Caroline Groves has spent over 20 years in administration and human resources. After serving active duty in the USAF, Caroline pursued graduate school. She earned her master’s in business administration from the University of Phoenix in Burlington, MA. Caroline then went on to pursue an administrative career in Public Health. She achieved a master’s in public health certificate and a master’s in public administration both from the University of New Hampshire. After 5 years with The Department of Veteran's Affairs Hospital in administration, she is now an HR contractor and adjunct faculty with the UNH College of Professional Studies. She has been teaching management courses for almost 10 years. Caroline lives in Manchester, New Hampshire with her husband Rob, daughter Grace, dog Molly, and cat Murphy.
After teaching at the college for almost 10 years, what have you come to most appreciate about our students?
I love the wide variety of ages and backgrounds of our students. Since the program is geared more towards working professionals, students can be as young as 18 years old or as old as 70 in the same course. It’s awesome to read the different perspectives in the discussion forums. The students learn so much from each other’s shared experiences!
What concepts of management do you find are most essential for your students?
The concept I enjoy the most is communication. One of the lessons I like to teach is to validate other’s feelings. Many employees come to us upset about something we probably can’t fix as their manager. (Policy changes are a popular one). However, just by giving them our time and listening, it makes them feel heard. Expressing concern and empathy is encouraging and not dismissive. It can go a long way!
Your career in Human Resources spanned private companies and federal government. What did you learn about HR from your prior experiences that you’re able to share with students?
The best advice I can give is it’s okay not to have an immediate answer when an employee approaches you with a question. Saying “thank you for coming to me about this. Please let me research some answers and circle back to you. Is that okay?” would be better. It’s important for managers to acknowledge their concerns and provide the employees with support instead of rushing to a response, which not only may feel dismissive but also be unlawful.
What is the greatest opportunity HR professionals have to positively influence organizations?
The importance of being visible and friendly. I find that HR is a tough department to work in. Not only are we the “paper police” and disciplining employees, but we are also working with the organization to provide them with the best benefits possible. It’s tough. At one of my past jobs, I used to just walk to employee’s cubicles with a bucket of candy. It allowed me to have a different interaction with them and a positive one at that!
What skills do you encourage students to acquire before graduating? Or is skill development lifelong?
My goal as an instructor is to always teach something applicable to student's careers in management. Being approachable, empathetic, and patient are qualities of not only a good manager, but also a leader. I try to stress the importance of active listening and building a rapport with their employees. As managers, we want our employees to be comfortable talking to us about anything and everything. This is particularly true in HR.