Employee Spotlight: Sarah (SK) Kennedy
JP Arnaud-Marquez
·June 9, 2022
Sarah (SK) Kennedy grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, graduating with a bachelor’s in organizational culture and communication from the University of New Mexico in 2010. After a brief stint in New York, she currently works out of New Mexico as Loop’s employee experience specialist.
“I help celebrate our folks, keep them informed, and ensure they have opportunities to be heard,” she said. “Since we’re a remote-first company, that’s still a very new experience for all of us – so I get to do lots of research on making people feel connected virtually.”
The following is a transcript of an interview by JP Arnaud-Marquez, Loop’s principal content marketing manager. Some of the questions have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Tell me a little bit about New York, how you got started in tech, and the work you do.
I moved to New York because outside of work I’m a stand-up comedian and I wanted to experience a town where that’s a big thing – coincidentally, that’s how I entered the tech industry and started working for start-ups.
That’s also how I met Michael Hilton, Loop’s merchant support team manager. We’ve previously worked together at two start-ups, so when the opportunity at Loop came up, it was a no-brainer.
If Michael loved the culture, I knew I would too.
I love working in tech because I marvel at simple solutions. When an app or tool waltzes in and makes people’s lives easier or better, that’s a powerful thing! After experiencing New York, I realized how little access some people have to these tools back home, and how addressing access issues could unlock a lot of opportunities for more people to do more for their business, families, communities, and even themselves. I get to experience that feeling everyday at Loop as I watch our people support each other, and our merchants, through our culture and solutions.
My Loop days are always full of exciting things to do. Not only am I looking for new ways to engage with our people, but finding ways to create joy for them. As a comedian, that’s a natural thing for me to do, so getting to show up at Loop every morning and apply that to my work…well, heck, there’s nothing else I could ask for!
What’s the best way to describe Loop’s culture? Are there areas for improvement?
First, our People Team rules. I think it’s a real testament to Loop’s culture that our first core value is Be A Human First, and I see it everywhere. And, luckily, our People Team is full of stewards of that value. They exemplify our other values daily, too, but how nice to work on a team dedicated to caring for humans, finding the right humans, and protecting our humans.
Loop’s culture? Well, I can’t get it out of my head that it’s kinda like a Peloton ride? Is that weird? It’s fast-paced, and sometimes we turn up what we’re doing and it gets harder – but those are the times that really test our engagement efforts, so it’s fun. Other times we see periods of cool down, where we get to settle in and prepare for the next peak.
I truly believe Loop is an inclusive place to work. I’ve gotten to share big life milestones with my coworkers like getting married to my wife, Kelli, and the two of us buying a house; all of which have been met with support and delight. Even though we’re doing what we do while looking at a screen, there’s a big community feel, and I’m grateful to be a part of that.
There’s room for improvement, though, and anytime a company or the people in that company say there’s not, it’s a very big red flag – and I think Loopers recognize that. The world is different every single day, and the people in it face different challenges. We have to be agile and diligent in showing up to address those challenges since they can impact anyone’s experience at work.
When employees are truly heard and valued, they see things around them at work and find ways to make them better. Companies should always be in a state of “getting better,” and I think we’re taking the right approach here at Loop.
Interested in working at Loop? Check out our careers page here.
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