With eight years at PathShare® HR Services and almost 15 years at GreatAmerica Financial Services, it’s no surprise that Sally Brause is often considered the industry’s go-to expert in HR.
Sally Brause
Brause, GreatAmerica’s Director of Pathshare HR Services, spends her work days actively assisting dealers on Human Resources and organizational development activities. She said this can range from phone calls on how to hire, assess, compensate, develop or reward employees to on-site customer visits working on topics such as culture, strategic planning, or professional selling skills.
The dealers seem to appreciate it too. Many reached out to offer testimonials on behalf of Brause, but she insisted that being recognized by her peers as a Difference Maker was “Unbelievable and very humbling.”
She was also quick to share credit, citing several key difference makers in her life. These included GreatAmerica’s Jennie Fisher who she said had shown consistently strong support for her and PathShare HR Services as well as being an “incredible role model both personally and professionally.”
Brause also wanted to thank Mike Riordan of Riordan & Assoc. and Wayne Keegan of Ingram Content Group as well as Denise Miller of PathShare HR Services who she said, “Inspires me with her creative thinking and is a role model when it comes to her work ethic and dedication to our customers.”
Finally, Brause cited her parents “who instilled the values that still guide me today” and her family — Bill, Amanda and Amy — who “provide unconditional support.”
Brause believes that if you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind and that serves as a constant reminder to her to continually re-set the bar. This year they have expanded the PathShare team and she said they look forward to bringing on new clients and building deeper relationships with current clients.
“We have a number of new offerings at PathShare, like Cultivating Culture and Strategic Planning services that will help us accomplish this,” she added. “Personally, I hit a milestone birthday and I’m making this a year full of wonderful experiences.”
Brause is optimistic about the future of the office technology industry and sees tremendous opportunities for dealers as they expand into adjacent offerings like Managed IT Services and Business Process Optimization.
She also noted the evolution taking place in regards to increased mobility and the impact of millennials in the workplace. She said that makes their jobs at PathShare exciting.
“Dealers moving down these new paths often find it challenging and turn to PathShare to help them with things like hiring, developing their talent and cultivating their culture,” she said.
What does Brause like best about her job? She said “Do what you love and the rest will come.” For her, it’s all about the human interaction.
“As simplistic as I realize this sounds, I get to help people,” she said. “My belief is that when employees get to come to work and do what they do best every day, they are happier and more productive. When this happens, everyone wins: the employees, their families, friends, and their companies. It feels great when I get to play a small part in making that happen.”
