As a first-generation college student, Janel Taylor had no idea what she wanted to do when she graduated. But a human resources internship at Southern Company, an energy company, gave her a new direction.
"I fell in love with every step of an employee's life cycle at an organization," Taylor said. "From talking to them about the opportunity and recruiting them and selling them on the position, the team, the organization, to the excitement of them accepting that job, into when there are performance challenges that we need to help support them through, or development experiences that we need to create for them so that they can develop their skills and grow." Taylor has been in human resources since her college internship.
Her first full-time job after graduating from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2006 was as a recruiter for IKON Office Solutions. One year later, Taylor joined BBVA USA as a human resources generalist and was soon promoted to a team member services manager.
"I was talking to my boss, and she was throwing around different names of folks that she thought would be great, and I said, 'What about me?'" Taylor said. "Since then, that has been the path that I have taken. I've been asked to build or scale a lot of new teams within HR."
In her new role, Taylor was tasked with launching the company's first HR call center.
Taylor worked at BBVA USA until 2017, when she was recruited to
Today, Taylor serves on the learning and development team as a senior vice president, learning solutions senior manager. She oversees the delivery of key learning programs that help associates looking to advance to develop leadership skills. As a part of her responsibilities, Taylor manages a $22 million annual budget for four teams.
Last year, Taylor created and launched
Taylor said that she and her team plan to expand the High Potential Development Program this year. Mid-level managers will also now have access to executive coaching, which was previously only available for senior leaders.
"What we discovered is that there is such amazing talent deeper in our org[anization]," she said. "So many of these associates are unlocking all kinds of potential that they didn't necessarily see in themselves. And on the flip side, we're filling talent gaps."
Taylor's boss, Seanna McGough, EVP and head of learning and development, praised Taylor's willingness to roll up her sleeves and lead by example.
"She has an incredible work ethic and is known for flawless execution and a unique capacity to maintain momentum while managing multiple, diverse programs and leadership responsibilities. She is driven to continuously raise the bar, whether she is rolling out a new program or coaching and developing her team," McGough said.
