We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tracy Ward. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tracy below.

Tracy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

I’ve always loved it when companies have a creative play on words and give meaning to a name. I came up with Forward Talent Strategies because it has my name “Ward” incorporated in “Forward,” and we partner with companies to develop forward-looking talent strategies so they may attract and retain their key talent. Often this will include making sure that there is a strong employer brand, building an engaging onboarding program, focusing on a comprehensive total rewards strategy, and implementing touch points for employees to discuss their performance and development.

I am passionate about helping individuals with their career growth, and enjoy helping companies create environments where that is possible.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I originally entered the HR profession because I wanted to be in a role where I could impact individuals professionally and to give them career opportunities they may not have imagined for themselves. In HR we have the ability and responsibility to make sure there is equity in our internal practices to provide advancement opportunities to everyone, regardless of gender, age, or any other characteristics. We are sometimes the voice for the unsung heroes within our organizations, and are able to show employees their own potential and a path forward.

With prior experience internally as HR executives, we have the understanding of the demands of business leaders, and we act as an extension of your company and employer brand to further your people strategies.

Forward Talent Strategies provides Human Resources Consulting services to organizations generally with 50-1,000 employees. Our goal is to provide solutions that support the entire organization. We sit down and listen to your leaders and employees, to make sure they feel heard and supported. By taking the time to understand your company, culture, and people, we help you move toward a more inclusive and diverse environment that increases engagement, creates loyalty, and builds a positive legacy for your company.

Some of the key areas we focus on in our work includes:

Corporate Culture and Talent Strategy:
Your Employer Brand directly impacts your organization’s ability to attract and retain top talent. We work with the entire organization to analyze and cultivate a corporate culture and strategy that provides a strong employee experience, reinforces your values, and strengthens your reputation – your brand – as an employer.

HR Consulting and HR Operations:
Our team has decades of experience developing HR policy and procedures, creating employment best practices, and building programs. We help you address the strategic initiatives to move forward your long term plan, as well as address the tactical items that come up in your daily operations. Our experience allows us to provide guidance for the unasked questions so that you have the best context to make decisions.

We live our Core Values every day. We are:
Grateful – we appreciate the opportunity to perform fulfilling work and develop meaningful relationships
Resourceful – we solve challenges and create integrated solutions
Intentional – we strive to add value and make a positive difference for individuals and organizations
Trustworthy – we are committed – to quality, to our clients, and to each other

Forward Talent Strategies strives to give back to our community, and our passion in supporting individuals with their careers extends beyond our clients. We teach HR classes at California State University, San Marcos and I serve on the board of San Diego HR Forum, an organization that supports professional growth and development of HR professionals. We also provide resume coaching for the Veterans Career Transition Assistance Program (VetCTAP), an organization that offers programs to aid senior service members and their spouses with their career transitions.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

Right after I launched Forward Talent Strategies, I found out about a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a large HR assessment project for a well known organization with a few hundred employees and a full internal HR team. The RFP itself was 5 pages long and detailed expectations to review 15 different areas within the HR function. I was initially intimidated by the level of effort required for the proposal itself and the large scope of the project, and questioned whether to submit a proposal. There was this fear that I wasn’t good enough because I didn’t have much experience as a consultant yet. And yet the HR assessment itself was something I was confident in performing.

After closely evaluating the RFP section by section, I went into planning mode and started gathering thoughts about how to effectively approach the project. I engaged individuals I knew and trusted to join my team, put together a detailed project plan with deliverables and timelines, researched the organization and incorporated their core values into our approach and the proposal itself. Incidentally, as I was working on the proposal, I ended up having two other HR consulting firms ask if I wanted to partner on the project and present a joint proposal. Since I had developed my own game plan, I was more confident in what I was putting together and declined the invitations.

We were extremely excited to find out we had been shortlisted to present to the selection committee, out of more than 25 submissions. During that presentation, we were pleased to have engaging conversation with the group, and they pulled out our project plan and were very impressed by it. In the end, we were able to lean on the trusted relationships that had been built with initial clients and leaders I’d worked with, as they served as references that helped us win the bid.

This remains one of the most fulfilling engagements that we’ve had, and the relationships that were built with members of the executive team also led to additional work a few years later.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

We are very fortunate and grateful to have all of our clients come from referrals, including other HR professionals and business leaders. We are known to be responsive and to always follow through on commitments, and this has allowed us to build trust with others. And we maintain strong credentials within our team to demonstrate and maintain our knowledge.

As lifelong learners, we’ve been active in participating in outside education throughout our careers. I personally maintain many certifications, including the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR), the California HR certification (SPHR-CA) and the Associate Coach Credential (ACC). We constantly educate ourselves on the evolving changes within HR, and maintain active memberships with SHRM and CalChamber, and actively support the San Diego HR Forum. Outside of the HR field, we are involved with other organizations, including ProVisors, so that we are connected to other professional resources that may help support our clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.forwardtalentstrategies.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-ward-shrm-scp

Image Credits
Stefanie Blue