Elizabeth Mitlyng

There’s a lot more to Human Resources than reading resumes and listening to complaints.

One of Benilde-St. Margaret’s not-as-well-known aspects is Human Resources (HR), directed by Margie Ryan. The role of HR varies depending on the organization, so Ryan has taken on many jobs over the 13 years she’s been at BSM.

With a background in finance, Ryan mostly works on the compliance aspect of HR, which means following the applicable laws and regulations in Minnesota. This combines with the Certified Public Accountants(CPA) exam she took as part of her accounting degree. “One of the elements of the CPA exam is business law. So, of course, the ability to read, interpret laws, and apply them would impact HR, and that’s a lot of what I do here, too,” Ryan said.

Ryan does lots of different job roles, such as issuing seasonal contracts to coaches, posting staff openings, coordinating and training for Safe Environment for the Archdiocese, issuing monthly financials to department chairs, and so on. “In smaller organizations, you have to be willing to sort of wear many hats or step up and do different things that don’t necessarily fit into your role,” Ryan said.

Another piece of HR is psychology, which focuses on disciplines and managing personalities in the workplace. The academic side of BSM keeps up on that as an ongoing process between managers and employees, including annual meetings to discuss what’s going right or wrong. “We always say you don’t wait till a review to give constructive feedback if there’s an issue, just like you wouldn’t wait until a final grade to say you haven’t turned in [assignments]; students are given thorough reminders,” Ryan said.

Larger organizations tend to specialize in the psychological area more, like how people communicate or work most effectively. Some even use personality tests. “There’s a whole side of HR where you can get into the ‘how do people relate to each other? How do we help in a larger organization, especially help people interact with one another most effectively?’ So, it’s almost like a pre-conflict,” Ryan said.

Another part of her job in HR is part of the hiring process, so she posts staff openings and goes over applications. Ryan works with the hiring manager, and sometimes they get hundreds of resumes for specific positions. “We get quite a few people who have a BSM connection, and we certainly try to prioritize those. (…) We want people who are supportive of this school to come back in roles, but they have to be the best fit for that role, too,” Ryan said.

Human Resources in a small organization, like BSM, incorporates lots of other job aspects, so Ryan has learned to be ready for anything daily. “The biggest thing is learning to be adaptable, learning to try new things, and being willing to self-solve,” Ryan said.