At Addison Group, we value the people that make our organization great and allow us to deliver exceptional partnerships to the clients and candidates we support. We love bringing on new talent to help us move our organization forward and contribute to our outstanding culture.
For our January Employee Spotlight, we’re excited to highlight — and welcome — Cathy Maraist! Cathy is our new Vice President of People Strategy. With more than 20 years of experience and an Industrial/Organizational psychologist, Cathy is passionate about providing data-driven people solutions that can drive positive organizational change for the employee experience and culture.
What attracted you to Addison?
Addison Group’s people-first approach to business and organizational culture makes it exactly the type of company I was looking to join. The Addison Group core value that resonates the most is positive impact. In this new role, I want to positively impact every single employee across all the brands at Addison Group. I plan to roll out programs and enhancements so that Addison is and continues to be a great place to work.
Creating a positive impact goes beyond just improving the employee experience; it impacts the candidates we work with, the clients we serve, and our communities.
What have you enjoyed most about working in this industry?
Professional services is a people industry and I am passionate about building meaningful relationships with people and collaborating to find the best ways to solve problems. Addison brings exciting opportunities and growth, both personally and professionally.
I previously worked as an external consultant, and now I’m excited about the opportunity to bring those key experiences and learnings to Addison to make a positive impact here. I am looking forward to working side-by-side with employees and contributing to improving the entire Addison organization.
How has your background prepared you for this new role?
As an Industrial-Organizational (I-O) psychologist, I specialize in improving the performance of businesses by enhancing the performance and well-being of individuals, teams, and groups. As a consultant, I have helped many client organizations during my career to enhance their hiring processes, leadership development programs, employee engagement, and organizational culture. With Addison Group, I can apply everything I’ve learned so far to help us grow sustainably and in a way that continues to make it a great place to work – and makes it an even better place to work.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned that has helped drive your career?
The importance of self-awareness. You have to get to know yourself well enough so you can lead, develop, coach, and empower others. Leaders who are Active Listeners understand that this fosters trust and respect. It is the backbone for leading with empathy in a people-first culture. A culture that fosters listening to understand, allows for divergent thoughts, welcomes the generation of new ideas, and cultivates empathy.
What are you most excited to do in your new role?
There are many aspects of the new role that I’m excited about – first and foremost, collaborating with passionate colleagues who have a strong drive to continuously improve and grow. I’ve been extremely impressed by my new colleagues’ openness and commitment to growing the business and helping their people shine through a people-first approach. I look forward to finding opportunities to enhance the employee experience at Addison Group.
