From left, Endress+Hauser’s Krista Taggart and Express Employment Professionals’ Erin pardue and Sarah Wilburn pose for a photo following Aspire Johnson County’s Women Leaders Awards at Franklin College on Wednesday.
Noah Crenshaw | Daily Journal
On International Women’s Day, local business leaders gathered at Franklin College to honor a local woman and a female-led business at a county chamber event.
Krista Taggart, deputy general counsel for Endress+Hauser, received the Aspire Johnson County Woman Leader of the Year and Express Employment Professionals received the Champion of Women Award during the countywide chamber of commerce’s second annual Women Leaders Awards at Franklin College on Wednesday. The awards ceremony followed a Woman Leaders Workshop at Franklin College on Friday sponsored by Johnson Memorial Hospital, and in partnership with Franklin College and the University of Indianapolis.
The awards program is designed to not only recognize women leaders but also put the spotlight on organizations that have been placing women in leadership roles and supporting them, chamber officials say.
Women Leader of the Year
The Women Leader of the Year Award recognizes a woman who has made a significant contribution to her company or organization as an influencer, leader and ally. There were four finalists for this year’s award: Taggart, Melahni Ake of Everyday Leaders, Stacia Jones of becauseOne and Kathleen Spindler of Endress+Hauser.
Before announcing Taggart as the honoree, Ageless Aesthetics Owner Shelly Clayton shared with the crowd of business leaders what Taggart’s coworkers think is special about her leadership style. Taggart is a collaborator and a problem solver who places common interest before self-interest, leads by setting examples and is highly respected in the community, Clayton said.
At Endress+Hauser, Taggert has helped create and lead a grants program providing assistance for local teachers for STEAM enrichment for their students. She’s also is one of the founding steering committee members for her company’s diversity and inclusion initiative.
“This person has a welcoming way of challenging a point of view or idea that fosters good discussion and analysis to help offer solutions and shape more informed decisions,” Clayton said.
Taggart was surprised to receive the award, and described her work as a team effort. Everyone in the legal department and her team work well together and have each other’s backs, she said.
“I’m really lucky to work for a great organization,” Taggart said. “I have a really great team of women and men in our legal department that are just a strong collaborative environment that really support me and helped me to grow.”
She also took a moment to talk about the privilege she’s had to serve the Greenwood community. A former Greenwood city attorney, Taggart was able to make connections with organizations like Aspire and find ways to serve her community, she said.
Champion of Women
The Champion of Women Award recognizes an organization that prioritizes women in leadership and provides women with opportunities for growth, both inside and outside their workforces. There were four finalists for the award: Express Employment Professionals, Everyday Leaders and Franciscan Health.
The management of Express Employment Professionals, a staffing and recruiting company, supports women in business by promoting employees from within for leadership development. The company is within a predominantly female-led industry, and they employ women from all ages and stages of life, Clayton said.
“Statistics show that women sacrifice more professionally to manage the outside family life,” she said. “This company has implemented flexible and hybrid work policies to adapt to personal life needs and has created a working remote policy to stay attractive to top candidates in their market.”
Company officials also have professional development plans for each employee, and two leadership team members are enrolled in a corporate leadership academy. Some of Express Employment Professionals employees were also former college athletes, volunteers in their communities, professors, bakers, mothers and more, Clayton said.
Like Taggart, Express Employment officials did not expect to receive the honor. It was good to see Aspire honor the company for their work and for being primarily female-led, said Erin Pardue, marketing and recruitment manager for Express Employment.
“We have over 20 women employees, but we are owned by two really strong owners who let us develop the way that we want it to be,” Pardue said. “We’ve created a leadership team and professional development opportunities that allow us to pick the path that we want to choose.”
Winners offer advice
Both Taggart and employees from Express Employment also offered advice for women employees who may be facing difficulties moving up to a leadership position in their business.
Taggart encourages women to get involved and volunteer for anything that interests them. This includes getting involved with your local communities, sitting on boards and even helping plan community events, she said.
“You get to network that way, you make connections, you have informal leadership opportunities that way, and it’s a way for you to show that you’re ready to be in other types of leadership positions,” Taggart said.
Sarah Wilburn, specialty manager for Express Employment’s light industrial division, said it’s important for women to find a company that values them for not only being a woman, but also for their skill set.
“If your skill set is not being recognized, definitely move on to something different,” Wilburn said.
Both Wilburn and Pardue said they were lucky to work at a company where they were able to write their own development paths. Pardue also encourages businesswomen looking to move up to find a mentor.
