What’s Wrong with People? – Kyle Greene
Imagine coming to work each day and facing some unbelievable situations. That’s what we introduced readers to in 2020 with the release of They Did What? Unbelievable Tales from the Workplace. If you’ve wondered about the people who resolve these issues, we’ve interviewed a number of them in this series What’s Wrong with People? This week we talk with Kyle Greene.
Q: Kyle, you’ve been with Kings Family Restaurants for a number of years now. How did you happen to join the HR team?
A: I grew up in Lexington, Kentucky and went to the University of Kentucky there. During college I worked as a waiter at Kings’ – great job when you’re in school. I enjoyed interacting with the customers and often intervened when they got upset so we wouldn’t have to get the manager involved.
Q: It sounds like you have an easy way with people.
A: I was raised by a single mom and spent a lot of time around adults. Guess I learned how to find common ground.
Q: Getting back to Kings, did you look to have a career in HR after college.
A: Well, no. In my senior year I discovered that Kings had plans to expand in Kentucky, and I was interested in their management training program. I met Maryanne Robertson, the chief HR officer, during a college recruitment event. We ended up talking more about people issues than operations. Next thing I knew, she asked, “Would you ever consider moving to Chicago to work at headquarters?”
Q: Sounds like that was a big change.
A: Gotta admit, the thought of moving to a big city was both scary and exciting. I could tell my mom wasn’t too happy when I told her, but she didn’t try to discourage me.
Q: What convinced you to move?
A: The opportunity to work with Maryanne and the people side of business. I suspected she’d be a great mentor, and I was right.
Q: Let’s talk about the people side of business. I understand there are many facets to HR. Why the interest in Employee Relations?
A: Just like the interaction with customers, I enjoy interacting with employees and the managers. When I started, Maryanne had me working with the Chicago area restaurants. Gave me a chance to get to know everyone. Having worked in Lexington, I had a good feel for how things were supposed to work. If an employee complained about something, guess it was easy for me to figure out—you know, assess the situation.
Q: Sounds like it was a pretty tough position to enter right out of college
A: Yes, and no. Knowing the company helped. Valerie London, our GC—General Counsel—taught me about investigating and understanding the legal stuff—you know, employment laws. After a few months, with Maryanne’s support, I started working with the stores in Indianapolis. They hire a lot of college students, so I was able to quickly relate.
Q: Do you ever think of working in another area of HR or moving on from Kings?
A: Right now, Kings is challenging me, so no immediate plans. I might pursue an advanced degree and Valerie keeps hinting about law school.
Q: Outside of work, what do you like to do?
A: I was a competitive swimmer in college, so I still hit the pool a lot to swim. Last summer Jason Edison took me sailing and I’m hooked. I want to join a sailing club this year.
Q: You talked about investigating. What challenging problem have you investigated recently?
A: An anonymous call came in to our tip line with very sketchy information—no details. We just knew there was some problem in one of the Indianapolis stores. We had to get creative in our approach to at least addressing the issue.
Q: I’m sure you’ve had to address some outrageous workplace shenanigans. Can you share some?
A: Mom is probably listening and I don’t want to shock her. You can read all about them in They Did What? And get 15% off the print and eBook with code TDW2022 if you order by December 17, 2022.