by Gloria Welton
Recently UPEI held a Career Day with the Faculty of Business. A variety of speakers talked about their career choice, the steps they took along the way, and offered advice for others. One speaker was Wendy MacIntyre, owner of resolveHR in Stratford PEI. She has over 20 years of experience in Human Resources and loves her work.
“I never for a moment thought about being an entrepreneur, yet I fell into the world of being in business,” says Wendy. “Both my parents worked for the government, and they also operated a small family farm, so I wasn’t really exposed to being in business when I was young.”
She started her post-secondary education at UPEI and then transferred to Saint Mary’s University to take a Criminology Certificate with her Bachelor’s degree. In 2001, she returned to UPEI and enrolled at Holland College to complete the HR Management Certificate program.
Wendy has worked with a variety of small to medium-sized enterprises, not-for-profits, and start-ups across the Island and a few off-Island, as well as with Health PEI for a short term.
“The option to become self-employed became more real to me when I found myself parting ways with my last employer, one of two law firms for which I had worked. The evening after my exit I was thinking about names for my own consulting business. People had suggested it to me before, so I thought I could give it a try for a couple of months and see what happened.”
Wendy is a certified Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR). In 2015, she started her own business, resolveHR, assisting clients with their HR management needs. Her business involves a variety of aspects, from teaching managers how to lead to helping employers ‘set employees free’ graciously.
She is experienced in conflict management, workplace investigations, training and development, workshop facilitation, policy development, governance dynamics and solving ‘people puzzles.’ She also helps clients find and keep the right talent through collaborative and thoughtful staff planning and selection.
“I consider myself to be in a perfect role, but there are some very difficult aspects, such as dealing with conflict within companies, implementing new ideas, and letting people go. After a meeting the other day, someone said to me that it was the hardest HR meeting they had ever been in, but also the most rewarding. That feedback is very gratifying.
“I love my independence, but owning a business involves lots of administrative duties such as bookkeeping, documentation, and information technology. Also, being in business means there are so many things you have to pay for that no one knows about, so it can be complicated. My work has so much variety, which keeps me very engaged. I also volunteer on a few boards including CPHR PEI, which helps me stay connected to the community.”
Advice on being in business
“I needed experience in the workforce before I could start my own business. Depending on the type of business a person is interested in getting into, my advice is to cut your teeth on as many experiences as you can before making that leap to self-employment, especially in consulting.
“Even though some of the life lessons you learn are tough, all experiences will help you build skills and insight as you journey towards owning your own business.
“I love being able to work from home, which is a gift that I give myself. I also get to choose what type of work I take on, which offers such variety, but I have to be careful not to overload my schedule, which is hard when business can be overwhelmingly busy one minute and quiet another. There is a lot to consider and learn about pacing your business. Maybe I’ll figure it out someday.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
about resolveHR, visit www.resolvehr.ca
