Recognized as a leader in the SaaS industry for its employee retention, culture and programs, SalesLoft is regarded to be one of the best places to work— and there's one person the company credits for its reputation. “All of these acknowledgments are directly related to the industry-leading programs that Christine [Kaszubski] has brought to SalesLoft,” a spokesperson told The Software Report.
With more than 20 years of human resources and organizational development experience, Christine has become the heart and soul of SalesLoft since joining in 2017. But before she found her way into an illustrious career in HR, this innovative leader faced her own set of challenges.
While Christine was always sure that “people strategy was a career” she wanted to pursue, she had no idea which industry would be her perfect fit. Armed with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a focus on Human Resource Management and Organizational Communications from Western Michigan University, she began her career in the automotive industry. She worked at Ford Motor Company for almost 8 years, before moving on to quick-service restaurants. Stints at Denny’s and Dunkin' Brands was followed by a foray into the education sector. By 2016, Christine was working for SaaS provider, Commissions Inc. (CINC) and became the company’s Chief People Officer.
It would come as no surprise then, that she counts her “ability to embrace the unexpected” one of her most formidable traits. “Everyone has a plan until it doesn’t go the way you thought it would,” she told The Software Report. “In the world of high growth SaaS, this tends to be the case more often than not. Being agile and seeing challenges as opportunities has resulted in situations having a more successful outcome than perhaps initially intended.”
At the heart of what makes Christine a tour de force is her distinct background. Her diverse experience hasn’t just informed her position at SalesLoft, but has also given her “a unique perspective on how to strategically align company vision in order to achieve organizational goals and initiate change.”
With her guidance, SalesLoft has built a range of employee-focused initiatives. “Christine built out Diversity and Inclusion initiatives and a Woman’s Integrated Network group focused on developing female leaders,” said a spokesperson for the company. “One of [her] initial projects was rolling out a new Parental Leave policy that emphasizes the importance of work/life balance. The policy includes fully paid leave for mothers and fathers, 12 weeks of meal delivery service and home cleaning services, and a year’s worth of diapers.” Other perks open to all employees include untracked PTO, dollar matching through the Charity of Choice program, a tuition reimbursement program, and LoftED, a Learning and Development platform for all employees.
As she’s developed professionally into an innovative thought leader, Christine has managed to flourish in her personal endeavors too. After reading Brene Brown’s renowned self-help book, Daring Greatly: How The Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms The Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, she honed in on a new, untapped inner strength. “[The book] helped me learn that vulnerability is not a weakness but instead is truth and courage,” she explains. “At SalesLoft, we are passionate about leading with vulnerability-based trust. Applying the learnings in all aspects of my life has positively impacted my relationships with others.”
Her most important relationship, however, is with her daughters. “Being a single mother raising two girls on my own, while still supporting a growing career that I love, has certainly been a challenge,” she admits. It’s in this role that Christine has imbued some of her most important life lessons. Balance, prioritization and tenacity are all values she’s honed as a single parent but she’s also discovered that she’s capable of more than she realized. “You have more grit, more courage than you think you do,” she insists. “You have the ability to navigate through the hard times better than you imagined. I can tell you that I am a better mom, a better woman and a better leader for having gone through this.”
