the only female leader in a room of 300 men, right?
it took a while to create that space. I got pregnant when I started my job with Valvoline, and I had her while I was still working. Took a maternity break, came back, and went through the journey. It really required me to create that space to say, "Hey, yeah, I'm a mom, and there are things which I will have to prioritize first when she's younger."
And I oftentimes feel that it also helped so many other women who came after me. [00:14:00] Because people not only just in my team but around because just to say that, yes, you know it's almost, and it's not just to say that I'm a role model, but to say that I could model it and I could talk about some ways in which it worked for me. So it becomes more believable for somebody else wanting to do it.
[00:15:00] It's been a mix of intentional efforts from my end, a very supportive environment, and policies and compliances also interestingly.
[00:16:00] And I think that it sounds like you've really done a beautiful job of marrying these two worlds, for others.
[00:17:00] Yes. And I would think, some of if it's all right, I'll probably refer to a couple of examples which were in my former role as a global HR leader. One of the things is the compliances or the laws around childcare or time off for childbirth varies incredibly across countries.
So one of the things I would say that I pushed through, and worked with my corporate office, was to have more of a consistency in our policies irrespective of what the local law wanted or had.
[00:18:00] So which really helped set apart the organization as a company which was forward-thinking and truly believed in an equal opportunity employer. That was one of the things we were able to implement, that irrespective of whether you're in Europe, you're in Asia or you were in North America, this was the parental leave policy, and it was gonna be uniformly implemented across the business.
So we did that and certain other things related to childcare. But I would say that was one it was not just me, but it was with the support from a lot of our leadership, a lot of women in very high leadership positions across the company who supported it.
And so we were able to implement, and I think that is something I feel very proud of, that it really did set us apart as an employer of choice. And once you make those changes and those policies, it really has people believing that yes, it's not just lip service - you truly believe that you want to [00:19:00] create that level playing field.
How do you work with leadership to explain, or I don't wanna say convince, but that's the word that keeps popping up into my mind. I always approach it with one is data. I'm pretty big on data, so I make sure that if I'm talking to my leadership or I want to bring forward a perspective, it is backed up well with data. [00:20:00]
And oftentimes somebody will not just come out and openly say it, especially in a meeting with a lot of people, but there'll be some misgivings. So working on those, trying to influence on almost meeting before the meeting to make sure that they feel comfortable and aligned when we are bringing these concepts in. And at the same time, also making sure that it's not just HR said it or it's a diktat.
You really need to leave that room owning that decision. [00:21:00]
If you had to give one piece of advice for other HR leaders, please share with them any tips or thoughts you have to help them become more empathetic managers.
Yeah. I think it's something which one of my managers had told me, and it really stuck with me all my life. It's on your hardest day, in your most difficult phase, how did the organization and your leader and your manager and your team make you feel, right?
So it is not easy to experience that consistently every day, but that's how culture is built, right? It is built with that understanding that you are indeed wanting to create an environment where somebody comes in and they want to do their best at work. But at the same time, they're, as we used to keep saying, that you bring your whole self to the work.
So the whole self is a combination of lot of things. It's your personal life, [00:22:00] it's you as a parent, it's the role you play as a caregiver to perhaps elderly parents or family members, et cetera. So you're bringing all of that in. So create an environment which helps nurture that and, be very clear about expectations and, communicate what, in terms of performance and growth, what are the expectations, what are outcomes, deliverables, goals, et cetera.
And then you have employees who feel empowered to really come into work and do their best and focus on their own careers and development, but at the same time balance their personal lives as well. So that's the advice I would give team members and HR leaders - keep that eye and ear out and work with your leaders.
Your leaders are really the frontline. They are the ones who are facing teams and working with their teams every day, so help them, coach them to build that sense.
[00:23:00] Thank you. Thank you for sharing with us today. Thank you for your time. Thank you to everyone for listening. Now let's get back to work. Absolutely. Thanks, Lindsey. Thank you. Thank you.