Staff Spotlight: Tahnea Cayce
Today, we’d like to shine a special spotlight on Tahnea Cayce, the Human Resources Coordinator at Big Brothers Big Sisters. She started at the agency nine years ago, before pursuing other opportunities. Now, we are excited to welcome her back to the team in her new role and see her drive our agency in the right direction!
Tahnea dedicates much of her time to her family, attending her son’s sporting events and painting with her daughter. Recently, the newest addition to the family, her first grandbaby, has given her even more hobbies and things to do! She’s got a plan to take up knitting and make her grandson a stuffed animal. There is a beginner’s knitting kit just waiting for this new grandma in her craft drawer.
Tahnea also feels at home in a bowling alley, one of her long-time hobbies. In the 30+ years she’s been playing, one of the closest times she’s ever come to a perfect 300 was memorable for different reasons than you may expect. On her last roll, her water broke, and she ended with a 289. It’s the reason why her son can out-bowl her now, she thinks. Last week, the bowler finally hit her goal and rolled a 300!
After graduating from Northrop High School, Tahnea continued working in the city she’s always called home. Her BBBS career began in 2017 with her position as Executive Assistant, where she worked with the Board, management team, and CEO Josette Rider.
BBBS invests in its employees’ career and skill development; Tahnea learned this from personal experience. After two years as the executive assistant, her bright and bold personality led her to pursue human resources, a more people-oriented role. The agency contributed to her bachelor’s degree in human resources through Indiana Tech.
The multihyphenate transitioned to splitting her work between assisting the CEO and managing HR duties. However, COVID-19 soon presented unique challenges internally and within BBBS programs, which led to a greater need for her skills as an executive assistant.
After six and a half years at Big Brothers Big Sisters, Tahnea left for Do it Best, hoping to gain more general knowledge and explore the workforce. It was time to try something new, and she used her experiences at BBBS in her new job. However, she stayed connected to the agency and the mission, still going to events and giving back. Her children were also both involved with the agency, both having Bigs of their own.
After a few years, Josette approached her at an event with an opportunity to come back to BBBS as the full-time Human Resources Coordinator. Although she loved her time at Do it Best, she “missed home.”
Her love of the mission—serving youth and igniting potential through mentorship—drew her back. Especially because she knows firsthand that it works! Tahnea witnesses the benefits mentorship provides through her job at BBBS, her children’s lives, and in her own life. Not to mention, she is a mentor herself through the School Buddies program. She and her Little Sister Addy could not be better matched, both so spunky and sassy.
Do you have your own mentor, either personal or professional in your life?
Tahnea: I have a few mentors. I'm never going to have too many... I have a lot of mentors within the organization that helped me be a better person…I’m never gonna have too many mentors here at the agency and also at our church.
The new full-time HR Coordinator manages onboarding and recruiting new staff, vehicle maintenance, and safety standards in the office. Other responsibilities include organizing agency-wide meetings, retreats, and gatherings, as well as keeping staff informed and updated. Beyond the tangible aspects of her role in HR, Tahnea also maintains and develops the workplace culture within the agency.
How would you describe the BBBS workplace culture, and how do you and the staff uphold agency values?
Tahnea: We have seven core values here at the agency. We have communication, safety, integrity, ownership, passion, customer service, and excellence. And with that, what we do is you have the opportunity to nominate and recognize one of your team members for one of those seven core values in our agency.
Staff may recognize their coworkers, no matter the department or team, for moments of embodying the seven core values. These nominations are entered through Paylocity, the timecard system, and Tahnea collects the data throughout the year to tally which staff member becomes the “Value Champion” of the year for each category. Champions and recognized teammates receive “spotlight bucks,” which can be redeemed for BBBS apparel. Her goal is to expand the incentives to include other merchandise or possibly a half-day of PTO!
Why is cultivating the workplace culture around those values so important?
Tahnea: Our culture is the segue of how we have relationships with our donors, our littles, our staff members, and the families throughout the organization. So, those seven core values and our culture build us as an agency. It's just important to me to work in a culture that is elevating and building up for growth within the organization.
HR is a very intentional and relational field, which Tahnea loves, so her role requires acute interpersonal and relationship-building skills. This comes easily to the energetic and friendly coordinator, who finds BBBS to be a family-like workplace.
What's your favorite thing about HR?
Tahnea: My favorite thing about HR is just the opportunity to get to know the team. I'm nosy. I love talking. So just going around and spreading that cheer and being that team player that's just like ‘Rah-rah,’ cheering them on—that's the best part.
However, being the person people go to as a problem solver can bring challenges. The workplace brings together a diverse group of people with varying personalities and communication styles. The hardest part of her role is knowing that she won’t be able to make everyone happy. Some situations may leave people dissatisfied, unfortunately.
What advice do you have for others in HR struggling with people’s disappointment?
Tahnea: Just dealing with the fact that you can't make everyone happy, and start small. My thing that I do is with the surveys, just like our all-staff survey. Going through those and the wishes that they have, I try to implement them in one or two all-staffs just to let them know they're heard.
It might not happen right away, but I do hear them. Or just addressing that situation like, hey, I know you guys want the agenda out prior to the meeting, and I'm working on that—just to let them know I am reading them, just to get through to them that they are being heard, even though they might not see the change immediately.
Thank you, Tahnea, for everything you do behind the scenes at BBBS to keep our staff happy and healthy!
