Alumni in Action: Jenna McHugh, Human Resources Executive
“I would recommend Breakthrough Performance Group’s Lean Six Sigma Black Belt training for anyone in any industry.” That was Jenna McHugh’s reply to the question “Would you recommend BPG Black Belt training to other Human Resource professionals?” Jenna, Vice President, Human Resources at Sur-Seal, explains why:
• Process improvement can be applied to any job and any industry.
• Networking and learning opportunities available in the class.
• What achieving a BPG Black Belt says about you.
Jenna’s first exposure to Six Sigma was when she worked in credit at Macy’s. She saw how processes that improved accuracy benefitted the company, customers, and employees. Her interest in Six Sigma grew over the years as she had opportunities to work with Macy’s Six Sigma Green and Black Belts.
In March 2018, when Jenna had the opportunity to receive an Ohio Means Jobs (OMJ) grant for the BPG Lean Six Sigma training, she took it. Jenna was impressed with the rigor of the program. She enjoyed the networking and learning opportunities that came from working with a diverse group of students on her Black Belt Project (which focused on improving accounting processes for closing the books). In addition, Jenna, who has done a lot of metric and analytical reporting with Excel, says the training exposed her to a variety of online reporting tools that she had never used.
As an HR executive, Jenna says that if she saw a resume with the BPG Black Belt certification listed, it would suggest to her that the job candidate is likely to:
• be ambitious and confident,
• dedicated to self-improvement,
• have a learning/growth mindset, and
• be a hard worker who drives for results
If you have a Black Belt and are looking for a job, Jenna recommends bringing up the training during job interviews — even if the position does not specifically call for a Black Belt. Her advice: Be prepared to give examples of what you learned and how you might apply it to the job at hand. That’s what Jenna did. When she applied for her current position at Sur-Seal, a manufacturing company recently named by the Cincinnati Enquirer as one of the top places to work in Cincinnati, Jenna says her interviewers were intrigued by her certification; having it was a definite plus. In addition to exposing her to powerful tools for data analysis, Jenna anticipated that her familiarity with Six Sigma terminology and tools would help her service manufacturing employees that utilize Six Sigma techniques. And it has.
