Carrie Thomas, a bright spark at Nua Group, is celebrating a milestone – her 4th Nuaversary! In these four years, she has become a beloved member of our Nua family, contributed to the success of many of our clients with her expertise, and expanded her professional horizons on the way. To mark this special occasion, we sat down with Carrie for a quick chat about her Nua journey, the moments that make her smile, and what she enjoys most about being a part of the Nua team.
Carrie, thinking back to your 4 years at Nua, what moments still make you smile?
Carrie: The coworkers at Nua are the best! Slightly embarrassing, but on my very first day I couldn’t figure out how to turn on my computer (I’ve never owned a Mac and had taken almost a two-year break from the corporate world) and my colleague Gintare showed me how without making me feel like a complete fool.
I wasn’t in the office long before COVID/work from home arrived, but every single time I made a face at my computer screen because I couldn’t figure out how to do something, multiple folks would proactively offer a range of helpful solutions. This is a great team that genuinely cares about helping everyone around us succeed.
Another thing is realizing that Nua’s core beliefs and approach to consulting aren’t just “talk”: they genuinely impact how we work with clients. Our focus on client outcomes plays out across a range of project activities. We’re able to explore new ideas that come up throughout a project and be creative in exploring the best solution for a client vs a standard approach.
I also appreciate that project management is a tool to ensure our efforts are aligned with client objectives, rather than tracking steps and timing outlined in a scope of work. On an entirely personal level, now and then I remember the pain of doing time sheets in my prior life (they are detailed/tedious in consulting) and get a big smile on my face now that those are no longer on my Friday afternoon to-do list every week.
What's one skill or area of expertise you've honed significantly since joining Nua, and how has it benefited your work and the team?
Carrie: Nua has given me a chance to learn a lot about equity compensation strategy and design. In my prior roles, consulting work around equity plans was led by executive compensation practitioners and I didn’t have much exposure. This was frustrating because it doesn’t align with the critical role equity plays in compensation for a wide array of companies and employees, particularly in the SF Bay Area. I really appreciate the opportunity that Nua has provided me to round out my knowledge so that I can help clients with thoughtful decisions around their full total rewards offerings.
What's the most memorable piece of feedback or interaction you've had with a client or colleague that's stayed with you?
Carrie: In one recent interaction, a client apologized for only bringing us “really ugly problems” and I replied genuinely, somewhat automatically, that those are our favorite kind.
The interaction stayed with me because it so crisply hit on one of the most rewarding parts of our job at Nua – helping clients find solutions for challenging problems where there’s not an easy black-or-white answer. While we can and do help clients “build” things like salary structures, I think this thought partnership is one of the most valuable things we bring to the table and one of the most interesting parts of our work.
If your LinkedIn bio could tell a deeper story, what unexpected detail would you add to reveal your true essence?
Carrie: Haha, my LinkedIn bio is sparse! Love of travel is probably the key element for me here - both to see and explore new places and to learn about different ways of life.
The COVID years slowed me down a bit, but my most recent adventures have been to Iceland (hot springs!) and Indonesia (beautiful underwater worlds).
Happy 4th Nuaversary Carrie, from all of us at Nua Group!