Elizabeth Tallent

HR 8820
Matt Outlaw
October 14, 2019

I interviewed Karen Healy, Director of Human Resources for Bloomfield Hills Schools. I have met

Karen a few times over the past three years for benefits information. Her day-to-day duties are benefits

and payroll. I was amazed at the amount of information she has to keep up with, state and federal laws

connected with payroll. I have a newfound respect for her job.

For example, if they are late on their biweekly payroll taxes they can face fines up to $40 to $50

thousand dollars a day! I have to worry about IEP compliance, getting my grades on time and various

other duties, but none of these things results in fines as exorbitant as a year’s pay!

Karen is very soft spoken and patient. She explains everything succinctly and her voice and

demeanor lull me. I find myself intently listening as she talks about how the Registry of Education

Personnel is the bane of her existence. I fill out these forms every year to show my endorsement to

teach in my subject area and I feel they are a nuisance. Nevertheless, non-compliance can result in the

loss of funding. I definitely will get those forms in expeditiously!

It is interesting to note that people who work in human resources, for school districts,

occasionally have professional development. Karen explained that she learns a lot from people from

other districts. One district offers mini lessons from their IT department where people can have a lunch

lesson on topics like how to do Google forms. These classes are open to all employees, from office staff

to para-professionals. Offering these classes to para professionals is a great idea because they can

choose to segue into different jobs, like human resource jobs. I really like this idea because the lesson

focuses on one aspect of a program, and I feel it is easier to remember one function of a program, than

to learn everything a program has to offer.

 Although Karen’s job requires interacting with the public, other jobs in the human resource

department can be isolating, and she says, “They like it that way!” Human resources offers the

opportunity for people to enjoy human interaction, but can also cater to the personality that prefers less

human contact. Karen obviously enjoys working with people, putting faces to the names that pass by

her desk every day.

Karen is very personable and I feel comfortable asking her questions. She always makes time to

meet and I feel that when I am in her office, her focus is completely on me. She says in order to work in

human resources you should like interacting with people. They should not only have broad knowledge

and expertise in finance and law, but also in dealing with people during sometimes very stressful periods

in their lives. I noticed a box of tissues in front of me on her desk and remembered how I felt when

talking with her about my retirement options. It is an emotional time. I commented about the box of

tissue and she said, “That’s what it’s there for, a lot of tears are shed in this office.” After this interview,

I feel I have a deeper understanding of Karen’s job and the issues she faces on a day-to-day basis.