Celebrating 13 years with #TeamGuidant – Pam’s Story

By Pamela Beard, SVP, Global Technology, Data & Automation

​To celebrate her 13 years with us, #TeamGuidant’s Pamela Beard, SVP, Global Technology, Data & Automation, shares her experiences regarding her career journey including her challenges, successes, and a word of advice for those starting out in their careers.

​When I first left school...
The staffing industry was making its transition from old school paper and fax machines to web-based software! At the time, I was working as a young Talent Delivery Consultant. My days were frustrating as our computers could not meet the demands of the new VMS applications then. Our work hours were being spent inefficiently, limiting our ability to respond quickly to suppliers and hiring managers.

Making a bold move
After a particularly bad morning, I spent my lunch pricing new laptops at the computer store across the street from our office. I spent time studying my findings the next day and prepared a business case for new laptops over the weekend. Nervously, I took it to my manager on Monday morning, afraid that the senior managers would laugh at a 25-year-old’s unsolicited suggestion to spend a sizeable chunk of change.

But it was a success.

When I became a mother for the first time in the mid-90s, part-time work was not something available then.
I was torn trying to decide if I should stay home with my son or to continue doing the work I loved doing – but something deep down in me didn’t want to give up on my job that easily.

Encouraged by the success of my earlier proposal, I created a proposal on working part-time. The worst that could happen was that management would say no, and I would become a full-time mom instead.

I had to make it work for co-workers who might have a child in the future.
I would love to say that my second proposal was as well received as my IT proposal, but it was not as straightforward. After much back and forth, my employer at the time eventually agreed to trial it on a 6-month basis!

Due to my early career challenges, I would never have guessed that I would now be at a company which not only embraces flexible working but also offers maternity and paternity leave – kudos to Danielle Keane and the WeCare ambassador group!

I’ve had so many opportunities to grow throughout my career at Guidant Global and our parent company, Impellam Group
I found myself working at Impellam, having fully embraced the tech side of the business. In 2019, I began receiving calls from a vendor about a piece of technology that was going to change how work was done through automations. I was skeptical, but I continued talking to them about this new technology.

Without testing, I realized we would never know whether this could bring real value to us. Brian Salkowski, our COO, was in full support of a pilot and gave myself and my colleague, Carolyn Torres, the nod to try it out on a small scale.

In just a few weeks, we were off developing a pilot with Catalytic, and the rest, as they say, is history. Automation in a few different flavors is now part of the fabric of Guidant Global.

I needed to add something that pushes me to test my physical limits.
While I have always loved running and biking, on the weekends, you will find me working off the stressors of the week by climbing up the side of a mountain, with the encouragement of my tribe of women, the Women’s Wine Hiking Society, in Southern Utah.
In a year, we have grown from 0 to a group of 100 women who all love an outdoor challenge, combined with the camaraderie and encouragement of other women!

If I were to give advice to someone just starting out in their career...
Go for the hard, seemingly impossible thing and to never be comfortable with the status quo. There might be bumps along the way, but the result is always worth it in the end, even if it is not exactly how you imagined it. This is the motto that I carry over into my personal life as well.

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