Episode Transcript
[00:00:05] Speaker A: Welcome to the Clear Impact podcast brought to you by PGTI University. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sheri Connor, and I am your host.
[00:00:18] Speaker B: Good afternoon. We are here on the Clear Impact podcast, and we are in the series Anlin all stars. And there were a few people that we didn't get a chance to connect with when we were visiting last year. And so we have on the phone today, we have Leo Lanier. And so welcome, Leo.
[00:00:39] Speaker C: Thank you, thank you. Thank you for having me.
[00:00:41] Speaker B: And I feel comfortable calling you Leo because we kind of know each other. But what is your actual, what is your full name?
[00:00:47] Speaker C: My name is Leonor Lanier, but yes, everybody calls me Leo because, you know, it is hard to pronounce, but I love Leo. So there we go.
[00:00:57] Speaker B: Awesome. Well, it's beautiful and unusual. Not many people. I don't know any other Leos.
[00:01:02] Speaker C: Yes, I was named after my grandmother.
[00:01:05] Speaker B: Aw, that's beautiful.
[00:01:07] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:01:08] Speaker B: So I wanted to just get a chance to have our listeners learn more about you. So tell us about yourself. Tell us a little bit of your background, how long you've been at Anlin, like, maybe a little bit of your journey since you've been there and what you're doing now.
[00:01:23] Speaker C: So I been with talen for 22 years.
[00:01:26] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:01:27] Speaker C: July, hopefully will be my 23rd year.
And I started in the customer service, the warranty service department.
So I was there for one week.
[00:01:40] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:01:41] Speaker C: Yes. So at that time, the company was growing, and there was an opportunity that came up in the payroll HR department. I was asked if I wanted to move department, so I thought it was a good opportunity, and I did say yes. I had a great mentor who taught me many sides of the HR department or the HR human resources. I really liked helping people, and I was able to help our team members, who are spanish speakers.
Once I started meeting all the individuals, that just made me realize, hey, I made a good decision here. So that's been my journey here at Anlyn. I'm currently the senior HR business partner, and, you know, we have different responsibilities. You know, it could be everything from employee relations, doing investigations, helping team members with employee benefits, leaves of absences. If there's any procedures that need to be implemented, you know, I'll be one of the team members that does the town hall meetings to communicate with our family here at Anlin. If the team members have any customer service requests, you know, of course, our leaders, our customers as well, we implemented the UKG system in 2023, so that's been one of our focuses. You know, our team members are so used to, or we're so used to filling out paperwork, you know, for anything. So now, going into this UKG system, it's been hard for some team members because not many are computer savvy. You know, being in a manufacturing company, everybody was used to the paper copies. So now team members do have some concerns, some needs, how to do this, how to do that in UKG. So we've been spending quite a bit of time on that, you know, helping our team members. But it's been good.
[00:03:37] Speaker B: Yeah. There's always a learning curve when you completely change a process or introduce new software. I mean, both of those things at the same time. It's one thing to be used to doing it online and then changing into a different system. That's one shift. But then the shift from paper to online, that's a huge shift.
[00:03:57] Speaker C: So going completely. Yes, paperless. That's been a learning curve for everyone. Like you said.
[00:04:02] Speaker B: How many team members are there at Amlin?
[00:04:04] Speaker C: The company wide is about 580 employees. Here on site, we have roughly 500 employees.
[00:04:12] Speaker B: Yeah, because you've got salespeople and you've.
[00:04:14] Speaker C: Got service tech delivery drivers.
[00:04:17] Speaker B: Right. Do you have remote workers, too?
[00:04:19] Speaker C: No. I mean, we do offer some remote to our accounting office personnel, but no, it's not a five day a week.
[00:04:29] Speaker B: Yeah, I know. You mentioned that helping people was your favorite part. Are there any other parts of HR that you really love?
[00:04:36] Speaker C: I think it benefits. That's always been explaining what our benefits are. Hey, this is a great company to work for. This is what our benefit package entails. Again, helping the team members understand what is available to them, because not many people know, you know, they'll come back and say, hey, I never knew we had a scholarship program for my child who's going to college. I think just reaching out to our team members and explaining, this is what Anlin's all about. This is what PGTI is all about. Now, Mitre, you know, so it's just giving them more information.
[00:05:12] Speaker B: Yeah. And there's a lot. Right. The list of benefits is huge for us, and it is hard to remember all the different things that we have at our disposal. So the HR business partners are a huge component to keep us all informed.
[00:05:27] Speaker C: We have team members that don't even know they qualify for leaves of absences. What's a leave of absence? You know, like, okay, well, this is what you need to do. This is, you know, you've been with the company for a year, so you qualify for a leave of absence in the event that you have a new child in the event that you need to take care of a family member. So, you know, just explaining again everything that's available to them.
[00:05:52] Speaker B: Right. That's awesome. And so, yeah, we have one more question. And, you know, if you have more than one thing, that's okay too. But I love asking people about advice.
[00:06:02] Speaker D: That they have received.
[00:06:04] Speaker B: And so what is a favorite piece of advice that you've received in your either career or personal life?
[00:06:10] Speaker C: Either way, I'm going to say I do have one that I remember the most is if at first you don't succeed, try again.
[00:06:20] Speaker B: Like the little train.
[00:06:22] Speaker C: Yep.
You know. Yeah. It may have been hard for you to do this initially, but if you didn't get the results that you were looking for, try it again and see what you can do.
[00:06:34] Speaker B: And now you can add podcasting to your resume.
[00:06:37] Speaker C: There you go.
[00:06:38] Speaker B: Because I know you were nervous and this has been a lovely conversation. No need. It's just a conversation.
[00:06:45] Speaker C: Thank you. Yeah, I'm not much of a talker, but it was. Thank you for making it comfortable.
[00:06:50] Speaker B: Yeah, well, and as an HR person, that's probably good because sometimes you're just the sounding board, right?
[00:06:56] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:06:56] Speaker B: People need a place they can go to and that's usually you guys.
[00:07:01] Speaker C: Yes, definitely.
[00:07:03] Speaker B: Well, I have enjoyed, you know, getting to know you through leading ladies and now the podcast. And I'm sure we'll be chatting more in the future, but I really appreciate your time today, Leo. Thank you so much.
[00:07:15] Speaker C: Of course. Looking forward to. Thank you so much.
[00:07:17] Speaker B: All right, take care.
[00:07:18] Speaker C: All right.
[00:07:19] Speaker D: PGTI University is the customer education team for an entire family of brands. We began with the original easy breeze porch enclosure line, then became PGT Americas leading brand of impact resistant windows and doors. We then added CGI, CGIC windoor western Window systems, new south windows, echo windows and doors, Anlan windows and doors, and our latest acquisition, Martin garage doors. We create products built to withstand major storms, keeping people safe, secure and prepared. Our exceptional brands give you the protection you need without compromising design or functionality. PGTI University is here to educate you, our listener, so that you can be a more informed consumer of window and door products.
