Those who have seen the recent television commercial with ex-N.Y. Yankee great and linguistic icon, Yogi Berra, where he is explaining the merits of owning supplemental insurance for when you can’t work (“The insurance you don’t know you need until you know you need it…”) can perhaps begin to appreciate the confusing nature of insurance protection. Throw in Workman Compensation issues, Federal and State Employment Regulations, etc., within the context of a rapidly changing business environment, and you begin to understand the broad challenges faced by the Human Resource professional. Insurance and traditional employees benefit programs are in a constant flux, and the cost-realities of providing such service are a significant concern to any business’s management. Construction is one industry that has really felt the ‘pinch’ when it comes to providing various risk coverage. Today, it is absolutely critical for companies to employ capable personnel who are able to sort through the latest changes and requirements. For Trumbull-Nelson, the “go-to” person offering such professional skill with energetic vigor and key administrative insight is Kathleen Raynak.

What does she most like about working in the Human Resource field? Kathleen loves building relationships with employees and benefit providers, and helping employees maneuver through insurance quagmires.

As Trumbull-Nelson’s Human Resource Coordinator, Kathleen is one of the first people that newly hired personnel meet. She was instrumental in developing an employee orientation process to help individuals to better understand the Company’s policies and benefits program. Others in the Company turn to Kathleen for information and advice on such matters as health insurance, 401(k)’s, vacation-time accrual….and new hats! Kathleen is helping to select and order a wide assortment of Company clothing that sport the T-N logo.

Kathleen’s work with Trumbull-Nelson began 4 years ago, when she was hired as an administrative assistant. Vestiges of administrative duties do still exist; ordering jobsite phones, toilets, water and cell phones. She enjoys being helpful in this regard, as such tasks “keep her in the know” about where employees are working and which jobs are beginning and ending.

Kathleen’s home is in Thetford, VT. This is a good distance from the southwestern Pennsylvania town where she grew up, and where many family members still reside. While there, she attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a BS degree in Geriatrics in 1979. She spent 5 years in the field, caring for the elderly and mentally challenged, before deciding to seek alternative work challenges in areas that included Los Angeles. With the birth of her son, Ben, she decided to settle down in a place she had come to love…New England. In the following years, she worked in various administrative and human resource capacities for such organizations as Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, The Quechee Landowner’s Association, and Kimball Union Academy.

For Kathleen, the work of Human Resource Coordinator presents many challenges and rewards.

She indicates a comfort level in a role that sometimes makes her ‘walk the middle road between administration and employees’. “I believe that the symbiotic relationship of business and employees is simple to understand and work with. A company needs to remain healthy and profitable in order to employ people and grow,” she suggests. “Employees need the jobs that companies provide in order to live.”

What does she most like about working in the Human Resource field? Kathleen loves building relationships with employees and benefit providers, and helping employees maneuver through insurance quagmires. “I believe that communication, patience and a sense of humor are vital in relationship building, and that is how I approach my work.”
Kathleen’s knowledge, professional approach, and sense of humor have earned her the respect of the management, staff and employees of Trumbull-Nelson Construction Company. Keep up the great work, Kathleen! And keep those hats coming!