With almost a decade in talent recruiting and management, Tony began his career in law enforcement after earning a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. “Human Resources for me was kind of a weird road. I always loved working with people, and Human Resources gives you the opportunity to do that.
Tony said that team member engagement is really what brought him into Human Resources, “most of my Human Resources career has been recruitment, getting to know new people, seeing new faces, talking to new voices.”
What led you to Mazzella Companies?
Having a past working relationship with Kristy Andrews, Chief Human Resources Officer, and knowing what she was working on with the leadership team drew Tony in, but more importantly, he became enamored with the company’s heritage and the impact they have on the community.
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He went on to share, “when I go to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse and watch the Cleveland Cavaliers, those are our ropes there. It makes me feel good because I can talk about it, and I haven’t been in an industry that I’ve been able to do that with before. Gives me proud moments when I’m talking to people about the company and what we do.”
Adding that most people may only see Mazzella Companies as the supplier to the many construction, metal, or heavy machinery industries, “before I joined, I would just look at cranes and say ‘okay, just a crane’ now I’m looking at them thinking, ‘well, what’s the hoist? What’s the crane rope? Did we license that? Do we certify that crane?’, so I look at it a lot differently, but it also brings to light how many different industries we’re a part of.”
How do you stay connected with Team Members?
Tony mentioned that the team is working on initiatives to make sure they’re informing all of Mazzella Companies’ team members of the latest news, benefits, and internal job postings saying, “we want to make sure we’re communicating as clear as possible, whether someone has been here 10 years or 10 months.”
With almost 900 team members across the nation, including almost 200 in Mexico, “we want to make sure that everyone feels that they’re being taken care of. And that sometimes can be an issue – making sure that people don’t feel like they’re on an island.”
What’s your favorite question to ask interviewees?
“’What are you looking for in your next company or position?’ The reason I ask that is because we want to make sure that people have the ability to get into the right position. For example, I’ll ask someone applying for a machinist position, ‘what are you looking for in your next opportunity?’ and they may share that they want to get a certification, or would eventually like to go into operations, and that’s going to help us think of next steps for them within the company, because it’s great if a company thinks you’re a good candidate, but more importantly, how is the company going to be of value to you?”
Tony went on to share that once that question has been answered, he’s tuning in for a sincere lack of ego and readiness to be a team player, “no matter what role you’re in, we do like to collaborate as an organization, and that could be sales to operations to supply chain to warehouse – so having the ability to be humble is going to make you that team player.”
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How do you manage stress?
“I’ve been in Human Resources for 15 years, and just overall as an individual, I do a lot of meditation. Taking 15, 20 minutes of the day to do some meditation, listen to an audio book, makes for a way to step out and gives me the ability to clear my mind. Everyone needs to take a break. I usually do it in the middle of the day. Segmenting the day helps me, especially when I’m having a hard morning.”
On top of meditation, Tony said that making sure to take things one day at a time versus looking at a collection of tasks that need done over several weeks helps him conceptualize and prioritize his demands.
What is the role of Human Resources?
Tony believes that the role of Human Resources is to be a team of advocates for team members, “it’s not only ‘my paycheck is wrong’ or ‘my benefits are off’, for us, we want to make sure that we are going to be partners with all the team members, that they’re getting exactly what they need from Mazzella Companies. We’re going to be that voice for them if they don’t have the ability to do that.”
Whether it’s a benefits question, questions on their job role, or issues with their manager – he wants to make sure that they’re engaging everyone and being that cultural ambassador.
What is the biggest challenge facing Mazzella Companies’ Human Resources team today?
“Making sure we do our best to bring people into the right role. We need to be adaptable, almost like chameleons.”
Whether it’s partnering with hiring managers to change a job title or description or partnering with marketing to make sure job postings are available to internal team members, “we need to make sure that we’re partnering with them and change things up to move forward.”
What advice would you give someone starting out in Human Resources?
Tony’s biggest piece of advice was all about getting out of your comfort zone, taking it all in, and taking on more, “jump in and take on payroll, help with benefits, get involved with onboarding and recruitment, and be a part of team member relations because it’s always going to be something in your back pocket and will help you understand a person on the other side and help them.”
Recruiting Talent for Growth
Mazzella Companies has experienced a lot of growth over the last decade, and that’s opening up a lot of great career opportunities, “we’re actually getting to so many people that we’re running out of desks across the company, which is a great problem to have. So that means we’re expanding our organization whether it’s in metals, lifting, or overhead rigging. We’re growing all those verticals.”
