Community Highlights: Meet Taylor Rockhold of Rooted HR

Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Rockhold.

Hi Taylor, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am from a very small town called Tremont, Illinois, and have a deep sense of community that has been instilled in me from being raised there. After high school, I went on to receive my Associate’s in ASL Interpreting, and my Bachelor’s in Communications and International Studies. I am continuing my educational journey as an MBA Candidate at MSU Denver.

I worked full time as an Assistant Manager with a large retail company that ended up taking me to Denver, CO in 2014. I had never been anywhere west of IL at the time and didn’t know anyone in this city. I quickly realized that the retail hours were not well-suited to making friends or establishing my own community in this new environment and started applying to find a new role in Denver. I was saving my money to move back home when I got a job offer from MillerCoors. It was at that job that I was able to become exposed to opportunities and my own potential. Shortly after, I became the Chair of CityBuild Denver, an initiative of the Downtown Denver Partnership. CityBuild is a platform to connect, engage, and educate the future leaders of Denver, and I was fortunate enough to serve as the Chair of that program for three years. Our group was over 1,800 young professionals in Denver. In 2019, DDP honored me with the Downtown Champion Award for my dedication, vision, and leadership in the community.

After MillerCoors, I spent the next few years with small businesses overseeing human resources, operations, and strategy efforts. This is where my story takes a bit of a turn. I was laid off in November of 2019 due to a re-org, and after starting my new opportunity, COVID hit, and I was laid off…again.

This was a painful time for me. Losing a job is a very difficult experience and I had now gone through it twice in the course of 8 months. I know so many people can relate to this coming out of the pandemic. Even though I was going through this with millions of other people, it felt jarring and shameful. However, I can now confidently say that these experiences were a necessary turning point for me in my career. It made me evaluate everything I was involved in, and I set my intentions carefully on where I should lean in, and where I needed to make some cuts.

I knew I had to change things up. I needed to take the power back. I had been chasing everyone else’s version of success, and never took the time to define it on my terms. I was doing all the right things, taking all the right steps, and it wasn’t working. I like to put it this way: For a long time, I was feeling like the universe was whispering to me that I was meant for more. I ignored that and then got a shove after being laid off for the first time. I have no control over a global pandemic, but the second layoff really felt like the universe pushing me to the edge of the cliff and making me listen.

Through coaching, meditation, journaling, reading, and leaning on my community (all the things, it takes a village), I was able to separate my identity from my career. With the timing of this- being in grad school and still in the middle of COVID-19, I decided to work for myself. This is how Rooted HR was born.

Through this business, I help make great places to work I work with small businesses and startups to put the systems and resources in place to help their employees feel engaged. I then help these businesses connect the potential of their people with their short- and long-term business strategies. This ensures that both sides feel empowered to reach their highest potential. I want people to feel valued and authentic at work.

Out of COVID-19, the relationship people have with work is changing, and organizations need to think differently about how they show up as employers. “Getting back to normal” is not language that is going to attract or keep top talent. I hope to influence people and businesses to think differently about how to create and offer value in their careers and workplaces.

More importantly, through owning my own consulting business, I feel balanced, challenged, and fulfilled every day. Successful on my terms. I feel creative and confident in my career after rebuilding. During this time, I also joined a very incredible team of women at KIN as their Community Lead, who are building an authentic network that helps women realize and execute on their full potential through events, discussions, workshops, and meetups. I also volunteer with the local St. Jude chapter as a previous St. Jude patient and am involved with the Women’s Foundation.

We all face challenges but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Of course, it hasn’t! I was very independent from a pretty early age. I was the first person to go to college in my family, and that is an extremely difficult learning curve to navigate at a critical time in life. I worked two jobs or full time the entire way through college. This came with plenty of sacrifices.

When I first moved to Denver, I didn’t know anyone, and I was terribly homesick. I thought it was the worst decision I had made in my life. Luckily, I got some great advice from my mom to just give it one full year. My life looked completely different after a year in Denver, and I am so thankful I stuck it out.

I spoke a little bit about the experience of being laid off. – Because of these experiences, I can now think and dream bigger than I previously thought was possible.

Running a business as a solopreneur has many challenges. From wearing all of the hats to finding a balance- it can feel pretty lonely. Luckily, I have a strong support system and I also know MANY other women who have decided to start going out on their own in the last year.

Stressful situations shape us. Ultimately, all of the challenges that I have faced, and that all of us face, make us a more whole person. We get to show up resilient and stronger on the other side of our comfort zone and adversity. I wouldn’t be as compassionate, empathetic, or courageous without the challenges I have faced in my life.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Rooted HR?
Rooted HR is a Human Resources and Organizational Development consulting company. I have worked in both small, rapid-growth startup environments and large Fortune 500 companies, giving me a well-rounded approach to what an organization needs with its people operations.

After establishing a foundation and the right tools, the most important thing a business needs to foster is a culture of trust. This happens by implementing a human approach with everything from policies to how they give feedback. I am a people person, so getting to know the individuals in an organization and how they can uniquely bring the best work environment to life is exciting. Not only that, when employees feel empowered and trusted and you have the right people in the right seat, businesses are set up for incredible success. I want people to feel great at work and I want organizations to feel great about the role they play in people’s lives. Business is personal.

I offer the following services at Rooted HR: Fractional HR support, mission, values, and culture strategy, goal and development program implementation, organizational and leadership development, and HRIS implementation.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Finding a mentor can be intimidating, but in my experience, everyone, regardless of what level they are at, got there because another woman paved the way for them. A mentor can be a key part of navigating your path in life.

For me, my mentors have come in the forms of great bosses and women who I was around enough to know I liked the way they operated. From there, you just have to ask and establish a relationship. The worst that can happen is that their bandwidth is tapped and they have to say no, but even in that case, you still have put yourself on the radar of someone you admire. Oftentimes, people feel like they don’t have anything to offer in return, but this is not true, and I would be happy to speak to anyone who is struggling with this aspect of mentorship!

Make the ask accessible and be clear: “I really like the way you presented and was inspired by your story. I would love the opportunity to buy you a coffee and pick your brain further. Are you free for a 30-minute meeting in the next couple of weeks?” My mentors have helped me tremendously by helping me see myself when I couldn’t and providing me sage advice when I needed guidance. I also consider many of my mentors dear friends now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rootedhrco.com/ | www.kinconnected.com
• Instagram: trock29