Q&A with Colleen Malmassari

Colleen Malmassari
Back40 Advisors LLC

Colleen Malmassari
Back40 Advisors LLC

What inspired you to start your business or pursue your current career path? How has your initial vision evolved since you started?

I am 20+ years into my career, and earlier this year (2024), I started my own HR Consulting practice named Back40 Advisors LLC.  Every farm has a front 40 and a back 40.  The front 40 is solid: it’s dialed in and productive.  But the back 40?  Well, it’s a little neglected, overgrown.  It might even feel a bit feral.  It’s a challenge knowing where to even start with the back 40.  The same is true for any organization, regardless of industry.  We help clients get the ‘back 40’ of their business in solid working order by providing innovative HR solutions that drive organizational efficiency, streamline administrative processes, and align workforce capabilities with business goals, as well as help foster positive workplace cultures and offer expert guidance on HR best practices and compliance.

What's the biggest challenge you've faced as a woman in your industry, and how did you overcome it? How do you think these challenges have changed in your industry?

One of my go-to lines about my career change from a financial auditor at a public accounting firm to a human resources professional is: I don’t know which one is liked less by business leaders – an auditor or an HR representative.  So far, there seems to be an agreement that they’re both equally disliked.  For business owners and organizational leaders focused on operations, both of these services can be viewed as a “necessary evil” as they provide support to revenue and mission goals, but they have a high level of regulatory compliance. These topics can also be very sensitive, especially if there is a risk to the business/organization. 

Much of my success as an HR professional has come from my dual expertise in accounting and HR leadership, which enables me to approach organizational challenges with a holistic perspective and understand both the human capital and the financial implications of strategic decisions. 

Describe a pivotal moment in your career that shaped your leadership style. How would you describe your leadership style now?

Even though I come from a long line of family members who were business owners and/or community leaders, the mentorship on how to be a leader was reserved for the males in my family. In high school, I had my first experiences in leadership roles by serving in various club and student government capacities and representing Chelan County Fair as part of the royalty. It wasn’t until my first career position with a public accounting firm in Yakima, WA, that I was introduced to the value of a coach/mentor. Over the past two decades, I have had several mentors (formal and informal) who have helped me develop my leadership skills, which I am now able to utilize with both direct reports and coachees. 

My preferred leadership style is a coaching style where I attempt to give prompting questions to help the coachee find their own solutions. By allowing the coachee to exercise their own critical thinking skills, I find they often come up with a solution that is far better than the answer I would have given them in the beginning. 

How do you balance your professional responsibilities with your personal life? What strategies or support systems have you found most helpful?

The phrase “work-life balance” was introduced early in my career and the analytical part of my brain struggles with this phrase as “balance” means both sides are equal. Through my own experiences as a working parent and through my human resources professional work, I have learned the relationship between work and profession is in constant push-pull/give-take mode. Therefore, I much more prefer “work-life harmony”. 

Some days/weeks/seasons, I am able to focus more on my profession, and other times there is a higher focus on personal. While I try not to multi-task, the start-stop between professional and personal is not black and white. One of the positives of the covid pandemic was increased tolerance for flexible and/or modified schedules and hybrid or remote work locations, which has helped me meet my professional and personal commitments. The key to my work-life harmony, though, is my spouse – we have both adjusted our professional work capacities over recent years in order to be available for our family’s needs. 

What advice would you give young women aspiring to enter your field? What do you wish someone had told you when you were starting?

As our local, national and global economies enter the tech super cycle (artificial intelligence, wearable devices, and biotechnology), our workforces are going to significantly change to meet the innovation in this period of time.  Through this great transition, there is going to be a higher emphasis on people leaders to possess skills in emotional intelligence and critical thinking.  Find workplaces that allow you to utilize these skill sets.

How has mentorship played a role in your career as a mentee or mentor? How do you approach mentoring others in your current position?

Mentorship has been a significant part of my career success to date, especially as I am a first-generation college graduate in my family and didn’t have an immediate family member to help me navigate the path into the “white-collar” professional workforce. I have participated in both formal and informal mentorship relationships, both professionally and personally.  The most successful mentorship relationships I have experienced were those where I was able to be vulnerable in times of frustration and overwhelm but were also my accountability partners in creating change.  

What strategies have you found most effective for building and maintaining professional networks? How has networking changed with the rise of social media and digital platforms?

The characteristic of follow through was instilled in me at a young age, and that has helped me in building and maintaining professional networks.  When someone in my network calls on me with an actionable item, I follow through to the best of my ability.  This trust equity helps for when I call on them for an action that is going to help meet my professional goals.   

While networking on social media and digital platforms has increased, these tools have not replaced the need for in-person connection points. The traditional in-person connection points, such as happy hours, before-work breakfasts, etc.) can be a challenge for working caregivers, which is still predominately performed by females. As we have returned to in-person events post-pandemic, it has been a delight to see new ideas and ways for professionals to connect.  There is a whole mix of ways to network, from service groups, paint nights, group recreation, volunteer boards, chamber events, coaching youth sports, local pub speaker nights, community events, etc.  You just have to follow through by going and introducing your self to one new person!      

In your experience, what key skills or qualities have contributed most to your success? How do you continue to develop these skills?

Staying curious. In the busyness of work and life, it is easy to become complacent and make judgments. One of the services I offer as an HR Consultant is investigations for workplace complaints. If I don’t stay curious about the facts of the conflict or event, then I may make an incorrect recommendation for a business owner that could significantly impact the workplace in a negative way. There have been a few instances throughout my career where I have interviewed an employee involved in a workplace matter and had a pre-determined conclusion, but the interview completely changed the fact pattern and altered the conclusion. We humans are great storytellers and often make conclusions without searching out all the facts. By staying curious in my critical thinking, I have been able to provide valuable insights to mission-driven nonprofits and profit-focused businesses alike to optimize their HR processes to better support their mission and strategic goals.

How do you stay innovative and adapt to changes in your industry? Share an example of how you've successfully navigated a major industry shift.

Staying curious. Like above, I am keeping my mind open for new information. There is definitely more information than I am able to retain, so I strive to have a learner mindset vs. a knower mindset. I have subscriptions to several resources where I am able to get technical information; a large part of my consultation services is being a thought partner on workplace policies involving employment law rules and regulations. Some of the HR topics I am involved in can be very “heavy”, which can impact my ability to be innovative. Therefore, I have been intentional in scheduling time for personal hobbies that help strengthen my creativity needed for the critical thinking needed for innovation and adaptation.  

What initiatives or changes would you like to see to promote gender equality in the business world? How do you personally contribute to advancing these initiatives?

Stop asking women to give away their knowledge, time, and energy. This is not only for fair and equal wages but also for invisible household labor. If you’re not familiar with the gender equality statistics, be curious and look them up—the disparity is appalling, especially for women of color. The Bill & Malinda Gates Foundation is a great starting place for your learning.  

Beyond my work with clients on pay equity analysis, I have held many 1:1 conversations with women about their compensation.  Many females (including myself) have been told or conditioned to be thankful for the pay they are offered and to not ask for more. When in the position to extend a job offer or a pay raise, I include in every conversation the invitation to continue the conversation if the pay doesn’t meet their expectations.  Also, when a female inquires about pay rates or counter offers, I make sure to thank them for bringing this to my attention and that they should know why the company is setting their pay at the current rate.  A significant percentage of the conversations are an emotional process for the females as they know their male counterparts with equal or less skill or performance are getting paid several more thousands of dollars annually.  Not all conversations lead to a change in compensation, but the female employee leaves with a better understanding of how their compensation is being established, which helps them make an informed decision on their employment.